Chapter 149: Saruman’s Unexpected Discovery
Soren quickly returned to the camp.
Upon returning to this camp he had personally built, a rare sense of pride appeared on Soren’s face.
It can be said that he had worked hard to reach this point, transforming from an inconspicuous thief in Amber City to the Pirate King dominating the Southern Coast. He didn’t know how much bl**d he had shed or how many injuries he had sustained along the way, but it was all worth it, especially when he saw the foundation he had established with his own hands. Soren felt a sense of satisfaction arise within him because he firmly believed that given enough time, he could rely on this place to change everything, even to influence the fate of the entire world.
On both sides of the spacious road were rows of brick houses.
Soren watched these newly constructed homes with satisfaction before entering a hidden room in his residence.
“Your Grace Throat Cutter!”
A man hidden entirely in shadows knelt on one knee and respectfully said to Soren, “I’ve completed the tasks you assigned.”
Soren’s expression was quite cold as he lightly nodded and said, “Good.”
“Is there any movement from the Drow? Have those guys behaved themselves since I left?”
This was a Wanderer.
And a Wanderer with a profession level over 12; not all pirates were warriors, and although very few spellcasters became pirates, it did not mean that there were no other professionists.
Soren was a very cautious person.
Therefore, from the moment he became the Pirate King, he set up a group of trusted elite.
The number of these people was small, still fewer than ten, but they were all potential Wanderers who had received simple training under Soren. They were masters of stealth and reconnaissance.
While these individuals might not have high combat power, they certainly had more important uses!
As a Wanderer, Soren valued intelligence and informants.
“My Lord!”
The man hidden in the shadows handed a scroll to Soren and then said, “The Drow warriors have contacted their clan several times and secretly sent some things back. However, there’s no obvious movement. We’re being cautious not to get too close for fear of being discovered.”
Soren did not trust those Drow.
In fact, anyone who had been to the Underdark wouldn’t easily trust the Drow.
Because of Soren’s current strength, those Drow did not dare to act recklessly and obeyed his orders, but as soon as Soren showed any sign of weakness, making them think there was an opportunity, the possibility of betrayal from those Drow was quite high.
Because that was their nature!
Soren glanced at the scroll and then put it away, instructing, “Good. I understand.”
“Be careful and keep hidden. Do not expose yourselves easily.”
After saying that, Soren turned and left the room. His pirates had already reached thousands in number, but those usable like this were still too few.
Ultimately, it was still due to the insufficiency of his foundation; everything had to start from scratch.
………………
On the other side of the camp.
Accompanied by a team of pirates, Saruman arrived at his work laboratory, wearing a gray robe. He had an independent courtyard and had brought many alchemical apparatuses for his work.
Upon seeing this camp, he paused slightly and then said, “It seems the place I’ll be staying in the future isn’t too bad!”
Saruman directed the three wizard apprentices he had brought to set up the room, carefully moving the experimental equipment inside before glancing at the surroundings.
Transforming guano into quality fertilizer wasn’t very difficult.
The troublesome part was if a high-end level of craftsmanship couldn’t be established. Then he would need to do the transformation himself; his task was to find a way to make it a process that could be completed by wizard apprentices or ordinary people. For an experienced alchemist, this wasn’t too difficult because constructing an Iron Golem and endowing it with intelligence was much easier than this chemical-based alchemical technique.
Saruman was not in a hurry to begin work.
Once he settled his luggage, he took a tour of the camp. He was a bit curious about everything related to Soren.
“My Lord!”
A Drow ranger on patrol intercepted Saruman, glancing at him and placing a hand on his chest, saying, “Please do not approach that area; there are very dangerous plants there, some man-eating plants.”
Man-eating plants?
At this, Saruman revealed a curious expression, tightened his grip on his staff, and slowly said, “Young man, do not worry.”
“A wizard will not easily encounter danger!”
After saying that, he directly walked into the jungle, while the Drow ranger hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not stop him from entering, though he did not follow him.
The plants inside were quite strange!
Once Saruman entered, he slightly frowned and then cast two protective spells, cautiously advancing.
A wizard can be confident but should not be arrogant.
This older wizard had considerable experience; he cautiously entered and observed the nearby plants.
“Interesting! Interesting!”
Saruman seemed to discover something and moved closer to a giant mutated man-eating flower. After sprinkling a bit of strange yellow powder on it, for some unknown reason, this deadly plant did not attack but instead seemed to lightly sway as if asleep. Saruman circled around the mutated man-eating flower, a look of obsession appearing on his face as he gently stroked the flower’s roots, murmuring, “Beautiful! Dangerous! Deadly! And filled with powerful vitality!…”
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, as if sensing something, and muttered to himself, “There is also a magical aura!”
“Who created you?”
Saruman carefully cut open the flower’s roots with a dagger, took away some liquid that resembled bl**d, and then walked away with something that looked like seeds before finally leaving.
………………
On another side.
Gloria was also brought to her residence by Vivian, where she was settled next to the large house where Soren lived.
“Meow!”
Just when Gloria was being pulled into the room by the little girl, she suddenly seemed to hear a cat’s meow, and then saw Vivian cheerfully rush in, followed by pulling out a little girl with distinct beast-like features. This little girl was about the same height as Vivian, wearing a beautiful floral dress, with a pair of fluffy cat ears and a curled tail; beyond that, her other features were mostly human-like.
Gloria had already been shocked many times today, so when she saw the cat girl before her, she instead felt much calmer, furrowing her brows and saying, “Beastman? Cat girl? I thought these creatures were already extinct!”
Vivian pushed the small cat girl in front of Gloria, smiling broadly and saying, “Sister Gloria!”
“Her name is Lulu Meow!…”
“Don’t look at her as small!… Actually, she’s quite remarkable!…”
Gloria couldn’t help but smile, looking at the cat girl who was about the same height as Vivian and teasingly asked, “Remarkable, is she? What can she do?”
The little girl confidently nodded and cheerfully said, “She can do a somersault!”
Pfft.
Gloria lightly laughed and reached out to pat the little girl’s head before turning her gaze towards the cat girl, slowly asking, “Can she talk?”
The cat girl seemed to understand something and opened her mouth to make a sound: “Meow!~… Lulu!… Meow!!!…”
Hearing this, Gloria showed a knowing look and slowly said, “It seems she still can’t talk!… But that’s alright; let me help you a bit!…”
She began to recite a strange magical incantation, and soon, spell lights appeared in her palm.
When Gloria pressed her palm against the cat girl’s forehead, the little figure shivered slightly and then her expression became blank. This daze lasted for about half a minute, and then her expression cleared up, and she opened her mouth like a child just learning to talk: “Lulu!… Lulu!… Sister!… Master… Master!…”
Just after saying a few words, she seemed to become anxious again, and her voice instantly changed back to: “Meow!… Lulu!… Meow!…”
Gloria leaned down to gently stroke the cat girl’s little head, slowly saying, “Don’t rush.”
“I just helped you cast a spell that can assist in your awakening, but you still need to learn it slowly.”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
