The Swarm arrived even faster than Byron had anticipated.
It was only just noon when a vast, dark cloud, emitting an intense buzz, flew in from the depths of the eastern sea.
Before it had even touched down, the distinct acidic stench of insects permeated the camp established in the valley.
Looking at the explosive giant squid—his favorite dish, which Eight Fingers had just painstakingly grilled before him—Byron suddenly lost his appetite.
He could only reluctantly set aside the delicacy and quickly rose to meet the arrival.
Placing a hand over his chest in salute, he said,
"Teacher, you've arrived so promptly. I thought that even if you gathered your men as quickly as possible, the earliest you could arrive would be tomorrow."
Thousands upon thousands of dark, iron-hued locusts touched down, reconverging into the mysterious, black-robed figure of the Third Order Grand Wizard, Swarm.
"Heh heh, in urgent matters, one must be flexible."
Swarm continued, "That Bizarre Chǐ God you described in the Parrot Conch holds great value for our Book of Giant Insects sect, which specializes in the study and cultivation of various insects.
This time, you have earned yourself a merit.
If you encounter any problems while cultivating Black Sorcery, I can address them all for you during this operation."
He smiled and nodded at Byron, his new disciple who had earned great merit several times, and pulled out a bizarre-looking pouch from underneath his robe.
It resembled a creature's stomach—flesh-colored, with uncleaned remnants of lymph and blood vessels still visible on its surface.
In Swarm's palm, the pouch throbbed rhythmically, as though it had just been excavated from some living being and was still alive.
In reality, this was a precious Second-Level Wonder: the [Blood Flesh Pouch].
With a gentle shake, the Blood Flesh Pouch, as if vomiting, expelled more than a dozen humanoid figures coated in mucus.
Among them, Swarm's Chief disciple, the Second Order Beast Tamer [Thousand-Legs] Digory, awoke on his own like a hibernating centipede (Chapter 123).
He raised his hand to lift the sticky grey hood from his head, revealing the pale face of a young man.
But his expression was rigid, his skin had an odd chitinous sheen as though he wore a false mask, and two red, centipede-like antennae even extended from his forehead.
To call him human would be less accurate than describing him as an upright, giant centipede.
An arm, encased in a chitinous shell, extended from his sleeve. Like the body of a centipede, it stretched out segment by segment, revealing dense, razor-sharp, blood-red appendages.
They snapped out like lightning, biting into the necks of the dozen or so individuals lying on the ground with their eyes closed, as though in hibernation.
After just a few breaths, the rest of the individuals all opened their eyes and clambered up from the ground, coughing out the mucus in their mouths and gasping for air.
[Second-Level Wonder: Blood Flesh Pouch]
This is an extremely magical spatial item capable of holding not only inanimate objects but also living beings. It allows Beast Tamers to move with agility even when accompanied by their large or numerous Tamed Beasts, and carrying living people poses no problem. However, individuals inside the Blood Flesh Pouch are affected by a liquid it secretes, forcing them into a state of hibernation and making it difficult for them to engage in battle immediately.
The men brought by Swarm were all powerfully built, yet their faces were expressionless, their eyes even more numb than those of the oppressed sailors Byron had seen before.
From start to finish, they hadn't uttered a single word.
[Thousand-Legs] Digory poured a mouthful of Blood Brew, laced with the Blood of Transformation, into each of their mouths.
Swarm shook the fleshy pouch in his hand again, and a group of grotesque black-red giant insects crawled out, each wrapping around a man's body.
Their carapaces tightly enveloped the men's bodies, their myriad appendages desperately burrowing into their hosts' flesh.
Gradually, they formed a suit of black-red Knight Armor that enveloped their entire bodies.
The carapaces on their arms transformed into cold, gleaming heavy swords and great axes.
The bodies of these dozen-odd men convulsed violently, clearly in tremendous pain, yet not one of them uttered a sound.
Byron noticed through their open mouths that these people had all had their tongues cut out. They seemed to be a group of slaves specially conditioned.
Finally, the insects inserted a tubular mouthpiece into the mouths of the slaves.
Their own heads enveloped the men's faces, forming what looked like sinister helmet visors.
In an instant, the muscular men were transformed into even more imposing Heavy Knights.
Each emanated the menacing aura of a large predator.
This looks like... the Iron Bone Dragon Filament Worm?
Byron found the scene before him familiar.
Back during the battle at Iron Anchor Bay, when he fought against old Norwich of the York Family, his opponent had used a similar ability.
They utilized forbidden knowledge from the *Book of Giant Insects* to cultivate Iron Bone Dragon Filament Worms.
These could live symbiotically with a human host, providing defense comparable to that of steel Knight Armor and enhanced Regeneration.
The downside was their sensitivity to light; the parasitic armor could never be used under the sun, and frequent use could lead to a complete metamorphosis into a giant insect. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by NoveIꜰire.net
However, these slaves clearly weren't Transcendents. For them to be so casually implanted with Iron Bone Dragon Filament Worms, cultivated using Black Sorcery, meant that while they might momentarily erupt with power far exceeding that of an ordinary human, it wouldn't be long before the parasites utterly consumed them.
The best outcome was a loss of control over their Beastliness, transforming directly into some sort of brutal, half-human, half-insect Bizarre.
At times, the line between humans and Bizarres isn't as clear-cut as it might seem.