Dragon King's Harem Chapter 586. Venom IV
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 586. Venom IV
The moment my feet left the broken stone, Elowen screamed.
It was the sound of an ancient forest being set on fire and deciding to hate the sky for it.
Her massive body twisted, Seranaya still impaled against her root-arm, and every flower across her monstrous bark opened at once.
Oh.
Bad.
Very bad…
[Warning: Large-Scale Mana Release Detected]
“Withering Eden.”
The entire hall turned green.
This was toxic green. Funeral garden green. The kind of green that said nature was done being gentle and would now like everyone to become compost.
Poison pollen exploded outward in a violent wave.
Tables flew. Broken chairs disintegrated. Dwarven banners rotted in midair. The remaining flowers not under Marissa’s control shriveled instantly, turning black and crumbling into dust. Nymph soldiers caught in the blast didn’t even get spared. Some screamed as the pollen ate through their armor and skin, others collapsed under their own queen’s attack.
She didn’t care.
She had moved from coup to extinction tantrum.
Classic royal ego escalation.
“I hate when villains skip negotiation and go straight to mass murder,” I muttered midair.
Then the pollen wave hit me.
[Antidote Bloom Protection: Active]
[Poison Resistance: Successful]
[Corrosion Resistance: Partial]
Pain bit across my exposed skin like needles, but I pushed through it, wings snapping hard. Nightmare burned brighter in my grip, fire mana eating away the poison cloud around me.
Below, Evelina slammed both hands forward.
Golden light erupted in layered walls around the surviving guests. The barrier took the pollen wave head-on and cracked instantly. Evelina gritted her teeth, heels scraping backward across the floor as she poured mana into it.
“I can’t cover everyone if she keeps doing that!” she shouted.
“I know!” I shouted back.
Very helpful reply.
Extremely kingly.
Elowen swung three gigantic roots toward the evacuation corridor.
Toward the ministers and nobles still trying to escape.
Seraphel cursed, wings of ember flaring behind her.
She moved like a streak of red light, cutting across the roots with her flame spear. The first root burned in half. The second cracked. The third kept going.
The Fairy Queen raised her staff, wind magic bursting outward.
The wind blade sliced the root off course just enough for it to smash into a pillar instead of a cluster of fleeing servants.
The pillar exploded.
Stone rained everywhere.
Evelina’s barrier caught the debris, but the impact made her gasp.
I saw it.
Her shoulders shaking.
The strain.
My chest tightened.
Not fear. Anger.
Because there were too many people behind us.
Too many lives.
Too much city around the palace.
If I transformed into my true dragon form, I could crush Elowen. Easily? Not exactly. She was boosted by her daughter, Durharn’s authority, and whatever insane nymph royal poison core she carried. But yes, in my real dragon body, I could overpower her.
Problem?
The palace would not survive.
The city might not survive.
Honestly, my tail alone might remodel several districts without asking for permits.
Same problem for Seraphel. I could feel it in her mana. The Phoenix Queen was holding back too. If she unleashed her real form, this poisoned wood nightmare would burn, but so would the palace, the evidence, probably half the mountain interior, and possibly several people who absolutely did not sign up to become heroic barbecue.
The Fairy Queen had the same issue. Her true storm form could tear Elowen apart, but underground cities and catastrophic wind pressure were not best friends.
So there we were.
Three high-tier rulers politely not using our biggest forms because urban planning existed.
Tragic.
Elowen didn’t share our courtesy.
Her root-body slammed into the throne platform and absorbed the last of Durharn’s remains. The authority bracelet on Seranaya’s wrist pulsed again, half buried in vines, glowing gold-green like a corrupted crown.
[Enemy Power Surge Detected]
The floor exploded.
Roots as thick as towers burst upward in every direction. Not targeted. Not precise. Just pure area destruction. One root punched through the ceiling, blowing a massive hole into the upper palace. Morning sunlight poured down through dust, smoke, and falling stone. Another root tore through the far wall, exposing an outer courtyard where dwarven soldiers screamed and scattered.
Great.
Now the city knew.
Well, if the city didn’t know before, the giant monster tree woman bursting through the royal wedding hall was a subtle hint.
I dove between two roots, Nightmare slashing left and right.
[Elemental Mana Sword: Fire]
My blade carved through one root, black fire racing along its surface. I spun and kicked off another, using it as footing before freezing the base.
“Freeze.”
Ice crawled down the root and locked it in place before it could crush a group of wounded dwarven guards.
“Move!” I roared at them.
They moved.
Finally.
Good boys.
Behind me, Al stood with both arms lifted, shadows spreading beneath the broken floor like ink spilled into cracks.
“Grave Stitching.”
The shadows stitched around roots, slowing their movement, tying them to shattered pillars and frozen debris. It didn’t stop Elowen, but it bought seconds.
Seconds mattered.
Al’s face was calm, but sweat slid down his temple.
“Your Majesty,” he called out, voice still annoyingly polite, “I would like to submit a formal complaint.”
I ducked under a root spear and cut it in half. “Denied!”
“I have not stated it yet.”
“Still denied!”
“This wedding has been poorly organized.”
I barked a laugh despite myself.
Yeah.
Okay.
That one was true.
Marissa stood near the center, one hand pressed to the floor, blood still staining her torn sleeve. Antidote flowers bloomed around her in violent waves now, forcing themselves through cracks in stone and broken ice.
“Antidote Bloom. Maximum Release.”
Every time Elowen released poison, Marissa answered with blue mist.
Every time toxic roots spread, Marissa’s flowers bit back.
But her face was pale.
She was wrained.
“Marissa!” I shouted.
“I’m fine!” she snapped.
That meant she was not fine.
Wife language.
Very advanced.
Sela moved beside her, earth armor covering both arms, hair loose, eyes colder than the ice I had spread across the floor.