Chapter 141 - 48: [Demon Insect Larva and Bell-Ringing Reaper]

Chapter 141: Chapter 48: [Demon Insect Larva and Bell-Ringing Reaper]

"What do you mean, ’a few’?" Talia was shocked. "They are incredibly hard to raise! Every time you drive them to work, it requires a massive investment of resources. Plus, they can chew through almost any material, cannot be imprisoned, and easily lose control if you aren’t paying attention, randomly wrecking buildings and terrain structures. Maintaining just one Earth-Devouring Demon Insect is already difficult enough. Not to mention, a Monarch only needs a single adult Demon Insect to build an Underground City. Why would you want to raise multiple?"

"But we have four right in front of us," Samael pointed out, lifting the Nether Copper Chain in his hand that leashed the four Demon Insect larvae.

"Are you actually planning to raise all four?" Talia scoffed, releasing her suppression on the larvae.

Instantly, the Demon Insect larvae began thrashing their bodies and little segmented claws, darting and crashing about wildly. It was like trying to walk four hyperactive huskies. The immense force completely threw Samael off balance, yanking him to the dirt and dragging him far across the ground with a loud CLANG CLANG.

"I have to admit, it might indeed be a bit difficult," he replied amidst the metallic clatter of being dragged all over the place.

Blue light flared in Talia’s eyes once more as she struggled to temporarily suppress the larvae again.

"Under normal circumstances, they resort to cannibalism until only one or two are left. Then they devour their mother to enter a sub-adult state," Talia said, gazing at the four Earth-Devouring Demon Insect larvae before them. "If a Demon Race Monarch finds a brood, they will also just let them slaughter each other until only the strongest one remains to be claimed."

"Even if it’s a necessary compromise due to limited resources, that sounds a bit brutal." Samael climbed to his feet and dusted off his clothes. "Can a single larva handle the excavation work for an Underground City?"

"A single larva... would be a bit difficult. The progress would be much slower than an adult, but it could still get the job done."

"Will they die immediately if they lack food?"

"No, they’ll just go into dormancy. Demon Insects have incredibly strong vitality. Since their adult forms are massive and require huge amounts of food, they often hibernate underground to conserve resources. A Monarch only awakens them when needed to execute tasks. Sometimes, you can even find adult individuals deep underground that have been dormant for hundreds of years."

"Then we’ll keep all four," Samael replied.

"Are you kidding?" Talia stared at him. "Food aside, how do you plan to stop them from eating each other?"

Samael reached out and pressed a hand against one of the Demon Insect larvae. Nether Copper flowed from his palm, shaping into a rigid hoop and two Nether Copper Power Limbs.

When the larvae tried to devour each other again, the Nether Copper Limbs scrabbled against the ground, automatically stepping backward and yanking the larva away so its bite caught only empty air.

"Alright, stop gnawing on your siblings. Go eat your mother’s corpse instead." Samael picked it up and placed it on the severed cross-section of the dead Demon Insect, letting it gorge on the flesh. Although stated as a simple fact, for some reason, it sounded like an insult or a sick joke from Hell.

He repeated the process for the remaining three Demon Insect larvae. Now, they were unable to bite each other. The larvae seemed quite angry and tried to chew off the Nether Copper Power Limbs hindering their sibling slaughter, but it only resulted in them spinning in circles on the spot, chasing the bone spikes on their stubby tails.

"I’ve unlocked a few new synthesis methods for high-strength building materials. They might be able to withstand the gnawing of the Earth-Devouring Demon Insects." Samael recalled the newly unlocked entries in his technology tree. "We can build a massive enclosure out of Demonization metal or reinforced materials. When they aren’t needed, we can temporarily trap them inside and force them into dormancy, preventing them from running around and destroying the buildings and terrain."

Talia pondered for a moment. "We can give it a try," she agreed.

The two struggled to climb out of the crater in the center of the High Grass Plain, each half-carrying and half-dragging two massive, plump Demon Insect larvae under their arms. The Demon Insects were not completely subdued; their tails still dragged on the ground, restlessly thrashing about. Their hard carapace spikes and spiral scales left deep gouges in the dirt.

"I’m wondering if this place is truly suitable for settlement," Samael said softly, single-handedly hoisting a squirming, giant Demon Insect over his shoulder while clamping another beneath his arm.

"You should believe in yourself—I believe in you, and so will the other Demon Race Exiles." Talia stumbled up the slope behind him, hugging her two fat larvae. The massive, thrashing spiral tusks of the bugs completely blocked her vision, making her look exactly like a thief who had just stolen two pigs from a farm.

"Should we tell the Exiles to come over? Or should we..." Samael suddenly paused.

"What’s wrong?" With her line of sight obstructed by the long tusks, Talia couldn’t see the path ahead and nearly crashed into Samael’s back.

"Fog." He slowly placed the Demon Insects at his feet and whispered, "The fog is rolling in."

Talia set her Demon Insects down as well. The Nether Copper Limbs bound to the larvae rapidly scrambled against the earth, dragging the writhing, massive bugs back into the sunken crater behind them to hide.

At the southeastern edge of the High Grass Plain, a thick, heavy fog crept forward like a slithering monster, inching its way across the landscape.

"Get back," Samael whispered. "Get back!" He pushed Talia behind him and raised his sword and shield.

"Save me... it hurts so much..."

Faintly, the dry, raspy luring voices of the Undead mimicking the living drifted through the mist. However, these voices were much clearer than those of the Undead they had encountered in the tall grass, and their phrasing was much closer to how living people actually spoke.

TING-A-LING...

The lonely, hollow ring of a bell echoed through the fog.