Chapter 171 - 58: [Burrower Empress]

Chapter 171: Chapter 58: [Burrower Empress]

CLANG! CLANG! The incessant sound of digging echoed between the tall pillars beneath the underground dome.

Driven by the Demon Race Craftsmen, the Burrowers wielded their hard, shovel-like claws, excavating a secure and hidden secret chamber beneath the foundation of the Inner Ring.

They were a group of scrawny, withered pale creatures, barely half the height of a human and only reaching Samael’s waist.

Their dry, stick-insect-like bodies supported large oval heads that twisted around like bean sprouts. Six crab-like arthropod limbs ended in hard, broad claws, perfectly suited for digging through dirt and rock—as well as hacking through flesh and bone.

A dull, foolish expression was plastered across their large oval heads. A massive mouth filled with dense, serrated teeth took up two-thirds of their faces. Years of subterranean living had caused their eyes to severely degenerate, leaving only tiny, bean-sized specks. Between these eyes were two narrow, vertical slits that flared as their large heads turned this way and that—the Burrowers’ nostrils.

Sticky gurgling sounds emanated from their throats. Their claws dug rapidly while they simultaneously sprayed a highly viscous saliva. This saliva quickly dried and hardened, eventually forming a sturdy crust that instantly constructed a spacious and solid nesting chamber.

The Burrower Empress, however, was as large as two or three regular Burrowers combined. Two extra pairs of hard limbs supported her bulky body, and her massive abdomen was stuffed full of bulging eggs.

But she seemed to be in poor condition. She lay there weakly, occasionally scratching the ground with a limb or two in what looked like the twitches and struggles of the dying.

The carapace of the Burrower Empress bore large patches of explosion and corrosion marks. A barbed Nether Copper Short Fish Spear was lodged in her back armor, and one of her limbs had been severed.

A thick layer of hardened, gelatinous saliva covered the wounds and severed stump, wrapping them tightly. The areas were terribly swollen, resembling bulging cysts. It was clearly secreted and applied by the other Burrowers in an attempt to heal their Empress.

"Put her in the nesting chamber first. She’s terrified, and the Burrowers’ secretions will make her feel a bit more at ease," commanded Gwyneth, who had experience caring for Magical Beasts.

Under the direction of the Demon Race Craftsmen, the Burrowers carried the Empress and the swarm’s eggs, carefully placing them in the center of the nesting chamber that had just been reinforced with gelatinous saliva.

"This... this is just too strange. Logically, the Burrowers’ saliva should accelerate her healing, so why does she still look so weak?" Gwyneth frowned. "Is it a toxin? Or some kind of infection?"

She cautiously drew a slender short knife and extended the tip toward the wound on the Burrower Empress’s back where the barbed Nether Copper Fish Spear was lodged, carefully cutting open the cyst of secretions covering the injury.

The moment the cyst was sliced open, Gwyneth let out a soft gasp.

A rotting stench permeated the air, as if some sort of toxin had infected her body. The area around the wound caused by the Nether Copper Short Fish Spear was severely infected, overgrown with a dense patch of black mold. It had a loose, porous texture, resembling the livor mortis that might appear on a corpse. It was deeply unsettling.

Debris fell from the mold spots, shattering into rustling, scattered brittle flakes.

"What on earth did that Swamp Ghost Knight do to the Burrower Empress?" Talia turned her head to look at Samael.

Samael shook his head. The things Pulangti specialized in seemed to be far more sinister and covert than Nether Copper Tridents and Sour Bombs.

"Please let me take a look." He jumped into the nesting chamber.

Gwyneth and a few other Garden Masters stepped aside, making room for Samael to observe.

[Scanner Activated]

[Animal-type Artificial Organism, Low-intelligence Model X-23]

[Utilizing primitive annelids and ant-like arthropods as templates, subjected to the Akre cycle process based on Spiritual Energy studies. Added artificial life stability locks, life cycle control, and hive structure design. Added genetic functional memory templates. Evolution and mutation pathways have been locked. Stable population generated after iterative breeding.]

[Suitable for harsh, lightless subterranean environments. Strong, low-intelligence menial laborers capable of understanding relatively complex commands and possessing simple, primitive language abilities. Depending on breeding methods and environments, they can be cultivated into subspecies adapted to different working conditions.]

[In extremely harsh environments, individual eggs can enter dormancy.]

[Reading pheromones...]

[Population Size: Small]

[Individual Differentiation: Egg Layer]

[Status: Poisoned, Infected, Parasitized. Estimated time of death: within ten days.]

Samael wondered in surprise, "Parasitized?"

"Can I pull out the fish spear?" he asked, looking at Gwyneth and the other Garden Masters. "Will this creature be startled, or suffer from excessive blood loss or something similar?"

"We will comfort her with Spiritual Energy from the side, so please rest assured," Gwyneth replied respectfully. "However, the head of the fish spear is barbed, so the wound will need to be cut open a bit more to remove it smoothly."

"Understood."

Samael activated the Nether Copper Printer. Reaching out, he manifested a slender short knife and carefully cut into the thick, tough skin covered in rotting black mold, using the tip of the blade to pry open the flesh around the wound.

The Burrower Empress let out a low gurgle, twisting her body in an attempt to dodge. The Garden Masters swarmed forward, controlling the other Burrowers to hold her body in place. Gwyneth cradled the creature’s massive head in her arms, comforting her and helping her calm down.

Beneath the necrotic skin lay pale flesh. The barbs of the Nether Copper Fish Spear pierced through it, firmly hooking between the muscle and the carapace.