I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 188 - 188 187. Do you want to watch yourself being eaten

Chapter 188: 187. Do you want to watch yourself being eaten? Chapter 188: 187. Do you want to watch yourself being eaten? Lu Ban had seen a movie before where they also locked a group of people in an incubation room for bugs to parasitize them, and the creatures eventually burst out of their bodies.

But apparently, the ritual here was a bit more macabre.

On those eggs, Lu Ban saw tiny tentacles.

These tentacles writhed like octopus arms, extending from the tops of the eggs in all directions, as if they wanted to capture something.

From the tops, these viscous, greasy, dark-colored eggs began to split open, and within those tentacles, some kind of creature seemed to be gestating.

“Can we just blow these things up directly?”

Without waiting for them to hatch completely, Lu Ban asked Shia.

For some reason, the people in the movies always had to watch these creatures hatch before taking action, and Lu Ban didn’t understand what kind of serious illness they had. If it were him, he would decisively turn them to dust.

“No problem.”

Shia raised her right hand, seemingly holding something in her palm.

“****!”

She uttered a word that Lu Ban could not understand, and then, like throwing a shot put, she tossed the invisible thing in her hand.

Several seconds later, the eggs were still hatching, and Lu Ban could already see the ugly, wriggling larvae and their wet, slippery surfaces.

“Doesn’t seem to be working?”

He looked at Shia.

“It’ll take a while to fly.”

Shia said earnestly.

Boom—

Before Lu Ban could turn to look, he heard a loud explosion from behind. The bug eggs shattered in an instant, with dark fluid splattering against the wall, leaving mottled marks.

“Might these creatures rely on the flesh and blood of sacrifices to hatch and then keep growing, turning into those monsters you encountered before?”

Lu Ban approached the pool of blood, poking at the debris with a crowbar.

Soft in texture, semi-transparent, it looked like jelly.

“Does it taste good?”

He asked a question.

“…”

Iron Fist was speechless.

“Probably not tasty.”

Only Shia responded to Lu Ban.

“These bugs are carnivorous, generally high in nutritional content. I suspect the people here might rely on breeding these bugs as a food source. Then, every year to give thanks to these bugs, they create a god to worship and throw prisoners and slaves in to feed the bugs.”

Lu Ban sniffed the scent of the bugs.

Suddenly, one of the tentacles within the debris leapt up, aiming straight for Lu Ban’s head.

Thwack—

The tentacle pierced the skin and thrust into Lu Ban’s throat.

The tentacle, like a leech, tried to burrow into Lu Ban’s skin, tearing a terrible wound and causing blood to flow out, splashing into the pool and rippling.

But not much blood flowed because soon, the green grass that sprouted from Lu Ban’s wound blocked the bug’s progress and pushed it out.

Lu Ban grabbed it with his hand, observing closely, he found that the bug had already become a complete individual. Perhaps that one egg contained countless such bugs that would burrow into flesh and blood like just now and feast upon it.

“…You can put your hand down now, wait, isn’t it still flying?”

Lu Ban glanced at Shia who had her hand raised, fearing she would throw another spell his way and scatter both him and the bug to the winds.

“Not yet.”

Shia lowered her hand.

“So you were really planning to take me down just then?”

Lu Ban was astonished.

“My teacher told me, as long as we take care of the hostage, there’s nothing left that can threaten us.”

Shia answered decisively.

“Is this how you people of Gray Tower save others?”

Lu Ban felt that either Shia or he himself must have a cognitive bias regarding this matter.

“Of course, otherwise, would you just watch as a monster devours you?”

Shia replied as if it were obvious.

“It’s okay, we usually take care of you and the monster at the same time, and then revive you with healing spells. It’s basically the same as your previous body!”

“Basically?”

Lu Ban raised an eyebrow.

“Can you use healing spells today?”

“Definitely tomorrow!”

Shia beat around the bush.

While Lu Ban spoke, the bug lost its vitality, shriveling up quickly as if dried by the sun.

“Stop arguing, you two.”

Iron Fist said, approaching the blood pool where the blood was gradually draining away. It was apparent that as the stand holding the bug eggs rose, the blood flowed through the gaps beneath the stand to a lower layer.

“Where does this blood come from?”

No-Face dipped his finger in the blood to sniff it; it smelled like human blood and was still warm.

The blood used to activate the altar came from a person with exceptional regeneration abilities, but such blood should have clotted after such a long time.

This blood was clearly fresh.

Given that the humans and bugs nearly monopolize the present Wasteland, with no domesticated animals like pigs, cows, or sheep mentioned in historical records, red blood was a human prerogative.

“We can go down from here.”

Iron Fist pointed to the gap beneath the stand.

“If there are bug eggs, there must be something laying them.”

“Wait a second, is the treasure of these ruins the Queen Bug?”

Lu Ban stopped Iron Fist, who was about to smash the altar, and asked.

“No, it’s just a part of it. Beneath this place, something is hidden that can turn a person into a Saint. The Queen Bug exists to protect it,” Iron Fist responded.

He clenched his right hand into a fist, covered his arm in Crystal, and with a forceful smash, the entire altar shattered thunderously.

Stones soaked in blood fell, revealing a massive hollow beneath.

“After those bugs hatch and grow, there must be a place for them to leave, perhaps by entering this cavity.”

No-Face proposed, then summoned his subordinate.

“Flash.”

The youngster with eyes made of Crystal approached the hole and looked down.

His eyes emitted a bright light that illuminated the space.

Lu Ban saw that the space below was vast, with a dome approximately several tens of meters high, and the light revealed a complicated mechanical gear structure at the bottom.

These structures were slowly rotating, transporting certain objects out.

Those were bug eggs.

Countless bug eggs were scattered across the floor of the space, glistening black and dense like a swarm in a beehive. Some seemed to be wriggling, but none had hatched yet.

The altar’s fresh blood flowed down, landing on some of the bug eggs, which immediately started to squirm, their tops splitting open to reveal tentacles.

The eggs, on the verge of hatching, were then grasped by the stone machinery and placed on conveyer belts, sent off to an unknown destination.

Meanwhile, more conveyer belts continuously transported eggs from somewhere else into this room, piling them up.

“Are you sure you want to go down?”

Lu Ban felt that going down directly was definitely not a good choice.

“Look at these eggs; they are being transported here. So, if we follow the path, we’ll definitely find the Queen Bug,” Iron Fist pointed out, indicating a hole where the conveyer belts came from.

“Shouldn’t we clear out the area below first?”

Lu Ban glanced at Shia.