Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 523: Chapter 327: Devourer_2

Wang Cai’s swipe almost tore off half of the wolf’s face, and blood kept dripping from its cheek.

Once again facing Wang Cai, the lone eye of the alpha wolf conveyed a mix of anger, pain, and fear.

It was just one strike, but the alpha wolf had already felt the threat of death. Being injured meant death, a concept that wasn’t exclusive to humans but applied to wild beasts as well.

The alpha wolf began to move, but it wasn’t advancing; instead, it was stepping backward. Seeing that Wang Cai didn’t react, it turned and fled into the wilderness.

Since the challenge had started, only one could remain. That was the cruel rule of the pack, but also the reason they remained strong.

And this retreat declared who the winner of the challenge was.

The wolves on the periphery began to approach Wang Cai after the alpha wolf left. This made Wang Cai, who didn’t understand their intentions, wary. It thought they were also coming to attack and prepared to fight, unafraid.

However, unexpectedly, the wolves prostrated before it in the next moment, displaying submission.

Gradually, the instinct hidden in its blood began to stir, and Wang Cai seemed to understand something, howling at the bright moon.

”AWOOO!”

「...」

”RING, RING, RING!”

A series of clear bell rings instantly alerted everyone who was resting; something had triggered the bells Dismas had set up in the tunnel.

In the Beast Lair, no one could sleep soundly; the slightest noise would rouse everyone.

”Boss, something’s not right!”

Boudica rolled over, grabbed her War Halberd, and listened intently.

Lance knew what she meant. An attack by Pigmen would be heralded by their piercing squeals, but now, aside from the short ring of the bell, there was silence.

Lance, who had been researching something, also quickly got up and looked towards the dark, deep tunnel by the light of the torches.

”It’s not Pigmen. Be careful.”

Suddenly, Lance seemed to see something. The object he pulled out wasn’t his small Shield but a steel Great Shield that appeared out of nowhere. It slammed heavily onto the ground, blocking the entrance to the tunnel, and looked to weigh at least a hundred pounds.

The very next second, a dull thud came from the Great Shield, and Lance, who was holding it, felt a powerful force transmit through it.

Fortunately, his powerful constitution allowed him to withstand it. The ordeal wasn’t over yet, however, as a barrage of tapping sounds came from the Great Shield, somehow sending chills down one’s spine.

”Prepare for battle!”

Lance shouted, then moved the Great Shield aside, revealing their attacker in the firelight.

It was a frighteningly shaped worm, as thick as a bucket, and two meters long.

Its underside was fitted with sharp, nail-like legs for movement, distributed in pairs from head to tail. These were likely the culprits behind the tapping on the Great Shield.

The head structure was simple; there wasn’t even a clearly defined head, just a disc-shaped mouthpiece.

The mouthpiece had two layers: the outer one with spikes the size of three fingers, while the inner circle was filled with dense, fine, sharp teeth that expanded and contracted with the worm’s movements, indicating that this mouth was designed for consuming flesh.

Seeing this, they dared not entertain any reckless thoughts; sticking anything inside would likely result in flesh being shredded, much like death by a thousand cuts.

This was a type of monster they had not encountered before, and its body structure was perfectly suited to the environment, capable of crawling rapidly, even on walls to a certain height.

The worm’s sudden intrusion left the group uncertain how to proceed, as its target didn’t seem to be them; it was merely passing by.

As its rapid movement almost allowed it to slip away amidst their hesitation, a loud shout shattered the odd atmosphere.

”Attack, don’t let it get away!”

Lance aimed his musket, but for a moment, he didn’t know where to shoot.

After all, the creature lacked a clear head, and shooting its legs to stop it seemed impossible since it used dozens of sharp feet like oars to propel itself.

As he hesitated, the worm was about to scurry past him, leaving him with no choice but to shoot at random.

The Lead Bullet tore through the worm’s flesh easily but failed to slow it down.

However, perhaps due to the injury or the sudden light and gunshot, it seemed to lose its senses. It began thrashing wildly, as if truly headless.

Boudica couldn’t wait any longer. She charged forward and swung her War Halberd, chopping down on it.

Boudica had initially thought that even if she couldn’t cleave it in two, the blow would be substantial. But the moment her War Halberd struck, she realized the sensation was off—it was like chopping into soft blubber.

Its yielding flesh seemed to overcome her strength; the force of the War Halberd’s axe blade was dissipated by the constant trembling of its body.

Although she managed to slice a cut into the worm’s body, that was all.

This left Boudica greatly dissatisfied, but the worm had already fled from her, crawling towards Dismas.

The worm moved too quickly. Dismas immediately pulled out his Short Sword and thrust it down hard, trying to pin the worm and immobilize it.

But unexpectedly, the creature turned and opened its millstone-like mouthparts towards him. If bitten by that thing, the result wouldn’t just be mangled flesh.

An immense sense of danger made Dismas react without thinking. He raised his hand, firing his musket almost point-blank against its mouthparts.

Quick draw, close-range shot!

The shell went straight into its mouthparts. The next second, a fist-sized hole burst open through its flesh.

The worm’s movements halted. In less than two seconds, it collapsed limply to the ground, as if its skeleton had been removed.

Dismas, gasping for breath, slowly holstered his still-smoking musket.

Damn, that was almost a disaster.

Seeing this, Tadiff also put away his iron hook. He had been ready to snag it and pull it back, but that was no longer necessary.

”Its bodily fluids are corrosive; be careful not to touch them,” Lance warned, eyeing the corroded traces on his Great Shield, likely from when the worm had collided with it.

It seemed those mouthparts contained not only sharp teeth but also corrosive saliva. If one were bitten, not just flesh, but even bones would be dissolved.

Luckily, everyone came out of the scuffle unharmed.

Only then did Lance turn his attention to the worm. Then, as if recalling something, he pulled out a book and began flipping through it.

It was the Monster Compendium Amanda had given him. He quickly found a description of a similar creature within its pages.

It was a type of creature known as the Devourer. It was carnivorous, its digestive fluid was highly corrosive, and it often attacked livestock.

The problem was that, according to the compendium, these carrion-eating Devourers were not native to this environment but lived in deserts.

The locals called them Death Worms.

This information immediately made Lance think of the Ghoul-guarded worm ritual from before. Could it be...?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. His ancestor had employed Pirates to plunder the world, bringing back countless treasures. Among them, there might have been rituals from the long-suppressed Sect of the Mother Worm.

Understanding the nature of the ritual guarded by the Ghoul also resolved a lingering concern for Lance.

So why had his ancestor bred Devourers and placed them in the Beast Lair?

Was it to keep the Pigmen in check?

Lance discarded this possibility almost immediately. The equipment carried by the Pigmen clearly showed they were also bred by his ancestor. Otherwise, where would they have acquired such uniform gear?

If the Pigmen and Devourers weren’t enemies, then they must share a common foe.

And what within the Beast Lair would be worthy of their combined opposition?

It wasn’t actually hard to deduce. His ancestor must have had a specific reason for choosing Devourers.

It was obvious from the Devourer’s name: its primary characteristic was to eat, eat, eat. Moreover, its corrosive digestive fluids could counteract the regenerative abilities of flesh.

If this was indeed his ancestor’s strategy for the Beast Lair, could it be that they were meant to contend with some kind of Flesh Monster, one that even his ancestor feared?

It seemed the actual Beast Lair was far more troublesome than he remembered or imagined.

Dismas and the others didn’t know why My Lord had suddenly frozen after opening the book, but fortunately, Lance quickly snapped out of it.

”Get ready. We continue on.”

Lance was indifferent as to who the enemy might be. After all, my purpose for coming here is also to ’eat, eat, eat’!