Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 54 [Insect Ecology and Underground Secrets]

The underground tunnels form a labyrinthine network, creating a crisscrossing, three-dimensional passageway structure like the tunnels of an anthill.

However, this is not a barren, dark place; thriving flora and fauna flourish within it, like a strange underground jungle.

The glowing fungi and hanging lantern-shaped fluorescent grass balls emitted a dim light, illuminating the dark tunnel, the roots hanging from the tunnel ceiling, the lush ferns, the strange, hard clumps of organisms that were half fungi and half algae, the low shrubs, and the fluffy, massive fungal tissues.

As the newly sprouted worm tunnel tree touched the cave ceiling, its tender branches and young leaves twisted and deformed. Upon contact with the soil on the cave wall, they transformed into root-like structures, firmly taking root within. The worm tunnel tree possesses a unique ability to differentiate, capable of developing root structures at any point. Roots are interspersed among the leaves and branches of the crown, differentiating into a root anchor point at each point of contact with the cave wall, firmly inserting itself into the soil to secure itself, while simultaneously forming a good natural tunnel support structure.

Spiral scale-like excavation marks remain on the solid walls, which are inlaid with fused stone support frames. The soil is compacted, and sparse roots peek out from the cracks in the hard, brick-like structure, maintaining the shape of the tunnel.

The ground was firm, dry, and stable, almost free of dirt and fallen leaves. Three or four taro-shaped bulbs, carrying small branches, patrolled in a line, searching for dead branches and leaves in the dappled shadows cast by the insect-dwelling plants.

The insect tunnel ecosystem has begun to attract monsters from the surrounding environment to settle in. They usually have the ability to dig and have a certain degree of symbiosis with the Rootball. They dig all the way here along the roots of the Rootball and settle down in their new home.

Strange little eyes peek out from the swollen, organ-shaped fungal structure. These are some kind of slug with tentacled limbs. They extend their eyestalks, observe the surrounding movements, and occasionally open the soft membrane between their limbs, gliding back and forth between the swollen fungal tubes.

A weasel-like shadow darted between the mushroom cap and the bushes, eyeing the soft-winged slugs that occasionally glided overhead. Suddenly, it stretched out its hairy, pointed beak from the shadows, snatched a plump soft-winged slug, and then retreated back into the shadows of the mushroom cap.

Some grasshoppers, about the size of a palm, hopped among the bushes, leaping into a cluster of pink tentacles. The tentacles instantly entangled their bodies, pulling them to the ground. A few seconds later, the tentacles emerged again, but the grasshoppers had vanished. Between the flower-like tentacles were two small holes, twitching rhythmically—the pink nose of a mole-like monster.

Several insect-like monsters, each half a person's height, huddled upside down in the shadows of the cave ceiling and the branches of the insect tunnel. They waited for an opportunity to extend their slender limbs, grab a few rats passing by below, stuff them into their mouths, and gnaw on them, leaving bits of flesh on the ground.

"Oh my! Oh my!" The Rot Root Ball waved its small branches at the insect-like monster above, using the branches to gather the scraps of meat that had fallen to the ground. It then used its tiny claws made of roots to pick up the meat scraps and scurried into a hidden tunnel entrance to carry them back to the root layer below for decomposition of humus.

Passing through three intricate layers of insect tunnel ecosystems, and delving deeper underground, you will eventually reach a subterranean space the size of a palace.

The sparse, warm, yellowish glow of the grass balls faintly illuminated a magnificent molten stone gate ahead. The heavy stone gate was cast from a large amount of molten stone, and its surface was carved with intricate and gorgeous reliefs, depicting the snow-covered mountains of the north, wars on the snowfields, exiled travelers, hunters from the desert, black-armored warriors carrying hammers and spears, knights in empty armor holding swords and shields, battles to annihilate powerful enemies, a burning sky, fire and steel, four demonic insects, and a road guarded by skeletons and corpses.

At the center of the image are two crossed hands. One hand, a knight's gauntlet surrounded by bones and rotting flesh tendrils, holds a sword. The other hand, a claw-shaped gauntlet entwined with ore and green vines, holds a hammer and spear. The sword and hammer and spear intersect, forming a massive underground city emblem.

The outlines of two thrones stand below the relief of the gate, surrounded by demon architects and gardeners. The size of the thrones is almost the same as the size of the surrounding craftsmen—this was Samael's request. Originally, the towering thrones and the figures on them would have occupied two-thirds of the picture, but he insisted on reducing the size of the thrones, changing the center of the picture to a symbolic emblem of the undead and demons, and adding the outlines of all the exiles, all those who participated in building all of this.

“The construction of this underground city is the achievement of everyone, and no one should be singled out. It was not built for me, but for yourselves,” he said. “I paved the way with the dead so that the living could live in peace.”

At his repeated insistence, the craftsmen finally complied with his wishes. This gesture deeply moved the exiles, since ordinary craftsmen, unless they were trusted confidants or top-notch technicians, would not leave any records in the construction of dungeons for other demon lords.

Dungeons are glorious feats, and lowly tools are not worthy of leaving their names. However, Samael did not regard them as tools, despite various indications that the demon race may have once been a tool-like species created by ancient gods.

The door was wide open for ventilation, behind which stretched a high, immeasurably large dome. The massive rock structure resembled an industrially cast tower, interspersed with solidified gray concrete, forming robust supporting columns that cast indistinct outlines in the shadowy, dark space. Dark air currents poured out of the doorway, carrying a suffocating chill.

A few ferns were scattered in the space behind the door, swaying slightly in the airflow like ghostly shadows.

The exiles' camp had just been relocated. Tents, fur rolls, rough earthen stoves, and plates were scattered in the open space in front of the gate. The camp smelled of heating hard bread and cured meat, and a pot of salted meat and bean soup was simmering.

The exiles gathered together, sharing food, taking short breaks after their labor, and celebrating the successful completion of a phase of the project.

Seven or eight knights in bell-shaped helmets and sword-and-shields, along with some undead, half-led and half-carried the dwarf horses into the worm tunnel. Although the rotting stench of the undead made them somewhat uneasy, the dwarf horses, modified by the chimera of monsters, adapted quickly to the dim environment, digging in the soil in the worm tunnel area in front of the camp, searching for edible plant shoots.

Samael dodged the swaying, lantern-shaped fluorescent grass ball above his head—a semi-parasitic, semi-symbiotic luminescent plant that could attach itself to any plant or fungus via its tubular roots, and in extreme cases, even cling to animals and humans to suck their blood. However, its faint glow attracted some insects in the tunnel, which, in a sense, also benefited the carnivorous plant and the small insectivorous monsters around it.

He traversed the insect tunnels, wandering among the camps, carefully avoiding the people in the camps, and headed towards the large bronze cage containing the demonic insect larvae.

To prevent the four larvae from wandering around and damaging buildings unattended, they are now kept in cages, wrapped in blankets and drowsy in the cold properties of the Nether Bronze.

Talia sat beside the cage, resting while looking after the young inside.

Clang. Samael sat down beside Talia, leaning against the thick bronze cage pillar.

Talia looked up, crunching on a mouthful of cured ham and hard bread, clutching half a loaf of bread and a soup bowl in her hand, and stared at Samael.

"Is everything alright?" Samael asked.

"It went fairly smoothly," Talia smiled. "However... there are many suspicious points about this land."

"What's wrong?" Samael looked at the exile camp in front of him, which was illuminated by the firelight and the faint light from the insect-borne plants and animals.

“First of all, there’s the environment. Gwyneth said that the soil here might be problematic, and the seeds they brought were slow to adapt. Some seeds couldn’t adapt to the environment of the skeleton and died soon after being planted.”

“I just saw that the ecosystem in the insect tunnels is very rich—” Samael hesitated.

“Those are plants and animals that can adapt to the environment, but their numbers are still too few.” Talia shook her head. “There are far fewer plant and animal species than in a normal underground worm tunnel. We need to find a way to introduce more native plant and animal resources to enrich the ecosystem, otherwise it will be difficult to support a normal life.” “Including food, the worm tunnel ecosystem is just beginning to be built. A single ecological model is quite fragile and easily destroyed, so we cannot use them as the main food source for the time being.”

Samael remained silent for a moment.

"I will negotiate with my other kind to see if we can collect some plant and animal resources from their territories and incorporate them into our underground city's ecosystem," he finally replied.

“I don’t really want you to get too close to other Ghost Riders,” Talia said, pursing her lips. “They probably won’t have a good influence on you.”

“Think about it from another angle, Talia. Maybe I can have some positive influence on them.” Samael shrugged.

“You’re always like this,” Talia said, leaning against his shoulder armor in a daze. “But that’s why I feel this way about you…”

She stopped talking, gave a soft hum, and pressed her slightly flushed face against his shoulder armor.

"Also, there might be some strange things underground here," she said in a low voice.

"Ok?"

“During the excavation of the worm tunnel, there were faint echoes from afar underground,” Talia whispered. “I suspect there are natural underground cavities in the nearby rock strata, or ancient ruins—the very large kind.”

"Moreover, when the larvae of the demonic insects are drilling, in addition to the traces of mineral veins, they will occasionally dig some strange natural tunnels with very peculiar excavation marks. At this time, the larvae of the demonic insects seem to be frightened, suddenly turning around and running around, and needing to be calmed for a long time."

"Was it left behind by the Necromancer Earth-Eating Worm?" Samael asked.

“No, it shouldn’t be. The burrowing marks of the demonic insects are not like that at all.” Talia shook her head slightly. “It was probably a huge mollusk that left a lot of corrosion and slow scraping marks when it dug. The cave walls were very smooth, and there were a few shell-like enamel supports. There were no burrowing pits with scales, spirals, or long teeth.”

“If we continue digging, we might discover something unknown.” She gazed quietly at Samael.

“Are the excavation marks underground fresh?” Samael asked.

“No—it’s very old. Most of the shell’s enamel is broken, and some small bioluminescent organisms and algae have grown out. It must have been left a long time ago.” Talia shook her head. “If we continue digging, we might find something unimaginably huge.”

Samael pondered, recalling the scan instructions for the Earth-Eating Demon Worms.

[Drilling-type artificial organism, Type 1. Level 6 technological organism, capable of driving industrial and excavation biomechanical machinery, used for mining, excavation, and as a prototype for building alien underground colonies.]

Type 1... Since there is Type 1, there will probably be Type 2, Type 3, or even more.

Perhaps it's another type of large artificial organism used for digging and constructing underground projects, Samael speculated. Since there are artificial organisms used for drilling and underground construction, there are probably some ancient engineering projects remaining underground here.

"Should we continue digging deeper?" Talia asked in a low voice. "We might disturb something that has been sleeping for a long time."

“The excavation progress will be slowed down for now,” Samael decided. “We will prioritize the construction of the existing underground space. If we need to dig further, I will go first to scout the way.”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t explore too much?” Talia carefully chose her words. “All races and all factions in the world are tight-lipped about the War of the Hearts, and the information about it is chaotic and there is still no definitive answer. There are likely many dangerous things buried beneath the Heart Plains, and too much curiosity will bring disaster.”

Samael remained silent for a moment.

"But if we don't actively explore and bravely venture out, we may never know the truth," he replied. "Of course, safety must be our top priority. We'll try to explore the secrets underground when we're ready."

"The most urgent task now is to build the ecological and basic living facilities inside the dome and solve the food problem. I need to talk to my other fellow humans; maybe they are not as difficult to get along with as I think."

"I hope so." Talia shook her head slightly.

Samael leaned against the bronze cage, lost in thought.

I once played a game called "Dwarf Fortress". In the game, the dwarves would dig down frantically to find precious minerals and build their homes. However, if they were too greedy and dug too deep, they would disturb the demons and forgotten behemoths deep underground, destroying everything they had worked so hard to build.

If we were to pinpoint what we and the adventurers learned, the first lesson would probably be to avoid greed and prioritize safety. Prudence and caution are key to survival.

Food and animal resources... Further negotiations with other ghost knights are inevitable; at the very least, a trade request should be made first to try and resolve the issue peacefully.

Perhaps we should start with Ansba? Based on Rahadur's assessment of Ansba, Ansba was probably a loyal, honest knight who didn't like to lie.

He made up his mind and got up to head towards the surface.

(End of this chapter)