Mysterious Hunting Ground

Chapter 96. 96. Nocturnal Species

The Laytons worked together to carry a sleepy "sacrifice" up the stairs, followed by their children.

"Remember to call your Excellency your lord. After you see your lord, don't make loud noises or look directly into your eyes. This will be considered provocative."

"You guys, respect it like you respected your grandfather, be humble and respectful."

"Its orders must be obeyed."

Dean raised his foot and looked at the three excited brothers and sisters, all of whom could see the anxiety in each other's eyes.

"Then it wants us to die where we are, and we commit suicide?" Perun complained jokingly,
Layton and Shannon paused, and gave Perun a stern look, "It is the ancestor, and it will not harm the descendants, as long as you don't act so stupid and frivolous."

"I remember." Perun's smile froze, and he pressed his upper and lower lips, "I swear, if I talk nonsense again, I will sew this stinky mouth shut."

"What does that adult look like?"

Christine slowed down, her pretty face was filled with tension and anticipation, "I'm afraid I'll be too surprised when the time comes, and I won't be polite."

"It maintains a basic human shape." Layton glanced at the four children, turned around, and carried the back of the "sacrifice" back up the stairs on the left, "But it is a natural hunter , The body shape combines strength, flexibility, explosive power, and deterrence, so it is not so beautiful."

That is, a monster?

Dean watched the investigation progress up to [-]% in the system and asked,
"Can we communicate with adults later, and ask a few small questions? Like its origin?"

Layton pondered,
"Don't ask questions without authorization, and act according to my face."

……

A group of six people went up to the second floor, walked through the dark corridor, and entered a luxurious master bedroom.

The velvet bed, bedside table, and wardrobe made of violet wood... All kinds of furniture present noble and lustrous purple, engraved with complicated and delicate patterns, like precious antiques.

But Dean noticed a phenomenon again. Along the way, there was not a single window for ventilation and light in the corridor.

Layton and Shannon's bedroom had glass windows, but they were boarded up and hung with thick curtains to keep out the bright midday sun outside the house.

There is only the ceiling, and a dim electric light barely provides illumination for the bedroom.

Could this strange arrangement be due to that adult's special preference, or weakness?

Dean remembered this detail.

The Laytons put down the "sacrifice", lifted the velvet bed together, moved it outside, and then parted the checked wall covering behind the bed, revealing a dark stone door with two huge locks hanging from top to bottom.

"Click"

"Click"

The husband and wife each took out a key from the chest and opened the lock.

Amidst the buzzing sound, the stone door was pushed open to the right.

A pitch-black corridor was exposed in front of everyone, as deep and dark as ink, big enough to accommodate two people side by side, and a disgusting rancid smell spewed out.

Like the huge mouth of a Komodo dragon.

Dean and the three brothers and sisters couldn't help frowning and covered their noses.

They eat meat, but not carrion.

……

"Calm down, kids." Shannon took out a candlestick with three clean white candles out of nowhere, and lit them one by one. "It's just the rancid smell of 'food', plus a little bit of 'filth'."

"Foul smell?" Dean looked at her,

"Similar to the scents that lions, tigers and other beasts use to mark their territories, adults like to mark their bedrooms this way."

"After crossing this threshold, don't talk or touch things. Your lord doesn't like daredevils... Now, come here." Shannon raised the candlestick and walked into the dark corridor first, and Layton dragged the "sacrifice" tightly follow.

Then Hedson, Perron, looking around with curiosity.

Christine wrapped Dean's arm in his arms affectionately, allowing him to fully feel the softness in his arms, and the wild and beautiful face was rippling with soft light.

But Dean will never forget the scene of her drinking blood.

Not my race.

……

Dean walked in at the end of the line.

The dim candlelight in front illuminates the old brick walls on both sides, and the walls are not empty.
Massive murals engraved in some pale and scarlet dye—

The entrance is a rusty iron door that splits to either side.

Behind the iron gate is a cemetery.

Among the green grass stood a pile of graves, buried with numerous bones and decayed corpses, Ru Lin's tombstone was carved with intricate and illegible epitaphs.

Not far away, the setting sun just fell into the horizon, weaving a strange gray sunset glow in the air, and covering the cemetery with a layer of pale mist.

Desolate, lonely.

It got stronger and stronger, like a curse.

……

The light is getting brighter.

Mother lit the torches on both sides of the corridor one by one with a candlestick.

By bright candlelight.

The landscape of the cemetery at sunset on the mural progresses through time.

Alternating day and night.

The sun sets and night falls, and the tombstones on the ground disappear in the night.

And under the night, the scene below the cemetery "surfaced"——

A tunnel that winds its way deep underground.

On both sides of the tunnel, a fork is dug every few steps, and pocket rooms connected end to end are built in the fork.

from afar,

There are countless forks,

There are countless rooms.

It is like the infinitely branched branches of a lush tree, with clusters of green leaves growing on the branches, forming a large-scale and complex underground kingdom.

Compared with the lonely and dead night on the ground, this underground kingdom is full of faint yellow light everywhere, obviously not drawing a single resident, but it makes people feel lively, vibrant, warm and full of hope.

Dean was fascinated by the sight, and with the progress of the ascent, a wonderful intuition arose in his heart. The cemetery in the mural and this huge underground kingdom were all related to the origin of the lord.

……

There was a sound of footsteps ahead.

Dean looked up.

A dark secret room appeared at the end of the corridor, where the pungent stench in the air reached its peak, making him tear up.

Shannon, carrying a candlestick, walked in and lit the surrounding oil lamps and torches. The light then lit up, revealing a circular room the size of an ordinary living room. There were no windows, and the walls and oval dome were completely enclosed.

……

Dean swept forward, his face froze for a moment, his eyes horrified.

What kind of magic cave is this?
Splattered blood, asphalt-like black and foul-smelling excrement, dyed the ground made of green bricks, the circular walls, and the dome in dark red.

On the dark red floor, there was a dense layer of bone 'carpet'. Dean could recognize the bones of goats, pigs, cows, and even human bones.

The environment here is simple, rough, and primitive, like a lair built by a terrifying beast in a cave.

It is in stark contrast to the previous exquisite and luxurious bedroom.

deeper.

At the end of the carpet against the wall, piles of bones formed a "throne".

A humanoid creature is sitting on it, holding its knees with both hands, closing its eyes and dozing off.

The dancing flames illuminate its human limbs, head, chest and abdomen.

There is only a piece of rag covering the key parts of its whole body, and the large area of ​​exposed skin is fiery red, like magma spilling out of the ground, or newly mined molten steel.

Its size is not too exaggerated compared to normal humans. It is over two meters long, with a long arm span, thick thighs, broad shoulders and a wide back, reminiscent of a professional wrestler.

But it's deadlier than a wrestler—

A sharp bony spur protruded from the wrist, ankle, elbow, knee, shoulder and other joints, and slowly trembled with its regular breathing, shining a dark red light.

Its face, just looking at the rough facial features, is a rough man smeared with red paint.

He just grew a strange red hair——

From the ends of the eyebrows, cheekbones, side face, to the top of the head and the back of the head, there is a layer of snake-like red "braids" as thick as little fingers.

This bundle of braids hangs back over the neck, slowly exploring in the air like a living thing.

Reminiscent of the legendary Gorgon.

But it was clearly a male.

……

After Dean saw the monster, the investigation progress had risen to 30.00%.

Because of the uncanny valley effect, this human-like gorgon is more terrifying and grotesque than the Death Eater who resembles a melting candle.

And among the folklore stories that Tribeca told Dean, there was no record of this guy.

Neither a Wendigo nor a werewolf...

What kind of species was the hunter's ancestor, the so-called god?
Beside Dean, the three brothers and sisters standing side by side looked at the creature on the throne also in a state of shock, and gasped.

The chamber was eerily silent.

……

Layton made a quiet gesture towards his sons and daughters, then carefully moved over the skeletons and excrement under his feet, and dragged the "sacrifice" under the skeleton throne.

"My lord, I brought you food."

Layton put his right hand on his chest, his left drooped, and bowed.

"These four young men are my worthless sons and daughters, your descendants, Heideson, Perun, Christine, and Grew."

"They have always admired your bloodline and great strength, and want to ask you some questions."

Swah——

Two scarlet bolts of lightning flashed across the chamber, and the monster opened its eyes.

Predator-like almond-shaped vertical pupils swept across the four young faces, oppressive and penetrating, as if they could see through their hearts and souls at a glance.

"Don't be afraid, young man, I will not eat you."

A hoarse, file-like voice echoed in the secret room.

It keeps wagging its nose.

"We all have the gift of hunters, so we are companions."

Woo ha ha!
It suddenly laughed wildly, and the laughter seemed to contain magic power, shaking the snake-haired, circular ceiling, and the pile of bones on the ground trembled at the same time.

The four young men were taken aback, and their faces turned even paler.

And the snake-haired man stretched out his hand and lifted the "sacrifice" upside down in front of him, his eyes and posture were like a butcher holding a domestic animal upside down.

"It's a pile of meat."

Click.

It grinned to reveal a mouthful of jagged yellow teeth, with some bright red shreds of meat remaining between the teeth.

It opened its mouth to bite, tore off a piece of meat, and swallowed greedily without chewing, with a satisfied smile on its ferocious face,

"The meat is tender and juicy, you guys are interested. Would you like to have some together?"

"This is a sacrifice specially prepared for you." Shannon stepped forward from the crowd, his face was flushed, his eyes were bright, and his admiration was palpable. "We have eaten before."

"So, young people, before I finish this meal, and while I'm in a good mood, feel free to ask any questions."

While talking, the monster just ate with hands and feet in front of everyone, cutting the bone spurs at the joints quickly and powerfully, without any unnecessary movements.

It has a very good understanding of the body structure of animals, and it performs cruelty like a cutting art, tearing a roast chicken, and dismantling the sacrifice into countless pieces with ease.

Fountain-like blood slid down its red skin, dipped into the skull below, and burst out from the black eye sockets and nostrils.

Although I have seen a horrible luncheon before.

This time Dean still felt intense discomfort and nausea, as well as anger.

But he can only keep calm.

The time has not yet come.

……

Given a rare opportunity, Perun asked first under the encouraging eyes of his parents,
"My lord, how long have you lived in this secret room?"

"Two years. In the past two years, I have been relying on the support of Layton and Shannon." The snake-haired man looked at the two couples, showing a trace of gratitude, "Without them, I would have gone crazy with hunger."

The Laytons who were named were slightly flushed, with an expression of great honor.

"Did you leave the secret room and go outside during this period?"

"I've always lived in it." It looked around with a satisfied expression, "This is my second home, and I'm not going anywhere."

"But don't you feel bored? This place is dark and smelly. Not to mention a TV, it doesn't even have a radio. It's completely isolated from the outside world." Perun looked incredible, "I wouldn't be able to stay there for three days."

"Boring? The essence of life is boring, especially a life that is too long." The snake-haired man greedily licked off the meat residue on a leg bone, "Sleeping, eating, dreaming, flying and changing in dreams, that's me All the joys of living now."

"Enough is enough."

……

Dean put himself in his shoes and imagined that if he allowed himself to live in this kind of place for two years, he would probably commit suicide once.

The monster's idea is really different.

But it's also lucky, it hasn't triggered the law of supernatural convergence for such a long time - Dean thought so, hesitated for a moment.

Isn’t it the function of supernatural convergence law to come here by oneself? !
There was a surge of pride in my heart.

I am the robber of this monster!

……

"Leighton and Shannon said that you are a god. Are you omnipotent like a god?" Hedson asked the second question, his hawk-like eyes sparkled, and his voice was sincere and sincere, "Can you fulfill any wish?"

"No, this is nonsense." It broke a fleshy bone casually, stretched out its barbed tongue, licked the flesh, and sucked the bone marrow from the gap, "I don't know how to do magic, even the simplest magic tricks Neither. I'm just faster and stronger than normal people."

"But it's normal."

It said in a condescending tone,
"We are the hunters, we are the lions, and all other animals are the prey."

"It is the way of nature that the lion is stronger than the prey."

Dean glanced at the system, the investigation progress has reached 40.00%, and it is still rising rapidly.

"So how many years have you lived? Are you really our ancestor?" Christine suppressed her fear and put on an expression of admiration. "You and our ancestors combined to give birth to our parents?"

"How long have you lived?" The snake-haired man scratched his smooth chin with his dagger-sharp thick nails, his tone inadvertently revealing a trace of vicissitudes, "More than 100 years."

100 years?
Dean took a closer look at its beautiful tendons and its peculiar face without a trace of wrinkles.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he is in his 30s.

What kind of power can keep this monster young and vigorous at the age of one hundred?
Complete this event.

Is it possible for me to inherit this abnormal longevity?

The snake-haired man had no idea that there was a young man with his own ideas,
"I have never had any reproductive behavior with your ancestors, and you are not my direct blood descendants."

"Layton and Shannon called me an ancestor only because I come from the same hometown as your bloodline."

A bone was thrown into the bone pile, and there was a trace of sadness and melancholy in its cruel almond eyes.

"hometown?"

The four young men looked blank.

And Layton and Shannon smiled eagerly.

"Where is the hometown you're referring to?" Dean finally spoke. This was obviously a heavyweight question, and the snake-haired man fell into long thinking.

After a while, it patted its slightly swollen belly, tilted its head and said, "Have you heard of Midian?"

Midian?

Dean frowned and thought hard, making sure he had never heard the term anywhere.

The snake-haired man turned his gaze to the other young people, but all of them were frowning.

It shook its head regretfully, and said in a tone with a unique rhythm,
"I come from Midian, where all kinds of monsters live. It can take away pain, take away greedy appetite, and bring us true freedom. It is the resting place of our souls."

Multiple monsters live in one place?
Dean's heart beat wildly——

Wouldn't this trigger the Law of Paranormal Convergence?

The investigation progress suddenly jumped to 50.00%.

Dean recalled the murals he saw along the way, and tentatively spoke,

"Is the Midian you mentioned a cemetery, where there is a huge underground kingdom?"

"Young people are really quick-witted and meticulous in observation," the snake-haired man admired, "Have you seen my work when I was bored?"

"Hmm. Are these murals created when you missed your hometown?"

"Yes."

Next to them, the Layton family could no longer talk, and could only obediently listen to the exchange between Dean and his ancestors.

"If you can draw it so vividly, it means that you still remember the location of your hometown clearly. Why don't you go back?" Dean looked at the snake-haired man, "Instead, he has been living in this dark secret room."

"Go back, haha, go back?" The huge figure sitting on the throne of bones suddenly closed his eyes,
"You think I don't want to go back?"

"I am a vagrant who violated the iron law of Midian and was exiled. Unless it calls me, I will never go back."

"What iron law?" Layton suddenly interjected curiously. He had been with this ancestor for two years, but because of respect and deep-rooted fear, he never dared to ask questions.

The snake-haired man smiled at him, but didn't answer.

"Can you tell me the exact location of Midian?" Dean stepped over a pool of black excrement on the ground, boldly took a step closer to it, and looked at it sincerely, "Maybe I can visit that place for you ask for forgiveness."

For a moment, the three young people behind Christine held their breath. They didn't expect the youngest brother to be so bold, not only looking directly into the ancestor's eyes, but also making outrageous requests!

……

"No." The snake-haired man stood up from the pile of bones, and the light enveloped his huge body, casting a black shadow like a hill in front of him, and the inscrutable words rang out, "If you are valuable, you are a The chosen 'monster', Midian will call you in your dreams."

"Otherwise, when you arrive at that place, you will only sleep forever."

……

"Okay, everyone, this is the end of the questioning session, let's go, I'm going to take a nap." The snake-haired man kicked a newly born bone frame to pieces, and yawned.

Layton and Shannon, with their right hands on their chests and their left drooping, bowed to it, backed away, and winked at their sons and daughters to back down together.

"My lord, I have one last question." Dean interrupted their plan, "We, including the great lord, have a lot of titles, gourmet, hunter... According to me, these titles are not decent enough, not representative sex."

Dean asked eagerly,

"Isn't there a unified title?"

"In my hometown, in Midian, what do we monsters call ourselves?"

The snake-haired man's originally lazy demeanor suddenly changed, like a predator waking up from sleep, his eyes blinked, and a fierce aura rushed towards his face.

Dean shuddered.

The family members around were worried, but they dared not speak out.

After five seconds of stalemate.

The snake-haired man suddenly smiled meaningfully at him, and the tense atmosphere relaxed.

"Grew, you are not only the strongest member of the Stone family, but you also ask the most profound questions and hit the point. If you can be summoned to enter Midian, you might be able to make a name for yourself."

"Now I'll tell you the answer, remember—"

It suddenly turned around and turned its back on the crowd,
"In Midian, we are monsters from the day we were born, both skin and soul."

"This society has always rejected us, so we can't appear in front of human beings, in the sun, in the bustling metropolis or in the city streets in our true form."

"The secret room, the countryside, the countryside, the cemetery... the dark and remote corners are our places."

"When darkness falls and humans begin to rest, we rejuvenate."

With a breathtaking light in its eyes, it proclaims loudly like a king,

"So we, all monsters that are not tolerated by the world, are nocturnal species!"

(End of this chapter)