Star Forge Titan

Alvin's answer was very simple. He needed an adventurer with experience in desert adventure to lead the team. After all, the Silent Desert was a completely unfamiliar environment for him.

Besides, except for professional sandworm hunters, it is not easy for others to find sandworms in the vast sea of ​​sand.

Looking at the mess on the ground, the middle-aged soldier Andre's expression became serious again.

"The insect beast's body fluids have a strong smell, and might attract their own kind."

"It's no longer safe here. We have to leave as soon as possible."

Chapter 50: Shell Knight

It turned out that Andre's judgment was very accurate.

Not long after Alvin and the others left the cat's nest, they heard a loud explosion in the corridor behind them.

The explosion came from a trap set by Lilith, and the material used was the unstable element crystals provided by Alvin.

I believe that the effect will definitely give those stink bugs a good beating, and it can also blow up the entrance, and try to prevent subsequent parasitic beasts from entering the cat-bug rest area and causing greater damage.

"Hehe, don't underestimate the halflings' desire for revenge, ahem—" Lilith, who was carried on Gaoshan's back, said viciously.

However, before she could finish her words, she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

But even though he was vomiting blood, the halfling thief looked okay.

However, Lilim's eyes looking at Ivan were inevitably filled with resentment.

Because of the same experience, she understood why the young man who was treated by the newcomer with the strange magic flame jumped violently like a live fish thrown into a frying pan during the treatment.

It hurts, it really hurts a lot.

It was like a priest in a white robe (with chain mail underneath), reciting scriptures from sacred texts to unleash healing spells, while smashing the heads of uncooperative patients with a bowl-sized iron rod.

The therapeutic effect is actually proportional to the pain index.

"It's okay, it's probably just a blood clot. It will go away after you vomit it out." Alvin mistakenly thought that Lilith was wondering about the effectiveness of the treatment, so he explained to her with a smile.

Seeing the smile on the boy's face, Lilim's face turned pale.

She remembered that during the treatment, the other party also smiled and told her to relax.

And then... then there was an intense pain like an iron rod hitting my head!

Even though her injuries had been healed, she still felt weak in her legs and dizzy.

If it weren't for the strong desire for revenge brought about by the dual characteristics of being a villain (referring to height) + a woman, Lilim in this state would probably not be able to set the trap.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in this encounter, except for the unlucky halfling thief.

At this moment, the adventure team was surrounded by a large group of cats and bugs with their families.

Only then did everyone realize that the power of these small animals was actually amazing.

Not only did they hold various repair tools whose specific uses were unknown, they even gathered together like ants moving house, and with their collective strength, they carried away most of the cat apartment that had been split into independent modules.

Considering that the total number of cat bugs at this stage is far less than the carrying capacity of the cat apartment, they only moved out the part that is enough for their own use.

But the sight was still shocking, because the volume of the various luggage and items was enough to completely obscure the caterpillars, making it look like the furniture had legs and was moving instead of being moved by the caterpillars.

They move their short legs quickly, are very fast, and can even walk along walls or ceilings.

Moreover, even when carrying luggage that is several times larger than their own volume, the cats and insects are not slowed down at all.

All I can say is that it is worthy of being a creation of giants, and it is indeed giant (adjective) in terms of strength.

The adventurers in the adventure team also brought some things with them. Although they didn't know the specific value, they also wanted to ensure that they would not return empty-handed from this adventure.

Among them, the thing that Alvin took was the most special. He directly took the key core inside the "learning machine".

As for how to determine where the core components are, it is not too difficult for an old player who has played many copies in the game.

Firstly, there are murals as a reference, and secondly, although the real Palladia is different, some experiences are the same.

Although Alvin didn't know much about Titan civilization before he traveled through time, he had many experiences exploring sites related to the Titan civilization.

It must be admitted that even compared with many relics, the factory-type mobile fortress Herbert 001, known as the King of Sandworms, can be said to be unique, but the other items stored inside it all have very distinctive characteristics of the Giant Kingdom.

Therefore, we utilize the experience accumulated from exploring other giant ruins, combined with the large amount of knowledge accumulated by people in the information explosion era through analogy, to provide detailed explanations of the relevant content of the murals.

After removing the outer shell of the "learning machine", Alvin quickly determined which part was the core component.

It was a head-mounted device that looked very similar to the headband in the mural. Connected to it were a large number of other parts made of metal and crystal. The crystalline parts looked gray, like glass covered with a layer of gray, and traces of slight rust could be seen on the metal parts.

But considering the age of this relic, this level of wear and tear can definitely be considered well-preserved.

Apart from the outer semicircular metal protective shell, there are three sets of similar components inside the "learning machine". Their functions are likely to be redundant, so Alvin only took away one set this time.

From another perspective, this may also mean that each "learning machine" can perform the skills training work of three cats and bugs at the same time.

This certainly resembled an industrial assembly line, considering the factory-type mobile fortress Herbert 001's staggering size. If enough catworms were needed for daily maintenance, a highly efficient cultivation method similar to assembly line production would be necessary.

"Where are these little guys going?" Lilith, who had recovered, looked curiously at the other end of the passage.

"I don't know, but they shouldn't go to a dangerous place." Alvin said uncertainly. At least his sixth sense did not tell him that there was danger ahead.

Those who chose to move to another location were not members of the adventure team, as they were very unfamiliar with the ruins.

Therefore, it was the cats and bugs carrying large and small bags that were at the front of the group. Perhaps it was because of their optimistic nature or because they lacked the intelligence to experience sadness, but despite temporarily moving away from their hometown where they had lived for many years, the cats and bugs had clearly adjusted quickly.

As they moved things, they sang a song using a strange "mi-pa-mi-pa" sound.

The song was unexpectedly lively and at the same time had an ancient charm that transcended time, making people feel happy involuntarily.

"What a happy bunch of little guys." Andrei, who caught up from behind, couldn't help but sigh:

"Come to think of it, they are really smart. They can even do a great job of erasing traces."

Just now, he and a group of adult cat-worms had separated themselves from the main force by several dozen meters, constantly cleaning up the various traces left behind during their march. Even Andre, a seasoned adventurer, was amazed at the cat-worms' ability to clean up traces.

There is naturally a reason why the cats and bugs, which are gentle by nature and not very suitable for fighting, have been able to survive the threat of parasitic beasts until now.

"Meep! Meep!"

As he was walking, Alvin suddenly heard a soft cry coming from above his head.

It was indeed the little white cat bug that made the sound. The little creature temporarily took up residence in the black-haired boy's lush, messy hair.

Alvin looked up and saw the little guy stretching out a round pad of flesh, pointing at the wall not far away and jumping hard to attract his attention.

"Is there something there?" Alvin looked curiously, but saw a two-meter square metal plate nailed to the wall.

The black-haired boy raised his hand, making the light released from his fingertips brighter.

"This is it!" After seeing the contents on the metal plate, he showed an expression of surprise.

There, part of the internal structure of Herbert 001 is depicted with simple and clear lines, which is obviously a marking map prepared to help the crew avoid getting lost in the vicinity.

Other adventurers also noticed this. Although they could not understand the Uranus language, they could still intuitively realize this from the pictures.

"Wow, this is really important information." Andre couldn't help but exclaimed.

"It's a pity that it's too big and we can't take it away directly." The orc Gaoshan scratched his head, somewhat dissatisfied with the size of this simple diagram of the local structure of the ship.

"Stupid! Since it's a pattern engraved on a steel plate, we can definitely copy the content onto paper."

"Yes."

Lilim knocked her companion's head from behind the mountain.

Then, she took out a large folded paper and charcoal pencils needed for rubbing from her multifunctional waist bag, which contained only God knows how many things.

"Let me help." Alvin, the tallest one, took the initiative to step forward, took the paper and charcoal pencil and started to make rubbings.

While copying the simple diagram of the ship's interior structure, he also memorized the contents of the entire diagram in his mind.

Well, if Alvin wanted to do this kind of thing before traveling through time, he would probably need to eat a piece of chocolate or something in advance. Now, a careful glance is enough for him.

This unexpected little incident made everyone very happy.

Although the structural diagram only shows the surrounding area, this allows them to move more purposefully when at least moving around in this area.

At the same time, everyone also guessed the general destination of the cats and bugs.

Following the corridor that everyone is walking through, there is a large area in front.

Although others could not understand the Uranus language signs, Andre claimed that he had stayed on a large ship for a period of time before coming to the Silent Desert.

According to him, if the modern hull structure distribution design concept is substituted into this structural diagram, it can be roughly inferred that the front space should belong to the lower-level crew dormitory, or a public rest area or something like that.

"Crew quarters? In that case, it would indeed be suitable for the cats and bugs to rebuild their home..."

Before Alvin could finish his words, he felt a sudden pain in his brow, which made him stop immediately.

Turning my head to look at the dark passage behind me, a bad premonition came to my mind.

"What's wrong, newcomer?" Lilim was the first to notice her companion's strangeness and couldn't help but ask.

"Shh, something is approaching..." Alvin raised his finger to signal everyone to be quiet.

Sensing the strange atmosphere, even the happy cats and bugs stopped singing.

Suddenly, a rhythmic sound of footsteps was heard in the silent corridor.

New enemy is coming!

Chapter 51: Knight War

"How could something follow us? I clearly cleared all traces..." Andre's stunned voice gradually lowered.

In the darkness, a human-like figure walked towards this side step by step.

Unlike ordinary parasitic beasts, this creature that clearly exudes strong magical pressure is not huge.

He was about two meters tall and looked very slender overall, but his limbs were not thin. Instead, his limbs showed well-developed muscle lines like a muscular man.

But when the light from Ivan's fingertips illuminated the figures of the newcomers, the adventurers subconsciously held their breath, and expressions of horror appeared on their faces.

The hybrid insects, the new type of insect beasts that appeared before everyone, gave people the intuitive feeling that they were so different.

It was a particularly bizarre face, as if a human-shaped mold had been filled with sticky insect elements to create a twisted hybrid with both human and insect characteristics.

Its eyes are completely black and take up a large proportion of its face, making it look very strange.

At the same time, when these eyes blink, a layer of yellowish-beige nictitating membrane will appear. That layer of membrane is fleeting but cannot be ignored.

This structure is called the third eyelid. It is a physiological structure that is often only possessed by tailless amphibians, reptiles and birds among vertebrates. It usually has functions such as covering the cornea and moistening the eyeball.

However, the unknown insect beast in front of him, whose appearance combines the characteristics of humans and insects, also has this kind of physiological structure.

The eyes that shifted back and forth between pure white and pure black further highlighted the strange feeling emanating from his body.

Except for the area around the eyes, the strange insect beast is dark green in color overall, and its entire body is covered with shells as if it is wearing strange armor.

That was the unique appearance of an insect exoskeleton. But at the same time, this shell also revealed contours similar to human muscle lines. Combined with the nearly pitch-black dark green veins between the shell crevices, this insect-beast looked like a human with its skin peeled off and an insect shell attached to it.

"tooth!"

Alvin heard the almost shrill cry of a white cat-bug above his head.

Originally, the cat-worm, having lost its learning device, only understood a portion of the simplified ancient Norse language.

But now, the language the cat-worm called out was incredibly clear. It was as if he had used all of his limited wisdom to desperately remember the name and was now shouting it out with all his strength.

The voice was filled with fear and...anger!

Warm tears fell on Alvin's forehead. Even though they belonged to different races, they did share the same emotions.

The white cat-worm stood on top of the black-haired boy, with big tears rolling down his two round eyes. Although all his limbs were shaking, he still roared loudly at the strange insect beast that was approaching.

The other cats and bugs also made similar noises in fear, but there was only fear in their cries, a fear so thick that it could not be dissolved.

Obviously, for the cat-bugs, this is a natural enemy that is more terrifying than all other insects and beasts. It is a terrifying existence that makes them curl up in the rest area and dare not leave.

"What is this?" Lilith stammered.

It was obvious that she was frightened.

"I don't know, but I feel something is wrong. There shouldn't be such things in the desert." The orc's voice was also very solemn.

"It doesn't look like a natural race. Could it be a magical creature?" The half-elf wizard subconsciously clenched the long staff in his hand, while the other hand was hidden in his sleeve, secretly looking for something.

"Lilith, take the little guys and retreat. Everyone else, get ready for battle. This thing... is not easy to deal with." Without looking back, Ivan raised his hand to signal his teammates to keep their distance.

Although he was not the captain of this kind of adventure team, he subconsciously gave orders directly.