freenovelworld Chapter 431 Humanoid Mantis VS Green-haired Giant Ape!
Chapter 431 Humanoid Mantis VS Green-haired Giant Ape!
He first went to the main burial chamber, where the hanging coffin overhead remained silent; the beast hadn't emerged. He then returned to the passageway and arrived at the side chamber of the tomb, where the side door was still tightly closed.
He found a spot to crouch and waited. Nearly two hours passed, but there was still no movement. He was getting anxious. They were trapped in the tomb and were short of food. They couldn't stay there for long. Could it be that this side door wasn't opened by the tidal effect of the underground river as they had previously guessed?
Just then, a dull thud sounded from the side door, and it opened a crack, from which water flowed out—not much. It then slowly opened further.
Upon seeing this, Zhong Yuemin was overjoyed and ran over to check the situation on the other side of the stone gate. A deeper, narrower, and sloping passage came into view. The beam of his flashlight pierced the darkness and was quickly swallowed up. It seemed to have no end in sight, and a cold air current mixed with a thicker moisture rushed towards him.
There's no time to investigate further. This door clearly has a limited opening time; it'll probably close after the next water level change. We're going to be delayed; we don't know when it will reopen. Most importantly, we need to escape this place as soon as possible before that man-eating 'ape' comes out from the main tomb.
They immediately returned to the secret room. Knowing they would be leaving tonight, none of them were sleepy and waited anxiously. He lowered his voice, his tone slightly excited, urging them on.
"Quick, the side door is open! Everyone, follow immediately, keep quiet, and pass through quickly. Don't make a sound..."
The group exited the passageway one by one, arriving at a side chamber. They then entered through a side door, proceeding cautiously. Wang Ye, Yang Qing, and others led the way, while Zhong Yuemin brought up the rear, holding a gun and guarding the doorway. His eyes constantly scanned the passageway leading to the main burial chamber until he confirmed that the last member had entered before he slipped inside.
Almost at the same moment his figure disappeared into the darkness behind the door,
Inside the main burial chamber, the high-hanging, pitch-black coffin suddenly shuddered!
“Crash!!!!”
The heavy iron chains binding the coffin began to shake and clang violently without warning, their jarring sound particularly deafening in the deathly silence of the darkness.
From the gap between the coffin lid and the coffin body, a terrifying arm covered in thick, damp green fur suddenly reached out. Its five fingers were like hooks, with long, curved nails that gleamed with a dark, eerie green. It gripped the edge of the coffin tightly. A foul stench, a mixture of rotten coffin wood, the stench of human flesh, and the sweet, fishy smell of some unknown mold, began to permeate the tomb chamber...
Zhong Yuemin's group, however, was completely unaware of the situation. The team struggled forward through the sloping tunnel, which seemed to have no end. The rock walls were slippery, and there were puddles of water underfoot from time to time. The fear, the unknown, and the oppressive atmosphere were draining everyone's strength and courage.
Fortunately, after about ten minutes, they finally reached the end. Ahead lay a vast open space, another enormous "side room." This room was even larger and more horrifying than the previous one; countless coffins, piled high and layered, filled almost every corner, far exceeding the number they had seen before.
Zhang Haiyang carefully used an entrenching tool to pry aside the scattered bones beside a broken coffin, his voice filled with disbelief and astonishment:
“Yueyuemin, look at these bones, their shape, their size, the more I look at them, the more I feel…”
His Adam's apple bobbed. "It looks exactly like those humanoid praying mantises we encountered in the underground river!"
The flashlight beam focused, and among the scattered bones, besides human skulls, ribs, and limb bones,
The skeleton was a striking mix of strange bones, with abnormal joints in the forelimbs and sharp protrusions resembling scythe joints. The ribcage was narrow, the skull was a bizarre polygon, and the eye sockets were enormous... The characteristics of the monsters they encountered and fought in the underground river were highly consistent!
Zhong Yuemin frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. With so many mantis skeletons, could it be that these beasts didn't have enough food and were killing each other?
Is this not their lair?
What you fear most is what happens.
"A mantis, a mantis!!!"
From a half-open, decaying coffin, a dark green shadow suddenly sprang forth. It was a "humanoid praying mantis," larger and with a thicker carapace than the one they had encountered in the underground river. It was only inches away from the nearest member of the research team, its sickle-shaped forelimbs slicing through him.
"Pfft!"
Warm blood spurted out, and before the team member could even react, his head rolled to the ground. The headless body remained stiff for a moment before collapsing.
"what!!!"
This sudden, bloody, and horrific scene caused several female team members to scream in terror.
Ning Wei, being the closest, reacted the fastest, raising his gun and firing, blasting the mantis through with bullets. Green sap gushed out, but this startled the other mantises resting in their coffins.
The chilling sound of coffins cracking suddenly rang out from all directions. Countless coffin lids were pried open from the inside, and one after another, humanoid mantises wielding scythe-like forelimbs emerged from them, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dim light, instantly half-surrounding everyone!
"Damn it, Yuemin, we've stumbled into these bastards' lair!"
Zhong Yuemin, without wasting any words, rushed forward, opened fire on the beasts with his AK-47, and shouted:
"Don't stand there, retreat quickly, retreat back into the tunnel..."
The team panicked and, under the cover of a few combatants, desperately retreated towards the tunnel entrance.
Just as the group reached the entrance to the passageway, an even more terrifying roar erupted from behind. Their expressions changed drastically; the sound was all too familiar—it was the man-eating ape from the main burial chamber. They were doomed; surrounded from both sides. They had no choice but to retreat back into the passageway, hiding behind a high pile of coffins and rubble.
Almost simultaneously, a huge, ferocious, dark green figure, accompanied by a foul-smelling stench, crashed into the side room.
By the flickering torchlight and the last rays of their flashlights, the group finally saw the monster's true form clearly for the first time.
He was definitely over 2.5 meters tall, his body covered in thick, slippery, dark green hair that resembled a mixture of moss and fur, his muscles bulging and bulging, brimming with explosive power.
Its head resembled that of an ape, but its face was distorted, with high cheekbones. A pair of eyes gleamed with a crazed, violent red light amidst the green fur. Two rows of interlocking, gleaming white fangs were visible in its gaping mouth, and saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, corroding the ground.
It walked upright, but its forelimbs were extremely long, ending in sharp, emerald-green claws like demonic claws. At this moment, it was angrily pounding its chest and letting out a low growl.
The startled mantises seemed to regard the giant ape that had invaded their nest as a threat, and temporarily let go of Zhong Yuemin and the others who were hiding. They roared and brandished their scythes, launching a siege against the green-haired giant ape!