As the silk thread bridges were continuously built, Simon and the other bugs ascended from the initial cliff, and soon approached the largest silk sac. During this time, they also discovered the Stag Station located on the top floor of the cave. The edges of the station had many elevators, all of which were now tightly wrapped in spider silk and unable to operate. From the numerous elevators, it was evident that this place was once convenient for transportation, and Hallownest and Deepnest must have had a honeymoon period.
These many suspended silk sacs existed as a special architectural form, with entrances and exits and platforms in front of the doors. The internal structure included silk thread floors, lightfly lanterns, and so on. The functions of these large silk sacs were also diverse; some stored goods, while others held household items. And in some silk sacs, the corpses of Hallownest bugs were piled up. They were bound in various ways, stacked like stones and plants. Their bodies had long since dried, their eyes open, staring blankly into the unfocused distance.
The Little Knight looked down at these corpses, then suddenly pulled out an ornate sword hilt from under his cloak. Its appearance resembled a finely carved cylindrical pillar topped with a patterned wheel disc. He swung the hilt behind him, and a geometric pattern representing dreams spread out. Brilliant and splendid light burst forth from the wheel disc, a fiery yet pure white light, tinged with a pinkish-purple halo, like an icy moon adorned with lilacs, the colors elegant, yet the blossoming posture bold and unrestrained.
Dream Nail.
With light as its blade, it shatters the barrier between reality and dreams, exploring the deepest thoughts of living beings, and can extract residual dreams from the bodies of the dead to gain enlightenment.
The Little Knight wielded the Dream Nail, sweeping it across the bodies of these deceased, passing through them as if they were nothing, and a hazy, dreamlike light flickered in the air.
He retracted the Dream Nail, seemingly having gained enlightenment, but Simon saw nothing.
"Let's clear out these corpses," Simon said. "This place can accommodate many bugs later."
The Foolish Followers carried the corpses out of the silk sacs and then threw them down from a height. These bodies fell into the deep lake below, making a splashing sound. The echo was absorbed by the silk sacs on the cave walls, sounding very dry and muffled, as if it wasn't the sound of entering water, but the dull thud of a wooden tenon being hammered into a tree trunk.
After building the silk thread bridge to the Stag Station, Simon took the Little Knight to turn on the station's fare machine. Fortunately, the Little Knight had enough geo, as Simon rarely had a surplus.
Ringing the bell, there was no movement in the tunnel for a long time; it was truly too remote here.
Dust was everywhere, the long benches for bugs to rest on were broken, their fragments scattered, and some silk thread spools were piled around, which could be used to weave bridges.
At a certain moment, a rumbling of footsteps sounded, and the long-awaited Stag Beetle emerged. He was panting but happy, and loudly said to the two on the platform: "Little ones! I found it! The Stag Beetle's Nest where I was born and grew up. I cannot return on my own; I must fulfill my duty to go where bugs call me. But if you want to see it, I can take you there. It might be empty now, but the nest itself is worth seeing! Just say the word, no matter who, and we'll depart immediately!"
Simon replied with a hint of apology: "There will be an opportunity, and it won't be long. For now, we need you to wait here for a while. Once we finish our main task, we'll have another mission for you, and we can go to the Stag Beetle's Nest then. It won't be too long, don't worry."
The Stag Beetle looked a bit disappointed, but his adherence to duty was impeccable. "You go. I will wait, but please don't be too long. There's an uncomfortable aura here. I remember this distant village; many bugs came here, but very few left, and those who did were in a hurry. This place has been abandoned for a long time. If it weren't for you, perhaps I would have forgotten it forever."
"Don't worry."
The Foolish Followers all gathered in the station; their task was almost complete. Simon led the Little Knight to the highest giant silk sac.
Upon entering the silk sac, they found the floor was made of stone. The arrangement of this silk sac could be described as palatial, undoubtedly consuming a large amount of resources.
Passing through a dark passage, they entered a dimly lit hall. The light from the luxurious lightfly chandelier above was very faint, and the lightflies inside were weakly flapping their wings.
This seemed to be a reception hall. On the four walls of the hall were many huge six-holed mask statues, symbols of Herrah, and this silk sac was Herrah's bedchamber.
A group of bugs wearing red robes and white masks gathered in the hall in twos and threes. Some sat on round stools, others stood behind a bar. They conversed in low voices, but the atmosphere was unusually eerie, without any sense of harmony, as if a group of scavengers were holding a banquet around a corpse, exuding a deep malice.
In the center of the hall was a row of long benches, but none of these bugs sat on them, leaving these uniquely shaped chairs empty.
Simon knew what was going on. He led the Little Knight to a bug, from whom an unusual pheromone emanated. "The chairs are comfortable, go sit." A few difficult bug words, very soft in volume and heavy in tone, squeezed out from under his broad cloak.
The Little Knight clearly sensed something was wrong. He swung his Nail, sweeping it across the bodies of these bugs, but no dreamlike glow flickered.
This group of bugs had no thoughts.
They were dead things, puppets.
These chairs were traps.
So, where was Herrah?
The Little Knight looked around. There were no passages, and the walls and ceiling looked tightly sealed, not like there were any secret passages.
Simon swung his Nail, knocking down these puppets. Under their cloaks were dolls with wooden bones and silk threads as sinews. Pheromones wafted from a small, pomegranate-like sac that emitted a strange smell.
"There's a secret passage, let me find it," Simon said to the Little Knight.
In the game, this was a plot kill. Under normal circumstances, one had to sit on a chair, then be bound by the spider silk on the chair. The puppets would tie up the Little Knight and carry him to the Beast's Den above.
However, there were also secret passages, and there should be two. Besides, even if he couldn't find one, he could just rip open the ceiling.
After floating up and tapping around for a while, Simon saw an area covered by spider silk. Gently parting the silk revealed the secret passage.
The Little Knight saw it, not far from the wall, and pushed off the wall to near the secret passage entrance, then air-dashed and double-jumped into the passage.
Simon watched him continuously jump on the secret passage walls, then shrugged and flew behind the Little Knight.
Entering the Beast's Den, it was a stone cave, covered in dense cobwebs, with very few lanterns, making it extremely dark. The sound of shells rubbing, tiny footsteps, grinding teeth, hissing, and chewing filled every inch of this space.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
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