Chapter 29: Stop That Awful, Reckless Idea Right Now!
Chapter 29: Stop That Awful, Reckless Idea Right Now!
A sudden notification snapped Iresha out of her daze.
She crouched beside Lin Wei, peering ahead—and the sight that greeted her sent a chill crawling up her spine.
Even as the mage of the Hero’s Party, Iresha couldn’t help but feel her scalp prickle with terror.
The labyrinth ahead had vanished without a trace.
In its place yawned a vast cavern, unmistakably shaped by human hands—there was no way this place had formed naturally.
The empty, shadow-drenched expanse echoed with the occasional howl of wind. Crouching here, gazing forward, felt like clinging to the edge of a bottomless cliff.
But it was the ground that struck true fear into her heart.
Broken corpses were heaped in the corners like discarded scraps of meat, forming grotesque mounds of flesh.
Blood and viscera seeped across the ground. Half a face, gnawed clean, stared up in mute resentment. Countless goblins feasted, their blood-stained fangs lending an even more chilling air to the scene.
There was no time for Iresha’s stomach to rebel at the nauseating sight. A dim, unmistakably sinister aura radiated from deep within the cavern, prickling at her senses.
She followed the tainted presence with her gaze—and saw a multitude of newborn goblins, each no larger than a human hand, scattered across the straw like seeds sown in a field.
Nearby slumped an adventurer, eyes glazed and hollow. Even as the swarm of goblin spawn crawled over him, leeching away his life, he didn’t so much as twitch.
But deeper in the darkness, something made Iresha’s blood run cold.
A statue, bound in chains, loomed over five meters tall. Its twisted features looked nothing like anything born of the human world.
Its body exuded a faint, pure evil, and in places its flesh had softened, warping into scale-like patterns.
Goblins clung to the statue, indulging their most primal urges. As time passed, one after another, tiny goblins tumbled from the depths of the statue’s body—as if being bred, cultivated, and birthed right before her eyes.
In just a few breaths, the number of goblins spawning before their eyes had already surpassed several dozen.
“This is… a Evil God?!”
Iresha collapsed onto the ground, utterly petrified.
There was no mistaking it. No matter how she looked at it, she could only come to one conclusion about the statue’s identity.
That overwhelming aura of malice radiating from the chains—this was the Holy Church’s greatest nemesis, the very kind of demon all humanity was sworn to eradicate.
How…? How had these goblins managed such a thing?
Had they—had they captured a Evil God to use as a breeding vessel?
“No wonder there’s been a goblin outbreak despite the lack of breeding conditions.”
“This statue… it must be a fragment of the Mother of Proliferation.”
Even Lin Wei found himself taken aback by the sight.
He’d been the Demon Lord for years, yet even he had never witnessed something like this.
In his memory, the Mother of Proliferation—one of the supreme evil gods—was infamous for her terrifying fecundity.
She could devour any living being she laid eyes on, absorb their traits, and pass them to her offspring.
But there was another, more unsettling truth: this entity was, in fact, both male and female.
Calling it “proliferation” was almost misleading—it was more like splitting itself, endlessly dividing its own cells to produce an army of minor demons.
In the past, demonkind had loved summoning her. As long as they provided enough corpses, they could spawn endless demon soldiers for war.
But what was happening here… this was the true, literal meaning of proliferation.
"W-What... what do we do, Lin Wei? Maybe we should just try to find an exit instead..."
"Goblins... these, these things—we can’t possibly deal with them."
Iresha was so frightened she could barely string a sentence together.
These goblins were utterly insane. They’d actually dared to capture a Evil God and use it as a breeding vessel.
Even a madman wouldn’t come up with an idea this deranged. Was their instinct to reproduce truly so overpowering that it eclipsed all reason?
"Calm down, Miss Mage of the Hero’s Party."
"We’ve come all this way—it’d be a shame to let this opportunity slip by. Let me think... maybe there’s a way to destroy everything here in one fell swoop."
At this critical moment, Lin Wei reached over and rapped her gently on the head, signaling her to quiet down.
He turned his attention to the nightmare unfolding before them, silently analyzing the situation.
"In a sense, demons are a branch of the evil gods."
"Even if the hosts are just goblins, if this goes on for long enough... it’s possible a goblin could be born inheriting a fragment of divinity. If that happens, it could truly become a disaster that sweeps across the continent."
There had been cases in history of goblins inheriting dragon traits.
In fact, a few golden dragons had even descended personally to purge their bloodlines, hunting down that abomination themselves.
But even before that, the calamity caused by that single goblin was so catastrophic it was still recorded in the annals of history.
"I’ve got an idea. Did you notice that evil god statue over there?"
After a moment’s thought, Lin Wei pointed toward the distant, chained effigy.
But by now, Iresha had completely shut down.
She curled up tighter, inching closer to Lin Wei, desperate not to be noticed by the goblins.
“W-What… what idea?”
Pathetic.
She can’t even speak properly.
Lin Wei sighed inwardly. Wasn’t this the same woman who’d argued with him so fiercely before? Now, faced with a scene like this, she’d been scared into utter silence?
“You haven’t noticed, have you? That evil god statue is actually in a half-awakened state.”
Unfortunately, for the rescue plan to work, he was going to need her help.
With Iresha in this state, Lin Wei had no choice but to coax her like a frightened child, explaining things step by step.
“Right now, the evil god’s energy and the seal are in perfect balance. That’s why the goblins are able to… do what they’re doing to it.”
“If we break that balance, what do you think will happen next?”
All around, goblins swarmed the half-melted statue, indulging in their most primal urges.
Iresha’s eyes slowly changed.
At first, there was only terror and horror.
Then disbelief crept in.
And finally, a new wave of fear washed over her.
But Lin Wei continued explaining, utterly unfazed by the gruesome spectacle.
“If the Evil God regains even a bit more power, what do you think its first reaction will be—after being toyed with like this by a mob of goblins?”
“It’s not going to be happy and just let them keep going, is it?”
At this point, the answer was all too obvious.
Iresha stiffly turned her head, her already shattered mind now teetering on the brink of collapse.
Then, driven by instinct, she blurted out the terrifying thought that had taken shape in her mind.
“Y-You’re not actually thinking of reviving the Evil God… are you?”
Even her voice trembled as she spoke.
“…After all, reviving the Mother of Proliferation is actually pretty simple.”
Lin Wei gestured at the writhing mass of goblin spawn on the ground.
He grinned, dazzling and sinister—at this moment, he looked every bit the demon himself.
“Sacrifice enough newborns, and the seal will gradually unravel, letting the evil god’s power surge forth.”
“Don’t you think… all these ready-made offerings are perfect for the job?”