Chapter 47: Chapter 42: A Little Bit of Fate
The surrendered Burrower Monsters lived in a cave at the foot of the western mountains. Their leader was a LV13 [Burrow Wizard] named Senji. Senji wielded a Bone Staff and possessed a degree of Wisdom.
Other than him, the other Burrower Monsters were almost all LV1 and LV2. Individually, they were stronger than the tribespeople, but not by much.
The Burrow Wizard was very humble before Isabel, and he succinctly recounted the origin of the Burrower Monsters.
"Lord Apostle, the Burrower Monsters are actually another branch of humanity."
"From living underground for so long, our bodies slowly changed. Generation by generation, we became what we are today, less intelligent than the humans on the surface."
The whole story begins in the previous Era.
That was an age when the Forest God still ruled this land.
Back then, the Burrower Monsters were not yet Burrower Monsters, but a group of the Forest God’s Believers. They worshipped the Forest God, lived in the forest, and coexisted with the birds and beasts.
Ordinarily, they planted all sorts of mushrooms and relied on them and forest berries for food. Thanks to the Forest God’s blessing, the vast, sprawling forest was always abundant with food, and they lived stable, natural lives.
A great change came quietly.
After the Forest God fell, large swathes of forest withered and receded. Some areas turned into deserts, while others became bare mountains.
Corrupters and Molting Monsters were everywhere. They were the fanatical believers and soldiers of two heretical Gods: [Whistleblower] and [Skinner].
The Corrupters would capture the Forest God’s Believers, hang them, and turn them into new Corrupters. The Molting Monsters were even worse, skinning people alive and leaving them to die in extreme agony.
To escape the slaughter, the people of the forest fled into mountain caves and escaped underground. To evade the pursuit of those terrifying killers, they migrated ever deeper, arriving in dark, cold subterranean caverns.
In the lightless caverns, they relied on growing mushrooms and catching underground insects for food.
The underground was too cold, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Many people could not adapt to such a life and died from starvation, cold, and disease.
But a small portion of them tenaciously survived.
They endured the hardest of days and gradually found a way to survive.
As time passed, their bodies changed. Thick hair grew on their skin, their hair grew ever longer, and their limbs became powerful and broad. Underground, they moved swiftly on all fours, like lizards.
They transformed from humans into Burrower Monsters, using masks polished from stone to protect their faces and for Deterrence against enemies. They made spears and axes from stone, uttered strange cries, and performed odd movements to bolster their courage and frighten their prey.
Among the Burrower Monsters, a portion of them still hadn’t forgotten where they came from. They passed down stories by word of mouth, telling future generations not to forget that they came from the surface.
As long as they waited with Patience for the God’s anger to subside, they would be able to return to the surface, stand in the sunlight once more, stop eating insects, and walk upright again.
The Burrower Monster family [Sen] led by Senji had never forgotten the past. The family name, Sen, was also a way to remind future generations to remember that they came from the forest.
They waited in silence.
A short time ago, the mountain suddenly experienced a massive collapse.
Senji keenly realized this might be a revelation from a God. So he began to cautiously venture out of the cave and discovered the outside world had indeed changed. The pursuers that were once everywhere were gone.
However, at this critical moment, another family of Burrower Monsters was annihilated.
Senji’s ability was called [Wind Listener]. He could use the wind to hear sounds that had dissipated into the air. This was extremely useful underground, helping his family avoid many dangers and conflicts.
On the wind, he heard about Yao God, the Apostle, and the Garlic Tribe.
The slaughter by [Whistleblower] and [Skinner] had ended.
The God here now was the benevolent and majestic Yao God.
Senji led his family members down the mountain, hoping to join the Garlic Tribe. So as soon as he encountered the Forest Wolves, he surrendered to the pack, expressing his desire to become a vassal.
...
Luh Yao felt a little strange.
’The mountain collapse was caused by the Earthquake I created. I guess that means I have some sort of connection with this family of Burrower Monsters.’
’Since I already have a Ghost Soul City, taking in a group of Burrower Monsters is no big deal.’
Before that, Luh Yao needed to determine whether the Burrow Wizard was lying or not.
Isabel reported, "My lord, I used Mourning Prayer to question the nearby Wandering Souls. Their stories were mostly consistent with what Senji said."
’Alright then.’
Under the leadership of their leader Senji, 40 Burrower Monsters left the mountains and came to the Garlic Tribe.
There was some disagreement within the Garlic Tribe about accepting the Burrower Monsters.
Initially, most of the tribespeople were against it.
"The Burrower Monsters are our sworn enemies!"
"They are monsters from underground, they could kill at any moment!"
"They killed the Heroic Headhunter!"
"Leader Yuzou, have you forgotten our past blood feud!"
Yuzou faced these criticisms and doubts calmly.
The white-haired leader said, "Everyone, listen to me. Headhunter’s death showed us that the tribe cannot afford to stagnate."
"If we were as strong as the Salt Pool Tribe, would the Burrower Monsters have dared to attack us back then? They wouldn’t have dared."
"Even if we attacked them, they wouldn’t dare to resist."
"And now, the very Burrower Monsters that once attacked us want to join the Garlic Tribe. Why is that?"
He concluded: "It’s not because they’ve become timid, but because we’ve become strong."
"Yao God sent the Lord Apostle, and she showed everyone the might of our God. The Salt Pool Tribe is suffering divine punishment as we speak—that is the power of a God!"
Yuzou continued, "At first, the Forest Tribe was our enemy. Later, the Barbarian Tribe was our enemy, and then the East River Tribe was our enemy, too. But now, we all work and live together."
"Why can’t it be the same for the Burrower Monsters?"
Yuzou put the matter to rest: "This is the will of Yao God! Who among you objects?"
After he invoked the God’s authority, all dissenting voices finally fell silent.
Luh Yao was very satisfied with his decisiveness. ’Now that’s more like it,’ he thought. ’He’s starting to look like a real leader.’
He had watched Yuzou grow up.
Once, he had been the unreliable one of the Pig Fish Brothers.
He later became one of the tribe’s first Heroes. He had experienced Headhunter’s death in battle, lived through the tribe’s various transformations, and witnessed the passing of the first-generation leaders, Nong Lai and Lie Chang... only then did he become the steady, mature leader he was today.
After joining the Garlic Tribe, the Burrower Monster family was given several houses.
They lived in the area closest to the western mountains.
Every day, Senji led the Burrower Monsters, along with camels and Copper Hammer, into the mountains for Mining. The Burrower Monsters became the tribe’s professional Miners and Stonemasons.
Their labor helped them integrate into the Garlic Tribe.
Although the Burrower Monsters still wore their stone masks, had a peculiar appearance, and sometimes reverted to crawling on all fours, the other tribespeople were no longer fazed by it.
Because of the Wisdom and experience he possessed, [Burrow Wizard] Senji quickly became a leading figure in the Garlic Tribe, deciding the tribe’s direction together with Yuzou and Shahan.
Just then, a prompt appeared on the screen.
[Senji has presented you with a Sacrificial Offering.]
Luh Yao stretched his wrist.
’A Sacrificial Offering, finally. It’s been a while.’
’Let’s see what kind of Artifact I can get this time.’
