Its length, now faintly discernible, had grown to over three ters, and its waist had thickened by almost a full size. Its mouth bristled with an extra ring of sharp teeth, the outermost ones the size of fists.
But this was not the most drastic change. More terrifying was the carapace that had grown on its back, sparsely studded with Bone Spurs.
Evolution—Giant Flesh Devourer!
Such a significant transformation must have occurred while no one was paying attention during the chaotic fight, as it devoured several nearby corpses to complete its evolution.
Then, just as Alhazred had predicted, it lay in ambush, waiting in place.
If the reinforcing Pign hadn't triggered it first, Lance and his group would have been the victims.
So many obliging pigs in the Beast Lair!
Where before two or three Pign could suppress a Devourer, now the reinforcents stood no chance against this evolved creature.
Its enlarged size signified even greater strength, and its carapace promised enhanced defense.
The Pigman Butcher's Serrated Butcher Knife struck the carapace, making a CLANG CLANG sound, like tal hitting stone.
The Pigman Hookhand fared similarly. Due to the evolution, its soft tissues, aside from the belly and mouth, were now protected by the carapace. It could no longer hook and tear the Flesh as easily as before; the iron hooks simply glanced off the tough exterior.
The Pigman Concealer leaped onto its back and swung its twin blades as usual, but only managed a DING DING DANG DANG sound without breaking through its defense.
It wasn't until the Pigman Mob took action, striking hard with its hamr, that the carapace finally cracked open. But by then, the Devourer, which had just felled a Pigman and was sucking the Flesh from the corpse, was roused.
Pain made it squirm madly, flinging the Pigman Concealer from its back. It then fiercely collided with the Pigman Mob's large belly; the impact was so great that the Mob's belly visibly rippled like water.
The outer ring of the Giant Flesh Devourer's sharp teeth contracted, piercing the Pigman's skin and anchoring firmly. Then, its terrifying, millstone-like maw latched on, inflicting such agonizing pain that the Pigman Mob lost its senses and began to struggle madly.
The hamr in its hand struck relentlessly, breaking the carapace and spilling its fluids, but still failing to make the creature let go.
If there was any benefit to being drained like this, it was rapid weight loss.
The Pigman Mob's large, fat belly visibly shrank at an alarming rate. However, this was hardly good news, as its struggles and blows grew progressively weaker. Its limbs began to go limp, as if lacking the support of bones and muscles, or perhaps they had already been dissolved by the digestive fluids secreted by the Flesh Devourer.
By absorbing these vital fluids and Flesh, the broken parts of its carapace regrew at a terrifying rate, becoming even harder.
This scene was utterly terrifying and filled the other Pign with despair...
Lance and his companions, witnessing the battle unfold ahead, showed varied expressions.
Most were amazed at the capabilities displayed by the monster. Although its ability to recover from severe wounds by devouring Flesh was strange, they had witnessed it before.
What truly shocked everyone was that this thing could actually evolve.
If it could continuously grow and evolve just by devouring Flesh, with no known limit, it was uncertain what kind of monster might ultimately erge.
By now, it was clear this creature posed a greater threat than the Pign.
Damn that old bastard! Lance had only one thought. I haven't seen much of an inheritance, but he sure left a mountain of trouble!
"Look quickly! The Pign are running away," Amanda whispered, drawing everyone's attention back to the front.
Indeed, with the death of the Pigman Mob, the remaining Pign abandoned the fight, turning to flee back into the darkness.
"Don't move! Be quiet!"
Lance seed to realize sothing and hastily shouted. Disregarding what lay ahead, he quickly used Sacrifice on all the remaining corpses nearby.
As expected, the evolved Flesh Devourer hesitated only for a mont before abandoning the ss and chasing after the fleeing Pign.
Only then did Lance dare to speak up and explain.
"The Flesh Devourers don't have visible eyes. While we're still not sure if they perceive the world through sll, hearing, or vibration, eliminating those possibilities should be enough."
The others then realized that if any corpses had been left behind, they would have undoubtedly attracted it. Thankfully, their Lord had reacted quickly.
Lance couldn't be bothered with idle talk. Instead, he moved forward to the recent battlefield and paused. Indeed, the corpses had all been devoured, leaving nothing but a ss.
No value left, Lance judged, his expression inevitably clouding over.
Damn it! Those corpses all contained Spiritual Essence, and it just swallowed them all! I'll have to beat the Gold Coins out of it later and make it spit out all my Spiritual Essence!
"Let's follow it and see," Lance commanded after a quick cleanup, holding his torch high as he pressed on.
The others could hardly hide their curiosity about the creature and hurried after him.
As they continued the chase, Lance now understood the origin of the traces they'd encountered before.
The Giant Flesh Devourer's movents might have been slower than the fleeing Pign, but this was in a narrow passage. The panicking Pign easily piled up, obstructing each other, only to be swallowed whole by their pursuer.
And with each feeding, the wounds inflicted by the Pigman Mob were completely healed. Lance even felt its Life Force growing stronger.
The evolution was continuing...
"Are we really going to let it continue like this?" Amanda's face began to show unease, faintly recalling the divination result from their journey.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Lance's ability to control the situation, but reality was always full of surprises.
Lance was indeed observing. He was curious about this creature's abilities and limits, wanting to use these Pign as a test to gather more information for future encounters.
However, Amanda's words also reminded him that he was currently fostering an even more dangerous enemy.
"Then let's get ready to take action. In Hamlet, only dead monsters are good monsters," Lance declared.
Lance had always been open to advice, especially since the mission was just reaching its crucial point. He didn't want his own ideas to add pressure to his companions.
They were a team, reliant on cooperation and mutual support, and the strength of a team often derived from this.
Amanda was taken aback for a mont. She hadn't expected Lance to agree so decisively, to genuinely consider her feelings and take her advice into account.
For a mont, she didn't know how to react.
In the chaos, the Pign kept running with the Giant Flesh Devourer in pursuit. They finally reached the end of the tunnel, which opened into a vast, dark expanse—clearly another cavern.
But the screams of the Pign didn't cease; instead, they intensified as they disappeared into the darkness.
This situation slightly puzzled Lance. However, the Giant Flesh Devourer showed no intention of pausing. Instead, it surged forward on its countless sharp legs, its front half raised, following the sounds.
Just then, sothing unexpected happened up ahead.
Even at a distance, Lance and his group could feel a strange vibration, followed by the heavy, rhythmic thudding of sothing massive approaching.
Imdiately after, a Lance thrust out from the darkness. It moved so quickly that most of them hadn't even reacted before its tip pierced the great maw of the Giant Flesh Devourer. The Lance, propelled by the force of a charge, instantly ran through its massive body and jutted out from its back carapace.
It dragged the massive body of the Giant Flesh Devourer forward a short distance before stopping.
And the imposing figure that had single-handedly impaled and lifted the Giant Flesh Devourer appeared before everyone's eyes.
It had a human upper body fused onto a pig's lower body, all thick with heavy fat. Several Shields hung in front, barely covering its protruding belly.
Its arms were exceptionally muscular and filled with power. One hand was encased in steel, while the other wielded a tallic Lance.
For Amanda and Alhazred, this sight was sowhat surprising, but for Lance, it was all too familiar.
The Pigman Knight had made a grand entrance!
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