I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 30

With that howl, a thunderous rumble shook from deep within the Great Hollow Tree.

Even the Transforming Trees at the edge of the hollow staggered from the tremors.

Fear was clear on their faces.

“Cave Demon!”

The pitch-black hollow made it impossible to see the path, let alone spot whatever creature lurked in the depths.

The chieftain gritted his teeth and ordered the Transforming Trees to carry the cube into the Great Hollow Tree.

Inside, Mo Ling once again saw the familiar spiral roots as the Transforming Trees carefully carried the cube downward.

It was exactly the same.

The inner structure of the hollow hadn’t changed at all-only now there were no creatures embedded in the roots.

Glowing mushrooms still covered the entire hollow, their faint light guiding the way down.

These mushrooms looked perfectly normal-no twisted roots, no strange remains of creatures.

None of those bizarre, rampaging creatures suddenly leapt from the shadows.

Everything was so quiet.

The Transforming Trees’ expressions were full of struggle, both yearning for and fearing the hollow.

They kept marveling at the strange scenery, but also stayed on guard.

Long ago, every newborn Transforming Tree would mindlessly walk toward the depths of the hollow-it was their destiny.

Even now, the Great Hollow Tree held an inexplicable attraction for them.

“Careful! We’re in the Cave Demon’s territory now!” the chieftain warned.

Clearly, the Transforming Trees had studied these enemies, knowing their range and habits.

At the chieftain’s words, everyone tensed up.

The chieftain straightened, saying gravely, “As planned-are there any warriors?”

Mo Ling suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Me!”

“Me!”

The Transforming Trees scrambled to volunteer, and the chieftain chose one.

The chosen Transforming Tree walked up to the cube, touched it longingly, then said goodbye to the others and headed alone down the roots.

“A decoy!”

Mo Ling was once again struck by the Transforming Trees’ willingness to die.

That tiny warrior looked so tall and brave.

The warrior hadn’t gone far when a familiar tremor came.

A dark brown creature burst into Mo Ling’s view.

Like a tadpole, it had a huge head, no facial features, and a short tail trailing behind.

It raced through the hollow’s walls at high speed, the hard wood as fluid as water to it.

It burrowed beside the Transforming Tree warrior, then suddenly broke through the wall and leapt out.

Mo Ling finally saw its true form.

While tunneling, the creature spun rapidly, using the screw-like plates on its body to drill deep into the wall.

When it burst out, the spinning stopped.

The huge head was just an illusion from the spinning; its real body was a slender segment, like a centipede, with short limbs now clearly visible.

After emerging, its screw plates folded up like an umbrella, and its stubby limbs gripped the roots as it charged at the warrior.

The warrior stared in terror, frozen.

“The Cave Demon is here!” the Transforming Trees cried.

So this was the Cave Demon-what a strange lifeform.

Mo Ling targeted the Cave Demon, stripping away its stubby limbs and the root beneath it.

The Cave Demon, in the middle of its charge, suddenly lost all support and crashed to the ground before the warrior, howling.

The Transforming Trees cheered.

The warrior, emboldened, picked up its weapon and knocked the Cave Demon off the root.

This made the Transforming Trees even more excited.

But as the Cave Demon fell, it spread its screw plates and let out a long, horn-like howl that echoed through the hollow.

With that howl, more and more responses rang out-countless Cave Demons roared in the hollow.

The terrifying sound silenced the Transforming Trees’ cheers.

After the last roar, the hollow fell into dead silence.

Mo Ling watched warily.

He saw nothing, but heavy vibrations pulsed beneath him.

Something was coming!

Suddenly, a shadow flickered in his vision.

Another Cave Demon!

The vibrations grew stronger, cracks spread across the hollow’s walls, and swarms of Cave Demons appeared in Mo Ling’s sight.

“So many?”

The walls were nearly filled with Cave Demons, tunneling and carving twisted paths.

The Transforming Trees couldn’t see what was happening inside the walls, but they all felt the violent shaking.

They huddled closer to the cube, gripping their weapons.

Mo Ling got to work, teleporting at the Cave Demons in the walls.

His speed increased-many Cave Demons didn’t even reach the wall before being reduced to chunks of meat.

He reused the stripped flesh, tossing it inside other Cave Demons.

Some, in the middle of tunneling, suddenly froze in agony, blood pouring out.

Even the rare ones that managed to break through the wall were already riddled with holes.

Though the Transforming Trees trembled, they attacked the wounded Cave Demons without mercy.

With so many injured, the Cave Demons soon fell under the Transforming Trees’ assault.

Their numbers dwindled, and the Transforming Trees pressed the attack.

But Mo Ling felt something was wrong.

“Why are the vibrations getting stronger?”

With so many Cave Demons killed, the shaking should have lessened, but it just grew more intense.

The tremors knocked over the Transforming Trees carrying the cube, which fell onto the roots.

This scene is too familiar…

Sure enough, the shaking grew worse, the cube sliding faster and faster down the roots.

“Holy Relic!”

The Transforming Trees tried to block its fall, but their weak bodies couldn’t even stand upright.

They were knocked aside, watching in despair as the cube shot off the root and plunged deeper into the hollow.

“Not again.”

Mo Ling felt only despair-this wasn’t the first time.

“Am I going to fall back down again?”

As he fell, the view kept changing, and Mo Ling finally saw the source of the vibrations.

On the outside of the hollow’s wall, many Cave Demons had joined together to dig a massive cavity, then locked their screw plates together.

The grooves meshed, and their spinning became faster and faster. The Cave Demons formed a cluster, rhythmically hammering the wall with their spinning screw plates.

Mo Ling saw the source, but there was nothing he could do.

He kept falling, ever faster.