Fertilizer

With a thought, Leonel sent the Rapax corpse into the Segmented Cube. The one advantage they would have in all of this would be the size of their spatial treasures. The space Leonel had access to was practically unlimited. Like this, they would leave the least amount of traces behind that could be used to quickly find them and this would also help Leonel bolster the resources he could use with the tentacle womb.

However, none of this was the reason Leonel's brows were so furrowed.

"I have a feeling that the reason they separated us during the teleportation was less about the Void Palace being sadistic and more about them giving us a lifeline."

When Aina heard this, she too frowned. She didn't need Leonel to explain anything else. They had been found far too quickly. Leonel had learned to minimize his mistakes in battle to a great degree as he gained more experience, something like being caught off guard like that was rare for him at this stage. And yet, it had happened, all because Leonel had missed this very key detail.

If Leonel was correct, teleporting them all individually kept the fluctuations to an absolute minimum. This way, the likelihood they would be spotted and found would be drastically lessened. Ironically, if separation had been part of the test itself, the Void Palace would have probably put more effort into making sure Leonel couldn't ignore the rules. But, because it was only for safety measures, ignoring it hadn't been nearly as difficult.

After reaching this point in his thought process, Leonel really had no idea whether he should be cursing himself or the Void Palace. In fact, why not do both? He had really stepped in shit this time.

'Still, regardless of how dangerous this is, there's still a chance to benefit. If this is a nest, then that means that there's probably a spot here where a ton of high level Rapax are born. It would probably be a death sentence to fight a fully matured high-class Rapax, or, rather, a Runed Rapax, like Wise Star Order calls them. But, what about a baby that hadn't quite been born yet…? The DNA is the same…'

Leonel slotted this thought into the back of his mind. His first intention had to be to escape this place or to find a viable exit. This could only take second place. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

The nest regions would definitely be the most highly guarded, trying to steal something from there, especially one of their more talented seedlings, would be like throwing himself into a pit of fire. Survival came first and foremost, benefits came as a very far off secondary option.

As they ran, Leonel's gaze flickered, taking in everything. He memorized the routes they were taking but he was also paying close attention to the enormous holes above their head.

Every so often, they would run beneath a large opening to the outside world reaching at least 300 meters above their heads. Jumping that distance was out of the question. However, it might still be possible for Leonel to use his wings to fly that distance, the trouble was that Leonel didn't believe doing such a thing would be smart.

From Leonel and Aina's perspective, these holes represented an opportunity to escape. But, if you look at it from the perspective of a Rapax, each one of these holes was a security concern. And, with such a security concern, there would obviously be guardians overseeing it.

Simply put, it was definitely more dangerous on the surface than it was within the nest. If they wanted to make use of these holes to escape, they had to find a point near the edge, furthest from the store of what Leonel assumed must be eggs. Only in that way would he be able to take such a risk. In that case, even if there were guards above, there would be fewer than one might expect nearer the center of the territory.

Aina seemed to understand this as well and didn't question Leonel's choice. Instead, they all followed the wind, moving with it toward a hopeful exit.

'The flow of the wind seemed to be ventilating this smell, this should be why the flow is greatest beneath the holes. If we follow the wind until it weakens considerably, we should, then, be nearer the outskirts of the hive and be in a safer position to move up to the surface…'

Leonel felt that his deduction was correct, but he still reached out to Wise Star Order. In the end, the old man confirmed his thoughts.

'… The smell isn't from what you think it's from. The Rapax had a very different culture from humans and don't like wastage. After a warrior dies, rather than being buried, they become fertilizer for the next generation. The more talented the lineage of the batch, the stronger dead warriors become the fertilizer for their growth.

'In their incubation stage, the eggs absorb nutrients from this fertilizer. Unfortunately, what's left behind after the eggs are done is highly toxic. I don't need to tell you that corpses are hotbeds for illness and disease. So, nests of Rapax have to be very well ventilated.'

Leonel frowned. 'That's true even for higher Dimensional corpses as well?'

'Of course. Don't you still need to sleep, shit and shower? Do you think that stops? At best, you'll just need to do less of it. You don't transcend mortality, that's fantasy nonsense. Seventh Dimensional corpses just take a bit longer to rot. And, with the methods of the Rapax, they can speed up the process to help their young along.

'If anything, the toxins and diseases that can latch onto higher Dimensional corpses are even worse. I would be very careful of Corpse Poison if I were you. I know a fool like you probably wants to go and take advantage of this situation, but not to mention the fact those guarding the Main Lineage nests are far stronger than you can imagine, it even requires their level of strength to stand in those areas without dying to a single whiff of the air.'

Leonel's blood ran cold when he heard this.

The trio rounded yet another corner, heading further and further toward their destination. However, Leonel felt like his hair was still standing on end. That original screech that sent them running still replayed in his mind… it had most definitely not come from the Rapax they killed.

'Huh?'

Leonel came to a grinding halt, his gaze sharpening toward a particular region.

At that moment, a familiar little violet puppy quivered.