Chapter 292: Imprisonment, Rather Die Than Submit

Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Imprisonment, Rather Die Than Submit

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t linger at the scene of the revelry.

Instead, guided by the "resource point" Simon Holt had marked on a holographic map, she crept toward a more heavily guarded cave entrance deep within the settlement.

The Guards here were clearly more numerous.

Their expressions were also more vigilant.

They were obviously storing something they considered extremely important inside.

Seraphina used her perfect Concealment, slipping past the Guards’ line of sight as if she were invisible.

The cave’s inner passage was winding and dimly lit. The air was thick with a mixture of mustiness and some indescribable, foul stench.

Before she had gone far, an arrogant, wild laugh, followed by furious curses, echoed from the depths of the cave.

"Hahaha! Tex! Hahaha, to think you’d see a day like this!"

"You never thought you’d see the day you were captured by me, did you?"

"You Crypt Folk are still so naive! Why don’t you just obediently join our Holy Spirit Clan and receive the Holy Spirit’s blessing!"

"Think about it! Your Crypt Folk’s Strong Pregnancy Talent, combined with our Holy Spirit Clan’s powerful physique, could surely produce more superior offspring! We might even find a way to change our race’s curse! This is our only way out!"

A coarse male voice was filled with smugness and an almost paranoid fanaticism.

"Pah! Santroll, keep dreaming! The Holy Spirit you worship is a complete fabrication! It’s the true cause of the world’s destruction!"

"This world became like this all because of lunatics like you! Your short lifespans aren’t some blessing from a Holy Spirit; it’s a curse of genetic collapse! You brought it on yourselves! The Crypt Folk will never stoop to your level!"

A clear but furious female voice retorted sharply, her tone laced with deep hatred.

Hearing the exchange, Seraphina immediately quickened her pace, sneaking toward the source of the voices.

At the end of the passage, a relatively spacious cavern opened up before her.

The scene before her sent a chill down her spine, even for someone like Seraphina who had lived through the apocalypse.

Inside the cavern, dozens of women were bound to cold stone pillars with coarse ropes. Among them were the "hairy" members of The Crypt Folk who had been captured that morning.

There were also other women who, at a glance, had clearly been captured a long time ago.

However, unlike the ones captured that morning, the eyes of the women who had been held captive for a long time were hollow and numb, devoid of all light.

It was as if their souls had been torn away.

What was even more horrifying was that the women’s abdomens were noticeably swollen. It was definitely not normal fat, but... pregnancy.

And from the size of their bellies, it was clear this was not a recent development.

Seraphina felt her scalp tingle as a cold dread washed over her.

The heavily guarded cave before her, the women chained to stone pillars, their obviously swollen abdomens...

All the clues clicked into place, revealing the true reason this place was so strictly guarded.

This wasn’t a simple resource point at all.

It was a breeding pen, a prison for "birthing tools" meant to ensure the continuation of a "bloodline"!

The core purpose of this place was to prevent these female Crypt Folk, who possessed the Strong Pregnancy Talent, from escaping.

’Truly... utterly vile!’ Seraphina cursed inwardly.

She couldn’t know for sure what kind of torment these women had endured here.

But from their hollow eyes, their hopeless postures, and Santroll’s arrogant words, she could infer it must have been an inhuman level of abuse.

Seeing that Tex was still so defiant and not getting the submission he wanted, Santroll’s smug expression twisted into a cold, vicious sneer.

"Hahaha, you think you still have a choice?"

He glanced around, pointing at the women with swollen bellies, his voice mocking.

"Look at your kinswomen around you. When they were first brought here, which one of them wasn’t just like you now—kicking, biting, ready to die before submitting? But now? Hahaha... Time grinds down all sharp edges. Reality will teach you to accept your fate!"

He took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over Tex’s body with a nauseating possessiveness, and declared, "Enjoy your final moments of defiance. Tomorrow—yes, tomorrow—I will personally have you conceive my most superior offspring. It will be your honor!"

With that, Santroll ignored Tex’s glare, which could have practically shot fire, and with a satisfied, wild laugh, he turned and strode out of the cave.

From the shadows, Seraphina forcibly suppressed the murderous rage surging within her.

Killing that man on the spot would certainly be satisfying.

But it would undoubtedly alert the enemy and get her surrounded.

She needed to be calmer. She hadn’t forgotten her purpose for coming here.

Her main goal was to gather information.

These people were pitiful, but Seraphina still had to achieve her own objective.

If an opportunity arose, she would help them.

Seraphina continued to search the area.

Just after Santroll left, the woman named Tex bit her lower lip so hard it almost drew blood.

She began to struggle frantically.

Twisting her body with all her might, she tried to break free from the cold, heavy chains.

The metal shackles scraped against the stone pillar, letting out a harsh CLANG and leaving clear, bloody marks on her slender wrists and ankles.

However, it was all in vain.

The chains didn’t budge an inch. Tex’s Power seemed so insignificant before the specially made restraints.

"Don’t waste your strength..."

Beside her, a woman with a high, swollen belly and a haggard, weary face spoke faintly. Her eyes were like a dried-up well, without a single ripple.

She stroked her large belly and murmured, "We... we can’t escape. These chains were forged by the Holy Spirit Clan from a special metal, specifically designed to imprison us physically weak Crypt Folk."

"I used to be like you... I resisted, I struggled... but in the end..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, but her numb expression said it all.

Day after day of despair had long since extinguished all her hope, leading her to accept her fate.

"No!"

Tex lifted her head, an unyielding Flame burning in her eyes. Though glistening with tears, they were exceptionally bright. "I will never give up! I would rather die than let those filthy heretics touch me, let alone bear children for them!"

Her voice echoed through the empty cavern. Though weak, it carried a resolute power that stood in stark contrast to the numbness of the others.

This voice also reached the ears of Seraphina, hidden in the shadows.

Seraphina, still in the shadows, did not stop her observations.

She felt that there was something unusual about this cage-like cavern. Besides the imprisoned women and the cold chains, there seemed to be a more subtle, more fundamental fluctuation of Energy.

She quietly activated her Item Identification Ability. Her gaze, like the most precise scanner, swept over every inch of the cavern—the Walls, the floor, the chains. Finally, her eyes fixed upon the cavern’s ceiling.