The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Barren Lands

The bang that jolted Kyle awake wasn’t just loud—it was felt.

A deep, stomach-churning thud that echoed through metal and bone alike.

He sat up with a grunt, the shift nearly tossing Ollie off his chest if not for him bracing the blonde in time. Only for the mop to let out a quiet snore before flopping back down, completely unaware of all the banging and the looming threat.

Another BANG—closer this time. It wasn’t random. It had rhythm. Intent.

Something was moving beneath them.

Kyle’s hand darted to the cockpit console, pulling up seismic readings. His screen was blinking red, but the cause remained a mystery.

It was like a targeted earthquake, for visually, nothing was shaking, nothing remotely close to how they were being thrown here and there by the quake caused by the roots.

But Kyle wasn’t the only pilot awakened by this forsaken clamor.

Xavier was annoyed because it woke Luca up. He didn’t think the nap of his little chipmunk was enough, considering everything that happened earlier and was now pissed at this incessant banging.

"Sid," he whispered sharply, voice still raspy with sleep. "Report."

"Master, ground tremors are being detected even now. The source is localized, but the number of signatures is unclear. Something’s moving."

From across the shared comm channel, static gave way to Gisella’s groggy voice.

"What the hell was that?"

"Did we trigger something again?" Cece asked, her voice already rising with concern. It was difficult for a dwarf not to feel connected to the land, and she was itching to check it for herself.

"I don’t think so. If anything, it’s probably been waiting on here," commented the Duchess, who had always thought that something was likely unique to this place.

"Kyle, do we have visuals?" Asked Xavier, whose comm video flickered into attention.

"Negative, Captain. I’ve been looking for ground imagery, but it’s looked the same since we got here."

However, the most bothered was probably D-29, who commented on how there were no changes in the spiritual reading anywhere.

Which was really odd, as even the tree roots carried spiritual energy.

Luca thought it was unnatural, unless they were being affected by moving rocks?

But then the readings stopped showing changes, and something about that made Xavier stop.

It was quiet.

And suddenly too still.

Then—

The ground erupted.

A massive pillar of dust and rock shot up like a geyser. An entire plot of land was launched skyward in clumps in an explosion of dirt and debris.

And rising from it was a beast unlike anything they had seen before.

It towered like a living pillar. Its massive, ridged body was armored in stone-like plates, and to Luca, it was like seeing an upright public bus.

Jagged spikes jutted from its upper carapace like a crumbling crown, and its head—if it could be called that—was a faceless wedge, with a spiraled maw and no eyes.

Definitely not pretty.

And that body that looked like it was part of the ground with all that sediment may be one reason why they couldn’t detect it.

It didn’t roar.

It didn’t screech.

It just moved, looking for the target that should’ve been there.

The Duchess.

But as if by instinct, Duchess Amelia revved up the thrusters and flew up in a sudden motion that surprised everyone before they managed to follow suit.

"Up! Everyone, up!" barked the duchess.

Their mechas launched into the air in synchronized bursts of thruster light, just as the ground caved in beneath them.

However, when she was nowhere to be found, the giant thing burrowed back, displaying what was probably worse than seeing the monster out in the open.

The burrowed worm tore through the ground with a terrible silence that was louder than any screech.

Then, not long after, it emerged from the last position of Butler Gary.

And had he not imitated the Duchess, it wouldn’t have ended well for him with that maw that opened up to gobble the expected prey.

It was another miss.

And as if frustrated by this failure, it had decided to up the stakes.

Likely the true horror of this monster: There were more.

Another worm burst forth, then a third, each one massive, ancient, and equally silent, like they were peeling off layers of the land itself and shooting up from wherever there was space.

"I wish I weren’t," Kyle muttered, adjusting Ollie’s sleeping form against him.

"I believe this is the reason the barren lands are like this. The roots don’t grow here because they get eaten from below. These monsters own the underground."

She was trying to probe for weak spots from afar, but even that seems like it can’t be done with just bullets. _{freeωebnovēl.c૦m}