American Comics: Tales of Cultivator

Chapter 106: Altar, Sacrificial Offerings, Predator

In the center of the Altar, six stone coffins were arranged like petals, with six sets of skeletal remains lying on top of them.

Tang Song stood to the side of the Altar, poking at one of the skeletal remains in front of him with the cane in his hand.

The front ribs of this skeleton were broken from the inside out, clearly a fatal injury caused by a parasitic Facehugger bursting out of the chest.

"Begin!"

Charles Bishop Weyland gave the order. The Black Person, Jacob, along with two Mercenaries, took out the Dinosaur Eggs from the insulated box one by one.

Jacob held a Dinosaur Egg in one hand, about to place it on the groove of the Altar.

But before he could approach the Altar, a cane extended in front of him, blocking his way.

"Mr. Tang?"

Jacob looked at the cane blocking his chest and subconsciously glanced at Charles behind him.

"Tang? What is the meaning of this?"

Tang Song turned his hand, withdrew the cane, and pointed it at a stone carving nearby that had a distinct Egyptian style.

"The stronger the Sacrificial Offering, the more formidable the monster that is parasitized. If I'm not mistaken, these in your hand are Velociraptor Eggs!"

Tang Song's gaze went past Jacob and landed on his employer.

As Charles Bishop Weyland breathed, the mist produced by his breath seemed to blur his vision. After a moment of silence in the white mist, he said, "Tang, only a sufficiently perfect ritual can open the lowest level Room. What I want is down there! I have no choice!"

Tang Song and Charles Bishop Weyland confronted each other for a moment, then Tang Song grinned, "Since that's the case, remember to settle the money for the Dinosaur Eggs with Dr. Hammond later. Dr. Hammond told me the Dinosaur Eggs were stolen, and I didn't believe it. Turns out you borrowed them!"

"As you know, I am now a Major Shareholder in the Jurassic Park Project. If the Dinosaur Eggs were to fall into the Outside world, it would directly affect the Jurassic Park brand. After all, only unique things can attract visitors, wouldn't you agree?"

"Don't worry, Tang, there will be no more Dinosaur Eggs for sale at my Auction in the future!"

Charles Bishop Weyland made a promise to Tang Song.

"I will have the finance department transfer twenty million US dollars to John later, as the cost for purchasing this batch of Dinosaur Eggs!"

Boss Tang also took a step back, clearing the way.

Jacob held a Dinosaur Egg in one hand and walked towards the Altar. As he passed Boss Tang, he glanced at Tang Song deeply from the side. In the depths of his eyes, a wolf-headed human figure seemed to flash.

"Prepare!"

Just as Jacob and several Mercenaries placed the Dinosaur Eggs on the Altar, Charles Bishop Weyland walked with heavy steps to a relief carving and pressed down the raised circular relief carving, turning it three times to the left and three times to the right.

Clicking mechanical sounds echoed. At the bottom of the Pyramid, the Alien Queen, suspended by chains, seemed to be stimulated by something. Its abdomen continuously sprayed out Alien Eggs with popping sounds.

A mechanical arm grabbed the Alien Eggs one by one and placed them into a bowl-shaped pipe. With a blast of air pressure, these Alien Eggs were directly sprayed towards the upper levels of the Pyramid! ...

In the sunken Stone Pit areas of the Altar, as cracks appeared, round Alien Eggs, like artillery shells, appeared in the grooves.

The green Alien Eggs, constantly dripping thick liquid, looked like a pile of viscous, rotten green meat eggs.

"They really captured another Alien Queen!"

Charles Bishop Weyland muttered to himself, looking at the Alien Eggs that appeared out of nowhere.

At this moment, the Mercenaries, who had long been told about the horror of the Aliens, had already retreated to the corner of the Altar's edge, their guns aimed at these Alien Eggs.

The Alien Eggs stood quietly on the Altar, looking utterly harmless. However, after only a few seconds, the head of one Alien Egg split open into a petal-shaped mouth, like a carnivorous plant opening its mouth.

From the opening, a scorpion-like Facehugger, covered in eight tentacles and with a long tail, crawled out of the Alien Egg.

It, crawling directly above the Alien Egg, wagged its flexible tail. After observing the surroundings, it did not choose the Dinosaur Eggs on the Altar. It leaped up and directly pounced towards Tang Song's face.

Storm Shadow, who had been watching Tang Song's situation from the side, flashed forward and blocked Tang Song. The Katana in his hand was drawn directly from its scabbard.

A white light flashed, accompanied by a sizzling scream. The palm-sized Facehugger was instantly split in half.

Sizzle!

The green creature blood fell onto the Ground, and the ground paved with giant stones was immediately corroded into shallow pits.

Sizzle, even the back of the blade of the Katana in Storm Shadow's hand began to smoke lightly.

Storm Shadow was quick-eyed and quick-handed. With a backhand swing, the blade of the Katana scraped against a column by the Altar, wiping off the green blood of the Facehugger stuck to the blade.

However, even with his speed, the blade was inevitably corroded with some mottled marks.

"This is Arashikage Steel!" Storm Shadow looked at the Katana in his hand with some heartache, his tone filled with regret and disbelief.

He clearly hadn't expected Arashikage Steel, which could withstand bullets, to be corroded so easily by creature blood.

"I have another batch of Adamantium. I'll have someone forge two more blades for you later!"

Tang Song looked at the several Alien Eggs that were stirring, circulating his True Essence, concealing his presence:

"I am the biggest sponsor of the Federation's Sword Forging Convention right now!"

Adamantium. Hearing Tang Song's words, Storm Shadow finally recovered from his regretful mood.

He took a strip of cloth from a Cobra Soldier nearby and wrapped it around the blade of the Katana. After wrapping it a few times, he pulled hard, wiping off the remaining Facehugger blood on the Katana.

Clang. Looking at the several Facehuggers that were stirring, Storm Shadow directly sheathed his Katana and raised the carbine in his hand, aiming at those Alien Eggs.

Charles Bishop Weyland's face, hidden beneath the bio-mask, had been observing Tang Song since the Facehugger attacked him.

Aliens are creatures that originated from the ultimate hunter cultivated by the Engineers. The youngling Facehugger, when choosing a host, often chooses the one with the strongest gene.

When faced with a batch of Velociraptor Eggs, which are considered top-tier predators, among millions of potential choices, the Facehugger actually prioritized attacking Tang Song. This made Charles Bishop Weyland feel somewhat incredible.

Admittedly, humanity is indeed far ahead of other creatures in terms of genetic evolution, but in terms of adapting to nature and hunting, humans without fangs and claws are indeed at a disadvantage compared to some large fierce beasts.

If these Alien Larvae considered Tang Song as the first attack sequence, it means that in the perception of these Facehuggers,

This Tang's genes are superior to top predators like Velociraptors.

Just as Charles Bishop Weyland was filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop...

Five Facehuggers simultaneously pounced out of the Alien Eggs, targeting those Dinosaur Eggs.

Clinging tightly to the Dinosaur Eggs with their eight tentacles, these Facehuggers bit a gap in the Velociraptor Eggshell, then their entire bodies drilled inside.

Immediately after, the Dinosaur Eggs began to shake violently.

"Bang!"

Charles Bishop Weyland's Mercenaries seemed startled by this scene. Their hands trembled, and they directly pulled the trigger.

A bullet grazed a Dinosaur Egg and flew past, hitting the stone wall and creating a spark.

The gunfire startled everyone.

"Don't shoot!"

Jacob quickly shouted to stop them.

The gunfire seemed to startle the Alien Larvae inside the Eggshells. Several black figures shot out of the Eggshells and scurried into the scattered Passages.

"Just like that? Cultivating a batch of powerful monster rivals for ourselves. What's next? Do we wait, or do we go hunt them?"

Tang Song lit a cigar and looked at Charles Bishop Weyland!

"Next, we wait, wait for the arrival of that group of hunters. Only a spectacular hunt, the strongest genetic contest, can open the way to the Engineers' Laboratory!"

Charles Bishop Weyland looked up at the sky above, seemingly seeing the hunters in Space through the Pyramid's Dome and 2000 feet of thick Ice Sheet.

...Space, Milky Way Galaxy, Orion, near a harsh planet Yautja.

A small spaceship was docked on an asteroid. On the spaceship, a Predator was operating the spaceship screen.

Suddenly, a message was transmitted to his spaceship screen. He swiped open the screen, and there was a light spot flashing.

Looking at the displayed coordinates and the intensity of the light spot's flashing, this Predator did not hesitate to input the coordinates into the spaceship.

The spaceship engine sprayed blue plasma flames, soaring into the sky, and quickly disappeared into Space!

In this area of Space, at least five spaceships simultaneously soared into the sky, including one spaceship that was noticeably larger.

...Earth, above, black wormholes tore open the Night Sky. Several Spaceships jumped out of the wormholes and gathered together.

Several Young Blood Predators entered the medium-sized Spaceship from their own Spaceships.

They are the Young Bloods among the Predators, who have fully mastered the use of all Predator tools and have developed their own combat style and preferred cold weapons.

Before the Young Bloods go out to hunt Aliens for promotion, there is a ranking. The one with the best performance can become the leader, taking others out to hunt Aliens. To complete the trial, they must eliminate the Aliens within the Trial Ground and use the Alien's acid blood to corrode their skin and armor, drawing the tribal mark on their forehead and helmet.

This is not all. They must eliminate all the hatched Aliens, otherwise, it will cause great harm.

Once the situation becomes uncontrollable, the self-destruct device will be activated to perish together with a large number of Aliens. In that case, the trial is not completed, and they cannot be promoted.

In a word, after eliminating all the Aliens, if they can walk out alive, the Elder Council will come to assess them. Only if they are recognized can they be promoted to the next level, Blooded.

After being promoted to Blooded, Predators can go out for star hunting, going as far as they want, no longer requiring the supervision of the Elders.

On the Predator Spaceship, a tall Predator with a style different from other Predators looked down at the young Predators of the Tribe.

Compared to these young people, this Predator was covered in scars, as well as marks corroded by Alien blood and branded tribal marks.

From the brands left by his numerous battles and the Alien Queen Skull displayed behind his Spaceship as a trophy, it can be identified that this tall Predator should be a Predator Elder.

Predator Elders are the leaders of the Tribe, living for at least several hundred years. They are among the oldest members of the Tribe, very wise and steady, not as aggressive as young Predators.

They have gained full honor throughout their lives of hunting and basically do not pursue honor to prove themselves like young hunters. They do not need to wear masks when appearing. Their Trophy Room already contains several skulls like the Alien Queen behind them, and hunting the Queen is the greatest honor for a Predator.

Predator Elders are generally responsible for managing the entire Tribe, as well as the trials and promotions of young hunters, choosing where to arrange who to go. During outings for hunting, they usually command a Mothership and bring a large number of Tribe Followers.

They can provide consultation and guidance to young hunters and supervise their hunting process.

"..."

On the Spaceship, the Predator Elder was introducing the situation of the Hunting Ground below to the young Predators, while also arranging the candidates participating in this trial.

And just as these Predator Spaceships entered the Solar System through wormhole jump, a pair of eyes was already staring intently at them.

"Hunters, truly annoying fellows!"

The head of the Nine Realms, a continent suspended in Space, Asgard. A tall figure leaned on a greatsword, looking down at the Space below the Rainbow Bridge / Bifrost.

He is Heimdall, the guardian god in Norse mythology, the gatekeeper of Asgard, responsible for guarding the Rainbow Bridge / Bifrost, possessing Heimdall's Eye which can perceive all things, used to observe all things.

It can be said that as long as he wants, nothing in the entire Solar System can escape his eyes.

Heimdall lowered his gaze and stared at the several Predator Spaceships.

As is well known, King Odin, the God King of Asgard, is the co-ruler of the Nine Realms. Therefore, Heimdall had no good feelings towards the Predators who treated Midgard as a hunting ground.

However, due to some special reason, regarding the Predators' hunting behavior, not only King Odin, but even the Mysterious Protector of Midgard, adopted a default attitude.

As long as these Predators do not engage in large-scale harmful behavior in Midgard, King Odin's order is not to interfere casually.

Heimdall watched as several small single-person spaceships flew down from the Predator Spaceships, heading towards Midgard.

...Above Antarctica, several single-person spaceships silently crossed the dense satellite cluster in Outer Space Orbit and flew directly towards the Pyramid in Antarctica.

Three spaceships, shaped like artillery shells with tail fins resembling unfolded four-leaf clovers, plunged into the ice layer.

The Ice Surface shook. Several remaining Mercenaries heard the movement, walked out of the Guard Post, which was a renovated Abandoned Whaling Station, holding guns and binoculars, looking at the marks on the Ice Surface.

"Something crashed down, go report to the Boss, they are here!"

Several mercenaries seemed to know what they were about to face.

A Big Beard instructed his subordinates, and at the same time, ordered fires to be lit around the Camp using pre-prepared Gasoline Drums / Barrels to create heat sources and distract the hunters.

"Hiss hiss!"

Fox looked out from the Window on the second floor of the Whaling Station. In her palm, the chopsticks-thick Little Black Snake flicked its tongue towards the distant Ice Surface, looking as if it were facing a formidable enemy.

"Gather our people!"

Fox drew her gun, looking at the firelight burning in the Base.

These mercenaries clearly did not intend to tell them the truth.

Soon, all eight remaining Soldiers came to the Room where Fox was.

The Little Black Snake coiled its body in Fox's palm, its snake head facing Fox, and suddenly opened its mouth, spraying a ball of ice-blue mist.

...Creak, creak...

On the Ice Field, the sound of stepping on accumulated snow echoed.

In the Whaling Station, the bonfires lit by the Gasoline Drums / Barrels illuminated the Whaling Station as if it were daytime.

However, apart from the faint rustling sound of falling snowflakes, no other sound could be heard in this Whaling Station, making it eerily silent.

The Big Beard lay on the abandoned Hanging Rail of the Whaling Station, peering down.

At this moment, the Big Beard was wearing a bio-mask similar to the Predators, and his entire body was covered by a cloak that could regulate temperature. He moved his head slightly, using the thermal vision function on his mask to search for the hunters' presence.

This was not the first time the Big Beard had dealt with these invisibility monsters.

Five years ago, under Jacob's leadership, they had ambushed two of them in the Jungle of Vietnam.

At that time, their two teams, over twenty people, despite being prepared, were killed by two Predators, leaving only four survivors.

Therefore, even though they were fully prepared this time, the Big Beard did not dare to be careless in the slightest. Even moving his neck was done cautiously, not daring to make any sound.

They are natural hunters. The slightest movement will be detected by them. However, it is fortunate that in a sense, they are Blind Persons, only able to see the thermal energy emitted by the human body using infrared.

Listening to the rustling sound of snowflakes falling Outside, the Big Beard tightened the cloak on his body.

In front of the abandoned Whaling Station base, a tall Predator deactivated its stealth mode / cloaking and revealed its figure in the falling snow.

It raised its arm and tapped a few times on the wrist device on its forearm. The bio-mask it wore on its face immediately flashed a red light that was invisible to ordinary people.

The entire Whaling Station was projected as a three-dimensional projection and received by its mask.

The dozens of heat sources from the burning Gasoline Drums / Barrels seemed to indeed interfere with the Predator's thermal imaging projection. It shook its head.

After only a moment of silence, it clicked the wrist device again. This time, its mask, at the eyes, scanned with a green light.

(end of chapter)