Chapter 124: Five Silent Eggs (2)
Two small black dots that looked like eyes sharpened slightly. The bug was still no bigger than before, but its presence had changed. It no longer felt like a starving cave creature.
It felt like a young weapon that had heard the voice of a god.
Inside Lucard’s mind, a notification appeared.
[Mutated Mother Blood Bug has received high-level blood guidance.
Instinct Pattern Stabilizing.
Obedience Pattern Strengthened.
Blood Control Compatibility Increased.
Wisdom Seed Formed.]
[Note: The creature’s growth path has begun to deviate from ordinary Mutated Puppet Blood Bug lineage.]
Lucard opened his eyes halfway.
"Good."
The bug pulsed weakly.
It was tired, but awake.
Lucard sent a small amount of clean blood essence into the chamber. It was mixed with his own blood, but diluted until the pressure became safe. The bug drank slowly without being told twice. That pleased him. It had already learned the difference between allowed food and forbidden food.
When it finished, Lucard gave the next command.
"Lay eggs."
The bug became still.
Then its body curled tightly.
Lucard felt a strange movement inside the blood chamber. It was not pain, but pressure. The bug gathered the blood essence he had fed it, mixed it with its own new pattern, and formed eggs carefully. It tried to make more at first. Lucard stopped it. The blood chamber tightened around it.
"Not more than five."
The bug obeyed.
The process took longer than Lucard expected.
That was good. Fast eggs were usually weak eggs. These were slow, careful, and shaped under his blood pressure. The bug’s small body shook as the first egg came out. Then the second. The third came weaker, so Lucard sent another tiny drop of blood essence. The fourth and fifth formed after that, each smaller than a speck of dust.
When the last egg was laid, the mother bug collapsed inside the chamber.
Lucard did not let it sleep yet.
He inspected the eggs first.
They floated near his heart in a thin pool of controlled blood. Each one was almost invisible, even to his own sight. A normal healer would never find them. A normal mage would not feel them unless they already knew what to search for. They were not like the failed eggs in the cave. These eggs had clear blood patterns. Weak, yes, but clean. More importantly, each one carried a faint mark of Lucard’s blood.
That made them his.
He guided the eggs carefully through his blood vessels.
Blood Control moved them from the heart chamber into a thin blood stream. From there, he brought them down his arm. They passed through his shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finally into his index finger. The eggs were so tiny that even a needle wound could release them.
Lucard picked up a small sewing needle from the desk.
He poked the tip of his finger.
A single red drop appeared.
Inside that drop, five tiny eggs rested like invisible grains.
To human eyes, there was nothing strange. Only blood.
Lucard placed the drop on a small piece of black glass and looked closer with Blood Eye focus. The five eggs became visible to him as faint red dots, each carrying a sleeping pulse.
The system message appeared.
[New Blood Parasite Eggs Created.
Source: Mutated Mother Blood Bug.
Quantity: 5.
Type: Controlled Blood Parasite Egg.
Status: Dormant.]
[Function: The eggs can hatch inside a chosen host’s body after contact with blood, food, drink, open wound, or direct blood insertion.]
[Control Method: The host can be influenced through the hatched parasite by the mother bug and the host’s blood authority.]
[Host Effect: Tracking, pain command, blood disruption, forced weakness, temporary paralysis, obedience conditioning, and silent death are possible depending on host strength.]
[Kill Method: Destroying the parasite after hatching can kill or cripple the host if the parasite is attached to a vital blood path.]
[Warning: Strong hosts may resist, suppress, burn, freeze, poison, or expel the parasite if they detect it early.]
[Warning: Excessive parasite growth may expose the host’s control method.]
[Note: Because the eggs carry the host’s blood mark, they can be hidden more effectively than ordinary Puppet Blood Bug eggs.]
Lucard read everything calmly.
The uses were many.
The risks were also clear.
A weak person could be controlled easily if the bug hatched near the heart or head. A stronger person might resist. A mage with good body-sense might notice if the egg was placed carelessly. A knight with aura could perhaps burn it out if he found it early. Therefore, placement mattered. Timing mattered. The first command after hatching mattered.
Five eggs was not many. But five was enough.
One for the Rank Four knight in Marovain prison.
That man had resisted pain, threats, and normal interrogation. A parasite inside his blood would ask questions in a different language. If his mouth refused to open, his veins could answer.
One for Brant Ashwolf.
Not because Lucard needed to harm him immediately. Brant was useful and might become loyal through oath, debt, and old history. But a mercenary leader carried too many men to be trusted by feelings alone. If Brant remained honest, the egg would sleep. If he betrayed Jenny and Jake, the bug would wake.
One for Lysa.
Maybe.
Lucard did not decide that yet. Lysa was emotional, reckless, and attached to her father. She could become loyal out of gratitude or dangerous because of guilt. If Brant accepted Vardros properly, controlling him might already control her. But if she became unstable, an egg inside her would be useful.
The remaining two would be kept.
A weapon used too quickly became a habit. Lucard disliked habits that enemies could predict.
He looked at the five eggs again.
They were so small that a handshake could hide them if he opened a tiny wound first. A cup of wine could carry one. A needle prick could place one under the skin. A drop of blood on a bandage could do the same. If he pretended to check a pulse, he could send an egg through a cut too small to be seen.
No one would know.
That was the best kind of chain.
Lucard placed the blood drop back onto his finger and used Blood Control to pull the eggs inside again. They moved through his finger and returned to a tiny storage pocket near the blood chamber, separate from the mother bug. He did not want the hungry mother eating them by mistake.
The mother bug gave a weak pulse. It wanted to sleep.
Lucard allowed it this time.
"Sleep."
The bug curled inside the chamber.
Its pulse slowed.
Lucard sat back in the chair and looked toward the dark window.
Tomorrow, he will visit the silent knight.
Robi believed torture had failed.
Celia believed the prisoner was dangerous.
The knight believed silence could protect him.
All of them were wrong in different ways.
Lucard raised his hand and looked at the fingertip where the needle mark had already closed.
Five eggs slept inside his blood. Five tiny doors into other people’s bodies. A faint smile touched his mouth.
"Now I am preparing the leash."
(Authors note: Dear readers, Support the book with golden tickets and power stones. Sent gift for extra Chapters. 1 castle= 5 extra Chapters)