GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

1177 Cannibalism Is An Acquired Taste.

Thousands of slaves were killed every day to feed them. If there were any hatchlings that couldn't bear the miserable cries of agony or the sight of blood as the livestocks were slaughtered, then they must have gotten used to it by now.

Some hatchlings became bored of death. The death of livestock couldn't excite them anymore and the life of livestock became worthless to them. Other living things that aren't Supreme beasts might as well be insignificant ants to them.

Some hatchlings, on the other hand, became conditioned by the cries for mercy. The cries invoke their appetite for flesh. They may be tired one moment but they begin anticipating food as soon as a livestock is forced onto the chopping slab.

Despite this development, their guides didn't let them stop from eating more livestock. Legion-5 knew what their managers were up to. He is even grateful for it so he made sure to eat as much as he could every chance he got.

Even then, it was a surprise to him when he slept one night and didn't wake up for days. His mind was aware but his body refused to become active so he couldn't wake up.

"Is this the endpoint?" He asked himself. "Are they going to harvest us now? Did they drug us to kill us?"

It was a terrifying experience. His mind was awake as it has always been whenever he sleeps. But the sensation of being locked in a corpse has always been short. However, he didn't sleep for a few hours this time. His body slept for days which made him suspect that the Supreme beasts might be the reason why he couldn't wake up.

After all, nothing is truly free. Especially not food. He just might have become the next high-quality livestock. It wouldn't be a strange outcome if they decided to eat him because, in most civilizations, cannibalism is the next luxury after slavery.

When powerful and rich entities of a civilization are tired of eating other races, they usually turn their greedy gaze toward their own race. It is a perverted pleasure that usually leads to the ruin of the civilization.

His mind was locked in his body the whole time but he knew what was happening around him through his divine sense so he didn't panic throughout the whole experience. This is because despite how odd his situation was, no one entered his room with or without a sharp knife.

He found it difficult to relax though. Anyone will be anxious when they are wrapped in a thick material that binds them. This material grew out of his body but the thought that he wouldn't be able to move even if he woke up didn't fill him with peace.

He did wake up after some days. He was also right about being unable to move. Fortunately, someone spoke to him as soon as he woke up.

A divine sense reached into his room and said to him, "Don't panic. It is just a cocoon created when you are molting. You are safe. You just have to struggle a little and you will be able to get out. You have 5 minutes for you to prepare before you begin your test."

Legion-5 finally relaxed. He thought to himself, "So it was just a harmless evolution. It is good that they were just trying to push us to become mana entities and not engorge us for the sake of eating us."

He had suspected in addition to the cannibalism option that the motive of the guides was to push them to break through and become mana entities by forcing them to eat every moment they were awake until they couldn't eat anymore.

He was correct about the purpose of the forced engorgement but he didn't know that it was going to happen like this. Thanks to his clones, he has a lot of experience becoming a mana entity. But none of them have ever experienced a molting.

His consideration for the forced breakthrough was based on the fact that the hatchlings don't have a bloodline so they don't have the assistance of their bloodline to become mana entities. That means they have to struggle like the other races to become mana entities.

It was strange for him to see that in such a powerful race. Most offspring of strong races don't struggle with the Mana entity stage at all. It is another odd thing to see in the Supreme Beasts.

He doesn't know why they are not trying to make the original race extinct with bloodlines but he knows that by force-

feeding the hatchlings the flesh of mana entities, their body will be more inclined to make the switch to metabolizing mana to create vitality. After all, you are what you eat and the Supreme beasts have a lot of powerful food.

That's the major reason why he ate a lot. He doesn't need the flesh to become a mana entity since he is a mutant with a bloodline. But he did so that there would be an explanation for why he became a mana entity less than a year after he was born.

He was not the first among his batch but he is still early. He is earlier than a lot of the other clones too. Soverick took about 2 years while Ragnarok took about 100 years. He is the fastest yet.

He didn't get to feel glad about it before Legion-8 interrupted. "Don't go being proud yet. I will surely beat your record. I am already a transcendent."

Legion-5 ignored the unsolicited bragging and muttered. "He is not even hatched yet and he is already feeling pompous. Dragons and their pride."

He observed his environment instead. He is within a dry and soft thick fabric-like material. It is the cocoon created out of the layers of his molting skin.

It might have been his skin before but it doesn't feel like skin anymore. If not for the constant monitoring through divine sense and the devices attached to his body, he might have done something he shouldn't do as a hatchling.