Chapter 171

Chapter 171: The Grand Worm is Not Tasty at All

The chaos deities acted swiftly.

From the intense ripples spreading through the Sea of Ether to their arrival at the scene, less than five minutes passed.

But…

"Damn it!"

"Escaped!?"

"How’s that possible!"

"Unless there was overwhelming power, it’s hard to imagine killing a ‘core councilor’ in under five minutes!"

"Even among the Twelve People’s Council, how many could manage this?"

The reinforcing chaos deities struggled to believe an "Honorable Middle Member" had fallen within minutes.

Many still assumed Arikinor lived, slipping into the "habitual thinking" of chaos deities.

"Is Arikinor tricking us?"

"Did he set a trap!?"

"Trying to capture us?"

In the chaos, where mutual betrayal reigns and guarding against allies outweighs watching enemies, such suspicions were natural.

Yet the thick scent of blood lingering in the etheric liquid soon warned the chaos councilors: matters weren’t so simple.

"Wrong—Arikinor’s at least wounded!"

"The blood stench here in the Sea of Ether is too strong!"

"Damn it! What monster could crush Arikinor that fast!?"

…

"Search! They must be nearby."

"Right—they finished him just before we came. Maybe he’s hiding underwater!"

"Yes, couldn’t have gone far…"

The chaos deities launched another search.

Unbeknownst to them, their quarry had already vanished without a trace.

—-

"Hey—!"

Trilobite strained to haul the Hallucination Tooth Worm’s corpse through cramped, pitch-black tunnels.

The distance felt immense.

Though his "Cave by the Lake" dwelling neared Lake Valaharl’s edge by his estimate, several "kilometers" remained.

Earlier, his swift exit came from secreting mucus as he moved, letting him slip out smoothly.

Like riding a slide—blazing fast.

Basically, he arrived in a flash.

But the return trip was a different story.

“Tsk, I used to watch leopards toting prey like antelopes, dragging them under their bellies while roaming everywhere—even climbing trees. Made carrying food seem so easy.”

“Only when you actually do it yourself do you realize it’s not.”

“The biggest problem is…”

“Damn it, my belly’s still scraping the ground!”

“No clearance at all.”

“So…”

Now, Trilobite could only clumsily inch backward, the corpse of the Hallucination Tooth Worm clamped in his jaws, painstakingly dragging it toward the cave.

“Can’t keep doing this. Once I’m back, I’m upgrading this body.”

“At the very least, I’ll lengthen my legs to raise this chassis.”

A higher chassis might mean less stability, but since he’d already decided to boost his capability, stability could wait.

Even the freshwater King Crocodile lifted its chassis when crawling ashore, right?

“Of course, don’t overdo it.”

“This place is still mostly swamps.”

“Just raise the chassis enough to swim comfortably.”

“Unless I actually want to strut through shallows like some heron.”

“Oh right! Another thing…”

Trilobite mused as he hauled the carcass.

He recalled the stone-like lump still in his mouth.

“Hmm, only after holding it did I realize—it looks like a stone, but isn’t one.”

“It’s… some sort of slime mold?”

“Think those clumps back home have a fancy name—Tai Sui?”

“Gave it a good chew. Has this brisk, savory flavor.”

“Pretty tasty. No wonder this Hallucination Tooth Worm I’m dragging was dumbly hovering around it.”

*Smack…*

Trilobite smacked his lips, tongue working the substance as it soaked in saliva, slowly dissolving.

“Delicious. Shame there’s so little. If only I could get more…”

“Ack!”

Suddenly, Trilobite’s throat seized. A vile bitterness surged up his olfactory sense, slamming into his brain.

“Shit!”

“Must be that ‘slime mold’…”

“It had tasted quite good at first, but turned bitter once the outer coating dissolved.”

“No good—food poisoning. Need to find somewhere to vomit.”

“Ugh—ah—ptui—!”

“Thud!”

The lump of slime molds stuck to the wall of the distant tunnel, sliding down slowly.

“Huff…”

“What a letdown—all reputation, no substance!”

“This Tai Sui thing? Utterly unpalatable.”

Trilobite dragged the Hallucination Tooth Worm’s carcass and trudged onward.

“Boom!”

“Boom—”

“Boom…”

The earth-shaking footsteps faded into the distance.

The tunnels seemed poised to return to stillness.

Yet they didn’t.

The expelled slime molds glimmered with flecks of gold.

Then a creeping strand of golden "mycelium" pushed through, spreading steadily outward.

Meanwhile…

“Zii—!”

A creature resembling a giant worm—tens of meters long—sneaked from the rock crevice after the Giant God’s departure.

It never glanced at the slime molds, fleeing hastily with lingering terror.

Moments earlier, it had hidden in that crevice to evade the Giant God’s crushing grasp!

These beings might be counted among Chaos Demon God or Outer God’s kin, yet they were too "feeble" to be acknowledged as deities.

If etheric worms ranked as the weakest "gods," these "giant worms" served merely as prey for them.

Even disciplined mortal legions could hunt them down.

So the giant worms lurked within Primal Mud, scavenging debris from the Sea of Ether, or slithered through Crystal Walls’ cracks to infiltrate Bubble Worlds’ strata.

They’d ambush human settlements—devouring people and livestock, erasing entire villages—before sneakily retreating underground without a trace.

Their threats fell short of world-ending calamity, so the Will of the World ignored them.

“Zii?”

Mid-crawl, it halted, alert—then thrilled!

This time, no colossal creature approached. Instead…

“Thud… thud… thud…”

Soft footsteps echoed underground.

Prey had arrived.

“Rustle…”

It scurried toward the prey, unaware of the golden streak rapidly spreading through the ground cracks behind it!

—-

“Thud…”

“Thud…”

A squad of eight Chosen Warriors navigated the complex underground tunnels.

Though clad in heavy armor and iron boots, they moved with near-silent steps.

Black robes draped their forms, each bearing a badge.

The badge design marked them as Blazing Fangs warriors.

While skilled in direct combat, this war organization excelled in complex terrain.

Valaharl’s Bubble World held a vast network of natural caves and Valaharl-dug tunnels—a perfect environment for the vigilant Blazing Fangs.

Armed with polearms, swords, and shields of varied sizes, their leader wore a white helmet crowned with a golden laurel.

This was a tactical squad led by the Chosen Champion.

Yet tactical squads typically numbered seven.

The eighth member stood out starkly.

“Beep—beep—!”

Surrounded protectively by warriors stood a red-robed figure: multiple mechanical arms mounted on his back, face obscured by a mechanical mask.

Gears creaked and devices clicked within his apparatus.

“Excellent. Rising concentrations of ‘Sunstorm Gas’ ahead!”

“Divine grace mounds must be near!”

Sunstorm Gas—a high-energy vapor seeping from divine grace mounds. Researchers found sealing these mounds produced harvestable Sunstorm Gas.

Thus, most of Valaharl’s divine grace mounds lay sealed, yielding continuous gas supplies.

Its uses spanned reinforcing armor, crafting exploding projectiles, and producing Holy Light Bombs—devastatingly effective against demons and Outer God spawn.

“Understood. Guide us, Technical Officer Icarus.”

“We’ll escort you—”

“Down!”

The Chosen Champion slammed Icarus to the ground, shielding him.

Then…

“Boom—boom—boom—!”

The tunnel shuddered violently, collapsing around them!

Followed by…

“Crash…”

A colossal worm burst through the debris, scraping past the squad!