Chapter 31 Burrowing Worm
2014-11-28
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
Burrowing Worm. A type of worm-like monster living in the Southern Region, approximately five feet wide and can reach lengths of up to thirty feet. It has the ability to sense vibrations, detecting even slight tremors within a 60-foot radius. The Burrowing Worm possesses a pair of massive jaws capable of biting through trees and inflicting tearing attacks on its prey. It also produces a strong acid within its body, inflicting corrosive damage to enemies. Its appearance resembles that of a giant insect, with six to twelve long legs armed with sharp claws.
At the same time, the Burrowing Worm can launch a deadly Acid Spray attack against enemies, and those unable to resist the acid damage will die instantly!
Even if one manages to survive, they will suffer severe corrosive damage.
But that’s not the most lethal aspect.
What is more deadly is that Burrowing Worms are small, social creatures, typically operating in groups of 2-5. They prefer fresh meat but are also scavengers.
These creatures tend to be neutral and rarely attack unless they consider something as prey.
However, if you are perceived as food, your situation becomes extremely dangerous!
Burrowing Worms are not very numerous.
They mainly inhabit the Southern Region and only live in specific geographical environments. Generally, unless an event occurs, Burrowing Worms rarely leave their activity zones. Meanwhile, there are almost no Burrowing Worms in the North, as they prefer moist and soft soil; the cold North has overly hard soil that is unsuitable for Burrowing Worms. This is also the reason why Merchant Guards cannot identify Burrowing Worms!
“Get away from here!”
Soren looked around and spoke firmly, “These monsters lurk underground, making it very difficult for us to spot them proactively.”
“Everyone, do not scatter!”
“The Burrowing Worm can sense our footsteps; they particularly enjoy attacking isolated prey!”
A piece of information surfaced in Soren’s mind:
“Burrowing Worm.”
“Challenge Level 8, Biological Level 10, possesses Acid Spray ability.”
“Maximum Attribute 20 points, Minimum Attribute 10 points, Total Attribute Value 80-90 points.”
“Special Abilities: Acid Spray, Corrosive Damage, Tearing Attack.”
“Challenge Difficulty: b+.”
The challenge level of the Burrowing Worm is even higher than that of the Abyss Serpent Demon because these creatures can move stealthily underground and typically appear in groups.
They have been career killers for many adventurers!
If a small group of adventurers is attacked by them, even just the first round of Acid Spray can result in the death of team members.
Dealing with these worms requires strong ‘Tracking’ and ‘Listening’ abilities.
Otherwise, you will need ‘Survival’ skills to determine their location to avoid ambushes.
Soren cautiously stepped back.
The others seemed to realize the severity of the situation and drew their weapons, retreating outwards.
“Burrowing Worm.”
“Don’t they rarely appear?”
Soren carefully observed his surroundings while concentrating on the movements beneath the ground, contemplating: “Could the Burrowing Worm rampage event have been triggered?”
“Damn it!”
“Though I’ve killed these worms before, I never really paid attention to when they go on a rampage.”
“And who completed the task!”
Around the same time.
Many significant events were occurring in this world, including skinning incidents, the Son of God uprising, the emergence of the Ancient Red Dragon, and the migration of Giants, so Soren had no energy to focus on the minor matter of a Burrowing Worm rampage. If major ongoing events were categorized by level, the skinning incident would be level b, the Son of God uprising level a, and the emergence of the Ancient Red Dragon a+ level special event. As for minor occurrences like the Burrowing Worm rampage, they wouldn’t even rank e+ in event levels.
Unless such an event happened close by, making it convenient for him to engage and complete the task.
Otherwise, very few people would deliberately pay attention to them.
However.
The Burrowing Worm is a rare type of insect creature.
While they are dangerous, they also possess remarkable value!
Due to their very hard yet lightweight shell, if a skilled blacksmith were to be commissioned, the Burrowing Worm’s shell could be forged into armor equivalent to full-body armor while weighing only one-third of the full-body armor. In many places, such a piece of Burrowing Worm armor could be valued at 3000 Gind!
Even selling the materials could yield a value of 600-800 Gind!
However.
Only highly skilled blacksmiths would purchase them; others would find no use for them.
The shell of the Burrowing Worm can only be forged through special enchanting methods, and the completed armor is always custom-made, so if one doesn’t encounter such a skilled blacksmith, the only way is to remove the head shell of the Burrowing Worm, which is a natural +1 shield that offers decent defense and corresponding acid resistance.
If one could take down a Burrowing Worm, the rewards could be even higher than killing a Serpent Demon!
“Hiss!”
Suddenly, an eerie sound came from the ground. As Soren and the others retreated, they were startled to see a large mound forming on the grass nearby, and then a grotesque giant worm emerged from underground. It opened its mouth and violently lunged, biting a horse’s head off in an instant, with blood gushing out, leaving only a decapitated horse on the ground.
What immense biting force!
Soren’s pupils contracted as he quickly hid behind a large tree.
The Burrowing Worm has the ability to use Acid Spray once a day, which is a deadly skill for low-level adventurers, equivalent to a spell Acid Arrow!
Several nearby Merchant Guards also scrambled to find shelter while drawing strong crossbows to shoot.
“Cover me!”
The Guard Captain let out a roar, abruptly unsheathing his long sword, his figure growing larger. Veins like earthworms appeared on his muscular arms, and his skin flushed from overexertion. As he roared, another Merchant Guard rolled on the ground, pulling out a small round shield to block in front of him, simultaneously loading a special crossbow bolt into it.
“Rage!?”
Soren’s gaze sharpened as he muttered, “Northern Barbarian?!”
Boom.
A soft explosion sound echoed as the crossbow bolt struck the Burrowing Worm, instantly causing an explosion.
The Burrowing Worm immediately turned its head toward the Merchant Guard, producing clattering sounds. Aside from the detonated bolt, other bolts simply bounced off its shell, with only a few hitting unarmored parts. It was mentioned earlier that the Burrowing Worm’s shell is equivalent to full-body armor, so its frontal defenses are on par with that level of armor, making ordinary crossbow bolts ineffective—only critical hits can inflict effective damage.
—”Acid Spray!”
A thick, dark green liquid was sprayed from the Burrowing Worm. The Merchant Guard barely managed to roll away, yet some still splashed onto him. The small round shield he held was easily corroded, and the acidic liquid that splattered onto his arm quickly eroded his leather armor, causing smoke to rise from his flesh.
The Merchant Guard let out a painful scream, gritting his teeth as he drew his weapon and切 off a piece of flesh from his shoulder!
—”Heavy Chop!”
The Guard Captain’s eyes gradually turned red; the bones in his body crackled as he gripped his long sword and leaped into the air, cleaving down toward the Burrowing Worm’s head!
Clang!
A metallic impact sound echoed.
The Burrowing Worm emitted a shrill scream, shaking its head and charging forward. The Guard Captain dodged its fangs and retaliated by stabbing backward with his sword.
The weak skin was pierced, and dark green liquid poured out.
“Third Tier Warrior/Northern Barbarian!”
Soren hadn’t expected that the seemingly unremarkable Guard Captain had a profession level above ten. He twirled his curved blade and rolled out from behind the tree, avoiding the Burrowing Worm’s line of sight while running past from the side. The Burrowing Worm had already used its Acid Spray once, significantly reducing the danger it posed to Soren; as long as he avoided its fangs, even receiving a couple of attacks wouldn’t be fatal!
At such times, how could he not strive to earn Killing Experience?!
“Give me a crossbow!”
Soren growled, and the nearby Merchant Guard responded quickly, instantly tossing one of their strong crossbows over.
Swish!
Soren’s fingers moved almost in a blur, completing the loading in an instant and shooting an arrow straight into the Burrowing Worm’s jaws.
“Attack its lower jaw.”
He tossed aside the expended crossbow, swiftly grasping his curved blade and diving in. As he passed by the Burrowing Worm, he suddenly bent his knees, sliding across and cutting a two-foot long gash on the front skin of the Burrowing Worm.
Clang!
The Guard Captain continued to attract the Burrowing Worm’s attention, and one of its claws slashed across his chest. Fortunately, he was still wearing leather armor, leaving only a shallow blood mark.
“Roar!”
A wild roar echoed as the Guard Captain swung down his long sword, severing one of the Burrowing Worm’s limbs.
Soren’s figure rolled over the Burrowing Worm, single-handedly supporting his body and flipping to his feet without stopping, surprising everyone as he used the Burrowing Worm’s back as a launchpad to jump up. The Burrowing Worm stood nearly five meters tall, equivalent to the height of a floor, with half of its body still buried in the dirt. Soren pushed off with his legs and leaped, gripping his curved blade with both hands and thrusting it down under the Burrowing Worm’s head!
“Die!”
A gush of dark green blood erupted, and Soren felt a burning pain in his arm.
The massive body of the Burrowing Worm began to tremble and thrash, sending dirt flying everywhere, but Soren showed no signs of retreat. Instead, he clamped his legs tightly around its head to maintain balance and maximize his strength while twisting the blade’s handle! His expression became somewhat ferocious, the splattered blood hitting him, and some of his clothing began to corrode slightly.
Boom!
A dull thud sounded as the Burrowing Worm, in its last struggles, convulsed wildly before collapsing in defeat.
Soren released his grip on the curved blade and lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his arms now bearing specks of blood, with some flesh already burned and eroded.
“Finally dead.”
He took a deep breath and stood up, only then realizing that while seated on the Burrowing Worm’s head, he had received a half-foot-long cut from its sharp shell, blood gushing out.
The battle was brief.
Because life-and-death struggles must not drag on until exhaustion!
A Merchant Guard approached, steadying the unsteady Soren, quickly applying ointment to his wounds, and asking, “Are you alright?”
“Get your clothes off first!”
“That liquid has strong corrosive properties. Soon, the master will help you heal!”
One serious injury, two minor injuries.
Soren caught his breath, tore off part of his clothing to bandage his thigh, and then said, “We need to leave now!”
“The Burrowing Worms are social creatures.”
“There should be more nearby; our battle has alerted them!”
