Chapter 32: Cleanup
2014-11-28
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
Indeed. As soon as Soren’s words fell, strange sounds erupted nearby, and they immediately disregarded their loot, turning to mount their horses and flee in the opposite direction. Within less than two minutes, a large mound in the grass by the roadside heaved up, and a Burrowing Worm emerged from the ground. It didn’t stop there; immediately, a second one surfaced, followed by a third Burrowing Worm appearing nearby.
A small group of four Burrowing Worms.
The others looked back and instantly broke into a cold sweat.
If it hadn’t been for Soren’s reminder to leave immediately, one or two of them would probably have died right there!
A single Burrowing Worm was already hard to deal with, and now three had popped up at once. Even with the strength of a Guard Captain, a Third Tier Northern Barbarian, the chances of survival were slim. With just one round of Acid Spray from these three Burrowing Worms, half of them could be wiped out; the rest would likely not even last a single turn.
This is also why the challenge level of Burrowing Worms is higher than that of Abyss Serpent Demons!
The Burrowing Worms had noticed their dead companion. With beast instincts, they let out sharp howls towards the direction Soren and the others fled, diving back into the ground in pursuit. However, they clearly could not match the speed of the horses and soon popped up not far away, watching intently in the direction they had fled. Wolf packs understand revenge, let alone these supernatural Burrowing Worms.
“Thanks to you this time.”
The Guard Captain clapped Soren on the shoulder, then tightened his hold on the seriously injured comrade and urged his horse towards the direction of the caravan.
Soren’s injuries were not too severe, just some corrosion from acidic bl**d.
The Guard of the caravan, who had been in the front line against the Acid Spray, was not in good condition; even though he had blocked most of it with a shield, splattered acid had still hit him in many areas, causing burns and decay on his skin. This is the terrifying aspect of the Burrowing Worm’s Acid Spray; it not only has corrosive burns but also carries significant toxicity due to the biological characteristics of the Burrowing Worm. Luckily, it was just a Burrowing Worm; if they had encountered a Bipedal Dragon with a challenge level of 15, the acid sprayed by them could melt even full-body armor!
That would be a deadly affair.
The spray attack of a Bipedal Dragon is one of the few below the legendary category regarding corrosiveness and toxicity!
Soon, the caravan appeared in front of them.
The reactions of the guards were incredibly quick; immediately, some came over to assist, while nearly a third drew their weapons, automatically protecting the surrounding area. Merchants directed their helpers to rally and shouted for them to gather the large carts together, forming a simple defensive formation. This was a common tactic employed by experienced merchants to fend off bandit attacks.
“Take me to see the master.”
The Guard Captain took a breath and dismounted to lower his comrade down from the horse. In just this short time, the face of the caravan guard had turned as pale as paper; it was not only due to the corrosiveness of the acid, but also because of the toxins entering his body and severe loss of bl**d. In outdoor adventures, not only enemies take lives; many injuries can worsen significantly even if their bodies are much tougher than those of Earthlings.
The caravan guards quickly gathered together.
Crossbowmen stood atop the carts, and warriors donned in leather armor took up shields, giving a sense of an army.
Northern merchants.
They are the strongest in combat among merchants because many of the guards they hire are retired warriors.
Many players who had once turned to banditry called them tough nuts to crack!
As the central large cart guarded by the caravan was lifted, a graceful woman wearing a veil appeared. She glanced at the injured guard and said firmly, “Clean his wounds immediately, then bring him inside the cart.”…
After she finished speaking.
She turned her gaze to Soren and said sternly, “You the same.”
“I have special ointment here; let them apply it to your wounds.”
Others took that warrior to wash his wounds, while the Guard Captain reported the situation that had occurred earlier to her. Everything seemed orderly, and there was no sign of panic.
And the center of this entire order is this mysterious woman!
Descendant of the Northern Witch.
Under her orders, everyone was strictly executing their duties. The merchants, who had been somewhat flustered at first, quieted down, and some began to take out prepared healing potions. Northern Witches are mysterious and powerful beings; they are much more dangerous than southern wizards in certain aspects because they not only wield mysterious spells but also inherit some innate abilities from shamans.
This was one of the most challenging special professions to advance!
The seriously injured were quickly brought over; the Guard Captain personally applied the ointment and then forced a bottle of healing potion down the warrior’s throat.
Soren’s injuries were not severe, but Vivian still treated him with utmost care, applying ointment all over and carefully bandaging the wounds on his thigh, not minding the waste of those precious ointments at all.
She even personally fed Soren a bottle of healing potion!
The little girl rarely cried as she grew older.
She often silently helped Soren treat his wounds when he was injured, never whimpering like other little girls. Their tacit understanding, formed in their childhood when they depended on each other, had long made her the one who could help Soren set things on fire when he needed to k*ll.
Even though she was essentially very kind!
“Burrowing Worms?”
The mysterious woman frowned slightly, glanced at Soren, and said to the Guard Captain, “What should we do now?”
“Should we continue moving?”
The Guard Captain showed a bit of hesitation and then said, “I’m not very familiar with the habits of these creatures either.”
“Maybe he knows more!”
Everyone present looked towards Soren, who was trying to make the little girl, her eyes slightly red, laugh with some poor jokes. When the little girl tugged at his sleeve, he realized everyone was watching him and quickly said, “Burrowing Worms are very stubborn creatures, rarely leaving their activity range!”
“The fact that they are here now must be for a reason.”
“However.”
“Since they have come here, they definitely won’t leave in a short time.”
“So there are only two options.”
“One is to eliminate them; otherwise, they will surely attack the caravan when it passes by.”
“The other is to bypass them and take another route.”
“These creatures will not track us.”
Bypass.
The mysterious woman frowned and immediately commanded, “Norodd!”
“You take people to eliminate them.”
Her tone was not to be questioned. Norodd, the Guard Captain, showed no hesitation, and immediately replied, “As you wish.”
“Master.”
“I’ll lead a team to resolve this trouble now.”
After speaking, he began to prepare people, getting some shields out, leaving half to protect the caravan while he took the other half to deal with the Burrowing Worms. Most of this caravan referred to the mysterious woman as “master,” indicating her noble status. Even those who were not her slaves were vassals serving under her.
Soren couldn’t help but feel a hint of curiosity about the identity of this mysterious woman!
Northern Witch.
These women can claim a territory in the land of the Ice and Snow Goddess; they are definitely not simple characters!
Let alone they are a group of dangerous wizards.
After thinking for a moment, Soren stood up and said, “I’ll go too.”
“I have some experience dealing with these things.”
“I believe.”
“Eliminating them will be much easier.”
After that, he comforted Vivian, signaling that he would be okay, then mounted his horse and followed along.
Since he was just accompanying them, the caravan’s mistress did not require Soren to act together, which was a basic form of respect. However, the Guard Captain, while gathering the team, glanced at Soren, clearly hoping he would join them.
The mysterious woman nodded slightly.
The Guard Captain rode beside Soren and said in a serious tone, “Don’t act later.”
“Just tell us the weaknesses of these worms.”
Soren touched his curved blade, moved his body slightly to gauge the effects of his injuries, and said, “I know.”
“Prepare more shields.”
“These worms can unleash a deadly Acid Spray; ordinary leather armor doesn’t help much.”
“I’ll find a way to lure them out.”
Having just taken down a Burrowing Worm, Soren had gained over 900 points of Killing Experience. After reaching the Second Tier for his profession level, Soren needed 3000 points to advance to level 6 as a Thief. Now, he couldn’t just rely on picking locks and disarming traps for experience; he would need to personally engage with monsters.
With so many people moving this time, it was a comparatively safe and secure way to earn experience!
It would be best to gain another 900 points of Killing Experience.
After all, there won’t be many chances to encounter such monsters in the future, and he wasn’t very confident in his ability to k*ll them alone.
In normal adventures.
Even if he single-handedly eliminated a small group of Goblins, plus an awakened Goblin Sorcerer, the Killing Experience earned would be around 800 points at most.
He wouldn’t let go of the opportunity to improve his strength!
………………
