Chapter 88: The Bugs
The terrifying power of the cocoon left a deep impression on everyone''s minds.
By now, the team had dwindled to nine members. Just in the first zone, the Savage Ice Plains, they had lost over a dozen people. And this was despite their luck in avoiding the frost vortices.
With such a sharp decline in numbers, even Chuck felt the situation was becoming problematic. In his eyes, most of those who had died had not contributed enough value.
These people were meant to scout the path. If they had died in frost vortices or the quicksand pits of the second zone, that would have aligned with Chuck''s original plan.
Out of caution, Chuck finally decided to detour around the eerie area. Although the cocoon in the cave was extraordinary, everyone knew they didn’t have the strength to approach it.
The detour added an entire day to their journey.
Everyone silently prayed that they wouldn’t encounter large groups of third-tier magical beasts again.
Facing so many beasts at once not only drained their energy but, more importantly, third-tier beasts rarely dropped cores. If they lost more people fighting these beasts, the losses would far outweigh the gains.
It seemed the heavens had heard their prayers, as they journeyed peacefully without further incident.
Standing at the edge of the Savage Desert, the group gazed into the distance.
Before them stretched an endless expanse of yellowish-brown sand, with swirling dust storms and scorching sunlight distorting the air.
Compared to the Savage Ice Plains they had just left, it was like stepping from ice into fire. Only in such a place could two such extreme environments coexist.
At the border of the Savage Ice Plains, the group melted large chunks of ice to fill their water bags.
Meanwhile, Han Ming had quietly collected the water bags of the deceased, amassing nearly a hundred. After filling them with water, he stored them in his spatial pouch, keeping only five hanging from his waist.
This wasn’t because others hadn’t prepared adequately. Most of the team didn’t have spatial pouches and had to carry their supplies on their backs. Carrying seven or eight water bags was already their limit; any more would severely hinder their mobility.
With this ample water supply, Han Ming felt confident about their journey through the Savage Desert.
"Brothers, let''s move out!"
Chuck gave the order, covering his nose and mouth with a pre-prepared gauze to shield against the sandstorm. He also removed the thermal undergarments he had been wearing and took the first step into the Savage Desert.
The others followed suit.
As soon as they crossed the border from the Savage Ice Plains into the desert, a wave of scorching heat hit them. Having just adapted to the cold, the sudden shift left everyone feeling weak. The drastic temperature change sapped their energy almost instantly.
Chuck and his four companions, who had been at the front of the line, subtly fell back to the middle of the group, letting the weaker members take the lead.
After only a few steps, Han Ming, as a water-element mage, felt extremely uncomfortable. He quickly took out a water bag and gulped down several mouthfuls.
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The howling sandstorm made progress difficult. Everyone had to lean their bodies at almost a 45-degree angle to push forward against the wind.
These were all exceptional individuals, with even the weakest being at the level of a grand warrior. The fact that the wind could make walking so challenging spoke volumes about its intensity.
This gave them a glimpse of what the fourth zone, the Savage Storm, might be like.
As they walked, Han Ming keenly detected unusual faint movements beneath the ground.
From the moment they entered the Savage Desert, a soft *rustling* sound had been coming from beneath the sand.
However, the roaring sandstorm drowned out most noises, and many hadn’t noticed.
Han Ming noticed that the fifth-tier earth-element warrior had also detected this. He whispered something to Chuck, who nodded silently but made no further response.
The entire day passed without any terrifying magical beast attacks. Aside from the annoying sandstorm and the scorching sand underfoot, the journey seemed relatively smooth.
At night, the temperature difference between day and night became extreme. The cold was almost as intense as in the Savage Ice Plains.
This drastic temperature shift left everyone deeply uncomfortable. After dinner, they sat together chatting until late into the night, when some finally dozed off.
Han Ming sat cross-legged, holding a small crystal and absorbing its energy. His attention remained fully focused on the area within five meters around him. He also enveloped himself in a thin ice shield as a precaution.
The sound of snoring filled the air. Han Ming opened his eyes slightly and noticed that, apart from himself, the fifth-tier earth-element warrior and Chuck were also awake.
The tension gradually eased as the group rested.
A tall, thin middle-aged man turned over in his sleep, tucking the animal hide around his neck and muttering something in his dreams.
*Rustle... rustle...*
The eerie sound returned, faint but unmistakable.
Han Ming immediately opened his eyes and scanned the area but saw nothing suspicious.
The rustling continued intermittently, carried away by the wind.
Just then, Han Ming felt a strange movement beneath him, as if something small was hitting his ice shield.
Startled, he jumped up and thrust his staff into the sand, flipping a large amount of it into the air. However, he saw nothing unusual.
But something had definitely attacked his ice shield. Han Ming stared at the small pit in the sand, puzzled.
Chuck glanced at Han Ming, saw him sit back down, and resumed his meditation.
A dark-skinned man rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up to relieve himself.
"Ah! What is this? What the hell is this? Get it off me!"
Halfway through, the man suddenly screamed.
"What''s going on?" Chuck shouted.
The man was flailing wildly, as if dancing, while scratching his skin furiously, leaving bloody marks.
The commotion woke the others, who rushed over to see what was happening.
Han Ming cautiously approached the man and felt his hair stand on end. What he saw made his skin crawl.
Tiny creatures were wriggling beneath the man’s skin, occasionally poking their heads out. They were thumb-sized, fleshy, hairless worms.
The man screamed in agony, grabbing one of the worms and throwing it to the ground, trying to crush it. But the moment the worm touched the sand, it disappeared.
Han Ming realized the worm hadn’t vanished—it had merged with the sand.
The man’s condition worsened. Countless worms were burrowing in and out of his eyes, nose, ears, and skin. He frantically grabbed handfuls of worms and threw them to the ground, but they seemed endless.
In the cold, silent night, his agonized screams echoed eerily through the sandstorm.
"Everyone, get up here! Now!"
Han Ming quickly threw a large animal hide on the ground and stepped onto it.
The others understood and followed suit, avoiding direct contact with the ground. Chuck and his group also spread hides under their feet.
"Quick! Keep your feet on the hides. Don’t touch the ground directly. Those worms will burrow back into you through your feet." Han Ming threw another hide to the infested man. "Use your combat energy to force the worms out!"
The man jumped onto the hide and released all his combat energy in a frenzy. As a wind-element warrior, his energy blew the worms out of his body. The worms disappeared into the sand as soon as they touched it.
Everyone stared in horror, speechless.
After about ten minutes, the man had expelled all the worms. His body was riddled with holes, but strangely, not a drop of blood flowed from the wounds.
"How are you?" Han Ming asked.
The man collapsed onto the hide, still scratching his skin as if unbearably itchy, but he seemed much better and stopped screaming.
"I’m fine... I’m fine..."
Hearing this, the group breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the hell were those things?" Han Ming asked Chuck.
Chuck, who had clearly done some research before the expedition—evident from his knowledge of the Sawtooth Fish in the Savage Ice Plains—looked grave.
"I don’t know. I’ve never heard of such worms in this desert. But they don’t seem particularly dangerous. If we take precautions, they shouldn’t be fatal."
Han Ming nodded slowly, but he felt something was off. The situation didn’t seem that simple.
Were the worms just burrowing through the man’s body? Or was there more to it?
What happened next confirmed his suspicions.