Chapter 278
Chapter 83: The Truth of the Abyss Worm
“Wow, it really does look quite large.”
The Priestess couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
Even though it was helplessly coiled in the pit, its body battered and its half-roasted figure charred, the fact that it was nearly a thousand meters long still made it resemble a small mountain.
“Be careful, our understanding of the Abyss Worm is still very limited; no one knows what it might do in this situation.”
Unlike Vilyric and her accompanying Giant Dragon, Sigrid and the others from the Winged People were all on high alert, weapons firmly gripped, even Dolina, who had technically died once, was fully awake.
“Is that so… Just asking, what’s your plan for dealing with this thing if we confirm it has no resistance?”
Sigrid paused for a moment and then quickly replied.
“To be honest, I never really thought we could defeat or capture the Abyss Worm with just this number of people. I only planned to hold it off until the civil war in Omoland ended or reinforcements arrived from another island to help us kill it together. But given the current situation…”
“First and foremost, we definitely can’t let this monster, which can give birth to Abyss Beasts, continue to live. Its corpse should be sent to the Sky City for research once it’s confirmed harmless, to serve as important material for further understanding the Abyss, or… for crafting equipment or something like that.”
“Do you have any thoughts, Vilyric?”
“Well…”
The Black-haired Girl didn’t answer immediately; instead, she chose to press the tip of her holy staff against the Abyss Worm’s tattered shell and activated “Information Detection.”
“Uh-huh… Huh?”
Initially, the Priestess’s expression was calm, but as the ripples spread to cover the whole body of the Abyss Worm, especially its head, Vilyric’s face turned increasingly odd.
She seemed to begin to understand why the Abyss had to proactively kill this worm when it was defeated.
“Sigrid, is it alright if I just go ahead and slay this thing now?”
“Ah? Right now? I feel… No, this thing is indeed very dangerous, and it’s probably better to kill it sooner rather than later. Go ahead, do as you wish.”
Though the Captain of the Guards seemed to misunderstand something, Vilyric didn’t plan to clarify; since the spokesperson of the Winged People had nodded, she had no reason to hesitate.
With a group of people, the Black-haired Girl approached the worm’s head, which was drooping.
“Xiao Guang, slice its head open sideways, but don’t use too strong an attack; moderate force will be enough.”
“Okay, Master.”
Without any questions, the Little Dragon Daughter stepped forward, and in an instant, her claw-like hand flashed past. The Abyss Worm, already on the brink of death, had no resistance power; its head, over ten meters long, was smoothly cut in half, and the upper half crashed to the ground.
“What?!”
A startled exclamation escaped Sigrid’s lips, and the Winged People began to whisper among themselves, creating a noisy debate.
Vilyric’s beautiful silver-blue eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected…
This worm’s head was empty.
During the “Information Detection,” Vilyric received dozens of status feedbacks from the Abyss Worm, and the spiritual power—the control center—was entirely concentrated in the head.
In other words, this big worm, in some sense, wasn’t a complete individual; every segment of its body was likely once an independently existing creature, all pieced together and connected by some medium to form what is called the “Abyss Worm.”
No wonder it had been so decisive when it gnawed on its own body.
So the question arises—who pieced together or created a life form that has essentially reached an extraordinary level?
And also…
What is it that this empty-headed shell is carefully protecting, which serves as the source of its bodily power?
Vilyric already had the answer.
Though ordinary people, even Sigrid, might not see it, Vilyric’s soul tendrils could clearly sense a familiar, formless wave at the center of the worm’s split-open head.
Soul Power, Earth Mother Goddess Xi Fu, fragments of the Divine Spark scattered.
Compared to the “Southern Disaster” she had seen before, and the degree of Xi Fu Lin’s essence, the strength of this fragment was very low, or shall I say very few; it felt roughly one-tenth the original strength of Xi Fu Lin.
Though perhaps due to the small total amount, it hadn’t even developed a clear self-awareness, merely acting as a sort of battery or central hub for the Abyss Worm’s activities, Vilyric could be 100% certain that this was a fragment of Xi Fu’s essence.
Moreover, it was one that had already broken free from its seal.
No wonder something so little could serve as a power source for an extraordinary being.
Vilyric even had reason to suspect that the Abyss Worm’s ability to spontaneously give birth to new Abyss Beasts might be related to Xi Fu’s law of “Creation.” Perhaps the Abyss actively destroyed the defeated worm to reclaim the divine fragments inside?
However, there was still one very strange point.
Why would a creature powered by the fragment of Earth Mother Goddess Xi Fu be rejected by this world?
Was it because the shell comes from the Abyss Worm? Or some other, currently unclear reason?
Vaguely, Vilyric felt like she was grasping something, but that epiphany flashed away, overshadowed by an even stronger sense of contradiction.
Beside her, Sigrid and the others remained perplexed by the incredible structure of the Abyss Worm’s body.
Vilyric focused her thoughts and quietly retrieved the little stone sculpture that Xi Fu Lin was sleeping in, using her body’s cover to bring it closer to the divine fragment in the worm’s head.
Just as it had at the Underground of the Forest of Disasters, the unclaimed essence was spontaneously attracted and rapidly merged into the individual representing Xi Fu Lin’s consciousness, disappearing from sight.
Once Vilyric finished this, she quickly stuffed it back into her backpack; the entire process lasted less than three seconds, and except for the Little Dragon Daughter nearest to Vilyric, no one else noticed.
Giving her pet a glance to signal her to keep quiet, the Black-haired Girl cleared her throat innocently and turned to the seemingly still in disbelief Captain of Guards, shrugging her shoulders.
“I have no idea what just happened; I only discovered it when we came into contact. But… since this thing has been confirmed dead, shouldn’t we go deal with the other Abyss Beasts on the island? That battle over there probably hasn’t ended yet.”
Abyss Beasts are difficult to handle. Normally, you can only defeat them by exhausting all the energy contained within their bodies.
Though with Edwina, Leila, and Renée, three legends on our side, Vilyric didn’t believe they would lose, but there was no way they could handle it all right now.
Of course, the main goal was to change the subject, heh heh ~