Chapter 114: The mutation.

Herculean Sand Worms, the top predator of the food chain in the Sangrias desert. It boroughs deep underground leaving massive cave-ins. The sand above them rise and sink to form the dunes that were oh so notorious part of the desert. Normally they rarely surface fully like the scene before Crule right now.

They only come out in the sun to consume prey, and even then, it’s only their head that comes out. The scene before Crule right now is a full one hundred meter long sand worm fully out of the sand. Its angered roar shook the sand. The hole it used to come out was slowly filling with sand and becoming a whirlpool.

The city of Janus was safe from these giant monsters though. The hard bedrock underneath Janus doesn’t allow the Herculean sandworm any leeway.

This kind of monster can even give a dragon a run for its money. It was a force of nature. One that Crule and Ming have to combine their power to take down.

But Crule didn’t want to fight it. They can only run. The mysterious being he suddenly recognize changes everything.

[Crule]: HURRY UP!

Turf snapped out of his shock and with a slightly less brave face, turned the ship around to avoid the whirlpool of sand.

The other ships around them all tried to avoid the whirlpool. Many contestants abandoned their ship and started running away back to Janus in fear.

Turf’s ship sail was tilted as so the wind pushed the ship away from the worm.

Ming recovered from her headache with a cold sweat as well.

[Ming]: I-I remember now.

[Crule]: I know…Our old self were quite cruel to keep this important information away from us.

[Ming]: I can understand why though…It’s not something we are ready to face.

Crule nodded while keeping an eye on the being.

The being had his eyes closed and was facing the worm.

[Mysterious Being]: Injecting forced advancement tonic.

From his palm, the skin ripped apart to reveal a metal flap. The slides open and a syringe popped out.

With blinding speeds that Crule could barely keep up with. The being jumped on the worm and injected it.

Before the worm even had a chance to react, the being was already off of him and quite a distance away.

[Mysterious Being]: Injection complete. Observation: Mutation imminent.

The being quickly backed away to a safe distance. His speed was so fast, that the sand under him couldn’t react in time. A few moments after the being disappeared, the sand under him exploded by the wind pressure created by his movement.

Crule only swallowed a little with both fear and annoyance.

The worm was twisting and turning as if it was in great pain. It continuously roared into the skies and mucus was spewing out of its large mouth.

The reason why the worm stays underground most of the time was because its huge body, if exposed to the sun, would result in it dehydrating extremely fast. The mucus lining of its body not only allows it to glide through the sand without the sand causing tears, but also to regulate its body temperature. The mucus around this particular Herculean sand worm was slowly turning a shade of pink. It was bleeding from its pores as it thrashed around violently.

Turf was scared out of his wits and was trying to rush the ship.

[Turf]: Come onnnn, move faster already!

He prayed the winds would pick up.

Dante was staring in awe at the worm.

She snapped out of it and aimed an arrow at the worm.

[Crule]: Don’t shoot!

But it was too late. The arrow flew true and imbedded itself into the worm like a harmless mosquito bite…

Sadly, it was all that was needed. The worm suddenly focused all its attention on the small ship. It didn’t know what attacked him earlier but now that it has seen the ship, its rage was all directed to it.

Crule paled. He was in no shaped to fight the worm. If he had worn himself out fighting it, the mysterious being could dispose of him very easily.

[Crule]: Crap…Ming we need a boost.

Crule reached into his pocket and threw a pill at Ming.

She caught it and looked at it. The pill was spherical and had a soft shell.

[Ming]: Got it.

She threw the pill in her mouth and gulped. Color slowly returned to her face.

The pill Ming took was something that was hidden deep in Crule’s storage. He didn’t even remember he had it until his headache awoken his locked memory. The pill was considered a panacea. It could heal most wounds and help recover energy. Although it was god like, it took time to take in effect.

Ming recovered enough to form three things. She made two large blood blades that crystalized under the metal blades under the boat. It cut through the sand with almost no resistance. It was as if friction had no effect on it.

The third thing she made was a large and thing sheet of blood behind the boat.

[Ming]: RAHHHH!

With a strong swing of her arm, the sheet of blood fanned the sail giving them a short burst of speed.

The boosted forward, away from the worm.

Ming collapsed on her knees as the sheet dissipated into ash.

[Ming]: *cough* I’m going to need to recover the lost blood…

She looked even more fatigued than before. The pill however was still in effect, so she didn’t faint completely. The blood blades under the ship was still intact and Ming was still awake to manage them.

Crule nodded at Ming and turned both his palms toward the Worm.

[Crule]: Hopefully this will make it wary of approaching.

From his real hand, a faint black light wisped out like a stream of smoke. It wrapped around his metal hand and began rotating. As it rotate faster, Crule’s energy was channeling into balls at the tip of his fingers. Five black balls formed from the smoke consumed the energy Crule emitted from his fingertips. The five balls grew more and more profound yet stayed the same size. It was soon rotation to the point where screeching sounds could be heard.

Crule tried to be as reserved as possible as he needs to save his energy for a greater enemy. He gripped his metal arm to steady his aim. Five balls were now pulsating greatly with power. The worm stared at the human on the ship with both anger and curiosity.

Crule shot his attack. The five balls rotated as it flew toward the worm at high speeds. It slammed directly into the worm leaving a large hole on its side. However, the balls didn’t exit from the other side. Inside the worm, the five balls expanded and shot out all in different directions. It sliced the worm full of holes like a piece cheese.

Mucus and blood exploded forth from the numerous wounds. It was not life threatening to the worm however. It was injured greatly, but it wasn’t something that could kill it. Its tenacity was tyrannical.

The worm roared again as it watched the ship get away. For some strange reason it couldn’t move anymore. From deep within the worm, the tonic worked its magic.

From the holes that Crule created, more worm heads rapidly formed.

[Crule]: What?! What just happened?!

Countless heads just kept coming out of the wounds.

Soon it was no longer a Herculean Sand worm. No, it had evolved beyond that. It’s now a Hydra worm King.

[Crule]: Shit, what have I done…?

Sadly it’s far too late to regret now. They are now facing a monster above what Crule and Ming can handle even at full power. It’s now a race for their life.