Chapter 145 Sandworm
Marcus wanted to ask something, but seeing everyone else immediately follow William, he decided to stay quiet and tag along.
His question lingered for only a few seconds. As they entered the southern district, the ground started shaking.
Being an Evolving person, Marcus could tell the tremors were coming from up ahead, right where they were headed.
William exclaimed, "The sandworms are here!"
William's face was stern as he ran and explained to the group.
He said to them, "Sandworms have one main trick. Besides their massive size and strength, they can burrow underground super fast. The tremors we're feeling are from them wrecking the southern district's walls."
"What?"Marcus blurted out, "Doesn't that mean, doesn't that mean..."
William nodded in agreement. He added, "The old buildings' foundations can't handle the sandworms. The stones and soil between buildings have no real foundation and will collapse soon."
Marcus asked, "Then why are you still..."
Marcus didn't finish, but everyone knew what he meant.
Once the walls collapse, thousands of zombies and those terrifying creatures outside will rush in. It's crazy to think a few people could hold them off.
The others didn't say it, but they were thinking the same thing. They were just used to following William's orders and didn't bring it up.
William simply answered, "Because we're the only ones who can stop this."
Jack showed no fear and even joked with William, "Boss, since when did you become so kind-hearted?"
William laughed heartily, not minding Jack's comment. He replied, "I'm not that kind-hearted. I still need this base, so I can't let it fall."
Pausing for a moment, feeling the increasingly intense tremors underfoot, William explained, "The sandworms are destroying the foundation, causing the buildings to collapse. Listen carefully, it's 'collapse.' After the buildings collapse, they'll turn into massive ruins."
William continued, "These ruins can still block the zombies. We just need to kill all the sandworms. Once these annoying bugs are gone, we can organize people to reinforce the ruins, and the base will still be defensible."
Hearing William's explanation, everyone felt relieved. Otherwise, anyone that faced a sea of zombies would lose all courage.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from ahead. Everyone looked and saw a section of the wall between buildings, filled with stones and cement, collapsing. With the noise, the entire section of the wall fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
A black shadow darted across the ruins, but it was hard to see clearly through the dust.
The collapsed wall, originally dozens of feet high, was now less than half its original height, about the height of a two or three-story building. Perhaps due to the sudden drop in height, the howls of the zombies outside became much clearer.
The people in the southern district, who had just calmed down, panicked again. This time, it wasn't the confusion of the night but the sight of the wall collapsing with their own eyes. These survivors could no longer suppress their fear and ran frantically towards the base's interior!
"Open fire!"William coldly ordered, raising his Edge of the Moon.
The refugees were rushing towards them. If they didn't stop them, the team would be stuck here, and the zombies would break through.
Those with guns hesitated for a moment. After William urged again, gunfire erupted.
The panicked crowd immediately split to the sides under the threat of death, clearing a path for the team.
William charged directly onto the ruins.
A giant worm was emerging from the rubble. It had a massive body, over 50 feet long and 6.5 feet wide, looking like an oversized centipede.
But unlike a centipede, it didn't have many legs, only a pair of thick, jointed limbs at the front, middle, and rear of its body.
The most notable feature was its head, sharp and spiral-patterned, resembling a giant drill with a metallic sheen. Below the head was a huge mouth, currently devouring large chunks of soil and stone, which were then expelled from its rear as fine particles.
This sandworm was an apocalyptic siege weapon. Many survivor bases were destroyed because of them.
With their sharp, powerful heads, they could burrow quickly underground, even through hard rock. They also had a unique ability wherein their bodies were filled with tooth-like digestive organs that could grind stones, bricks, cement, and even ordinary steel into particles, which were then expelled.
Human buildings were like paper to them.
William's arrival here was an accident. He entered the base merely to trade for some supplies. But seeing the zombies and mutated creatures around, especially knowing there was a two-star roulette here, he changed his mind. He wanted to use this base for something.
This plan required an intact base, one that hadn't been breached.
The appearance of these sandworms disrupted his plan, so he needed to eliminate them now.
He had just completed his two-star evolution and was at his peak. Wielding the Edge of the Moon, he targeted the sandworm devouring the ruins. This two-star evolved creature hadn't realized the arrival of Grim Reaper.
It wasn't until William's Edge of the Moon pierced its body that it saw its enemy.
Sandworms weren't very sensitive, which was one of their weaknesses.
The sharpness of the Edge of the Moon once again gave William an advantage. The strength of a two-star Evolving person provided him with enough power. With two swift strikes, he severed the sandworm's middle legs, dodging the gray-black liquid it sprayed while it screamed in agony.
William instructed them, "First, cut off their middle legs to limit their movement. Then, pierce the back about 6.5 feet from the tail, where the shell is slightly lighter in color. That's where their heart is!"
William's voice reached everyone's ears, teaching them how to deal with the sandworms.
As he spoke, he didn't stop moving. He leaped onto the sandworm's body, flew to the front of its tail, and the Edge of the Moon drew a white arc in the air, piercing the lighter-colored shell.
"Avoid its blood. It's a neurotoxin. If it gets on you, your body will stiffen, and you won't recover for two days," William reminded.
He withdrew his blade and quickly retreated, completing a swift kill demonstration.
The sandworm's body convulsed a few times, let out two rhythmic wails, and quickly died.
Just as the team was about to let out a sigh of relief, they felt the ruins shaking violently. A few seconds later, several places erupted with flying debris, and several giant black shadows emerged from the ground.
Five sandworms surrounded them.
