Chapter 276: Terrifying
Chapter 276: Terrifying
When they first arrived at the village, it was already dusk. After a brief conversation with the village chief, it had become even darker outside.
Mr. Jasper said he wanted to treat Rod and Mira well, but the two refused and planned to check the situation first.
The guards at the village entrance, Liting and Bochi, had already lit the bonfires around the village.
If viewed from above, the small village was dotted with twinkling lights, while the outer perimeter was encircled by a ring of fire.
It resembled the protective circle Sun Wukong had drawn.
In the darkness at the edge of the firelight, countless tiny dots of light almost formed a starry sky.
Liting and Bochi knew that each dot of light represented a rat. Just the ones appearing at the edge of the firelight numbered in the hundreds.
The two swallowed hard, hoping the rats still feared the flames. If so many rats attacked, they might not survive the night.
The wolves, strange birds, and the two magic conductors around them provided a bit of security.
“What an exaggerated number,” Mira covered her mouth.
She wasn’t afraid of rats, but so many gathered together were disgusting.
“Let’s test them,” Rod made a gesture, and the sharp-beaked birds flapped their wings, sending out a hundred feathered knives.
Squeak squeak squeak~~~
The rats’ cries rose, and the rat swarm dispersed into the distance.
The sound of their kind’s death still made them wary.
But after a while, they slowly gathered back.
Under Rod’s command, the shadow wolves took a few steps forward, emitting threatening low growls.
The rat swarm retreated slightly but refused to disperse.
Mira’s right hand transformed into a demon arm, a purple-black ball appearing in her palm, which she hurled out.
The fist-sized ball landed in the rat swarm, exploding with a loud bang, creating a pit over a meter wide.
The ground trembled slightly, and hundreds of rats were affected, the rat swarm scattering in panic.
Mira frowned, seemingly unsatisfied.
Rod sweated, his girlfriend was also quite destructive, turning the good road into such a mess with a casual gesture.
After a while, the rat swarm regathered, the densest area being where the dead rats lay.
Many rats gathered, heads inward, tails outward, making crunching sounds.
Liting and Bochi’s faces turned pale: “They… are eating their kind’s corpses!”
Cannibalism among some animals was a habit, while for others, it was due to extreme food scarcity.
This was a very dangerous signal.
“Looks like we can’t delay any longer,” Rod sent the wild beasts back to the summoner’s valley, leaving only two river crabs patrolling around the village’s edge.
“Summon, Azure Carving Magic Statue, Crown of Insight.”
Many in the village had heard of the magic conductors and gathered nearby to check, some of whom also carried farming tools to guard the area daily.
The towering magic statue’s sudden appearance caused a chorus of gasps.
The village chief hurried everyone to retreat a bit, not to interfere with the magic conductors.
Rod first gave himself a recharge, then reminded them, “The next thing I summon might be a bit ugly, don’t be scared.”
He then glanced at Mira.
Mira smiled gently; she had seen the void nest bug, which indeed wasn’t pretty.
But Rod had never disliked her, so why would she disdain Rod’s magic?
Three man-sized purple insects appeared at the village entrance.
Their heads were adorned with single horns, their mouths filled with fangs, and their backs bore purplish-red insect eggs, striking fear into the hearts of the villagers who quickly retreated.
Mira extended both hands and clasped Rod’s right hand. "Can you maintain them for a long time without running out of magic power?"
Rod pointed to the blue glow surrounding him. "I should be able to keep them up for a few hours, but it will be a bit tiring."
As they spoke, the insect eggs on the backs of the three Void Nest Bugs ruptured, and 12 worms hopped out, circling around the nest bugs.
Rod instructed the three nest bugs, "Have them line up outside the fence. Attack if any rats come close, but don’t bite the village buildings!"
This was a crucial point to emphasize; Rod didn’t want to complete a task only to end up paying for damages.
After giving these instructions, they could mostly rest. Rod just needed to act as an emotionless power bank, maintaining the existence of the magic statues and the nest bugs.
As for the small worms, the nest bugs would gather ambient magic power from the air to produce them.
After 12 seconds, another 12 worms were born, hopping to the fence and lining up, staring down the distant rats.
Village Chief Jasper mustered the courage to ask, "Mr. Rod... are these the ones you mentioned?"
"Exactly. See those small worms? They can produce 60 per minute, 3600 per hour. I plan to officially engage the rats in two and a half hours. What do you think?"
"This..." Jasper did the math. In two and a half hours, there would be 9000 worms. Fighting the rats with numbers seemed feasible.
And those worms, when bunched together, were a bit larger than a human head and could stand taller than a knee. They should be more formidable than rats, right?
Is the village saved?
"May I ask, what will happen to these worms after the rats are eliminated?"
"They will disappear," Rod explained patiently. "They are essentially transformed from magic power through a special method and will eventually revert back to magic power."
Void Worms were different from Void Nest Bugs. If the nest bugs were killed, they would return to the Summoner’s Valley to respawn, but the worms would dissipate upon death.
"That’s good, that’s good..." Jasper sighed in relief. "Is there anything else we can help with?"
"Assign some people to keep watch in all directions of the village. If anything goes wrong, inform us immediately."
"Understood! I’ll go arrange it right away!"
Realizing that the rat infestation had a chance of being resolved, Jasper’s enthusiasm soared.
He immediately organized people to stand guard and patrol the surroundings, repeatedly emphasizing that they must not trouble the magic conductors.
The villagers, after hearing the village chief’s description, no longer looked at the three nest bugs and the batches of worms with fear and disgust, but rather with the same awe one might have for a rare treasure.
Mira chimed in, "What should I do, Mr. Rod?"
Rod thought for a moment and said, "Miss Mira, how about you do me the honor of being my personal bodyguard?"
"Sure~"
"Don’t just say it, come closer."
"..." So being close was the key point? Mira gave him a light tap and extended her hand, "Bring the ingredients."
The various foods they had bought the previous day were originally meant as a backup, but Mira suggested buying some things they wanted to eat, in case they needed to cook on the road.
In the current situation, although the village chief had said he would treat them, Mira bet that he would prefer to eat what she cooked.
(End of Chapter)
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