The townsfolk became agitated.
"What happened to this sandworm? Why does it look like that!"
"What is that thing on its body?"
"Oh my god..."
Someone let out a cry of alarm.
Lu Yuan followed the person's gaze, and his pupils constricted slightly.
The sandworm's mouthparts were open.
Between the layered rows of teeth, eyes were growing.
Those eyes were of different sizes and had a murky color; at this moment, they were constantly rolling within the gaps, looking at the surroundings.
At the edge of his vision, the greyish-white text jumped quietly:
【Environmental Perception: detected a slight source of pollution.】
Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised by the prompt.
When he observed the sandworm last night, the greyish-white text clearly stated that sandworms were biological creatures and that the concept of pollution did not apply to them.
Don't ordinary sandworms lack pollution?
Then this one... was someone doing something in the shadows? Or was this all the Mayor's doing?
Meanwhile, the Mayor, standing at the highest point, had a very grim expression, as if the sandworm appearing before him had exceeded his expectations.
But despite this, he was already prepared; he raised his bone flute, and an ancient melody rang out.
Lu Yuan could feel the sand beneath his feet vibrating slowly in rhythm with the melody the Mayor was playing.
As the Song of the Sandworm played, the movements of the blackish-brown sandworm became sluggish, its massive body writhing on the stones, leaving a long trail of liquid behind.
However, it soon noticed something was wrong, because the sunlight in the desert was extremely intense at this moment; despite being soothed by the Mayor's Song of the Sandworm, this strange sandworm also felt discomfort.
But it was already too late; the drugs mixed into the food it had consumed had already begun to take effect.
Its originally massive body was now out of control, writhing frantically.
The tough stones sliced through its skin, and yellowish-brown liquid continuously splashed from the wounds.
The scorching sun shone on the sandworm as it crashed around the stone field, its huge body hitting the stones and bouncing back.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
With every impact, several new wounds appeared on its body.
Yellowish-brown blood mixed with pus flowed along the creature's body, pooling into a thick, viscous stain on the sand.
Its mouthparts opened, emitting a rhythmic hiss.
Lu Yuan noticed that the eyes inside its mouthparts were all wide open now.
The murky eyeballs rolled frantically, showing a clear expression of fear.
The sandworm crashed into the stone wall again.
This time, its head slammed hard against a sharp rock.
Pus splashed everywhere.
Some people were splashed and cried out, hurriedly wiping it off, but fortunately, it was not corrosive.
"Don't panic!" Herman shouted, "Everyone, stand firm!"
But the sandworm's struggles became increasingly violent.
Its body rolled in the center of the stone field, its tail sweeping across a circle of stones, sending several smaller rocks flying directly out.
The townsfolk retreated one after another, some tripping and others cursing.
A foul, nauseating stench permeated the air.
The Mayor's bone flute did not stop.
But Lu Yuan could see that beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead, and his lips were tightly pursed.
The Song of the Sandworm was suppressing it, but only barely.
This sandworm... was much harder to deal with than a normal one.
"Light the fires!" Herman shouted.
The townsfolk hurriedly reached their torches toward the gaps in the stones.
Only then did Lu Yuan notice that the spaces between those stones of varying heights were stuffed with dried plants and some kind of greyish-white powder.
The moment the torches touched them.
Boom.
Flame instantly spread, diffusing outward along the stone gaps, soon surrounding the entire stone field with a ring of fire.
The sandworm's struggling intensified even further.
The flames scorched its body.
But something strange happened.
There were no burn marks on the sandworm's skin.
That layer of blackish-brown skin remained intact, and even the pus on its body was not dried out by the heat.
Yet it seemed to be enduring even greater pain than before; a shrill hiss escaped its mouthparts, and the eyes growing between its teeth trembled violently, closing one by one.
Lu Yuan's gaze fell on those greyish-white flames.
It wasn't flesh and blood that was burning.
It was something else.
This reminded Lu Yuan of mithril.
The Nightwatchers' transcendent weapons had extremely strong lethality against pollution and mutation, capable of scorching things on a spiritual level.
The properties of these flames were remarkably similar to mithril.
But mithril was standard equipment for the Nightwatchers; how could such a remote desert town have something like this?
Lu Yuan looked at the remaining greyish-white powder in the stone gaps.
Could it be some similar substance?
"Karl." Lu Yuan turned to the boy beside him, "What is that greyish-white powder?"
Karl shook his head, looking a bit dazed.
"I don't know, we've always used it this way." Karl continued, "Grandpa says it's a method passed down from our ancestors. As for what it specifically is, no one knows except for the Mayor and my grandpa."
Lu Yuan didn't ask further.
In the stone field, the sandworm's struggle grew weaker and weaker.
Its body convulsed a few times, and the eyes in its mouthparts closed one by one.
Finally, it stopped moving altogether.
But the Mayor did not let people go forward immediately.
He raised the bone flute and played again.
The melody was deeper and slower than before, like some kind of probe.
The sandworm's body remained motionless.
The Mayor played it one more time.
Still no reaction.
Only then did he lower the bone flute and nod to Herman.
"It's dead through and through." Herman walked forward, glanced at the sandworm's carcass, and said, "Begin the breakdown."
Several townsfolk walked into the stone field carrying tools.
The Mayor walked to the side of the sandworm's carcass and knelt down to give it a brief inspection.
His gaze lingered on the pus for a moment, and he frowned.
"Don't let the stuff on its body touch your skin." The Mayor stood up, his tone flat, "The rest is as usual."
After saying that, he gave no further explanation.
Though the townsfolk were confused, they still complied.
They used long-handled blades to cut into the sandworm's body piece by piece, their movements even more careful than usual, trying their best to avoid the pus.
The whole process was very slow.
And the Mayor did not participate in the breakdown.
He bypassed the busy townsfolk and walked straight toward the sandworm's head.
After a bit of searching, the Mayor knelt down and took a short knife from his waist.
He inserted the knife into the junction between the sandworm's mouthparts and its head, skillfully slicing open an incision.
Then, he reached his hand inside.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand.
In his palm was an extra object.
Lu Yuan couldn't see clearly what it was, only a flash of dark red, like some kind of crystal.
The Mayor put the object into his robe, stood up, and gave a few instructions to the people nearby.
Then, he left without looking back.
Herman, with his pipe hanging from his mouth, followed with a complex expression.
The two spoke in low voices, their expressions very grave.
Karl was also called away by other adults; before leaving, he shouted to Lu Yuan:
"Make sure you go home before dark tonight!"
Lu Yuan gave a reply. Just as he was considering whether to step forward to look at the sandworm, he suddenly noticed someone seemed to be watching him from a distance.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept across the surroundings inconspicuously.
In a distant corner.
There were three figures.
They stood in the shadow of a dilapidated building, their faces obscured.
But Lu Yuan noticed.
The robes they wore were extremely similar to the Nightwatchers' uniforms.
Black, with certain patterns that faintly shimmered under the sunlight.
One of them looked at Lu Yuan.
Then, the person made a gesture.
He pointed to the right side of his chest.
That was exactly where Lu Yuan had his Nightwatchers team badge pinned.
The meaning was clear.
Follow us.
Lu Yuan's footsteps paused for a moment.
He glanced around.
No one noticed that area.
The three figures had already turned and were walking toward the edge of the town.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment.
Those robes... that gesture...
They knew his identity.
And they seemed to be related to the Nightwatchers.
Lu Yuan gripped his Timekeeper in his right hand, and only then did he follow them.
Rate on N.U.
