White star butterfly larvae crawled out from the ground. Although there were differences in size, there was not a huge difference. One was less than a metre long while the other was more than five metres long.
Gongjia Yue was like a hungry beast smelling blood at the sight of this. The excitement in his eyes was palpable, as if he wanted nothing more than to capture all the white worms and let them bleed. It was as if he could see a golden, glorious path laid before him.
His chance to turn the tables was right in front of him!
Clang!
Unsheathing his sword, Gongjia Yue charged towards the nearest worm.
"Catch them!"
Mu Yao snapped out of his excitement and ordered his men to get to work. Their ultimate goal was to get these white worms!
The sharp blade cut through the white worm's body but there was no sound of breaking. The sword felt like it had cut through a tree full of resin. The blade seemed to be blocked, only leaving a shallow mark on the worm's skin. Even Mu Yao did not manage to cut through the worm's body as he expected.
Just now, he had been able to cut off one of the eagle's toes with his sword, but now, he couldn't even cut off this little white worm.
However, although he did not cut the worm in half, he did cut open its skin.
White liquid flowed out from the worm's wound, dripping to the ground and seeping into the soil. Just as Mu Yao was about to slash at the opening, the white worm nimbly rolled to the side, avoiding his sword.
There were white marks on the ground, blood from the larvae's wounds. However, the blood quickly seeped into the ground. Mu Yao noticed that the larvae's wounds had stopped bleeding and were healing at a visible rate!
The speed of their recovery was simply too fast!
It was hard to break its skin, it healed quickly and dodged quickly. Although these larvae did not have gaping mouths or sharp horns, they were troublesome to deal with.
Someone near Mu Yao noticed this too. He was about to say something to Mu Yao when a white shadow flashed past, fast as lightning!
The star butterfly larva that he had just injured had its front end pressed tightly against the ground. Nearly two-thirds of its body had turned into a thick and heavy white whip. Its fierce attack swept towards that person with the power of the wind.
That person didn't expect the seemingly harmless white bug to suddenly attack him. Before he could react, an intense pain spread from his abdomen to his brain.
The larva hooked its three pairs of thoracic legs to the ground, twisting at an unbelievable angle and lashing out.
The person who was sent flying directly flew more than 30 meters away. After landing on the ground, he slid back for a distance before stopping. If it weren't for the grass and trees on the ground blocking him, he might have flown even further.
After landing on the ground, the man curled up like a shrimp and spat out blood from his mouth. He groaned in pain and could not get up again.
Mu Yao dodged the 'white whip'. These white worms were not easy to deal with but a few more slashes would kill them.
Gongjia Yue crouched down and touched the white marks on the ground. They were from the worm he had just injured. He rubbed the soil stained with white blood and suddenly thought, 'Don't use it'!
Gongjia Yue suddenly shouted, "It's not blood!"
"What do you mean?" asked Mu Yao.
"It's not worm blood that can be used for forging!" said Gongjia Yue.
Mu Yao was confused by Gongjia Yue. It's not blood? Didn't you say it's worm blood? Are you kidding me?! My deepest respect to your ancestors!
"It's not blood but it must have something to do with these worms!" Gongjia Yue paused. "Use a net! Catch them first! "
First, he would capture the bugs and then slowly study what exactly they were.
Mu Yao's anger subsided when he heard Gongjia Yue. As long as it was the worms, the Gongjia family could figure out if it was blood or not.
The net Gongjia Yue mentioned was not made from vines or grass ropes like the tribesmen usually used. It was a net Gongjia Yue made himself before he came.
Every thread on the net was a metal that had been specially processed. It was more flexible, but it was not easy to break. The thickness of the thread was less than one-tenth of the thickness of a pinky finger, and it was lighter than other metal of the same size! This made the Mu and Yi family members gasp in amazement.
The Gongjia family's' masters' all had many treasures hidden away. They just did not usually show them to others. Gongjia Yue was only willing to show his treasures because of the larvae. This was his invention. To date, no one else knew how to make this mesh. This was also the trump card Gongjia Yue planned to use to compete with the other blacksmiths for the title of Gongjia's best blacksmith during the Gongjia family's gathering!
Unfortunately, he did not make it to the meeting. Instead, the Royal City changed and the Gongjia family was divided into several factions. He was pushed out.
At Gongjia Yue's words, one of his slaves opened a large wooden box on his back and took out rolls of animal hide. He opened the hide to reveal a glowing silver net.
Mu Yao did not waste any time, tossing the net to someone else.
These nets were specially made by Gongjia Yue. Unlike fishing nets, these nets were made to catch worms. Many unnecessary parts were removed to save space and weight.
The net wrapped around the front of the white worm's body. The opening of the net tightened, covering the worm's head and the bulge behind its head. The thread connecting the opening of the net was extended and held in the hands of the person who cast the net. They controlled the tightness of the net.
The trapped worm did not stop moving. After rolling a few times, it continued to climb towards the mountain wall.
It was impossible for one person to pull the white worm. Therefore, each net was pulled by six or seven people or even more. Alternatively, they could tie the net to a nearby tree or rock to save a lot of effort.
"Quick, quick, quick! There are more! Catch as many as you can! "shouted Gongjia Yue anxiously. He realised that the worms had no intention of fighting them. Instead, they were heading towards the mountain wall. Many of them had already climbed up the mountain wall and were climbing upwards rapidly.
Although Gongjia Yue did not understand worms, this was clearly not a coincidence. There must be a reason!
They did not come all the way here to see accidents happen!
They had already caught seven larvae. Some of them went to look for vines and the like. When the larvae got tired of struggling in the metal net, they replaced them with vines. Only then could they free up the metal net to catch more insects.
Some of them also had to attract the larvae's attention so that the person holding the net could cast the net easily. Otherwise, they would not be able to get up immediately after being whipped by the tail.
This way, the number of people they could use was limited. Gongjia Yue turned to look at Yi Qi and Yi Zong, who were watching from afar. They each had four to five slaves with them. Gongjia Yue wanted to ask them to free up a few slaves to help but the two of them looked completely uninterested in catching worms. Both of them were frowning as they stared at the trays in their hands, ignoring the battle. Gongjia Yue swallowed the words he was about to say. Forget it, he could not count on them.
Weren't the Yi family also in a hurry to find more powerful weapons before coming here? Why did they not seem to care now that they were here?
"We brought too few people!"
However, they were not sure if they could find what they were looking for so they did not bring too many people. They thought they would only find one or two larvae. Now, Gongjia Yue regretted it. If he knew there would be so many larvae, he would have brought an army!
Although there were many larvae, they were not all in the same place. They were scattered far apart. This was one of the reasons why they were not very efficient at catching worms.
"Quick! Quick! Quick! "
Gongjia Yue could not stand still when he saw all the worms running up the cliff. He sheathed his sword and climbed up the cliff.
Mu Yao and the rest did the same. They planned to get the worms down and let the people with the nets catch them.
However, they soon discovered that the mountain walls here were not that easy to climb. They were colder and harder than the mountain walls in other places. Furthermore, the higher they climbed, the more difficult it was to climb. It was as if there was a force pressing down on any creatures that tried to climb up.
However, the white worms crawling up the mountain did not seem to feel the pressure. Their backs arched into the shape of "ω", then climbed up into the shape of "1", and then arched into the shape of "ω". There were three pairs of legs on their chest, abdomen, and tail. The hooked legs allowed the clumsy white worms to climb up the mountain wall.
In comparison, Mu Yao and the rest who were chasing after them paled in comparison.
This was not going to work!
The worms were faster than them. If they continued, they would be left behind.
Gongjia Yue also realised this problem. He looked at the cliffs on both sides and fixed his gaze on one spot.
"That fat one!"
Mu Yao looked over. There was a white worm not far away. Although it was about the same length, it was obviously thicker than the rest. The other worms curled into a circle while it curled into a ball. It had a lot of flesh and blood and crawled slower than the rest. Who else could they catch? They might even be able to make it roll down the cliff with a flick of their sword!
That's it!
"Catch that fat one!"
There were too many targets and they had limited manpower. These star butterfly larvae were not easy to catch either so they had to catch them one by one.
Perhaps sensing Mu Yao's intentions, the fat worm sped up, preventing Mu Yao and the rest from catching up.
In the end, they gave up on chasing the fat worm. When they reached a suitable place to rest, they would stop to replenish their food and water and recover their energy before continuing their climb. From time to time, they would encounter cliff-like mountain walls. If they could climb, they would climb directly. If they couldn't, they would take a detour and find a less steep place.
Mu Yao looked up. They had climbed a long distance. Any higher and the cliffs were covered in snow. They could not see any greenery and the peak of the mountain was still out of sight. All they could see were swirling clouds.
A gust of cold air rushed into their lungs, almost choking them. The wind was stronger and colder but they were not even halfway up the mountain. If they continued, they would encounter even colder conditions.
Mu Yao looked at Gongjia Yue. He knew Gongjia Yue would not give up. He did not want to either. It was rare for them to be here, especially in a situation like this. Even if they could not catch more worms, if they could find out why they were climbing, perhaps they could discover more secrets or treasures, it would be worth it! Didn't they say there were treasures in mysterious and dangerous places like this?
Mu Yao's blood boiled at the thought. The rest of them thought the same but no one complained. Although it was cold, their gazes were fervent.
Treasures?
What kind of treasures would there be?
On the way here, they had hunted many ferocious beasts, and the animal skins they were wearing were the fur of those prey. However, gradually, the thick animal skins on their bodies began to be covered in white frost. Moreover, the higher they climbed, the greater the area covered by the frost. Their hair and beards were also not spared.
"How high is the peak?"
Mu Yao sighed.
Just as he was thinking, he felt a strong gaze on him. He turned and saw an eagle resting on a cliff about a hundred metres away. It was the one he had killed on the ground.
But Mu Yao's target was the worms. He wasn't interested in the eagle for now. He glanced at it and continued climbing. But the eagle's gaze was too intense, making Mu Yao furious.
"What are you looking at? I'll chop your head off if you keep looking! "Mu Yao roared at it.
With that, the eagle stared at Mu Yao even more intensely.
Mu Yao's temper flared up. Since they were all hungry, they might as well kill an eagle halfway and eat something before continuing their climb.
He was about to order his subordinates to move when he heard an eagle's cry.
Whoosh —
A strong gust of wind blew from above, causing small pebbles to fall from the cliff.
Mu Yao and the rest squinted from the wind. They looked up to see an eagle perched on the cliff not far above them, clinging tightly. It was much smaller than the eagle but still huge compared to a human. It was not an eagle. It looked young, its beak was not as curved as the eagle's and its claws were sharp and powerful.
However, Mu Yao's attention was not on the eagle. He looked up at a protruding rock. There was a person standing there.
"A tribesman?!" asked Mu Yao.
"Yanjiao?" Gongjia thought the person looked familiar.
Mu Yao's eyes flashed when he remembered what the Yi family said. "You're Shao Xuan from the Yanjiao tribe?!"
Mu Yao was not part of the main force when they hunted down the Yanjiao tribe so he had never seen what Shao Xuan looked like. He only guessed based on what the Yi family said. Yi Zong and Yi Qi said someone was following them. Yi Zong even said confidently that the person was Yanjiao's Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan did not answer them directly. Instead, he said, "You're brave, how dare you fight here."
Mu Yao raised his brows, wary of Shao Xuan. "Can't we?"
Shao Xuan glanced at them. "This is the giant eagle's' land of faith '."
Mu Yao and the rest were stunned. Shao Xuan did not look like he was lying to them.
Giant eagle?
What the hell was' land of faith '?
Wasn't this the star butterfly's territory? A giant eagle? How old was a giant eagle? Like the one just now?
Just as he thought of the eagle, Mu Yao realised that it was resting on the mountain wall. It flapped its wings and flew up. Before it flew up, it glanced at Mu Yao. The talons with two broken toes moved a little. Then, it looked back up, no longer looking down.
Mu Yao felt like he understood the eagle's gaze the moment their eyes met. It was saying, 'Just you fucking wait!'
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