Volume One: The Hell-Grade Lord World Chapter 96: The Fire Spirit Crow’s Probe

The Ghost Hero paid no attention at all to the flesh that had fled.

Without the ghosts to control and protect them, those scraps of flesh would keep on feeding until they could no longer contain their own strength and burst apart.

Once they had dealt with the crows flying in the sky, they could come back and handle those remains.

As the crows descended, the Ghost Hero raised his right hand.

“Rise.”

In the next instant, the ghosts surrounding the giant worm released beams of deep blue light at the same time.

The light struck the worm and formed a layer of protective shield around it.

Ordinarily, at a time like this, the fire spirit crows should have changed their method of attack.

But when Chen Gu had given the order, he had told them to use an earth-scorching bombardment against the enormous worm, so that he could see how resistant the strange creature was to magic.

The fire spirit crows were intelligent, but they had no authority to make decisions on the fly.

After seeing the giant worm, they still followed the original plan and launched another wave of flaming bombardment.

This time, Chen Gu had sent out every single fire spirit crow he possessed.

The moment they attacked, a neat formation of fireballs appeared in the sky.

The fireballs did not fall especially fast.

But against such a massive worm on the ground, even a slow descent was enough to hit.

As the explosions rang out, the Ghost Hero also straightened up. He paid no attention to the giant worm behind him and instead turned all his focus to the fire spirit crows.

The moment they had flown in, he had already seen that they carried magical power.

He had simply not expected that power to be so formidable.

Now the Ghost Hero had to watch them closely and see which direction they would fly.

Then he would know whether these fire spirit crows had been sent by the hero he had already set his sights on, or whether someone else was watching him.

After completing one strike, the fire spirit crows immediately turned and flew back the way they had come.

Seeing this, the Ghost Hero could not help but laugh.

“I thought it was only a little mouse. I never expected it to be a rabbit that kicks back.

Still, that is fine. The stronger the prey, the better the feast for our dear treasure.”

As he spoke, the giant worm seemed to sense something. It lifted its head, and the flesh and slime over its body turned into tentacle-like appendages that lashed about wildly.

This giant worm was actually called a carrion worm.

It was a rather special kind of undead.

Ordinary undead practitioners rarely chose to study how to control one.

That was not because it was too disgusting to look at, but because it was exceedingly difficult to manage.

Aside from eating, it had little else on its mind. Yet compared with the hungry ghosts and ghouls among the undead, the carrion worm was somewhat different.

What it swallowed was not truly digested at once. Instead, it remained in a half-digested state. What could be used was absorbed into its body, while what could not was left to soak in the strong acid within it, becoming ammunition for its attacks.

And among the things useless to a carrion worm were the souls of living creatures.

That was why no creature swallowed by a carrion worm ever failed to try to escape from inside it.

Because carrion worms had little interest in souls, the ghost troops could approach them and deal with all manner of problems.

For instance, they could drag back the scraps of flesh that had run off.

What carrion worms liked most to eat was soulless organic matter, such as trees and flowers.

Flesh infused with magic was also one of its favorite foods.

The fire spirit crows before him were a little small, but they carried magic. The explosion just now had not injured the carrion worm; on the contrary, it had only stirred it into excitement.

The Ghost Hero himself was excited as well.

He had brought this legion here precisely for this battle.

All these years he had been stationed here, and his carrion worm had been fed nothing but grass, not a single thing rich in magic.

It had barely grown at all.

Now that an opportunity had finally come, of course he intended to let the carrion worm have a proper meal.

“Clear up the rest. As for that flesh... never mind, leave it. We are going to eat something good.”

As the Ghost Hero spoke, the carrion worm seemed to understand. It reared up excitedly, its tentacles waving nonstop, each sweep flinging off bits of flesh.

By then the ghosts no longer cared about that matter. Under the Ghost Hero’s lead, they hurried toward the place where the fire spirit crows had vanished.

But they would not find them.

Before entering underground, Chen Gu had already sent a message to the fire spirit crows.

The message had been delivered by Pan, using one of the crows to carry it.

Chen Gu had never expected the fire spirit crows to go underground and search for them.

After all, the fire spirit crows were not corpse vines; they had no way of entering the earth.

And Chen Gu could not simply rise back to the surface again just because the fire spirit crows had returned.

So at that moment, all he could do was let the fire spirit crows hide themselves somewhere and wait until battle truly began before emerging again.

Chen Gu had instructed them to fly toward the Great Rift Valley.

In his estimation, the Great Rift Valley was only a little over ten thousand meters wide. Ordinary people could not go down into it, but for the fire spirit crows, flying across it should not be a problem.

Even if they could not cross, circling above the Great Rift Valley would still be safe for them.

Once Chen Gu truly engaged the enemy, Pan could simply send another crow to summon the fire spirit crows. It would not be troublesome at all.

After this battle was over, Chen Gu had already made up his mind: he would deal with the several hero tokens in his possession and assign a proper hero to the fire spirit crows and another to the blood shadow wolves.

By then, if he wanted to contact the fire spirit crows or the blood shadow wolves, he would not need to send anyone over in person. For those nearby, he could reach them directly through the territory interface.

Those farther away would also have their own corresponding means of contact. It would not be like now, when once the fire spirit crows were sent out, he would have no idea where they had gone until they returned.

Seated in the carriage, Chen Gu was thinking about these scattered matters while also considering the enemy he would soon have to face.

This battle was a trial for him.

If he could take it, that would mean he had the strength to deal with a legion-level enemy.

No matter how he won, so long as he won, the experience would count as his.

The achievement would also count as his. In that way, he would have a record against a legion-level foe, and whatever he chose to do afterward would become much easier.

At the moment, Chen Gu was full of confidence.

He believed that the arrangements he had made were absolutely correct.

At that very moment, Pan pulled back the curtain of the vine carriage and bowed his head toward Chen Gu.

“My lord, there is something ahead.”

Chen Gu looked up at once and understood what Pan meant.

A dark green liquid was seeping down from the ground.

Though he did not yet know what it was, he could be certain of one thing: anything touched by that liquid would bring nothing good.

“Keep the coordinates. Take a detour.”