novellhall Chapter 592 - 582: Chis the Clever
Chapter 592 - 582: Chis the Clever
Hungry.
So hungry...!
Ever since Chis accidentally got swept into that vast white mist in the struggle for that alluringly oscillating giant energy source on the ship, he found himself becoming increasingly hungry.
Food that once satisfied him now could only temporarily quell that hunger.
After a brief satisfaction fades, a more ferocious emptiness doubles back, tormenting his inner self.
He devoured all the creatures within that white mist, and after escaping from it, hunger drove him to scour the entire nearby sea.
Schools of fish, sea beasts, and even rotten wood and rusted metal from sunken ship wrecks.
When every moving and still living and dead thing was devoured, hunger even drove him to gnaw on the hard rocks on the sea floor, extracting a thread of miserable energy from them.
But stones can’t fill the stomach!
On the sea surface, those ships emitting the scent of food are becoming increasingly scarce, and recently have vanished altogether.
He’s hungry again...
Hunger burns like fire, but hasn’t completely destroyed the wisdom he prides himself on.
He remembers the north, his former homeland, now occupied by mushrooms and unwelcoming.
In fact, even Chis finds it difficult to withstand the temperatures there now.
Chis once imagined how wonderful it would be if all the mushrooms were frozen to death in the north.
But soon, he found traces of fungal mats on the southern shore, shattering that little hope.
Mushrooms in the north and south, but fortunately, between these two death zones stretches a long "clean" coastline.
Of course, he also remembers that besides those mushrooms, there are other individuals in this world that can pose a deadly threat to him.
Like the sword-wielding figure he encountered in the Underground City, and the one he ran into in the north river, who drained his blood.
Thus, even though hunger has driven him nearly mad, he supresses his instincts, refraining from stepping onto land, exposing himself to the views of those terrifying entities.
Ultimately, he sets his sights on the port.
Chis isn’t clear on the complex wars and occupations between races and nations on the continent, but after some observation over time, he’s certain the port is an isolated place.
Eat up everything inside, then immediately retreat to the safety of the deep sea... this should sustain him for a while so he won’t starve!
But why?
Why are there mushrooms here too?
The moment the Eye Worm discovers that Puki, the Heart of Chis instinctively starts to tremble.
Mushrooms... they really don’t plan on letting him go! Even though he’s fled to such a distant place!
He remembers the previous incident where Puki rode a ship, patrolling back and forth in the nearby sea, looking for his trace.
That time he was lucky to evade, trembling while hiding in the deepest trench.
Is this time... going to end here?
No! No! No!
He’s different now!
Though that white mist plunged him into this endless hunger, it also bestowed upon him new power!
Newer, more powerful worms have been birthed from his tumor!
He repeatedly roars within these "progressions", using the newfound power to bring himself courage, battling against the deep-rooted fear of mushrooms.
Finally, the madness driven to the extreme by hunger, mixed with humiliation and hatred, overpowers the retreating instincts.
Attack!
Crush it!
Devour this flesh before more mushrooms arrive!
...
Not only those few Six-clawed Worms tearing through the mage, but another large wave of diverse but equally terrifying insects surged out from the broken city gate.
Their shells scrape, emitting a teeth-grinding sound, compound eyes flicker with crimson light, sweeping toward Thirteen.
This scene couldn’t be more catastrophic in Mengya and Stinky Fish’s eyes!
"What the—!"
Startled, Mengya’s scream changed pitch.
In her panic, the Enchanting Demon clutches the collar of her old Goblin brother Stinky Fish with one hand, while frantically scooping up Thirteen with the other, nearly using every ounce of strength, racing desperately in the direction they came!
"Why? Why not eat those ready-made routed soldiers! Why chase us?" Mengya screams in despair as she runs, tears nearly bursting.
"Shut up! Save your strength!" Stinky Fish, battered and shaken, yells hoarsely, while he instinctively reaches into the tattered pouch at his waist, pulling out several spherical objects, hurling them backward without a glance!
Pop! Pop pop!
The balls explode upon landing, erupting with thick, pungent gray-green smoke, instantly obscuring vision, trying to buy them some escape time.
However, the insects charge through the smoke without hesitation, pursuing them straightly.
The Eye Worm in the sky locks onto their position using [Magic Perception].
The insects were originally faster than Mengya, and the fact that they hadn’t caught up yet was purely due to the initial distance between the two sides.
But this distance was being gradually narrowed.
Thirteen was also unaware that these insects were coming for it, thinking they merely wanted an extra meal.
It did notice the Eye Worm in the sky, considering it the eyes and ears of the insects, but given the current chase situation, finding an opportunity to counterattack was truly difficult.
In truth, if these insects weren’t trying to eat it, it would quite enjoy staying on that hillside to fully appreciate the destruction of the port.
The insects were getting closer, they were about to catch up.
In panic, Mengya dashed into a narrow gap between two mountains.
Behind her, the claw of the closest insect nearly hooked onto the worn-out leather boot swaying in the air.
Beyond the gap was a canyon, but upon entering the valley, their hearts truly sank to the bottom— it was a dead end visible at a glance.
If the insects broke through, or came in from above, they were doomed!
"A... Are we really going to die by being eaten by insects?" Mengya leaned against the cold, smooth rock wall, listening to the increasingly loud sound of the shells scraping outside, in despair.
She once imagined her various endings, maybe dying under a human’s sword, maybe executed by a superior after a mission failure, or growing old in a dark Demon Race outpost...
But being devoured by a group of hungry sea insects was truly beyond her worst nightmare.
"Being eaten isn’t that bad." Stinky Fish was much more composed.
Among his Goblin compatriots, plenty had become military rations during battles. Being eaten by insects wasn’t an unacceptable way to die.
"I’m not done living yet! My magic life’s peak moments, my glories and riches..."
Meanwhile, Thirteen was contemplating an escape, planning to slip away from above while the insects were busy consuming these two.
A sound so faint it was almost negligible came from a narrow crevice in the rock wall beside them.
Mengya and Stinky Fish turned instinctively and saw a fist-sized Little Slime slowly squeezing out from the crack.
This... seemed to be a natural magic-rich region that breeds Slimes.
Just then, the hair-raising noises outside the valley suddenly retreated without warning.
Did they give up?
Why?
Mengya and Stinky Fish looked at each other, faces full of bewilderment and disbelief at their survival after the ordeal. They couldn’t understand why those ferocious insects fell short at the last moment.
But not understanding didn’t prevent them from being overwhelmed by joy!
"Ha... Haha! Hahaha!" Mengya suddenly jumped up, hugging Stinky Fish and Thirteen excitedly, incoherent with exhilaration, "I told you! How could we be so unlucky! Heaven hasn’t abandoned me! Heaven hasn’t abandoned me!! Hahaha!"
Pop—
Squeezed in the middle, Thirteen’s mushroom cap became deformed from the embrace, and it unceremoniously swung a tentacle to break free from the uncomfortable hug, retreating a few steps away.
...
Meanwhile, outside the canyon.
The insect swarm controlled by Chis was escaping at full speed, faster than when they were chasing, without looking back!
Initially, when that mushroom began a frantic fleeing, Chis indeed felt a rush of the hunter’s thrill.
The roles had reversed; it seemed to be in an absolutely advantageous position.
But the further the chase continued, a familiar sensation started bubbling up from deep memories.
In several encounters with the mushroom, when wasn’t it when victory seemed within reach that they suddenly fell into a deadly trap?
As the Puki finally dashed into a cul-de-sac surrounded by sheer cliffs, Chis’s alertness skyrocketed to the peak!
It was a trap!
Without hesitation, Chis ordered an Eye Worm to risk death from excessive use, pushing its Magic Perception to the limit, penetrating the dense rock layers, and scanning towards the valley’s interior.
The feedback information made Chis’s heart tremble fiercely.
Behind the rock layers, there was a dense cluster of Magic Corps!
A trap! It was indeed a trap!
Without hesitation, Chis decisively ordered the insects to retreat.
Simultaneously, a sense of indescribable satisfaction, mixed with fright, welled up in its consciousness.
This time... it finally saw through the mushroom’s trick! Backing away from the cliff edge at the last moment of the ambush!
Though it couldn’t kill that Puki scout, its main insect forces were intact.
More importantly, the mushroom, to lure it in, didn’t mind playing this lengthy chase game.
During this time, its other insects left in the port ruins hadn’t been idle, managing to gather as much food as possible.
The original plan was to consume the port thoroughly, but now, considering the remaining scraps hidden in the corner, and risking a confrontation with the potentially ambushed mushroom, was evidently unwise.
After the pursuing insect swarm completely returned, Chis, showing no reluctance, decisively commanded all units to retreat into the sea.
Behind them, only the rolling smoke of the port burning in the fire remained.
This time, the slight strategic victory over the mushroom felt even more satisfying to Chis’s hungry heart than securing this batch of emergency food!
Someday, the mushroom will be defeated by its power and wisdom!