Chapter 979: Part 1: Tragedy
Wilderness
He waited for another ten minutes. But the unknown beast egg inside the mental zone didn’t react at all.
Jeremy confirmed that the red and black fruit was not useful.
His eyes flashed with disappointment. But he was not worried. He knew the effects of consuming the bad fruit.
He then climbed down. Soon, he touched down on the ground. He then continued to explore the wilderness.
Shortly afterward,
He found a strange place. He used his eye power to observe the place from a safe distance. The place had strange, sunken land. There was no vegetation over the place.
Jeremy Night went toward the place. He hadn’t found any corrupted beasts so far, but the entangled vines were making it difficult to move forward.
He unsheathed his blade and began to cut them down. He cleared the route and walked along the path. Soon, he arrived in front of the sunken land.
But the scene before him stunned him. He stood frozen on the spot. His eyes widened in disbelief and fear.
Human corpses were lying all over the sunken ground. The corpses were intact, but they were all covered in sticky mucus.
As if something had vomited them. Jeremy came to his senses. He understood the seriousness of the matter.
He then got closer and began to observe. There were more than 15 corpses here. A few were buried under the ground.
He got to work to get complete details. He then found out the information a few minutes later.
There were exactly 22 corpses here. All of them were corpses of Tier-7 Beast Tamers. They were 3rd-year students from the special base.
He found out they had died recently. Not a single part of their bodies was missing. Not even a scratch or blood injury on their bodies.
This finding truly terrified him. He made an assessment that the seniors had died without knowing how. The sticky mucus confirmed that the attacker was a worm beast.
It might have attacked different teams in a single move. It was possible that the teams had gathered in one place, and the worm beast swallowed the members in one go.
He thought it was the right assumption. And he thought it was not a Tier-7 Beast. It had to be a Tier-8 Beast or Tier-9 Beast.
If it were a Tier-7 Worm Beast that attacked them, then their lifeline beasts in their mental zones would have alarmed them.
So both the Beast Tamers and their Lifeline beasts were caught off guard. It could only be possible if it was a Tier-8 or Tier-9 Worm Beast.
But there was only one Tier-9 Worm King, and some of the elders were already on its trail which left the Tier-8 Beast. He felt bad for the loss.
The Special Base had suffered losses previously. Now 22 more people have died. He knew it was not the total count. There could be more casualties in other parts of the wilderness.
Jeremy then made a decision. He didn’t want to leave behind the corpses here where they could become food for other beasts.
He then began to collect the corpses one by one. It didn’t take long for him to store the corpses inside his storage ring.
He then left the place, having decided to return. He didn’t know whether the elders knew about the casualty rate.
If a Tier-8 Worm Beast was involved, it totally changed the game. The elders were Tier-8 Beast Tamers themselves; only they could handle it.
As time passed, he traveled in the direction he had come from. He had left behind marks earlier, so he followed the marks.
Whenever he sighted corrupted beasts, he used his eye power to observe them. Once they left the area, he resumed his travel.
By following this safe strategy, he reached the middle land before sunset. He had escaped from the dangerous deep area.
But he had not escaped the threat yet. There were still miles left to reach the special base. He once again looked for a thick shade tree.
Soon, he found one. He used the same method to carve out a hole in the tree. It took him ten minutes to complete it.
Next, he entered the tree hole. He covered the entrance with small wooden logs and broken twigs.
Once he was done with it, he began to rest inside the tree hole.
Night came,
The corrupted beasts started coming out to hunt. Their roars echoed through the forest. Their footsteps were loud and clear.
Jeremy Night was half asleep. Whenever he heard footsteps or loud noises near the shade tree, he opened his eyes.
He used his eye power to check. There were corrupted beasts roaming nearby, but they were not near his shade tree.
He heaved a sigh of relief. He then closed his eyes and began to rest, waiting for the morning to come.
The next morning,
He woke up early in the morning. Once the movement of the corrupted beasts reduced, he resumed his journey.
As time passed, he used Feathered Steps to cover the distance.
4 hours later,
He reached the special base. He didn’t stop anywhere until he entered the premises. Jeremy Night then headed toward the Elders’ office.
After reaching the building, he used the stairs to reach the office floor. He went straight to Elder John’s office.
He asked for permission to enter. Elder John was inside the office right now. Right then, Jeremy heard a voice from inside.
Creak!
He opened the door and walked inside, closing the door behind him.
He saw Elder John sitting behind the desk.
John saw Jeremy Night as well and asked him to sit down. Jeremy sat on the opposite side.
John raised his hand and continued to observe Jeremy Night. He saw that Jeremy Night’s strength was stable. He also saw no injuries on his body.
He thought Jeremy Night needed accumulation and that it wouldn’t be long before he reached Tier-4 Beast Tamer status. Then, he noticed Jeremy Night’s expression was off.
He realized something was troubling Jeremy Night.