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Chapter 381: Worm Beatdown

The soldiers moved cautiously through the fractured forest, their boots crunching over loose dirt and scattered debris as they tried to shake off the lingering unease from the earlier tremors. The cracks that snaked across the ground seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, like veins of some ancient, wounded creature. Every step felt heavy, not just from the physical strain but from the weight of their unanswered questions.

Then, from the corner of his eye, one soldier caught a glimpse of movement. At first, he thought it was a trick of the shadows, a figment of his frayed nerves. But as he turned his head, his eyes widened. Emerging from between the twisted trees, a group of Pig Orcs came into view, their hulking figures unmistakable even in the dim light.

“Wait a minute,” he muttered, his voice cutting through the silence. “Are those… Pig Orcs?”

The others turned to look, their expressions shifting from confusion to alarm. Pig Orcs were not an uncommon sight in battle, but these were no ordinary marauders. The soldiers recognized the markings etched into their crude armor, the insignias they bore.

“Aren’t those… Lyerin’s?” one soldier asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“It can’t be,” another replied, shaking his head. “What would they be doing here? This world—this isn’t even their territory!”

The group fell silent, their eyes fixed on the Pig Orcs as the creatures trudged forward with a deliberate, almost mechanical purpose. There was no acknowledgment, no growls of hostility or glances of curiosity. The Pig Orcs moved as if the soldiers didn’t exist, as if their presence was entirely irrelevant.

“What are they doing?” someone whispered, his voice barely audible.

The answer came in a sudden, shocking motion. One of the Pig Orcs, its muscular arms glistening with sweat, raised a fist the size of a boulder and drove it into the ground with a force that seemed to defy nature itself.

Boom!

The ground shuddered violently beneath the soldiers’ feet, the impact sending ripples through the earth like a stone dropped into a still pond. The soldiers staggered, barely managing to keep their balance as they watched the scene unfold with wide eyes.

“What the—”

Before anyone could finish their thought, another Pig Orc followed suit, slamming its massive fist into the ground with a deafening crack.

The soldiers could only stare as more Pig Orcs joined in, each delivering blow after blow to the earth. Their movements were synchronized, almost ritualistic, as if they were performing some ancient dance meant to awaken the very soul of the planet.

“Why are they doing that?!” one soldier cried out, panic creeping into his voice.

No one answered. There were no words to describe the surreal scene unfolding before them.

The Pig Orcs weren’t stopping. They moved methodically, their fists pounding the earth in a relentless rhythm that grew louder and louder with each passing second. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, they began to stomp.

Heavy, bone-rattling stomps that made the very air seem to vibrate. The earth beneath them groaned in protest, cracks widening and splintering outward like the branches of a dying tree.

“Are they trying to… break the ground?” someone asked, his voice trembling.

“It’s more than that,” another soldier replied, his face pale. “Look at them… they’re not just hitting the ground. They’re—”

A Pig Orc let out a guttural snarl, its beady eyes gleaming with a feral intensity as it raised both fists high above its head and brought them crashing down with a sound like thunder.

The soldiers flinched instinctively, their hands tightening around their weapons even though they knew they were powerless to intervene. The Pig Orcs moved with a single-minded determination that was both terrifying and mesmerizing, their brutish strength carving out deep, jagged scars in the earth.

And still, they stomped.

The rhythmic pounding of their feet grew louder and louder, the sound reverberating through the forest like a war drum. Each stomp seemed to carry more weight than the last, the ground quaking violently beneath their feet. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“How can they even do this?” one soldier asked, his voice barely audible over the cacophony.

“I don’t know,” Donovan replied, his jaw tight. “But whatever it is, it’s not normal.”

The stomping reached a fever pitch, the sound so loud it felt as if the entire world was coming apart. The ground beneath the soldiers heaved and shifted, forcing them to spread out and brace themselves to avoid falling into the widening cracks.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the stomping stopped.

The Pig Orcs stood still, their fists clenched and their breaths coming in heavy, guttural pants. The silence that followed was almost deafening, a stark contrast to the chaos of moments before.

But it was short-lived.

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From deep within the earth, a low, guttural roar began to rise. It started as a faint vibration, barely audible, but it grew rapidly, swelling into a sound so powerful it seemed to shake the very air around them.

The soldiers froze, their blood turning to ice as the roar reverberated through the forest. It was a sound that didn’t belong to this world—a sound that spoke of ancient, unknowable power and the promise of destruction.

The ground beneath their feet trembled once more, and the cracks began to glow faintly, an eerie, otherworldly light emanating from the depths.

“What have they done?” someone whispered, his voice barely audible.

No one answered.

The roar grew louder, more intense, until it was all they could hear, drowning out even the sound of their own thoughts. Whatever was beneath the earth was waking up—and it was angry.

The soldiers barely had time to register what was happening as the earth beneath them erupted in a violent explosion of dirt and rock. A deafening screech tore through the air, sending shockwaves that rattled the very core of their being. Emerging from the depths of the fractured ground was a massive worm-like creature, its gargantuan body glistening with a slimy, chitinous exterior that shimmered unnaturally under the pale moonlight. Its segments were lined with jagged, overlapping plates that bristled with spikes, each one more menacing than the last.

The beast’s head, if it could be called that, was a grotesque amalgamation of writhing mandibles and rows upon rows of needle-like teeth that glinted menacingly. Its roar—a guttural, unearthly sound—seemed to reverberate through the air and the earth, shaking the very souls of those who heard it. The soldiers stood frozen in their tracks, their weapons trembling in their hands as they stared up at the towering monstrosity, their faces pale with fear.

“W-What is that?!” one soldier managed to choke out, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of the creature’s furious thrashing.

But before anyone could answer, the Pig Orcs sprang into action. With a unified, guttural war cry that sent chills down the soldiers’ spines, the Pig Orcs charged at the massive worm, their enormous bodies moving with a surprising agility and purpose. They swarmed the creature from all sides, their hulking forms a stark contrast to the sleek, monstrous figure of the worm.

One Pig Orc leapt into the air with astonishing force, its powerful legs propelling it high enough to reach the worm’s midsection. With a resounding crash, it brought its massive fists down onto the beast’s armored body, causing a sickening crack to echo through the battlefield. Another Pig Orc lunged at one of the worm’s spiked segments, gripping it with its enormous hands and wrenching it sideways with a force that seemed to defy nature itself. The worm let out a screech of rage, its body twisting violently as it attempted to shake off its attackers.

But the Pig Orcs were relentless. They moved like a coordinated tidal wave of brute strength and primal fury, their fists pounding, their feet stomping, their guttural snarls mingling with the worm’s agonized roars. Every time the worm tried to lash out, whipping its massive body around or snapping its deadly mandibles at its attackers, another Pig Orc would appear, intercepting the blow with a crushing punch or a bone-shattering kick. They worked together seamlessly, their sheer numbers overwhelming the beast at every turn.

The ground shook beneath the soldiers’ feet as the battle raged on, each impact sending tremors rippling through the earth. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring their vision and making it nearly impossible to see what was happening. But they could hear it—the relentless pounding of the Pig Orcs’ fists against the worm’s armor, the beast’s guttural roars of defiance, and the sickening sound of its segmented plates cracking under the onslaught.

“What… what are they doing?!” a soldier whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and terror.

“They’re… they’re winning,” another replied, his eyes wide as he tried to make sense of the chaos unfolding before them.

The worm thrashed wildly, its enormous body slamming into the ground with such force that it created deep craters and sent shockwaves that knocked the soldiers off balance. But no matter how fiercely it fought, the Pig Orcs did not falter. They surrounded the creature like an unyielding wall of muscle and fury, their relentless assault chipping away at its defenses bit by bit.

One particularly massive Pig Orc, its tusks gleaming in the dim light, let out a roar that seemed to shake the very heavens. It grabbed onto the worm’s head, its massive hands gripping the writhing mandibles with unrelenting strength. With a deafening bellow, the Pig Orc twisted violently, ripping the mandibles apart in a spray of viscous, dark ichor. The worm let out a piercing screech, its body convulsing in agony as it writhed uncontrollably.

And still, the Pig Orcs pressed on. They climbed onto the beast’s back, hammering away at its segmented armor with a ferocity that bordered on madness. The ground beneath them turned slick with the worm’s blood, the dark liquid pooling in the craters created by its thrashing. Every impact seemed to echo through the battlefield like a drumbeat of destruction, each one bringing the beast closer and closer to its end.

The soldiers could only watch in stunned silence, their fear slowly giving way to awe as the impossible unfolded before their eyes. The Pig Orcs, these brutish creatures they had once dismissed as mindless brutes, were systematically dismantling a monster that had seemed unstoppable mere moments ago. Their sheer strength, their coordination, their unrelenting determination—it was unlike anything the soldiers had ever seen.

Finally, with one last, earth-shattering roar, the worm collapsed. Its massive body slumped to the ground, its once-imposing figure now a broken, lifeless husk. The Pig Orcs stood atop the fallen beast, their massive chests heaving as they caught their breath. Their fists and feet were stained with the worm’s blood, their armor dented and scratched from the ferocity of the battle. But they showed no signs of fatigue, their eyes gleaming with a savage satisfaction as they looked down at their defeated foe.

The soldiers remained frozen in place, their weapons hanging limply at their sides as they struggled to process what they had just witnessed. The ground beneath them was still trembling faintly, as if the earth itself was trying to recover from the sheer intensity of the battle. And then, in the deafening silence that followed, one soldier managed to whisper the words that were on everyone’s minds.

“They… they actually did it.”

But before anyone could respond, the Pig Orcs let out a collective roar of triumph, their voices echoing through the forest like a victory cry from some ancient, forgotten age. The sound was both terrifying and awe-inspiring, a reminder of the raw power that had just been unleashed.

As the echoes of their roar faded into the night, the soldiers stood there, their eyes fixed on the lifeless form of the worm. And for the first time, they truly understood the power of Lyerin’s forces.