Chapter 231

The sudden distress signal surprised everyone .

As the fighting continued, people in Central Pine City began to know more about the blood fiends and became more tactful when fighting with them . The ferocious and dangerous blood fiends were gradually losing their advantages . People now knew how to separate the blood fiends, how to cooperate with each other, and how to identify weaknesses .

Human beings were good at learning and summarizing, a feature that was fully displayed in Central Pine City . As long as they found the weakness of a kind of blood fiends, the Mayor’s residence would announce it to the whole city . Meanwhile, the method to deal with the blood poison spatter was also found, which had saved many lives .

The blood crystals of the blood fiends were gifts of the war . Many elementalists had largely improved their ability after using the blood crystal . Whether clever or stupid, everyone knew that only stronger people were likely to survive .

The situation in Central Pine City became more and more steady .

The quick increase of the elementalists’ fighting skills made it easier for them to deal with blood fiends . Therefore, it was now rare to see urgent distress signals . Even if an elementalist met with a relatively ferocious blood fiend, he would call the companions nearby for help and carry out the tactics of a “wolf pack . “

Now, some bold elementalists were even beginning to set baits and traps to obtain blood crystals .

On the other hand, there was a big difference between a distress signal and an urgent distress signal . The latter only appeared in times of emergency . The issuance of an urgent distress signal meant that the fight was out of control and every second counted .

Without hesitation, Shi Xueman grabbed her spear and asked calmly, “Who still has the strength?” There was firmness in her starry eyes .

Many students stepped forward . Shi Xueman was prestigious in the team, and almost everyone else in the team had been helped or saved by her . When she asked, all students responded .

“Me!”

“And me!”

. . .

Shi Xueman did not hesitate . She chose more than 10 people and said, “Follow me . Everyone else, please stay on guard and be alert . “

Those who were chosen walked to the side of Shi Xueman . They were very calm . None of them panicked .

Jiang Wei immediately started to arrange sentries and lookout posts .

Shi Xueman turned to Ai Hui and said coldly, “Take care of yourself . “

She gave Ai Hui a deep glance, then left with the students . Moving quickly, she soon disappeared in the darkness .

Ai Hui dumbly watched Shi Xueman’s back . The capability and skillfulness Shi Xueman had shown was out of his expectation . Compared with what she was like at the beginning of the blood disaster, she was now a totally different person .

Then, Ai Hui realized something, and could not help laughing at himself: who wasn’t?

Even Fatty’s attitude toward training was far more serious than before .

Duanmu Huanghun was also with Shi Xueman, which made Ai Hui more relieved . They were both talents . While their level was not high enough, their fighting skills were already on par with the average elementalists . Furthermore, their levels had been largely improved in battle .

In the Avalon of the Five Elements, a really powerful and experienced fighter could not be replaced by a dozen average fighters . Likewise, in Central Pine City, the capability of all the elementalists added up together could not be compared to that of a single master in a real battle .

That was why people had high hopes for Ai Hui .

In addition to Ai Hui, all the other students were relieved too . They were busy with their own matters . Some were engaged in training, some were lost in thought, and the rest were discussing and learning from each other in groups . They were already used to fighting like veterans .

Ai Hui contemplated how to solve his own “problem . “

When Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun arrived, many elementalists were already there .

“This is where we killed the blood-traced earthworm,” one student said, but no one seemed to hear what he said .

Their eyes were fixed on the scene, and all of them were dumbstruck by what they saw .

The solid ground was now like quicksand, with a huge vortex slowly rotating in the middle . In the sand, something seemed to be moving . The debris of the nearby ruins was continuously drawn into the vortex and ground into sand .

The diameter of the vortex was more than 100 meters . Such a large vortex visual impacted everyone present .

What was more shocking was that it kept growing larger by devouring the ground adjacent to the area .

The other elementalists were also stunned and frightened .

Shi Xueman was the first to react . She asked loudly, “Who sent the signal?”

“It was us . “

Some elementalists recognized Shi Xueman and they all came forward .

Currently, the A-1 Unit was the most powerful team in Central Pine City, so the main members were well known to everyone .

Shi Xueman breathed deeply to calm down, then asked, “How did you find it?”

“We heard the alarm of the recumbent parasol bell . When we arrived, we found that there seemed to be something in the hole, so we immediately attacked the hole, but it didn’t help . Then, the ground became as soft as a dough, and a small vortex appeared…”

Shi Xueman interrupted without hesitation, “How large was it?”

“The diameter was only about 20 meters . ” There was still fear on these elementalists’ faces . “We attacked the vortex, but it was of no use either . The vortex kept growing at a fast speed . There was nothing we could do but ask for help . “

“How long did it take to grow from 20 meters to what it is now?” Shi Xueman asked .

“About 10 minutes . “

Shi Xueman was calm . Within only 10 minutes, it grew from 20 meters to 100 meters with no sign of stopping . Her gaze was fixed on the rotating sand vortex, as if she wanted to see what on earth was in it .

Suddenly, she noticed something moving in the sand, something small .

She turned to Duanmu Huanghun and asked, “Can you get one out?”

Duanmu Huanghun nodded without saying a word . His face was solemn . He could feel strong earth elemental energy from the sand vortex and also wondered what the tiny things in it were .

His fingers stretched like blooming flowers . The others could only see a blurred streak in the air that had an unspeakable rhythm .

Above the vortex, a green twined vine abruptly appeared out of nowhere and pierced into the vortex .

Then, it stretched taut under the strain . Just when everyone worried that the vine would snap, it contracted and pulled a struggling, tightly tied up worm out of the sand and into the air .

When they saw clearly what it was, everyone’s expression changed .

“Sandworm!”

The sandworm was as large as a palm . Its flat body consisted of many segmented limbs that allowed it to twist freely . Sandworms were horrible social creatures . Their flat bodies were rigid like an iron spring leaf and could vibrate at a certain frequency . When tens of thousands or more sandworms vibrated together, the ground would fragment and be ground down to sand and dust .

They could move easily in the sand .

Sandworms were horrible predators, but their method of hunting was different from other beasts . The desertification of the soil and stones could make everything in the area, including plants and beasts, their food .

These sandworms were dark red, a sign of blood poison infection .

Sandworms seldom appeared above ground, because they disliked the light . Though there was less abundant food compared to above, their territory was usually underground where there was no light .

Shi Xueman looked morose . The time when sandworms were most likely to appear was the evening .

And it was now the evening .

The vortex continued growing . Its diameter currently exceeded 100 meters .

The sandworm tied up by the twined vine squeaked . Suddenly, a streak of sand shot out from the vortex like a speedy tongue and precisely struck the sandworm suspended in the air .

Duanmu Huanghun shivered as the twined vine broke . The sandworm disappeared .

Everyone was dumbstruck once more . Fear appeared on their faces .

The sandworms were experts on controlling the earth . They were large in quantity, and nothing in the quicksand could threaten them . That was why they were all worried when they saw the sandworm .

The vortex grew larger and larger, but no one had any idea how to deal with it .

The quicksand that slowly churned was the best protection for the worms . It would be extremely hard to strike through the thick sand and hit the sandworms hiding beneath .

Shi Xueman was worried . The appearance of the sandworms was very odd . They typically lived more than 2,000 meters under the ground and seldom surfaced .

Now, however, they appeared in Central Pine City . She did not believe it was only a coincidence .

She did not know why, but she was worried .

The sandworms had to be stopped, otherwise all of Central Pine City would be turned into quicksand . By then, they would have nowhere to hide .

Sandworms had almost no natural enemies, but this excludedhuman beings of course . Human beings had already studied these horrible creatures . There were many useful resources underground, but sandworms could devour them all . Therefore, in the eyes of elementalists, they were undoubtedly pests .

The Shi family also had relevant records, which Shi Xueman still remembered .

The Cirrus in her hand scattered and turned into a cloud of mist . It floated above the vortex and attracted the clouds in the sky from all directions .

Shortly, the cloud above the quicksand became very heavy, like a ball of cotton that was saturated with water .

More and more mist merged into the cloud .

Whoosh .

Finally, liquid poured from the cloud like a waterfall .

The water flowed into the sand, and the ground immediately turned into sludge, slowing the rotational speed of the vortex .

The sandworms sensed danger and moved in a frenzy, but no matter how they moved, they could only cause the mud to ripple without stopping the flow of water . Instead, it accelerated the permeation of the water into the sand .

Shi Xueman clearly remembered that sand worms loved dryness and disliked wet environments .

The water from the cloud continued to flow into the sand vortex which had now become a quagmire .

The sandworms could move flexibly in the quicksand, but in the sludge, they currently could hardly move or breathe . Soon, many sandworms suffocated to death, and the rest hastily burrowed their way deep under the ground, but the water flowed into the routes they drilled and permeated deeper .

The dry sand soon turned to sludge and became softer and muddier .

People around the mire began to cheer delightfully . No one thought the horrible sandworms could be killed so easily .

Everyone looked at Shi Xueman in admiration .

To their surprise, they found Shi Xueman’s face was extremely pale, and her eyes were filled with fear .