"Everyone settle down, quiet down, just calm down first!" Zakv bellowed until his throat was raw. Although he was equally terrified, he knew he had to face the scene before him. This magic array clearly couldn't be breached by brute force from people like them; blindly scrambling about would only result in injuries to those nearby, achieving nothing! Furthermore, since this magic array was so robust, perhaps it could hold off that earthen mound. Therefore, the wisest course of action right now was to remain calm! Under his efforts, the crowd finally began to quiet down.

Of course, the main reason was that the earthen mound had vanished, as if what they had just witnessed was merely an illusion! "Huh? Where did that monstrous thing go?"

The crowd searched everywhere, yet they still couldn't find the behemoth. Logically, the area was so vast, and the mound so large, that it should have nowhere to hide, but reality was unexpectedly contrary to their expectations.

Everyone spontaneously held their breath, wide-eyed, warily scanning every corner around them. Beads of sweat were already seeping from their foreheads.

The tense atmosphere, coupled with the bizarre, enormous creature, was surely a test of one's psychological endurance!

Meanwhile, those mercenary troops who had fled earlier kept glancing back as they ran forward. They too noticed the strange earthen mound had disappeared, but they didn't stop; they just wanted to leave this place of trouble sooner! But just then, a scream suddenly erupted from one of the mercenaries! "Ah! Something grabbed me! Someone help me?" His hurried voice was full of terror.

The nearby mercenaries quickly looked toward his position, and immediately their scalps tingled, their legs weakened, and they nearly collapsed! Good heavens, what in the world was that thing?

Several tentacles, as thick as a man’s wrist, had firmly ensnared the lower half of the mercenary’s body, rendering all his struggles and hacking useless. What was horrifying was that these numerous tentacles appeared to be emerging from the ground—was something ambushing them from beneath the earth?

In just a short while, another scream rang out. When everyone looked over, they felt a jolt to their very souls, their bodies seeming to lose all sensation! Too terrifying, truly too terrifying!

Although this mercenary was also entangled by wrist-thick tentacles, the difference was that a gigantic mouth suddenly erupted from beneath him.

Now, everyone understood what was happening: the earthen mound they had seen earlier was precisely what the Demon Worm created as it moved beneath the earth! The crowd was fortunate enough to witness a Demon Worm active underground!

As everyone stood stunned, the entangled mercenary was lifted off the ground. Then, as that mouth, like steel pincers, opened and closed, a jet of bright red blood immediately sprayed out!

The mercenary was shockingly severed in two, then fed into the Demon Worm’s mouth, where it was chewed with a "crunching" sound! In mere moments, a living person became its meal! This Demon Worm clearly hadn't had enough; its head retracted downward, and it burrowed back underground again!

These subterranean Demon Worms were far more terrifying than those flying in the air, because their attacks were utterly impossible to guard against!

Soon, screams rose one after another; continuous waves of mercenaries became food for the Demon Worms. Scene after scene of gore made the crowd feel faint while simultaneously churning their stomachs!

The surviving mercenaries finally realized one thing: there was more than one Demon Worm underground, and they were already surrounded. No amount of fleeing could save them from the ambush! Those chilling tentacles could erupt from any angle at any time, and once ensnared, only death awaited!

Plunged into despair, these mercenaries finally spotted a glimmer of hope. They noticed that none of the people inside the magic array were being attacked by the Demon Worms. Did this mean that reaching that spot guaranteed safety? No matter how slim the hope, as long as there was a sliver of life, they would not choose to wait for death!

Thus, these mercenaries, who moments ago had abandoned their comrades, rushed back toward the magic array. On that short journey of just a few hundred meters, several more mercenaries perished beneath the Demon Worms!

Those watching from within the formation were greatly alarmed when they saw the charging mercenaries approaching them. If they came here, wouldn't they bring the Demon Worms with them too? "Don't come here! I beg you, don't come closer!" some wagon drivers shrieked with near-desperate tones.

However, at that moment, the fleeing mercenaries had no thought for anyone else’s survival. With a few leaps and bounds, some had already reached the edge of the array!

Just as this mercenary believed he was safe, he suddenly saw everyone inside the magic array staring behind him with expressions of absolute terror.

Could it be…? A chill suddenly swept through the mercenary's heart. When he turned to look, everything went black before his eyes, and he was utterly gone from this world!

Watching the mercenary, who had been so close, being consumed by the Demon Worm in an almost brutal manner, everyone inside the array was stunned into silence!

Worse yet, this Demon Worm did not leave. It pushed half its body up from the ground. Its giant green eyes constantly scrutinized the people within the array, while the tentacles atop its head writhed restlessly!

At this moment, Zakv's face was deathly pale, as he was positioned closest to the Demon Worm. If this creature advanced even half a meter further inward, it could easily strike and kill him with a single bite!

Despite standing in such a perilous spot, Zakv dared not move rashly, nor even dare to breathe deeply! His greatest hope was that the Demon Worm before him was blind, and as long as he made no sound, he wouldn't be detected!

However, reality always runs contrary to expectation. This Demon Worm suddenly let out a roar, and then its tentacles lunged at Zakv with lightning speed!

But the tentacles were deflected when they struck the protective shield. Zakv inside broke out in a cold sweat and involuntarily retreated several steps.

The Demon Worm seemed enraged and rammed its massive, pincer-like mouth against the barrier.

Seeing this, everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. They knew this protective shield was their last shred of hope; if the Demon Worm smashed through it, they would all die here!

Once again, everyone intensely missed the 'Misty Mercenary Group' in their hearts. If those people were here, perhaps they wouldn't be experiencing such terror and despair! "Bang!" A deafening sound echoed. To the utter disbelief of the crowd, the Demon Worm's massive body was repelled! Blocked?

The thought flashed through everyone's mind. Yet, before they could celebrate, the repelled Demon Worm rammed again. This time, it fully drilled out of the ground, descending upon the protective shield like Mount Tai crushing down! "Sss-crack!" As a strange sound ripped through the air, a flash of yellow light momentarily blinded everyone’s vision! When they recovered and looked at the Demon Worm, they were all struck dumb with shock!

The Demon Worm had shattered into several pieces, piled up outside the array! Green ichor and undigested human remains were scattered everywhere.

At that moment, everyone was truly stupefied. Nobody knew what had happened, or why such a gigantic Demon Worm had suddenly kicked the bucket? Who had done this?

They were unaware that the array Zhong Shenxiu had set up for them was not merely for defense; once the external force exerted upon it reached a certain threshold, it would launch an attack!

Speaking of which, some might wonder: since these Demon Worms attack from underground, why did this one ram the protective shield with its body?

The reason is simple: the array Zhong Shenxiu configured provided omnidirectional defense. This Demon Worm had already probed the ground with its lower body and found it completely unable to penetrate the protective layer!

Perhaps the vibrations alerted other Demon Worms, and several more rushed towards the people in the array. But the outcome was the same every time: they were either repelled or instantly vaporized by that beam of light.

Now, the crowd finally understood Zhong Shenxiu’s painstaking intentions. Staying inside this protective shield, they were absolutely safe; no matter how many Demon Worms rushed them, it was futile!

They were safe, but the mercenaries outside the array were not so lucky; they were continuously hunted and killed by the Demon Worms! Now, they finally regretted their earlier actions. If they had stayed put inside the array, they wouldn't have ended up in such a desperate situation, but now it was too late—

$$$$Ignoring those people, let’s talk about Zhong Shenxiu and the others who left.

As they walked slowly forward, any Demon Worm foolish enough to attack was instantly killed tens of meters away, each meeting a different kind of gruesome end!

As they drew closer to the "Access Point," the variety of Demon Worms attacking increased, but no matter what methods they employed, none could harm the 'Misty Mercenary Group' in the slightest! "Young Master, why are there more and more Demon Worms?" Rhys frowned.

Indeed, they had annihilated thousands of Demon Worms along the way, but when they saw the dense swarm of creatures spreading out ahead, they were immediately startled! "This 'Access Point' is different from the previous ones!" Zhong Shenxiu replied succinctly. Different from before? Not only Rhys but everyone else wore a puzzled expression. How was it different?

Zhong Shenxiu offered no further explanation. His expression was currently grim, because based on this event, he estimated that in about half a year, the situation of the "Five Malevolent Stars Converging" would occur. Affected by it, the 'Access Points' everywhere would undergo transformations, and these changes would be far more significant than this one!

At that time, humanity would face a cataclysm! "Ah, look! Is that the 'Access Point'?" Charlotte suddenly exclaimed in astonishment!

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