Chapter 98: Worm Tide Devours Bones, the Cost of the Mechanical Eye, and the Embers of the Tender Branch

Hisss... hisss...

A tide of purple-black worms spread rapidly across the cold, muddy floor of the tunnel, like a living, flowing carpet of filth. The sharp, dense grinding of countless teeth merged into a chilling symphony of death; a thick, putrid stench surged forward, nearly suffocating.

Copperbeard leaned against the cold pipe wall, his massive mechanical arm flickering dangerously with red light due to overload, emitting a faint hum of electrical current. He tried to rise, but the searing pain in his injured leg and dizziness from blood loss darkened his vision, slowing his movements. Clutching Lingna in his arms, with Lin Mo and Wrench lying at his feet, he was backed into a corner with nowhere left to retreat!

The vanguard of the worm tide—countless tiny, grotesque creatures with circular mouthparts wide open—was now less than five meters from Lin Mo’s charred ankle, buried in the mud.

“Get away!” Copperbeard roared like a cornered beast, slamming his massive mechanical arm into the mud beneath him and violently hurling a chunk of black sludge teeming with worms toward the oncoming tide!

Plop!

The sludge landed, temporarily blocking a small area and crushing many worms. But more worms simply flowed around the obstacle, their speed unchanged! Enraged, the worm tide emitted even sharper hisses—and accelerated further!

The tide was about to swallow Lin Mo’s ankle!

Hum—

The pure star-dust crystal on Lin Mo’s chest, sensing the imminent threat of decay, suddenly erupted in a white glow five times stronger than before! The light solidified into a barrier, instantly spreading one meter around Lin Mo’s body!

Sssssss—!!!

The worms at the front, upon touching the milky-white light, screamed in agony like insects dropped into boiling oil—their bodies spewing purple-black smoke, withering, carbonizing, and turning to ash before their eyes!

The purifying power of the star-dust utterly suppressed these lowly creatures of decay!

Yet the worm tide was simply too numerous—endless! As the front ranks turned to ash, the rear surged forward without pause, violently slamming into the stardust barrier, gnawing with tooth-filled mouthparts and draining its energy with their bodies! The barrier rippled violently, its glow dimming at a visible rate! The crystal’s own light was also rapidly fading!

This could only buy time! Once the crystal’s energy was spent, all of them would be devoured by this horrific tide!

Copperbeard stared at the rapidly dimming star-dust barrier, then at Lingna, whose breath was as faint as a thread in his arms, then at Lin Mo and Wrench, both unconscious. On his blood-smeared face, muscles twisted from agony and resolve. He could not die here! Neither could his comrades!

His gaze finally settled on his own mechanical ocular implant—its red light flickering erratically, emitting overload warnings. It was the most severely damaged cybernetic limb he had suffered in the furnace explosion; its internal energy circuits were already in chaos, ready to fail—or explode—at any moment.

A mad, tragic idea took shape in Copperbeard’s mind.

“Fuck... dwarves’ lives... are tough!” he muttered under his breath, a fierce, almost relieved determination in his tone.

He gently laid Lingna down beside Lin Mo, pressing her against the inner edge of the star-dust barrier. Then, with unhesitating force, his massive mechanical hand plunged into the hollow of his left eye socket and tore out the flickering red mechanical eye!

Szzzzt—

Amid the sickening sound of tearing metal and separating flesh, Copperbeard ripped his overloaded mechanical eye from its socket. Blood gushed instantly from the empty socket, mingling with the stench of oil and burnt wiring. The agony sent spasms through his body, forcing out a muffled groan.

He did not pause. His blood-and-oil-slicked mechanical hand gripped the pulsing red core of the eye like a bomb about to detonate.

“Bastards! Try this!” Copperbeard’s lone eye blazed with terrifying fury as he hurled the mechanical eye with all his strength into the dark depths behind the worm tide!

Hum— Didi-didi—

The mechanical eye arced through the air; the moment its chaotic energy circuits were freed from restraint, they exploded out of control! Blinding red light burst forth like a miniature sun, accompanied by shrill, rapid overload alarms!

BOOM!!!!!!!!

A deep, muffled yet devastating explosion echoed through the tunnel! The uncontrolled energy storm obliterated the worm tide in that zone—countless worms vaporized instantly in the shockwave and searing heat. The blinding flash briefly illuminated the dark tunnel, triggering a localized collapse; rocks and sludge rained down.

The worm tide was utterly stunned by the sudden blast. The rear worms were shredded by the shockwave; the front ones, startled by the blinding light and thunderous roar, fell into brief chaos and hesitation—their assault on the star-dust barrier slowed!

The cost: Copperbeard lost his left eye. The agony and blood loss left him nearly unconscious; he could only lean against the pipe, gasping for breath.

The pressure on the star-dust barrier dropped sharply. Though its glow remained dim, it stabilized—for now.

Seizing this precious respite, Copperbeard struggled to his feet, his remaining eye fixed on the tunnel’s depths. The collapse from the explosion had blocked most passages—but revealed a smaller, relatively intact branch tunnel, half-buried under fallen rocks.

It was their only way out!

He gritted his teeth, tore a rag from his ruined clothing, and stuffed it into the bleeding hollow of his eye socket. The pain made his vision flicker black. With great effort, he bent low, using his massive mechanical arm to hoist Lin Mo and Lingna onto his broad, scarred shoulders. Then, with his remaining functional hand, he grabbed Wrench’s ankle and dragged him like a sack of grain, stumbling forward, step by agonizing step, toward the newly exposed tunnel entrance.

Each step left heavy footprints in the cold mud—mixed with blood and sweat.

Behind them, the worm tide, after its brief confusion, erupted in even angrier hisses—like a purple-black tide, flowing around the blast zone, surging forward with renewed speed!

The star-dust barrier flickered stubbornly on Lin Mo’s chest, but its light now burned like a candle in the wind.

Just as Copperbeard neared the half-buried tunnel entrance, Lingna’s small hand—pressed against the star-dust crystal beside Lin Mo’s chest—twitched unconsciously. Her fingertip, impossibly faint, brushed against the withered, gray-brown twig of the World Tree branch he had tucked into her clothing.

At the tip of the twig, where a last trace of emerald had once shimmered, under the continuous purifying influence of the star-dust crystal and Lingna’s faint life energy, the faintest, almost illusory pulse occurred—a single, finer-than-dust speck of emerald light, carrying the scent of ancient life, flickered once on the dead branch... then vanished, swallowed entirely by the withered wood.

As if, before final extinction, the last reluctant ember of defiance.