Chapter 994 The Worm Mother <TOC> Chapter 996 The Harbinger of Doom
Translator: SumTLMan
What became of the so-called “useless object”?!
Not only had it hatched, Angel actually claimed it to resemble the Worm Mother!
Canter felt as if the defenses of his heart were like a collapsing wall of snow, gradually eroding, unveiling a heart worn by time.
“Worm Mother? How is that possible! The Worm Mother went extinct even before the Softworms; it’s impossible there could be one that slipped through the net.” Canter uttered in disbelief.
“But if it’s not the Worm Mother, why is it able to lay and hatch eggs?” Angel asked in puzzlement.
Laying and hatching eggs?!
Canter felt his lips start to twitch, “You must have mistaken it, maybe it’s not a Softworm.”
Angel’s confusion deepened, “But, weren’t these worm eggs given by you, Lord?”
Canter was at a loss for words. Even though he utterly resisted the reality that he might have handed over an “Egg of the Worm Mother,” he couldn’t help but glance towards the worm nest.
A single glance rendered him completely flabbergasted.
Without even peering into the deepest part of the nest, just by seeing layers upon layers of Softworm carcasses outside, he was already certain of one fact.
Initially, he had only given Angel a few worm eggs, but looking at these Softworm carcasses, there were at least dozens!
Without a Worm Mother to reproduce new eggs, this was impossible to explain!
When he saw the “Snot Monster” lounging in the hall at the depths of the nest, he immediately closed his eyes, simultaneously cursing his past self for mistaking a pearl for a fish eye.
This was indeed the Mother of Softworms!
It was exactly the same as what he had seen documented!
“Lord Canter, is this truly not the Worm Mother?” Angel’s further inquiry was like the drawing of a bow by fate, shooting another arrow directly into Canter’s heart.
Canter suppressed the urge to cough up blood, struggling to say, “This…this indeed is…the Worm Mother.”
“Really?!” Angel’s eyes lit up.
“Really.” Canter felt immensely uncomfortable, yet he had to maintain an elder’s dignity on the outside, even reluctantly praising, “You’ve raised it…quite well.”
Upon seeing Angel’s face light up with surprise and joy while cradling the worm nest, Canter felt as though his drifting spirit was not just exposed to the battering of wind and rain but also repeatedly trampled underfoot.
How could he have been so blind? Canter couldn’t help but berate himself.
However, after playing out this drama in his mind, Canter eventually returned to reality. Had he truly been blind? Reflecting on the circumstances when he first obtained the worm eggs, he remembered that he had examined them very carefully.
He had even presented them to other wizards for appraisal, the consensus of which was that these were typical eggs of Softworms, with their vitality not too robust. The one detail that did stand out, though, was the excellent condition of the worm nest, which even held the scent of the Worm Mother.
Could it be that this lingering scent of the Worm Mother in the worm nest facilitated the incubation of the eggs, even leading to the emergence of a Worm Mother?
Canter personally found this hard to believe.
He took the worm nest back from Angel, prepared for a thorough inspection.
When he concentrated, many previously overlooked details resurfaced: “Why are there so many Softworm carcasses surrounding the nest? Why do the Softworms linger around an invisible boundary, as though facing a natural predator?”
In response to these questions, Angel confessed somewhat awkwardly, “Actually, it’s because I keep a Dreamweaver Ant that likes to take over other creatures’ nests.”
Angel’s detailed explanation provided Canter with a general understanding, although he was hearing for the first time that Dreamweaver Ants could eat Softworms.
“Dreamweaver Ants, while not particularly valuable, have been extinct for many years. I didn’t expect you to have one,” said Canter. After uttering this, he continued his investigation inside the worm nest.
Upon further inspection, he discovered another crucial clue.
The interior of the worm nest was permeated with the scent of energized blood. After a detailed search, he found the storage room for Akeso blood essence on one side of the main hall.
“This is… blood essence from a wizard-grade magical beast?”
“Yes, both the Dreamweaver Ant and Softworms quite like magical beast blood essence. The Dreamweaver Ant even placed this essence underneath the Softworm eggs earlier, which led to the hatching situation.”
At this, Canter was even more perplexed. Not only did the Dreamweaver Ant eat Softworms, but it also cultivated worm eggs?
Additionally, Canter knew from the outset that the abundant energy in some magical beast blood essence was suitable for rearing magical worms. Hence, he had also used magical beast blood essence to nurture these worm eggs before, but not a single one absorbed any, leading his friends to appraise the vitality of the eggs as low.
In his efforts to cultivate the Softworm larvae, no oddity occurred when he utilized the essence of magical beast blood. Why, then, was Angel’s method successful?
Was it the influence of the Dreamweaver Ant, or perhaps the essence of the blood itself?
Canter shamelessly obtained a droplet of this potent blood from Angel. As he held the vibrant, life-filled blood crystal in his hand, he hesitated for a moment before placing it in his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, an overwhelming surge of life force gushed out from the blood essence.
This exotic vitality clashed with Canter’s inherent life force upon emergence. Despite eventually repelling this foreign life force, the initial explosive burst of vitality nearly shattered his defenses, illustrating the colossal energy contained within the essence of the blood.
And this, mind you, was merely a single drop.
A peculiar light flickered in Canter’s eyes as he diligently scrutinized the information radiating from the blood essence. After a while, comprehension dawned on his face.
The blood essence was teeming with an intense life force, a vitality so abundant that it was rarely observed even in the blood essence of other magical beasts.
While this droplet of blood essence could be equated to a deadly poison for a wizard-level entity such as himself, to ordinary mortals or lower life forms, the life force contained within could bestow enduring vitality.
This implied that a single drop of this blood essence could potentially offer the worm egg an unceasing and long-lasting life force.
Such a possibility greatly enhanced the chances of the worm egg’s revival and eventual hatching.
Furthermore, Canter detected a supremely covert anomalous aura within the blood essence, an aura that was incredibly obscure, reminiscent of certain odors he encountered in the medical academies during his days as a mortal.
Canter couldn’t resist inquiring, “Whose magical beast’s blood essence is this, exactly?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard it’s from a snake,” came the response.
Canter could clearly see through Angel’s evasive gaze and knew he was being less than truthful. However, the part about the snake’s blood essence seemed accurate.
Canter refrained from pressing the matter. After all, he was dealing with his old friend’s apprentice and highly valued Angel’s potential.
“The effect of this magical beast’s blood essence on lower life forms is remarkable. It could even bestow perpetual vitality,” Canter mused with admiration.
Upon hearing this, Angel couldn’t help but recall the initial vitality of Akeso, which maintained Totoro’s life for a thousand years, preserving his vitality in its prime.
As the thought surfaced, Angel’s mind involuntarily drifted towards Jon.
Could Akeso’s vitality benefit Jon? Perhaps, upon Sander’s return, it would be worth seeking his insight.
“This beast’s blood essence indeed holds the potential to incubate the worm eggs, but to coax a Worm Mother from the eggs, I believe there’s an element lacking,” Canter remarked, his gaze sweeping across the landscape littered with carcasses outside the hive. A thought sparked in his mind, “Perhaps, the Dreamweaver Ant may have influenced the Softworm’s eggs.”
The Dreamweaver Ant can facilitate the eggs’ maturation? Angel glanced quizzically at Canter.
“From what I’ve observed and recorded, although the Worm Mother is responsible for the entire swarm’s reproduction, her fertility rate is actually influenced by external factors. Generally speaking, the Worm Mother won’t reproduce in large quantities, as it would consume a significant amount of energy.”
Throughout the explanation, Canter also engaged in contemplation. With his thoughts racing, the puzzling aspects seemed to slowly untangle themselves and make sense.
“However, the appearance of the ‘natural enemy’ — the Dreamweaver Ant — would trigger the Worm Mother to reproduce extensively, utilizing attrition warfare to avoid direct threats.”
With Canter’s explanation, clarity dawned upon Angel instantly.
It was like a cog in the wheel of an ecosystem — they might be adversaries, yet from another perspective, they also facilitated each other’s existence.
Perhaps, the original birth of the Worm Mother was an unintended consequence of the Dreamweaver Ant “nurturing the eggs.” From the very beginning, the swarm realized that the Softworms were ill-equipped to confront the Dreamweaver Ants — their birth would merely serve as fodder for the ants.
In a refusal to be born only to die…
Perhaps, under the influence of a specific hormone or pheromone, one of the eggs mutated.
This mutated egg would then become the future Worm Mother.
This hypothesis could explain the subsequent chain of events — the Worm Mother, realizing that she was safe as an egg from the Dreamweaver Ant, who would instead nurture her, deliberately delayed hatching. She absorbed Akeso’s blood essence continuously, storing up energy.
Once she hatched, she immediately clashed with the Dreamweaver Ant.
This standoff persists till the present.
The establishment of this intricate relationship hinges upon two major premises, the first being the level of vitality.
Initially, the Akeso vitality that Angel acquired — a whole coffin full — addressed the issue of life force. It also provided the Worm Mother with unlimited resources, allowing her to reproduce in large quantities without any concern for survival.
The second pillar of this premise dwells upon the number of adversaries the Dreamweaver Ants face.
If the Dreamweaver Ants are greatly outnumbered, their collective consciousness realizes that any attempt to resist would be futile. This leads to a general avoidance of birthing a Worm Mother. Even supposing a Worm Mother is hatched against all odds, it wouldn’t proceed with extensive egg laying since the possibility of triumph is virtually non-existent.
These two conditions eventually trigger the hatching of the worm eggs, and also pave the way for the successful birth of the Worm Mother.
Having understood this principle, Canter ceased blaming himself. After all, even if the worm eggs had remained with him, hatching them into a Worm Mother, let alone as Angel managed to do, would have been beyond his capabilities.
In the final analysis, Angel’s charmed fate was the crucial factor leading to this outcome.
“I once stumbled upon the title of a legendary summoner, known as the ‘Heart of the Swarm’. I used to scoff at the idea. How could a swarm possibly have a heart? But now, perhaps this is the essence of the Heart of the Swarm, its spirit remains unquenchable as long as there’s a glimmer of hope for survival.”
After sharing his reflections, Canter’s gaze towards Angel seemed softer.
He might harbor jealousy towards Angel’s incredible fortune, but couldn’t this also be a testament to his own foresight? Not only did Angel have extraordinary potential, his good luck was also undeniable.
“Ahem, Angel…”
Angel looked over in confusion.
With a twinkle in his eye, Canter spoke, “As it happens, amongst your lineage of Phantom Masters, you’re the only one who hasn’t visited the House of Lilith. Once our affairs here are resolved and we return to the Wizarding World, why not consider spending some time at the House of Lilith? Besides, it could be an opportunity for you and Cherie to foster your relationship.”
A chill ran down Angel’s spine. Why did Canter always steer the conversation towards Cherie?
“Well, we can discuss that later,” Angel responded vaguely, quickly changing the subject, “Canter, given that this is the Worm Mother, does it have the ability to birth a Morphing Softworm?”
Chapter 994 The Worm Mother <TOC> Chapter 996 The Harbinger of Doom