Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 853 - 731: Crawler_2

Finding no traces of mind control on them, the Marchioness's emerald-like eyes gleamed with a spiritual light, and she shouted:

"Who instructed you? What exactly are you trying to do?"

However, their response was completely unexpected to the Marquis couple.

"We were not instructed by anyone."

No lies!

Through the [Mind Network], at this time, similar situations were occurring in many places near Huarez City, starting with a few individuals rioting, committing murder or being killed in retaliation, and finally escalating into major unrest...

What was initially thought to be just a group of Anuma People's futile equality protest had quickly escalated into a massive riot spreading over half the west coast of the "Golden Sea".

Most crucially, there was not the slightest premonition in the [Mind Network] beforehand.

The couple exchanged glances, instantly feeling that something was wrong.

Someone was definitely trying to cause trouble for the Duchy, but the sudden, fierce, large-scale attack truly caught them off guard.

This wasn't just about assassinating officials; there were clearly more unexpected moves planned.

Helplessly, the Marquis had to order: 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Order, the entire city is under martial law, no one is allowed to run around! All slave holidays within the territory are canceled, implement military control from now on."

"Yes, sir!"

Hawkins immediately deployed personnel through the [Mind Network] to put out the fires first.

Understanding the difficulty of their situation, Aiven's military support was very timely; currently, the unrest in Huarez City was not too severe for the defensive forces.

At that moment.

Swish—

Accompanied by drifting light-quality butterflies, Aiven, who had received Bess's warning, had already jumped here directly from Long Island through the [Dream Cruise], crossing thousands of kilometers.

"Marquis, Marchioness..."

Just about to greet his in-laws, Aiven suddenly turned his head towards the bloody mire, and the six heavily bloodied [Heavy Armor Guards], and the two beautiful Night Spirits who had restored their maid modes and were spotless.

"Hold on a moment."

With a gentle wave, small white creatures, looking completely normal, swiftly drilled through the skin of the slave corpses, writhing in the air and reaching Aiven, where they were encircled by a Wind Element Barrier.

They were plump maggots, 102 in total, exactly matching the number of corpses on the ground. And they were clearly aggressive carnivorous creatures, constantly gnawing at the Wind Element Barrier even when confined.

Making "creak creak" sounds.

However, even as small as these living creatures were, in Aiven's eyes, a "Native Species", they were as conspicuous as a bonfire in the night. Hidden within organisms, they might have been somewhat difficult to detect, but once the host died, they were completely exposed.

When discovered, a few were even wriggling, trying to squeeze into the armor gaps of the [Heavy Armor Guards] to find new hosts.

The Marquis couple couldn't help but curiously approach:

"Are these... maggots? Parasites? Were those slaves being controlled?"

Looking at the hundreds of plump maggots, wriggling in the spherical Wind Element Barrier as if trying to form some sort of whole.

In Aiven's soul, always connected to the "Turin Grand Library", the "Data Visualization" automatically popped up the answer—[Crawlers].

His brow involuntarily raised slightly:

"Evil God's followers?"

The souls of wizards or other extraordinaries do not quickly dissipate after death. When their corpses are devoured by maggots, the residual consciousness gradually merges with the maggots to form new entities, known as the followers and lower servants [Crawlers] of the "God of Rotting Flies".

Their primary area of activity is in the Tramo Duchy of the Old Continent!

Aiven, who had left the continent far away from the hands of wizards, didn't have much research on these evil god followers, so he immediately connected with Dr. Taylor through the [Mind Network].

If anyone understood these creatures, it would be the "Vesalian School" with its base right there.

"Chief, each [Crawler] is at least a Tier 2 extraordinary demon, typically composed of tens of thousands of live maggots.

With collective wisdom, they usually manifest the appearance of the extraordinary when alive, wrapping their bodies in rags and robes to cover their terrifying exterior, thus disguising themselves as humans..."

Understanding the urgency of the situation, Dr. Taylor quickly shared all the information he had.

The terrifying appearance was secondary; the most frightening ability was their large-scale parasitism. In the Old Continent, with the True God Church in place, they were somewhat restrained, but in the New Continent, they had no such concerns.

Scattered across human bodies, in the initial stages, they could only stir emotions and stimulate potential by secreting particular hormone-like substances; the higher the grade of [Crawler], the stronger its abilities.

Only a handful of maggots possess independent intelligence, while the other entities generally do not stray too far from the main body.

A week later, the entities start to gnaw through the host's body en masse, either replacing it with their own tissue or rapidly proliferating using the nutrients obtained.

This time frame is uncertain, usually lasting two weeks to a month, and the host might feel nothing, having already become a [Crawler] from the inside out.

Their own thoughts are actually the thoughts of the [Crawler]; their desires, those of the [Crawler]; even their proud hobbies might be the hobbies of the [Crawler].

Taylor has even witnessed humans maintaining this state until death.

Their weaknesses include weaker direct combat capabilities, which can be destroyed by flames, freezing, or even poison.

"Alright, I understand. Thank you, Dr. Taylor."

After hanging up, Aiven directly summoned his magic book "Flesh Sacrifice".

"Initiate the ritual!"

A crimson glow suddenly appeared, forming an illusory witchcraft orbit before him.

He gently tapped one of the maggots.

Whoosh—

Amidst the spiritual wind stirred in the void, a phantom of a double-helix structure slowly extended from the orbit, connecting one end to the altar and the other extending into the void.

If this double-helix structure is compared, one would find it completely parallel to a certain part of the genetic code of the maggot.

[Bloodline Curse]

Buzz buzz buzz...

Hundreds of maggots within the Wind Element Barrier instantly died.

The few people immobilized by the Nymph also collapsed, and even the chaos throughout Huarez quieted down significantly.

However, in the vision of the Seagulls, the vast surrounding areas remained largely unaffected; clearly, the [Crawlers] inciting turmoil on this land numbered greater than one, and those exposed might not be all there are.

Being able to govern so many [Crawlers] cannot rule out the possibility that it is a Tier 4 entity, or even the "God of Rotting Flies" himself.

Unlike the well-established East Coast developed over many years, the recently acquired West Coast was presently the Duchy's weak spot. Especially given its complex ethnic composition, with a large non-Nimansite population, it was prime ground for using subterfuge to create interethnic conflict.

Having a large territory is not without drawbacks; some attacks really are impossible to defend against.

"The one lurking behind is a cunning opponent indeed! Evil God... Evil God... these blasted capitalists' methods truly go from dawn until dusk!"

After a brief flash of light in his eyes, Aiven's face turned solemn as he reconnected to the [Mind Network], giving a general outline of the situation:

"Hesi, send the 'Sky Knight Team' to me, and have Leonara come as well. Milan, the unreliable one, hasn't returned yet, and we need Nara's Divination Art. To minimize losses, we only have a week."