Damned Healer-Chapter 640: Do You Have More?

No one expected there to be such a massive space underground. In that place, hundreds of people were fighting, unleashing furious shouts.

At the center of it all, a monumental creature rose up: a giant worm three hundred meters tall. Its entire body gleamed like polished emeralds, giving off a hypnotizing green glow.

It exuded an aura of nature so vast it seemed to have no limits.

Hundreds of cultivators surrounded it in a desperate effort. However, it didn't look like the creature was the one being hunted, but rather the men, who were dying in cruel ways.

The ground was stained red. Bloodstains and mutilated corpses were scattered everywhere, while dozens of survivors lay farther away, powerless.

Darian watched the scene, his eyes fixed on the creature.

The aura of that thing was absurdly pure. Still, something was wrong. It didn't seem to have been made for combat.

The monster only swung its massive body around, using its power and strength in the most brutal way possible to crush the hunters. There was no technique, just an enormous waste of energy.

It was only a matter of time before it was brought down by exhaustion.

'What is that?' Darian asked mentally, glancing backward.

Herta's voice echoed in his mind, clearly euphoric: 'This is an ancestral species, the Spring-Bringer Worm!'

*BOOM!*

Herta continued as the creature crushed even more of those cultivators.

'There are records of it only at the very beginning of the universe, long before the islands even existed. It is the personification of life and the absolute power of nature. Wherever it passes, the soil radiates life. Sacred forests rise from its tracks. Its power forces the environment to its limits, making unique treasures and herbs sprout that would never exist without its interference. It's as if its power forces nature to evolve, creating unique mutations and giving birth to things that should be impossible to exist.'

*BOOM!*

The body of the Spring-Bringer Worm lashed out toward the cultivators.

But at that moment, a handsome man with long hair, dressed in a red robe, struck its tail with a saber that radiated extreme flaming power.

As a result, an explosion of flames was unleashed. The nearby cultivators blocked with all their strength, but even so, they were thrown back, and half of them coughed up blood or suffered burns across their bodies.

"Die!"

The man with the flaming saber attacked once more.

His weapon possessed the fire attribute at an extremely high level. It was incredibly sharp and had left long gashes all over the Worm's body. Fire was the nemesis of that creature.

The cultivators who had been knocked down counterattacked the Spring-Bringer Worm, working together with the man. From their well-practiced movements, it was clear they had been fighting for some time and were familiar with that opponent's attack rhythm.

Darian's curse activated. He saw the black, living karma of all those people. Without a doubt, they had recently robbed and killed several people inside Golden Sky Mountain.

'Will they manage to subdue it?' Hart asked Darian mentally.

'With the power they have, subduing it is impossible. This creature has been alive for countless eras and possesses immense arrogance. It can only be subdued through absolute power. Exhausting it to try to capture it is useless. Without gaining its approval, it would rather die than submit,' Darian said.

Darian heard this from Eleri inside his inventory. That creature possessed an extremely strong essence of water and life, and Eleri was able to understand its personality and ancestry.

Subduing someone like that through brute force required a one-on-one battle. Moreover, it demanded an absolute imbalance of power. Even if both sides were equally strong and it lost, that creature would not recognize the winner as its master.

With so many people attacking together, forcing it to yield was impossible.

'Its corpse isn't very valuable. Why are they attacking like this?' Hart asked.

'Look behind it,' Darian pointed out.

The others looked around. There was a pool of water behind the Spring-Bringer Worm, with mist rising from it. They could vaguely see a small platform on the stone edge, shaped like a dish.

A strange plant was growing on the platform. Its leaves were like those of a sword-orchid, pointing in four directions. In the center, there was a small stalk supporting a single fruit, blood-red in color. Seven long filaments hung from it.

All the Wood Spirits widened their eyes upon sensing that unparalleled plant and fruit. It was something unique, something that shouldn't exist. It had no name, as it was a mutation created by the power of the Spring-Bringer Worm.

'That contains the purest essence of life. Such a fruit can be combined with thousands of pills. And even consuming it directly would bring infinite benefits, with one's lifespan practically multiplying,' Hart said, shocked. Everyone of his race could sense even the tiniest details of an herb or anything natural.

'I see. This Spring-Bringer Worm is still alive in the present era because it found this mutant plant, which arose from its own power. It protects it with its life and consumes its fruits to restore its vital energy,' Darian analyzed.

The people of the Celsiel family must have sensed this in the past. Unfortunately for the Spring-Bringer Worm, its hiding place had been discovered.

The people of the Scarlet Cloud Clan knew it would be extremely difficult to obtain that mystical creature, but that plant and fruit alone were already far more than they could have ever dreamed of getting.

"The energy of this Worm is starting to drop! Keep fighting steadily and avoid casualties. This Divine Plant is almost in our hands!" the leader shouted.

His voice was sharp and thin, extremely unpleasant to listen to. Even so, the people of the Scarlet Cloud Clan were reinvigorated when they heard it.

Many of them had died, but they had already overcome the hardest part. Now, all the sacrifices would be worth it.

Those people became even more cautious, not daring to relax for a single moment. They surrounded the Spring-Bringer Worm.

Since it was guarding that plant and fruit, knowing its death was inevitable, it might even destroy the treasure before dying. Because of that, they still didn't dare to attack with everything they had.

As long as they didn't force it, it would think the enemies' power was also declining and that there was still some hope. That was why they were sacrificing themselves and fighting calmly, hiding their true strength.

'We'll be at a disadvantage if we just charge straight in,' Herta said.

She assessed that, with the power of her race, this wouldn't be an easy fight. And if Darian attacked alone with everything he had and everyone joined forces to block him, that could give the Spring-Bringer Worm a chance to escape with the plant, leaving them with nothing.

Darian smiled faintly and turned to the two siblings. 'It's fine. Just listen to me, and everything will be ours.'

After five minutes, the aura of the Spring-Bringer Worm began to plummet, delighting the attackers. Now, this creature was incapable of destroying the divine plant, even if it wanted to. Still, as a precaution, they chose to continue weakening it until it reached its most vulnerable state before killing it.

The Spring-Bringer Worm opened its mouth wide and spat out a wave of water swords, forcing everyone to retreat. However...

They didn't notice that, within that Aquatic Energy, a pill flew into its mouth just before it closed.

*BUZZ!*

Suddenly, its scales lit up, and space began to hum. Its aura grew explosively. A terrifying pressure spread throughout the area.

All those cultivators widened their eyes.

"This is bad!"

When the body of the Spring-Bringer Worm spun, Water Energy surged in all directions, forming a deadly vortex. Its cutting power was so high that it was able to tear space apart.

"Retreat!"

The leader with the flaming saber shouted, unable to understand how that creature, which had been on the brink of death, had suddenly recovered.

He raised the saber in front of him. As it shone, runes and fire merged, and a giant shield extended outward, protecting him and a few others.

*KBOOOOM!*

A massive boom echoed.

The Wood Spirits felt the lingering waves of energy slam into them. It was so intense it felt like knives brushing against their faces.

They were already very far away, yet they could still feel that immense power. That meant the core of the battlefield had to be under unimaginable pressure. Herta and Hart had pure hearts and even felt a trace of pity for those people. Darian, on the other hand, knew very well how to be cruel.

As a result, the land was left in ruins, and the people of the Scarlet Cloud Clan were scattered across the ground. No, to be more precise, some were even suspended in the air.

Limbs and chunks of flesh were everywhere: on the ground, on the walls, even hanging from the stalactites above them. Aside from the nearly fifty people near the bearer of the flaming saber, the rest had all been killed.

The Spring-Bringer Worm collapsed to the ground after that single attack, its aura nearly extinguished. Only a tiny remnant of life remained, on the verge of disappearing.

"Bastard!"

The leader nearly went insane, thinking that the creature had died.

The power the Worm released had destroyed everything there. There was no need to even check the divine plant; everything had turned into nothing. So many people had perished, and they had gained absolutely nothing.

"No need to be so angry. Look, this little beauty is still in perfect condition, isn't it? How are you going to thank me?"

At that exact moment, a lazy voice sounded.

The survivors were shocked and hurriedly scanned the area. As the mist slowly dissipated, they finally saw a man standing on the platform where the plant and fruit had once rested.

He was holding both gently and smiling at them, showing his teeth. That smile was warm and sincere, full of gratitude. If Niara were there, she would have burst out laughing.

Seeing him holding the treasure that 'belonged' to them, the cultivators' eyes instantly turned red.

"Darian!" their leader shouted. "You were appointed by the City Lord as the representative of the Celsiel family. Openly robbing others is a very serious crime! Return what is ours!"

"Oh? And why would I do that?" he muttered indifferently.

"You… do you think you're strong enough to kill all of us and escape? Don't be stupid! I came prepared, and I promise I can get away, you—"

Darian snorted and cut him off with a look of disgust. "My stomach is too fragile to listen to that. It's impossible for me to even think about something like that. I have a health condition. What I can't obtain, I'll do everything to get. What I already obtained, I'll never let slip away."

He waved his hand and sealed the energies and essence of that plant with the power of chaos, then stored it in his inventory. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"YOU!!!"

"Don't get so emotional," Darian said coldly. "It's very safe with me and won't be damaged in any way. But anyway, I don't really need you worrying so much about what's mine, do I?"

Darian suddenly raised his hands and clapped once.

In that instant, dozens of arrows were fired silently. When the fifty reacted, the arrows were already inches away. Ten had their heads pierced and exploded.

"Finish them all." Darian waved his hand and sat down lazily.

"KILL!" all the Wood Spirits roared as they attacked.

The overwhelming majority of them used bows. However, after Sylvanos gave them the race's secret technique, many who had once been below average in power discovered they could fight in close combat and were actually good at it. Because of that, about twenty-five percent of them switched weapons and began using spears or sharp swords.

They were all well-equipped, with good-quality armor and weapons. All thanks to Niara, who sold some pills as Darian requested and then bought everything the race needed.

At that moment, Eleri shot forward, approaching the sprawled body of the Spring-Bringer Worm.

She touched it and sent water runes, as well as water of life, into it. That gigantic body trembled and began to recover its luster, regenerating.

Darian nodded in satisfaction. The sacred water, or water of life that Eleri created, could be absorbed by that creature and restore its vital energy in the same way the fruit of that plant did.

Quickly, the Spring-Bringer Worm stood up. However, there was no fury or desire to fight in its movements. All of its focus was on the small, smiling girl nearby.

"Master likes you. He has lots of places where you can play. Wanna come?" Eleri said in an excited tone. "If you accept, you have to be obedient. If you disobey, I'll kill you myself, got it?"

The body of that figure gently writhed.

"Great! Your name is now… Bloopie!" She gave it a name. Then she turned to Darian, giving a thumbs-up in a victorious pose.

Darian nodded.

"AH!"

At that moment, that leader really tried to use a strange object imbued with immense spatial power. His earlier words hadn't been a bluff. It was something made to escape, something he was sure would let him get out alive. But…

Awel was hidden nearby, waiting for exactly this kind of move.

When she appeared, she materialized and slashed. The hand holding the object was severed, and a gust of wind sent it flying straight to Darian.

"Good job," Darian muttered, and Awel appeared at his side.

While everyone was fighting, Darian gave a few instructions. He ordered equal numbers of Wood Spirits to engage the enemies, so they could actually fight properly.

Although the Wood Spirits were already very strong, they still lacked experience in killing enemies. They didn't know how to anticipate attacks or assess risks, so Darian used those people as a practical lesson.

Herta and Hart felt they were gaining insights repeatedly and, because of that, became even bolder. Their attacks grew more and more brutal, almost sinister.

That leader, even with only one hand, was still fighting with his flaming saber. However, as Darian constantly pointed out his weaknesses, he felt more and more fear. In front of Darian, it was as if his life was no longer under his control and could be taken at any moment.

"Let me go, or I'll make all of you die with me!"

Suddenly, he let his blood drip onto the saber in his hand. At that instant, all of space trembled. A terrifying, explosive energy surged out of the weapon, certainly more than enough to kill everyone there.

"If you don't let me go, I'll detonate this saber! It was made from the bones of an extremely powerful ancient fire beast! Make no mistake, all of you will—!"

He only felt a gentle breeze pass by. Suddenly, he shuddered. When he looked at his own hand, he found it empty. At some point, his saber had disappeared and reappeared in front of Darian.

A little girl, with a sweet smile, was holding the weapon and handing it to him.

"Little friend, this is very dangerous. It's not for kids, so I'm confiscating it. Do you have more?" Darian said without any ceremony and didn't store the saber.

That man's mind went blank. He felt like he was going insane. That person wasn't human; he was a demon. Subconsciously, he replied, "No."

"No? Alright, kill him." Darian waved his hand at Herta and Hart.

The two almost laughed when they saw the blank expression on that pathetic figure's face. It was as if he had turned into a complete fool.