Chapter 84

The cannon at the tail of the Leviathan suddenly blasted out compressed air, which further increased its speed, allowing the Leviathan to rush into the giant mouth of the worm at an extremely fast pace.

The Leviathan did not stop after rushing into the worm's mouth but continued to accelerate until it had traveled about three meters inside, at which point Lin finally felt at ease.

It seems to have worked.

The Leviathan, already at a high speed, could not have avoided the worm's frontal attack. If it had tried to turn or retreat at that moment, it might have been bitten into two pieces.

But rushing straight into the worm's mouth offered a chance of survival.

The worm's mouth, only about one meter from the front, was lined with large, thick, jagged teeth. These jagged and hook-like teeth worked together, with the hooks grabbing prey and the jagged teeth crushing it. Therefore, as long as Lin could pass through the section with the teeth before the worm closed its mouth and reach deeper inside, the Leviathan would be safe...

Of course, the situation was too urgent at the time, and Lin had only glanced briefly, unable to confirm whether there were more teeth inside the worm for crushing prey.

But since dodging was impossible, taking a chance was still an option, and it seemed to have paid off.

The worm's mouth was indeed large. Although the Leviathan was over three meters long, it was not very tall, standing only about one meter high on its legs, allowing it to fit inside.

The Leviathan extended its lantern to shine around. Its current position should be in the worm's esophagus, surrounded by dark red flesh walls.

Now, the worm had become a 'bodyguard' protecting the Leviathan. The Aztec bugs could not pursue it here; they must have retreated, or they would be eaten by the worm.

However, when to leave was a problem. Leaving was not an issue, as the worm's insides were not covered in thick armor like the outside. Lin could easily kill the worm now.

But before that, Lin needed to consider the current situation. The fleeing spearmen had all been caught and killed, indicating that the Pillar Forest was indeed the territory of the Aztec bugs. Although they hid during the day, they attacked intruders at night.

Defeating them would be very difficult... The number, types, and even the evolution rate of the Aztec bugs were all unknown. If the seawater did not return to normal, Lin would have to live and fight here.

Moreover, even if Lin killed the worm and left, it was unclear where it was and whether there were other worms nearby.

What to do?

As Lin was thinking, a 'gurgle' sound suddenly came from around. The worm's esophagus began to contract.

This is... the swallowing reflex?

The esophagus squeezed the Leviathan with great force, pushing it deeper into the worm's body.

Lin could not resist; retaliating here might cause the worm to spit out and then crush the Leviathan, which would not be good.

As the esophagus squeezed, Lin was pushed deeper into the worm's body. No matter how deep, the surroundings were the same dark red flesh walls...

Many worms are like this, with an esophagus running from head to tail, where all the food they consume is processed. It was unexpected that this worm, despite its large size, had an internal structure similar to smaller worms.

What surprised Lin even more was the length of the worm. The Leviathan moved deeper into the esophagus for quite some time before stopping. Its body was far more than ten meters long, possibly even twenty meters.

Do they feed on Aztec bugs to grow so large? However, since no worms were seen in the Pillar Forest, it seemed that worms generally did not enter the Pillar Forest, and the Aztec bugs did not go to the coast. When Lin was chased into the Pillar Forest by the worm, it was not that they could not enter but that they did not want to.

Why? Because of the Aztec bugs. They might be in a hostile relationship with the worms, only attacking each other when one invaded the other's territory...

So, what do the worms eat? They do not plant, and it is hard to imagine how worms in the barren cliff rocks could grow so large and in such numbers. It's not as if tsunamis constantly bring fish and scorpions for them to eat.

There are many mysteries about land creatures...

After squeezing the Leviathan to a certain position, the worm stopped. Lin noticed that the esophagus secreted some mucus, which was probably a dissolving fluid, similar to 'stomach acid,' but in small amounts, which had little effect on the Leviathan.

Then, a strong vibration came from around. This was not the esophagus contracting; Lin deduced that the worm was burrowing back underground, where it usually hid.

So, what to do now? Lin had not yet decided... because it did not know where the worm was. If the Leviathan killed the worm and emerged to find a nest of worms, it would be in trouble.

The vibrations continued, and the worm seemed to be burrowing deeper underground.

In any case, the worm's position must be confirmed first, but how?

Got it!

A flash of inspiration came to Lin. It received some signals from the Pillar Forest. The 'fliers' it had created by mimicking the giant dragonflies had been repeatedly tested, and one had successfully flown!

And they were not attacked by the Aztec bugs, possibly because they were too small to be noticed. Regardless, Lin could use them to confirm the worm's position.

There were thirty fliers in total. Lin had the remaining ones learn from the successful one and fly. Lin generated a large number of light-emitting cells in their tails, allowing them to fly in the dark, though they relied more on the sensory antennae on their heads.

The small fliers flew over the Pillar Forest, and Lin felt as if they were swimming in water, but more light and comfortable.

The fliers flew over the Pillar Forest and reached the cliff rocks. There were only a few large holes on the rocks, with no signs of bugs or worms.

The Aztec bugs had indeed retreated, but the fliers could sense the worm's position. One of Lin's units could fully sense the position of another unit without any detection.

Under the cliff rocks, the Leviathan felt as if it were in a pit, and the worm was not moving.

Should the fliers go in to check? Or wait and see if the worm emerges?

Lin had the fliers reduce their wing flapping frequency, like floating in water. They now rode the air currents from the sea, saving much energy.

The fliers waited until daylight before sensing any activity from the worm. The Leviathan also felt the esophagus start to vibrate again.

But the worm did not emerge from the ground; it continued to move underground. The fliers followed the worm's direction.

The worm kept moving north, passing through the entire Pillar Forest without emerging. It stopped only after leaving the Pillar Forest and reaching the desert.

The Leviathan felt another vibration, but the worm's position did not change, indicating...

Under the watchful eyes of the fliers, the worm emerged from the sand, revealing its enormous head.

Two other worms also emerged from the sand nearby, suggesting it was not alone.

What are they doing in the desert? The fliers circled above the worms, and Lin was curious. Are they hunting? What could they eat in the desert?

Suddenly, the worms turned toward the desert and began to move.

Strange, are they going into the desert?

The worms only exposed a small part of their heads, advancing into the endless, scorching sand.

The fliers immediately followed, and Lin was puzzled about what they were doing, advancing into the endless, waterless desert?

Or... is there some secret in this desert?

The Leviathan could not emerge now, as there were three worms. The Leviathan could only stay inside the worm, following them into the endless desert...