These Nuger Worms crawled even faster than Xu Fan had expected.
In less than two or three breaths, they had advanced ten meters toward him.
As they moved, they let out shrill cries that sounded eerily human.
It made people's scalps crawl.
Especially their mouths and tiny, sharp teeth.
They looked densely packed and utterly horrifying.
If any other country's contestant had been in Xu Fan's place—even a fully armed contestant from the Lighthouse Nation—seeing this would probably have plunged them into utter despair.
They wouldn't have known how to respond.
And unlike when they'd encountered the Snow Wolf King,
although the Snow Wolf King was dangerous, there had only been one of him.
But these Nuger Worms were everywhere, covering the mountainside.
On top of that, Xu Fan had just completed a long trek, traveling dozens of kilometers.
That was enough to drain any adult's strength completely.
And...
Some viewers couldn't help but speculate.
Maybe Xu Fan wasn't staying because he was confident; maybe he simply didn't have the strength to turn and run!
The number of people watching the live stream began to plummet.
They could almost see Xu Fan and the Female Snow Wolf being swallowed up by the swarm.
Even the viewers who stayed behind
felt uneasy.
One after another, they began praying for Xu Fan.
At the same time...
They remembered what had happened to the Zhayu Kingdom's contestant.
When that contestant had first entered the Forbidden Land, he'd relied on weapons like guns and knives, and hadn't taken the Snow Wolves seriously at all.
But then...
During the fight with the Snow Wolves,
he'd run out of bullets, and the wolves' fangs had pierced his body.
Some parts of him had even been torn off completely.
His death had been horrifying.
If Xu Fan hadn't stepped in in time,
the Zhayu Kingdom's contestant might not even have been left with a skeleton.
Yet the situation Xu Fan faced now was a hundred, even a thousand times more terrifying than that!
The most frightening thing was...
The lives resting on Xu Fan's shoulders weren't just his own.
They included the lives of ten million people in the Yan Kingdom!
If anything happened to Xu Fan,
those people would have to die alongside him!
And no one knew who would be chosen to die with him.
It was completely random.
It could be their friends, family, or coworkers.
But it could also be...
themselves!
Even though the Yan Kingdom's total population meant the odds of being chosen weren't as high as they were in smaller countries,
that uncertainty and the unknown were what made it so terrifying!
Rather than worrying about Xu Fan's safety,
they were more worried about themselves and the people around them.
Given the circumstances, comments began flooding the live stream.
Some viewers were desperately praying that Xu Fan would make it through safely.
Others cursed him outright and attacked him personally.
If Xu Fan had been more cautious, more willing to lie low, he wouldn't have put himself in such danger!
His predicament was entirely his own fault for being overconfident!
Comments like these kept appearing.
Some foreign viewers said even nastier things.
They'd been hoping Xu Fan would die from the start.
The loudest voices came from the Zhayu Kingdom and the Curry Kingdom.
The Zhayu Kingdom's attitude was simple.
Our contestant is already dead.
We didn't get any resources, either.
Xu Fan even took the supplies our contestant brought with him.
If we're going to die, then let's all die together!
The Curry Kingdom, meanwhile, had long been displeased with the Yan Kingdom.
The worse things went for the Yan Kingdom, the happier they'd be.
Even viewers who weren't so pessimistic couldn't bring themselves to feel optimistic when they saw what was happening.
Meanwhile...
Inside the Forbidden Land.
Xu Fan naturally knew nothing about the live stream or the comments.
"These Nuger Worms are faster than I thought."
Xu Fan murmured to himself.
Although the Nuger Worms looked fast, if he ran with all his strength,
leaving them behind would be easy.
But...
Why should he run?
A group this large had to have a leader.
Maybe he'd get a Treasure Chest if he killed it.
Besides...
He'd traveled dozens of kilometers on this long trek.
For all he knew, he'd already left the mountain forest territory he'd been in before.
Treasure chests.
Resources.
Either reason was enough to make Xu Fan stay.
And he might even get both.
Besides, he wasn't afraid of creatures with so little intelligence!
Thud!
Xu Fan dropped his military pack at his feet, then tossed the cured meat on top of it.
He gripped the homemade long knife in one hand, stood tall beneath the open sky, and stared at the approaching Nuger Worms.
Suddenly...
A huge Nuger Worm sprang into the air, its mouth opening as wide as a soccer ball.
Its mouth was packed with tiny, sharp teeth, and an intensely foul stench wafted from its throat.
It lunged straight for Xu Fan's face.
In the blink of an eye, the Female Snow Wolf, who had been clamped onto Xu Fan's trouser leg, let go without hesitation. A murderous glint flashed in her eyes.
The Female Snow Wolf pushed off hard with her front paws and leaped high into the air.
Her jaws snapped open, and she bit down on the Nuger Worm's neck, then clamped down with all her strength.
She tore straight through its flesh.
The wolf and the worm landed at the same time.
Green slime splattered all over the Female Snow Wolf's mouth.
The Nuger Worm twitched twice, then lay still.
A single, fatal strike!
No matter what, the Female Snow Wolf was a D-Rank Beast. In a one-on-one fight, she was far stronger than these Nuger Worms.
But...
What happened next took Xu Fan completely by surprise.
He'd thought that when she saw the swarm bearing down on them, the Female Snow Wolf would abandon him.
He hadn't expected...
This little one would actually protect him!
"Awooo!"
The Female Snow Wolf let out a howl from deep in her throat. Using her speed and superb technique, she charged toward the next Nuger Worm.
Crack!
Once again, a single bite killed it!
Only then did the viewers in the live stream finally understand
why the Female Snow Wolf's danger rating was D-Rank.
This creature...
was truly vicious!
However...
There were simply far too many Nuger Worms. The Female Snow Wolf alone couldn't stop their advance.
Before long, dozens of Nuger Worms had surrounded Xu Fan.
And the Nuger Worms were clever enough to coordinate their attacks.
At the same time, from different directions,
they opened their gaping jaws
and lunged at Xu Fan.
The situation...
had reached a critical point.
Yet Xu Fan said nothing. He didn't even bother to watch the Nuger Worms' movements.
He swung his long knife with one hand.
His slash cleaved through the air, stirring it like ripples on water and turning it into a terrifying gust that swept outward.
It was so fast that the Nuger Worms lunging at Xu Fan didn't even realize what had happened before their bodies were split in two.
They were severed cleanly!
Green liquid sprayed in every direction.
What was even more bizarre was...
Xu Fan's slash hadn't just killed a large number of Nuger Worms in an instant.
The direction of his strike seemed to generate a powerful pressure of wind, pinning a vast number of Nuger Worms to the ground.
In the end...
Unable to withstand the force, their bodies burst on the spot!
A wide swath of land
was stained green!
Before you continue