The Great Shaman’s face appeared calm, but his heart was far from composed. He was not nearly as aloof as he appeared.

In fact, he was furious, deeply frustrated.

The giant white termite he was currently controlling was supposed to be born from Dolly’s abdomen a year or two later.

By then, the Humpback Termite that emerged would’ve reached the peak of Second Rank right out of its birth. Once it finished feeding, it could directly ascend to Third Rank.

A Third-Rank white termite—among some ignorant races—would be worshipped as a god.

Monte had originally planned to sacrifice Dolly at the time of the termite’s evolution, thereby seizing complete control of this demonic creature.

But everything happened far too suddenly. The termite in Dolly’s belly burst out for unknown reasons.

He had no choice but to abandon Dolly’s life immediately, hide his own magical and mental power, and use Dolly’s severed head to release a psychic signature familiar to the termite in order to control it.

Because of this, the “premature” termite only possessed the power of a standard Second-Rank creature. Even if it devoured all the candle-exposed wizards in this settlement, it still wouldn’t be able to break into Third Rank.

“Everything that happened today was too sudden. Otherwise, I could’ve prepared more food for you.” Monte gently stroked the termite’s head, not daring to vent his frustration on it.

Until he found a better method of control, he couldn’t even cast spells—otherwise, it would be too easy for the termite to discover he wasn’t Dolly.

The white termite didn’t respond to Monte. It was entirely focused on its meal. Though it didn’t like having someone riding on its back, since it was its “mother,” it tolerated it—reluctantly.

Monte narrowed his eyes, scanning the entire settlement. “The wizards here should all have used the Soul-Reading Candles. Even if one or two slipped through the cracks, it doesn’t matter. The gate is shut. I can take my time.”

Although the giant white termite had lost its chance at a direct breakthrough to Third Rank, the more wizards it devoured, the faster its power would grow.

Monte wouldn’t let a single one escape.

…

At this moment, Saul was hiding inside a seam space.

This defensive curse barely leaked even a trace of magical or mental energy.

But at the same time, the seam could only hold one person—him.

When he first developed this curse, the space inside had been tiny, forcing him to curl up while hiding in it.

Now that he had grown, the inner space had expanded accordingly, but even so, Saul still had to hunch inside.

It felt as if the space had been custom-fit to his body.

Outside, the situation had descended into chaos.

The wizards were stumbling forward like sleepwalkers toward the white god of death, while the ordinary people—realizing the wizards had lost their minds—poured into their territory, looting as they pleased.

Some bold individuals even dared to attack the wizards—perhaps driven by some long-suppressed hatred.

Those who targeted low-level apprentices managed to kill their enemies, but the reckless ones who tried attacking high-level apprentices or true wizards were often struck down before they could even touch them—killed instantly by backlash from residual magic.

Saul remained curled up in silence, carefully analyzing the situation.

“The seam doesn’t block airflow. Which means the gas released by the white termite should be entering this small space too.”

Agu: “But Master, you haven’t lost your mind at all. That means the termite’s gas probably has no effect on you.”

Morden: “If this gas is meant to control wizards’ minds, it must have a very strict condition for activation.”

Saul had already figured it out. “No doubt, it’s because of the Soul-Reading Candles. These wizards and apprentices stayed here so long precisely to use those candles to temporarily activate their brains. And having used them for so long, they fell under the influence of the Humpback Termite’s acid-producing master.”

Agu: “Hah, they raised Humpback Termites and even consumed their secretions—only to become the termites’ food in the end. How ironic!”

Morden: “Humpback Termites secrete acid to bring back food. This is perfectly logical.”

Saul couldn’t see the giant white termite feasting, but even imagining the scene told him how gruesome it must be.

He thought to himself: “The one executing all of this must be Great Shaman, Monte. But the one who devised this scheme…”

Saul smacked his lips. “It’s still relatively safe where I’m hiding now. But staying hidden like this is too passive. Once the white termites finish devouring all the wizards, Monte will definitely begin searching for anyone still in hiding like me. If I’m found, it’ll be like being cornered in a dead-end alley.”

A Great Shaman, and a Second Rank white termite.

No matter how he looked at it, Saul didn’t see any chance of winning.

Saul shifted his focus back to the diary.

“I must take the initiative to adapt!”

But just as Saul was planning how to escape the settlement, a dramatic change occurred outside.

The ordinary people—who had taken advantage of the chaos to loot supplies—didn’t notice that many small, white termites had suddenly emerged from the ground within the settlement.

Once these termites crawled to the surface, they immediately aimed their antennae at the running passersby.

A man, holding several bulging cloth bags, came onto the street, ready to target his next victim.

But after only a few steps, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his toe.

He immediately looked down, and saw a white termite clinging to his foot.

At once, he recalled the gigantic white termite in the sky over the square, and goosebumps surged from his toes all the way up to his scalp.

He instantly raised his foot and began shaking it furiously, trying to fling the eerie termite off.

But after flailing until his leg was sore, he finally paused—only to find the small white termite was still firmly attached to his toe.

And by now, his foot had gone completely numb.

The man dropped the bags from his left hand and tried to swat the termite away. But the moment he bent down, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

All across the street, more and more people were falling victim to these white termites that had appeared from who-knows-where.

At first, it was just a slight sting. Then came numbness.

As the numbness spread through their limbs, the bitten began collapsing one by one, helplessly watching the termites continue to dig into their bodies.

But at this point, the settlement was too chaotic, and the initial victims of the white termites weren’t given much attention.

By the time everyone noticed these tiny killers crawling across the ground, the hunchback white termites had already spread across the entire settlement like a wildfire.

At that moment, Saul had made up his mind. He closed the diary.

Placing both hands on the edge of the narrow gap, he poked his head out and squeezed his whole body through an opening no wider than a palm.

As soon as he landed, he felt a massive spiritual pressure coming from behind.

He turned his head, and saw that the giant white termite had grown to ten meters long!

Saul carefully remained silent, pressed close to the wall, pulled up his hood to help mask his presence, and watched his step to avoid the termites on the ground.

But after just two steps, he bumped into a man running frantically while clutching a child.

The man’s face was scruffy—it was the father of the boy who had earlier faked death to escape.

He was still holding the child tightly, glancing back every few steps as he ran.

And behind him, a massive tide of white surged down the street and over the walls.

Atop that white wave of terror, bits and pieces of human and animal remains were being dragged along.

It was clear: if that white wave caught up to them, the man and the child would meet a horrifying end.

The man stumbled slightly while running and nearly fell. But with sheer willpower and quick reflexes, he planted a hand on the ground and forced himself upright to keep going.

That’s when Saul suddenly stepped into his path.

The man hadn’t noticed Saul before. Now, judging by his clothes, he realized he was facing a wizard.

“Get in!”

Saul grabbed the man by the collar with one hand and flung him toward a nearby house.

The man thought Saul was going to kill them. He hugged the child tightly in fear as they flew through the air.

With a crash, they broke through the flimsy window frame and landed hard inside the house.

Gritting through the pain, the man opened his eyes, and saw a massive transparent dome covering him and the child.

Several white termites crawled in through the broken window, but after circling the outside of the dome in confusion, they wandered away.

Saul didn’t even glance at the man inside the room. After casting Soul Armor on both the man and child, he immediately took to the air, heading straight for the settlement’s outer wall.

(End of Chapter)

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