I Have Become a Death Worm

Bold or Dead

Urrrrrung…
The vast desert area trembles.
The aftermath generated by the movement of 105 worms.
Kurrrrrr─────!
In the middle, explosions rain down as if eardrums might fall off.
Pale dust and dense yellow dust rose thickly.
It was a sight as if the ground was being completely overturned.
Death Worms and Sand Worms moved underground.
My current state of mind was confused in many ways.
Worms injected with plenty of reason, intellect, and personality?
They were like humans who were just worms in appearance.
The aftermath of S-class monster taming was too intense.
However, for now, it’s spilled water.
The covenant of subjugation once activated cannot be reversed.
The only end to the relationship is the death of myself or those creatures.
Of course, I don’t want to think about such an extreme direction.
[…All troops, halt.]
Kurrrrrung…
With my command, the ground tremors gradually subsided.
The worms perfectly obeyed my command.
It was a unified coordination just like an army.
I’m not sure if I should call this an army, but.
For the purpose of convenience, I called it that.
With this current force, we could sweep away even a small city.
I sufficiently cooled my head while moving to some extent.
It was time to expound the prepared plan and future.
I spoke in the silence.
[Rise.]
Passssss-
Death Worms and Sand Worms poked out just their heads from the ground surface all over.
They looked like cats digging through trash cans.
Unexpectedly, there seemed to be some cute aspects.
I looked around at the worm family.
The current formed group totals 105.
57 Death Worms and 48 Sand Worms.
At the time of subjugation, this was the scale in the vicinity.
New knowledge has now settled in my mind.
Sensory synchronization occurs between the caster and subjects.
Information learning takes place through automatic sensory sharing.
In this way, tamers easily acquire surrounding information unlike other professions.
Just as the skills I’ve acquired so far were shared with them, I also obtained information the worms possessed.
Everything seen and heard by those creatures who slithered around the desert was transmitted to me.
Various mysterious phenomena I don’t know the names or locations of float as images in my mind.
It was the moment when my information network expanded again.
[First, we need a full-scale expansion of territory.]
I broke the silence while receiving the attention of the worms.
I repeatedly conveyed my intentions to the worms through thought waves.
In complete silence externally, my telepathy resonated.
[Specifically, we must subjugate all worms existing in the Shahar Great Desert.]
The Death Worm Tarkhan with the sinister old man’s voice immediately tilted his head.
[All the worms of this place… you intend to subjugate them?]
[…Yes, and beyond that, grand unification. All worms of the desert must unite as one. This is for survival.]
The Shahar Great Desert can be largely divided into four sectors.
The Nargal Plateau in the north.
The Grabadra Sea in the east.
The Zalam Plains in the south.
The Karpid Plain in the west.
Dinosaurs in the north, sand fish in the east, giant birds in the south, and apes in the west are each the strongest representative forces.
It is a chaotic era of monsters where various warlords made up of dinosaurs, desert fish, giant birds, and large monkeys rule separately.
The Grabadra Sea where I am is actually the place with the richest vegetation and ecosystem.
It’s treated like Eden, a repository of all kinds of life, a utopia with the environment in place.
Compared to the regions where the other three lords reign, that is.
In fact, until the White Sovereign was discovered several hundred years ago, the Yellow Sand Whale King was the lord.
However, after observing and comparing various cases in the desert ecosystem, the White Sovereign with much superior combat power and danger began to be treated as one of the Four Great Lords.
After that, the Yellow Sand Whale King was pushed down to the Six Military Leaders.
Until now, the Albino Death Worm was a powerful and lonely being.
It was a very unique phenomenon that it was judged as a lord as a solitary individual, without having subordinates made up of its own kind.
This was also due to the ecology where worms do not live in collective group life, gathering to eat and sleep together and move.
From now on, I intend to bring a systematic transformation to that.
[…There are many advantages to uniting. First, we can collectively detect and respond to external threats, greatly increasing each other’s survival rate. Second, it’s much more convenient for exploring regions and sharing information, as well as obtaining food through collective hunting. Third, finally… by having a nest where we lay eggs together and raise juveniles, the safety and prosperity of our future generations are eternally guaranteed.]
The other three lords formed groups.
Therefore, they are safe from external attack attempts.
They have defense power that guarantees firm protection of their respective spheres of influence.
It was crystal clear that worms should unite from now on.
[Imagine all the big and huge worms of the desert united to form a collective colony. Compared to the previous solitary or small group life of at most three or four traveling together, there are only massive benefits. It would be a profound shock to outsiders who have underestimated or disregarded us until now. We will be reborn as the rulers of the Shahar Great Desert.]
Naturally, all visible worms must be subjugated.
Then we prepare a nest where everyone can live together.
In this way, we implement collective defense against external threats.
A perfect collective behavior system is established.
[…United we stand, divided we fall. Seek death to live, seek life to die. That is the key.]
Some sayings I liked in my previous life.
They fit this situation exquisitely.
It was amazing how they seem to apply in quite many cases.
[Indeed… what wonderful insight. I am once again amazed by our sovereign.]
Tarkhan immediately burst into admiration and responded.
Erden, Batar, Zorya, and Kacha each nodded their heads.
On the other hand, the Sand Worms tilting their heads seemed puzzled by this atmosphere.
Bigger and more innocent than Death Worms, they aren’t very quick to understand.
[…Someday, we might clash with the lords of the remaining regions of the vast great desert.]
Also, this process will eventually create inevitable clashes with the lords.
Since the lords are attempting expansion by dispatching subjects to foreign territories.
Perhaps even contact and conflict with other heterogeneous races living on the surface.
[Hmph, such things are just a meal for our great grand sovereign.]
[Those bug lords are no match for us!]
[Let’s rush in and tear them all to death right now!]
[…First, calm down a bit.]
The Death Worms fiercely shouted, regardless of my restraint.
[Tear the enemy to death! Tear the enemy to death!]
[Split them so not even their form remains, passing through their bodies!]
[Eat only flesh and intestines, discard the remaining byproducts in the desert sand!]
The problem with these guys is that their militant warrior temperament is too thorough.
They were just like notorious and veritable desert tyrants.
[If only the stupidly huge and ignorant Sand Worms don’t get in our way! Kyahat~!]
Kacha suddenly threw disses at the Sand Worms.
[What!? We’re stupidly huge and ignorant!? How dare you use such violent slander!]
The Sand Worm Sivat with the hot-blooded foolish male voice immediately flared up.
Kwassssss-!
Immediately, the Sand Worms protruded up to half their bodies from the ground.
Their characteristic wind puppet dances swaying their bodies resume.
[Let’s resolve this with peaceful dialogue rather than fighting!]
[Everyone should get along together!]
[Don’t fight, have sex!]
On the other hand, the Sand Worms are too leisurely and docile.
They hide their bodies even when attacked by very small beasts.
Rather than being scared, the expression “they avoid it just because it’s annoying” fits better.
[A Sand Worm… talking back!?]
Kacha immediately shot back in a sharp voice.
[You stupid Sand Worms! Look at your records based on your ecology! Are you suitable for fighting at all!? Are you suitable! Despite your size!]
[Cowards like you are not needed for the great plan our grand sovereign will carry out! You are unnecessary to the group!]
Erden and Batar supported Kacha, adding damage.
[Tiny things are looking down on us? How diligent excavators we are! So can you dig better than us!?]
[Hoho~! Words come back as spoken~!]
Sharan and Zand exchanged retorts.
[Beanpoles! Cowards! Trash! Bugs! Morons!]
[Dwarfs! Dwarfs~! Dwarfs~! Our dwarf friends~!]
Death Worms throw damage at Sand Worms, and Sand Worms let it flow like water, which is quite amusing.
From a third person’s perspective, they are all monster worms in the end.
If Death Worms are sharks, Sand Worms are whales.
In terms of land animals, the analogy would be tigers and elephants.
Death Worms, with their aggressive carnivorous nature, actively devour prey and seek to exclude intruders from their territory.
Meanwhile, Sand Worms prefer to swallow vast amounts of sand to live on in normal times, and immediately hide their bodies deep in the sand when attacked.
While Death Worms are always looking to fight, Sand Worms avoid fights unless there’s a significant threat.
Their ecology is too starkly different.
I felt the need to raise my subordinate worm family.
Patience and self-control for the violent Death Worms.
Fighting spirit and aggressiveness for the leisurely Sand Worms.
I calmed the quarreling worms.
[…Everyone calm down. As subspecies with different habits and ecology tied together, you might not understand each other. But this too must be endured, a mountain that must be overcome. Eventually, it will become a stepping stone for everyone to reach the great path.]
It was fortunate that I subjugated both Sand Worms and Death Worms.
Because I could now assign annoying tasks.
Sand Worms on the left arm, Death Worms on the right arm.
Could there be a better combination?
Of course, I no longer have arms.
I casually threw out a topic.
[Who will be the first to show loyalty on our great journey?]
[Please leave it to me! I will burn even my fighting spirit and soul to the fullest!]
[Just leave it to me! Mr. Hwayang~!]
[To me! To me! To me!]
[Me! Me! I want to do it~!]
Now Death Worms and Sand Worms competing fiercely in loyalty.
My position caught between them was truly awkward.
This too must be endured as a trial…
I continued proposing topics.
[If anyone has seen a place that would be the most suitable as a nest from the places they’ve seen so far… anyone may give their opinion.]
It was just when I was about to discuss in earnest which appropriate area should be used as a colony nearby.
Taaaang-!
A resounding gunshot cutting through the silence of the desert.
Taang… taaang… taaaang…
Gunshots that spread faintly as calm echoes.
Amidst conversations only through telepathy with no one making a sound, it was a sound that broke the silence.
I turned my head to look at the distant desert horizon.
A distance not visible to the naked eye for now.
But to the developed full-body pore hearing of worms, it was caught clearly as if a gun was fired next to their ears.
Death Worms and Sand Worms can hear even the sound of a needle falling on sand hundreds of meters away.
It’s not for nothing that norms are established for desert travelers to not make loud noises when crossing areas where worms inhabit.
[…Gunshots?]
[Are there Gaians nearby?]
[Hmm, it seems humans from Earth are here?]
The worms, whose entire bodies are practically auditory organs, immediately caught it.
Death Worm Zorya and Sand Worm Rimud each looked around.
[…First, it doesn’t seem too far away.]
[That’s right! It’s practically right nearby!]
The subjects of my first battle after reincarnation.
Earthlings like Wang Junlin or the Three Battle Wolves are nearby.
[Descend.]
Feeling interest, I immediately commanded the worms.
Dudududu-
The worms and I immediately buried our bodies in the ground and began swimming.
We advanced toward the source of the sound.
After moving a distance of less than 1 kilometer, a terrain with bulging sand dunes and scattered date palm trees began to appear.
There was an oasis like a small lake, and around it were densely packed buildings with a white base.
It was a small medieval Arab-style village next to an oasis.
I stopped my sand swimming at the full-scale change in terrain.
[First, observe the situation.]
Pyushut.
I just poked out my head from the sand and observed.
Pyushushut-
The rest of the worms also followed, poking out their heads from the sand at once.
From a certain perspective, it could look very cute.
The problem is that the head size alone is as big as a house.
“Capture the Arubian residents! Catch those who are running away too!”
“Search even storage corners and floor doors!”
“Try not to kill if possible! Use tranquilizer bullets!”
“@#$%&! Dirty China @#$%&* devils!”
“Quickly @#$%&* rescue team @$% contact @#$%&!”
“Sun god @$% divine punishment@#$%&! ”
Chaotic loud shouts bursting out.
Black smoke rises and fire burns here and there in the village.
Around the village, modern vehicles and tanks were lined up.
Tang!
“Eok!”
Someone trying to light a fire at the village’s central beacon tower was shot in the shoulder and fell.
Beings in different attire swarmed around and restrained the movement.
People are bound and forcibly led away here and there.
Captured slave-like men and women screamed.
“@#$ damn @$#% China!”
“Krak! Uaaak-!”
“Kyaa, aaak-!”
These are the first otherworlders I’m witnessing.
Men wearing turbans or keffiyehs and dressed in thobes or bishts, women wearing abayas or chadors.
Generally dark skin, colorful hair dyed in various colors, and diverse eye colors.
The overall attire and atmosphere are roughly similar to Arabs.
However, the physical traits are never seen on Earth.
“Dammit! Stay still! Don’t move!”
“Hold them tight so they can’t move!”
“There’s another one running away! Catch them!”
On the other hand, the group intimidating the otherworld desert people wears distinctive yellowish-brown digital pattern military uniforms.
A red background with a five-star red flag patch embedded on one shoulder.
The clear mark of the Chinese military.
Interestingly, there were collaborators with appearances similar to the otherworlders.
Dressed in Arab-style armor with turbans similar to the desert people and chain mail, they threatened the residents with the same firearms as the Chinese military.
They seemed to be hostile to each other despite being from the same western continent.
Why does this remind me of Native Americans who cooperated with white people and oppressed other Native American tribes during the conquest of the New World in the real world?
[What… exactly is going on?]
[The Chinese from Earth are attacking the village of Arubians from the otherworld?]
Sharan and Zand reacted as if puzzled.
“With this, is the suppression of Rabat village complete?”
“Almost finished! Lieutenant Colonel Li Juren.”
I could understand the Chinese military’s conversation very well, probably because I consumed Wang Junlin.
On the other hand, the conversation of the Arubian desert people was heard partially, like filtering.
Is it because I haven’t consumed them yet?
“Kyaa, aaak! Beast! @#$%& @#$!”
“Hehehe! Stay still! Captain! I’ll go have some fun for a while!”
“Tch, moron. Come back quickly.”
A disturbance occurs in a group of Chinese soldiers.
A bare-headed Chinese soldier without even a helmet grabs a woman and drags her somewhere.
If left alone, he would likely do something terrible soon.
[What… are we supposed to do? It’s just human discord, right?]
[Right. It’s not particularly related to us.]
The Death Worms showed cynical reactions.
[Quick! Let’s help! Innocent people are suffering!]
[We need to stop the Chinese military and collaborators!]
Meanwhile, the Sand Worms immediately showed reactions that they should help.
[China…]
A country I knew very well from my previous life, now entangled with this side too.
The memories of the Chinese and Mongolian hunters I consumed.
Related information comes to mind one after another.
After the great cataclysm, China experienced a severe population decrease.
This was natural considering that gates tend to open with dangerous and large scales in places with high population and density.
China and India were the two countries that suffered the most damage at that time.
Desperate measures were needed to increase the rapidly declining population afterward.
That is, kidnapping residents of the otherworld, giving them appropriate brainwashing education in camps concentrated in Tibet.
And turning them into Chinese.
If they still resist to the end, their fate is obvious.
Men become labor slaves, and women become sex slaves for Communist Party officials.
It’s a disgusting idea just to think about.
[…Sovereign, what will you do?]
Tarkhan asked me my intention in a meaningful voice.
After all, even in this parallel universe world’s Earth, China is China.
A militaristic group armed with Sinocentrism, worse than the China in my world.
The confrontation between desert people and Chinese soldiers continued even as I was thinking.
“@#$%&! Beast @#$%& @#$! Divine punishment @#$%&!”
“Yes, sure. Our Communist Party pursues atheism, so we don’t care about such things!”
The desert woman shouted fiercely.
The insignia on the mocking shaved-head Chinese soldier shows the rank of corporal.
Watching the confrontation between the Chinese soldier and the otherworld desert woman, I felt inward regret.
[It’s unfortunate that not all the dialogue is audible.]
[Pardon…? What do you mean.]
If I had consumed an otherworlder from Elzeria’s Arubian West Continent, I would hear all words clearly, not such awkward partial filtered dialogue.
The fact that I’m having such thoughts now, is it proof that I’ve already become a monster?
In reality, explosive interest and appetite surged.
Humans just looked like prey.
[…Hollywood blockbuster horror movie. Commence Operation Blob.]
After Tarkhan’s question, I gave a delayed answer.
[Hmm, as expected…]
This is not particularly about helping the otherworlders.
It’s a result of thoroughly weighing the benefits.
After all, consuming Chinese people and collaborator otherworlders would give me more vast information and knowledge.
I believed without doubt that they would be valuable nutrients for me and the worms.
And there are plenty of subjects to proceed with the situation together.
The matter will be handled more easily than flipping a palm.
Once the policy was decided, my thinking became very clear.
[I’ll open the festival first. I’ll show you how to use the most effective tactics in such a situation. Watch carefully.]
Pushuk-
I, lightly buried in the sand, began to move.
Kugugugugu-
Like an ocean shark stalking prey with only its fin exposed, stealthily submerged.
Implementing an even more perfect concealment maneuver than that, I advanced leaving only very faint traces on the ground surface.
Then I stopped at a distance still quite far from the village.
The Chinese soldier was just about to undress the woman.
“@#$%! Let go!”
“Haha! Stay still! I’ll make you feel good!”
A distance where I wouldn’t be detected.
I slightly exerted telekinesis.
Wiiiiing-
The target was naturally the Chinese soldier.
“Hu, eok…!?”
Suddenly the Chinese soldier grabbed his head with both hands.
“Ah…?”
The woman, regaining her freedom, unconsciously let out a questioning sound.
The Chinese soldier let go of the woman and retreated falteringly.
He begins to walk staggeringly like a zombie.
His face gradually changes to one of pain.
“Eok… somehow, my head…!”
I just continued to exert telekinesis.
Just continuing to engrave mental images, until the form I wanted was realized.
His eyes become bloodshot, and pale foam slowly flows from his wide-open mouth.
“Kkeu, geogeok…!”
The Chinese soldier grabbed his own throat as if choking.
Suddenly, bright red blood lines appeared on his entire scalp as if passing through a cube.
His head swelled explosively in all directions.
“Kkueok!”
Chwaaaak─────!
The Chinese soldier’s head split into exactly one hundred pieces and scattered.