Inside the ancestral hall, a stifling silence filled the air. The clan elders and the clan leader all kept their heads bowed, as if a massive weight pressed down on their hearts.
When a Gu Master dies, the Gu worms left behind still carry remnants of their master's will. These creatures are not truly wild Gu, but they also lose the power to absorb natural essence from the surroundings.
In a sense, such Gu worms are like an extension of the deceased Gu Master's life.
Everyone felt a growing unease.
It had been at least a thousand years since the first generation clan leader passed away. Could the techniques he left behind still work after all this time? No one could say for sure.
After all, the last time this ritual had saved them was already two centuries ago.
But soon.
There were up to a hundred Gu worms flying around in a cluster, forming a red cloud, descending and landing on the village square.
Buzz buzz buzz…
The noises emitted by the insect group entered the ancestral hall, and the clan elders raised their heads, showing a frantically overjoyed expression.
"Thank you great ancestor, for the protection!" Gu Yue Bo's heart felt at ease as he paid his respects before getting up.
"Go, go and see," the clan leader sighed. On his face, there was happiness, solemness and grief, a complicated expression.
Stepping out of the ancestral hall and onto the building's stairway, everyone could see a red tornado raging across the village square.
The Gu worms within it were each no bigger than a fingertip. They looked like locusts with fierce, twisted faces, their entire bodies bright red.
They burrowed into the bodies of the Gu Masters seated in the square, draining their blood and primeval essence. In just a few breaths, each insect would reproduce into many more.
As time passed, their numbers swelled rapidly. New Gu worms emerged in an endless stream, flying in and out of the Gu Masters' flesh, tunneling back and forth without pause.
Across the square, pained cries and ragged groans echoed, yet not a single Gu Master tried to escape.
They had been fully briefed by the clan elders beforehand. For the sake of the clan's survival, they offered up their bodies willingly, sacrificing themselves so the Gu could feed and multiply, ensuring the clan's continued existence.
"These are all good lads of our clan!" Gu Yue Bo seeing this muttered in a low voice, as the hand holding onto the railing shivered slightly.
The other elders wore pained expressions but kept silent.
This scene matched precisely what was recorded in the clan's memorial texts. The first generation ancestor had left behind these Gu worms, and they could only be appeased by consuming the lives of Gu Masters. Once sated, they would turn their power to defending the clan against any external threat.
When the flying Gu were finally full, they rose into the air again, their numbers swelling to dozens of times what they had been.
All that remained in the square were heaps of white bones, while the red swarm surged outward like a tornado, tearing through the wolf packs gathered outside the village.
"The Blood Guillotine indeed…" Fang Yuan who was standing on the slope saw everything and thought in his heart.
The Blood Guillotine was a Rank five Gu, unique in that its feeding and utility were combined into one.
It fed specifically on a Gu Master's life-bound origin blood, and once it had consumed enough, it would begin to reproduce—one becoming two, two becoming four, and so on.
When starved and unable to find nourishment, these Gu would turn on each other, devouring their own kind to sustain the energy required for movement.
At full strength, the Blood Guillotine could blanket the skies and raze the earth, wiping out entire villages in its path. In this state, it was even more terrifying than many Rank six Gu. But when its numbers were few—just one or two—it was pitifully weak, barely stronger than a Rank three Gu.
Its true potential lay in its evolution. Once it advanced into the infamous Rank six demonic Gu, Blood Deity, it would become one of the Top Ten Great Demonic Gu in the world, ranked seventh among them.
This swarm of Blood Guillotines numbered in the tens of thousands. Like a tornado tearing across the battlefield, they left howling wolf packs in their wake wherever they passed.
They darted in every direction, burrowing into the lightning wolves' bodies. In just a few breaths, they drained each beast of all its blood.
However, the blood of these animals couldn't fuel the Blood Guillotine's reproduction. Only the life-bound origin blood of a Gu Master, rich in primeval essence, could trigger that growth.
One by one, the lightning wolves collapsed as withered husks, their lives snuffed out.
Only the larger lightning wolves and the fierce frenzy lightning wolves could resist them, their crackling electricity managing to fend off some of the insects.
But even then, they could only kill a handful before the overwhelming swarm surged over them, draining them dry as well.
Howl!
The steel net finally gave way, freeing the thunder crown wolf. It let out an enraged roar.
Sensing its presence, the Blood Guillotines quickly gathered together, merging into a vast red cloud that engulfed the beast.
The thunder crown wolf lashed its tail, releasing arcs of blue lightning that incinerated thousands of the insects on the spot.
The crackling explosions sounded like strings of firecrackers, and a foul, scorched smell spread on the wind.
Although the Blood Guillotine was a Rank five Gu, without a Gu Master to command it, it could only attack directly. Meanwhile, the thunder crown wolf hosted several Rank four Gu within its body, some with wide-area attacks that perfectly countered the swarm.
The flying insects churned like a red mist around the wolf's massive body, which reared and struggled wildly in the chaos.
But its sheer size became a liability, making it easier for the tiny Blood Guillotines to exploit every opening.
The battle grew fiercer. Countless insects fell, yet soon they breached the wolf's armored hide. Some bored into its flesh and began gorging themselves on its blood.
Desperate, the thunder crown wolf was forced to discharge lightning plasma across its own body, electrocuting the parasites.
But in doing so, it roasted its own muscles, releasing a sickening smell of cooked meat.
Meanwhile, the wolf tide's assault on the village finally ceased.
Under the thunder crown wolf's command, the remaining lightning wolves turned to attack the swarm instead.
The Gu Masters had narrowly avoided death, and many of them held their breath, watching the brutal clash unfold with pounding hearts.
The swarm was like a plague of death. Wave after wave of lightning wolves charged in, only to collapse and die moments later.
Yet their sacrifice depleted the Blood Guillotine's strength. The dense red cloud slowly thinned into a drifting fog, until it shrank into a small tornado circling in the air.
Seizing the chance, the thunder crown wolf broke free, letting out a ragged howl as it fled at full speed.
Half its blood was already gone, leaving its body weak and unsteady. Its pace had slowed to less than a tenth of its normal speed, and the lightning arcing over its fur flickered erratically.
As their leader retreated, the rest of the lightning wolves lost their will to fight and scattered in every direction.
"We finally did it…" The Gu Masters seeing this, became blank as some just collapsed on the ground, unwilling to get up.
"I'm actually still alive!" Many Gu Masters' expression was complicated; some were filled with happiness while also in grief.
During the wolf tide, countless clansmen had given their lives.
Buzz buzz buzz...
The remaining Blood Guillotine swarm rose into the air, circling widely around Gu Yue village before disappearing into the clouds above.
The thunder crown wolf's defeat meant the village was finally secure. Most of the wolf packs had been killed or crippled, and their numbers were no longer overwhelming.
This wolf tide could be considered over.
However, wolf packs were known to hold grudges. As long as this myriad beast king remained alive, it would eventually return in the next wolf tide. After years of recovery, it would only grow craftier and stronger.
Right now, the beast was at its weakest. If they killed it and claimed the Gu worms dwelling within its body, they could recover some of the clan's losses.
"Yao Zhong, Ge Yan, you two stay behind and take care of the situation. Other clan elders, follow me and assault the thunder crown wolf!" Gu Yue Bo hurriedly ordered, before leading the remaining seven elders capable of fighting out of the village and towards the direction that the thunder crown wolf escaped in.
"It's time for me to follow as well." Fang Yuan's gaze shone as he entered stealth mode and moved down the slope.