In a desperate bid, the worm separated its exposed upper body from the lower half buried underground, much like a cicada shedding its she'll.
The discarded upper body was nothing but a hollow she'll; the worm's consciousness now resided solely in the lower half.
Though this move would cause it great harm, survival was all that mattered. It preferred escape over a slow death.
Meanwhile, the [Black Ants] remained focused on the weakening upper body, biting relentlessly until it disintegrated completely, vanishing without a trace, just like the surrounding trees had disappeared before.
Yet, unlike the trees, the [Ground Worm] had managed to survive, albeit heavily wounded.
When the battle finally ended, the battlefield was soaked in green blood and littered with the remains of countless [Black Ants].
For some reason, the black ants didn't seem to eat the bodies of their own kind, but the upper part of the ground worm was completely devoured.
Blood seeped through the soil and flowed underground in streams.
Just a few inches below the surface, a tiny seed lay surrounded by the blood, glowing with a strange red light.
The seed was light green with fine hairs covering its surface, and it seemed to have been dormant underground for a long time.
It appeared almost self-aware, steadily absorbing the blood and suddenly gulping down a large amount all at once.
Without hesitation, the seed began to grow rapidly. Within just two seconds, it rooted itself, broke through the soil, and sent out rhizomes.
Despite this strange plant's sudden appearance, it didn't draw much attention.
The field was dominated by a massive swarm of black ants, their wings buzzing loudly in the air.
While a single black ant might be silent, the sheer number of them created a constant, overwhelming noise.
After the worm interrupted them, the black ants didn't immediately attack or scatter; instead, they started following the tunnels the worm had left behind.
This showed just how relentless these creatures were. Once provoked, they wouldn't stop hunting you down.
Although the ground worm had killed many black ants, the ant population remained enormous and seemingly endless, as if none had died at all.
Most people's attention was focused on the black ants, their hearts pounding with anxiety.
Before, if they hadn't known how powerful these ants were, they might have treated them like harmless trees.
But after the worm fled, it became clear that the ants were easy to handle, not so intimidating after all.
Among the team, most members couldn't fight back and had no chance to escape like the worm did.
Only three stood out as having the best survival chances: Marionae and Pactro, who controlled puppets, and a member of the Stone Wall group who could mimic the flight of birds and animals.
Because of this, they needed to stay extra alert and keep a close eye on the Black End Ants, ready to respond the moment something happens.
Among the crowd, only Larry noticed a plant suddenly sprouting from the soil in the corner.
In just a few seconds, it grew to about half a meter tall.
Slightly surprised, he focused his attention on this unfamiliar plant.
His intuition told him that it wasn't an ordinary plant.
At first glance, it looked quite plain, wavy-edged leaves with larger lobes at the top, a bright green stem, and a round top covered in countless white, spider-like hairs.
The top resembled a volleyball wrapped in fine white threads, and the whole plant looked like a dandelion.
But what made this dandelion-like plant so special?
Since his encounter with the man-eating Piranha Plant, Larry had learned not to view plants, or anything on the Dark Continent, with ordinary expectations.
Danger lurked in the most unexpected forms here.
There was the man-eating plant that could grow instantly anywhere and the Transformer Bunnyman disguised as a harmless pet rabbit.
If you weren't careful or strong enough, the only possible outcome was death.
This unpredictability was part of what made the Dark Continent so deadly; danger was nearly impossible to guard against, and even a small mistake could be fatal.
Driven by curiosity, Larry sketched the plant and noted its name: the "Destruction Dandelion."
According to his notes, as long as the wind blew, the flower would explode, scattering countless seeds that floated away to grow rapidly and produce even more seeds.
These plants could quickly take over an entire area, draining the soil of nutrients until the land became a wasteland.
If the seeds landed on a living creature, they would suck it dry, leaving behind only a mummy.
The presence of this plant was a sign of devastation, an extremely dangerous disaster.
There was only one known way to stop this threat: when a group of these dandelions, called the Destruction Dandelions, reached an already barren place, they would stop spreading due to lack of nutrients.
The grown plants would then wither and die quickly after absorbing the last of the area's nutrients.
As Larry read the description of the Destruction Dandelion, a shiver ran down his spine.
He couldn't help but hold his breath, overwhelmed by a mix of awe and dread.
Just from reading the description of the ability in the illustration book, Larry could already picture how terrifying this scene must be.
This strange plant, called the [Destruction Dandelion], has an incredibly strong reproductive power and can quickly take over large areas.
Basically, as long as there's wind and fertile soil, it can spread almost without limits.
What's worse, if it attaches to a living creature, it rapidly drains them, turning their aura into fuel for its own survival and reproduction, effectively turning them into mummified husks in no time.
Judging by the description alone, this plant is extremely dangerous and can quickly drain the life from an entire area.
How far it spreads depends largely on luck.
If we try to rate this [disaster] using the [Dangerous Biological Evaluation Table], it would probably be at least an A+, maybe even higher.
This table is based on known threats and ranks three top-level disasters as A: the human-bred beast Papu, the desire-dependent life form Ai, and the hell bell double-tailed snake.
All three are considered the highest risk based on a comprehensive evaluation.
But this [Destruction Dandelion], which is unknown to humans until now, seems to surpass even that.
The evaluation considers brutality, quantity, reproductive ability, and destructive power, and the [Destruction Dandelion] hits the highest risk level in all four categories.
In terms of brutality, most of its natural behavior poses a lethal threat to humans.
In quantity, it can easily number in the tens of thousands or more.
When it reproduces, its population explodes at an incredible rate.
And its destructive power is extreme, with a very high mortality rate and little chance to avoid it.
So overall, it's definitely above an A ranking.
Dealing with an A-level disaster alone is already incredibly difficult, not only because the methods to handle it are unknown, but also because it requires world-class cooperation.
So a [Destruction Dandelion] that's even more dangerous than that is absolutely terrifying.
If it ever appeared on the six continents, it would cause an unimaginable natural catastrophe.
It's still unclear whether the [Destruction Dandelion] affects the oceans, but hopefully, its impact is limited to the land.
A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, giving the waiting Destruction Dandelion its chance.
Its head, originally made up of countless seeds, swayed slightly with the wind before suddenly exploding.
In an instant, the dense cluster vanished, replaced by countless white seeds drifting through the air.
These seeds scattered quickly in multiple directions, carried by the breeze.
Although it was just one plant, the number of seeds released was enormous, and most importantly, once these Destruction Dandelion seeds touched the ground, they would rapidly expand, multiplying exponentially.
Some of these white seeds settled into the soil, quickly taking root and drawing nutrients from the earth.
Others fell directly onto the Black Ant group, triggering a terrifying disaster.
To humans and animals, the pure white Destruction Dandelion seeds looked harmless.
Even when they landed on the Black Ants, the insects showed no immediate reaction, focusing instead on chasing the fleeing Ground Worm.
But then something dreadful happened.