Chapter 231

The Grand Death Worm’s Subjugation
"Whoaahhh!?"

(Lily! Drive straight! I can't get a good aim!)

"Easier said than done! The Grand Death Worm is making the ground all bumpy!"

Yeah, this plan to take down the Grand Death Worm wasn't as easy as it sounded.
At first, when I raced across the ice path, things went smoothly, but once I passed that, I could feel and hear the rumbling of the Grand Death Worm burrowing just beneath the ground, even from inside the Lumite Grand Wing.
And to make things worse, I’m the only one in the lead vehicle.
Everyone else is scattered in different vehicles, preparing to engage.
We’re communicating through the radios we were given.

"I don't want to wreck the Lumite Grand Wing!"

(From the sound of things, the Lumite Grand Wing is faster than the Grand Death Worm! If you drive straight, it should chase you in a straight line!)

"Uwaaah!"

I pulled myself together and drove the Lumite Grand Wing straight.
Sure enough, the rumbling sound directly beneath me began to fade away.
Alright, this might just work!

"!?"

Just as I thought we were in the clear, a huge crash sounded as the ground shattered, and the vehicle shook violently.
The Grand Death Worm had surfaced.
I hope Plum and Talat are managing okay.

(There! I caught it!)

(Hissss!)

"Plum! What’s the situation!?"

(I’ve got the Grand Death Worm with my whip! Talat is wrapping its threads around it through the whip!)

"Should I slow down!?"

(No, it’s still chasing at high speed, so don’t slow down yet! Ugh, I didn’t expect such a huge creature to move so fast!)

I couldn’t see it since we were communicating through the radio, but if it was able to keep up with the Lumite Grand Wing, the Grand Death Worm must be incredibly fast.
How powerful was this thing?

(Lily, slow down now! Its body is starting to freeze, and its movements are slowing!)

"Got it!"

I eased up on the accelerator.
At that moment, something massive, like a giant worm, zipped past the side of the Lumite Grand Wing.
I hadn’t been able to see it earlier when it attacked the other vehicles because of its speed, but... it really looked like *that*?

(Lily, steer the vehicle away from the Grand Death Worm! I’m going to jump onto it and freeze it completely!)

"Understood!"

I turned the Lumite Grand Wing's steering wheel and moved away from the worm.
Then, over the radio, I heard a heavy thump—seems like Plum had made her jump.
Even though we weren’t out of danger yet, I kept driving the Lumite Grand Wing as far away as possible.

It took about an hour after that for the Grand Death Worm to be completely frozen.
It was just that massive.
Talat and Plum worked tirelessly to freeze it, and it still took that long.
But at least, the immediate threat had passed.
… I’m exhausted.
I just want to go home and rest.