The wurm erupted from the ground, exposing its enormous size. Dink’s eyes slowly shifted upward, drinking in the sight of its emerged body on the horizon. The sheer size of it caused him to hesitate. He didn't allow himself to be daunted, reag up, he gripped the hilt of his bastard sword jutting above his shoulder.

  Dink's ears twitched, sounds of chaos were ing from Burrowton in the distano one had wars inhabitants about the dahey were in. They still assumed it was only a natural disaster rog the town and that a master Magus from the Are Academy would eventually resolve the earthquakes. Axion stood frozen in fear staring up at the t skyscraper, fetting the harness on his shoulders.

  The wurm may dwarf even the biggest building in Burrowton. But it’s still only a lesser dragon. I am the fug Sword Saint! I've even sin true dragons. This is nothing, barely the match of a Master realm Attuned.

  Dink resolved himself, slowly drawing his sword with a she sound of screeg metal drew Axion out of his stupor. He had bee frozen in terror after the titanic shadow of the wurm engulfed them as it eclipsed the sun. A ray of sunlight fshed past the wurm’s jaws as it retreated bato the ground.

  “Stop gawking, we have a job to do,” Dink reprimanded, entering the underground mine.

  Axioated briefly without following. He gulped away his fear before leaning into the harness, slowly pulling the wagon taining the wurm egg behind him.

  Dink's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light ihe underground mine shaft while he waited for Axion to catch up. Low-grade mana nterns burned along the walls, lining the tunnels heading down with light. The creaking of the wagon attracted Dink's attention, Axion had just ehe mine.

  "We'll follow the st trail back to the . If it makes you feel better, stay close to the egg. Big mama won't strike from the bottom and risk dev it. She'll e from one of the sides," Dink assured Axion after catg a whiff of his sweat, it was ced with fear.

  "Are you sure? I feel like we're ourselves up for dinner. What's the pn?" Axion asked apprehensively.

  "Don't worry, we are. Well, I am. You shouldn't eveo get your hands dirty. Remember, no matter what she does, do not let Big mama separate you from the egg. She'll try to intimidate you after she works out that her sonic is iive against a Attuned. But she won't do anything that will hurt the egg," Dink instructed.

  He motioned for silend tested the air. The st of the disturbed was getting closer. He pressed a palm against the rock wall of the tuhere was a strong vibration that numbed his hand to the touch. He quickly retracted it.

  Moving to the back of the wagon, Dink threw back the tarp to reveal the egg underh. The size of it was big enough to make Axion appear small in parison. The surface looked to be carved frhly hewn opal, shimmering with iridest colour uhe nearby mana light.

  Dink carefully struck it with the edge of his sword, the metal ringing uhe impact. He created a small opening for the yolk to leak out of.

  "She's close. I don't think that she's realised we're here yet. She will," Dink said, breaking out in a jog.

  "Hey! Where are you going?" Axion shouted in panic, starting to unsaddle the haro chase after him.

  "Stay close to the egg!" Dink shouted back over his shoulder.

  He arrived at a rge cavern filled with sand, rge enough to house several fully grown wurms. It had gigantinels leading in different dires.

  Judging by the heat, we're at least a mile below the surface. I've never had to fight a wurm on its home turf before. I see a few tracks leading through sand duhey must belong to miners before they fled. They didn't take all of the eggs, there are still a few more nearby, I smell them hidden uhe sand.

  The ground began to vibrate. The crisscrossing tracks of the miners were sifted away in the sand.

  In their pce, the sand formed shiftiric patterns that radiated outward from a single point among the duhe sword in Dink's hand started to resoh the vibratioing a low keening sound.

  He lifted it vertically to examihe humming bde, frowning in tration. He lowered the sword to his side in anticipation, looking to the tre of the shifting sand.

  After what felt like ay ter, the wurm erupted from the silt. It was apanied by an unnerving trumpeting that seemed to e from all over its body as opposed to its gigantic maw. It pletely emerged from its burrow, nding in the sand with a resounding thud.

  That sound must be the wurm's sonic. They travel by redug the tightly packed earth in front of it into powder. Axioo get ready, Big mama is ing for him.

  Now that he was closer, Dink was able to properly see the wurm. It was a blue-grey colour and looked very simir in appearao other lesser dragon subspecies he had seen before, but with a few key differences.

  Due to having no limbs, it more closely resembled a colossal serpent with pointed armour ptes yering its body. The head had typical draic features, except instead of the usual pair of serpentine eyes. It possessed a line of six hoodless eyes in a row. They were bd hoodless, rendering them almost unnoticeable in the poorly lit cavern.

  The wurm started to move by pulsating the interlog armour ptes forward across the sand, pletely different from the expected slithering of a s raced toward the tunnel Dink had emerged from, where Axion waited with the wagon further up. Against all logic, Dink started charging toward its gaping maw, only a spe parison to the wurm's enormous size.

  I hope Axion listeo me and stayed beside the egg, or this may end very poorly for both of us.

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