Then, they lined up and jumped into the pool one by one. They only crawled back out, dripping wet, after the Iron Claw Worms on their bodies let go.

Afterwards, they looked at their still-bleeding wounds and chuckled foolishly.

After a moment of foolish chuckling, the Beastmen and Half-beastmen began to lick their wounds. The Pure Human males, however, ran over to Qingcao to wash their wounds with clean water before sprinkling on medicinal powder and bandaging them.

"It’s... it’s crawling out!"

A female’s terrified cry rang out by the pool. Wu Yue turned her head and saw that two Iron Claw Worms were crawling out, probably because the pool was too crowded.

She scanned her surroundings and ran quickly toward the woodpile.

After finding two sticks, she walked over to a Beastman. "Help me split the ends of these open, then jam a piece of wood in to keep them apart."

The sticks were sturdy, but they were no match for the Beastman’s brute force. A moment later, two stout, Y-shaped catchers were ready.

"Grab a vine and come with me."

With that, she ignored the Beastman’s baffled expression and turned toward an Iron Claw Worm crawling toward the females.

She deliberately circled behind the Iron Claw Worm. Gripping a forked stick in each of her slightly sweaty hands, she waited for the right moment and then thrust them down, pinning the worm’s two large pincers.

The Iron Claw Worm, accustomed to bullying others with its pincers, had never imagined its invincible weapons would one day be restrained. After a moment of confusion, it stuck its rear in the air and began to struggle.

But...

Having lost its most powerful weapon, all its struggles were futile.

Wu Yue looked at the stunned Beastman beside her. "What are you spacing out for? Tie this thing’s two big pincers up, then throw it by the pool to soak."

’It had better not die. Her dream of beer and spicy crawfish was now one step closer to reality.’

Having dealt with that one, she casually tossed the two forked sticks to a nearby Beastman. "You two work together and catch the other one."

The Beastman looked at the two sticks in his hands and asked in confusion, "Can’t we just kill it? This is so much trouble."

"Don’t kill them. I need them alive. They’re useful."

The Beastman remembered Wu Yue’s identity as a witch and nodded in sudden understanding. "I get it."

With that, he and the Beastman holding the vine went off to kidnap the other Iron Claw Worm.

Wu Yue, on the other hand, stood there feeling a bit lost. ’So what exactly is it that you think you know?’

The Beastman Warrior holding the vine had the same question, but he voiced it directly. "Do you know why Wuyue doesn’t want to kill these Iron Claw Worms?"

The other Beastman raised his eyebrows smugly. "Of course. Did you forget Wuyue has that Little Fatty Beast that can deal with Poisonous Insects?"

He then added longingly, "Once she figures out a way to deal with these Iron Claw Worms, we won’t have to worry about these nasty bugs anymore."

Hearing this, the eyes of the Beastman holding the vine instantly lit up. "You’re right!"

Fueled by this new hope, the two of them became even more enthusiastic. They started voluntarily standing guard by the pool, and whenever an Iron Claw Worm tried to crawl out, they would spring into action.

A short while later, after she had finished helping treat the wounded, Wu Yue returned to the pool. She took one look and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

’If my surroundings weren’t the same, I’d think I’d stumbled into a seafood market.’

Looking at the Iron Claw Worms, their heads plunged in the water as they struggled weakly, Wu Yue shook her head, amused. ’That tying skill is worth a high salary.’

Once the wounded were treated, the army of Iron Claw Worms outside the cave also retreated, leaving a carpet of carcasses behind.

Because they had found a way to remove the Iron Claw Worms in time, no one had died today, though a few tribe members did have their fingers snipped off. This was a great cause for celebration.

Wu Yue had the less-injured tribe members gather up all the Iron Claw Worms outside that had lost their pincers but were still alive, and they tossed them into the pool as well.

Seeing Wu Yue approach, the two Beastmen who had become professional Iron Claw Worm-binders stood up, grinning widely. "Wuyue, is there anything else we can do for you?"

Wu Yue chuckled and pulled two tightly bound balls of hay from behind her back. "Give these Iron Claw Worms a good scrubbing. Make sure they’re clean."

The two Beastmen looked at the balls of hay she pulled out, which had obviously been prepared beforehand. ’So she had this ready all along.’

They took the two balls of hay from her and squatted by the pool to scrub the Iron Claw Worms.

As he scrubbed, one of them grumbled, "We don’t even get treated this well. Having someone give you a bath... it’s great to be a worm."

Wu Yue gave them a meaningful look. "If I get the chance, I’ll have someone scrub you two down in the future."

For some reason, her chilly smile made their scalps tingle. They quickly forced a laugh. "Uh, you know what, let’s just forget it, heheh... heh heh..."