Ais a whip — or anything else that is punishing and dreadful. you could confront "a of corruption" or "a of hunger."+

Scourge

Explanation:

Scourge is something or someone that causes suffering. It can be in the physical sense like pain and torture, or it can be in the form of emotional and psychological pain. Scourge is not limited to physical beings or things, it can also be events or situations like droughts, diseases, earthquakes.

sound moves fastest in solids because the molecules are tightly packed and it allows sound to vibrate

these muscles maintain the blood pressure in the vessels. the smooth muscles are innervated by nerves of the autonomic nervous system. when the muscles contract, they cause vasoconstriction of the vessels and increase blood pressure. when the muscles relax, they enable vasodilation of the   blood vessels hence reduce blood pressure.