I guessed the slower ones had been abandoned by the rest of the group. There was no camaraderie or familial bond in the horde as there might be with a wolf pack. No, the demonic monsters were a mismatched species of creatures, bound together only by their pursuit of hunger and greed.
It was bounteously surprising that the stronger ones hadn’t eaten the weaker ones yet, considering what I had witnessed before.
Without further contemplation, we jumped into the fray, shooting spider webs and arcane shots at our enemies. Unlike on various other occasions, I stayed close to Marvel. Although the horde was not as strong as the one we encountered outside the gate, it was still a sizable number. Marvel was still wounded, and I needed to ensure she sustained no further injuries before we could return to her clan.
Well, the spiderling was still stronger than me, though she lacked the swift and decisive killing blow to be fully effective. Thankfully, our combat chemistry had grown since we first met. Marvel easily played her part by stopping the creatures or binding them to their spots with her cobwebs, while I targeted their weak spots with my arcane shots.
A barrage of them tore through their segmented bodies, pierced eyes, or gorged into carapaces where they had already suffered from grievous injuries. The [Golden Eyes] enabled me to see all their weaknesses.
Within seconds, I killed dozens of abhorrent creatures, though I was most surprised by how many of them were of copper rank. Never had I thought it would be so easy to dispatch creatures a rank above myself, but those bonus stats surely helped, as did my improved skill and [Golden Eyes]. The sheer control I could exhibit was astronomical—too much for these creatures of feast to handle.
“Swing atop them,” I told Marvel. The creatures had confined us from all directions. Marvel already knew how to use her skill to her advantage. Shooting a web into the top wall, she flung us into the air, narrowly avoiding the horde.
However, they didn’t just rest there. Not only spiders could scale walls; many creatures—centipedes, reptiles—could clamber on the walls just as adeptly. Dozens of them surged at us, mounting the tunnel walls.
Black auras empowered their bodies. Their snarls could have frozen any other creatures in their tracks, but the empathic spiders revelled in mental powers, and I was already an apex predator—far from frightened by these misshapen bunch.
Marvel shot cobweb after cobweb—some to stop their advance, most to slow or deflect their approach—while I purely focused on firing arcane shots. The skill was highly effective, even without toxins. Thankfully, we had not yet encountered any iron-rank creatures. I doubted my poison would work on them—at least, not as fast as it was working on the high copper ranks.
Even with all our efforts, some creatures managed to close the distance between us. There were just too many of them. Marvel used her empathic powers to paralyse their minds, while my arcane shots blasted through their hideous faces, gorging their inane brains out.
“Pity, there’re so few iron rankers,” Marvel remarked. “I only need two more to complete my quest.”
“I noticed more than a few, actually,” I said, concentrating on [Golden Eyes]. Although most higher-ranked creatures had departed deeper into the tunnels, there were still more than a few iron-ranked abominations—some injured, others too outrageously rotund to remain at the forefront. We hadn’t slain even half their numbers.
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Yet, I noticed the number of creatures diminishing faster than we could dispatch them. My [Golden Eyes] revealed the reason. On the other side of the tunnel, two figures were fighting off the cursed creatures.
“They don’t have the same emotional spectrum as our clans,” Marvel said, detecting them through her empathic senses. Her nocturnal vision was unable to pierce through the darkness to lock on their visages. “Or these cursed creatures.”
“Well, they appear human.” That prompted me to focus more as my eyes pierced through the musky darkness and the horde to find two figures—a female and a male—dwarfed by the immeasurable ranks of the cursed horde that ganged upon them. [Golden Eyes] revealed their paths and ranks to me.
[??? – Phantom Witch, Level 79]
[??? – High Elven Healer, Level 107]
Quickly, I relayed the information from [Golden Eyes] to Marvel, who clattered her mandibles in irritation. They had detected us, just as we had detected them it seemed.
“I do not sense any air of hostility from them.”
“Well, they don’t match the profile of any mercenaries I’ve encountered,” I said. “Actually, they look like the people the mercenaries are after.”
“Whatever it is, beware of the witch,” Marvel warned as the number of misshapen creatures dropped by two-thirds. “They have weird powers.”
“Weird how? Weirder than your spider granny?”
Marvel didn’t need to answer. I witnessed the full absurdity of the Level 79 witch’s power before my eyes.
A wave of starlight aura radiated from her body, slowly encompassing the entire vicinity where the creatures lay, diminishing their snarls and screeches. It reached where we were fighting as well, and something surged into my mind—a dull, impaling feeling. It wasn’t as strong as an empathic spider’s mental attack but something quite opposite, something soothing… and tranquillising.
Marvel covered for me, using her empathic ability to bolster my mental defences—not that I needed it. The witch’s control was already running thin with the remaining horde.
Before Marvel could explain what was happening, all the creatures we were fighting began to collapse to the ground, unconscious.
“It’s a sleep spell. A powerful one at that.” But the sleep spell did not kill, but what occurred next definitely did.
A white flame rose from the witch’s palm while the elven healer cast his light to empower her magic. As the flame waved through the monstrous creatures, it torched them in their sleep. It didn’t scorch their skin so much as enter their bodies, and burn their souls? I wasn’t entirely sure, but I knew the white ghostly flame was devilishly effective.
The creatures’ sleep ended abruptly with shrill squeals before they fell into eternal slumber, their flesh barely singed.
Marvel shot away before the fire came within twenty metres of us. But there was no need for it. The witch had restrained her hand upon noticing us.
How do we deal with something like that? I wondered. “Marvel, let’s withdraw from here.”
Those two were far above our level. Even if they were worn out from the fight, I didn’t believe for a second that we could defeat them in a fair battle. Escaping was possible, though, given how haggard they appeared.
Instead, my foolish spiderling decided to contact the humanoid figures. “You are not supposed to be here,” she told them.
If I had a palm, I would’ve facepalmed myself. Instead, I let out an inaudible groan.
“You are one of the Spiderlings,” the female witch said, her tone carrying the faintest hint of a question, though she already seemed to know the answer. Her eyes found me and lingered for a moment before returning to Marvel. “Please, I need some help. We mean no offence.”
“I have no reason or wish to help you. You have trespassed into the sacred land.” Marvel sounded as though that were the highest offence in her clan’s penal code.
“We had no other option.” The witch’s voice held a sharp edge as she gestured at the remains of the horde. “Even if we did, I don’t know if we’d have taken it.”
“We have dealt with your problem far better than you managed!” the elven man snapped. “The least you could do is show a little gratitude for saving you.”
Marvel snorted, while I released an indignant hiss at his tone.
The Phantom Witch stopped her elven companion, stepping forward. “Also, we have not come without permission,” she said, turning to the elf, who fished out a scroll from his handbag and handed it to her. “I have a written agreement between the Spiderlings and our people.”