Chapter 106: The Spider

The forest north of the outpost had never truly been quiet.

After Meira swept away the large monster horde during the day, most of the surviving creatures had retreated deeper into the wilderness. Only smaller groups still wandered around the ruins and the foothills. Under normal circumstances, the defensive teams would not actively pursue them at night, especially after most of their members had just endured a long battle.

But tonight was different.

A female Succubus standing atop a fallen tree trunk suddenly raised her hand and pointed toward the bushes on the left.

"Left!"

Almost at the same time, two figures darted past her. A longsword and a battle axe came down together, creating a deafening impact that sent dirt and stones flying. The four-legged monster that had just rushed out of the bushes did not even have time to roar before it was knocked to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a mana arrow flew in and pierced precisely through the core in its chest. Its body twitched several times before falling still.

The Succubus holding the battle axe immediately turned and asked, "Whose kill?"

The swordswoman wiped blood from her blade and answered calmly, "I struck first."

"But I knocked it down."

The archer standing behind them quickly joined in as well, her eyes bright with competitiveness. "I was the one who shattered the core. If we’re counting the finishing blow, then at least half the points should be mine."

The three women looked at one another, and the atmosphere quickly grew tense as though they were about to start another fight.

The brown-haired captain walking behind them felt a headache coming on. She stepped forward, lightly tapped the nearest woman on the shoulder with the hilt of her sword, then said sternly, "Split them. Have you forgotten the rules Lady Meira just gave us? If you fight as a team, you split the points. Do not break formation just to compete for battle merit."

At the mention of Meira, all three immediately fell silent. Even so, the Succubus with the battle axe still muttered under her breath, "There’s still time until four in the morning anyway."

The archer beside her gave a soft snort. "I’m still getting into the top five."

The battle-axe wielder immediately fired back, "You’re dreaming."

"At least I didn’t let three Fire Rabbits get away like someone did."

"You—"

"That’s enough." The captain interrupted helplessly, though the corners of her lips still curled slightly upward.

She had fought alongside this group for too long. She had seen them so exhausted that they needed to lean against walls just to remain standing. She had seen the light in their eyes fade as the outpost was forced back again and again.

Yet after only one dinner, a few encouraging words, and a hug from Erik, they all seemed to have come back to life.

The exhaustion was still there. Their wounds still hurt. But at least there was light in their eyes again.

The captain unconsciously touched her chest, where a trace of warmth from that five-second hug seemed to remain. The time had been so short it was almost laughable, yet even now, she clearly remembered the feeling of a man’s arms around her, the scent of food still clinging to Erik’s clothes, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat while she herself had trembled so hard she could barely control it.

She had once thought trading a Rank B crystal for five seconds like that was foolish.

But now that she thought about it, she even felt she had gotten the better deal.

"Captain?"

A Succubus ahead suddenly called out.

The captain immediately lowered her hand from her chest and pretended nothing had happened. "What is it?"

The long-eared Succubus was staring deep into the forest, her expression having turned serious. "Something’s wrong."

The captain’s smile immediately vanished, because she quickly sensed the abnormality as well.

At some point, the insects had gone silent. There was no longer any sound of small animals scurrying beneath the bushes. Even the occasional growls that usually echoed through the forest had completely disappeared.

The captain slowly drew her sword and ordered, "Tighten formation."

No one joked anymore.

More than twenty Succubi immediately gathered together. The melee fighters formed the outer ring while the archers and mages retreated to the center. The entire formation was completed within seconds.

The captain looked ahead and called out, "Scout."

The long-eared Succubus closed her eyes as a thin ring of mana slowly spread outward.

Less than three seconds later, her face turned deathly pale.

"Fall back!"

The captain did not need to ask. She immediately shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"

The team had barely moved from their positions when something enormous crashed down. The violent impact sent dirt and stones flying. Three ancient trees, each more than a meter in diameter, snapped in half at the same time. Their trunks, each weighing dozens of tons, were flung aside like dry branches.

The retreating Succubi looked up together.

Beyond the cloud of dust, a gigantic black leg slowly lifted.

It resembled a spider’s leg, but the outer shell looked more like a mixture of metal and stone than chitin. Blue cracks ran across its surface. Pale-blue crystal growths protruded from every joint, while the sharp tip had plunged into the ground deeply enough to leave a crater nearly two meters wide.

The captain slowly raised her gaze, from the first leg to the second.

Then the entire creature behind the trees revealed itself, and no one spoke another word.

The spider stood more than twenty-five meters tall. Its body alone was nearly the size of a three-story building, and its eight long legs towered over most of the surrounding treetops. Its entire body was covered in blackish-gray armor, but the most terrifying part was its abdomen.

A translucent blue-white sphere was embedded within the armor there.

Three large lights inside it pulsed slowly. Every time they brightened, the energy lines running across all eight legs flashed as well.

At its head, dozens of small, icy-blue eyes moved independently. A few seconds later, they all locked onto the group of Succubi below.

One woman standing near the captain swallowed hard.

"This thing..."

The captain tightened her grip around her sword.

The energy scanner had overloaded the instant it was activated. No one knew the monster’s exact rank, but just from its size alone, it was clear this was not a target they should be competing over for points.

She immediately ordered, "Retreat to the outpost!"

The moment the command rang out, the spider’s abdomen contracted sharply, firing a massive stream of white silk through the forest.

"Dodge!"

The Succubi scattered at once.

The spider silk struck a tree trunk behind them, then spread and hardened rapidly. The ancient tree, which would have taken several people to encircle, was immediately bent out of shape. When the spider gave a light tug with its abdomen, the entire tree was uprooted and thrown aside.

Seeing that, the captain immediately changed her decision.

"Don’t turn around and run in a straight line! Split the formation and use the terrain!"

If they fled in disorder, they would only become moving targets.

She raised her sword toward the nearest leg and shouted, "Attack the joints!"

Magic erupted at once.

Wind blades, fireballs, arrows, and mana bullets repeatedly slammed into the same point, cracking the black armor in several places. But blue light quickly flowed across the damage, sealing most of the wounds shut.

One Succubus immediately warned, "It can regenerate!"

The female warrior holding a greatsword charged forward at once. As she ran, she said, "Then we hit it faster!"

She gripped the hilt with both hands and swung down hard at the damaged joint. A shrill metallic sound rang out as the blade sank nearly half a meter into the creature’s leg.

But before she could celebrate, another leg swept in from behind.

The captain rushed forward at once, raising a mana shield in front of her companion as she shouted, "Behind you!"

The enormous leg struck the shield, shattering it instantly. Both women were sent flying more than twenty meters, crashing through several bushes before slamming heavily into a large tree.

The captain felt as though her entire back had gone numb. Blood rose in her throat, but she forced it down and used her sword to push herself back to her feet.

"I’m fine!"

The woman she had saved also tried to crawl up, but she coughed up blood the moment she stood.

The situation quickly worsened.

The spider was not so fast that they could not react, but every blow it dealt was far too heavy. As soon as one of its legs struck someone, their personal shields would almost immediately shatter. Meanwhile, its silk was extremely difficult to cut with ordinary weapons.

Two Succubi were quickly ensnared, prompting three others to rush forward to rescue them. They had only managed to cut through part of the silk when the spider gave a sharp pull, dragging all five women to the ground.

The captain immediately shouted, "Hold them! Cut the silk!"

Their calls to one another echoed nonstop.

Seeing one person being dragged off the ground, the captain threw down her sword and grabbed the silk with both hands. Others also clung to their comrades, but the strength from the other end was too great. More than six Succubi were still dragged across the ground.

The captain gritted her teeth. The silk cut into her hands until they bled, yet she still shouted, "Don’t let go!"

The woman beside her immediately answered, "I won’t!"

At that moment, a gigantic leg slammed down, forcing the formation to scatter. The silk slipped from the captain’s hands.

She had barely gotten back to her feet when she heard the shriek of wind behind her.

Before she could turn around, a layer of white silk wrapped around her waist and both legs.

"Captain!"

Her body was immediately lifted into the air, and the world spun upside down. The captain tried to cut the silk with her sword, but the blade only lodged deep inside it. Meanwhile, the spider began pulling her toward its head, its two front legs covered in spikes slowly rising.

Seeing her companions about to rush over, she immediately shouted, "Don’t come! It’s waiting for you!"

The Succubi below stopped.

It was not because they wanted to abandon her. Beneath the captain’s suspended body, four spider legs were already raised and waiting. The moment anyone got close, they would be struck down.

The captain watched the distance between herself and the monster grow shorter and shorter.

Strangely, she did not cry.

She had not cried when the defensive line collapsed that morning. Nor when she watched her companions die. Long ago, she had understood that tears could not kill monsters.

But at that moment, Erik’s face suddenly appeared in her mind.

She remembered the man standing before the fire. She remembered his calm smile and the arm he had opened toward her, followed by one simple sentence.

"It’s just a hug. Why pay for it? Come here."

The captain bit her lip faintly.

Only a few hours had passed, yet she still remembered the warmth of that embrace. For the first time in a long while, a man had made her feel that she was not merely a Succubus who had to fight, serve, or offer value in exchange for a little care.

During those five seconds, she had simply been a woman.

And Erik had held her without asking for anything in return.

The captain clenched her hands, leaving only one thought in her mind.

At least... I got to meet someone like that.

The spider raised one leg. But just as it prepared to strike down, the sky above the forest suddenly flared with light.

A blue-white bolt of lightning fell from above with a deafening crash, striking the leg holding the silk. The spider released a piercing shriek.

The captain immediately fell.

But a soft current of wind wrapped around her body in midair and slowly lowered her safely to the ground.

"Captain!"

Her companions rushed over at once, but she did not look at them. Instead, she raised her head toward the sky.

Meira floated amid layers of dark clouds, her golden hair billowing behind her. Blue-white lightning continuously crawled along her arms and the hem of her dress. The mature woman, already beautiful to begin with, now carried the majesty of an elemental goddess.

One Succubus immediately cried out, "Lady Meira!"

At that call, cheers of joy quickly erupted throughout the forest.

But the captain looked behind her, where a pale-green stream of wind was spreading across the battlefield.

Elowen had landed.

And standing behind her was Erik.

The captain froze.

Because the warmth that had only just returned in her memories was now truly standing before her.