After the Immortal Disappeared

He asked in surprise, "Why are you all following?"

"We need a backup," Liu Tong, a meticulous man, said. If Sunx Jiayuan failed, someone would have to take over his mission.

So, the dozen or so men rushed to the riverbank. They rolled around in the muck, coating themselves inside and out with three layers of mud until they hardly looked human anymore. Only their eyes were visible.

Even Willow did the same, rolling in the mud without a care.

Hee Lingchuan also took the opportunity to fill his Water Bag.

Skinny spat out a mouthful of foul mud. "BLECH, this stuff stinks to high heaven!"

He didn’t even want to imagine what else was in the mud.

The group returned to their original spot, the closest point to the giant nest. Sunx Jiayuan slung his bow and arrows over his back and nodded at Liu Tong. "I’m ready."

The dozen or so mud-caked men sprinted forward at once, but they stopped whenever a spider drew near.

A strange scene unfolded: when they stood still, the Earth Cave Spiders passed right by them, treating them as if they were invisible.

That was it. The strong, earthy smell of mud on their bodies completely masked their human scent.

Of course, the Earth Cave Spiders wouldn’t react to the smell of mud, something they were constantly around.

"Go now!"

Without needing another word from Liu Tong, Sunx Jiayuan sprinted to the edge of the nest. He did a forward roll, tucked his head and legs, and went down.

The silken brocade looked magnificent, but like an ordinary spiderweb, it had sticky beads every half-palm’s distance. The stickiness was especially astonishing; anything that brushed against it had no way of getting free besides losing a layer of skin.

But Sunx Jiayuan was covered in several layers of wet, dripping mud. With every web layer he rolled through, some mud sloughed off, and gravity pulled him down, layer by layer.

Willow glanced back during a lull in the fighting and exclaimed joyfully, "The plan’s working!"

In just a few breaths, Sunx Jiayuan had fallen through seven or eight layers of webbing. Once he broke through the final line of defense, he could toss the Fire Bomb into the Spider Nest.

The Spider Demons also sensed something was wrong and swarmed in from all directions. The men threw the Insect Repellent Bottles they had prepared, trying to buy as much time as they could.

The repellent smoke was highly effective. Ordinary spiders would keel over after taking just two steps into it. But the Spider Demons guarding the nest were clearly more resilient; they just shook their heads, held their breath, and charged.

Their specialty was obviously spitting webs, but this was where Hee Lingchuan, Liu Tong, and the other dripping mud-men had an advantage. The webs couldn’t drag them away.

Liu Tong couldn’t help but shout impatiently, "Sunx Jiayuan, hurry up!"

The Spider Demons had thick hides, great strength, and many tricks, but their numbers were limited. The Patrol Guards could handle two at a time with room to spare. However, the Insect Repellent Bottles wouldn’t burn for long. When they went out, the smaller spiders would swarm them, getting in everywhere. Not even Protective Gang Qi could hold them off.

It was a race against time, but Sunx Jiayuan didn’t answer.

"Sunx Jiayuan!" Liu Tong called out a few more times.

The lavish brocade covered the entrance to the underground nest, and no one could see what was happening below.

Just as everyone was getting anxious, Sunx Jiayuan’s voice came from below, sounding a bit distant. "The space down here is huge, and there are so many more layers! I have to go deeper..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly let out a piercing scream. "AHHH—!"

"It’s an ambush! There’s a whole army of spiders! Get out of here, now!"

Then came a deafening BOOM, and a flash of fire shone through the brocade from below.

The hearts of the Patrol Guards sank.

Sunx Jiayuan was most likely gone.

Someone right at the edge of the brocade swung their blade, hacking at it furiously. Just as they’d feared, the web, which looked so light and airy, was more flexible than a hundred-year-old vine. Even a Hundred Tempered Steel Blade infused with Primordial Power could only sever a few strands.

And there were still more than ten layers of webbing covering the nest.

To find out what was going on down there, they would have to send someone else in.

Sunx Jiayuan had likely failed from the start. Should they press on?

’If we just retreat now, what will happen to the main force?’

Even if General Nanke managed to gather the remnants and escape, the Baling People were lying in wait outside the Ghost Needle Stone Forest!

Moving forward was a step into the unknown; retreating was a step into the abyss. And they had to make a decision. Now. Immediately.

Several people shouted in unison, "I’ll go!"

It was Liu Tong, Door Panel, and two other Patrol Guards.

The mud on their bodies hadn’t dried yet, so they could all take over Sunx Jiayuan’s unfinished mission.

’In terms of being an Elite force, these Patrol Guards are indeed no match for the Great Wind Army,’ Hee Lingchuan thought with admiration. ’But when it comes to courage, the Black Water City Army, the Supporting Army, and the Yuan Kingdom’s official soldiers I’ve seen aren’t fit to shine their boots!’

Skinny hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "I-I’ll go!"

The Sparrowhawk flew over, its talons still clutching the bundle.

"No, I’ll go!" Just as it flew over Hee Lingchuan’s head, he waved at it. "Give me the Fire Bombs!"

His advantage was unique; no one could compare.

The Sparrowhawk dropped the bundle, and Hee Lingchuan caught it. He grabbed a few Command Arrows from inside, turned, and dashed for the Spider Nest’s entrance. He tossed the rest to Liu Tong. "If I fail, you’re up!"

As he passed Willow, he also snatched the pouch of kerosene hanging from her waist.

"A true man!" Hee Lingchuan hadn’t been with the squad for long, and Liu Tong hadn’t expected him to be the first to charge forward. He was moved. "Leave us your last wish! We’ll do our best to fulfill it!"

The outcome of Hee Lingchuan’s actions was uncertain, but everyone has desires. According to the tradition of the Panlong City Army, the living should do their best to fulfill the wishes of the dead.

"No need!" Hee Lingchuan raised his Water Bag and doused his head, re-wetting the mud on his body. He executed the Swallow Returning Body Technique, nimbly dodging a few intercepting Spider Demons. He rushed to the edge of the nest and, just like Sunx Jiayuan, jumped straight in.

The others saw the brocade ripple and swallow Hee Lingchuan whole. Only his voice echoed from below: "Just buy me a drink at Tianshuang Restaurant when we get back!"

Liu Tong shook his head. ’This kid!’ ’So sure he won’t die that he won’t even leave a last wish?’

But Hee Lingchuan’s optimism was contagious. The Patrol Guards on site felt their spirits lift, and even the atmosphere of anxiety and confusion began to dissipate.

Just a few breaths later, they heard Hee Lingchuan’s surprised voice again. "It’s a whole new world down here! It looks like a forest!"

Door Panel and Skinny, in the midst of the chaos, glanced at each other, seeing the confusion on each other’s faces.

’Did Hee Lingchuan hit his head? How could there be a forest underground?’

"I don’t see Sunx Jiayuan!" Hee Lingchuan’s voice continued to drift up. "I’ve started the fire! Second Madam Zhu is definitely going to suffer a heavy loss!"

Skinny rushed to the edge of the nest and looked down. Sure enough, he saw a blazing red light flickering beneath the silken curtain, as if a great fire was raging. But with the brocade in the way, he couldn’t even feel a hint of heat.

The fireproofing of this Spider Silk was truly exceptional. If Hee Lingchuan hadn’t jumped down to set the fire directly, it would have been useless even if the Sparrowhawk had dropped an entire armory from the sky.

The nest was burning! Skinny was overjoyed. "Hee Lingchuan, come up quick!"

"The spider army is climbing out!" Hee Lingchuan’s voice was urgent and firm. "You all need to retreat! Go, now!"

’Go?’

Skinny froze. A massive Spider Demon suddenly burst from the rippling brocade and leaped at him through the air!

The thing was as big as a goat. A single jump on its eight legs covered twenty feet, nearly crushing Skinny like a mountain falling on him.

He had never seen a spider that was so good at jumping, and its speed was just absurd.

Luckily, he was exceptionally agile himself. He dodged with a clumsy roll and yelled, "The Spider Demons are climbing up! Over a hundred of them!"

That’s right. Behind the Jumping Spider was an entire army of Spider Demons. They were all larger, with varied patterns and colors. They swished up the webbing toward the nest’s entrance, clearly enraged.

The largest one was bigger than a brown bear, its body a kaleidoscope of colors. One look and you knew it was not to be trifled with.

Everyone finally understood. The Spider Queen had left her Elite Guards to watch the nest. No wonder she could leave without a worry.

The order these precious treasures had received was probably to guard the cavern and not go outside. That was why they only charged out to fight the arsonist after Hee Lingchuan started a massive fire.

A dozen Patrol Guards couldn’t possibly hold off over a hundred well-rested, aggressive Great Demons. In the blink of an eye, two men were struck down, dragged screaming into the nest.

Once these spiders caught someone, they reverted to their classic hunting method. They pinned their prey to the ground, rolling and kneading them, wrapping them in layer after layer of sticky webbing until, in a flash, they looked like two silk-wrapped cocoons.

"Damn it!" Her comrades’ cries suddenly faded. Enraged, Willow took down a silk-spinning spider with two arrows. But the spider swarm surged forward like a tide, about to close in.

Even worse, the Insect Repellent Bottles she had thrown were about to burn out, and the smaller spiders were getting restless.

If they didn’t leave now, they’d just be serving themselves up on a platter. Liu Tong, drenched in sweat, grabbed Willow’s arm and roared, "Retreat! Retreat now!"

Willow shouted one last time toward the cavern, "Hee Lingchuan!"

There was no answer from the massive hole.

Door Panel put a hand on her shoulder and said in a low voice, "We can’t get him back! If you don’t want to die, get moving!" ’The cavern is on fire, so the Spider Queen is probably on her way back. We can’t stay here.’

He and Liu Tong each took one of Willow’s arms and supported her as they ran quickly behind the slope.

Their horses were hidden there. If they could get on them quickly, they had a hope of escaping.

Just then, fireworks lit up the horizon again.

Door Panel glanced back amidst the chaos, overjoyed. "Fireworks from outside the Stone Forest! Maybe reinforcements have arrived!"

The fireworks were far away, though still in the northeast. Judging by the distance, they must have gone off outside the Ghost Needle Stone Forest.

The reinforcements they had waited for all night had finally come.

***

The Great Wind Army advanced on Wei City.

Just as the Red General had predicted before the battle, the journey of several dozen li from Puxi Gully to Wei City was quite pleasant. They didn’t see a single enemy soldier, only two large eagles circling in the sky.

Captain Sunx personally drew his bow and shot one down.

Aside from Night Owls, most birds of prey have rather poor night vision, which doesn’t improve much even after they become demons. In the daytime, it would have had no problem dodging the fatal arrow.

The other one, terrified, flapped its wings and climbed higher, not daring to fly low again.

At night, Wei City was silent. Only four or five red torches flickered on the city gate, making it seem as if the City Guard was lax.

However, just as the Great Wind Army began their attack, a volley of arrows rained down from the city gate. Immediately after, a horn sounded across the open fields, and an army charged the Great Wind Army from the rear!

It was an ambush.

These Baling People had been lying in wait in the open for most of the night. They had endured wind and sand and hadn’t dared to light a fire. Frost clung to their eyebrows, beards, and collars, and they attacked filled with pent-up resentment.

Every soldier of the Great Wind Army drew their bow and fired two consecutive volleys at the ambushing force.