After the Immortal Disappeared

On the slope, a Patrol Guard’s strikes grew sluggish, as though he could barely lift his arm. In the end, he couldn’t resist the pull of several Spider Silks and was yanked out of the crowd.

His companions were too late to help, watching helplessly as he tumbled down the slope and was instantly swallowed by the swarming tide of spiders.

His bloodcurdling scream didn’t last long, but it seemed to echo endlessly in everyone’s hearts, sending a chill down their spines.

A thought crossed Hee Lingchuan’s mind. ’Tigers and wolves deliver a single, fatal bite to a vital spot, but spiders kill with countless small bites. How did that Patrol Guard die so fast?’

’Judging by how he was staggering earlier, it wasn’t exhaustion. It looked more like he was poisoned.’

It was true that many species of spiders were highly venomous.

The guide’s voice trembled. "Why have these Earth Cave Spiders gone berserk?"

That statement was packed with information. Liu Tong asked him, "They normally live here?"

"Y-yes." The guide’s voice was as faint as a buzzing gnat, completely drowned out by the commotion on the slope. Only the two people standing closest could hear him. "They’ve always kept to themselves and never bothered anyone."

"Is there any way to save them?" The people on the slope were in mortal danger and couldn’t hold on for much longer.

More spiders, drawn by the commotion, were rushing in from all directions to join the fight, like flies to rotting flesh. Door Panel muttered a curse, "Just how many spiders are there here?!"

"They used to be very afraid of fire." The guide managed only a few words, his face growing even paler.

These Demons were normally afraid of fire, but now they were charging forward relentlessly. What kind of Demon Barrier had taken hold of them?

Hee Lingchuan, however, was reminded of Dong Rui.

’Could a Beast Master make a Demon Beast attack so fearlessly?’

Willow, who had been watching intently, suddenly said, "I remember spiders can’t swim. Is it the same for the ones here?"

The guide was uncertain. "I—I don’t know. I’ve never seen a spider enter the water."

And the Ghost Needle Stone Forest was not short on water.

"How far is the nearest river? A sizable one."

Sweat dripped from the guide’s forehead as he pointed west. "There’s a large, deep pool over there, about fifteen zhang away. I used to take people there to fetch water and rest."

"Running water or still?"

"R-running water!" The guide gulped. "It’s fed by two streams from upstream, t-to the north! There was a huge downpour just seven days ago, so the water level should be quite high."

"That’s our spot," Liu Tong decided instantly. "We need to find a way to get them over to us."

At that moment, Hee Lingchuan found himself sorely missing the fragrant balls, the Secret Treasure the Sand Bandits had given him. ’That stuff is loathed by gods and ghosts alike; one whiff and anything runs for the hills. If only I could have brought them into the Panlong Dream Realm!’

As a squad that had worked together for a long time, they assigned tasks with just a few words.

Door Panel drew his giant axe, took a deep breath, and said to Hee Lingchuan, "Ready."

Hee Lingchuan grinned at him, poured all his strength into his arms, grabbed Door Panel by the waist-sash, and hurled him forward!

Hee Lingchuan had always been strong, but his power had been greatly enhanced after his refinement by the Emperor’s Liquid. He managed to throw Door Panel—a burly man weighing almost two hundred pounds—a distance of over thirty feet!

While still in midair, Door Panel bellowed, "Get on your horses and come over! There’s a way out here!"

With the sudden appearance of a large man, the spiders’ assault faltered for a moment, and a portion of them immediately broke off to attack him.

Hee Lingchuan’s two-plus months of arduous throwing practice had paid off. As Door Panel descended, a large, jutting slab of rock was right beneath his feet.

He used the rock to launch himself into another leap!

Even though he wasn’t as nimble as Skinny and was clutching a heavy weapon, his jump still cleared more than a zhang.

That brought him very close to the trapped squad.

The squad had just lost another man, and one more was gravely wounded. Their hearts were filled with despair when they suddenly heard the words "way out." They were instantly overcome with joy.

To them, Door Panel’s hoarse, smoky voice was more beautiful than the lingering notes of a famous opera singer.

He raised his giant axe high. As he landed, the axe head was the first thing to hit the ground—blunt side down.

A deep HUMMM resonated, the low tone lingering like a hammer striking a tuning fork.

Within a three-zhang radius, the spider horde’s legs suddenly stopped moving. Some even started spinning in circles as if they were drunk.

"Get over here!" Door Panel urged.

The low-frequency shockwave also made the horses on the slope shake their heads dizzily, and one even collapsed to its knees. Ignoring it, the others leaped onto the remaining horses, two to a mount, and galloped wildly toward Door Panel.

Just as they were about to pass him, Door Panel slammed his axe into the ground twice more, stunning another wave of the small monsters.

Using such a Combat Skill took a heavy toll; Door Panel’s face was flushed red from the exertion. This sonic attack was his Three Axes, and it would take him a long time to recover after using them all up.

Willow also charged over on horseback, throwing several flaming bottles. Greenish-white smoke billowed out, and the spiders that rushed into it immediately went limp, falling onto their backs with their eight legs twitching toward the sky.

The squad had just eliminated some Bee Demons a few days prior, and this toxic smoke was especially effective against insects.

Seizing the opportunity, Door Panel rushed to Willow’s side and leaped onto her horse. The steed let out a long neigh and took off at a full gallop.

The swarm, now even more enraged, gave relentless chase.

Not only did they have these pests hot on their heels, but spiders also dropped from the treetops, landing on the riders and their mounts to sink their fangs in.

Just fending them off sent the riders into a panicked flurry.

Fortunately, the guide proved competent. Just over ten zhang away, there was indeed a deep pool. The group rode their horses straight into it, sending water splashing everywhere.

As predicted, the spiders stopped at the water’s edge, hissing at the group. A few, seemingly blinded by rage, attempted to enter the water, only to be immediately swept away by the current.

The rest of the Spider Demons paced anxiously on the bank, a swarming black mass, utterly powerless against the humans in the water.

Their frayed nerves finally settling, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Door Panel jumped into the water, stroking his horse’s head to calm it. "I thought spiders could swim. Thank the heavens these ones can’t!"

Willow deadpanned, "The spiders you’ve seen ’swimming’ only could because they were small. Look at the size of these things."

Most spiders can’t actually swim. They are just so light that they can move across the water’s surface tension. Put them in soapy water, and they’d sink instantly. These Spider Demons are as big as cats; you can’t expect surface tension to support that.

The guide shouted a few words at the Spider Demons, the gist of his question being why they were attacking humans.

Most of the spiders swarming the area were ordinary Earth Cave Spiders; only the exceptionally large ones had become Demons, and they stayed at the rear of the pack. But these creatures didn’t seem very intelligent. They only hissed threats at him with their fangs, showing no desire to communicate.

"Put out the torches," Hee Lingchuan suggested. "I don’t think the firelight is scaring them off. If anything, it’s just drawing their aggro."

Liu Tong ignored his suggestion, instead telling the guide, "Head north and shake them off!"

Thanks to the recent rains, the Ghost Needle Stone Forest was damp, and its streams were deeper and wider. As long as the riders and their mounts kept their distance from the bank, the spiders posed no threat. The occasional strands of Spider Silk that shot their way were also easily dealt with.

Wading unevenly through the water, the guide explained, "These Earth Cave Spiders eat everything, from birds to wild boars and bears—everything but humans. I’ve crossed the Ghost Needle Stone Forest seventeen or eighteen times, and this is the first I’ve ever seen them attack people!"

"Why don’t they normally eat people?"

"I heard they’re under a pact with the local Marsh Warden not to prey on humans, so long as humans don’t bother them." The guide sighed. "There are too many Earth Cave Spiders in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. They’re the kings here. If they run into any trouble, their whole nest swarms out. Who would dare pick a fight with them?"

"The Baling People," Liu Tong said grimly. "No wonder they wouldn’t enter the Stone Forest. They must have provoked the Earth Cave Spiders long ago and were just waiting for us to walk right into the Net."

Just then, the survivors they had rescued came forward to express their thanks.

They were from other squads, scattered midway through their journey by the frenzied spider swarm. They’d originally numbered over thirty people with more than a dozen horses and three cargo wagons. Now, only a handful were left, and even their captain had perished.

With the immediate threat of being spider-food gone, a merchant collapsed into the water with a SPLASH. His companion helped him up and saw that he was unconscious, his cheeks were swollen, and the spot between his eyebrows had turned a sickly green.

Another Patrol Guard had a wound on his neck, but his symptoms were milder: blurred vision, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath.

"They’re poisoned."

Spiders inject their prey with toxins to paralyze or knock it out, while also dissolving its tissues for easier consumption. Having advanced to Demon-level, their venom was clearly more potent. However, the Panlong City Army soldiers always carried emergency medicine on campaigns, which usually included Antitoxic Pills. They quickly administered the pills to the wounded.

The soldiers of the Panlong City Army were protected by Primordial Power, giving them far greater resistance to toxins than ordinary people. Both the Patrol Guard and the merchant had been bitten, but the difference in their conditions was stark.

After taking the pill, the merchant remained unconscious, though the swelling on his body slowly subsided. They had no choice but to tie him to a horse. The Patrol Guard, on the other hand, started to improve after a few dozen breaths. The pus squeezed from his wound changed from green back to red, his dizziness faded, and he was left only slightly unsteady on his feet.

He was a tan, wiry man of few words, who only introduced himself as Sunx Jiayuan.

Another of the rescued merchants, however, pointed at Sunx Jiayuan and began to curse him out. "What kind of route was that! Didn’t you boast that you knew the Ghost Needle Stone Forest like the back of your hand? How could you not even know spiders are afraid of water? All you did was lead us up that slope to fight those monsters to the death! All those lives lost for nothing, and the cargo’s gone too!"

Sunx Jiayuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he held his tongue.

The merchant continued his tirade.

Hee Lingchuan saw Sunx Jiayuan’s hand move to the hilt of his sword, his face flushing crimson.

’So he doesn’t have a good temper either.’

"Hey!" Willow couldn’t watch any longer. "If the Patrol Guards hadn’t fought to the death to protect you, you’d all be a puddle of goo in a spider’s stomach by now!"

Just then, a green firework burst in the northwestern night sky, drawing the attention of even the spiders on the shore.

The group saw it as well but showed no reaction.

A few dozen breaths later, two red fireworks shot up in the northeast.

A moment later, two white fireworks lit up the sky to the east.

Only then did Liu Tong speak. "There’s the signal. The main army is gathering in the northeast." He asked the guide, "Is there an exit from the Stone Forest to the northeast? Can we reach it by following this river?"

At the rally before they set out, General Nanke had given a last-minute order: the signal for the army to rally in the field would be red fireworks. All who saw it were to converge on that location immediately.

All other signals were decoys to confuse the enemy.

The two red fireworks gave the Patrol Guards, Hee Lingchuan included, at least two pieces of information.

First, the inexplicably rampaging Earth Cave Spiders had indeed caused significant trouble for the entire army, scattering many squads during the spiders’ Barging. This was why the main force was now signaling for everyone to regroup.