Chapter 238: Silver Spiders
SKREEEEECH!
The Silver Spiders attacked.
They came from every direction. Dropping from the trees. Emerging from the ground. Crawling down the silver trunks. Their metal-armored bodies gleamed in the purple light. Their legs clicked against the stone. Their webs—thin metal fibers—stretched across the forest, sharp enough to cut through armor.
The raid party formed a defensive line. Thirty Climbers. Six teams. One goal.
"Protect the civilians!" Arthur shouted. "Don’t let any get past this line!"
The lesser teams had already formed a perimeter around the civilians. The spiders were fast. A few slipped past the main line. The lesser teams engaged, their summons and skills holding the stragglers back.
Nathan analyzed with [Hunter’s Insight]. The spiders were numerous—at least a hundred. Their armor was thick. Their webs were dangerous. But they had a weakness: their joints. The metal plates didn’t cover the gaps.
"Aim for the joints!" Nathan yelled. "Their armor doesn’t cover the gaps!"
Nathan activated [Multi-Shadow Clones].
Four identical Nathans scattered across the battlefield. The spiders hesitated, confused by the sudden multiplication of targets. The real Nathan circled behind the swarm.
He fired [Mana Arrows] at the joints. Each arrow found its mark. Spiders collapsed, their legs twitching. He fired again and again, never staying in one place.
A web shot toward him. He used [Nimble Feet] to dodge, the metal fibers passing through the space where he had just been standing. He rolled, came up firing, and took down two more spiders.
He used [Death’s Homing Compass] on the largest spider he could see. The red sigil appeared over its abdomen. He fired. The arrow curved through the web-choked forest, weaving between trees and other spiders, and struck home. The spider exploded in a shower of metal and glowing fluid.
He used [Starfall Barrage] on a cluster of spiders that had cornered a group of lesser Climbers. The silver arrows rained down, piercing right through their armored bodies. Dozens fell. The lesser Climbers nodded their thanks and jumped back into the fight.
Nathan kept moving. He kept firing. He kept thinking.
Garrett charged into the swarm with Red right beside him.
The Mad-Sheep’s wool was fully hardened like steel, its four black eyes blazing. It slammed into a spider, sending the beast crashing into two others. Garrett swung Volcan in a brutal arc. The mace erupted, the thermal pulse melting straight through a spider’s armor. It collapsed into a burning heap.
"Red! Watch the left!"
Red pivoted instantly. A metal web shot toward Garrett’s back. Red intercepted, its hardened wool catching the sharp fibers. The metal dug in but didn’t cut all the way through. Red violently shook them off and charged again.
Garrett used [Impact Strike]. The ground shook. Spiders stumbled. He followed up with another heavy swing, crushing them into the dirt.
A spider lunged at him from the trees above. Garrett raised Volcan. The heavy mace caught the spider mid-air and slammed it down onto the ground. He finished it with a heavy stomp of his boot.
"We hold here!" Garrett shouted over the noise. "Nothing through!"
Red bleated in agreement and charged headfirst into another cluster.
Dillon took to the air with Cloudy.
The Cloud Serpent’s static discharge arced across the swarm. The metal armor perfectly conducted the electricity. Spiders convulsed, their legs seizing up in the dirt.
"Cloudy! Chain it!"
Cloudy’s blue discharge jumped from spider to spider, frying a dozen of them at once. Dillon used [Thunder Edge] on the ones that survived, diving down and letting his crackling katana carve cleanly through their exposed joints.
A web shot toward him. He used [Flash Step] to dodge, vanishing in a blur and appearing right behind a cluster of spiders. He cut them down before they could even turn around.
"They’re fast!" Dillon yelled from above. "But Cloudy’s faster!"
Cloudy crackled proudly in agreement.
Kuro disappeared into the shadows.
She reappeared directly behind a spider, her Veilweave Daggers phasing right through its thick armor and striking its glowing core. The beast collapsed instantly.
She used [Shadow Lock] on a tight group of spiders, pinning their sharp legs in place. Shiro dove from above, her [Dragonification] spreading bright golden wings. Her [Tyrant Dragon Fist] detonated against the pinned spiders, shattering their metal bodies into pieces.
"Nice hit!" Dillon called from the air.
’Just doing our job,’ Kuro replied quietly through the link.
Shiro landed lightly beside her, golden scales still glowing. "The young lord’s enemies don’t stand a chance," she said proudly.
Elise raised Aurora’s Heart.
The Frost Golem slammed its heavy fists into the ground. White ice spread rapidly across the forest floor, freezing the sticky webs and locking the spiders’ legs in place. The silver forest turned into a frozen, jagged battlefield.
"Arthur! Hit ’em now!" Elise shouted.
Arthur charged. His heavy sword blazed with golden light. He swung in a massive, wide arc, and the frozen spiders shattered like glass under the heavy impact. He cut through a dozen in a single clean strike.
"Keep freezing them!" Arthur called out, his breathing steady.
Elise froze another wave. Arthur cut them down. They repeated the pattern—freeze, slash, freeze, slash—until the swarm finally began to thin out.
"You’re having way too much fun with this," Elise called out, a faint smile on her face.
"Just doing my job, little miss" Arthur replied, not breaking his rhythm.
Amara’s spirits swirled rapidly around her.
They whispered to the spiders and caused a Confusion status aliment. [Deep fear].The spiders hesitated, their metal legs twitching uncertainly.
Kaito took the opening. His katana flashed. He cut through the hesitating spiders with impossible speed. His blade was a total blur, his movements clean, precise, and deadly.
Long Wei fought with his bare hands, his chi-enhanced strikes shattering thick metal armor. Each punch, each kick, each heavy palm strike cracked steel and crushed glowing cores.
Han Seo-jun appeared and disappeared like a ghost, his daggers finding joints and weak spots. The spiders never even saw him coming.
The other teams pulled their weight. The Northern Coalition’s tanks held the line like a brick wall. The Southern Republic’s mages rained fire from the back. The Western Federation’s warriors cut through the swarm with tight, disciplined precision.
The raid party worked perfectly together.
The swarm finally broke.
The surviving spiders scrambled backward, retreating deep into the dark silver forest. The raid party stood in the clearing, catching their breath. Behind the line, the lesser teams quickly started checking on the wounded. The civilians remained totally safe.
Nathan lowered Moonlight. His arms were sore. His mana was running low. But he was still standing.
"Everyone alright?" Nathan called out, looking around the clearing.
"More or less," Garrett panted. Red was sitting beside him, its wool softening back to normal.
"Cloudy’s burnt out," Dillon said, patting the wyvern’s neck. "But she’s still up."
"Golem needs a minute," Elise said, leaning on her staff. "But we’re good."
"Kuro and Shiro are good," Nathan said, looking back. "Ororo, how you holding up?"
"I’m okay, Master," she said softly. "But I’ll need to rest my mana soon."
"Then we take a breath right here. We—"
BRRRRRMMMM!!!
The ground violently shook.
A massive shape stepped out from the silver trees.
It was huge—easily three times larger than any spider they had just fought. Its body was a horrifying fusion of spider and human. The lower half was a massive, heavily armored spider, eight thick steel legs clicking against the frozen stone. The upper half was a pale, muscular humanoid torso, covered in thick scars, with long, greasy black hair hanging over its face. Its four human arms held four jagged, rusted blades. Its eyes glowed with a sickly pale light.
[DING! Mid-boss Encountered: Spider-centaur]
The creature didn’t speak. It didn’t roar. It simply stood at the edge of the tree line, its pale eyes locked onto the raid party. Its four blades gleamed under the purple sky. Its heavy steel legs clicked restlessly against the frozen dirt.