Chapter 112: Swarm of Spiders
A breeze blew through, causing the hanging cocoons to sway slightly.
They looked like white lanterns hanging in the air.
The members of Squad 8 furrowed their brows, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
It seemed this was more than just a simple attack.
"Check it out!" Fischer ordered.
The Rogue sprinted forward, leaped up, and cut through the connecting white silk with his dagger.
With a thud, the cocoon fell from midair.
The Rogue squatted down, made a slit in the cocoon with his dagger, then tore it open at one end.
Inside, an orc corpse with a pale, bluish face was revealed.
Everyone's expressions darkened even further.
Were all the cocoons here filled with corpses?
If so, the chances of the target they were rescuing being alive were slim.
Thud, thud, thud~!
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps came from ahead.
The Ranger's face changed as he said, "It's spiders, large spiders, and they're coming towards us."
As he spoke, a large black spider, about the size of a brown bear, quickly appeared in their line of sight.
Six eyes, sharp legs, and a body covered in bristle-like spines.
Just one?
Rustle, rustle, rustle~!
Eyes began to open all over the large spider's back.
A mass of small, human-head-sized black spiders, layered upon each other, clung to the large spider's back, like rolling ink.
Only when their eyes opened could their presence be noticed.
Damn, they had entered the spiders' territory.
Normally, these creatures wouldn't leave their territory on purpose, but if you intruded, they would attack.
"Don't provoke it," Fischer immediately signaled for caution.
Then, glancing at the Ranger beside him, he continued, "Boer, can you communicate with it? We're just here to find someone; we'll leave as soon as we do."
The Ranger raised one hand, and a faint light connected him to the spider.
It wasn't an attack, but rather a state.
The skill was called [Animal Communication], allowing the caster to communicate with beasts within range.
"We won't harm you. We're just looking for someone. He was brought here two days ago. We'll leave as soon as we find him," the Ranger quickly said.
Beasts or monsters had limited intelligence, so the language had to be as simple as possible.
The giant spider stared down at them with its six eyes.
The bristles on its body shook, making a rustling sound, and the small spiders on its back began to move restlessly.
"No, no, we're not with them. We just want to take him away. We can compensate you, but if he dies here, you'll get nothing," the Ranger continued, but his hand behind his back signaled a warning.
Indicating that the attempt to negotiate had failed.
"Retreat," Fischer said in a low voice.
The squad members began to slowly step back.
But as soon as they took two steps, the giant spider's eyes turned fierce, its fangs bared, and it let out a screech.
Whoosh~!
In the next second, the spiders on its back spread out like ink, a dense, dark mass.
Countless spiders surged toward them.
Thud, thud, thud~!
The squad members ran at full speed.
But the sounds from behind grew closer.
Just a few meters away, spiders leaped down from the canopy, lunging at them.
"Fight back."
Seeing that escape was impossible, Fischer ordered the squad to turn and fight.
Everyone turned, weapons swinging, slashing at the incoming swarm of spiders.
Slash, slash, slash~!
Swords sliced through the spiders, spraying foul-smelling liquid.
However, the horde of spiders from behind continued to surge forward.
"Find an opportunity to kill the broodmother."
"Got it!"
...
Meanwhile.
In the overgrown forest.
Duke was leading the way, swinging his battle axe to chop through the thorns and branches blocking their path.
He looked back and said, "Captain, there's no path here. Why are we going this way?"
"The path they took isn't safe," Wu Heng replied.
Squad 8 didn't inform them of their plan, and Wu Heng didn't want to follow them either.
With a large group, if something dangerous happened, it would be hard to maneuver.
Besides, before entering the forest, Wu Heng had Xiaoxiao eavesdrop on the clues they had found.
It wasn't about stealing credit, just a precaution against any schemes they might have.
After all, even Yazde, who recruited him into the guild, had set up a trap that nearly got him killed. These people were even less trustworthy.
When Wu Heng learned they were entering the dense forest, he had Xiaoxiao scout ahead.
From the sky, she could see the entire canopy covered in spider webs.
And deeper inside, there were even more spiders.
Squad 8 had walked straight into the spiders' territory.
So Wu Heng led Duke around, taking a different route.
"Captain, are we going the right way? Everything looks the same here; we might get lost."
The dense forest was eerily quiet.
It was as if the entire area had been put on pause; there wasn't even a hint of insect or bird sounds.
Duke grumbled as he cleared the way, muttering to himself as he walked.
Boom~!
As they were talking, a loud explosion and the sounds of battle came from behind them.
Wu Heng glanced back, but the thick trees blocked the view, so he couldn't see anything.
"Keep moving, faster."
"Oh, okay!"
Chastised, Duke shut his mouth and quickened his pace.
After walking a bit further.
Wu Heng continued, "Turn right and go straight through."
"Got it!"
After passing through a few more trees, they came across thick spider webs strung between the trees, layered like gauze hanging in the forest.
With a few swings of his axe, Duke tore through the webs.
They went directly into the interior.
In the depths of the web-filled area, there was a tall giant tree, with human-shaped cocoons hanging from its branches, some of them still wriggling slightly.
Beside the giant tree was a wooden hut, also covered in white spider silk.
Only a weathered, moss-covered wooden door was exposed.
"C-Captain, what is this?" Duke asked.
Wu Heng responded directly, "Go, cut down those cocoons and see if any of the dead are still alive."
"Oh! Huh?" Duke was stunned.
The dead still alive?
Was he hoping they were dead or alive?
Duke didn't think much of it and quickly went over to start cutting down the cocoons.
Wu Heng, along with Barson and Bagdong, went directly into the wooden hut.
The inside of the hut was also wrapped in spider silk, the wooden furniture partially decayed, with traces of insect secretions still present.
After a quick search, they found nothing worth scavenging.
They retreated outside again.
This should have been a hunter's temporary shelter, but it had been abandoned for years.
The spiders had taken it as their lair.
"Captain, someone is still alive," Duke called out from outside.
Wu Heng looked over and saw that Duke had already cut open a cocoon, revealing the head of the person inside.
"How many are alive?"
"Three, but they're not in good condition, they might not last much longer."
"See if you can wake them up."
Duke, feeling a bit sympathetic, took out a potion and poured it into the mouth of one of them.
After swallowing the potion, the middle-aged man slowly regained consciousness.
His eyes darted around in a panic, taking in his surroundings.
Seeing the spider webs all around, his face turned pale again.
Wu Heng feared he might faint again and asked, "Mercenary group?"
The man nodded.
"Who is 'Abdu'?"
"That's me. You've come to rescue me?"
What luck! The first person they asked was the one they were looking for.
"Your wife issued a rescue request at the guild. We're here to save you, just needed to confirm it's you."
"Th-thank you…."
"Alright, now that we've confirmed it's you, let's get out of—"
Before he could finish speaking.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind them.
Then they saw the giant spider, leading a swarm of smaller spiders, rushing down the path towards them.