Li Wen's sharp gaze locked onto the girl perched atop the hill. She was the true enemy—the puppeteer controlling the lifeless half-spiders, the mastermind who had orchestrated this entire battle.
The girl tilted her head, her grin widening as though she could feel the shift in his aura. Her glowing eyes gleamed with amusement, anticipation, and something far more dangerous—madness.
"Oh? You finally noticed me?" she teased, her voice carrying effortlessly across the battlefield. "What am I going to do now?"
Before she could continue, the two purple energy whips in Li Wen's hands twisted and solidified, transforming into a spear of stone. Without hesitation, he slammed the spear's twin tips into the ground. A tremor rippled outward, and in the next instant, razor-sharp spikes erupted from the earth, impaling the remaining spiderlings in a brutal display of power.
She found Li Wei standing there and staring at her.
Valia's grin didn't falter. If anything, her excitement seemed to grow. Her gaze locked onto him with an eerie hunger. "Are you enamored by my beauty?" she purred, watching him with unsettling delight. "But you're a bit too early. I'm still a decade away from adulthood. When the time comes, I'll choose you to father my offspring… and then, of course, I'll eat you." She licked her lips as if already savoring the thought.
Li Wen smirked. "Really? Then I should feel honored, Miss…?"
The girl straightened, placing a hand on her chest with mock elegance. "You may call me Valia of the Dark House."
At that moment, deep within Li Wen's spiritual space, a faint beep echoed. His soul chip processed the name instantly, feeding him information: **Dark House—the royal family of the Arachne Kingdom.**
Valia leaned forward slightly, her eight spider legs shifting gracefully beneath her. "You're quite knowledgeable. Since you amuse me, I'll grant you the right to tell me your name."
Li Wen chuckled, then performed an exaggerated version of an ancient ceremony reserved for meeting royalty. His movements were perfectly measured but dripping with mockery, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"I am Li Wen, my princess."
Valia's smirk deepened. "A bold one, aren't you? And?"
Li Wen's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Princess, I have a request."
Valia arched an intrigued brow. "Let's hear it."
Li Wen's smirk widened. "In the Demon Realm, there stands a statue—a great demon riding an Arachne. Legend has it that the Arachne in question was none other than the Queen of the Arachne Kingdom at the time. Now, I may not be as powerful as my ancestors to ride a queen…" He let the words hang in the air, his grin sharpening like a blade. "But I can certainly ride a princess."
The moment the words left his mouth, he saw it—the subtle twitch of Valia's eye, the way her grin faltered for just a fraction of a second. Rage flickered through her expression, twisting her amusement into something darker, something venomous.
Li Wen had done his research. When he first saw the statue, curiosity led him to dig deeper, and what he uncovered was a tale of humiliation burned into Arachne's history. The image of their queen, once a ruler of pride and power, was reduced to nothing more than a beast of burden beneath a Desire Demon—an eternal scar upon their kingdom's honor.
Yet, despite their hatred, the Arachne had never sought revenge. They knew the truth as well as anyone. The Desire Demon race stood at a level far beyond their reach. To wage war against them would be like an egg hurling itself at a boulder—pointless, suicidal.
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath.
For the first time, Valia's laughter did not come immediately.
Then, it erupted—high, melodic, and utterly unhinged. Her lips curled, her sharp teeth glinting under the night sky. But for just a split second before that, her grin had faltered, freezing in place, her fingers curling ever so slightly as if she were holding herself back from lunging at him.
Li Wen's words had struck deep.
She had approached this battle with the playful cruelty of a predator toying with its prey. Her plan had been simple—capture the Desire Demon, break him, throw him into the spider cages, and let him suffer for eternity. But now? Now, she wanted to kill him.
Before she could speak, Li Wen's voice rang out once more, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"Princess, please fulfill my request. I will make your name heard in all the realms—Valia, the war slave."
Valia's laughter cut off.
A long, chilling silence stretched between them.
Then, she tilted her head, her glowing eyes gleaming with something far more dangerous than before. "Oh my, Li Wen, you truly are a bold one," she purred, her voice dripping with amusement. "But do you think taming me will be so easy?"
Her eight legs clicked against the rocky ground as she leaned forward, her hunger now layered with something deeper—an almost predatory delight.
Li Wen smirked, utterly unfazed. "Taming? No, no, my princess. I am merely offering a historical reenactment."
Valia's gaze flickered toward the battlefield, where the half-spiders and humans still clashed.
Yet, instead of fury, a delighted smile stretched across her face. "Oh, how exciting. You really are a little different, aren't you?"
Her hand rose, fingers curling around a small black bead pulsing with sinister energy. Then, she let out an inhuman screech, a sound that pierced the air like the wail of a thousand tortured souls.
"You're going to pay for this," she hissed.
With a flick of her wrist, the bead struck the ground. The earth trembled as darkness erupted from it, expanding in tendrils of black mist. When the smoke cleared, fifty new half-spiders stood in formation, their bodies twitching with unnatural energy. Among them, ten radiated power—Source Realm warriors.
Li Wen's expression didn't change. He simply lifted his stone spear and slammed it into the ground once more. Stone spikes erupted, surging toward the incoming half-spiders.
But this time, Valia raised her hand, releasing a wave of dark energy. The air rippled as her magic collided with his, the two forces grinding against each other in a silent battle for dominance. For a brief moment, the spikes slowed, halting mid-air. Then, with a burst of energy, both spells canceled each other out, fading into nothingness.
A deadly silence.
The moment the half-spiders charged, Li Wen's stone spears twisted and shifted in his hands, reshaping into two sharp stone swords. A dark green flame flickered to life along the blades, casting an eerie glow across the battlefield. Without hesitation, he surged forward, meeting the incoming horde head-on.
His first strike was merciless—his sword cut deep into the chitinous body of an Enlightenment Realm half-spider, the wound igniting with plague fire. The creature shrieked, its limbs spasming before it collapsed, unconscious before even realizing its fate. The green flames consumed its body, turning it to ash in mere seconds. Another half-spider lunged from the side, but Li Wen twisted, his second sword slashing through its carapace. Again, the same result—plague fire erupted from the wound, and the creature fell, its body reduced to cinders.
One after another, the Enlightenment Realm half-spiders fell before him. Each of his strikes left burning wounds that spread like a disease, searing through their flesh and rendering them powerless. Within moments, a dozen of them lay motionless, their remains nothing more than smoldering embers.
But the Source Realm half-spiders were different. They were stronger, faster, and more resistant to his attacks. When his sword struck one of them, it did not fall immediately. It endured, its body resisting the effects of the plague fire. Even so, with every successive strike, its movements slowed, its strength waning. After ten strikes, or if he engaged them for too long, the same fate befell them—unconsciousness, followed by oblivion as the plague fire consumed them.
Valia, watching from atop her perch, narrowed her glowing eyes. A flicker of irritation passed across her face before it twisted into a cruel smile. "Let's make this more interesting."
She raised her hand, fingers curling as dark energy gathered at her palm. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she sent a spell hurtling toward Li Wen.
"Dark Bolt!"
A jagged streak of black lightning crackled through the air. Li Wen barely had time to react, twisting his body to evade it. The bolt struck the ground behind him, leaving a smoldering crater. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Before he could counterattack, Valia unleashed another spell.
"Dark Spear!"
A long, shadowy spear materialized in her grasp before she hurled it toward him with alarming speed. Li Wen crossed his swords in defense, blocking the attack just in time. The impact sent him skidding back several feet, his arms throbbing from the force. As he steadied himself, he noticed the Source Realm half-spiders pressing their advantage, launching coordinated attacks to keep him on the defensive.
Li Wen growled under his breath. If not for Valia's interference, he could have ended this fight in thirty minutes. Instead, he was forced into a grueling battle that stretched on for hours.
Another spell came.
"Corrode!"
A sickly black mist spread out from Valia's outstretched hand, swirling toward him like a hungry beast. Li Wen countered swiftly, unleashing a wave of plague fire from his swords. The flames clashed with the corrosive mist, neutralizing its effects.
Valia laughed. "Oh? You can counter my magic? How delightful!"
She didn't stop.
"Dark Fireball!"
A sphere of searing black flames formed in her palm before she sent it soaring toward him. Li Wen didn't bother dodging this time. Instead, he swung his sword in a wide arc, releasing a crescent-shaped wave of plague fire. The two attacks collided mid-air, exploding in a burst of energy that sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
The battle dragged on. Every time Li Wen attempted to close the distance and finish the half-spiders, Valia would unleash another spell, forcing him to defend or evade. She weaved spells one after another, keeping him occupied while the remaining half-spiders relentlessly attacked.
At one point, she inhaled deeply, her chest expanding unnaturally. Then, with a wicked grin, she exhaled.
"Dark Breath!"
A torrent of black flames spewed forth, engulfing everything in its path. Li Wen reacted instantly, slamming his swords into the ground. A wall of plague fire erupted around him, forming a protective barrier. The two flames clashed, tendrils of dark energy wrapping around his green fire. But in the end, his plague fire held strong, dispersing her attack.
The exhaustion was beginning to weigh on him. Three hours had passed, and the battlefield was a mess of charred corpses, burned ground, and dissipating dark energy. The remaining Source Realm half-spiders fell one by one until finally, Li Wen stood over the last of them, his swords dripping with plague fire.
Valia watched, her amusement now replaced by a calculating expression. She knew she had lost.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue in irritation. "How troublesome."
With a sigh, she reached into her robes, pulling out a black paper inscribed with ancient symbols. She tore it in half, and immediately, a swirling black portal opened before her.
Li Wen narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward. But before he could act, Valia smirked.
"Next time we meet," she purred, "be ready to be captured."
And with that, she stepped through the portal. It shimmered for a brief moment before vanishing entirely, leaving nothing but an eerie silence in its wake.
Li Wen exhaled slowly, lowering his swords. The battle was over—but this was only the beginning.