Chapter 197: Crazy Opponent

On the slope, a patrolman's sword strikes grew progressively slower, as if he could barely lift his arm. Finally, unable to resist the pull of silk from several spiders, he was dragged out of the crowd.

His companions couldn't rescue him in time, watching helplessly as he tumbled down the slope, instantly engulfed by the surging tide of spiders.

The shrill screams didn't last long, but they seemed to echo endlessly in everyone's minds, sending shivers down their spines.

He Lingchuan felt a jolt. While tigers and wolves strike vital points for an instant kill, spiders bite repeatedly. So how did this patrolman die so quickly?

Observing his earlier unsteady movements, it didn't seem like exhaustion, but rather poisoning.

Indeed, many spider species carry potent venom.

The guide stammered, "Why have these cave spiders gone mad?"

This comment carried significant information, so Liu Tong asked him, "Do they normally reside here?"

"Yes, yes," the guide whispered, his voice almost completely drowned out by the commotion on the slope. Only the two closest to him could hear him add, "They've never interfered with humans before."

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

Spiders were still arriving from all directions to join the fight, like flies drawn to carrion. Menban muttered a low curse, "Just how many spiders are there here!"

"They used to be very afraid of fire," the guide managed to say, his face growing paler.

Monsters that were usually afraid of fire were now charging relentlessly. What kind of enchantment was this?

He Lingchuan, however, thought of Dong Rui.

Could a beastmaster make monstrous beasts attack so fearlessly?

Liutiao watched intently, then suddenly said, "I remember spiders can't swim. Is it the same for these ones?"

The guide was unsure. "I, I don't know," he stammered, "I've never seen spiders go into water."

And there was no shortage of water in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest.

"How far is the nearest stream or river? A substantial one."

Sweat trickled down the guide's forehead. He pointed west. "There's a large, deep pool there, about fifteen zhang away. I used to take people there to get water and rest."

"Is it still water or flowing water?"

"Flowing, flowing water!" the guide swallowed hard. "Upstream, there are two streams, heading north! It rained heavily seven days ago, so the water level should be quite high now."

"That's the place," Liu Tong decided swiftly. "Find a way to get them over here."

At this moment, He Lingchuan greatly missed the incense pellets, a secret treasure given to him by the desert bandits. This item was shunned by gods and ghosts alike, making anyone it smoked flee. If only he could bring it into the Coiling Dragon Dream Realm!

As they were a team that had worked together for a long time, everyone quickly distributed the tasks.

Menban pulled out his massive axe, took a deep breath, and said to He Lingchuan, "Ready."

He Lingchuan grinned at him, channeled power into his arms, grabbed Menban's belt, and flung him out!

He Lingchuan was already immensely strong, and his power had increased further after being cleansed by the Imperial Dew. He literally hurled Menban, a burly man weighing over 227 pounds, more than thirty feet away!

In mid-air, Menban let out a cry, "Ride over here! There's a way out!"

With a large living person suddenly appearing, the spiders' attack paused, and a portion immediately turned to attack him.

He Lingchuan's throwing technique, which he had practiced diligently for over two months, bore fruit: as Menban landed, he found a large, prominent rock beneath his feet.

He used the rock to pivot and gain momentum, and leaped again!

Even though he wasn't as agile as the thin man and was carrying a heavy weapon, his jump still covered over a zhang.

That put him very close to the trapped team.

This team had just lost another member, with one more gravely wounded. Filled with despair, they were suddenly overjoyed to hear the words "way out."

Menban's hoarse, raspy voice at that moment was more beautiful to them than the lingering notes of a famous opera singer.

He raised his massive axe high. As he landed, the axe struck the ground first, with its blunt side down.

A deep hum reverberated continuously, like an iron striking a tuning fork.

The spider horde within a three-zhang radius suddenly stopped moving their legs. Some even started circling in place, as if drunk.

"Hurry over!" Menban urged.

This wave of bass vibration also made the horses on the slope shake their heads; one even knelt instantly. The group paid no heed, jumping two by two onto the other horses and galloping frantically behind Menban.

As they were about to pass him, Menban struck the ground twice more with his axe, stunning another wave of the small monsters.

Using such a combat technique was quite draining; Menban's face was beet red. The bass attack was essentially a "three-axe technique," and it would take a long time to recover after using all three.

Liutiao also rode over, throwing several burning bottles. From them billowed pale blue smoke, and spiders that charged into it immediately wilted, turning onto their backs with their eight legs twitching skyward.

The squad had just dealt with bee demons a few days prior, so this toxic smoke was particularly effective against insects.

Using this momentary opening, Menban rushed to Liutiao and jumped onto a horse's back. The horse neighed loudly and galloped away.

The spider horde was further enraged and pursued them relentlessly.

Not only were these pests trailing behind the horses' hooves, but spiders were also dropping from the treetops, landing on people or horses and immediately biting.

Just dealing with these was a chaotic struggle.

Fortunately, the guide was reliable; a deep pool indeed lay more than ten zhang away. They rode their horses directly into the pool, splashing water everywhere.

As expected, the spiders stopped at the water's edge, hissing at the group. A few, seemingly blinded by rage, even tried to enter the water but were immediately swept away by the current.

The remaining spider demons, a vast, dark mass, milled around on the bank but couldn't harm the humans.

Everyone, finally recovering from their fright, let out a long sigh of relief.

Menban jumped into the water, continuously comforting his horse by holding its head. "I remember spiders can also swim," he said. "Heaven be praised, these ones can't!"

Liutiao, with a straight face, said, "The spiders you've seen swim were just small ones! Look how big these ones are."

Most spiders don't swim; they move on water purely because their body weight is so small that they can rely on surface tension. If it were soapy water, they would immediately sink. These spider demons in front of them were as large as cats; how could they possibly rely on surface tension?

The guide shouted a few words at the spider demons, essentially asking why they were attacking humans.

The spiders all over the mountains and plains were mostly ordinary cave spiders. Only the exceptionally large ones had become demons, and they remained at the rear of the horde. But these creatures didn't seem to have high intelligence; they only opened their chelicerae and hissed threats at him, as if unwilling to communicate.

"Put out the torches," He Lingchuan suggested. "I see that the torchlight isn't scaring the spiders away; it's just drawing more aggression."

Liu Tong did not adopt his suggestion. He only told the guide, "Head north and shake them off!"

Thanks to the rain a few days prior, the Ghost Needle Stone Forest now had abundant water, and the streams were deeper and wider. As long as people and horses kept their distance from the banks, the spiders posed no threat, and the occasional strands of silk were easy to deal with.

The guide trudged through the water, explaining to everyone, "These cave spiders eat everything, from small birds to wild boars and bears, but they never bother humans. I've passed through the Ghost Needle Stone Forest seventeen or eighteen times, and this is the first time I've ever seen them attack humans!"

"Why don't they normally eat people?"

"I heard they're constrained by the local mountain deities, forbidden to prey on humans as long as humans don't bother them," the guide sighed. "There are too many cave spiders in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest; they rule here. If they encounter trouble, they swarm out. Who would dare to bother them?"

"The Baling people," Liu Tong said grimly. "No wonder they didn't enter the Stone Forest. It turns out they had already provoked the cave spiders and were just waiting for us to walk into the trap."

At this point, the rescued individuals came forward to express their gratitude.

They were from another team, scattered midway by the frantically surging spider horde. Originally, there were over thirty people, a dozen horses, and three supply wagons. Now, only a handful remained, and even their captain had perished.

With the immediate threat of being devoured by spiders gone, a merchant collapsed into the water with a splash. His companions helped him up, seeing he was unconscious, his cheeks swollen, and his brow green.

Another patrolman also had a wound on his neck, but he only felt dizzy and anxious, with rapid breathing.

"Poisoned."

Spiders inject venom into their prey to paralyze, incapacitate, or cause unconsciousness, while also dissolving their bodies for absorption. Since these creatures had become demons, their venom was clearly enhanced. However, Coiling Dragon City soldiers always carried emergency medicine, mostly antidotes, when going into battle, so they quickly administered the medicine to the injured.

Coiling Dragon City's soldiers had vital energy protecting them, making their resistance to toxins far greater than that of ordinary people. Both the patrolman and the merchant had been bitten by spiders, but their injuries showed a clear contrast.

After taking the medicine, the merchant remained unconscious, though the swelling on his body slowly subsided. The group had no choice but to tie him onto a horse. The patrolman, however, improved after several tens of seconds: the pus and blood oozing from his wound turned from green to red, and his dizziness disappeared, though he still swayed a bit when walking.

This was a dark-skinned, slender man who seemed to dislike talking, only introducing himself as Sun Jiayuan.

Another rescued merchant, however, pointed at Sun Jiayuan and cursed him fiercely: "What kind of path did you lead us on! Didn't you boast that you knew the Ghost Needle Stone Forest like the back of your hand? How could you not even know that spiders fear water? You just knew to climb the slope and fight those monsters to the death! So many of our lives were wasted, and our goods are lost."

Sun Jiayuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he endured it.

The merchant continued his tirade.

He Lingchuan saw that Sun Jiayuan's hand had gone to his knife hilt, and his face was flushed crimson.

This was not a good-tempered person either.

"Hey!" Liutiao couldn't stand it any longer. "If it weren't for the patrolman's desperate defense, you would have long since dissolved into a puddle of pus, sucked into the spiders' bellies."

At this moment, a burst of blue fireworks erupted in the northwestern night sky, drawing the spiders on the bank to turn their heads and look.

Everyone also saw it but remained unmoved.

After several tens of seconds, two clusters of red fireworks rose into the air in the northeast.

A little while later, two clusters of white fireworks also lit up in the east.

Only then did Liu Tong say, "The signal has arrived; the main force will gather in the northeast." He asked the guide, "Is there an exit in the northeast of the Stone Forest, and can we reach it by following the river?"

At the rallying ceremony before departure, General Nanke had only just issued a temporary order: the army in the field was to gather upon seeing red fireworks ascend, and anyone who saw them was to head there immediately.

All other signals were meant to confuse the enemy.

Now that two clusters of red fireworks had ascended, they provided at least two clues to the patrolmen, including He Lingchuan:

First, the inexplicably rampaging cave spiders had indeed caused significant trouble for the entire army. Many small teams had been scattered by the spider horde's assault, which was why the main team had sent the signal for everyone to gather.