Chapter 200: The Suicide Bomber

He made one last effort: “If you let us go today, I swear I will offer you a blood sacrifice within ten days as thanks!”

“Ten days? Why wait another ten days?” Zhu Erniang laughed loudly. “I’ll drag all thousand of you, plus your hundreds of livestock, and turn you into fertilizer. Then my little ones will have food this winter!”

“Think twice, Zhu Erniang,” General Nankea said sternly. “Even if my forces are destroyed in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest today, Panlong City will eventually come to demand justice. If you won't think for yourself, then think of your hundreds of thousands of offspring. Aren't you afraid they will be wiped out, nest and all, their lineage extinguished?”

“Insignificant ants, how dare you be so insolent in front of me? I was here before Panlong City existed, and I will still be here when Panlong City is gone!” Zhu Erniang said coldly. “Doesn't your Panlong City only rely on General Hong for support? General Hong, ha! I know exactly what it is! You fools unknowingly embrace a thief as your mother, and sooner or later, it will drain you of every last drop of blood and marrow! Hmph!”

It roared out the last word, making everyone's hearts leap. Immediately, the ground rumbled, and something came roaring from the other side of the mountain.

General Nankea turned back in alarm, only to see a torrent of water roaring down from the mountain stream, its foaming waves two to three zhang high.

A flood! The army was encamped directly in the middle of the river valley; there was a ninety percent chance they wouldn't escape it.

The old spider demon had feigned conversation with General Nankea, but secretly cast a spell to summon the water.

In desperation, General Nankea glanced at Zhu Erniang on the small hill, then turned to whisper to the sparrowhawk on his shoulder, handing it a small satchel.

Ever since Zhu Erniang appeared, he'd had an idea.

The sparrowhawk snatched the satchel, flapped its wings, and took flight.

Immediately after, the torrent of water arrived, surging towards the soldiers, and the fiercely burning wall of fire was instantly scattered!

The primal energy of the Panlong City army could reduce and neutralize demonic spells that directly targeted them. But the massive flood summoned by the spider demon was a genuine natural disaster; how could anyone's body withstand that?

With no more pursuers behind them, He Lingchuan and the others finally slowed their horses, breathing a sigh of relief.

The spiders, capable of chasing people for a great distance, now only pursued for less than three hundred zhang before retreating. Clearly, their first priority was to guard their nest and not stray too far from it.

Certain of this, they turned their horses and began climbing the slope through the forest. This route would save them detours and time.

From the top of the slope, the cave entrance resembled a gaping maw, seemingly always waiting for unsuspecting fools to stumble in.

He Lingchuan noticed the brocade covering the exit was still billowing upwards, indicating wind rising from below. They also heard the whistling wind, which made their hair flutter.

How could there be wind underground? Unless there was another exit.

Willow had used some methods to evade the spider guards' detection, making this detour remarkably uneventful. Just as they were about to remount and continue, something flew in from the northeast and circled above the cave entrance several times.

As an archer, Willow's eyesight was excellent, especially with the aid of firefly light. After a moment, she said, “It's a sparrowhawk.”

This creature flies as fast as an arrow during the day, a true killer of small birds, but its night vision is mediocre. It wasn't yet dawn, and it was circling above the cave entrance; clearly, something was amiss.

Sun Jiayuan suddenly exclaimed, “It's holding something in its claws!”

The sparrowhawk circled twice, as if it had finished scouting, then abruptly ascended over a hundred zhang before plunging straight down!

Its dive was like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, so fast it left an afterimage in the air.

It flew away diagonally without touching the ground, yet the object in its claws was precisely hurled towards the cave entrance.

The large brocade covering shimmered with vibrant colors as it violently shook.

By now, everyone could tell the sparrowhawk was there to cause trouble for the spider nest.

Next, a brilliant burst of fireworks erupted from the cave entrance.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation.

Soon after, the mountain wind cleared the smoke and dust, and He Lingchuan let out a low gasp of surprise.

The brocade, which had seemed light enough to dance in the wind and delicate enough to be pierced by a single finger, was surprisingly intact!

This thing was actually blast-resistant?

The sparrowhawk also seemed a bit bewildered, flying down low to inspect the situation.

The surrounding spider guards had already converged, angrily spitting webs at it to interfere with its movements.

The sparrowhawk turned and flew away, disappointing everyone. It was a lot of thunder but little rain.

Fortunately, it soon returned, circling once more as if searching for an angle.

This time, Willow finally saw clearly: “It's holding a command arrow in its claws!”

Everyone's expressions grew solemn.

How could an ordinary sparrowhawk use human objects? And commoners certainly wouldn't possess such a thing.

The sparrowhawk adjusted its angle and threw it once more.

This time, the command arrow still failed to penetrate the brocade and enter the cave.

The sparrowhawk let out a cry of frustration.

It flew a few more circles in the air, seemingly trying to figure something out, but then it immediately flew towards them.

They exchanged glances. Had they been discovered?

Indeed, the sparrowhawk flew to a branch above Liu Tong, folded its wings, landed, and spoke in human tongue: “Panlong City Patrol?”

Liu Tong remained cautious: “Who are you?”

“I am General Hong's messenger,” the sparrowhawk replied. “Zhu Erniang, the spider demon leader, has caused a massive flood in the river valley, engulfing our army! The battle is going poorly for us, so General Nankea specifically ordered me to destroy the royal nest to relieve the crisis on the front line.”

It had earlier scouted the terrain and discovered the location of Zhu Erniang's nest; after all, the glowing spores made it incredibly conspicuous from the sky. Clearly, this demon was highly skilled and audacious, believing no natural predator would dare disturb it.

Sun Jiayuan immediately said, “I think I saw this sparrowhawk a few months ago when I campaigned with General Hong.”

“But the spider web, like satin, is too tough and resilient; the command arrow I threw cannot penetrate it,” the sparrowhawk said, flapping its wings. “The front line is in dire straits; you must help me!”

Though swift, its small size was a limitation. No matter how beautiful the brocade covering, it was essentially a giant spider web!

If it were to charge in, wouldn't it be like a moth flying into a net?

“How can we help?” Liu Tong asked, uncertain. “Should we try shooting arrows too?”

He had observed carefully; the command arrow had already been stuck to the web before it could even explode.

“If you were to fly a few circles above and observe from multiple angles, you’d discover that beneath isn't just one spider web, but at least thirteen or fourteen layers stacked on top of each other. If forced open, there should be gaps between every two layers. Otherwise, how could a spider queen so large freely enter and exit without tearing the mesh?”

So that's how it was. Everyone looked at the spider web again and had to admire Zhu Erniang's weaving skill; thirteen or fourteen layers of silk stacked together appeared as light and thin as a single layer.

“If we can get the command arrow through the web, its attached fire projectile might ignite the nest, just like the Baling people did,” He Lingchuan whispered. “Judging by the brocade, the spider queen clearly values this cave entrance highly, so it might stop fighting and rush back.”

Then General Nankea's encirclement would be naturally broken.

Although their unit was meant to be bait, they certainly didn't want to be devoured by spiders or the Baling people.

However, getting through layers of spider webs was not the sparrowhawk's forte. In this particular skill, winged creatures were not as agile as those with hands.

No wonder it needed their help. The patrol members exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.

Who would go? And would they even come back? Who knew what the nest looked like inside, covered by brocade as beautiful as a sunset? What if it didn't burn?

Liu Tong glanced at the thin man. Among the team, he was the most agile and the best candidate to enter the pit.

But the thin man kept his mouth tightly shut, utterly silent.

With the main army struggling and the front line failing, their small team, being so close to the spider queen's nest, knew they had to complete the mission no matter what. Liu Tong sighed inwardly, and just as he was about to speak, someone suddenly said, “I'll go!”

Everyone turned to look and saw it was Sun Jiayuan, who had been standing in the back row.

A comrade grabbed his shoulder and urgently said, “Hey!”

Among their team, Sun Jiayuan was neither the most highly cultivated nor the most agile.

Sun Jiayuan asked Liu Tong, “If I die here, will I be honored as a fallen hero?”

Liu Tong nodded: “Of course, this would be a great service.” If successful, it could be said that one person saved the entire army.

Panlong City had always provided generous pensions for fallen or disabled soldiers. If a soldier was honored as a hero, their family would receive significant benefits and treatment in Panlong City, including guaranteed food and clothing, an immediate tin house, free schooling for their children, and welfare subsidies during holidays and festivals.

In short, they would essentially have nothing to worry about after his death.

The thin man, with his many family members, was an exception.

Sun Jiayuan's expression was solemn: “Good, please bear witness for me!”

Since someone had volunteered, Liu Tong also breathed a sigh of relief. He first arranged for the merchants to go to a relatively safe open area at the rear, then everyone discussed the battle plan.

He Lingchuan's original team of nine were all alive, and counting the seven comrades rescued from the spider's maw earlier, there were a total of sixteen combat-ready individuals.

Near the nest, there were seven to eight hundred spiders, including over twenty large spider demons.

They had to cover Sun Jiayuan as he entered the pit, enabling him to successfully complete the mission of destroying the giant nest.

Undoubtedly, in the world of giant webs, spiders would certainly be more agile than humans. So even if they could repel the spider's attack, Sun Jiayuan would still have to find a way to move across the spider web.

They had previously witnessed a fruit bat land on the brocade; its wingtip merely grazed the web, and it was firmly stuck, unable to escape.

This web was ninety-nine percent likely woven by Zhu Erniang, the spider queen, herself, and its power should not be underestimated. She dared to leave her nest far behind so brazenly, clearly confident in this web.

If Sun Jiayuan couldn't figure out a way to move freely, then this operation would be a suicide mission rather than a bombing.

“The best way to prevent sticking is to apply oil,” He Lingchuan said, stroking his chin. “Does anyone here have oil?”

“I only have a small bottle of lamp oil,” Willow said, her face taut. “That won't do. He still needs to throw the command arrow; what if he ignites himself…?”

That would be a human sacrifice.

“Then mud should also work,” He Lingchuan said, pointing to the west. “Just now, where we climbed ashore, there was a large muddy area. Brother Sun, how about you go roll around there? Try to come back as muddy as possible, the thicker the better.”

This inspiration came from the wild boar they had caught. It had been rolling on the riverbank, covered in mud. While it's a pig's nature to do so, could one argue this isn't survival wisdom for operating in the spider queen's territory?

Everyone considered it and agreed it made sense.

Sun Jiayuan immediately turned and walked back, and all the patrol members also mounted their horses, not a single one falling behind.