Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The second wave of spells was deadlier than the first. The whole canyon trembled as their spells landed on its walls. Huge rocks started falling, with several Bone-Eating Spiders among them.
Unfortunately, only a few Bone-Eating Spiders had fallen with the rocks. The Mages who were free to engage at will proceeded to finish those on the ground.
“These creatures have sharp senses,” Gavin said.
“Humph, it’s nothing,” Kuma said disdainfully.
When the falling rocks stopped after a while, the Bone-Eating Spiders remained cautious.
They were different from other species of demon creatures that lived in packs. Most demon creatures would simply lunge at their prey recklessly. A well-trained troop could easily wipe out such reckless creatures with ease.
However, the Bone-Eating Spiders were different. Even though they were crawling above the mercenaries in great numbers, not many Bone-Eating Spiders had pounced to the attack. They had used the cracks in the stones to dodge the spells twice!
It was rare to see demon creatures with such great patience. The mercenaries were unsure whether the demon creatures were taking the fight cautiously, or if they were waiting for something.
“Fire!”
Another wave of spells was fired at the ceiling, and more rocks fell to the ground. The spells also landed on the Bone-Eating Spiders that were hiding in shallower cracks and knocked them to the ground, but the number of Bone-Eating Spiders that fell was still nothing compared to their overall numbers.
“Are they just going to drag this fight out?” Tommy demanded impatiently.
“Should we withdraw from this place for now?” someone suggested.
Kuma also noticed the Bone-Eating Spiders behaving abnormally. She asked her men to move to the open.
As soon as they moved, the Bone-Eating Spiders followed quietly, trailing the mercenary group.
The Bone-Eating Spiders stayed above the group, observing the humans while waiting for their chance to strike, putting the group under immense pressure.
No one liked being stared at by hundreds of spiders. They had to keep looking up to make sure the creatures were not on a wall nearby, since the demon creatures might pounce at them when they were distracted!
“Move to the open, these things can only stay on the walls to the sides once we are in the open. If they dare to follow us out there, we will take them all out!” Gavin declared.
The mercenary group continued forward. There was an opening around six hundred meters away, a huge crack around three hundred meters wide. They could see the sky through the crack, which had rocky cliffs on both sides. The Bone-Eating Spiders would no longer be able to hide in the cracks along the ceiling.
The people of the Mailong Private Military Group were astounded after they traveled for another hundred meters.
The Bone-Eating Spiders behind stopped following them, but the walls along the way were full of them. The walls were covered in eerie lines and sets of eyes that were glittering like the stars.
“Why are there so many of them?” Tommy exclaimed.
The members of the mercenary group began to panic. The Bone-Eating Spiders’ numbers were beyond their expectations. Most importantly, the creatures were staying still instead of attacking them.
“Why do I feel like we are walking right into a trap?” Guan Yu spoke up.
“What do they want? Are they letting us pass because we are stronger? Are they preying on the weaker Mages behind us?” Zhao Manyan said.
“If they weren’t going to attack us, they wouldn’t have shown up in the first place, since we were completely unaware of their existence,” Lingling corrected him.
“This is so stressful. I hate these creatures with hairy legs!” Jiang Yu said. He was getting goosebumps.
Mo Fan began releasing the energy of his Dark Vein into their surroundings, including the blind corners that were blocked by the rocks, making sure there were no high-level creatures nearby.
Mo Fan was not too afraid of the Bone-Eating Spiders. He was worried about some higher-level species hiding in the dark. The mercenary group was going to suffer great losses if it was ambushed.
“AH!” A loud cry of agony echoed in everyone’s ears.
The dark environment was already making everyone uneasy. The echoes of the scream in the canyon further sent chills down their spines.
Their range of vision was limited and the paths were narrow and meandering. The people at the back were clueless about what was going on at the front.
“Back away, everyone! Move backward, go back to where our camp was!” Kuma yelled.
The others quickly retreated to the place where they had been going to set a camp at.
The cries kept going even when everyone was back at the camp. It was obvious that the group had lost someone. He was being surrounded by demon creatures and being eaten alive.
“How many did we lose?” Zhao Manyan asked.
“It sounds like there were three of them,” Nanyu answered, using her Sound Element.
“Seriously? We’ve already lost three? How deep have we gone so far?”
“The species of demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain are cunning and vicious. The whole place is full of danger. No mercenary group that came here is able to guarantee everyone’s safety.”
“But still, it’s too early for people to die here. We didn’t even know how they died. The spiders didn’t move at all.”
“I’ll go and ask,” Ai Jiangtu said.
—
Ai Jiangtu went to the front of the group and saw Kuma, Gavin, Tommy, and the captains of other teams had troubled faces.
“Are you sure you saw it clearly?” Kuma asked a mercenary sternly.
“Yeah, I swear I saw it. It was on the ground. I saw something with the silhouette of a huge spider moving on the ground. The three scouts never returned after that,” the mercenary said with a pale face.
“What kind of spiders have the ability to camouflage themselves!? I thought only demon creatures at the Commander-level and above could camouflage themselves!?” Gavin cursed.
“We have underestimated the demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain!”
Ai Jiangtu’s expression sank when he heard the conversation.
Camouflage…
In other words, the Bone-Eating Spiders would look exactly the same as the rocks if they stayed still and closed their eyes. People would have no clue the creatures were there even when they passed by.
It was why the three scouts had died!