CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 115: SPIDER, WHAT A HUGE SPIDER, TIGER-STRIPED SPIDER

Red eyes.

Six crimson eyes, spreading out like an infinity symbol.

A grotesque and vivid body, divided into a thorax and abdomen, with two fangs reaching out from a mouth dripping azure green mucus.

In the forest’s darkness dense as fog, those crimson eyes cast a blood-red glow.

In the faint illumination of the phosphorescent lamp, its dark blue shell glistened with a metallic sheen.

It was a spider, nearly as big as a dog, with eight menacing long legs studded with spikes protruding from its oval-shaped body, firmly embedded into the ground.

Compared to a regular spider, its pair of forelegs were covered in yellow and black striped fur, while the remaining three pairs of legs were very short and thick.

Within twenty feet of it, the hornbearer already lay on the ground, unconscious.

Seven or eight Imperial Guard soldiers had arrived, forming a semicircle with their over four-meter-long spears, but none dared to venture too close.

Horn raised the phosphorescent stone in his hand, a gleam of mana flashing in his eyes as the stone suddenly shone brightly, forcing the giant spider to retreat two steps.

Only then did Horn notice one of its legs was broken, barely connected to its body by strands of flesh and blood.

By the light, Horn approached and looked at the hornbearer, whose complexion was green, and viscous liquid dripped from the corners of his mouth.

There was a large hole in his chest, the flesh at the opening already rotting into a dark green hue.

Horn’s expression instantly darkened.

Dass held a spring gun, approaching pale-faced, "Your Majesty, be careful."

"What’s the situation?" Horn asked Dass, whose head was wrapped in bandages.

"Our gunner just fired a shot; the light was too dim and missed," Dass patted his gun barrel, "I went for another shot, from 100 feet, just broke one of its legs."

"Brother, are there monsters?" Jeanne brushed her disheveled hair as she climbed over from behind the carriage, barefoot.

Upon seeing the giant spider, Jeanne immediately extended her hand, causing lightning to begin to gather.

"Hold off for now," Horn stopped Jeanne, "let them handle it first, step in if it gets dangerous."

At the frontline facing the giant spider, Rudilo was anxiously restless.

"Don’t chicken out," Rudilo murmured, "Wanpiao and the Saintess are here, watching us."

"Is this a monster? Where’s a spider this big?"

"Yeah, we don’t have holy guns. Wait for the gunners to come, or Her Highness the Saintess can help."

Seeing everyone relying on the Saintess and gunners, Rudilo got serious.

He grabbed a spear directly and, abandoning the crowd around him, took large strides forward.

"Hey!" Watching Rudilo advance, the rest of the orderlies had no choice but to follow him for protection.

Otherwise, according to military law, they’d face punishment.

Charging forth, close to the giant spider, per his daily training, Rudilo held the spear tail in one hand, the shaft in the other, and thrust at the giant spider while stepping forward.

The sharp spear tip struck the giant spider’s shell, emitting a crisp metallic sound.

The spear retracted, leaving a small thumb-length cut on its shell.

The giant spider shuddered all over.

Seemingly enraged by Rudilo, the gray-black spider that had been wavering emitted a terrifying hiss.

Green liquid splattered as the spider suddenly leaped from the ground onto a nearby chestnut tree.

With its body horizontal, it seemed to gain strength, its short thick legs suddenly contracting, springing its entire body from the trunk.

Rudilo rejoiced.

Friends familiar with cold weapon combat knew jumping is strictly forbidden on the battlefield.

Apart from formation concerns, personally, it’s because one can’t leverage or dodge attacks in mid-air.

"Hmph!"

The spear was raised upright; right leg withdrawn, Rudilo’s spear tip perfectly aimed at its soft white belly.

A mass of sticky white spider silk flew forward, spraying Rudilo’s chest, directly binding his arms.

Rudilo felt as though his hands were trapped by chains, unable to break free.

Looking up again, those fangs were nearly upon him.

He yelled, body twisting sharply sideways, the spear under inertia crashing into the spider’s body.

The airborne spider was knocked off course by the collision.

Falling to the ground, Rudilo dodged the spider’s venom-coated fangs in disarray.

Everyone cried out in surprise, gear turning sounds obscurely echoing in the background.

However, the giant spider heard the creaking sounds.

It remembered, it was after this sound earlier that one of its legs was broken.

The six red eyes immediately focused on the sound’s origin, still the upright creature that first attacked it.

Reusing an old trick, the giant spider jumped into the air, landing on the trunk of a pine tree, its seven legs contracting and vibrating, leaping high.

It jumped over the front line of the Imperial Guard, and at the end of its arc was Dass.

Dass raised his head, staring disdainfully at the increasingly clear crimson eyes.

Clearly about to land on his head, yet Dass showed no fear.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

He raised the gun barrel and reached out to pull out the spring key.

A sharp whistle came from the balance air pressure hole of the gun barrel, the air flowing fiercely, bending the once straight grass.

Roaring, a black shadow wrapped in thunder shot out of the gun barrel.

At an unseeable speed, the black shadow pounced on the spider’s head and thorax.

The crimson spider eyes exploded directly, a fang was broken by the iron shot.

The fang flew high, rolling on the ground with venom before finally stopping.

Under the propulsion of the firing rod, iron shot and stone pellets pierced the air, drilling into the spider’s hard shell, spinning their way toward its fleshy organs.

A large amount of flesh and blood splashed backward.

The force was so great that the charging spider was sent flying in the opposite direction.

It traced an arc in the air, landing heavily.

Convulsing, it flipped over, legs pointing to the sky, twitching from time to time.

Almost a minute passed before it finally died.

After all, when it was hit, it was only two to three meters from the gun muzzle, equivalent to point-blank range; two Barnetts at this distance would have killed it.

Thanks to Dass’s skill and courage!

Horn looked at the wobbling spider corpse: "Is this the giant spider of Wild Spider Forest?"

"No, it’s not." Qianqian’s clear voice came from behind, "This is just an ordinary jumping spider of the giant spider type; the true giant spider, according to the notes, is estimated to be as big as a cow."

"As big as a cow? Are you sure it’s not a magical creature?"

"Of course not, the ancestors of the giant spiders are said to be magical creatures, but their extraordinary bodies have inherited some traits, over time, turning into this."

Stroking his chin, Horn frowned.

For days, they’ve relied on Jia Li’s memory to determine the route; if they go wrong and get surrounded by those giant spiders, could they really fight them?

Should we rest here for two days, gather more spring guns before moving on?

But delaying another few days wouldn’t enhance strength much, and he couldn’t handcraft a hundred guns in a day.

Food is lacking, Horn calculated with the previously collected tubers, they could only last another ten days at most.

If too much time is wasted, who knows if there’s enough food to cross Wild Spider Forest.

The soldiers must overcome their fear of magical creatures, of giant spiders.

They’re not afraid to seize passes and bridges, yet fear the giant spiders.

While Horn hesitated, Madlan hurriedly arrived.

Confirming the spider was dead, Madlan approached: "How do we deal with this corpse, throw it far away? Leaving it here might attract its companions, right?"

"Throw it away? This is valuable stuff."

Qianqian stepped forward, took a knife, sliced open its abdomen, and pulled out a sticky web, showing it to Horn.

"The web can be used to make ropes, spider eyes can be used as alchemical materials, spider meat can be eaten, it tastes like chicken, roasted, crispy."

"Ugh..." Madlan couldn’t help but retch, "It’s too smelly."

Smelling the stench, Horn waved his hand: "It’s disgusting, maybe let’s skip it."

"The entrails can be cleaned with slime, valuable materials can be dismantled and taken away, sold for good money on the black market."

"Madlan, you handle it."

"Me?" Madlan pointed to himself with his index finger.

Horn quickly covered his nose and left: "It’s up to you."

After bidding farewell to Qianqian and Madlan, Horn didn’t return to the tent but grabbed Dass and headed toward the barracks area.

As expected, he encountered the downcast Rudilo on the way back.

Clapping hands, Dass immediately presented a spring gun.

"Rudilo!"

As Rudilo turned his head, he saw a long object thrown his way, instinctively catching it, almost pulled down by its weight.

Looking down, it was the spring gun he’d longed for.

"It’s yours, your courage deserves a sacred gun." Horn walked up, smoothing the cloak’s folds, "I will announce your deeds tomorrow morning."