Black Spider

The two in the forest were on high alert.

Anrui led the way, with Linsey behind him. One wielded a knife as the vanguard and main force in the battle, while the other held Oak Bow to provide assistance and support during combat.

Everything was just as it was when we came down from the Climbing to Heaven Vine.

Click—

Just as the two were getting ready.

An enemy broke off a dead branch from a cypress tree ahead, and several dark figures then rushed out from the gaps in the trees, stepping on spider webs.

It was a giant spider, about two meters long, with a bright green abdomen and yellow leaves, resembling Jorōgumo. They darted out of the forest and charged straight towards the two of them.

Linsey saw it very clearly.

This spider had yellow rings on its black legs, and beneath its green antennae lay its swirling, jet-black fangs. Meanwhile, eight crimson pupils were fixed intently on him and Anrui, revealing the predatory greed of predators.

"So much..."

Linsey looked serious.

These spiders are not only terrifying in size, but also quite numerous.

Besides the five large spiders leading the charge, each over two meters tall, there were more than ten smaller spiders, ranging from one meter to several tens of centimeters in size. This was clearly a spider army! Facing the attacking Devil Beast.

Without saying a word, Anrui rushed forward.

He seized a narrow passage in the woods, blocking the spider's path.

In the instant of the exchange, First Strike, delivering a lightning-fast slash down along the center of the body.

The large spider charging at the front had no idea that its 'prey' wouldn't be running away, but rather engaging in a head-on battle! Unable to dodge in time, the fleeing spider was struck head-on.

The Advantage Strike instantly.

The short dagger cleaved its two-meter-long body in two!

In an instant, red, green and black fluids burst from the corpse. Anrui kicked it away and pounced on the other spiders in the blink of an eye.

"Squeak—Screech!"

Upon seeing this, the spiders rubbed their mouthparts together.

It makes a sharp, leather-like sound.

They realized that the enemy before them was not the kind of prey they could hunt at will, so they immediately dispersed and began to maneuver around Anrui in the forest instead of rushing in headlong to their deaths.

Clearly, this is a group of Devil Beast with a certain level of intelligence.

When facing an unexpected enemy, it is possible to communicate in a timely manner and change tactics.

Anrui remained unmoved by this, maintaining his consistently high level of skill throughout the battle, accurately hunting down the spiders surrounding him while ensuring his own safety.

In addition, Linsey provided constant cover fire.

The two worked together, one in front and one behind, to continuously reduce the number of spiders.

With all five large spiders hunted down by the two, the number of remaining small spiders has also dwindled, and the battle is going very well.

But then the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

From behind the forest, the continuous rustling sound began again.

This time, even more spiders arrived, causing the dense white spiderwebs to vibrate noticeably, making the air in the forest uneasy, and even filling the air with a terrifying atmosphere.

A few seconds later.

A steady stream of spiders emerged from the dark, deep forest.

They immediately joined the battle and quickly filled the gap that the two had previously created.

These monsters hidden in the forest seem to be endless in number.

Soon, Anrui and Linsey were forced to retreat.

"Uncle Anrui, there are too many spiders!"

Faced with this change, Linsey knew things were hopeless and immediately offered advice to Anrui:

"Let's leave the woods and think of another way!"

Linsey's suggestion was based entirely on rational considerations.

Just when he thought Anrui would accept his advice, Anrui, who had been both brave and meticulous throughout the journey, made a different choice:

"There's no rush to retreat; I'm in good shape right now."

"This is the only way to the Black Mountain World. If we retreat now, it will only be more difficult to check the situation later!"

Anrui was well aware of the purpose of this adventure.

After responding to Linsey, he suddenly changed his fighting style.

The Fifth Stage awakener took a deep breath, his muscles tensed, and instantly repelled the two spiders in front of him.

But this time he did not press his advantage or widen the gap.

Instead, he instantly withdrew his two daggers, grabbed the corpses of two large spiders, and began to wield them.

Linsey witnessed an unbelievable scene.

With the enhancement of the Fifth Stage of combat mastery, these two spider corpses, each two meters long and theoretically without any weapon function, seemed to transform into two living spears in Anrui's hands.

He brandished the spider's corpse, and each time the corpse swept across a large group of enemies, the spider's legs and fangs seemed to possess their own consciousness and launch their own attacks.

What appear to be ordinary spider legs are transformed into sharp spears;

A dull mind has become a powerful hammer.

The fangs growing from its head have become indestructible blades!

In particular, Anrui's Advantage Strike skills can also be used against the spider corpses that are being used as weapons!

Every time he made a move, it was as if he was holding two enlarged chainsaws. Everything around him, from trees to spiders, was reduced to ashes in a burst of flashes, electricity, and flames.

"..."

Linsey, standing behind, was momentarily stunned.

He then realized that this was the first time he had ever seen Anrui go all out without holding back.

He hadn't expected that the Fifth Stage of the War School could achieve this level of sophistication.

—A fighting style that is completely beyond imagination.

Linsey couldn't help but recall what Anrui had told her when she first learned from him— that Fifth Stage learner of the Combat Essence could master the use of any weapon in the world.

Emotion is in this description.

Even the corpses of Devil Beast can be turned into so-called weapons in their hands, and they can use the magical effect of Advantage Strike to make the effects of these 'weapons' even more exaggerated!

"Plop—"

Linsey swallowed.

He counted the arrows in his baggage. Of the thirty-five he had when he entered the forest, he now had twelve left, which seemed to be more than half of them.

Bang! Linsey kicked away a small spider that had slipped to her side and fired another arrow.

He couldn't help but think.

In such an exaggerated battle, could those eleven arrows really be used up? And how could Anrui at Fifth Stage achieve such a feat?

So, if the Invincible King of the Ninth Stage stands upside down on the ground, can he use the earth as his weapon?...

It was clear that Anrui had gained an absolute advantage in the battle.

The two even stopped retreating because of the number of spiders, and the situation looked very promising.

Just as the tense atmosphere seemed to be dissipating, a spider's shadow flashed in the dense bushes beside Anrui, in his blind spot.

A spider, about one meter in size and pure black in color with a sheen like chitinous carapace, suddenly darted out. It was extremely agile and appeared like a bullet.

Anrui had already reacted to the warning from the Martial Heart.

The waving spider corpse was hurled directly at them.

But the pure black spider neither dodged nor avoided; it crashed directly into the spider corpse, its Advantage Strike technique sparking bright flashes on its body.

But the black spider was completely unharmed.

Instead, it used the impact to exert force again, leaping directly onto Anrui's left arm.

Thrust! A pair of ferocious fangs instantly pierced Anrui's left arm.

"Ah--"

Venomous fangs penetrate the body.

Anrui's expression instantly turned ferocious, but he clenched his teeth and showed no fear.

He didn't even try to shake the spider off his hand.

Instead, he released the corpse with his right hand, clenched his fist tightly, and slammed it down on the black spider.

Snap—

Even the black spider knew how powerful Anrui was.

It dared not continue injecting venom, and instead immediately leaped away from the enemy.

The black spider was leaping in the air, not yet landing, and unable to use its body for leverage to move.

Whoosh! In that instant, a black light Sky Piercer.

It was an arrow that gleamed with a jet-black light.

It broke free from Linsey's Oak Bow and plunged straight into the spider's tender abdomen!

Linsey's target was very clear: the spider's abdomen.

Through the "Weakness Survey" during this battle, more details about these spiders have yet to be unlocked.

But Linsey already knew that the most vulnerable part of their bodies was their abdomen.

He gambled his arrow on this weakness!

In an instant.

Linsey's last Stibnite Arrow began to exert its ability to interfere with the Essence.

As Fifth Stage Devil Beast, the Black Spider instinctively resists this interference.

However, the arrow struck a particularly vulnerable spot on its body, making the injury, which could have been easily defended, uncontrollable. The black spider, struck hard, couldn't even maintain its balance upon landing and crashed to the ground.

A swarm of small spiders immediately sprang out from the side, dragged it into the bushes, and soon there was no more movement.

"The Weakness Survey was spot on!"

Linsey immediately activated [Trace Tracking], her sharp vision sweeping across the forest to search for the other party's location.

But at that moment...

Anrui, who had been fighting off the surrounding spiders despite the pain, suddenly rushed over.

He reached out his right hand and grabbed Linsey around the waist.

Then, without looking back, the Fifth Stage awakened one rushed straight back the way they came.