Spider Battle

"Successfully strangled a Level 4 Black Panther Demon."

"Successfully captured a damaged Black Panther Demon Soul."

"Obtained 100 Energy."

"Obtained 50 units of Black Panther Meat (edible)."

"Obtained 50 units of Black Panther Demon Blood (contains a small amount of Demonic Energy; can be used to make Talismans or inscribe Battle Runes)."

Looking at the kill notifications transmitted by the Fantasy Village Building Order, Zhang Yang fell into deep thought. The Level 4 Black Panther Demon and the Level 5 Red Eagle Demon had only been one level apart, yet the demon soul obtained after killing the former was damaged. Was that a matter of chance?

Or was it because he had killed it personally?

If it was because he had killed it himself, then was it related to his C+ soul?

"Looks like I'll have to verify it bit by bit."

Zhang Yang sighed inwardly. His killing of that Red Eagle earlier had truly been due to luck. Under normal circumstances, he could not even kill an Azure Wolf, much less this Black Panther, swift as lightning. He could not even see its shadow—how was he supposed to kill it?

Next, he began cultivating enhanced soldiers. He had originally wanted to continue enhancing the five elite soldiers, but there was no response at all.

Thus, he could only recruit another Spearman. He consumed one Black Panther Demon Soul and spent a full 50 Energy before successfully cultivating and enhancing him, including an Enhanced Spear.

The cost was rather steep, but it was worth it.

Six elite soldiers, all holding enhanced weapons—no matter how one looked at it, that was a luxurious lineup.

Zhang Yang continued with his old method: Level One Stealth plus Level One Vision. He locked onto a target light within range, then crept forward all the way, constantly concealing himself and correcting his route. Half an hour later, he successfully intercepted a second monster.

It was a Black Spider as large as a millstone, living high in the canopy of a tree dozens of meters tall. It spun black webs that blanketed an area several hundred meters wide.

The Black Spider looked vicious, but compared to the few monsters Zhang Yang had encountered before, it seemed slightly easier to deal with.

More importantly, Zhang Yang guessed that this Black Spider specialized in long-range attacks, and unfortunately for it, he had three Elite Archers.

After activating Level One Stealth, he ordered the three Elite Archers to begin firing from over a hundred meters away.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The three of them immediately unleashed three Wind Chasing Triple Shots. Nine feathered arrows crossed more than a hundred meters in an instant and struck the Black Spider without a single miss.

Even from far away, Zhang Yang could see liquid splashing from the Black Spider's body. It convulsed violently once, then was actually shot dead.

That easily?

The next second, a kill notification lit up.

"Successfully strangled a Black Spider."

"Obtained 1 Energy."

Wait, what was going on? This was not a monster?

Zhang Yang froze. So this millstone-sized Black Spider did not actually count as a monster—but why had its danger level been marked yellow in Level One Vision?

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yang's expression suddenly changed drastically, because he saw another millstone-sized Black Spider rushing toward them from nowhere. He hurriedly activated Level One Vision, then was nearly scared senseless. The yellow dots on the vision radar had suddenly multiplied into hundreds, packed together like a dense forest.

What the hell was going on? When he had activated Level One Vision three minutes ago, there had been none of them.

"Retreat?"

The word had barely reached his lips before Zhang Yang swallowed it back, because the yellow dots on the vision radar had already encircled them.

"Shoot them dead!"

"Conserve arrows!"

"Level One Protection!"

"Recruit 30 Sword and Shield Soldiers!"

"Recruit 30 Spearmen!"

"Recruit 20 Longbowmen!"

Zhang Yang issued a string of orders in one breath. He himself gripped an Enhanced Spear, no longer even in the mood to complain. Who could have guessed that Level One Vision had dangers it could not scan?

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The three Elite Archers had already begun firing rapidly. Their archery was superb, and their arrows were quite powerful. On average, two arrows were enough to kill one Black Spider.

The newly recruited Longbowmen, however, needed seven or eight consecutive arrows to kill a Black Spider.

But there were several hundred Black Spiders on the other side, so arrows alone could not suppress them.

In barely a dozen seconds, these Black Spiders had either leaped down from the trees or crawled over from the ground. The sight was truly dark and terrifying.

Fortunately, Black Spiders were not monsters, and ordinary soldiers could kill them.

Zhang Yang's Sword and Shield Soldiers and Spearmen worked together. The Sword and Shield Soldiers used their shields to block them, while the Spearmen thrust forward to kill them. Basically, one thrust could skewer one spider to death.

The five elite soldiers under Zhang Yang's command were even more unstoppable, cutting through the spiders like nobody could stand in their way.

Yet after barely a dozen seconds, the soldiers suddenly began moving sluggishly, as though they had been placed in slow motion. Unnoticed, their bodies had become wrapped in black spider silk.

Zhang Yang could only watch helplessly as his soldiers lost their combat ability one after another, then were dragged away one after another.

But there was nothing he could do.

The protective circle was only ten square meters. It could only allow the three Elite Archers and five Longbowmen to fire normally; everyone else had to fight outside it.

Although Black Spiders were shot and killed every second, it was still too little compared to their numbers in the hundreds.

Gradually, strands of spider silk crisscrossed the ground and hung through the air. Zhang Yang's soldiers had already lost nearly half, and even the five elite soldiers were beginning to struggle, because there was simply too much spider silk.

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yang recruited another 50 Sword and Shield Soldiers and 30 Spearmen. He had enough Energy now, but there were not many recruitment slots left—only 189 remained.

Once all of them were used up, how could he survive in this dangerous Fantasy World by himself?

"Kill!"

Zhang Yang took the lead and charged out with his spear. His heart was grim and resolute, because he knew hiding in the protective circle was meaningless. He had to rush out and fight like a soldier, relying on his own strength to stay alive!

Farming? In this damned Fantasy World, farm my ass!

"Pfft!"

His spear pierced through a Black Spider's head. Ink-dark fluid splashed all over Zhang Yang's face and hair, reeking horribly and carrying a burning, corrosive sensation.

But he did not care. He pulled out his spear and was about to seek his next target when, with two flashes of blade light, two Sword and Shield Soldiers had already rushed ahead of him and chopped down the nearest Black Spider.

When he turned back, he discovered that at least half the soldiers had automatically gathered around him.

That made Zhang Yang recall the Sword and Shield Soldier from when they had encountered the Level 5 Red Eagle Demon—the one who had shoved him to the ground while being sliced apart by wind blades himself.

Damn it, even if they're NPCs, they're still my soldiers!

A strange warmth rose in Zhang Yang's heart, and he ran even faster.

Black spider silk filled the path ahead like tough fishing nets. One person charging into it could not break through at all. Even slashing with a blade would get one stuck if the force was insufficient. But if many people crashed into it together, that was a different matter.

"Follow me and run! Sword and Shield Soldiers, cut through the spider silk!"

Zhang Yang shouted. He ran, and the soldiers ran even faster, like a surging flood that instantly tore through swathes of spiderwebs that were nearly fully formed.

Without the spider silk hindering them, their combat efficiency immediately rose. In the end, they had the advantage in numbers. By now, Zhang Yang had recruited 160 ordinary soldiers in one go. Even counting those who had been dragged away, more than 120 remained, while over half of the several hundred Black Spiders had already been slaughtered.

The scales of battle tipped just like that. Fewer and fewer Black Spiders remained, while Zhang Yang's side fought with ever-growing courage. Even Zhang Yang himself killed three Black Spiders in succession, howling excitedly.

In the end, the remaining few dozen Black Spiders fled in a single swarm, and only then did Zhang Yang regain his calm.

After taking roll, he found that fewer than twenty men had been lost. Some soldiers who had been dragged away had also been rescued in time.

"Village Chief, these Black Spiders seem to have burrowed out of the ground. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for so many to appear at once. There may be a spider nest nearby."

At this moment, one Elite Archer spoke. Zhang Yang remembered that his name was Qin Yidao. The Red Hawk Battle Rune on his body was on both hands. He had also killed the most Black Spiders in the battle just now, because the Red Hawk Battle Rune allowed him to release Gravity Arrows. Basically, one arrow could kill one Black Spider.

In the end, he had fired away all the arrows he carried and even taken another bag from other archers. That meant Qin Yidao had killed at least sixty Black Spiders. Though Black Spiders were not monsters, such a record was still truly astonishing.

"Clean up the battlefield, then we'll search the area."

Zhang Yang gave the order and activated Level One Vision once more. Sure enough, the Black Spiders that had just fled had vanished again. Without question, they had escaped underground.

From then on, he understood the flaw of Level One Vision. It could only scout the surface; it could not scout the high skies or underground. He would have to be more careful in the future.