Fighting

With his words still hanging in the air, the Giant Spider's massive body trembled violently in its rage. Without even using its two injured legs, it spewed a stream of viscous, pale white spider silk from beside its grotesque mouthparts. It moved with lightning speed, carrying a pungent, fishy odor, directly towards Wang Quan's face. This was an attack born of fury; if it hit, he would be instantly ensnared, then dragged over and torn to shreds.

Wang Quan let out a piercing scream filled with terror, as if he were stunned. He didn't dodge or evade, or perhaps he couldn't. The viscous spider silk struck his chest squarely.

With a muffled thud, Wang Quan was sent staggering backward by the force of the silk, falling onto his back. He rolled clumsily on the slippery ground, wailing, "Sir! I was wrong! I'll never dare again! Spare me!"

However, the direction he rolled was precisely towards the Giant Spider. His movements appeared frantic and helpless, contorted by intense pain, yet the angle and distance of each roll were calculated with uncanny precision, as if guided by invisible strings. After a few rolls, he had unexpectedly ended up less than three steps away from the Giant Spider's injured legs.

The Giant Spider felt a sliver of cruel satisfaction at having so easily struck down this lowly food source. Its compound eyes glinted with amusement and brutality, preparing to savor its prey's death throes or contemplating whether to spare it for slow torture. It paid no mind to this ant, who was terrified out of its wits and struck down in a single blow. Its attention was even somewhat scattered due to its injuries and anger.

At this very moment.

The prey, who had been writhing and wailing on the ground in agony, suddenly shifted from extreme stillness to extreme motion. All trembling, fear, and clumsiness vanished from his body, replaced by a cold, precise, and long-premeditated killing intent.

Before the momentum of his roll had completely dissipated, Wang Quan's coiled body sprang open like a compressed spring. The Blood Drinking Saber, which he had never loosened his grip on, was drawn from its sheath at this moment.

There was no earth-shattering aura, no dazzling celestial phenomenon. Only a dim, swift, gray-black saber light, imbued with Wang Quan's entire spirit, vital energy, and the solid, explosive power of the Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength.

Shadow Flicker. The fastest and most treacherous move in the Wind Slaying Saber Technique, unleashed at its absolute peak by Wang Quan's desperate, almost frenzied state. The blade sliced through the damp air with a faint, chilling hiss, its target the joint connecting the Giant Spider's two closest, and clearly twisted and injured, legs on its right side.

Fast. Too fast. From rolling closer to bursting into a strike, it was but the blink of an eye. In the Giant Spider's compound eyes, the amused cruelty had not yet turned to shock before the saber light arrived.

Ch-ch.

Two soft yet bone-chilling cutting sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The Blood Drinking Saber's dim blade sliced through the hardened chitinous covering and the joint, which had already been weakened by a strange corrosive injury, as easily as a hot knife through semi-solid grease.

Viscous, dark green blood, emitting a strong stench, erupted like a fountain from the severed joints. It splattered onto Wang Quan's face, but he paid it no mind, his eyes filled only with cold killing intent.

A scream of indescribable sharpness erupted from the Giant Spider's grotesque mouthparts. It was not a roar of anger, but a howl of excruciating pain, terror, and disbelief. Both legs were severed at the root, not only inflicting soul-tearing agony but also causing its already clumsy body to completely lose balance. Its massive form crashed heavily to the right, striking the rock wall and dislodging countless stones and dust.

"You lowly Blood Tax. Ant. How dare you. I will tear you to shreds. Chew your bones. And extract your soul to torment you for eternity."

The Giant Spider was completely enraged. Its remaining six legs thrashed wildly, supporting its body. Its grotesque mouthparts opened and closed, spewing venomous curses and roars. The human-like facial markings on its abdomen contorted violently, as if also in pain. It suddenly reared its head, its abdomen contracting. The next moment, countless strands of thicker, stickier, pale white spider silk, like a heavenly net, descended with a whistling sound, covering Wang Quan head to toe. It intended to completely ensnare this lowly insect that dared to injure it, and then devour him alive.

Facing this overwhelming assault of spider silk, Wang Quan showed no fear. Instead, a sinister, twisted smile mixed with pain, exhilaration, and madness appeared on his face. The clothes on his chest had been corroded by the previous silk, and his skin burned fiercely, but he was oblivious.

"Heh heh, sir, don't rush," he said hoarsely, his voice slightly distorted by excitement and pain. Yet, at the last possible moment, relying on the stable stance and agile footwork provided by the Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength, he moved like a phantom within the limited space, dodging and weaving. The Blood Drinking Saber in his hand transformed into a gray-black curtain of light, continuously severing the approaching silk. Each time the blade sliced through the viscous silk, it emitted a ch-ch sound. Some silk was too sticky, and after being cut, a portion still clung to the blade or his body, causing a pulling and corrosive sting.

"Aren't you high and mighty? Don't you look down on us as mere food, treating us like pigs and dogs?" he taunted, dodging, trying to provoke the Giant Spider, whose reason was partially lost due to the extreme pain and rage. A mad fire flickered in his eyes. "So, even a sir like you feels pain? You bleed too?"

"Roar. Trash. Ant. I will kill you." The Giant Spider's roar had changed tone due to the excruciating pain of its severed legs and extreme anger. Its attacks became more frantic and chaotic, but also revealed more openings. The wound on its abdomen split open due to its violent movements, leaking more grayish-yellow fluid.

"Then let's see." Wang Quan seized an opportunity, pushing off the ground violently. His body shot forward, narrowly dodging two crisscrossing strands of silk. The Blood Drinking Saber once again transformed into a sharp gleam, this time targeting the relatively intact three legs on the Giant Spider's left side, which supported its body. "Let's see if heaven is on your side this time."

"No." The Giant Spider sensed the deadly crisis. True fear, previously hidden, finally appeared in its compound eyes for the first time. It tried to retreat, to spray more webs for protection, but its toppling body and searing pain interfered with its movements.

The saber light flashed again. This time, it was not the treacherous speed of Shadow Flicker, but the heavy, explosive power of Wind Breaking. Wang Quan poured all his strength, vital energy, and the long-suppressed resentment in his chest into this single strike.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

A series of bone-chilling sounds of cracking chitin echoed consecutively. The Blood Drinking Saber, with an eerie hunger, sliced through the Giant Spider's remaining three legs on the left, severing them at the joints like cutting rotten wood.

Thump.

With five legs broken, the Giant Spider's massive body could no longer support itself. It toppled completely onto its side like a mountain of flesh. The human-like facial markings on its belly, contorted in agony, faced the cave ceiling. Dark green blood and grayish-yellow pus sprayed from multiple severed joints, quickly staining a large area of the ground black. It was left with only three intact legs, which flailed powerlessly. It could no longer rise, only emitting desperate, pained cries.

"Hiss, spare, spare me." The Giant Spider's compound eyes, once filled with brutality and cruelty, were now replaced by boundless fear. It looked at the Blood Tax civilian walking towards it, holding a dim long saber dripping with its blood. Its voice, broken by extreme pain and terror, stammered, "No, don't kill me. I, I don't need you to find food anymore. You leave, you hurry and leave. I, I'll let you go. I swear."

As if remembering something, it shouted with its last ounce of strength, "You, you can't kill me. I, I have companions. Very powerful companions. If you kill me, they will definitely know. You can't escape. The entire county will be buried with me. Let me go, and I'll let you leave. I promise."

Wang Quan stopped in front of it, looking down at the monstrous beast that was once arrogant and treated him like an ant's bait. His face was smeared with dark green monster blood and dirt, and the wound on his chest, corroded by the spider silk, burned fiercely, but his eyes were terrifyingly calm, even carrying a hint of mockery.

"Sir, you are truly too kind," he said slowly, his voice calm, yet sending a bone-chilling coldness through the Giant Spider. "Even like this, you're still thinking of letting me go."

He paused. Under the Giant Spider's compound eyes, filled with fear, hatred, and a sliver of faint hope, he slowly raised the Blood Drinking Saber. The tip of the saber pointed towards the Giant Spider's grotesque mouthparts, which opened and closed incessantly, dripping foul-smelling saliva.

"However, I've changed my mind. I don't want you to let me go." A cold, cruel curve slowly formed on Wang Quan's lips. "I suddenly remembered, there's something I want very much. I'd like to ask sir to bestow it upon me. As long as sir gives it to me, I'll leave immediately, without delay."

The Giant Spider seemed to grasp a life-saving straw. Enduring the excruciating pain, it spoke rapidly, "What is it? Tell me. As long as I have it. A monster core? My poison sac? Or my silk glands? I'll give them all to you. Just let me go." In its heart, it roared curses frantically, You lowly mongrel, inferior Blood Tax, just wait until I recover, wait until I contact them, and I'll tear you to pieces. I'll capture all your relatives and friends, everyone connected to you, and eat them bit by bit in front of you. I'll turn this filthy county into a living hell.

Wang Quan bent down slightly, leaning closer. In a voice only they could hear, he spoke calmly, in a way that made one's heart turn cold:

"I want to borrow sir's life for a while. I hope sir can fulfill my wish."

"Wh-what?" The Giant Spider's compound eyes widened to their maximum, filled with extreme shock, confusion, and then an overwhelming, drowning fear. "You, say that again. No. No."

The moment the Giant Spider's desperate "no" rang out, he moved. He forcefully pushed off the ground, lunging forward, and stomped hard on the side of the Giant Spider's hairy, slimy, grotesque head, pinning it firmly to the cold, slippery ground. The immense force caused the Giant Spider's head to strike the ground with a dull thud, interrupting its despairing shriek.

He applied pressure with his foot, slowly grinding it against the Giant Spider's ugly, grotesque head. The rough sole of his boot scraped against the hard chitinous shell, emitting a grating, teeth-chattering sound. Viscous saliva and blood were squeezed out, coating his boot. He felt the once-lofty head beneath his foot deforming, caving in, and a burning heat surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head – the exhilaration of revenge, the satisfaction of crushing a powerful enemy.

"Giant Spider," Wang Quan's voice was cold, with a hint of playfulness. "Have you ever enjoyed this kind of treatment?"

"No, don't kill me. Sir. Great King. Grandpa. I was wrong. I was truly wrong. My dog eyes failed to recognize Mount Tai. I was blind." The Giant Spider had completely broken down. Its remaining legs flailed powerlessly, its voice distorted by extreme fear, almost like sobbing, "Spare me. Please spare me. I can recognize you as my master. I can be your mount. Your slave. I know many secrets. I know where treasures are. I can help you fight. Please, don't kill me. I don't want to die."

It pleaded incoherently. Its former arrogance and haughtiness were now replaced by the most humble, ugliest desire to survive.

Wang Quan's foot on its head pressed down slightly, listening to the chitin creak under the unbearable weight. His face was expressionless, only a sheet of frozen indifference.

"Serve me as a slave, fight for me." He repeated the Giant Spider's words, his tone flat, yet laced with biting mockery. "You can't even defeat me in my current injured state."

He paused, then slowly raised the Blood Drinking Saber. The dim blade, having drunk its fill of monster blood, now faintly emanated a very faint, ominous crimson glow. A subtle, insatiable hum emanated from the edge of the blade.

"What use is a piece of trash like you?"

As his words fell, the saber light followed.

There were no flashy moves, just the simplest, most direct, and most powerful vertical slash. It condensed all of Wang Quan's strength, will, and the long-suppressed killing intent he could finally unleash.

Swoosh.

The Blood Drinking Saber deeply cut into the weak spot connecting the Giant Spider's head and body, then cleaved downwards like breaking bamboo. The hard chitinous carapace, the viscous tissues, and the disgusting bodily fluids seemed insignificant before this strike.

The Giant Spider's frantic pleas, its vicious curses, and its desperate desire to live all came to an abrupt halt.

Its eight eerie green compound eyes instantly lost all their luster, their final gaze fixed on endless shock, bewilderment, and a trace of lingering disbelief that it could never accept.

Its massive body convulsed violently a few times before finally stiffening completely. The pattern of a pained human face on its abdomen also stopped wriggling, slowly becoming stiff and blurry.

Killed a late-stage Spirit Awakening Realm Monster, the Bone-Corroding Human-Faced Spider. Gained 4 Skill Points.

A prompt sounded in his mind. Wang Quan panted slightly as he pulled out the Blood Drinking Saber. Dark green monster blood flowed down the blade, but it was quickly absorbed by the saber. The tiny blood-red rune seemed to glow a bit brighter than before, and the blade also emanated a subtly sharper aura.

He flicked the residual blood off the saber and looked at the spider's massive corpse on the ground, his eyes cold.

4 points. Added to the 0 points remaining from before, that makes a total of 4 points. The Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength requires 5 points to go from beginner to minor accomplishment.

Not enough.

"I'll just have to try over there again," he muttered to himself, wiping the foul-smelling monster blood from his face as he efficiently cleaned up the scene.

Following the direction of the three crimson monster auras in his spiritual sense vision, Wang Quan moved through the jagged rocks and sparse trees, his movements more cautious than before. The camouflage effect of his grey cloth clothes was still active, but he could feel that the closer he got, the more the scent of blood mixed with wild monster aura in the air assaulted his nostrils.

After circling a thorny slope, he found himself in an open area of rocky riverbed. The turbid water of the Blackwater River flowed nearby. Amidst several large greyish-white stones, Wang Quan spotted the source of the monster aura, and his stomach churned.

Three strangely shaped jackals were gathered around a small pile of things. They were larger than ordinary wolves, their dark red fur was dirty, and several clusters of pale white, bone-like quills stood erect on their backs. Most unnerving were their eyes: two eerie green orbs of light, lacking pupils, that darted about with a vacant stare.