Ghost-faced Spider

The group drove thirty-seven Ghost-faced Spiders slowly toward Ice Prison Royal City.

The thirty-seven Ghost-faced Spiders were jet-black from head to toe, with ferocious ghost-face patterns on their backs. Their eight long legs looked as if they had been cast from fine steel, yet they moved in complete silence. Only their abdomens writhed slightly, giving off a heart-chilling, savage aura.

And yet these terrifying Sanctuary Beasts were now being herded along like lambs with no minds of their own.

Barn's God's Domain slowly spread around him, gently but irresistibly driving the Ghost-faced Spiders ahead and keeping them in formation. His gaze swept over the barren ice field around them, and his voice carried a hint of regret. "What that senior said just now made some sense. Once we break through to Godlevel, there's nothing in Gobada worth risking our lives for except the chance to leave."

He paused, then continued, "As for working hard to complete missions in exchange for resources, that's only because we're Lowgods who broke through too recently. We haven't even finished nurturing our Divine Artifacts. Once we reach Midgod, we may have nothing left to do but sit in the Royal City and count the days—or go looking for enemies to fight."

His words struck a chord with everyone around him.

They had all fought their way through countless bloody battles, earning every step forward with bloodshed. Compared with Linley and Olivia's terrifying rate of advancement in the original story, their talents truly seemed quite ordinary.

But in Barn's eyes, surviving in Gobada's hellish conditions and breaking through to Godlevel on their own already made them far stronger than Obrien, the High Priest, and the others on the Yulan Continent.

Godlevels on the Yulan Continent enjoyed the gifts of the plane and the faith of their followers. Godlevels in Gobada, on the other hand, struggled every day against bloodshed and hunger.

But Gobada was ultimately just the other side of the Yulan Continent, about the same size as an ordinary material plane. A group of Godlevels who should have been free to roam the world were trapped here, like a group of heaven's chosen, forcibly imprisoned in a lightless sewer. Day after day, year after year, they would eventually be driven mad by despair.

The group fell silent, their eyes darkening. They were all keenly aware that they had been prisoners of the Gobada Plane's prison from the very beginning, with not a glimmer of light in their future. The whole team's mood turned bleak and oppressive, and even the urgency of completing their mission was washed away by despair.

Fukaloss furrowed her brows, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. She immediately scolded Barn through Soul Transmission. "Hey, Barn, watch what you say! Save the complaining until after the mission. Right now, getting these Ghost-faced Spiders back to the Royal City comes first!"

She then deliberately changed the subject, trying to lift everyone's spirits. "By the way, what's special about these Ghost-faced Spiders? I've only heard of them before. I've never seen one."

Wesker also noticed the team's low morale. If things continued this way, they could easily be caught off guard by danger. Fortunately, he knew a little about Ghost-faced Spiders, so he spoke up at once. "They're said to have come from Hell. Ten thousand years ago, a Godlevel brought them to the Yulan Continent, and later they were imprisoned in Gobada. Though they're only peak Sanctuary Beasts, the silk they spin is nearly as tough as a Midgod Artifact. Most importantly, the silk carries a potent soul-paralyzing poison, making it a top-grade material for crafting Divine Artifacts."

"However, Ghost-faced Spiders don't produce silk endlessly. Over its entire lifetime, one spider produces only enough silk to make a pair of gloves. They also take several hundred years to reach adulthood and reproduce very slowly, so their silk is incredibly precious. A complete set of silk armor costs several times more than an ordinary defensive Midgod Artifact!"

A flicker of surprise crossed Gideon's eyes. "It's worth that much? No wonder this is a purple mission."

Fukaloss shook her head, her voice calm. "No. It's probably a purple mission because of the difficulty, not the value. When we took it, we were clearly told this area was very likely to be attacked by enemies."

The instant she finished speaking—

BOOM!!

A violent, sinister surge of power erupted from the ground beneath their feet!

Gray-green Death Divine Power surged like a tidal wave, bearing a terrifying heat that could burn everything to ashes as it swept toward the entire team! The stench of decay and death instantly filled the air, and even space trembled under the force.

The Godlevels were caught off guard. Their faces changed drastically!

"Look out!"

Barn, Wesker, and the others instinctively unleashed their God's Domains. Five colors of Divine Power clashed and intertwined, condensing into a thick defensive barrier before them.

BOOM—!!

The gray-green Divine Power slammed into their domains with a deafening roar. The group grunted in unison, barely managing to hold the terrifying attack back through their combined efforts.

But they were still a step too slow.

The silent female Godlevel from Ice Blade Team 99 reacted a little too slowly, and the gray-green Divine Power struck her arm.

SIZZLE—

Terrifying flames instantly engulfed her. They were no ordinary flames, but a bizarre gray-green fire that spread wildly as soon as it touched her flesh. In a mere instant, it burned through her entire arm!

"AAAH—!!" Her piercing, agonized scream rang across the ice field, making the others' scalps prickle.

"Third Sister!" Wesker roared, his eyes bloodshot with fury.

Seeing their teammate gravely wounded, the other four Godlevels no longer had the presence of mind to identify their attacker. Fury and a sense of impending danger overwhelmed them. Without hesitation, they each unleashed their strongest Divine Power and sent it crashing toward the source of the attack beneath the ground!

White Light Divine Power, gray Death Divine Power, blue Water Element Divine Power, and brown Earth Divine Power surged out, tearing through the surrounding space before slamming into the earth.

RUMBLE—!!!

The violent explosion sent ice and dust flying in every direction. The earth collapsed, and a terrifying shock wave swept outward.

As the dust slowly cleared, a figure in a gray cloak rose from the sunken ground.

The figure held a slender Bone Blade. The blade was bone-white and covered in strange runes of death, while a suffocating Midgod aura emanated from him.

"Heh heh heh..."

A sinister, grating laugh came from beneath the cloak, sending a chill through everyone. Then more than ten Sanctuary powerhouses appeared behind him, each with vacant eyes, like puppets under his control.

Barn instinctively spread his divine sense over the figure to probe his strength, but in the next instant his expression changed dramatically—

His divine sense couldn't detect the man at all!

"It's a Midgod!" Wesker cried out, his pupils contracting.

A Midgod!

In Gobada, Midgods were among the few truly powerful experts!

The wounded female Godlevel had already forced herself to break free from the flames despite her agony. The flesh on half her shoulder was mangled. In a desperate move, she had severed the half of her body engulfed by the fire, escaping the bizarre flames that clung to her like a leech and refused to die out!

Her body trembled as she struggled to heal the wound with Divine Power. Her voice was hoarse, but her warning was grave. "Once that fire touches you, it spreads across your whole body—and it burns Divine Power as fuel! The more Divine Power you use to resist, the hotter it burns! The only way to escape completely is to cut off the part it touches!"

She drew a deep breath, fear filling her eyes. "Don't let those flames reach your head!"

A fire that used Divine Power as fuel would be disastrous if it reached the head, where a Godlevel's soul origin resided. It could destroy both body and soul outright!

Beneath the gray cloak, the Midgod, who clearly cultivated the Laws of Death, spoke with amusement and greed. "I never expected to run into such precious Ghost-faced Spiders right after breaking through to Midgod. I'm in a good mood, so if you obediently accept your deaths, I may let you die a quick one."

Fukaloss's expression turned cold. She tried to deter him by invoking her connections. "My grandmother is a Highgod! If you kill me, even if you flee to another Royal City, she'll cross the Royal Cities to hunt you down!"

"Heh heh heh, a Highgod?" The Midgod scoffed, his tone disdainful. "Your grandmother's a Highgod, and my brother's a Highgod too! None of you are getting away today. Just accept your deaths!"

The man was named Blackwood, and he came from Evil Royal City.

Evil Royal City had a system much like Ice Prison Royal City's. Legions were its main fighting force, supplemented by squads of around ten soldiers.

Just one month ago, Blackwood had been a Lowgod. While leading his ten-man squad in hiding near the Royal City's border, he had been discovered by a Godlevel from Azure Fire Royal City. Hunted all the way to the border, he had been forced to flee in panic into Ice Prison Royal City's territory.

It was during this desperate chase for his life that he had a sudden flash of insight and broke through the bottleneck, becoming a Midgod!

In the Gobada Plane, breaking through to a new major level changed one's status beyond recognition.

Lowgods were little more than ants who had only just escaped the torment of hunger and could barely keep themselves alive. Midgods, by contrast, were absolute powerhouses and the backbone of the Royal Cities!

A Midgod who had broken through on his own had an especially promising future. As long as he stabilized his realm, he would have a good chance of securing a place in the Royal City—or even competing to lead a legion.

After breaking through, the first thing Blackwood did was turn around and kill the Lowgod who had hunted him for so long. He then used a Soul Seed to forcibly control all the Sanctuary-level fighters under the man's command. He planned to return to Evil Royal City and use his new status as a Midgod to claim greater power and resources.

But on the way, he had unexpectedly come across this team escorting the Ghost-faced Spiders.

Evil Royal City raised Ghost-faced Spiders too. Their silk was exceptionally well suited to the attributes of death and darkness. It was nearly as tough as a Midgod Artifact and carried a deadly soul-paralyzing poison, making it an excellent material for defensive Divine Artifacts.

But it was outrageously expensive—a robe made from Ghost-faced Spider silk cost two top-grade Midgod Artifacts!

Even Blackwood, a newly risen Midgod, couldn't afford one.

So when he saw the thirty-seven Ghost-faced Spiders, his eyes filled with uncontrollable greed.

Even though the team had five Lowgods, and even though he had only just broken through and hadn't fully stabilized his realm, he was willing to take the chance!

If he could seize the Ghost-faced Spiders, he would have a set of Ghost-faced Spider silk Divine Artifacts custom-made for him, and his strength would rise to another level!

So Blackwood didn't hesitate. He struck without warning, intent on slaughtering the entire escort team!