Long-Legged Giant Spider

At this moment, Elar, half-dazed, gave his professional assessment. "This should be a technique called 'Shadow Walk.' It allows one to hide within shadows and enter the Shadow Realm."

Shadow Walk? The Overmind could not help thinking of the Protoss' Shadow Stride... but they definitely were not the same thing.

Elar continued, "As long as most of the shadows are dispelled with firefly lamps, it can be dragged into reality or its position exposed. Strikes, fire, or the power of nature can all force it out of the Shadow Realm."

It should be mentioned that firefly lamps were not some high-end magical artifact. They were simply lighting tools made by placing fireflies—bred by elves to emit blazing light when stimulated with the power of nature—into thin leaves.

A dimensional traversal that could be countered by a flashlight...

But since even such an unreliable ability existed, did that mean... "Is there some simple means of traveling across planes?"

Elar's expression visibly wavered. He seemed to have recalled the similar questions the Overmind had asked when deceiving him into trusting him.

But as the Overmind increased his psionic output, he obediently answered, "Summoning."

It really existed? The Overmind asked seriously, "Are the requirements difficult?"

"It's fairly simple. Priests or rangers who have cultivated for more than two hundred years can usually summon their contracted companions." Of course, elves were generally socially anxious. They did not even want to interact with their own kind, much less other animals. Aside from those wild elves of the feral faction who had completely let themselves go, they generally did not form contracts with companions.

Two hundred years... wasn't that extremely difficult?

However, the elf added, "I've heard necromancers can greatly reduce the difficulty of casting through sacrifice, but it only works in the world of the dead."

"Tell me every specific summoning method you know." The Overmind ordered, while searching the hive mind for the experiences of past Overminds regarding blinking and teleportation.

Still, he did not hold much hope. Due to the relatively gentle nature of psionic power, the Swarm was not particularly skilled in this area. Whether it was Leviathan making a warp jump or the Overmind tearing open a transport wormhole, both relied on brute force. If he truly wanted a breakthrough, he would have to place his hopes on knowledge from another world.

Just as the Overmind was about to sever his connection with Elar, the hatchery's central brain suddenly sent him unusual feedback. A burst of neural signals had appeared in Elar's medial temporal lobe—the part of the brain responsible for association.

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" the Overmind asked softly, while further increasing his psionic interference with Elar's mind.

Sure enough, after staring blankly for several seconds, Elar slowly replied, "This cave should be one of the exits of the Great Labyrinth."

The Overmind was startled. "This is the Great Labyrinth? Didn't you say its exits were all monitored by the elves?"

"The elves only monitor uncontrolled exits," Elar said in a drifting, half-awake tone. "This exit is clearly controlled by demonized spiders. Spiders fear light. Aside from a few weaker individuals driven out into the forest, the twisted monsters in the labyrinth are still sealed within it. There are no signs that the surrounding environment has been contaminated either..."

According to Elar, the Great Labyrinth was a complex network formed from underground karst caves and natural caverns distorted by earth elements. It possessed an ecosystem founded on supernatural forces, where the proportion of magical beasts and epic species was far higher than on the surface.

While the Overmind and Elar were urgently exchanging information, the front line of the battlefield also changed.

The spider silk was visibly tugged to one side. Amid rustling sounds, more than a dozen spiders nearly as large as tanks, with enormous long legs, crawled out from the depths of the cave.

Borrowing the Dragon Dog's senses, the Overmind clearly felt fifth-tier fluctuations from them.

They first propped themselves up with their hind legs and the spider silk hanging from the ceiling, folding their abdomens forward. The spinnerets at the ends of their abdomens rapidly sprayed out white threads, drenching the Zerglings and the densely packed small spiders.

These threads clearly shared the same origin as the webs covering the cave, but possessed far greater toughness and stickiness.

Once caught, even Zerglings could not break free immediately. They were dragged in groups of three or five by the webs toward the Long-Legged Giant Spiders, then scooped up by their slender forelegs and bitten to death.

But this did not frighten the Zerglings behind them. Under the Overlords' commands, they continued charging forward without hesitation, stepping on the web-free portions of the trapped Zerglings' bodies and leaping toward the giant spiders.

A few accidentally stepped on the silk as well, and the Overlords directing the battle picked them out, ordering them to lie flat on the webs and serve as stepping stones for the other Zerglings.

The Zerglings' hind legs had structures resembling grasshopper legs and were naturally excellent for jumping. As they leaped, each one traced a perfect parabola toward the giant spiders.

Through the perspective of a Zergling lunging at its target, the Overmind clearly saw the Long-Legged Giant Spider's spinneret sphincters shift slightly. They sprayed droplets of web fluid that spread widely like mist, rapidly solidifying in midair and blanketing a large area. Many Zerglings landed already covered from head to toe in webs, completely unable to move.

Yet one Zergling almost ignored the webs clinging to its body and charged straight at the giant spider.

The Dragon Dog's advantage seemed not to come from strength far surpassing that of ordinary Zerglings, but because the webs had already lost their effect against its carapace...

"The earth elements contained in the webs have difficulty adhering to dragonhide," Elar explained.

"Earth elements?" the Overmind asked in surprise. "These webs are actually magic?"

"The webs do not consume magic power. They merely rely on the adhesive properties of earth elements," Elar replied.

Boom— The Dragon Dog smashed the Long-Legged Giant Spider's cephalothorax to pieces with a clean, decisive impact.

Clearly, while Long-Legged Giant Spiders possessed soul strength equal to that of rock trolls, they were far less durable.

Several Long-Legged Giant Spiders immediately turned their "guns" toward the Dragon Dog. In an instant, the entire Zergling was covered in a layer of white fluid.

Though the Dragon Dog could not be stuck fast, the webs themselves clung together and formed a thick cocoon, trapping it inside.

But this also opened a gap in the Long-Legged Giant Spiders' defensive web network. Dozens of Zerglings untouched by the webs successfully leaped near the giant spiders and immediately opened their jaws to bite.

The giant spiders' carapaces could not withstand Zergling teeth. The tide began to turn when the Zerglings successfully tore off one of a giant spider's forelegs.

The giant spiders no longer had the energy to spray webs. They frantically swung their forelegs and rolled back and forth, trying to sweep off the Zerglings clinging to them.

But it was ultimately futile. The horns beside their gills, mouths full of sharp teeth, razor-like foreclaws, scythe-shaped appendages on their backs, and tails covered in spikes were all excellent "climbing" tools... The Zerglings' body structure made them exceptionally suited to anchoring themselves onto massive enemies and unleashing relentless attacks.

In the Koprulu Sector, they had dismantled Siege Tanks this way, dismantled Thors, and had even climbed all the way up a Colossus' long legs to gnaw it apart alive...

Long-Legged Giant Spiders, as arthropods, were indeed not very intelligent. But they were still living creatures and possessed the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Now that they had fallen into a disadvantageous position, several giant spiders in the rear that had yet to be entangled by Zerglings could clearly be seen withdrawing their abdomens, preparing to retreat...