As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared into the boundless sea of night, Gustavo stirred.
Spider silk threads shot out from the spider's abdomen, disappeared into the ground, and stealthily moved, soon closing the distance to within a dozen meters of the mercenaries.
But just then, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the cracks in the soil, standing out prominently against the Nightfall.
These are the warning devices the mercenaries have set up against the spider silk. It must be said that these human mercenaries are indeed experienced in combat and have very innovative ideas.
Having learned its lesson once, it quickly developed a clever mechanical structure, combined with magical power, to create this highly targeted mechanism.
"Enemy attack!" Fermi reacted the fastest, sprang up from the ground, longsword in hand, and without thinking, slashed at the ground with sharp sword beams, trying to cut the spider silk underground.
The sword light pierced the ground with unstoppable force, cutting open several cracks. However, these spider silks were not inanimate objects. Under Gustavo's control, they were incredibly agile, twisting their bodies like serpents to dodge the sword light's attack. In a flash, they shot out like lasers, piercing the neck of a mercenary who was a beat too slow to react, tearing him into pieces.
"Aww~"
A long, proud wolf howl echoed out, Rig transformed into a werewolf, leaping through the jungle and rushing towards the direction from which the spider silk had been shot.
In the past, whenever Rig made such a move, Gustavo would retreat to avoid a direct confrontation with this High-Rank Transcendent Lifeform.
But since he had decided it was his last vote, Gustavo did not back down. Although he liked to scheme, being steady did not mean being cowardly, and he was just as brave as he should be.
His explosive abilities were activated one by one, and apart from [Furious Roar] as a trump card for escaping, he held nothing back, and his combat power began to soar wildly.
Boom!
The grass where Gustavo was standing was blown apart, grass blades flew everywhere, and eight craters appeared on the ground.
The powerful muscles collided with the ground, generating an unparalleled reaction force that sent Gustavo hurtling through the night sky like a cannonball.
"Um?"
Rig was clearly taken aback, and immediately became wary.
Something's definitely fishy going on. Could this monster also possess that terrifying toxin?
Recalling the scene he had witnessed in the valley, Rig felt a chill run down his spine. Almost all intelligent beings would avoid poison, Rig was no exception. He had no intention of testing the potency of this unknown toxin with his own resistance.
As for Gustavo's own combat strength, Rig didn't care much. There was a huge gap between Mid-Rank Transcendent and High-Rank Transcendent.
Moreover, Rig had already examined Oduoka's body. Although only a skeleton remained, it was still possible to discover that a considerable portion of the injuries were caused by the Dog Demon leader. The Spider Monster was facing a High-Rank Transcendent who was not at his peak.
Furthermore, only two days have passed since that spider monster used its explosive power; how could it have recovered in such a short time?
Even the regenerative power of True Dragon shouldn't be this outrageous.
Therefore, Rig deduced that the spider monster dared to charge forward probably because it had produced that terrifying toxin again. Spiders using poison is just the normal style of this species, okay?
Upon realizing this, Rig slammed on the brakes and abruptly retreated.
This scene confused Gustavo once again.
Seriously, buddy? Weren't you incredibly brave when you charged in earlier?
Why did it suddenly become limp?
I can't maintain this burst of power for too long; I need to leave room for retreat, so it's best to finish this quickly.
With that in mind, Gustavo gave chase without hesitation.
And so, a strange scene appeared in the forest.
First, the werewolf charged at the spider monster, then suddenly turned back, and the spider monster chased after the werewolf, hacking wildly. The blade flashed like a waterfall, cutting through the night sky. Wherever it passed, towering trees crashed down, their cuts as smooth as mirrors.
The mercenaries were utterly astonished and a sense of despair washed over them. "It's over. This spider monster is so strong, even our captain can't beat it. Will we ever be able to get back to Night City?"
Even Rig's loyal follower Fermi was shaken at this moment, his brows furrowed, gripping his sword hilt without uttering a sound.
"Damn, how can this guy run so fast?" Gustavo chased after him for a while, somewhat speechless.
After transforming into a werewolf, Rig's agility increased dramatically, especially under the moonlight, making him incredibly fast.
Although Gustavo has eight legs, he can only be slightly faster than Rig, making it difficult for him to catch up with the guy in a short time.
"Fine, if I can't kill you, I can at least kill your teammates!" Gustavo sneered, immediately abandoning Rig and flashing towards a sword-wielding mercenary not far away, none other than Fermi.
"Oh no, Fermi is in danger!" Rig's heart skipped a beat when he saw Gustavo's actions.
He might not care much about his other subordinates, but Fermi had been with him through thick and thin for many years, was loyal to him, and had a deep bond with him. Whether from the perspective of interests or emotions, Rig would not let Fermi die easily.
Gritting his teeth, Rig bent his legs, stomped hard, snapping the tree beneath his feet, and shot out like an arrow.
Furthermore, Rig also utilized the Silver Moon Werewolf's professional abilities.
"Moon Step!"
Wow!
Silver sparks flew out from underfoot, like sparks flying out when blacksmiths are forging iron.
Stepping on fragments of moonlight, Rig actually walked on air, running wildly in mid-air with his speed increasing dramatically.
"Oh ho, you have such methods?" Gustavo turned around and looked back, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
Now that the main character had come to his door, he decided not to bother the small fry and instead turned around to meet him head-on. His eight incomparably Unrivaled blades emitted a chilling light as they slashed out a spherical net of blades.
This time, Rig didn't dodge either. Silver moonlight wrapped around his wolf claws, and his claws grew a meter longer out of thin air. He drew a curved arc and grabbed Gustavo's relatively soft spider abdomen. As for the continuous web of blades that the latter slashed, Rig skillfully dodged them.
"You bastard!" Gustavo quickly tightened his abdomen to dodge Rig's attack, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
He really wanted to tear this guy, who always aimed for his groin, to pieces.
But ever since Rig demonstrated his ability to walk on air, Gustavo knew that the chances of killing this guy were slim.
"But..."
Gustavo's two eyes at the bottom silently fixed their gaze on the leather backpack behind Rig.
He had noticed long ago that the werewolf in front of him carried this backpack whether he was eating, drinking, defecating, sleeping, or fighting. Especially during intense battles, he would always subconsciously turn to the side, even using his body to block blades, so as not to damage the backpack.
"There's definitely some treasure hidden in here, or at least something very important to this guy. Never mind, let's grab it first."
Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Adhering to the principle of never letting the enemy suffer, Gustavo had a thought, and hundreds of spider silks surged out from under his abdomen, covering a large area in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, a powerful gravitational force acted on Rig's limbs and bones, and the air suddenly became viscous, as if water had solidified into a gel.
[Gravity Control] plus [Air-Stasis Corridor].
The combined effect caused Rig's speed to drop sharply.
It was at this moment that he finally discovered something: this spider monster could actually manipulate gravity.
Similar to Tula and Margaret's reaction when they discovered the situation, Rig move even slower.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gustavo activated [Furious Roar] without hesitation, increasing his speed by 30%. In a flash, he rushed to Rig's side and unleashed a flurry of blade strikes. Rig was forced to defend and was in a very sorry state.
But at that moment, the sword light suddenly stopped, and the frozen air and gravitational field disappeared. Before Rig could even rejoice, he discovered that his backpack had been silently taken away without him even noticing.
"Give me back my backpack!" Rig leaped through the air, his expression urgent as he rushed toward Gustavo, who had dashed away after stealing it.
"Hehe, there's something good here. Let me see what it is." Gustavo sprinted across the ground in an S-shaped pattern while using spider silk to open his backpack.
There was only one thing inside.
"Treasure map?"