Chapter 332 - Day MCXLIX, Part IV

At the very moment I caught a glimpse of the first one, not just the shadow, I charged, using shadow walk, but I quickly regretted that move as just past the very first wall of webs, I noticed how hard it is to move around.

There was no other choice but to blast the path for me, using explosions, and kill the nasty black creature with way shorter legs, full of those sharp thorns, and a gigantic abdomen with a red mark on top of it.

The impact ripped the creature apart, just like the threads, unraveling more of the same species. I just send more fireballs.

There was nothing spectacular in this part of the hunt, as I would keep clearing the path in exact same way. Destroying every monster on the way. Eventually, I returned and picked up Ki'rai to make it further, past silver webs, to the part that had none of those. There were just the black, twisted trees, and the sun, still shining above us.

A looked at the ground, it was dry and cracked. To the point, every step would make a crunch-like noise.

The next type of enemy revealed themselves pretty damn fast. Those were tall spiders on long legs. Their coloration was dark blue, a bit metallic, and the legs themselves seemed more like swords to me, with jagged, sharp edges. The first one leaped at me and tried to pin me to the ground with those blades, but I avoided without trouble and using my monstrous strength, and magic pudao, cut all of those, making the creature lose balance, and fall, just to get finished by a swift blow.

More of them came, jumping at me, and the fight becomes some kind of dance between all of us, as they would try to impale me from above, and I would dodge, spinning, sidestepping  - just like you would while in a waltz, and the cracking sound of dried clusters of the earth under my feet was accompanying me. I would also do an occasional powerful swing, to cut all of the nearby lags.

Ki'rai looked at me like charmed, standing herself in a relatively safe spot. Especially, as I was making it further from her with almost every step, to make sure none of those monsters would attack her.

It went on and on for several minutes since the stream of spiders was seemingly unending. I ended up killing dozens, maybe even hundreds of those creatures. Those whom I didn't finish of, she would, avoiding the still very sharp stuns of wiggling spiders, unable to stand up. She was incredibly fast, running on all fours, and stabbing with a power impossible for such a small body.

According to my knowledge, she had no classes, but for sure was investing in her physical abilities.

We picked up the crystals, and walked further, occasionally killing some lost poor monster that didn't make it to the main show.

That's how we arrived at the edge of the gargantuan crater, all covered by thick, white webs.

- I have an idea, but you need to stay back, Ki'rai.

She looked at me, twisting her head to the side, sighed, and started walking back. I waited for her to get far enough, and then send a fireball in more or less the middle of that damn lair.

It exploded, ripping some threads apart, but overall didn't do much.

- Fuck.

- That was your grand plan?! - she yelled at me from afar.

I didn't answer. "That's what I needed right now. You nagging me a not working idea. Those damn kids, they grow so fast and become annoying little...", I thought to myself.

- Just go there!

- Fine! - I yelled back, but I really didn't want to go.

I wasn't afraid of spiders, but I really, really didn't like any damn insects. With both spiders, and mosquitos on the top of my hate list.

A bit angry, a fixed my grip on the handle and approached the edge, so cut a path, to slide down a bit, and keep cutting. The whole thing was moving, and the boss was for sure already alarmed. I was expecting a nasty spider to appear at any moment.

Nothing like that happened, and I arrived at the very bottom of the hole. The spider webs were everywhere, but there was enough space for me to walk around.

In the very middle was a nasty creature, standing, seemingly in deep slumber. It was dark gray in coloration, with a set of four legs on each side. With two arms armed in long claw-like fingers emerging from the head. That was the most peculiar part, as it seemed to look more like it belonged to a dragon. With a set of three eyes on each side, every next one a bit smaller than the previous one.

The lower jaw was also armed in two long horns or tusks if you prefer, and two limbs opposite to the legs, since they were reaching up, at a slight angle, turned on the inside.

I made a step forward, and the eyes rapidly opened. The lower jaw split apart revealing a set of sharp teeth and long tongue covered in toxic, green saliva.

The monster let out a deafening, high-pitched battle cry, that almost cost me my hearing. I had to cover my ears to avoid getting them damaged.

That wasn't the last surprise it had in the storage for me though. Suddenly, from the webs around me, an army of small spiders emerged, and by small I mean in the size of a grown man's hand. All of the same color - black - with no distinguishing signs.

Just a hoard of small minions, ready to swarm me at any moment. I was not afraid of them, although deeply disgusted by the thought of such a number climbing my body, to eventually cover it completely.

- It's on - I mumbled to myself, activating the 'Shadow fusion' and 'Void domain' to make shadow essence leak into this world in form of smoke, emerging from the ground.. I also set my blade on fire, then charged.