Chapter 61: Spider Queen (1)

Shadow wolves.

There were a total of seven of them settled in Elatrium.

Among them, the shadow wolf named Khan was both the leader of the pack and its father.

Excluding Khan and his mate, the remaining five were all his children.

With the exception of the youngest, the fifth pup Fenrir, all members of Khan’s pack were fully grown.

Because of that, everyone except Fenrir hunted the wolf spiders that trespassed into their territory.

Just like moments ago.

The shadow wolves were, as usual, hunting wolf spiders that had invaded their domain.

Thud!

“Zziii… eek.”

A wolf spider met its death under the assault of the shadow wolves.

“Awooooo—!”

“Awoooo!”

The shadow wolves let out victorious howls.

Just as they were about to move toward their next target—

Shraaaak!!

Without warning, a net of spider silk poured down from above their heads.

It looked like they had been completely caught.

“Awoooo!!”

The shadow wolves’ bodies blurred like smoke as they evaded the web.

In that brief instant, every one of them moved outside the shadow web’s range.

“Kuhahaha. As expected of the phantoms of shadow.”

Shoooook. Thud!

A being descended along a strand of silk from the sky.

That being was Morkella.

He was a spider humanoid belonging to the Spider Legion, the Second Division Commander, and an expert in ambushes.

“Awooooo!”

Khan let out a long howl.

It was a signal to retreat.

He had realized that the opponent before them was not someone they could defeat even with a coordinated attack.

Paht!

Sssaaa—

The shadow wolves immediately scattered like ghosts and fled the area.

“Hey, hey! Run a little slower!”

Morkella’s playful voice came from behind them.

At that moment.

Khan felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

And that unease soon became reality.

Thud!

“Kkaeaeaeang!”

Along with the sound of earth being torn up, a cry rang out.

“Awoo!”

The shadow wolves, who had been scattering in all directions, stopped at once and turned back.

What they saw—

Their third pup was completely bound in spider silk, only his head exposed.

A spider silk bomb had exploded beneath him, binding his entire body.

“Heh heh heh. What should we do? One got caught.”

Spinning in place as he laughed, Morkella approached the captured third pup.

Crunch!

He immediately stomped down on the third pup’s back.

“Kkaeang!”

“Grrrrr—!”

Khan let out a furious growl at the sight.

“Awoooo—!”

The same went for the other shadow wolves.

All five shadow wolves charged at Morkella at once.

They were trying to rescue the third pup.

Winning would be difficult, but they believed they could at least create an opening to save him.

However—

Ssshaaaaak—!

Thud, thud, thud-thud-thud!

A barrage of spider silk nets rained down from the sky.

This time, they could not evade it.

The nets fell more densely, covering all directions.

Every shadow wolf that had charged forward was bound at the limbs by spider silk and slammed into the ground.

“So these were the ones causing trouble.”

“As expected, My Queen.”

“Everything went exactly as predicted.”

Three new figures appeared.

The Vice Commander of the Spider Legion, Arkenes.

The First Division Commander, Terkala.

And the Third Division Commander, Veltaris.

All commanders of the Spider Legion, except the Legion Commander Arkenes and the deceased Fourth Division Commander Sylvaner, had gathered in one place.

“Grrrr…”

Even while bound at the limbs, Khan let out a growl mixed with fighting spirit.

All of his blood kin had been captured.

This was a situation he could never give up on.

Even if his bones were crushed, he had to struggle.

That was the role of a pack leader and a father.

“Heh heh, look at the eyes on this one.”

Morkella stood before Khan, clearly amused.

“Vice Commander, may I have some fun with these ones?”

“Keep it reasonable and do not kill them all. That way, we can more quickly learn what traces they tried so desperately to erase.”

“Yes. Of course.”

With that answer, Morkella’s cruel game began.

“This one looks like your offspring, right? Watch carefully.”

Morkella once again stomped down on the third pup’s back.

Crunch!

“Kkaeaeaeang!”

The sound of bones breaking rang out, along with the third pup’s agonized scream.

“Awooooo!”

At the sight, Khan’s body jerked.

But with his entire body bound in spider silk, he could not even raise himself.

“Heh heh. Frustrating, isn’t it?”

Morkella licked his lips with a long tongue, his eyes glinting ominously.

Thud!

“Kkaeaeang!”

With a sound like a drum bursting, the third pup’s desperate scream poured out.

Morkella had kicked his side, infusing the blow with magical power.

“Consider this punishment for making our lives difficult.”

Drip.

The third pup’s body went limp, and a gush of blood spilled from his mouth.

“Awoooooooooooo!”

Khan let out a scream that was almost a shriek.

“Want to go to him? Heh heh. I will help you.”

Morkella’s hand moved swiftly.

Slice!

For some reason, he personally cut the spider silk binding Khan.

Thump!

Khan sprang to his feet and tried to rush toward the third pup—

“Ah, I did not say you could just go.”

Morkella’s hand moved like lightning once more.

Thuuuud—!!!

“Grrrk.”

Along with Khan’s suppressed cry of pain, his body slammed back to the ground.

Khan’s legs were twisted at unnatural angles.

Morkella had broken every one of Khan’s legs.

“Go on, now. Heh heh.”

Before Morkella even finished speaking, Khan was already moving.

Drag, drag.

Khan twisted his body, trying to reach the third pup by any means necessary.

Watching that, Morkella burst into a wide, satisfied grin.

“With your legs shattered, you wriggle just like an insect.”

“Awooo…”

Even amid the mockery,

Khan’s gaze never wavered from the third pup, who lay collapsed with blood at his mouth.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Drag, drag.

In a situation where the pain should have left him completely unable to move,

Khan somehow continued inching forward.

“Oh? Impressive.”

“Is that love for your child? Or are all shadow wolves like this?”

Khan’s mental fortitude was remarkable.

He finally crawled close to the third pup.

But Khan’s trial was not over yet.

“This would not be fun if it ended like this.”

Thrust!

Morkella drove a long venomous stinger that sprouted from his hand into Khan’s body.

Sliiiide!

It was poison.

Not just any poison, but neurotoxin.

An extreme toxin that disrupted and twisted every nerve in the body, eventually leading to death.

“Krrr…”

Foam immediately formed at Khan’s mouth.

“Wow, this one. He is still moving even after that?”

Even as drool spilled from his mouth,

Khan continued crawling toward the third pup.

For the first time, Morkella let out genuine admiration at the sight.

“Let us see, can you still move after one more hit—”

Just as he said that.

Flash—!

A purple beam suddenly fell from the sky.

Kwaaaaaa—

It struck and swept through Morkella’s upper body.

It did not stop there, sweeping across the area where the Vice Commander and the other Division Commanders stood.

Kwaaaang!

“What is that?”

Arkenes, the Vice Commander, knocked the beam aside in another direction.

Then he raised his head and looked to the sky.

A black streak was charging toward them at tremendous speed.

“This is not normal. Everyone, prepare for battle!”

The being that had slain Morkella in a single strike.

Faced with its appearance, Arkenes issued the order to prepare for combat in a tense voice.

---

Just before Archelon departed from the lair.

I stopped Archelon.

“Archelon. Take this with you.”

What I held out was a star fragment.

It looked like a critical situation, so I used it on Archelon immediately.

“Level two hundred eighty-one”

“Archelon”

“Five stars, one empty”

Archelon now possessed a total of five stars.

The energy in Archelon’s core began to glow and surge with a purple light.

‘Archelon. Deploying.’

Ziiing!

The act of opening space through dimensional severance looked even more natural now.

I could feel, down to my skin, that Archelon had grown significantly stronger.

And—

That was not the end of the changes.

‘Due to an increase in potential, Archelon’s mobility has been ultra-enhanced.’

Archelon shifted into Combat Stance Level four.

Until now, there had been limits to its aerial mobility.

Now, it was different.

Kiiiiik.

Clack.

Kwaaaaaa—

The output of Archelon’s thrusters rose far beyond before.

From the thrusters, makeshift wings unfolded.

Aerial maneuvering had become possible.

At tremendous speed, Archelon flew toward the location where enemies had been detected.

‘Keron. Activating Lumen Observer.’

This was a long-range observation skill.

Archelon’s vision was shared with the probe, allowing us to see the situation of the enemies who had invaded the area.

But then—

“Those damn—”

“Popo!!”

“Chu!!”

‘The wolves are in danger!’

“Whine—”

“Ha, those things…”

Sighs and rage burst out from us.

We had witnessed, in full clarity, the shadow wolves being captured and thoroughly toyed with.

“Ah! I cannot watch anymore.”

“Popo…”

Especially after Khan’s limbs were shattered and poison was injected, the kind-hearted Bellerin and Popo could not bear to watch and turned their heads away.

“Chu chu!”

At that moment, Chu Chu bolted straight out of the cave.

“Whine, whine…”

Fenrir, tears welling in his eyes, flailed both arms toward the screen being transmitted by the probe.

“Archelon—!!”

And I unleashed my fury.

Calling Archelon’s name, I conveyed my will.

To save the shadow wolves without fail, and to bring down the hammer upon those beings.

‘Keron. Attempting long-range sniping.’

At the same time my will was transmitted,

Archelon stopped abruptly in midair.

Then it drew out a long barrel from its arm.

‘Annihilation Beam, targeting.’

Kwaaaang!!!

With a shockwave, massive energy burst from the barrel.

Thuuuuuud!!

In a single strike, the upper body of one spider humanoid who had been toying with the shadow wolves was erased.

“Good job!!”

“Nice! Archelon!!”

‘Kyu! Archelon! Amazing!!’

Our cheers erupted all at once.

‘Archelon. Combat Stance Level five activated.’

Pshuuuu.

Kwaaaaaa!

From Archelon’s body, white light and dense purple magical energy erupted simultaneously.

Archelon activated Combat Stance Level five immediately.

Kwaang!!

Archelon turned into a streak of light and charged straight toward the ominous-looking spider humanoids.

“Arkenes”

“Vice Commander of the Spider Legion”

“Level three hundred thirty”

“Terkala”

“First Division Commander of the Spider Legion”

“Level two hundred seventy-one”

“Veltaris”

“Third Division Commander of the Spider Legion”

“Level two hundred sixty-five”

They were the Vice Commander and Division Commanders of the Spider Legion.

“Attack together!”

“Zzziiiiiiit!”

“Zzaaaaaak!”

“Zzziiit!”

As Archelon approached, countless spiders that had been hiding nearby appeared all at once.

Their numbers were even greater than the mantis legion we had faced before.

However, Archelon did not retreat.

‘Large-scale detection. Assessing enemy forces. Formulating combat strategy.’

Archelon’s voice, unlike its usual rigid mechanical tone, was filled with seething anger.

Perhaps because of that—

‘Terra Blade activated.’

The massive energy blade formed from Archelon’s arm scattered far more powerful magic than before.

‘Commencing enemy annihilation.’

With those words—

Archelon’s dance of rage began.

“I will bind its mobility first.”

The first to charge at Archelon was the Third Division Commander, Veltaris.

Using his specialty of spider silk and poison, he tried to bind Archelon’s legs.

He attempted to hide among hundreds of spiders and exploit an opening—

Slice—!

‘Huh…?’

With a flash of light before his eyes,

A strange sensation of coolness washed over his lower body.

Thud!

“Uh… what?”

Collapsed on the ground, Veltaris realized that his body had been cut cleanly in half.

A horrific pain surged through him.

Along with it came intense chills and the fear of death gripping his entire body.

“P-please, spare—”

He barely begged for mercy in a trembling voice, but Archelon did not so much as twitch.

Flash—!

A blinding light flashed once more.

That was the last thing Veltaris ever saw.

“Damn it—!”

At the moment Veltaris was bisected,

The First Division Commander, Terkala, tried to exploit what he thought was a gap in Archelon’s stance.

However—

Ziiiiiing—

‘Annihilation Beam activated.’

Kwaaaaaa!!

He was swept head-on by the beam fired from the opposite arm and was erased without a single limb remaining.

The Division Commanders were formidable in their own right.

But to Archelon, who had wiped out the mantis legion, surpassed level two hundred eighty, and gained another star, they were not even worthy opponents.

‘Multiple Annihilation Beams activated.’

Kwaaaaa!

As Archelon’s barrels fired in succession, the giant spiders charging in were vaporized as if erased by a rubber.

This was no longer a battle.

It was a massacre.

“M-mad…”

At that sight, Arkenes was completely overwhelmed by Archelon.

The Vice Commander of the Spider Legion staggered backward in terror.

“W-wait, let us talk—”

Unlike Belgram, the Vice Commander of the mantis legion, this one had neither fighting spirit nor backbone.

Flash!

Slice—!

With movement close to teleportation, Archelon cut off Arkenes’s head in an instant.

‘Archelon’s level has increased.’

‘Archelon’s level has increased.’

Along with the announcements of level increases,

Spoils littered the ground.

Where the Vice Commander and Division Commanders had stood, numerous triangular fragments lay scattered.

However—

Archelon’s gaze was fixed solely on the shadow wolves.

“Awooo!”

“Awoooong…”

“Awoo…”

The mournful howls of the shadow wolves, who had not yet suffered fatal wounds, echoed across the battlefield.

The third pup lay motionless in a pool of blood.

And—

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Khan, on the verge of death, his pupils unfocused and vision blurred.

Even then, he continued crawling, inch by inch, toward the third pup.

‘Keron…’

Seeing them, Archelon’s thought process froze.

Annihilating enemies was something it was always confident in.

But before injured allies, what it could do was extremely limited.

At the moment Archelon felt a crushing sense of helplessness, the lights in its eyes flickering—

“Chu chu!”

From afar, a figure with golden fur streaming behind it came charging fiercely into view.