After the Gray Swamp Spiders, a formal unit of the Arachne would undoubtedly follow. Qianye closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink slowly, the water gradually covering the top of his head without causing even a ripple.
The swamp began to tremble, and several gigantic dark silhouettes emerged from the mist in the distance. These were the Swamp Great Spiders, one of the servitor races of the Arachne. The Swamp Great Spiders had astonishing sizes, towering three meters tall, with their massive abdomens resembling a ship.
Despite their colossal forms, these Great Spiders moved with agility that was disproportionate to their size. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they moved like the wind in the swamps. Even Qianye, if he encountered these spiders in the swamp, wouldn’t think of fleeing. Staying to fight to the death might be the only option because, in such an environment, escape from the pursuit of these spiders was impossible.
There were about six or seven Swamp Great Spiders, and each one carried two or three werewolves on its back, forming a complete werewolf squad. The rearguard of the team was flanked by two Arachne.
This formation swiftly rushed past where Qianye was hiding, heading directly towards the encampment.
After a while, when the vibrations in the swamp had completely subsided, Qianye slowly rose from the water. Judging from the size of this formation, it was a typical reconnaissance vanguard, with strength surpassing ordinary patrols by a notch.
After a brief contemplation, Qianye reviewed the surrounding terrain of the encampment in his mind once more and decided to eliminate this unit!
Although startling the snake was inevitable, it made no difference to the current situation. Whether or not the traces of the dark races were discovered by humans, they wouldn’t abandon their plan to march troops through the Black Mud Swamp. If he could destroy more of their reconnaissance teams, forcing the dark races to change their marching route, it would be a welcome outcome.
Qianye found a dry, high spot and sat down quietly, meditating and waiting. After three hours, he got up and stealthily moved toward the direction of the second encampment. The truly formidable opponent in the reconnaissance unit was a seventh-level Arachne, as well as a seventh-level werewolf captain. However, under the guise of an ambush, Qianye was confident he could severely injure one of them.
By now, simple tents had been set up in the encampment. Two large tents were designated for the Arachne, while the werewolves’ tents were much smaller. Some werewolves simply sprawled on their backs, sleeping soundly on the dry ground.
Most of the Arachne and werewolves had already begun to rest; marching in the swamp was arduous, leaving both races utterly exhausted. For the naturally irascible and restless werewolves, being perched on the backs of the Swamp Great Spiders for a prolonged time without moving was pure torture. Conversely, the hefty bodies of the werewolves were also a burden for the Great Spiders.
After another half hour of lurking, Qianye saw all the Swamp Great Spiders settling around the perimeter of the stone pillars and falling asleep. Most of the Swamp Gray Spiders had climbed onto the dry ground, lying flat, with only a few still fidgeting uneasily.
The Arachne did not particularly assign sentinels; their alertness relied mainly on the acute senses of numerous smaller spiders. Normally, this system of surveillance far surpassed any traditional sentries. However, in the special environment of the Black Mud Swamp, its effectiveness was significantly diminished.
Nonetheless, the leaders of the Arachne and werewolves didn’t pay too much attention. They were in a rather central area of the black marsh, and rarely did any humans penetrate so deeply. For many years, these campsites had been quite safe, never attacked by humans. Moreover, to launch an assault, at least a human company would be required. So many people approaching would certainly awaken even the most soundly sleeping spiders.
In the dead silence, Qianye slowly rose from the muddy waters and began inching his way towards the encampment.
Only when he neared within fifty meters did the outermost Swamp Gray Spiders sense something. They collided with each other, lifting their bodies on long legs, continuously scanning the surroundings. However, the dense fog and the heavy, unique stench remained the only stimuli to their senses, unable to pinpoint the source of the unease.
No longer concealing his presence, Qianye dashed straight toward the center of the camp in the blink of an eye!
Even in the swamp, once Qianye picked up speed, his short-distance dash was as swift as an arrow! Just as the outermost Swamp Gray Spiders let out warning shrieks, Qianye had already stormed into their midst.
The refined and potent primordial force within Qianye’s body surged, and his advancing figure suddenly sank. Then, he heavily stomped on the ground, unleashing over twenty-five waves of the Army Slaying Art.
The solid ground beneath Qianye’s feet abruptly caved in, and all the spiders within a ten-meter radius were hurled into the air, scattered by the shockwave of energy spreading outward.
Qianye, like a cannonball, lunged forward again, colliding with a just-risen Swamp Great Spider. A dull thud echoed as the spider was slammed back onto the ground, the sharp cracking sounds indicating broken limbs. Its massive body slid several meters into the water, clearing a path.
In an instant, Qianye stood in the center of the encampment.
The entire camp erupted into chaos!
All the Swamp Great Spiders scrambled to their feet, issuing menacing howls, but their delayed reaction caused them to look outward, toward the crater created by Qianye’s first strike, which only further disoriented the inner circle of Arachne and werewolves.
Standing in the center of the camp, Qianye held his gun in both hands, aiming at the largest tent, patiently awaiting the emergence of his prey.
When the seventh-level Arachne roared and burst out of the tent, the first thing it saw was two phantom flowers blooming in the air.
Amid the reverberating boom, the Arachne’s face immediately burst into a spray of blood, half its head shattered! The proximity was so close that Qianye didn’t need precise aim. The full-force double shots blasted into the Arachne’s head, a vital and fragile spot, turning it into a mass of gore under the beautiful, mesmerizing light of the twin blossoms.
Though the Arachne lost its head, its tenacious vitality kept its body from immediately going stiff. The crazed, immense body, dragging half the tent, lunged wildly, and its sharp jointed claws impaled a nearby emerging werewolf, easily skewering the unfortunate creature from back to chest.
The werewolf leader, a robust black wolf, tore through the top of the tent to jump out, instantly shocked and furious. “What are you doing? Do you seek death?”
But the Arachne leader, deprived of most of its head, could not respond. Out of control, it charged into the werewolf encampment. Eight legs scissoring, it sliced a lying werewolf to pieces. The werewolf leader, abandoning any further talk, roared and leaped to rescue his subordinates.
Amid the chaos, Qianye shifted positions several times, using blind spots to quietly approach a smaller tent, waiting for the fifth-level Arachne inside to appear.
He put away the twin blossoms, drew the Glittering Fang, and the blade began to emit a crimson glow!
As the second Arachne appeared, a bright red slash of sword light flashed across the camp. The Arachne let out a earth-shattering scream, its abdomen and upper body severed!
Having dispatched two Arachne, the remaining servant spiders fell into utter confusion. Both the massive Swamp Great Spiders and the smaller gray ones frantically spun around, clueless as to where the enemy was.
The out-of-control Arachne leader finally died, its large body piling up next to a half-destroyed stone pillar, leading to a confrontation between the agitated surviving werewolves and the nearby spiders.
Qianye calmly retreated, then turned and dashed, dodging the pounce of a Swamp Great Spider. In a flash, the cleaved spider belly spilled blood, staining the mud, while Qianye vanished silently into the thick fog of the Black Mud Swamp, shielded by the spider’s bulk.
The camp descended into total chaos. Without the Arachne’s restraint, the intelligence-limited servant spiders gradually revealed their vicious nature. The pungent smell of blood constantly stimulated the nerves of the werewolves and servant spiders, making them even more aggressive. The conflict quickly escalated into a bloody slaughter.
A Swamp Great Spider savagely tackled a werewolf, its mouth wide open, ready to bite. But it let out a shrill, sorrowful cry as the werewolf captain pounced, his claws flashing with primordial light, plunging deep into the spider’s back. With a mighty heave, the werewolf captain split the spider’s back open!
The werewolf captain, partially sated by his violent, bloodthirsty impulse, roared to gather his subordinates. The commotion momentarily paused under his commanding voice.
Suddenly, the werewolf captain sensed imminent danger. He leapt off the spider, but it was too late. The twin blossoms boomed again, and the primordial force round exploded on the werewolf captain, turning his back into a mess of blood and flesh!
Though not fatal, this shot significantly weakened the werewolf captain. Having crippled the last remaining seventh-level opponent, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.
The heavy bodies of the werewolves were unsuited for swamp combat, and the still-fierce Great Spiders, now masterless, became unaligned enemies for the werewolves. Moving around the camp, Qianye continually hunted down the impatient, rash werewolves who couldn’t resist charging into the swamp for close combat. In the end, half of the dozen werewolves were claimed by the bottomless mire of the Black Mud Swamp.
With patient effort, Qianye cleared out the remaining large and small Swamp Spiders, and the encampment fell into complete silence.
The spoils were not bountiful. The werewolves’ heavy armor and sharp claws were useless to humans, as were the Arachne’s war armor. Fortunately, the Arachne also used primordial force guns, and Qianye found a level-four firearm amidst the torn remnants of the tents.
Among the captured melee weapons, there was a decent level-three piece. Unfortunately, the Arachne’s preferred heavy battle-axes weighed upwards of one to two hundred kilograms, and Qianye had no intention of carrying such a cumbersome load through the swamp. Two primordial force grenades, though not as powerful as those of the blood race, were still better than human grenades, making for a good haul.
After circling the camp and erasing any traces of his entry and departure, Qianye set off again, continuing to the next encampment. Over the following days, he indeed found two more small reconnaissance units and eliminated them with ease.
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