94. Solitude (1)
94. Solitude (1)
- 1 -
- Master, the spider leader's movements have been confirmed.
Sonia's assistance had been instrumental in locating the Spider King.
Whenever the countless shadow crows scattered throughout the forest spotted monsters from either side, they dispatched signals to the "map" left back in the dungeon.
It was a form of assistance where she checked the chess pieces that moved in response to those signals and relayed their exact positions.
In essence, it was a remote radar system built from necromantic shadow magic.
"Tell me the coordinates."
- Yes. The location is...
"Thank you, Sonia."
- I'm happy to be of help.
Following Sonia's guidance, we ultimately managed to spot the Spider King.
It was the third battlefield since starting the search — or the fourth, if counting the very first sighting when we arrived at the coniferous forest.
- Bring me! The hearts and! The heads - !!!
The king of spiders, bearing a total of fourteen appendages and five eyes.
At the center of a battlefield larger than any of the previous ones, he was roaring loudly enough to make heaven and earth tremble.
"How imposing."
Bring the hearts and heads.
At first, she had thought it was merely a meaningless roar for morale-boosting purposes, but she soon realized it wasn't that simple.
- Kishak!
- Kirr...!
Thud! Splat!
Because creatures that looked like workers or foot soldiers were indeed gathering the corpses of the battlefield dead beside their king.
Corpses were piling up, ants and spiders alike, and the sheer volume of the pile alone was considerable.
- Ooh... power... nutrients are coming!
The king of the spiders had driven the eight legs attached to his lower body into the gathered corpses and was drawing something out of them.
All while trembling with a shudder, letting out roars mixed with pleasure.
... A male entity, and a tremendously muscular macho one at that, acting like that was a bit of a turn-off.
'Why wasn't it a queen? Isn't Arachne supposed to be a queen?'
"Kyaaat - !!"
Disappointment and eye-rolls aside, the Arachne King, having absorbed something from the corpses, began to move in earnest.
Kwang - !!
A great change swept across the battlefield.
It was the arrival of the power that had nearly punched a hole through the heart of Orea, the queen of the ants and their most capable warrior.
- 2 -
"Kyaaat - !!"
Kwang!!
With a sharp roar cutting across the battlefield, a massive form shot forward rapidly.
The sight of a gigantic frame, seemingly standing three meters tall, sliding forward as if skating across the front lines.
It was a scene that carried an overwhelming, otherworldly force.
Kukukukung - !!
Looking closely, one could tell he wasn't actually running forward — rather, the ground was "pushing" him along —
but that fact did nothing to diminish the oppressive aura of the scene.
"Keuheok...!"
Kwakwang!!
A one-man army, unrivaled.
Whenever the king swung one of his six arms, an ant was smashed to bits, sent flying, or impaled.
Whether a mere soldier, a warrior, or a commander made no difference.
Kwajik!!
Those who were simply sent flying to their instant death were actually the fortunate ones.
Most ants were kicked flying by the pincer appendages that shot out like spears, only to be caught and dragged back by the muscular arms, then used as blunt instruments to strike their comrades.
Yet that brutality could not diminish the ants' fighting spirit.
"It's the leader of the invading spiders - !!"
"Kill it!!"
"For the Queen!!"
The sight of the ants charging toward the Spider King.
Whether common soldiers or higher-grade monsters, though they had no hope of being a match for the king, there was not a trace of fear in them.
Possessing the same Frenzy Libertas had witnessed before, they were charging in recklessly.
With the will to stall the Spider King by any means.
Peopeopeok!!
"I shall turn all of you into my nourishment - !!"
However, the king of the spider-men possessed means that mere numbers could not stop.
An exceptional number of appendages, and the myriad attacks launched from those numerous appendages.
Kwajik! Udeudeuk!
"A delicacy indeed...!! For the minions of a cowardly queen!"
The most conspicuous thing was the behavior of the arms attached to his muscular human torso.
He would raise one hand to catch an ant sent flying by an impact, swing it once to strike another ant, then shove the remaining fragments into his mouth and chew.
He was committing that brutal act, alternating between both hands.
"It's useless, insects. Did you think you could possibly stop me - !!!"
Next to play an active role were the two pairs of pincers hanging near the legs of the human upper body.
Kang!!
One pair on the abdomen of the human torso, one pair on the front abdomen of the spider body.
The pincers, usually held crossed in a defensive posture, functioned as shields protecting the human upper body, but would shoot out one at a time whenever an opening appeared.
They were shields when guarding, but spears when thrusting out.
Peopeopeok!
Peoeok!
Holes were drilled into the heads and upper bodies of the ants recklessly charging in. Sometimes, the waist connecting upper and lower body was severed, sending entrails flying.
Thus torn and scattered, the ants' bodies could not even die a simple death.
Those sent flying upward met the humanoid arms; those falling downward met a gruesome fate under other legs.
"Come out! Queen of the ants!!"
While the two arms on the human torso and the four legs on the lower body played the main active roles, the other legs were by no means idle.
Kwajik!! Chureureureuk...!!
"Mmmngh...!!!"
The foremost pair stabbed into the bodies torn by the pincers and sucked out their nutrients.
Had Libertas been able to check his information, she would have known that his Stamina and Mana were in a temporarily boosted state because of it.
A trait that was temporary and had demanding conditions, but was effective in a limited capacity because nutrients could be endlessly supplied on the battlefield.
It was the effect of Carrion Feeder.
Kwakwang!!
The next pair struck the ground, immediately causing tremors and overturning the earth.
By using the high-grade earth magic 「Tectonic Rupture」 — which caused vibrations and ruptures in the ground upon contact — as if it were second nature, he swept away the small fry blocking his front in an instant.
Peoeok!
"Kuhuk...!"
The moment this magic shook the balance of those charging at him, the pincers immediately moved to mercilessly snuff out the lives of enemies who could no longer resist.
Because this magic consumed little mana and its effect was ambush-oriented, it was also a favorite among human mages who preferred close-quarters combat.
"Try and block me! Try and kill me!!"
Puhwaak!
The third pair of legs had been continuously emitting a dark aura for some time now.
It was the dark magic 「Shadow Aura」, which shook one's presence and visible form to scatter the aim of attacks launched from a distance and sow confusion among enemies on all sides.
"Where...! When did it get there?! Kuhuk!"
Compared to Libertas's version, the mastery was low and the magic itself was hopelessly crude, but at least on this battlefield, it could exert high efficiency.
Kwakwakwang!
"Can you chase me! Can you chase me, I ask!"
And the last pair of legs was casting the earth magic 「Earth Explosion」, which was currently enabling his high-speed propulsion.
Originally a magic that ruptures the ground in a straight line to attack enemies with debris and high heat, he was using it for propulsion by exploiting the fact that his own body was sturdy and possessed outstanding regeneration.
"Tell your queen to come out quickly! Look at your children dying like this! Did she lose her nerve after being beaten once!!"
A king who alone overturned the battlefield and recklessly pierced through the enemy lines.
Just as Orea, the Queen of the Myrmekian Cleaver clan, had said, he was a formidable and powerful presence.
"Inefficient, and hopelessly ignorant."
"Why is that? He seems sufficiently powerful."
"All show on the outside, hopelessly hollow on the inside. A waste of the title 'king.'"
Yet Libertas's assessment of him was mercilessly harsh.
Because she had immediately seen through the reason why the Spider King kept chewing and swallowing prey.
"It's a power he can't even use unless he keeps putting something in his mouth. If you fought him by committing a small elite force, he'd be isolated and dead before long."
"Ah-ha...?"
"Even though he's eating ceaselessly, his destructive power isn't increasing any further, don't you see?"
"Indeed, that's true...!"
Libertas, who had been watching Serha chime in agreement with a fond look, followed the Spider King's back as he passed their location, then caught sight of a small figure standing to block him beyond.
"Stop - !! Arachne King, Tigris!"
"You've finally come out. Queen Orea..."
Needless to say, it was the figure of Orea, the ant queen and warrior.
Though it hadn't been long since she was treated, she had ultimately stepped onto the battlefield again.
As if she had no fear whatsoever of what had happened to her before.
"Let's go."
Libertas, who had been briefly observing the figures of the king and queen, turned her body away as if her interest had waned.
Because she deemed there was no further value in watching.
"We don't need to watch anymore...?"
"Isn't it obvious it'll end in a stalemate?"
- Tak.
"That is true..."
Eve and Shue immediately understood and followed after their master, but Serha, though she followed for now, still didn't seem to understand.
"What do you mean...?"
"The ant will act more cautiously and vigilantly than before... and the spider will withdraw the moment it turns into a prolonged fight..."
It was Shue, not Rita, who answered her.
She had been secretly displeased that this child kept monopolizing their master's attention. Though she never put it into words, she was, in fact, a woman with considerable jealousy.
'Seems she's made a decision, though...'
At the same time, she gauged her master's mood.
Because she could easily tell that Libertas was lost in thought.
Just as Shue expected, Libertas organized her thoughts as she walked, then spoke to them.
"Let's head to the Spider King's dwelling."
A decision regarding the two monarchs had been made.
- 3 -
The Arachne King was in exactly the state she had anticipated.
Though he showed signs of having fought fiercely and been embarrassed, he bore no deep injuries. It meant that the Ant Queen and the Spider King had failed to land a fatal blow on one another.
Yet even in a situation where an opponent he had failed to finish remained nearby, he feigned composure.
"I never thought I'd see the Dungeon's Queen in such a chaotic situation, hm."
"Likewise."
The Arachne King, who had let me inside immediately upon hearing the Dungeon's Queen had come calling, nonetheless acted as if he had no intention of showing me a favorable face.
Perhaps I was mistaken.
Maybe he simply lacked the very concept of needing to curry favor with others.
Or maybe I was just seeing him that way because I was in a foul mood.
"... And these?"
"Whatever conversation you've come to have with me, surely some appropriate tribute is necessary, no?"
But one thing was certain.
"No matter how I look at them, they seem to resemble you."
"Indeed. For these are my children."
Kwadeuk.
The only certainty was that this bastard had touched my reverse scale.