Chapter 00201: The Suicide Squad
# The Suicide Squad
Chapter 201
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 201: The Suicide Squad
Yet he still needed to make another effort: "If you let us go today, I will offer you blood food as thanks within ten days!"
"Ten days? Why should I wait another ten days?" Zhu Erniang laughed heartily, "I can drag you over a thousand people and several hundred livestock to make fertilizer, so that the children can have something to eat this winter!"
"Zhu Erniang, think twice," General Nan Ke said sternly, "Even if I perish today in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, the forces behind Panlong City will come to seek justice. If you do not care for yourself, you should at least consider the tens of thousands of descendants. Are you not afraid they will be uprooted and exterminated?"
"Lowly commoners like ants dare to be arrogant before me? I was here before Panlong City existed; when Panlong City is gone, I will still be here!" Zhu Erniang said coldly, "Isn't your Panlong City relying on the Red General for support? The Red General, ha! I know exactly what it is! You fools recognize a thief as your mother without realizing it, and you will eventually be drained of your last drop of blood and marrow! Hmph!"
She roared out the last word, causing everyone's hearts to jump.
Immediately after, the ground rumbled, and something roared from the other side of the mountain.
General Nan Ke was startled and turned back, only to see a Water Dragon rushing from the mountain gorge, with waves towering two to three zhang high.
A flood was coming!
The army was stationed in the middle of the valley, and it was almost certain they would not escape.
This old Spider Demon pretended to converse with General Nan Ke while secretly forming hand seals to summon water.
In a moment of desperation, General Nan Ke glanced at Zhu Erniang on the small hill, then turned to whisper a few words to the Sparrow Hawk on his shoulder, handing over a small bundle.
Since Zhu Erniang appeared, he had a plan in mind.
The Sparrow Hawk grabbed the bundle and took flight.
Then the Water Dragon arrived, rushing towards the soldiers, scattering the blazing wall of fire with a single swipe!
The Yuan Power on the soldiers of Panlong City had a diminishing effect against the demonic arts directly acting on them.
However, the flood summoned by the Spider Demon was a genuine river disaster; how could human bodies withstand it?
...
With no pursuers behind, He Lingchuan and the others slowed their horses and breathed a sigh of relief.
Those spiders could originally chase people for eight streets, but now they had only chased out less than three hundred zhang before retreating, clearly prioritizing the defense of their nest and not daring to stray too far.
Confirming this, everyone turned their horses around and climbed up the slope through the woods.
This would save time and avoid detours.
Standing at the top of the slope and looking down, the pit looked like a massive blood basin, always waiting for unwary fools to jump in.
He Lingchuan noticed that the brocade covering the exit was still billowing upwards, clearly indicating that wind was blowing from below.
Everyone could also hear the howling wind, ruffling their hair.
How could there be wind underground? Unless there was another exit.
Liu Tiao used some means to avoid the perception of the spider guards, and this detour was fraught with danger but ultimately safe.
Just as everyone was about to mount their horses and continue galloping, something flew in from the northeast, circling above the pit several times.
As a marksman, Liu Tiao had keen eyesight, especially with the glow of the fireflies illuminating the area.
After a couple of glances, she said, "It's a Sparrow Hawk."
This creature flew as fast as an arrow during the day, a true bird killer, but its night vision was mediocre.
Now, with the sky still dark, it was circling above the pit, which seemed quite unusual.
Sun Jiayuan suddenly said, "It’s holding something in its claws!"
The Sparrow Hawk circled twice, as if it had finished scouting, then suddenly ascended over a hundred zhang before diving straight down!
This dive was like an arrow released from its bow, fast enough to leave an afterimage in the air.
Before it touched the ground, it flew off at an angle, but the object in its claws was accurately thrown towards the pit.
A large piece of brocade shook violently, shimmering with light.
Now, everyone could see that this Sparrow Hawk had come to stir trouble for the Spider Nest.
Then, a brilliant explosion erupted from the pit's entrance.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation.
After a while, the mountain wind cleared the smoke, and He Lingchuan let out a low "Oh."
That brocade, which seemed to dance with the wind and looked as if it could be pierced with a finger, was surprisingly intact!
This thing was actually resistant to explosions?
The Sparrow Hawk also seemed a bit dazed as it flew down to inspect the situation.
The surrounding Spider Guards had gathered, angrily spitting spider silk at it, disrupting its movements.
The Sparrow Hawk turned and flew away, leaving everyone feeling somewhat disappointed; it was all noise with little impact.
Fortunately, it quickly returned, circling again as if searching for an angle.
This time, Liu Tiao finally saw clearly: "It's holding a command token in its claws!"
Everyone's expressions turned serious.
How could an ordinary Sparrow Hawk use human objects? Moreover, commoners might not even possess such things.
The Sparrow Hawk adjusted its angle and threw again.
This time, the command token still failed to penetrate the brocade and enter the pit.
The Sparrow Hawk let out a frustrated cry.
It flew a few more circles in the air, as if contemplating a solution, but then it flew back towards them.
Everyone exchanged glances; had they been discovered?
Sure enough, the Sparrow Hawk landed on a branch above Liu Tong and folded its wings, speaking human words: "Panlong City Patrol?"
Liu Tong remained cautious: "Who are you?"
"I am a messenger of the Red General," the Sparrow Hawk replied, "The Spider Demon leader Zhu Erniang has caused a flood in the valley, drowning our army! The situation is unfavorable for us, and General Nan Ke has specifically ordered me to destroy the Spider Nest to alleviate the crisis at the front."
It had previously scouted the terrain and discovered the location of Zhu Erniang's nest; after all, the spores here glowed and were very conspicuous from above.
Clearly, this demon was bold and confident, believing no natural enemies would dare to intrude.
Sun Jiayuan immediately said, "A few months ago, I accompanied the Red General on a campaign and seemed to have seen this Sparrow Hawk."
"But the brocade-like spider web is too flexible; the command token I threw could not penetrate," the Sparrow Hawk flapped its wings, "The front line is in urgent need; you must assist me!"
Though it was fast, its size was too small.
No matter how beautiful the brocade was, it was essentially a giant spider web!
If it charged in, wouldn’t it be like a moth throwing itself into the flame?
"How can we help?" Liu Tong asked uncertainly, "Should we try shooting arrows?"
He observed closely; the command token had already been stuck to the web before it exploded.
"If you fly a few circles in the air and look from different angles, you will find that this is not just a single spider web, but at least thirteen or fourteen layers stacked on top of each other. If we force it open, there should be gaps between every two layers. Otherwise, how could such a fat Spider Queen freely enter and exit without tearing the web?"
So that was it.
At this moment, everyone looked at the spider web again and had to admire Zhu Erniang's weaving skills; the thirteen or fourteen layers of spider silk were as light and thin as a single layer.
"If we can pass through the spider web and then throw the command token, it might ignite the nest with the attached firebombs, just like what the Ba Ling people did," He Lingchuan said softly, "Looking at the brocade, it’s clear that the Spider Queen is very protective of this pit; perhaps it will stop fighting and return."
Then General Nan Ke's encirclement would be resolved.
Although their army was a bait, they truly did not want to be devoured by spiders or the Ba Ling people.
However, to penetrate the layers of spider web was not something the Sparrow Hawk excelled at.
In this specialization, those with wings were not as nimble as those with hands.
No wonder it sought help from everyone.
The patrol looked at each other, momentarily speechless.
Who would go?
Would they be able to return?
Who knew what the nest, covered in beautiful brocade like the evening glow, looked like? What if it didn’t burn?
Liu Tong glanced at the thin man.
Among the team, he was the most agile, making him the best candidate for the task.
But the thin man kept his mouth tightly shut, not saying a word.
While the main force was engaged in a difficult battle and suffering losses ahead, their small team happened to be near the Spider Queen's nest, which was a task they had to complete no matter what.
Liu Tong sighed inwardly, about to speak, when suddenly someone said, "I'll go!"
Everyone turned to look, and it was surprisingly Sun Jiayuan, who stood in the back row.
A companion pressed his shoulder firmly, saying urgently, "Hey!"
Among their group, Sun Jiayuan was neither the highest in cultivation nor the most agile.
Sun Jiayuan asked Liu Tong, "If I die here, can I be honored as a martyr?"
Liu Tong nodded, "Of course, that would be a great merit."
If successful, it could be said that one person saved the entire army.
For fallen or injured soldiers, Panlong City traditionally offered generous compensation; if a soldier was honored as a martyr, their family would enjoy high benefits in Panlong City, including guaranteed food and clothing, a set of tin houses to start with, free education for their children, and subsidies during festivals.
In short, there would be no worries about affairs behind them.
Except for those like the thin man, who had too many family members.
Sun Jiayuan's expression turned serious: "Alright, please bear witness for me!"
Since someone had volunteered, Liu Tong also breathed a sigh of relief, first arranging for the merchant caravan to a relatively safe area in the rear, and then everyone discussed the battle plan.
He Lingchuan's team of nine was still intact, and counting the seven comrades saved from the spider's mouth earlier, there were a total of sixteen who could fight.
Meanwhile, there were seven to eight hundred spiders near the nest, among which more than twenty were large Spider Demons.
Everyone had to cover Sun Jiayuan as he entered the pit, allowing him to successfully complete the task of destroying the giant nest.
Undoubtedly, in the world of giant webs, spiders were definitely more agile than humans.
So even if everyone could fend off the spiders' attacks, Sun Jiayuan would still need to find a way to traverse the spider web.
Earlier, they had witnessed a Fox Bat land on the brocade; merely the tips of its wings touched the spider web, and it was immediately stuck, unable to escape.
This web was most likely woven by the Spider Queen Zhu Erniang herself, and its power should not be underestimated.
She dared to roam far from her nest, clearly confident in this web.
If Sun Jiayuan did not come up with a way to move freely, this operation would be more like throwing himself into a trap than throwing a bomb.
"The best way to prevent sticking is to apply oil," He Lingchuan stroked his chin and said, "Does anyone have oil on them?"
"I only have a small bottle of fire oil," Liu Tiao said with a stern face, "That won't do; he still needs to throw the command token. What if he ignites himself…"
Then it would be a case of human sacrifice.
"Then mud should work as well," He Lingchuan pointed west, "Where we climbed up earlier, there’s a large area of muddy ground. Brother Sun, how about you roll around there? The thicker the mud, the better."
This idea came from the wild boar they had caught.
At that time, it had rolled in the riverbank, covering itself in mud.
Although it was a natural behavior for pigs, could this not be considered survival wisdom in the Spider Queen's territory?
Everyone thought about it and felt it made sense.
Sun Jiayuan turned around and walked back, and the patrols all mounted their horses, leaving no one behind.
(End of Chapter)