Chapter 181: From Getting Stuck To Being Attacked (2/2)

“It can’t be helped. Everyone, run!”

Ritz ordered while grabbing a troubled, still crouching Dig and ran further into the tunnel. Everyone ran after him in a bid to escape the spiders that were chasing them.

“Can we really make it just by running?!”

Jack shouted while slashing his dagger at a dropping spider. The spider squirmed as its legs were cut off and Nim shot an arrow at it while running, pinning it to the tunnel’s wall.

“I don’t know, but we don’t have any other choices.”

“Fucking bastards! Were they here before?!”

Loren, who was running at the rear of their party, looked back over his shoulder; he totally understood why Jack cursed. The spiders crawled all over the ground and walls of the tunnel to chase their preys; there were so many of them that the floor and walls were hardly visible. Their number was so great that the thought of fighting them didn’t even come to his mind. Loren thought it was impossible for these spiders to multiply that much in a short time, but Lapis, who was running a head of him, disagreed:

“Spiders lay a lot of eggs. In an ideal environment, they can reach an unthinkable number very quickly.”

She said they might have come from the demon side.

“Dig, what’s on the other side of the tunnel on the demon side?”

Still running, Loren asked Dig, who was being carried by Ritz. Dwarves had sturdy bodies, but their legs were short; they weren’t born to run. Dig was saved now thanks to Ritz carrying him, but once Ritz’ arms couldn’t bear his weight anymore, he would have to let him go; there would be little hope for him to survive then. Dig seemed to know that very well; he answered Loren’s question while desperately keeping the lantern high to ensure visibility with a pale face:

“That, there’s also a dwarf village on that side.”

“Ah… I see.”

Dig’s answer gave Loren a bad feeling, but he had no time to worry about it now; escaping from the spiders chasing them was the first priority now. He stopped thinking about that matter and focused on trying to run as fast as possible. Seeing a thin thread dangling down from the ceiling and twined around Lapis’ shoulder, he increased his speed even more.

“Eh? Eek?!”

Lapis felt something pulling her shoulder, and before she even had time to think what was happening, her feet were off the ground. Then strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and the pulling sensation on her shoulders disappeared.

“Be careful! They’re dropping threads to catch prey!”

All of this was started by Ritz touching one of such threads. The vibration from his touch transmitted to the ceiling had alerted the spiders that a prey had entered the area, prompting them to attack. Not only that, but these threads were especially strong and durable, as they were used to capture preys. Anyone got caught by it would be pulling up to the ceiling in an instant, and would be swarmed and attacked by the spiders waiting there; it was just like a trap.

“Be careful, you said, but we can’t even see them.”

In a dark tunnel where they must rely on the light of a lantern to see, it was difficult to notice a thin thread hanging down while running. Even though the threads were strong enough to lift up a person, they were so thin that it was almost impossible to see them if one didn’t look closely.

“I was about to be pulled up just now.”

Still being held in Loren’s arms, Lapis said with a shudder while looking up at the ceiling. As a demon, she might have been alright, but being swarmed by countless spiders wasn’t an experience she wanted to have. Not to mention that in the worst case, these spiders might be poisonous. Just thinking about it made gratitude welled up inside Lapis.

“Thanks a lot, Loren.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you’re pulled up there, I won’t be able to help.”

The ceiling was so high that the lantern’s light couldn’t reach it, and it was vast. There was also no visible path to climb up to it. Rescuing someone pulled to the ceiling was impossible.

“Nim and Quartz, be careful! You’re light and don’t have much physical strength. They’ll pull you up in an instant!”

“I don’t like to spend my final days at spider’s food at all.”

“Me neither. I plan to live for another thousand years.”

Nim declared with a serious face, and Jack reflexively complained:

“But I can’t live for a thousand year.”

“You don’t have enough determination. You should become an undead and continue living. Will you leave me alone?”

“Hm? Can undead be considered still living?”

Jack asked Loren with a serious face while still running. Amazed that they still had so much leisure despite the situation, Loren kept silent while gesturing at the direction to take with chin.