Chapter 182: Repelling The Attack (1/2)

Loren’s group continued to run in a line.

The spiders chasing them didn’t decrease in number, nor did they show any signs of slowing down – they were like an avalanche, or a tsunami.

“No matter how many arrows are there, it’s still not enough.”

Nim grumbled, her quiver had been reduced to less than half. She looked over her shoulder and shot at the spiders from time to time, one arrow of hers carrying enough force to pierce through multiple creatures at once. But the fallen spiders were immediately replaced by others, and her attack showed no visible effect at all.

“Magic has its limit too.”

Quartz, who was trying his best to run, had given up using magic attacks since the start. The spiders were numerous enough to fill the whole width of the tunnel, so they would have caught up to him while he was still chanting a spell. And even if he was lucky enough to be able to land a hit, it probably wouldn’t mean much, since it would only cause a bit more damage than Nim’s arrows.

“Ritz, stop for a bit and do them in!”

Jack shouted at Ritz, and he shouted back:

“You do that!”

None of them were being serious about it, though. They both knew that in this situation, if they stopped even just for a moment, they would be engulfed by the tsunami of spiders and die before they had a chance to do anything.

Loren knew it too. He only used his greatsword when a spider dropped in his path. In all other cases, he just devoted himself to running.

But Loren painfully knew that sooner or later, one of them would reach their limit. He wasn’t worried about Lapis, who he was carrying in his arm and Gula, who was running so closely behind him that it felt like she was sticking to his back. The one he was most worried about was Quartz, who didn’t use his body much as a magician, and was elderly in age. In fact, Quartz was speaking less and less, and sometimes a hint of pain showed on his expression.

“Is the exit still a long way off?!”

Ritz asked Dig, who was still being carried by him as there was no way dwarves could outrun spiders. Dig answered in a loud voice while holding the lantern aloft:

“Unfortunately yes! We’re not even halfway there!”

Everyone felt quite hopeless hearing his answer.

“We can’t escape!”

It was understandable for Jack to scream like that. Humans just couldn’t run with all their might for such a long distance. Yet, if they let up their speed, the spiders will catch up with them.

“Gula, can you do something?!”

Loren asked Gula, who was supposed to be just another magician. His question wasn’t for a magician who could cause wide-scope damage by herself, but for a being having the power of an Evil God. Even though they would surely be questioned by Ritz’ party later, it would still be a lot better than becoming spiders’ food.

But Gula’s answer was unfavorable:

“Even I will be swarmed by spiders if I stop.”

“> probably won’t be effective, right?”

If the tunnel was less wide and high, an earth wall could be raised to stop the spiders, even if just temporarily. But with the width and height of this tunnel, one single earth wall wouldn’t work.

“We’ve been through something like this before, haven’t we?!”

“Do you mean the goblins case? But don’t worry, Loren.”

Lapis said with full confidence, even though there was not a single thing to not worry about in the current situation. Loren, who was carrying her under his arms, gave her a puzzled glance, and she said in a resigned tone:

“Last time, only women were used as nurseries. This time we’ll all become food or nurseries together. The only difference is whether they’ll eat us right away or plant eggs on us.”

“That’s nothing to not worry about!”

“Somehow you guys seem quite relaxed.”

Ritz said with amazement. Near him, Quartz suddenly stumbled, and Nim and Jack hurriedly grasped his arms to lift him up. He managed to not fall this time, but it was clear that he was near his physical limit. Ritz grimaced.

“Hey, Loren,..-“

“If you want to tell me to take Dig and go ahead, I won’t hear it.”

Loren interrupted before Ritz could continue. Everyone knew Quartz wouldn’t be able to keep running like this. It seemed like Ritz planned to stop and tried to buy as much time as possible for Quartz’ to commence some more powerful spells, hoping it would turn the situation around.

There was almost no chance for that plan to succeed, of course. The odds were too high that it wasn’t even worth betting, and Ritz didn’t want to drag Loren’s party into it. He was about to tell Loren to take Dig and leave, but Loren stopped him before he could.

“But, to continue like this is…”

“If you want to make a bad bet, why don’t you bet on me, hm?”

Gula suddenly barged in on their conversation.

“Bet on you?”

“Yeah. Try to run hard for a while. Count slowly to 300 while you’re running. When you’re done, I’ll manage it somehow.”