96 Chapter 96: Crimson Spiders (2/2)
”We know. Do you think we're idiots?”
By now, we had worked together long enough to form a close rapport with each other. Normally I would be teaming up with Elliot and the other Black Roses, but over the past few days I had learned the fighting habits of Craig and Theodore, and thus knew how they would move or react. Similarly, Dong Fang Yue Chu had also gotten familiar with their fighting styles, but he was a little too anxious sometimes. Not that I blamed him. I would have said the same in his position, precisely because we both knew how impulsive and reckless Craig could be.
Especially since we fought alongside him over the past few days.
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Honestly, I was aware that neither Dong Fang Yue Chu nor I were without flaws as well, so we didn't really mind that. Working in a team had its advantages and disadvantages, but the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks. Any one of us would find it extremely difficult to tackle such a large number of Crimson Spiders on our own, but together, we were obliterating them.
”Yue Chu, burn the entire area sixty degrees to our left. We'll take care of the right flank!”
Theodore was much calmer and more composed, giving out instructions. Now that I thought about it, we had four society presidents working together in a single group. Oddly enough, I was the lowest-ranking member, being only a vice-president. Even so, no one complained about having to take orders from the others. Not even the usually proud Craig – the spearman merely followed Theodore's lead and rushed headlong into the surviving Crimson Spiders.
The Crimson Spiders' ruby carapace gleamed from the flames, and their mandibles clacked restlessly. Arcing their back abdomen up, they fired streams of web, but I quickly shot them down with flaming arrows from Sagittarius.
”Thanks!” Craig called out to me before he sliced through several more Crimson Spiders that were desperately scattering to get out of his way. They failed to escape, and were carved apart by his wicked spear.
In contrast, Theodore silently bulldozed his way through the swarm of fleeing Crimson Spiders, his crackling Thunder Hammer launching bursts of electricity and frying the rank-F monsters. They might be heat resistant, but they were certainly not insulated. Even so, the main killing power of electricity was the sheer heat it produced, so…I wasn't sure how it worked. It did short out the electric nervous signals transmitted from their brains to the rest of their bodies, so…
At the side, Dong Fang Yue Chu was busily incinerated another batch of Crimson Spiders that had just recently emerged from the nest. They screeched and flailed about as their once ruby bodies were blackened by the superheated flames.
”Now's our chance!”
Pearl began moving toward the center of the nest, now that the monsters were diminished. Theodore and Craig continued to clear a path for her, falling back to escort and protect her. I covered their advance by swapping my bow. Since Sagittarius's arrows were fire-type, they were not very effective against the Crimson Spiders, which had an affinity with fire. So I instead swapped to a more neutral element bow, Orion.
Fortunately, despite being fire-type monsters, these Crimson Spiders were only rank F, so they were unable to manipulate fire or cast fire spells like rank C monsters. Rank C monsters were known as Elementals, whereas rank F monsters were usually called Minions. The gulf between their power and magical ability were massive.
”Betelgeuse!”
Muttering the name of the star under my breath to help me focus and imagine the technique better, I unleashed a hail of arrows from my bow. Hundreds of arrow streaked through the air and smashed into the nest, pulverizing the emerging or fleeing Crimson Spiders with the force of tank shells. Or artillery. Well, that was my role, after all.
”Got it!”
While Dong Fang Yue Chu and I continued to lay covering fire, and Theodore and Craig escorted her, Pearl managed to grab the mission token. Raising it triumphantly, she then quickly placed it in her storage device. The three of them then began fighting their way out. I discouraged any pursuers by bombarding the Crimson Spiders behind them, which meant they were more concerned with trying to stay alive than to chase the insolent humans who dared to intruded upon their nest.
No doubt, if left alone, these Crimson Spiders would hunt down isolated humans, trapped them in their webs, and then drag their poor victims back to their nests for food. They were known to be carnivorous and we humans were on their menu.
So it felt good slaughtering them.
”Just a bit more!” Dong Gang Yue Chu called out in encouragement. Unlike me, he was scorching the front to clear a path for our friends to rush through. Burned and charred Crimson Spiders twitched in their death throes, even as the three of them stomped through them.
”Hey, why are we running?” Craig demanded with a frown. ”We might as well go and eradicate the whole nest once and for all!”
The rest of us turned to stare at him. Theodore shook his head and sighed.
”We'll do that after we've escorted Pearl to a safe distance. Then we'll go back and destroy the rest of the nest.”
”Yeah, we should…before these monsters attack any humans in future.” Dong Fang Yue Chu nodded in agreement. I also agreed silently, raising my bow in response to continue raining down a hail of arrows upon the diminished numbers of Crimson Spiders.
There weren't many left, and it shouldn't take us too much time to exterminate the whole nest.
At least that was what I thought, until there was a sudden tremor across the ground.
”What the hell was that?” Pearl demanded, looking around worriedly. The rest of us shared her concern, having sensed a sudden surge in monstrous energy.
It was coming from the Crimson Spiders' nest.
”Oh…” I murmured, remembering something about Crimson Spiders that I read about in what seemed like eons ago. In a monster encyclopedia back in my house. A chill ran down my spine as I groaned. ”It's their boss.
”Their…what?” Craig snapped.
His question was answered when something enormous burst out of the nest, sending mud, soil and leaves flying all about. A single immense Crimson Spider, about several dozen times bigger than the usual Crimson spiders, emerged, its mandibles clacking in rage as it glared at us with its multiple glowing eyes.
Flames began to erupt from its carapace, forming an inferno that was on par with the one Dong Fang Yue Chu created to slay its minions. Rank C. An Elemental class monster that lorded over its Minion class monsters.
”…this is not good,” I mumbled under my breath.