360 Chapter 360: I’m a Spider, what about it? (1/2)

In case you guys didn't get the reference in the chapter title above, just translate it into Japanese. You know what, I'll just do it for you. It's Kumo desu ga, nani ka?

”…oi! Stop muttering to yourself and focus on fighting!”

Redfield's annoyed shout pulled me back to reality and I snapped back as a steel-like thread of web burst out of one of the Arachne's…well, ass. Twisting in midair, I managed to dodge under what would otherwise be a deadly lance.

So they could use their web in such an offensive manner as well. I had to be careful.

”Colonel Feng! If swords and spears don't work, then let me burn them!”

Redfield was driving ahead, leading the vanguard. His spear blazed crimson even as he conjured a storm of fireballs. Swinging his spear, he launched them at the swarm of Arachnes, but once again they wove a wall of web that smoldered and melted under the heat. Despite withering away from the flames, they didn't really combust and turn into a raging inferno like Redfield would expect.

”!!”

While Redfield thrust his spear forward, one of the Arachnes countered with one of its sword-like legs, slashing at him. Twirling his spear, Redfield deflected the leg to one side, but he didn't even manage to leave a burn on the thin appendage. The Arachne bore down on him, executing a flurry of rapid strikes with almost all eight legs at once (I mean, it still needed to stand on a few of its legs or it would fall over) that forced him into the defensive. As skilled as Redfield was, even he found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks.

He couldn't expect assistance, for the rest of us were also assaulted by the other Arachnes. Inhuman shrieks filled the air as the monstrous woman-spider hybrids charged into our positions, almost forcing us to scatter. Brent smashed a fist into the face of one of the Arachnes, even as he struck another wall of web with his staff. Tornadoes spun about him as he charged into their midst, trying to blow them away with his wind magic.

I wouldn't be surprised if he unleashed his, uh, Bankai again.

Feng Hai was living up to his name, blasting the horde of Arachnes with what appeared to be hurricanes. Dozens of blades danced about him, sweeping through the air in deadly slashes and slices at what appeared to be the vital spots of the Arachnes. However, the Arachnes hung on tenaciously, parrying the blades with their many legs, while tethering themselves to the ground through web. The hurricane, though devastating against most other foes, was ineffective against the extensive web that the multiple Arachnes had spun around the forest.

”No wonder they are rank B…” Feng Hai muttered, though I suspected they were classified as such because of their amount of mana rather than any real estimation of strength. They were skilled and deadly, that much was sure, but I hardly understood why they would be ranked the same as Crastrates or a Silver Skeletal Wolf. I guessed they were rank B because of the immense mana compressed into their relatively small forms.

Still, even if they lacked the strength of other rank B monsters, they were certainly tricky buggers. No pun intended.

”!!!”

Dodging under the swipe of an Arachne that chose me as its target, I parried the next strike from its sharp leg with Bai Ri before deflecting a third spike-like appendage with Hei Yue. The Arachne put more force behind its next blow, and even though I crossed both of my swords to block the combined thrust of three legs, I was flung several meters backward.

”Huff…”

Skidding across the ground, I mentally cycled through the possible options in my mind. Fire didn't seem effective, from what I had seen so far from Redfield's failed assault, and if I recalled correctly, spider threads weren't very conductive so lightning spells wouldn't be a good idea as well. Spiderwebs possessed so little conductivity that they were for all intents and purposes considered non-conductors, even though there were currently attempts to turn spider thread into electric wires on the microscopic scale.

In any event, White Tiger or Vermillion Phoenix might not be appropriate in this scenario. I was better off using some other Celestial Guardian. A natural predator of spiders…now what could that be? Scorpio? Uh…but I designed my Scorpio to be a nuke type Constellation spirit, so he didn't really possess any other combat abilities other than the strategic spell Antares.

Obviously I couldn't just nuke the entire place, not when my goal was to rescue Anastasia, who was trapped behind that wall of webs.

Lizards, fish, birds, wasps, even monkeys…but I didn't have any of those except Pisces. And Pisces wouldn't be able to swim around in a web-filled environment like this. Corvus, too, would be too small to pick on these Arachnes. Besides, I could only use one Corvus for today because the rest of them got wiped out by the dumb Veneneum Assassins earlier. So I needed to wait for a bit to regenerate them before I could summon them again.

Aquila…no, eagles did not eat spiders, as far as I know, anyway.

”!!!”

Unfortunately, the Arachnes were not the only enemies we had to deal with. A weird buzz echoed throughout the forest, and a swarm of over thousands of spider-like creatures crawled down the web to join the hideous woman-spider monstrosities in battle. I gaped for a moment when I caught sight of the newcomers. They were a ghastly white, with spider-like legs protruding out of their heads. Their heads, particularly, appeared to be upside-down human skulls, for some reason.

”Trites!” Brent murmured as he spun his staff around to blow them away. They exploded into slightly acidic green blood every time they were struck. These monsters, while numerous, were thankfully fragile. However, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

”We're ripping off Doom 3 now?”

The Arachne I was currently engaging slashed at my neck with one of its blade-like legs, forcing me to duck. While I did so, a bunch of suicidal Trites launched themselves at me, but I easily cleaved through them with a single swing of my Hei Yue.

Then I parried another of the Arachne's legs with Bai Ri. As I did so, several more Trites lunged at me, their jaws – which were strangely above their multiple pairs of eyes – wide open and ringed with slavering teeth. Muttering an incantation, I blasted them away with Hei Yue, only to be almost caught off guard when the Arachne struck me with its leg.

”Kuh!”

Good thing I managed to parry the two sharp legs with Bai Ri, or they would have pierced through my body. However, the blow was still powerful enough to send me hurtling across the clearing, and I landed on the ground in a roll.

While I was trying to rise to my feet, a few more of the Trites jumped at me, trying to take a huge bite out of my face or body. There were so many of them that it wouldn't be hard for them to target different regions of my body. I desperately lashed out with both of my swords, slicing a deadly arc at them that disintegrated their tiny forms into acidic blood.