18: Chapter 18 Ghost-Faced Spider

The assault squad Lin Mo was in consisted of twelve people in total, including himself: Captain Wu Feng, four veterans, and six students—four boys and two girls.

Because Lin Mo had been added to the team at the last minute, he was not familiar with the others.

Before setting off, the captain made a point to introduce the team members to Lin Mo.

He himself was a late-stage tier two Awakener, while the four veterans were all Tier 2 early-stage: Vice Captain Lao Yu, the stubble-faced Old Hu, the tall and thin Old Gao, and a dark-skinned man everyone called Old Hei.

Among the six students, besides Zhao Fansheng, the other three boys were all green-grade trait Awakeners, and their strength was relatively average.

The girl with twin tails was named Zhou Dongmei, and she also had a green-grade trait.

The final team member was named Yi Xiaoyu, who had a capable short haircut; she was the one who left the deepest impression on Lin Mo.

It wasn't because she was a blue-grade trait Awakener, nor because she was pretty—though Yi Xiaoyu was indeed very beautiful, and her features were even more beautiful than Ye Zhixia's.

What attracted Lin Mo the most was the extreme sense of contrast about this girl.

If one only saw her from behind, she definitely gave off a valiant and heroic feeling, looking like an expert at first glance.

But if one saw her face, that previous sense of being an expert vanished without a trace instantly.

Because her eyes were so beautiful, with pupils as black as two gemstones; one look at them would cause one's heart to inexplicably soften, as if this girl was born with a need to be protected.

After setting off, there was almost no communication within the team, with only Captain Wu Feng occasionally barking out a few brief commands.

"Shrubs on the left, bypass them."

"Two hundred meters at the three o'clock direction, three Rotten Wolves. Ignore them."

"Whole team, speed up. Cross this depression within ten minutes."

The veterans were like five precision-engineered war machines, always maintaining a two-in-front, three-in-the-back escort formation, protecting the seven student soldiers, including Lin Mo, in the middle.

Every time they encountered a small group of vicious beasts, two veterans would instantly break from the formation; in a flash of blades and spears, the beasts would be reduced to corpses, and then they would rejoin the team without a word and continue on their way.

Lin Mo followed in the middle of the team, his eyes fixed on the rapidly dealt-with beast corpses, silently calculating that he had missed out on at least thirty points of slaughter value along the way.

But he said nothing.

Right now, the most important thing was to reach the target area within two hours; the mission was paramount, and every second delayed could mean another life lost.

"Classmate Lin Mo."

Zhao Fansheng had approached him at some point, his face wearing that unsettling 'gentle' smile.

"If we encounter danger later, make sure to stay close to me. You're only Tier 1 Level 2, and your talent is just a white-grade trait; you're too fragile in this environment. I have the blue-grade Black Rock Armament, so my defense is decent, and I can block for you at a critical moment."

Zhao Fansheng deliberately raised his voice, ensuring that the team members both in front and behind could hear him.

A few chuckles came from within the team.

The stubble-faced Old Hu glanced back and said in a gruff voice:

"Little Zhao is not bad! Having strength and knowing to look after your classmates... a blue-grade trait Awakener must be top-tier in your year, right?"

"Brother Hu flatters me."

Zhao Fansheng lowered his head humbly, but the trace of pride at the corner of his mouth could not be hidden.

The other three boys all cast envious looks at Zhao Fansheng.

Zhou Dongmei, with her twin tails, whispered:

"Senior Zhao, are you a blue-grade trait Awakener? That's too amazing..."

"It's alright."

Zhao Fansheng gave a "modest" smile, but the expression on his face showed he quite enjoyed the praise.

"My defense is just thirty or forty percent stronger than an average Awakener, and I can only tank frontal attacks from Tier 1 mid-stage vicious beasts; it's nothing much."

"Wow! Tanking frontal attacks from Tier 1 mid-stage vicious beasts!"

The eyes of the three boys with green-grade traits lit up, and they unconsciously moved closer to Zhao Fansheng.

Lin Mo listened expressionlessly, his steady pace not faltering in the slightest.

Half an hour later, a dense, dark woodland stretched across the path ahead of the team.

The trees here were completely different from before, pitch-black all over with sharp, dense needles; even more unsettling was the faint gray mist shrouding the woodland, reducing visibility to less than fifty meters.

"Captain, we've reached the Black Needle Forest."

A veteran said in a low voice.

Captain Wu Feng stopped, his expression solemn.

"Mm, taking a detour would add at least half an hour."

He looked back and scanned the whole team, his gaze lingering on the faces of the student soldiers for a moment.

"We'll go straight through; a detour definitely won't work. Everyone, stay sharp!"

"Listen up, there are three types of pack-dwelling vicious beasts in this Black Needle Forest. Ghost-faced Spiders are the most troublesome; they are Tier 1 mid-stage and highly venomous. One hit will cost you half your life, if it doesn't kill you outright!"

The faces of several new recruits instantly turned pale.

Tier 1 mid-stage?

And highly venomous?

The several of them were only at the Tier 1 Level 4 and Level 5 cultivation stages; even Zhao Fansheng, who was recognized as the strongest, was only at Tier 1 Level 5. Facing a creature like the Ghost-faced Spider, only Zhao Fansheng could tank a few hits, while the others probably couldn't withstand even one!

Wu Feng paused and emphasized his instructions with a heavy tone:

"Remember, our mission is to reach the 16th Defense Zone within two hours, not to clear out vicious beasts here. So do not attack proactively, do not make a sound, and especially do not touch any spider webs."

"For so many Ghost-faced Spiders to gather here, there must be a Spider King. If we alert it, we'll have to fight a breakout battle right here."

Everyone nodded.

The team set out again, but this time the speed was noticeably slower.

The veterans guarded the student soldiers even more closely, their weapons all unsheathed and their eyes as sharp as eagles.

After entering the Black Needle Forest, the light dimmed abruptly.

The gray mist coiled around the tree trunks as if it were alive, and its sound-absorbing effect was excellent, making even the sound of footsteps become muffled and vague.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the occasional faint rustling sound, seemingly the noise of some multi-legged creature crawling over the needle layer.

Lin Mo looked up.

On a tree trunk ten meters to his front-left sat a spider the size of a washbasin; its carapace was a ghastly white, naturally forming a pattern resembling a twisted human face, and its eight compound eyes glowed with an eerie green fluorescence in the gray mist.

It was indeed a Ghost-faced Spider.

The beast did not move, just crouched there quietly, its abdomen rising and falling slightly.

Then, a second one, a third one...

In a distance of just a hundred meters, Lin Mo discovered at least a dozen Ghost-faced Spiders.

Some were hanging on webs, some were lurking in tree hollows, and some were even hanging upside down from the branches directly above everyone's heads, their dangling legs almost touching their helmets.

Everyone held their breath.

Zhao Fansheng was walking in front of Lin Mo, but his pace suddenly slowed down until he was almost side-by-side with him.

"Lin Mo, keep up."

"It's too dangerous here, don't get separated."

Another "kind" reminder; his voice was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Before he finished speaking, his right foot "accidentally" shifted three inches to the left.

There was an almost transparent spider silk line stretched between two tree trunks, which was extremely difficult to detect with the naked eye in the gray mist.

The edge of Zhao Fansheng's combat boot lightly brushed against the spider silk.

Buzz—

The spider silk vibrated violently, emitting a high-frequency buzz!

In the next second, the entire Black Needle Forest "came alive"!

"Screee—!!!"

Shrill, ear-piercing shrieks erupted from above the forest floor; it wasn't the cry of a single spider, but a warning issued by hundreds and thousands of them simultaneously!

All the Ghost-faced Spiders turned at once, their eerie green compound eyes locking onto the squad's position!

Zhao Fansheng's face instantly shifted to a "panicked" expression as he shouted:

"Lin Mo, watch out! Don't touch that spider silk—"

Before his voice could fade, a massive black shadow pounced from deep within the gray mist at a terrifying speed!

It was a monster more than five times larger than an ordinary Ghost-faced Spider.

Its carapace was no longer ghastly white but a deep purple, nearly black, and the human face pattern on it was twisted like a malevolent spirit; each of its eight legs was as thick as a human thigh, and its ends were scythe-like claws.

Most terrifying were its mouthparts; as its two pairs of chelicerae opened and closed, the dripping venom corroded the ground into hissing white smoke.

Ghost-faced Spider King, late-stage tier two!

...