203: Chapter 203 Mist Spider

The team continued moving forward.

After walking for about another half hour, the mist became thicker, and visibility was less than twenty meters.

Zhou Zhenghao walked even slower, each step cautious, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

A rustling sound came from ahead; it wasn't loud, but it was dense.

Zhou Zhenghao stopped and raised his hand to signal those behind him to halt.

Emerging from the mist was not one, but a group.

LV5 Mist Spiders, about the size of a millstone, with eight long legs ending in razor-sharp tips, their black carapaces shimmering with a metallic luster in the mist.

Their eyes were blood-red, compound eyes flickering with an eerie light in the mist, while they continuously spat out white spider silk.

The problem was, there were six of them in total.

Zhou Zhenghao's expression changed instantly.

LV5, six LV5s.

He was LV6; in a one-on-one fight, he wouldn't fear any single LV5 Mist Spider.

But with six attacking together, he definitely couldn't win alone, and even with Zhao Meng, Su Wanqing, and Qiao Shuwan added to the mix, the odds of winning were not high.

"Do not scatter, back-to-back!" Zhou Zhenghao shouted.

Zhao Meng, Su Wanqing, and Qiao Shuwan immediately huddled together, the four of them standing back-to-back to form a defensive circle.

Zhao Meng's hands were shaking even more violently, his short blade wobbling in his grip as if he couldn't hold onto it.

Su Wanqing's lips were pressed white, her tingtao sword held horizontally in front of her, the blade trembling slightly.

Qiao Shuwan's expression remained indifferent, but her hands were already raised.

Green wind was spinning rapidly in her left hand, while dark purple mist surged and condensed in her right.

Her dual Superpowers were fully activated.

The six Mist Spiders surrounded them; they didn't rush to attack, but were probing, looking for flaws in their prey.

Their eight long legs moved lightly across the ground, making a rustling sound like the footsteps of death.

Zhou Zhenghao's forehead was covered in sweat, and the hand holding his blade was trembling slightly.

LV5 Mist Spiders had carapaces hard enough to block ordinary blades, eight legs as fast as lightning, and highly sticky silk that was difficult to break free from once entangled.

The main issue was that there were six, too many.

Zhou Zhenghao glanced at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin was standing outside the defensive circle, his hands in his pockets, motionless.

He hadn't moved closer, nor did he look nervous.

Wang Lin did not intervene because this was Zhou Zhenghao's team; Zhou Zhenghao was the leader, and these Mist Spiders were part of their training.

If he intervened every time, the team would lose the purpose of the training, and he would expose his strength prematurely.

Wang Lin wasn't here to be a babysitter; he was here to kill Shen Junlin. He didn't want to waste energy or expose his strength on these low-level beasts, nor did he want everyone to know his trump cards on the first day of entering the forest.

But he wouldn't just watch them die either.

If they truly couldn't hold on, he would intervene.

However, it wasn't time yet.

"Wang Lin!" Zhou Zhenghao shouted. "Come over quickly!"

Wang Lin looked at him without moving. "You fight first."

The corner of Zhou Zhenghao's mouth twitched; there was no time to curse at Wang Lin because the Mist Spiders had launched their attack.

Three charged from the front, two flanked from the sides, and one circled around to the back.

Their coordination was impeccable, as if they had practiced it countless times.

Their eight legs moved across the ground at an astonishing Speed.

Zhou Zhenghao's dagger blocked the first one from the front, the blade striking the Mist Spider's carapace with a muffled sound, leaving only a white mark.

Zhao Meng's short blade slashed at the second one, cutting its leg halfway through, but the Mist Spider hissed even more frantically, and its other seven legs swept toward him simultaneously.

Su Wanqing's tingtao sword pierced through one of the third spider's legs, the tip passing through the joint gap, drawing out a stream of black blood when she pulled it out.

Qiao Shuwan waved her left hand, and a green Wind Blade flew from her palm, moving so fast it was almost invisible to the naked eye, precisely slicing into the head of a Mist Spider.

The Wind Blade left a deep crack on the carapace but didn't cut through.

An LV5 carapace; even a Wind Blade struggled to kill it in one hit.

She pushed out her right hand, and a mass of dark purple mist spread from her palm like a slowly blooming flower.

The mist drifted toward the Mist Spider with the cracked head, seeping in through the fissure.

The Mist Spider's body suddenly stiffened, its eight legs began to twitch, black foam gushed from its mouth, and then—it collapsed.

Poison-type Superpower, seeping in through the wound, attacking the nervous system directly.

In less than three seconds, an LV5 Mist Spider lost its combat capability.

Zhou Zhenghao's eyes widened sharply.

He had never seen Qiao Shuwan use this ability. Poison-type? Wasn't she Wind Element?

Zhao Meng was stunned, and Su Wanqing was stunned as well.

They had always assumed Qiao Shuwan only possessed the Wind Element Superpower; during the Inter-school League, she had used only the Wind Element from start to finish.

No one knew she was also hiding a Poison-type, and she had never used these two abilities in any public setting.

Qiao Shuwan's Wind Blade and poison mist were perfectly coordinated.

The Wind Blade cut open the carapace, and the poison mist seeped in through the wound.

One, two, three.

She had taken care of two Mist Spiders by herself and helped poison one for Zhou Zhenghao.

But her breathing became heavier and heavier, sweat beaded on her forehead, and both the green light and the dark purple mist were weakening.

Her Superpower consumption was too fast; using the Wind Element and Poison-type simultaneously drained Mental Energy at twice the rate of a single Superpower.

Qiao Shuwan couldn't hold on for much longer.

Zhou Zhenghao's breathing became heavier, and his stamina was rapidly depleting.

Zhao Meng's blade technique was starting to become chaotic, and Su Wanqing's sword was not as fast as it had been a moment ago.

There were now four Mist Spiders still alive, two of which had been paralyzed by Qiao Shuwan's poison mist, but the toxin was wearing off.

The other two were unscathed, their eight blood-red eyes fixed on them, sealing off their retreat bit by bit.

Zhou Zhenghao glanced at Wang Lin, a surge of anger rising in his heart.

"Are you fucking here to watch a show?"

But the anger lasted only a second because he suddenly thought of a question:

Why wasn't Wang Lin intervening? Was it because he didn't dare, or because he felt it wasn't necessary?

If it was because he didn't dare, then he was a coward who watched his teammates fall into danger without daring to act.

If he felt it wasn't necessary, then he was using his teammates' lives to test their limits.

Regardless of which one it was, it made Zhou Zhenghao feel disgusted.

But he had no time to think.

A Mist Spider broke through the defensive circle, its eight legs moving rapidly across the ground, heading straight for Qiao Shuwan.

Its target was clear: eliminate the most dangerous one first.

Qiao Shuwan's Wind Blade and poison mist posed the greatest threat to them; once she was eliminated, the remaining three were of no concern.

Qiao Shuwan raised her left hand, a green light flickered in her palm, and then extinguished.

Her Mental Energy was exhausted, and she could no longer use her Wind Element Superpower.

The dark purple mist in her right hand surged once, then dissipated; the Poison-type was also exhausted.

Qiao Shuwan watched the Mist Spider lunging at her, her expression still indifferent, but she did not retreat.

The millstone-sized Mist Spider opened its poisonous fangs and lunged at Qiao Shuwan.