Above the mage!

Chapter 582 The Net Beneath the Stone (Part 1)

A slight magical fluctuation enveloped Elena's legs, making her feel incredibly light.

With a powerful leap, she sprang forward like lightning, hurtling towards the entrance to the crypt covered in silvery-white spider silk.

Alina's brown uniform drew a clean arc in the steam, and the moment she took action, she had already gripped her bone staff in her hand.

It's clear that this elite cave spider queen put immense pressure on her.

Just as there are combat mages and ordinary mages among mages, there are also distinctions between creatures that are good at fighting and those that are not.

Earth elementals, which are creatures with low intelligence and rely solely on instinct and numerical values ​​to fight, are at most considered to be of medium difficulty.

The burrowing spider queen is different.

As the apex predator in the depths of Blackrock Canyon, it not only boasts astonishing numbers but also possesses a cunning intelligence comparable to that of humans.

Add to that the late-stage Tier 3 rank, the deadly necromantic poison, and the overwhelming spiderweb traps, and it's definitely a high-level challenge.

Elena's caution is entirely understandable.

The next instant, Elena's figure disappeared into the dark entrance to the cave.

Almost simultaneously, a violent explosion and flash of light came from deep within the cave.

That must have been Elena's first spell. Judging from its power and force, Godd reasonably suspects that Elena cast the king of third-circle evocation spells, Fireball.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp, piercing screech pierced through the cave, as harsh as metal scraping against metal, causing the surrounding stalagmites to tremble slightly and the steam to ripple.

In just a few breaths, Elena's figure flew out of the cave entrance.

She was surrounded by dense cyan energy, and her [Flight Technique] was running at full speed, allowing her to hover three feet above the ground.

Behind Elena, a gigantic, suffocating monster followed closely behind.

It was none other than the elite Crypt Spider Queen!

Its body was as big as a mine cart, covered with a thick, dark purple carapace covered with irregular black spikes.

The eight thick spider legs are like spears covered in obsidian, and their sharp claws can easily leave deep scratches when they cut across the rocks.

Its head is covered by a semi-transparent exoskeleton, through which one can vaguely see the pulsating scarlet compound eyes.

There were more than twenty of them, like inlaid rubies, locked onto Elena's figure, their eyes filled with unexpected anger.

Four gleaming chelicerae extended from her mouthparts, their tips dripping a viscous, dark green liquid.

It was the deadly poison containing necromantic energy that gave it a pungent, fishy smell, tinging the surrounding steam with a faint purplish-black hue.

What's even more chilling is that its abdomen is swollen like a drum, and its surface is covered with fine, dark purple patterns.

Dark purple energy flowed within the patterns, clearly indicating that it was the core area storing necromantic energy and spider silk.

The spindle tube at the end of the abdomen continuously secretes silvery-white spider silk, which is thicker than that at the entrance.

Its surface was writhing with pale purple necromantic energy, which writhed in the air like a living thing, trying to entangle Elena's body.

"Beast!" Elena hissed, waving her bone staff and scattering a handful of seeds with her right hand.

Instantly, countless dark green vines with barbs sprouted from the ground and began to wrap around the spider queen's legs.

But the Spider Queen reacted extremely quickly, her eight spider legs slamming into the ground, and her massive body sprang up like a cannonball.

While dodging the vines, the spinneret on its abdomen suddenly shot out three silver-white spider silks with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for Elena's vitals.

Elena sidestepped.

Spider silk brushed past her uniform and got tangled in a nearby rock.

Instantly, a deep indentation was carved into the bamboo shoot stone, and necromantic energy spread along the spider silk, making the dark purple patterns on the surface of the bamboo shoot stone instantly more intense.

Knowing the power of the spider silk, Elena dared not linger in the fight. Using the speed advantage of her [Flight] spell, she flew towards the depths of the stalactite forest, while occasionally turning back to cast the Seed-Sowing spell.

Vines and thorns kept sprouting from the ground, trying to hinder the spider queen's pursuit.

The Cave Spider Queen let out an angry hiss, her legs kicking the ground faster and faster, her massive body moving nimbly among the bamboo shoots and rocks without any hindrance.

Its compound eyes were fixed on Elena's figure, its chelicerae opened and closed constantly, occasionally spitting out a ball of dark green venom.

The venom ball landed on the bamboo shoot rock, instantly corroding a large pit, and the toxic mist it emitted made the surrounding steam viscous.

A man and a spider, two figures, one in front of the other, quickly disappeared into the misty stone forest.

The sharp hissing, the sound of spells exploding, and the screeching of spider legs scraping against the rocks gradually faded into the depths of the steam.

Gao De hid behind the bamboo shoots until he could no longer hear any movement, and patiently waited for several dozen breaths to make sure the Spider Queen would not suddenly return before he began to act.

Elena promised to distract the Spider Queen for fifteen minutes.

But in the perilous Black Rock Canyon, where accidents could happen at any moment, he would never entrust his safety to someone else's promise.

Therefore, we must act quickly and decisively.

After casting "Graceful Stride" and "Cat's Grace" on himself, Gao De darted like a ghost toward the entrance to the cave hidden beneath the three bamboo shoots.

The entrance was covered with silver spider silk.

Gaode dared not touch it, fearing there might be some hidden secrets involved.

He pushed off with his feet, leaping across the spiderweb-covered area like a nimble cheetah, and entered the cave.

The movement was completed in one smooth motion, without making the slightest unnecessary sound.

The entire stalagmite forest is dimly lit due to the presence of underground steam.

The cave, being a place completely devoid of light, was pitch black, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Fortunately, Gaode itself has evolved a decent ability to see in the dark, so although it does affect its actions, it is not too much.

The passageways in the underground cave were much wider than Gaode had anticipated.

The rock walls on both sides are jagged and full of sharp edges and bottomless cracks.

Above, stalactites hang upside down, extending downwards.

The longest one almost touches the ground.

The surface was also covered with a thin layer of dark purple moss, which emitted a faint fluorescence, adding an eerie atmosphere to the cave.

There were many broken stalagmite fragments scattered on the ground, with fresh explosion marks and scorched marks at the fracture points.

It was clearly a masterpiece left behind by Elena's fierce battle with the Spider Queen.

Gao De quickened his pace and headed deeper into the cave.

Before long, he arrived at the area Elena had pointed out, where the burrowing spider queens had spun their webs.

In his not-so-clear vision, countless silver spider webs covered the entire passage, like a giant silver net, completely sealing off the passage leading to the depths.

It looks as if a thick layer of restriction has been added to this place.

A layer of dark purple light swirled around the spider silk, which must be the necromantic toxin Elena had mentioned. Gao De frowned slightly.

How do we get across?

The most direct method is definitely to destroy these spider webs.

However, Gaode was also worried that there might be other hidden agendas, and that violent destruction might lead to some bad consequences.

Moreover, he always felt that if he really destroyed these spider webs, the Cave Queen Spider might sense it.

Based on his knowledge of ley line creatures learned from the Sea Sentinels, many spider-like ley line creatures have a special sensitivity to the spider silk they spin.

It's best not to force it.

He thought for a moment, and then softly called out, "Ibrahimovic."

As Gao De's voice faded, a ripple of multicolored energy spread across his shoulder.

A small, adorable, and mysterious creature, resembling a fox, appeared on Gao De's shoulder amidst ripples of energy.

It is the Stellaris that maintains its stealth by using the [Astral Stealth] ability.

Its round eyes looked at the spider web with a hint of curiosity.

"It's up to you now," Gao De said to Ibu, pointing to the spider web ahead.

Tweet~
Ibrahimovic responded with a sound.

Randomly, it puffed out its cheeks, its small body trembling slightly, as if gathering energy.

Two breaths later, a beam of multicolored light, about the thickness of a thumb, shot out from its mouth and struck the spider web in front of it.

【Astral Impact】: Concentrate the transformed energy in the claws or mouth, releasing a colorful astral energy flow.

The moment the beam of light struck the spider web, the silvery-white silk suddenly rippled with a twisting motion.

The originally strong silk threads began to become translucent, like an ethereal reflection in water.

The dark purple necromantic toxin also dimmed, losing its original corrosive properties.

The physical structure of the spider web briefly entered a state of "astral phase shift," becoming untouchable and completely ineffective.

"Now!" Gao De's eyes lit up, and with the help of [Great Stride] and [Cat's Grace], his figure darted through the spider web area like a ghost.

As he passed through the illusory spider web, he could feel a slight spatial tremor, but he was not hindered in any substantial way.

After passing through the spider web trap, the view deep inside the cave suddenly opened up, revealing a large natural stone chamber.

With the help of Mandora's magic eye, Gao De quickly scanned his surroundings.

The negative element energy in the stone chamber was unusually concentrated; even on the stone walls, one could see purplish-black crystals formed from the condensation of negative energy.

Traces of negative energy flow were everywhere, but Gao De did not see any trace of the "necromantic elemental species" that Elena had mentioned.

He frowned slightly, wanting to conduct a more detailed exploration within the cave.

The next moment, Gao De's gaze fell on the center of the stone chamber.

There, a thick layer of silvery-white spider silk cushions covered the ground, and on the cushions curled up a creature the size of a fist.

Gao De stared intently, and upon seeing the creature's appearance clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted, the hairs on his body stood on end, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Because it turned out to be a juvenile spider, its appearance was almost identical to that of the burrowing spider queen, only much smaller in size.

The dark purple carapace was not yet fully hardened, and it had a translucent sheen.

Its surface is covered with tiny bumps, like undeveloped thorns, and its eight slender spider legs are covered with silvery-white hairs.

Its compound eyes, pale pink, were curiously turning, scrutinizing the uninvited guest who had intruded.

"The Queen Spider is laying eggs!" This judgment exploded in Gao De's mind like a thunderbolt.

He was not afraid of the young spider. Even as an adult, an ordinary cave spider was only a second-tier creature, let alone this young spider whose chelicerae had not even hardened.

But what truly sent chills down his spine was the ironclad law of nature: a female animal that has just given birth will have her protective instincts at their peak, and she will never easily stray too far from her territory, and may even launch a relentless attack on any creature that gets too close.

Elena had no idea about this!
Her plan to "delay for fifteen minutes" was based on the assumption that the burrowing spider queen was in a normal state.

But now, this spider queen, who has just given birth, will inevitably turn back at any time because of her offspring, and she cannot be easily restrained!

Even though Gao De knew that the negative elemental energy in the stone chamber was unusually concentrated and must contain some hidden mystery, he had long since given up the idea of ​​exploring it.

Danger could strike at any moment; we must evacuate immediately!
He turned around decisively and ran back the way he came.

Upon returning to the web area, Eevee understood immediately and unleashed another [Astral Impact], causing the web, which had regained its physical form, to fall back into an illusory state.

Gao De passed through smoothly, but after running only two steps, the entire cave suddenly began to shake violently.

The stalactites overhead hummed, and stone fragments fell like raindrops, making a crackling sound as they hit the ground.

The ground rocks began to crack.

Gao De's expression changed!
what's the situation?
The next moment, he realized what was happening.

The earth's veins are shaking!

When Elena discovered the Giant Oak of the Rock Ridge, she mentioned that the ley lines in Blackrock Canyon were extremely active and frequently trembled, and he just happened to be there.

"What bad luck!" Gao De cursed inwardly, but his posture remained perfectly steady.

The spell effect of [Cat's Grace] was maximized at this moment, greatly enhancing his balance and agility.

Even in the violently shaking cave, it can still move quickly by stepping on cracked rocks, precisely adjusting its point of force and center of gravity, while avoiding falling stalactite fragments.

The movements were so fluid that there wasn't a single lag.

As the faint light at the entrance came into view, Gao De couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, before he could even finish exhaling, Gao De's pupils suddenly contracted, and the hairs on his body trembled all over, as if his blood had frozen at that moment.

At the entrance to the cave, a huge black shadow, as large as a small mountain, blocked all the way!
Beneath the translucent exoskeleton, two rows of scarlet compound eyes, like meticulously polished rubies, were densely packed together.

Each compound eye was fixed on Gao De deep within the cave, the violent intent surging in its pupils almost bursting out of its eyeballs, as if it would tear him apart at any moment.

Four gleaming chelicerae extended from its mouthparts, and the dark green venom dripping from the tips of the chelicerae hit the ground, instantly corroding deep, smoking pits.

A foul, fishy odor filled the air, making people nauseous.

It's the Cave Queen Spider!!!
It returned ahead of schedule, without being held back by Elena for fifteen minutes.

This newly born mother spider wouldn't be disturbed by the outside world for long, especially after discovering the tremors in the earth's veins. She was extremely anxious and rushed back immediately.

What's worse, it returned just as Gaode was about to escape from the cave.

It's like a hunter waiting at the entrance of a cave, waiting for his prey to walk right into his trap, completely trapping him in the dark underground cave.

(End of this chapter)