Chapter 84: Spider Queen

Sorry, this chapter was missed yesterday and wasn’t uploaded

Su Li looked at the Mantis Giant Shrimp’s corpse and suddenly saw its right shrimp claw wither and shrink, quickly detaching.

The detached right claw dissolved into a ball of white light that instantly flew toward Gong Xiao’s right hand, fusing into it and disappearing.

“This woman has good luck.” Su Li was a bit envious. The Mantis Giant Shrimp was an Elite-class monster, and killing any Elite-class monster gave a certain probability of acquiring its special ability. The Mantis Giant Shrimp’s special ability was “Mantis Fist.” It seemed Gong Xiao had acquired this ability.

Ding Longyun also witnessed it and exclaimed with envy, “Gong Xiao, what ability is that?”

Gong Xiao’s eyes sparkled. She was sensing the new ability she had acquired in her right hand, integrating the knowledge. “It’s called Mantis Fist. The name sounds a bit bad, but the power…”

She paused, suddenly switched the baseball bat to her left hand, clenched her right hand into a fist, and violently punched out.

In that instant, Su Li saw a faint afterimage around Gong Xiao’s punching fist.

A fist producing afterimages—how fast must that be?

“Mantis Fist can deliver six punches in an instant, but it consumes some stamina…” Gong Xiao stopped, shaking her right arm. “Maybe my right arm’s enhancement can’t keep up. Delivering six punches instantly left my right arm sore and numb.”

Ding Longyun laughed. “You’ve acquired a new ability and you’re still not satisfied? Complaining about things? How are Su Li and I supposed to feel?”

Gong Xiao smiled at his words and playfully stuck out her tongue—a rare, slightly embarrassed, and charming look. She suddenly looked at Su Li and asked, “Did I just steal your kill…”

Before she could finish, Su Li’s expression changed. He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her.

The sudden action startled Gong Xiao. She was yanked into his embrace and immediately prepared to resist, but she found Su Li pulling her behind him. She looked up and saw a gigantic spider standing right where she had been a moment ago.

If Su Li hadn’t pulled her away, she would have been crushed by the gigantic spider.

Gasping, Gong Xiao stopped struggling, a chilling sensation washing over her.

She had never seen a spider this huge.

The spider’s appearance was very similar to the Sea Spiders, entirely covered in black and white stripes, but its size was astonishing. Its eight spider legs extended, each more than four meters long. The spider stood three meters tall and was over five meters long. Crouching there, it looked like a small shed.

The most bizarre and terrifying feature of the giant spider was its head. It was somewhat human-like, with faintly visible features. An indescribable sense of ugly, terrifying strangeness surged up in her heart.

“What is that—” Gong Xiao finally cried out involuntarily.

Su Li, standing in front of her, wore a rarely seen look of solemnity.

From the moment he awakened his talent and leveled up, gaining an extra enhancement opportunity had given Su Li four muscle enhancements, granting him a terrifying 1,700 jin of brute force. He had an unprecedented confidence. He hadn’t worried about the swarm of Sea Spiders or the Level 3 Elite Mantis Giant Shrimp.

But this colossal spider before him caused immense pressure to rise from the depths of his heart.

Because he knew exactly what this giant spider was.

It was the leader of the Sea Spider colony, the Spider Queen. A Leader-class monster that legend said only appeared when the colony faced a massive, existential threat. Why had it appeared now?

This was completely unexpected for Su Li.

The vertical eye-like fine lines appeared on his brow, and information surfaced in his mind.

“Name: Spider Queen. Level: 4. Leader-class Spiritual Source Beast. Possesses rapid movement speed, formidable strength, razor-sharp claws, and a hard shell, making it nearly perfect. It is one of the most powerful entities among Level 4 Spiritual Source Beasts. Only striking its human-like head will kill it. Killing the Spider Queen guarantees acquisition of the special ability ‘Spider Walk.'”

Spider Queen. A Level 4 Leader-class monster—an existence far more powerful than the Elite Beasts, and even hailed as one of the strongest among Level 4 monsters. Its only weakness was its head, which resembled a human face.

Su Li took a deep breath. This was the third Leader-class monster he had encountered. The first was the One-Eyed Frog King, which, despite being a low-level Level 2 monster, was formidable.

The second Leader-class monster was the Nightmare Beast, whose level he couldn’t even peer into. It was completely beyond his ability to fight, even with his current doubled strength.

The third was the Spider Queen before him.

“This is the Spider Queen, a Level 4 Leader-class monster! Everyone, be extremely careful—” Su Li spoke gravely, warning the other three. The Spider Queen had already launched its attack.

Just as the “Peering Rune” warned, the Spider Queen, despite its massive, shed-like body, moved incredibly fast. Its eight long legs pushed off the ground, and it scuttled toward them. Its target was Su Li and Gong Xiao behind him.

Gong Xiao scrambled to dodge. Su Li did not retreat. He locked his focus entirely on the Spider Queen. He let out a low shout, gripping the machete with both hands, and swung it out to meet the charging monster.

His attack was perfectly timed. The Spider Queen’s movement speed was terrifyingly fast, but its attack speed was less extreme. Otherwise, the fight would be impossible.

The Spider Queen’s attack was to raise two of its forelegs. The tips, sharp as claws or spears, lunged toward Su Li like two javelins.

Su Li’s machete accurately struck the two incoming forelegs. Even with Su Li’s immense strength, he failed to sever the legs. Instead, sparks flew, and a metallic clang echoed.

“It’s so tough—” Su Li felt his arms numb from the jolt. His body became unstable, and he staggered backward.

The Spider Queen’s strength was too immense.

Although Su Li’s strike failed to wound the Spider Queen, he gained an insight during the close-range confrontation. He observed that the joints of the Spider Queen’s long legs were composed of sinew and membrane. While the rest of its body was protected by an impenetrable hard shell, the joints were not. If he could strike the sinew and membrane of those joints, he could certainly sever them. Just like with the hard-shelled Tyrant Crab, crippling its movement would make killing it much easier, despite its head being the only vital spot.

While Su Li was blocking the Spider Queen’s attack, Ding Longyun quietly moved to flank the monster. Killing such a large creature could yield Spiritual Sources, but the chance of gaining a special ability was the most crucial factor.

(End of Chapter)