The scythe-armed spider woman struggled, crashing into the two of them. The scythes in her hands swept in a half-arc. He Wuning leaned back to dodge; the blade passed so close it nearly grazed his nose. From the cold gleam on that scythe, he could guess her attack power was definitely not low.
But one of her legs had already been severed. Her proud speed could no longer be displayed, and her threat level had sharply dropped.
Yi Luo stepped forward, knocking aside her twin scythes. He Wuning spun his Tang Broadsword in his hand and slashed toward her abdomen. One attacked while the other defended—perfect coordination.
The web-spinning spider woman observed from a safe distance. The giant spider woman was still struggling, trying to break free from the harpoon. The scythe spider woman was doomed; finally, under the two men’s combined assault, she let out a scream and collapsed.
He Wuning hadn’t yet seen what items she dropped when the web-spinning spider woman suddenly moved.
She spat a web at the two of them. They had been wary of her attacks and immediately retreated, creating distance. The web landed on the scythe spider woman’s body.
He Wuning raised a brow. He felt something was…
The web-spinner hooked the web with her front legs and began dragging the scythe spider woman’s corpse back. Yi Luo said thoughtfully, “Have you ever heard the story about spiders eating their own kind?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
He Wuning had barely spoken when both men lunged forward, intending to cut the silk and keep the scythe spider woman’s body.
The web-spinning spider woman let out a sharp screech. The giant spider woman, who had been struggling constantly, suddenly seemed to receive an order. She shoved herself upright with a violent heave, completely ignoring the harpoon still lodged in her abdomen, and dragged the entire milk-tea truck as she charged at them!
A shadow like a small mountain surged over them. The two men tensed at once and were forced to evade.
“Waaah!” Q-chan, still inside the milk tea car, was shaken until dizzy. Taking advantage of a brief pause, it scrambled out through a window and clung to a tree, trembling as it looked down. “Such terrifying strength!”
“Die… die!” The giant spider woman seemed not very smart—she could only utter broken words. Her pupils locked onto the enemies before her. She seemed completely numb to pain and once again assumed an attacking stance—she actually planned to attack while dragging the milk tea car behind her!
Neither of the two dared to take such a massive attack head-on and could only dodge.
Through the gap between her massive legs, they saw the web-spinner had already hauled the scythe spider woman to herself and lowered her head to feed.
He Wuning frowned and turned his gaze away.
Predation was normal in nature. But if they already possessed intelligence and still felt nothing toward the death of their own kind…
He dropped his eyes, found an opening, vaulted onto the milk tea car, and slashed his Tang Broadsword into the giant spider woman’s leg joint.
Her body was bigger and tougher, but the joints were still weak!
He looked up at Yi Luo. Yi Luo had again seized the perfect timing, striking the opposite leg so it couldn’t lift.
But He Wuning’s brows knit slightly. He could see Yi Luo’s status—his poison-immunity buff was already ticking down!
Yi Luo obviously noticed too. His eyes met He Wuning’s—and he still managed to smile.
He Wuning frowned. The boss shouldn’t be able to see their buffs, but in his current condition Yi Luo really wasn’t suited to keep tanking up front.
He Wuning stepped forward, signaling with his eyes for Yi Luo to fall back and assist. But this guy actually raised an eyebrow, insisting on fighting shoulder to shoulder with him.
The giant spider woman didn’t understand any of this. All she saw were two people recklessly charging straight toward her mouth. She opened wide, baring her fangs, ready to devour them—only for a staff and a blade to be shoved directly inside.
The giant spider woman let out a scream of agony. A jolt of dread shot through He Wuning. His bad premonitions were almost always right—he immediately kicked Yi Luo away and raised his blade to block the incoming strike.
Cough!
Yi Luo, caught off guard, was sent flying by the kick. Before he could even complain, he saw a gash open on He Wuning’s wrist from the scythe. He Wuning didn’t make a sound, countering with a slash across the creature’s abdomen.
Yi Luo stared at the blood dripping from He Wuning’s wrist, his brow lifting. He kicked aside the charging giant spider woman and drove his copper staff into her previous wound. The damage was immense—wounded and exhausted from such a long fight, the giant spider woman staggered and collapsed, barely able to stand.
He glanced at He Wuning’s wound—his wrist still had to grip a blade, and every movement made blood drip down.
He kept his face tense. “Bandage it first.”
“No time.” He Wuning charged forward with his blade.
For a moment, he had thought the scythe spider woman had resurrected—after devouring her, the web-spinning spider woman formally joined the fight. She seemed to have inherited the scythe spider woman’s attack power and speed—no, perhaps she was even faster and stronger.
It was like an evolution.
Now she carried 20% of the administrator permission fragments. She moved her body as if reveling in her newfound power, stretching her limbs. She chuckled softly, her tone intimate like a lover’s whisper: “Darling, now you understand why we didn’t send a single 30% out at once?”
She lunged straight at He Wuning, her scythes aimed precisely at his injured wrist—she wanted to sever his hand!
He Wuning didn’t seem intent on dodging at all; he actually meant to take the hit!
Yi Luo’s expression instantly darkened. He stepped forward and blocked her attack. He had originally intended to return the favor by kicking He Wuning away too, but when he saw how pale He Wuning looked, his heart softened, so he only bumped him aside lightly.
He Wuning even frowned at him with righteous indignation, braced a hand on Yi Luo’s shoulder, and used the leverage to slash the spider woman—right across her wrist, in nearly the same spot as his own injury.
Vengeful, petty man.
Yi Luo silently looked away. …Kind of cute.
The spider woman retreated and flung a web. This web was extremely sticky—not only could people not touch it, even weapons couldn’t block it. The two had no choice but to dodge.
She landed beside the giant spider woman.
“So pitiful.” The spider woman stepped closer, lowering her gaze with a strange gentleness. “You seem about to die.”
The giant spider woman twitched her legs. The spider woman lowered her head and, in a tone absurdly tender—almost like whispering love words—said, “Well, since you’re dying anyway, lend me your strength.”
She suddenly pressed her body down, and the hidden mouthparts on her abdomen bit into the giant spider woman’s torso.
He Wuning froze for a second. His blade flashed out to stop her from feeding, but she clearly had no intention of letting the chance slip. She wrapped her legs around the giant spider woman, shot a thread from her abdomen, and flipped upside down into the air to evade his strike.
The giant spider woman trembled once, then quickly shriveled like a deflating balloon.
Suspended in midair, the spider woman’s body grew larger and larger. It seemed she would not only inherit the scythe spider woman’s speed and attack, but also the giant one’s size and brute strength.
A flicker of disgust crossed He Wuning’s eyes, though his expression remained calm.
This was one of his rare difficult battles since entering the game—especially since gaining fragments.
It was obvious the enemy had put a great deal of effort into targeting him.
As he caught his breath, he lifted his head and asked, “Did they volunteer to die?”
The spider woman seemed surprised by the sudden question. She tilted her head in confusion and strangely countered, “What? Don’t tell me you’re sympathizing with your enemies?”
“Do you have some noble purpose?” He Wuning looked at her expressionlessly. “Were you forced into this game? Will you die if you don’t fight?”
“So you sacrifice your companions’ lives just to kill me?”
The spider woman stared at him for a moment, then abruptly laughed. “Ah, young one—are you asking your enemy the reason for war?”
“What an adorable little fool. Of course, it’s because you have something we want.”
“The essence of war is plunder, darling.” She was still clamping her companion’s corpse in her mouth, but she tilted her head sweetly like something cute. “Humans are such strange creatures. You’re so easily driven by fatal emotions and make incredibly stupid decisions.”
“You escape danger, yet turn back out of soft, weak feelings. The weak should die first to avoid dragging the strong down—yet in your world, strong individuals die first instead. Truly incomprehensible carbon-based beings.”
He Wuning actually laughed. “Oh? Then what are you like?”
The spider woman seemed genuinely enthusiastic to chat. “Survival of the fittest. The strong rule.”
“Hmph, I thought it’d be something impressive,” Yi Luo scoffed. “You look like something that hasn’t even finished evolving.”
He Wuning’s lips curved slightly as well, and even Q-chan poked its head from the tree to laugh mockingly twice.
The spider woman’s expression darkened in offense. She lowered her eyes pityingly. “Ah… why am I even speaking to lower creatures ruled by emotion?”
She suddenly pushed off with explosive force and leapt down, swinging the scythe in her hand. The two of them dodged, and the ground where they had just been standing split open with a deep crack. At the same time, another web was thrown behind them.
Yi Luo frowned.
She was planning to cover the entire area with webs.
Anywhere there was webbing, she could move even faster, but He Wuning and Yi Luo had to avoid it completely to keep from getting stuck. Her strategy was simple—keep shrinking their maneuvering space while expanding her own advantage.
This creature really was the brainy type. She talked like she looked down on them, but her battle plan was cautious and methodical.
Yi Luo touched the pocket at his side. He Wuning’s gaze shifted toward him.
He raised a brow. “What?”
He Wuning looked over the many pockets on his black combat suit. “Wondering what you’ve got stuffed in all of those.”
Yi Luo chuckled. “Be good. I’ll let you reach in later.”
He Wuning withdrew his gaze expressionlessly. “Scram.”
Smiling with narrowed eyes, Yi Luo reached into one of his pockets and pulled out—a lighter.
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