fifth form

Chapter 3419 Removing the Mark
The straight-line distance to Menghe is only 150 li, and the group traveled there in less than four hours.

However, it took nearly twenty hours to bring the captives back to the Spider God's Cave.

Although they set off at the crack of dawn, it was already dark when they arrived at the outer perimeter of the Spider God's Cave.

Watching the massive white dragon and white horse being dragged into the cave, the group on the hillside couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and keep looking through their binoculars.

"What's the situation with Xuezhou?"

"Did you see Steel Spear come out?"

What should we do about the evil thoughts within us?

Zhang Xuezhou took Zhou Rihui to the cave to rescue people, but the two had been inside for nearly half an hour and had not yet come out.

Among the group, some were worried about Zhang Xuezhou's condition, some hoped to see the exchanged prisoners to determine whether the relationship with the spider swarm would be peaceful or fraught with conflict, while Nagos was worried about the evil thoughts within him and hoped that Zhang Xuezhou could help the group get rid of them.

"Old Patton, you always pride yourself on your skills and daring, so why didn't you dare go in with me!"

"Humph!"

"What are you humming about?"

Naggs also spoke briefly with Montesbottom.

After not seeing him for a night, Montespatton was in a terrible temper, making Naggs want to slap him.

“The evil thoughts of the Spider God on us are no joke. If we don’t get rid of them, even if the Steel Hair is returned here, we will still be under their control,” Nagos warned.

"I'd rather be consumed by evil thoughts!"

Montesbottom muttered.

Zhang Xuezhou discarded the artifact so easily. Montespatton had no confidence in Zhang Xuezhou's actions and was somewhat worried that Zhang Xuezhou would also abandon him in the Spider God's Cave.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou is very likely to meet the mastermind behind the Spider God Cave on this trip, which is extremely risky. Montespatton has no doubt that the other party is double-crossing him. If he were to be pushed out by Zhang Xuezhou to take the fall, Montespatton felt that he would be doomed.

He had his own ulterior motives, so he wasn't as foolish as Zhou Rihui to follow along.

Naggs, who always followed the crowd, chose to wait outside when he saw that Montesbottom hadn't gone. Even when Zhang Xuezhou came to ask, he just made up an excuse to avoid it.

A group of people waited anxiously outside, while Zhang Xuezhou followed the Spider God Guards through the winding Spider God Cave.

"You came!"

Led by the Spider God Guard into the depths of a cave, Zhang Xuezhou saw that two gems emitting a yellow light had been embedded in the cave, illuminating it like old light bulbs.

There is also a stalactite base designed using the shape of stalactites.

A woman with a pointed head wearing red armor sat on a stone seat. When Zhang Xuezhou saw her appearance, he couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart, thinking that the ferocious spider beast in Brampeda City had probably been abandoned.

The woman he saw was almost indistinguishable from the transformed ferocious spider beast, and was also used by the Seven Spiders to deceive people.

Beneath the stone seat, Montes Steel stood like a piece of wood to the side.

Just like last night when he didn't recognize anyone, Montessler was equally oblivious to them this time.

"I am coming!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, looking at the woman who uttered the Seven Spiders' voice.

“The prisoners have been brought here, and it’s time to take my prisoners back as well,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Okay," the woman replied simply.

"Undo the methods you used on them!"

Zhang Xuezhou gestured, pointing not only to Montes Steel, but also to Zhou Rihui.

"can!"

The woman controlled by the Seven Spiders continued to nod, and as she waved her hand, a bunch of cave spiders crawled all over Montes Steel's body, and then climbed up Zhou Rihui's body.

Montess didn't react at all, while Zhou Rihui stared wide-eyed and kept giving him meaningful glances, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. "Although I know it's a bit impolite, I still want to ask you, how did you manage to get my companion's body tainted with your methods?"

Zhang Xuezhou and Qi Zhu did not discuss how to join forces, since they had already communicated last night.

The meeting between the two parties is more about finalizing the contents of the previous agreement.

Given Seven Spiders' control abilities, and considering that the other party is still being secretive, Zhang Xuezhou doesn't doubt that the other party will exchange prisoners unless they impersonate Tiger Yu to cause damage. However, there is a high probability that they will return a prisoner who is still being controlled.

Perhaps Seven Spiders won't turn against him, but if they do, everything Zhang Xuezhou has done will be in vain.

Seeing that Seven Spiders were removing the spells left on Zhou Rihui and the others, Zhang Xuezhou finally spoke up and asked a question.

"This method is nothing special. I will randomly place some marks in the spider swarm. If you accidentally touch or kill these marked spiders, there is a chance that you will be infected by the marks. The marks will then grow silently until I have completed the control!"

"Great!"

The Seven Spiders' words seemed to be an announcement, but they also sounded like a warning.

Even if the Seven Spiders dispel their own abilities, the opponent still has the capacity to manipulate them again.

“It seems that the current treatment method relies on the spider colony to absorb and transfer these imprints,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

“That’s right,” Seven Spiders nodded. “But when I remove the mark, I take away a little bit of their essence. They need to rest for a while to recover. Oh, he probably doesn’t need it!”

Seven Spiders pointed at Zhou Rihui, then hesitated for a moment before pointing at Montes Steel.

To be fair, both Zhou Rihui and Montes Ganghao are strong men who have refined their bodies and are full of vital energy. Having some of their energy extracted has little impact on them.

"Essence and Qi" is a term from the Seven Spiders cultivation system, similar to "blood and Qi".

In short, the blood and energy of an individual who has their Seven Spider Marks removed will be damaged.

Spellcasting is smoother when close to the Seven Spiders and results in less damage to one's vital energy. However, casting spells from a greater distance requires a longer time to control and can lead to greater depletion of vital energy.

Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to criticize Montes Barton for a moment.

Prisoners should be treated like prisoners; he obviously couldn't keep bringing prisoners to remove this mark.

"The little spider didn't bite my hand, but it hurt terribly, like there were needles pricking it!"

After Zhang Xuezhou finished talking with Qi Zhu, Zhou Rihui murmured his own situation.

Anyone with Zhou Rihui's strength would be strutting around like a madman. Zhou Rihui killed the spider beasts as if they were toys, and he did indeed get cocky, but his arrogance was quickly extinguished.

Whenever they discover that their abilities are not as powerful as they imagined, and they almost get taken down, this arrogance will quickly dissipate like ice water.

"Just a little pricking will do the trick!"

Zhang Xuezhou scanned Zhou Rihui's arm and saw that the fluorescence on Zhou Rihui's arm was decreasing at a visible rate, and the skin and flesh were becoming somewhat loose. Removing this mark would indeed have considerable harm.

“I heard Hu Hao call me a half-dead person. Will they become half-dead people if they continue like this?” Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Indeed!"

Seven Spiders remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

"You don't need to worry about me using this ability on you. Even if you accidentally get some, this ability won't endanger your life. At most, it will only assist me when I need it," Seven Spiders replied.

Seven Spiders pointed at Montes Steel Hair, and Zhang Xuezhou saw a blank look appear in Montes Steel Hair's eyes, which then turned into fear.

"How did I get in here? How did you all get in here? How did she get in here again!"

Having previously followed Montesbarton in the attack on the Spider God's Cave, Montesbarton appeared rather panicked when he saw the familiar terrain, and even more so when he saw the ferocious spider with a pointed head and a female body.

After repeatedly shouting and questioning, he ignored Zhang Xuezhou and the others' responses, then let out a shout and ran away.

"They have no sense of being prisoners of war at all!"

Zhang Xuezhou patted Zhou Rihui on the shoulder, signaling Zhou Rihui to chase after Montessler and teach him a lesson, so that Montessler, who was in a daze, wouldn't cause any trouble by messing around.

After seeing the two off, Zhang Xuezhou finally faced the temporary partner who was still hiding.