Cornflower Witch

Chapter 167, the second to last day

“A spider? Or a burrowing spider,” Karl analyzed calmly.

Spiders are a large group, among which burrowing spiders are the largest, and some can even prey on birds.

After Yann blocked the first wave of attacks, Hilti quickly aimed and fired. The bowstring trembled, and the black arrow struck the spider's abdomen and pierced it.

Then, Captain 'Bad Apple' silently and rapidly approached from the side and rear. He held a dagger, the blade of which emitted a hidden glint of light. He directly cut a half-meter-long gash in the spider's abdomen, and yellow-green fluid gushed out, filling the air with a sour and fishy smell.

Soon, the ferocious spider stopped struggling and collapsed, dead.

Seeing this, Karl, who had originally planned to take action, saved his spellcasting materials and went up to check the situation.

Bad Apple stood by, painedly wiping the new dagger, muttering, "Sigh, I was careless. I shouldn't have used this new dagger against the bugs. I should have known that their bodily fluids are corrosive."

The newly crafted dagger is exceptionally easy to use, but it also makes me feel a pang of heartache.

To this, Yann could only scratch his head, suppressing the urge to laugh. His shield wasn't in much trouble; those scratches were added almost every time he fought, and he would only have to have a blacksmith maintain it when they accumulated.

Hilti also stepped forward, covering her nose as she looked at the dead spider.

It is about 1.5 meters wide and has upright white downy hairs on its body. These are probably organs for sound muteness and perception. Its two pairs of chelipeds are black with serrations on the inside, which looks a bit scary.

“The fangs and forelegs are somewhat valuable, but the rest are pretty useless.” After examining them, Karl stood up.

"In the end, spiders are also a type of insect or moth. Individually, they are relatively weak and generally no match for other creatures of the same level. They need to rely on ambushes, poisons, and group combat to fight."

"If we hadn't spotted it just now and it had suddenly attacked us, there could have been casualties. But now that we've spotted it, we won't give it another chance."

"Claws and forelegs? I'll cut them off and take them with me." Yann nodded, took an axe from his horse's luggage, and chopped off the useful parts of the spider.

[Spider Fangs] (Tier 2 - Mist Shadow): Fangs containing venom, possessing a certain degree of penetrating power. Due to the death of the original owner, the venom has gradually lost its effectiveness, and the quality has declined. (Currently: Good)
After collecting their spoils, the group set off again, finally stopping to rest at the foot of a rocky cliff in the mountains at dusk.

Tonight, Hiltiya has prepared roasted potatoes, vegetable and mushroom soup, and stuffed pancakes for everyone.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone sat around the fire to rest, and Hilti took a nap for half an hour.

At night, Bad Apple took out a map, checked the route taken during the day, planned the rest of the trip, and then began to arrange the night watch shifts.

"Tiya, go to sleep first. You can get up at five o'clock tomorrow." The time when it's just before dawn is actually the safest time. Creatures that attack at night won't wait until that late, and creatures that move during the day won't be up that early either.

After the arrangements were made, everyone went about their tasks, and they spent the time repairing their equipment and talking about what had happened during the day.

"How far did we walk today?" Yan asked, sounding a little sleepy.

"It looks like about 30 li in a straight line, but if you look at the actual curve, it's probably more than 80 li."

“It’s unlikely to walk in a straight line in the mountains. We can only find the way slowly. Few students come to this misty mountain area. The map I have was drawn by a senior student decades ago. As for where he came from, I guess he also used the maps and notes of his predecessors to summarize.” Bad Apple complained.

“I estimate that some students tried it a few years ago, but they felt it was difficult and dangerous in the early stages, so they quickly withdrew.”

“If it weren’t for Tia, I would have led you all back this time.” The limited field of vision and perception made it difficult to assess the danger. Going on an expedition under such circumstances was a gamble with one’s life.

"The map indicates that there should be many white venomous snakes here, but all we've encountered along the way are ordinary venomous snakes, not the coagulated type described."

"Perhaps Tiya led us to avoid this place beforehand." The group said, looking at the girl who was resting against a tree.

"Never mind, we'll just have to ask her again tomorrow." The group was relatively lenient towards the youngest member, Silti.

After a night of rotating watch, Hilti was awakened in the early morning and slowly crawled out of the tent under the covers.

"Good morning~" she said in a voice like a kitten, with a hint of drowsiness in it.

After washing up, Hiltiya quickly woke up and prepared a simple breakfast for everyone. After eating porridge and flatbread, the group continued their journey deeper into the mountains.

They encountered fewer cave spiders that day, but other troublesome monsters appeared.

"careful!"

An arrow pierced the air, passing through a dark shadow that attacked from above, and a strange bat fell to the ground. Before Hilti could nock another arrow, more bats rushed out of the mist and attacked the group.

Strange sound waves spread, and the group felt a ringing in their ears and nausea, as if they had lost their hearing. Then they felt dizzy and their vision blurred.

Bad Apple, who was running rapidly with a dagger in hand, was interrupted and slowed down, clutching his head. Yann held up his shield, his body tense, but his consciousness was already somewhat blurred, dizzy from the intense sound waves. Karl behind him also clutched his chest, feeling his heart ache from the sound waves, making it difficult to use his abilities.

Hiltiya, who was behind, was also in a bad situation and could only barely resist the dizzying sonic attack by relying on the 'Moonlight Breathing Technique'.

As soon as the battle began, they were on the verge of total defeat.

【Sonic Bat】(Tier 1 Nightmare): The creature is relatively weak, but it can emit strange dizzying sonic waves. When it travels in groups, many Tier 2 creatures have to flee for their lives.

The attackers were about thirty sonic bats that continuously emitted violent sonic vibrations, causing the people below to sway precariously.

Fortunately, these bats were not particularly strong and could not take advantage of the group's weakness to launch a fatal attack.

However, this situation cannot last much longer.

Despite a splitting headache, Karl raised his hand and summoned the ghostly black cat under his control.

"Meow—" As soon as the black cat appeared, it looked around and let out a long meow before taking action.

Its body, alternating between solid and ethereal, hurtled rapidly back and forth in the air, its sharp forepaws tearing apart the wings of bats and biting to death any struggling enemies in the process.

With the help of the black cat, all thirty-odd sonic bats that flew in fell to the ground and died, and only then did everyone gradually recover.

"I have to say I'm lucky now," Bad Apple concluded as he cleaned up the mess.

"If it weren't for the Ash Fruit we found last time, which helped Karl upgrade the Black Cat's rank, we probably would have all perished here this time," he concluded with lingering fear.

That day, they walked another 73 li (approximately 31.5 kilometers) until they rested at night.

Originally, the group was somewhat inclined to give up, but considering that they had already covered two-thirds of the journey, it would be a pity to abandon it, so they persevered through discussion.

"Try going further in tomorrow. If we can find that stone door, I'll just steal the spring water, then you won't have to come up."

The biggest beneficiary of this search for the water from the Stone Mist Spring is Captain Bad Apple, so he doesn't want so many members to risk their lives because of him.

“There’s no need to say things like that now,” Yann said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm counting on you to get the water from the 'Stone Mist Spring' this time, so you can help me complete the advancement trial next time."

"If team members don't help each other, why would we spend money to trust outsiders?"

"Let's go, we'll continue climbing tomorrow." After saying that, Yann went back to setting up the camp.

Karl, sitting not far away, watched this scene and found it amusing, but also somewhat heartwarming.

Actually, he had been with several teams before. Although everyone respected him, there was still an invisible barrier between them, and it was difficult for them to fully trust each other.

When exactly did he stop thinking about changing teams? The young wizard apprentice fell into reminiscence.

(End of this chapter)