Cornflower Witch

Chapter 204 Blood-Eyed Spider in the Dark

Riding a white horse across the wilderness, a long-lost sense of vastness washes over me.

Hilti's mood was slightly light, probably because she felt a sense of freedom, just like after working overtime for half a year, she finally got a happy vacation.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but she really does enjoy that feeling of freedom.

Unlike the journey there, the trip to Mammoth Town only took Hiltia two days. This was probably because she could travel faster on her own, whereas before she had been traveling with a caravan, which inevitably limited her speed.

After traversing the desolate and dark wilderness, she arrived at the border town of Mammoth. After thinking for a moment, Siltia put on the veil that 'Bad Apple' had given her before, and then walked into the association's branch there.

“I need some information about the ‘Spider Forest’.” She took out her previous woodland badge as proof of identity.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The staff behind the counter didn't mind the stranger's request and skillfully pulled out a printed sheet from the bookshelf behind her and handed it to the girl.

"The Spider Forest is quite dangerous. Do you have any familiar companions to team up with?" He kindly reminded the girl, seeing that she was alone.

“I know, but I was just checking things out a bit this time,” Hiltiya explained simply.

Seeing that she was confident and that she was a second-level student, she should not be a novice, the staff stopped trying to persuade her.

After obtaining the information, Hiltiya first stayed in Mammoth Town. Based on her previous experience following the 'Bad Apple' and their adventures, she purchased the supplies needed for the journey, including torches, candles, ropes, and simple tents. She then packed these items and loaded them onto her warhorse.

The next morning, before most of the townspeople had even gotten up, she set off on horseback.

Heading towards the northwest corner of Mammoth Town, Hiltiya arrived at the outskirts of the Spider Forest around noon. The paths here were overgrown with weeds, indicating that no one had come to explore for a long time.

Facing the gray and white world of the border, Hiltiya prepared herself, leading her warhorse into it, the slightly cold touch once again enveloping her.

Walking along the riverbank, through the long, gray world, she gradually entered the interior of the forest, where she could see traces of small spiders and many tattered spider webs among the trees.

The deeper we went into the forest, the darker the sky became. It was only about three o'clock in the afternoon, but it already looked like night.

Noticing that her warhorse was somewhat uneasy, Hilti stopped and took out a lantern that she hadn't used in a long time. She hung it around the horse's neck and touched it slightly. The orange-red light spread out and illuminated the surroundings.

After advancing several hundred meters, the sky above the forest was completely covered by leaves and spider webs, making it almost impossible to see the sky. There were also many small white spiders running around on the ground, causing the warhorses to lift their hooves from time to time.

It seems that without some cleanup, it will be difficult to move forward.

Hiltiya finally understood why no one had come to this secret realm for so long. Mammoth Town was located on the edge of the Dark Mist Mountains, a remote and sparsely populated area with few students stationed there. In addition, the environment was dangerous and the only produce was spiders, so most people were unwilling to risk coming here.

She took the lantern off the horse's neck again, held it in her hand, and with the help of the Flower Blooming Technique, an invisible wave of fire spread, igniting the surrounding spider webs.

The fire spread rapidly, and not only spider webs but also trees began to burn.

At this moment, Hiltia pulled her restless warhorse closer, letting the fire spread and engulf the surrounding area. Large amounts of fallen leaves and spiderwebs were ignited, and billowing smoke rose from the forest. She stood still, her eyes gleaming with an emerald light, as if she could see through the dense foliage to what lay within.

A few minutes later, the forest in front of us seemed to come alive, with numerous spiders surging out from it. They climbed in all directions, densely packed, like a chaotic and eerie tide.

In response, Hiltiah intensified her attack, unleashing an invisible wave of fire that ignited any nearby spiders. The scorching heat lifted the withered branches and small spiders, hurling them into the air where they burst into a shower of sparks.

A pungent, acrid smell filled the air. At that moment, several large, grayish-white spiders rushed out of the forest, oblivious to the flames. These strange spiders, about three meters wide, searched the area with their black eyes after emerging from the fire, and instantly found the girl standing in the circle of flames. They then charged towards her.

【White Bug Spider】(Tier 2·Insect Moth): A spider skilled at weaving webs and ambushing enemies. When silent, its body blends into its environment. It is poisonous. When it dies, its body fluids emit a foul odor, marking enemies and prompting its companions to pursue it.

"hiss--"

It was clear they were furious. As they ran, their limbs rubbed together, their black, shiny fangs bared, revealing their ferocious mandibles, determined to tear the unfamiliar girl to pieces.

However, Hilti was prepared for this. She put down her lantern, drew her gleaming gold sword from her waist, and swiftly ran out, slicing the attacking spider in half like a gazelle leaping over horns, scattering its severed limbs all over the ground.

After the greenish-yellow liquid was spilled, a strange sour stench filled the air, forcing Hilti to cover her nose and avoid it. Then she easily killed the attacking 'white stink bug' again, moving with light steps to avoid the juice sprayed when it died.

Creatures with the 'insect-moth' phenotype are generally very weak individually. Even though these spiders and Hilti are both second-tier, their strengths are worlds apart.

After slaying more than twenty 'white stink bugs' along the way, the forest finally quieted down a bit. Faced with the spider corpses all over the ground, Hilti felt a little troubled.

The spiders' valuable parts are their eyes and fangs, but looking at the yellowish-green liquid all over the ground, Hilti really didn't want to touch them.

Forget it, we don't need these materials.

She carefully leaped among the spider corpses, avoiding the foul-smelling fluids, feeling that this process was even more difficult than the previous battles.

After killing the surrounding second-tier spiders, the remaining first-tier spiders also fled in fear under the influence of the pheromones emitted in the air. They probably understood that there was a very dangerous and terrifying enemy here.

Back with her warhorse, Hiltiya led it around for a while, comforting it and feeding it some food before the white horse calmed down and continued to follow her.

Stepping across the white ground left by the flames, Hilti continued forward through the forest. She vaguely sensed that there should be even more powerful spiders deep within the forest, but they never came out. She didn't know if they were lying in ambush or if they were in a dormant state.

And so it went until it was completely dark. Then, Hiltiya found a relatively safe spot, set up camp, and prepared to spend the night there.

Thanks to the runes she had learned, she was now able to set up a simple warning array to help her guard at night. In addition, she could also rely on the array to prevent her aura from leaking out and attracting enemies. Just as she lit the campfire and cooked tonight's food, a figure in the depths of the forest slowly began to move.

Eight red eyes of varying sizes wandered in the pitch-black environment, like lanterns in the night. Its seemingly enormous body moved with remarkable silence, without making a sound.

In the dead of night, an invisible shadow slowly moved through the forest until it saw the hazy glow of a campfire in the distance.

(End of this chapter)