As the clicking sounds grew louder and louder, the eight-eyed giant spiders finally emerged from the jungle. At the same time, the centaurs began commanding the plants to fire.
These eight-eyed giant spiders, the size of large dogs, were incredibly agile. Ryan was thankful that he had given the shooting command to the centaurs. If he had relied on his own experience of shooting slow-moving zombies, he would have had a hard time hitting these fast-moving creatures.
While the front line was holding well, Ryan carefully observed the spiders. They were not only charging on the ground but also dropping from the trees.
The book Where Are the Fantastic Beasts? once stated that the eight-eyed giant spiders originated from the far-flung East Indies in Southeast Asia and were not native to the United Kingdom. Since they had no natural predators here, they had become an invasive species.
These spiders were carnivorous. While insects did not hunt as aggressively as mammals, the sheer number of eight-eyed giant spiders in front of him indicated they had already devastated the local ecosystem.
Soon, the first wave of spiders that rushed out of the forest fell one after another under the firepower of the machine-gun peas. Ryan was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he noticed the serious expression on Oden Smith's face.
"The first wave is just a reconnaissance force," Oden explained. "The real attack is coming. Eight-eyed giant spiders aren't ordinary creatures; they're intelligent."
Ryan tightened his grip on his wand and stared at the forest. A dense clicking sound echoed from the trees, filled with anger.
With a sharp screech, the spiders charged out of the forest as if they had heard a battle cry. They surrounded them in a tight semicircle, like a moving hill. Some even tried to bypass the river and attack from behind.
Luckily, Ryan had previously arranged a group of water lily plants on the river, which quickly eliminated the spiders struggling against the water currents and the muddy riverbed.
Although the sneak attack had been neutralized, the pressure on the front line was increasing. Not only were more spiders appearing, but their size was also growing. Some were as large as the horses that pulled carts.
"We fired a dozen cherry bombs into their gathering area. Why are they all charging out now?" Oden exclaimed while commanding the plants. "I've used this tactic before, but it never drew out so many! What's going on this time?"
Ryan used psychedelic mushroom spores as casting material to unleash an ancient Viking spell meant to deter darkness. Since the eight-eyed giant spiders were artificially created dark creatures, they were visibly affected. Several of them began fighting among themselves, slowing down their offensive.
As Ryan reached into his pocket for another handful of spores, he asked Oden, "You've lured them out before? Did you throw explosives into their nest?"
"How could we have had explosives before? We only tied flammable, insect-repelling herbs to our arrows."
Ryan suddenly understood why the spiders had reacted so violently. In the past, the centaurs' attacks were more like minor disturbances. Annoying, but not devastating. This time, however, the explosive force of a dozen cherry bombs together was equivalent to a cluster grenade, likely causing severe damage. No wonder the spiders were in a frenzy.
But there was no time to dwell on it—now that they were engaged, they had to finish the fight.
Ryan scanned the battlefield. Despite the intensity of the spiders' attack, the combined firepower of the plants, explosive cherry arrows, and his own magic had stopped their momentum.
While the machine-gun peas weren't as effective against the larger spiders due to their spherical shape reducing penetration, they could still break the spiders' legs and immobilize them.
Among his plants, Ryan found that dragon grass and potato mines were the most effective. The dragon grass was a natural enemy of these hairy spiders. Even a small flame could ignite their bodies, turning them into fireballs within seconds. Unfortunately, to prevent a forest fire, he had to position the dragon grass in the inner circle, limiting its reach.
The potato mines were controlled by Dr. Zombie Bruce's assistant, who used his connection with the forest to locate the densest spider groups. The mines didn't always kill the spiders outright, but the explosions shattered their fragile legs, leaving them defenseless.
After over half an hour of battle, a deep cracking sound echoed from the forest. The last giant spider, as massive as a baby elephant, emerged.
It waved its claws menacingly, clicking loudly in fury.
"Mosag?" Oden Smith's face showed visible surprise.
"Who's Mosag?" Ryan asked, searching his memory but coming up blank.
"Mosag is the spider mother. She rarely leaves the valley unless something serious happens. Her appearance here is unusual."
Ryan quickly understood what had happened. The explosive arrow had likely flown directly into the nest due to the wind, not only destroying several eggs but also blowing off two of Aragog's legs. As Aragog's consort, Mosag had sworn vengeance.
What had started as a simple hunt had somehow turned into a full-scale battle. But Ryan had no intention of going down without a fight.
Thinking quickly, he opened a space portal to the world of Plants vs. Zombies and pulled out several baskets of exploding cherries—his entire stockpile.
Just then, Crazy Dave noticed the space door and asked if Ryan needed backup. After Ryan promised to bring back at least twenty spider corpses, Dave provided him with two rotary machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, along with a small box of grenades.
These weapons had been recovered from a military base while Dave's team was clearing out an abandoned city. Since they weren't very effective against zombies, Dave gladly handed them over to Ryan.
Although ammunition was scarce due to the collapse of military factories, 10,000 rounds was more than Ryan had expected.
With these reinforcements, his confidence surged. He was ready to finish this fight and reap a big reward.
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