Chapter 60
As the clicking sounds grew louder, the giant eight-eyed spiders finally emerged from the forest. At the same time, the horsefolk began activating the defensive plants they had prepared.
These charging spiders, each the size of a large dog, were incredibly agile. Albert was relieved he had ordered the troops to open fire immediately. Based on what he knew from the original story, it would've been impossible to hit these spiders using standard archery—they moved far too quickly.
Even though the initial pressure wasn't overwhelming, Albert observed the spiders carefully.
They were swift and coordinated. He even saw some leaping from the treetops as well as sprinting along the forest floor.
One magical creature book once stated that the eight-eyed giant spider was native to the remote Antilles in Southeast Asia—not to Britain. Clearly, without natural predators in this land, they had become a dangerously invasive species.
And considering these spiders were carnivorous—though their hunting habits and appetite weren't as ferocious as those of mammals—the sheer number of them now confirmed they had wreaked serious havoc on the local ecosystem.
Soon, the first wave of spiders burst from the forest and fell under the barrage of magical gunfire. Albert exhaled in relief—only to notice a solemn expression on Wolf's face.
"The first wave is just a test," Wolf explained. "The real force comes after. The eight-eyed spiders aren't ordinary creatures—they're intelligent."
Albert gripped his wand tightly, scanning the forest as a deep, rhythmic clicking echoed through the trees. He could feel the fury of the spiders lying in wait.
With a sharp cry, a second wave burst forth from the forest, this time in even denser formations—so many they looked like a rolling hillside. At the same time, some spiders began crossing the river to flank the hill from behind.
Thankfully, Albert had planted water lilies across the river's surface. These plants dried out the spiders easily, drowning them as their legs got caught in the water's sticky mud.
Still, the pressure from the front increased. Not only were there more spiders, but they were also getting larger. Some were now the size of horses, pulling carts out from the depths of the forest.
"We launched dozens of explosive arrows into the nest's vicinity. How are they still moving?!" Wolf shouted from among the plant controllers. "We were just trying to draw them out—what went wrong? I've done this before, but I've never seen this many!"
Albert had used spores from a hallucinogenic mushroom to craft the explosives. Clearly, the eight-eyed spiders had reacted strongly to the strange synthetic fungus. Many of the spiders at the blast zone were twisted and slowed, giving Albert the perfect chance to unleash his long-prepared spell—**Pierce**.
**Boom!**
A streak of white light shot from Albert's wand, striking a spider and instantly blasting off its entire lower body in a spray of ichor.
"Yesss!" Albert grinned. "Finally—I can move on to the next level of this spell!"
Excited by his breakthrough, Albert reached into his pocket and pulled out more of the intoxicating mushroom spores.
Wolf asked, "You said you've drawn enemies out of their dens before. But have you ever thrown **explosives** into someone's home?"
Albert raised an eyebrow. "How were we supposed to get things like that before?"
Wolf shook his head. "We just used bug-repelling glowing herbs tied to arrows."
Albert suddenly understood. In the past, the riders' raids were like tossing a rock at someone's front yard—not ideal, but not devastating. This time, however, over a dozen explosive charges had been used. Some must've flown straight into the spider nest due to the wind, destroying eggs—and worse, injuring Aragog himself.
No wonder the spiders were in a frenzy.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Looking out at the battlefield, Albert saw that while the spiders' assault was fierce, the factory's powerful firepower—alongside his own spell and the planted traps—had completely held the line.
Although the machine gun bullets weren't effective at piercing the larger spiders' round bodies, they could easily snap legs, immobilizing them in the field.
Among the various plants, Albert noted that dragon grass and potato mines were the most effective. Dragon grass, in particular, was a natural enemy to the spiders—just a graze would ignite them into flaming balls in seconds. The only drawback was that it had been planted in the inner circle to avoid burning the forest, limiting its range.
Thunder plants were controlled by Lady Betty. By linking to the forest, she precisely identified the spiders' gathering points and triggered nearby potato mines. While they didn't always kill the spiders outright, the blasts shredded their fragile legs, rendering them combat-ineffective.
After more than half an hour of intense battle, a sharp crash of breaking trees echoed from the forest—and then a truly massive spider, nearly the size of a small child, emerged onto the battlefield.
Albert immediately noticed the change.
The spider raised its claws and clicked audibly, its voice laced with pure fury.
"Mossag?" Wolf gasped beside Albert.
"Who's Mossag?" Albert racked his memory but drew a blank.
Wolf replied, "Mossag is the spider matriarch. She never leaves the valley unless something serious happens. Her appearance here... it's extremely abnormal."
Fortunately, the giant spider's shouting soon revealed the truth.
Apparently, one of the explosive arrows had flown directly into the nest, damaging several eggs and breaking two of Aragog's legs. As Aragog's mate, Mossag had sworn to destroy and devour every human involved in the attack.
So now, what was supposed to be a controlled ambush had escalated into a decisive battle—and Albert, stuck within the circle, was firmly on the menu.
But he wasn't about to surrender.
Albert opened his bag and pulled out several more explosive orbs—his last reserve.
Then, wand raised, he charged forward alone into a cluster of five giant spiders.
For the first time in front of everyone, Albert cast his mastered **Professional Pierce** spell.
BOOOOM !!