The sight before them gave Ander a sinking feeling: Harvis was almost certainly gone.
No, it can't be. He prayed silently, hoping his "illusion" wouldn't come true. He turned to his remaining guard. "Yuen, go up and get it down."
Yuen was reluctant. He didn't want to climb a tree now. Who knew what deadly things were hiding behind the leaves above?
While he hesitated, a rough voice saved him. "No need. I'll do it."
It was Eddie. He stepped forward, pulled a feathered arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and drew his bow.
Thwip!
The silk thread holding the white cocoon snapped.
The white shape fell to the ground with a soft thud that belied its volume.
Hearing the sound, everyone huddled together, watching the surroundings warily. No one moved forward immediately.
After a moment of silence with no spiders appearing, Ander walked over. He used his sword tip to cut open the dense silk wrapping and whispered the missing man's name. "Harvis..."
Inside the silk was Harvis's dried corpse. His grey-black skin clung tight to his bones. His eyes were gone, leaving empty sockets. Only his dark red hair and mustache identified him.
After a long silence, Ander cut a lock of Harvis's hair with his sword, tucked it into his tunic, and closed the corpse's eyes. He turned to the mercenaries. "You're lucky. Mission accomplished in one day."
Conrad asked, "Lord Ander, shouldn't we check further in?"
Ander shook his head. "No need. It's clear. The people who went missing earlier... they can't be saved."
"Now that we know these disgusting monsters are in the Wolfswood, there's no need to drag you all to your deaths. When we get back, I..."
"WATCH OUT ABOVE!!"
"Huh?" Ander looked up. Before he could see clearly, Kevin tackled him to the ground. A silver flash sliced through the air above his head, bisecting a grey spider falling from the sky.
Flicking foul blood from his sword, Aldric roared, "Defensive formation!"
He raised his shield over his head and crouched low.
The others rallied to him. Those with shields raised them; those without huddled under their comrades, doing their best to avoid direct contact with the falling spiders.
With previous experience, they realized that while the spiders looked terrifying, they weren't actually that agile.
Fortunately, they were big enough not to crawl inside armor but small enough to fight.
For the armored group, they weren't impossible to deal with—knock them down, stomp them! Stomp them all!
Clustered together, slapping spiders off each other, the group retreated quickly toward the area with fewer enemies.
Seeing the path ahead blocked by an endless tide of spiders, Aldric grabbed Ander's shoulder and shouted, "Where? Where is open ground? No trees!"
"No trees, no trees..."
Ander stammered nervously, then his eyes lit up. He pointed to a nearby peak. "There! A cliff! Very high! There's a river below it!"
Aldric looked. A low mountain looked like a giant had sliced half of it away with a forty-meter sword, leaving a sheer vertical cliff.
"Ander, lead the way! Everyone else, follow close!"
At first, they retreated cautiously. But as the eerie rustling sound surrounded them, their steps quickened until they were sprinting again.
Maybe the prey fleeing stimulated the spiders' nerves. This time, the swarm was larger and more ferocious.
If not for the fully armored Aldric and Kevin acting as rearguard, knocking spiders off everyone else, none of them would have escaped.
Finally, they burst out of the forest. Before them was a sheer rock face dozens of meters high. Below it ran a river about five meters wide. The banks had only short grass and bushes—a natural barrier against the spiders.
They waded across the river. Without the canopy to drop from, the spiders' relentless assault stalled. Like a receding tide, they slowly withdrew into the forest.
The bedraggled group sat by the river, stripping off heavy armor to check each other for injuries.
Luckily, when they decided to go back for Harvis, everyone had wrapped their skin, so the spiders' mouthparts hadn't pierced their defenses in the rush.
Just as Aldric was feeling relieved about being unhurt, he noticed Juan acting strange.
"What's wrong?"
Aldric tried to help him up, but Juan's body was stiff as a board.
"I... can't move. Numb."
Juan's lips were black, his face green. His limbs twitched unnaturally.
"Aldric, he was bitten."
Ander pulled open Juan's collar, revealing several small, bleeding punctures on the back of his neck.
Eddie came over, shaking his head. "When we were running, two spiders were on his back. I knocked them off, but I didn't see if he got bit."
Except for Eddie the scout, Juan had the weakest defense. His thin leather armor didn't cover his whole body, and the blanket strips were wrapped hastily, leaving gaps.
Conrad, washing his face by the river, noticed the commotion. He ran over and grabbed his brother-in-law's hand. "Juan! What's wrong? Where does it hurt? Tell me!"
Juan lay on the ground, eyes unfocused, pleading. "I... I don't... want to die."
Conrad forced an ugly smile, stroking Juan's hair. "Juan, you won't die. You're so young. Be brave. Breathe deep. Breathe! Don't stop!"
Juan tried to look at his brother-in-law, but his gaze drifted to the forest behind him. "Conrad... Sister... take care of..."
Under everyone's anxious and helpless gaze, Juan stared wide-eyed and stopped breathing.
"FUCK! Let's get out of this hellhole!!"
Young Yuen couldn't suppress his terror anymore. He threw down his spear and screamed.
SLAP!
Ander backhanded him across the face. "Shut up!"
Slapped into silence, Yuen covered his face and sobbed quietly, unable to stop.
Aldric didn't want to interfere with an officer disciplining his subordinate, but he couldn't let panic spread. He had to find a way out.
He told Ander, "Lord Ander, going back the way we came is impossible now."
Ander looked at him. "Captain Lewie, speak your mind."
"There are too many spiders, and they attack from the trees. If we don't thin their numbers, we can't leave. I have a feeling... we're being hunted."
A rustling sound came from the distant forest—wind or spiders, no one knew.
"Teacher, what do we do?" Kevin whispered.
Aldric didn't answer immediately.
He stood up and examined the river. It flowed into the forest both upstream and downstream. Only this section near the cliff was open.
If they did nothing, come nightfall, spiders could drop from the cliff face, sandwiching them between the rock and the forest.
Without light, their vision would be limited. Cooperation would fail. Friendly fire was likely.
If they scattered in the dark, a total wipeout was inevitable.
Aldric shared his analysis, adding worriedly, "Lord Ander, this river won't protect us for long."
Everyone looked at each other in silence.
After a moment, Kevin spoke up. "I heard... frogs like to eat spiders. Maybe we catch some frogs from the river? When the spiders see the frogs, they'll be scared and we can run?"
Everyone stared at him. Kevin blushed furiously and pulled his helmet down to hide his face.
Ander continued. "Captain Lewie, please go on. You must have a plan. Let's hear it and refine it together."
Aldric cleared his throat. He used a stick to draw the terrain in the dirt. "Here's my thought. It's late afternoon. Even if we wrap up tight and walk slowly, night will fall before we exit the forest."
"At night, the forest is deadlier. And I believe no one here can outrun spiders in the dark, dodging beasts and potholes, to get back to Rabbit's Paw."
Aldric paused, meeting everyone's eyes. "So, for the few hours until dark, we must kill as many spiders as possible. Smash them, stomp them, burn them. Until their numbers are too low to threaten us. Only then can we consider resting or retreating."
Conrad thought about it. It made sense. "So what exactly do we do?"
"Starting now, we split into two groups. One group gathers all available dry grass and wood within the safe zone, tying them into half-man-high bundles. The more, the better."
"The other group puts on the best armor. Go to the bank, lure the spiders, and kill as many as possible."
"If their numbers drop, great. If not... we light the bundles and burn this section of the forest!"
Conrad was shocked. "This forest is the Lord's property..."
Aldric looked at Ander. "What do you say?"
Ander waved a hand. "Forest fires happen every year. Not a problem. But how do we light it? We can't send someone in."
"Fire arrows." Aldric pointed at Eddie's bow. "Push the bundles into the forest edge. When spiders swarm them, shoot a fire arrow to ignite. Eddie, can you do that?"
Eddie plucked his bowstring. "Don't worry. I won't miss a target that big."
"Good. You and Yuen gather wood. Make at least five bundles. Any problem?"
Eddie calculated mentally and agreed.
Yuen looked at Ander for approval, then nodded. "No problem."
"Four of us left. Kevin and I have the thickest armor, so we stand in front with shields."
"Conrad, tie branches to your spear. If spiders drop above us, sweep them down."
"Lord Ander, stay in the water, a bit behind us. If you see any leakers, stab them with your spear. Since no one is behind you, ensure your own safety. Okay?"
Ander nodded. "I'll be careful."
Aldric continued distributing tasks. "Kevin and I will use shields to lure them. Kill as many as we can."
"If anyone gets hurt or tired, don't force it. Swap gear with Yuen and rotate."
"Yuen, besides moving wood, your job is to be ready to swap in. Listen for our call."
Finally, Aldric confirmed with everyone. "Does everyone understand their task?"
"Understood!"
"Yes."
"Leave it to me!"
War council adjourned. Aldric led the four-man melee team into a tight formation. They walked to the clearing between the river and forest, banging swords on shields to make noise.
Sure enough, the swarm hadn't left. They were waiting in the shadows.
Hearing the prey, they eagerly swung out on their white threads, trying to land on the Debt Collectors.
Aldric and the others huddled together. Axes chopped, swords stabbed, fists smashed. They broke legs, knocked spiders down, and stomped them flat.
The assembly line of violence worked smoothly. Within minutes, piles of stinking crushed shells littered the ground, forcing them to move to a clean spot.
"Back up a bit! Don't get surrounded!"
Seeing more spiders flying in from the distance, Aldric ordered a retreat to the water's edge.
Obsessed with attacking, the massive swarm lost its terrain advantage and efficiency dropped. Eventually, they retreated.
During the lull, everyone except Conrad (holding the umbrella) and Aldric (holding the line) rotated to rest.
Kevin swapped with Yuen. Ander rested in the rushing water.
Seeing his teacher refuse to step back, Kevin worried. "Teacher, won't you rest?"
Aldric shrugged. "No need. Don't underestimate your teacher. I can do this all night."
Kevin bit his lip, drank some water quickly, and stood by his teacher again.
Aldric wasn't showing off. He genuinely felt little pressure. Honestly, I'm kinda disappointed. This is easier than a five-man dungeon.
After a short break, the formation advanced again. They expected another wave of suicide charges. Instead, this time, the spiders surged forward recklessly, as if drugged.
Just as they scrambled to hold off the frenzied assault, Aldric shouted urgently.
"Attention! Big guy incoming!"