Chapter 51: The Woeful Black Sand Spider

The Desert Black Spider is a species of insect that dwells in the sands. Mature Desert Black Spiders possess six pairs of legs, earning them the title of true long-legged creatures. Four pairs of legs, each over three meters in length, support their various movements, while the remaining two pairs are forelimbs, sharp as blades, used for hunting and feeding.

Their tails bear a hollow, pointed spike, the instrument for laying eggs. When in their breeding season, these spiders drag live prey into their burrows, inject eggs into the bodies of their victims, and then seal them with spider silk. Once the eggs hatch inside the living host, the young spiders gradually consume the internal organs, finally bursting out from the abdomen, thus joining the ranks of the Desert Black Spider colony.

A peculiar trait sets this species apart: all individuals are hermaphroditic, and the competition for mating rights differs from many other creatures. Typically, two Desert Black Spiders engage in combat, with the victor gaining the initiative to mate, while the loser must bear the responsibility of laying eggs.

Yet, sometimes more than two spiders join the fray, leading to chaos. In such cases, all participants might end up pregnant, and when the brood hatches, no one knows who the father truly is...

...

The summit of the snowy mountain was covered with Desert Black Spiders, their long legs striding rapidly downwards. Their climbing speed was astonishing; it was estimated that within an hour, they would reach the foot of the mountain and launch an attack on the stronghold.

The snowy mountain rose behind the stronghold, over thirty kilometers from the canyon entrance where Lin Huang and his companions stood. With Lin Huang’s eyesight, he could only barely make out the dark dots atop the mountain, unable to discern what they were.

However, the Gold-ranked Yi Yeyu and Yi Zheng could just make out that the swarm consisted of Desert Black Spiders, roughly estimating their numbers at over a hundred thousand.

Such a massive colony of Desert Black Spiders, if they managed to breach the stronghold’s protective shield, could slaughter all twenty thousand inhabitants in less than an hour.

Yi Zheng grew anxious; their numbers were already insufficient, and now a horde was advancing from the rear.

“Is there a heavy artillery specialist among us?!” Yi Zheng’s voice thundered across the battlefield.

A heavy artillery specialist is a branch of the gunner profession, possessing exceptional long-range offensive and destructive power.

Lin Huang himself had considered developing as a gunner for his second profession, but his focus was not on heavy artillery, rather on light arms and sniper rifles. As for artillery specialists, those belong to battlefield professions, something Lin Huang had never considered, and in fact, most hunters wouldn’t choose that path.

As expected, after Yi Zheng’s inquiry, not a single person responded.

He had asked out of a faint hope; the result, though unsurprising, still left his heart sinking. Aside from medium artillery specialists, no other profession could attack at a range greater than thirty kilometers.

“Brother, why are you panicking?” A voice suddenly rang out.

Yi Yeyu cast a disdainful glance at Yi Zheng, and before everyone’s eyes, her left arm began to rapidly transform into armor, morphing within seconds into a massive cannon seven or eight meters long.

Even Yi Zheng was momentarily stunned, and then asked quizzically, “I recall you failed the basic gunner assessment, didn’t you? Without a heavy artillery license, how did you acquire something like this?”

“What can’t be bought on the black market?” Yi Yeyu retorted with a curl of her lip.

“Cannons and gun-related artifacts on the black market cost a fortune… Don’t tell me the last time you borrowed money from me, it was to buy this?” Yi Zheng suddenly recalled the recent occasion when Yi Yeyu had asked for a loan. He’d wondered then—her monthly allowance should suffice, but he hadn’t thought much of it and lent her the money.

“You’re not entirely clueless,” Yi Yeyu replied, as she began loading several life crystals into the energy compartment of the giant cannon.

Yi Zheng winced in pain. The smallest life crystal contained a hundred years of life force, and if exchanged for credits, even the lowest price was ten million per crystal. Such gun-related artifacts consumed at least one life crystal per attack.

“Yi Yeyu, you’re not a gunner; what’s the point of buying heavy artillery artifacts? If you squander money like this, which man would dare marry you?” Yi Zheng couldn’t help but admonish her.

“Mind your own business. Aren’t you single yourself?” Yi Yeyu shot back angrily.

“Next time you buy useless junk, don’t ask me for money!” Yi Zheng scolded.

“Fine, I won’t. Stingy!” Yi Yeyu snorted, raising the cannon and aiming at the snowy mountain.

Yi Zheng, seeing her preparations, said no more. He leaped onto the boulder beside her, glanced at the cannon’s aim, and lifted it slightly.

“What are you doing? That angle won’t hit!” Yi Yeyu complained, casting him an annoyed look.

“I told you, you lack the talent for gunnery, but you refuse to listen.” Yi Zheng shook his head in resignation. “A gunner must learn to calculate attack angles based on the environment and estimate attack outcomes. In this case, if you fire at the spiders climbing the slope, the effect will be limited. But if you target the summit, trigger an avalanche, you can bury the entire wave of spiders.”

Yi Yeyu knew he was right and didn’t argue this time, though she still pouted in dissatisfaction.

“Lean forward. Although the recoil of gun-related weapons and artifacts has been managed, a cannon of this size will still have considerable residual force.” Yi Zheng patted her back.

He circled behind her once more, checked the cannon’s angle, and nodded. “Alright, fire!”

With Yi Zheng’s confirmation, Yi Yeyu activated the cannon.

At its muzzle, a sphere of light rapidly condensed, transforming into a white beam that shot into the distance.

The recoil made Yi Yeyu’s figure tremble, but a large hand pressed firmly on her shoulder, steadying her.

“Boom!”

The white beam struck the summit almost instantly, causing tremors in the surrounding peaks as well.

Moments later, the snow atop the mountain began to collapse, tumbling downward like waves—growing larger and faster, engulfing the black dots atop the mountain in an instant.

Witnessing such results, Yi Yeyu was ecstatic. She hadn’t expected to wipe out over a hundred thousand Desert Black Spiders with a single shot; she’d thought it would take at least a dozen blasts to clear them.

“Nicely done!” Yi Zheng gave her a thumbs-up.

Yi Yeyu blushed, knowing that without Yi Zheng’s guidance, she would never have achieved such results.

“The snowy mountain is yours to guard. If any more spiders come crawling down, use the same method.” Yi Zheng assigned her the task and then leapt back to his own boulder.

On the far side of Snow Mountain Town, a massive avalanche buried all the Desert Black Spiders, rolling down toward the valley.

The vast blanket of snow surged like a tide toward Snow Mountain Town, but at its outskirts, it was blocked by an invisible shield, unable to advance further.

Thus, the crisis was resolved.

Lin Huang watched the entire scene unfold, and as the avalanche consumed everything, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, “No matter the world, the power of nature is always something to be revered…”