Anbaixiu was never worried about failing to find the rebel drow.
Since these subterranean elves intended to revolt, they naturally wouldn't take their eyes off Rose of Decay's movements.
Such a massive explosion earlier had likely turned this part of the Underdark upside down.
Any reasonably sensible faction would surely dispatch scouts to investigate what had happened.
A large group of escaping slaves like Anbaixiu and Melina's would inevitably be their top priority for surveillance, as gathering intelligence meant questioning these very runaways.
Thus, waiting passively was the best approach.
When Melina spotted the drider concealed in the shadows, Anbaixiu had also sensed eyes watching them.
"Father, they're here. Should I drag them out of the shadows and beat them?" Melina asked.
Instead of answering, Anbaixiu asked in return, "What do you think?"
Melina fell silent at once. She knew this was a test from Anbaixiu, meant to make her think for herself.
If she didn't drag these driders out, wouldn't they have to keep acting under their surveillance? And who knew how long they would have to put on the act. But if she did drag this drider out, would it spook the mastermind behind the scenes and make them too wary to make contact?
The two choices wrestled in Melina's mind, and for a moment, she couldn't tell which was better.
Anbaixiu offered no hints. Only after she had pondered for several minutes did he ask, "Do you see if that drider is still there?"
Melina pretended to casually glance into the distant darkness, then replied, "Still there."
"So, while you were thinking for so long, did things get worse?"
Realization dawned on Melina immediately, and she asked, "Father, you mean that as long as things haven't gotten worse, we just maintain the status quo?"
Only then did Anbaixiu advise her, "When you face a dilemma, choose the option that definitely won't make things worse. Because hesitating means you lack the resolve to take a risk—so don't take it."
This was a lesson Anbaixiu had learned from his days as an adventurer.
Young people were always indecisive when facing opportunities, eager for greater rewards yet terrified of backlash.
Anbaixiu had suffered countless setbacks before figuring this out: if one couldn't take a risk without hesitation, failure would inevitably breed regret and complaints, leading to a vicious cycle.
In that case, it was better not to gamble at all. Prepare more thoroughly, wait until the next opportunity presented itself, and then wager everything without a second thought.
Melina understood Anbaixiu's meaning and decisively chose to pretend she hadn't seen a thing.
After quite a while longer, the stalking drider vanished. Melina grew slightly anxious, worrying she hadn't acted well and had given something away, but Anbaixiu reassured her, telling her to focus on doing her part.
Melina was now the leader of this settlement, and under her command was a motley mix of several races. During the flight, things had been manageable, but now that they had settled down, numerous friction points began to surface.
The drow elves wanted to claim the settlement entirely for themselves; the myconids didn't want to lose their home; and the handful of svirfneblin and dwarves only wanted to slip away. They knew all too well that living under drow elves was no different from living under the undead—if anything, the undead were preferable, since undead wouldn't torture and slaughter a slave just for amusement, but drow elves certainly would.
Having finally gained freedom, when else would they run if not now?
Now was the test of Melina's leadership.
And Melina wasn't doing very well. Lacking any method to balance the conflicts between the races, she could only rely on her fists to suppress all dissenting voices. If this continued, trouble would break out sooner or later.
Yet it mattered little. They hadn't come here to build a settlement; they only needed to hold the tribe together in the short term. Within a few days, those rebel elves would surely come looking to negotiate a partnership with Melina.
However, the other party possessed even less patience than Anbaixiu had anticipated. There was no need to wait days—before even half a day had passed, a drider appeared outside the myconid settlement.
The drider's colossal arachnid body made everyone tremble in terror. Grotesque, massive, and reeking of danger, such a creature exerted immense pressure on runaway slaves.
This time, Melina didn't need Anbaixiu's prompting; she walked right up to face the drider directly.
The drider fixed the row of eyes on its forehead upon Melina and sneered, "Heh, bolder than expected. For a drow enslaved by the undead for so long to retain this much pride—truly rare."
Melina crossed her arms and scoffed disdainfully, "A sacrificed piece of trash daring to speak to me in that tone—have you forgotten the Spider Queen's teachings?"
Driders were always male. The transformation ritual was excruciatingly cruel and carried immense risk; female drow would never take such a gamble on themselves.
Lolth the Spider Queen's decrees paid no heed to which faction a drow belonged to; anyone of this race was obligated to abide by these rules. Thus, after Melina voiced her displeasure so fiercely, the drider's expression soured. Even so, he didn't grovel immediately, but retorted, "I come to speak with you on behalf of our Matron Mother. I represent my mistress's dignity, so don't think you can press me with rules. Besides, can drow like you, kept like cattle by the undead, even hear the Spider Queen's voice anymore?"
Though his words remained defiant, his tone was no longer quite as arrogant.
Melina also detected the shift in tone. While maintaining her stern, haughty facade, inwardly she could hardly wait to use this drider to locate the mastermind behind the scenes.
"For the sake of our unseen kin, I won't hold your lack of etiquette against you. What exactly did you come looking for me for?"
The drider dared waste no more time and said bluntly, "My mistress is launching a counteroffensive against the undead and needs to rally all our strength. You're slaves who fled the royal city of the undead, aren't you? Join us, and together we will take back the Underdark that belongs to us drow!"
Melina almost agreed on the spot, but Anbaixiu hurried to warn her through their bond, "You are a slave who just escaped with your life. Even if they're your own kind, don't you know how drow operate? Conspiracies and betrayal are their bread and butter. Every drow is a paranoid schemer; they'd never agree so readily."
Melina hadn't realized she had slipped up again, thankful to have her father guiding her.
Melina thought hard for a moment, then sneered, "A counteroffensive? Ah, I know—you're the ones who've been raiding the mineral convoys, aren't you? But I heard you suffered heavy losses recently. With such pathetic strength, how do you expect to stand against Queen Rose?"
Anbaixiu's fingers twitched slightly. This child still lacked an eye for detail—what escaped drow slave would keep respectfully addressing Rose of Decay as 'Queen'?
Fortunately, the drider didn't seem particularly bright and noticed nothing amiss, explaining directly, "That was merely part of the plan. That Death Knight, foolish as a goblin, thinks she's been winning all along, but she's already lost everything. Once our plan is set in motion, she will charge right into our trap like an idiot.
"Heh, I've seen plenty of undead, yet even brainless skeletons aren't so easily duped. Eliminating that Death Knight will be the horn heralding our final counteroffensive, and that idiot's flesh will become our sacrifice... Hm? What is that sound?"
It was the sound of knuckles popping from a fist clenched with extreme force.
Melina's fists were clenched tight, barely able to stop herself from blasting the drider to pieces with a single punch.
Anbaixiu finally understood why the poor child had been so depressed. If one were badmouthed like this every day, the stress really would be enormous.
Still, now it all depended on Melina's own performance.
Could a child only a few days old endure such face-to-face insults?
Melina slammed a furious fist into a stalactite pillar beside her, shattering the waist-thick column into fragments and startling the drider.
Just as Anbaixiu thought Melina was about to lose control and strike, she ground her teeth and snarled, "The Death Knight you speak of is Queen Rose's daughter. She is indeed an idiot! It was precisely because of her stupidity that I ended up in this wretched state!"
Anbaixiu suddenly felt a paternal wave of comfort. The child had grown; she patched up the lie quite naturally. If only she polished her choice of words a bit more, it would be perfect.
Looking at the pulverized stone pillar, the drider's dark grey face paled instantly. Thank goodness he hadn't offended this fellow drow any further, or that punch might have pulverized him instead.
The drider quickly said, "So you hold a grudge against that idiot too! That's wonderful! Join us. With your prowess, you'll surely earn my mistress's favor, and she will certainly back you in forming your own tribe!"
Melina sneered, "You've talked all this time without saying anything of substance. I still have no idea what your supposed plan even is. How do I know you aren't tricking us into becoming cannon fodder?"
The drider shook his head. "How could that be? In this battle, every comrade is precious. We aren't undead; we don't have the trick of multiplying the more we fight."
Melina barked, "Cut the nonsense! Tell me what plan you have!"
The drider hesitated for a moment, then said, "I cannot disclose the whole truth, but I can share a fraction: this is an oracle from the Spider Queen. She bestowed upon my mistress an artifact capable of destroying all undead!"
"An artifact?"
Melina was stunned and hurriedly consulted Anbaixiu, "Father, they have an artifact! What should we do?!"
Although Melina was only a few days old, Anbaixiu had woven a vast amount of common knowledge into her soul, such as language, writing, and basic history. Melina knew little about Lolth the Spider Queen, but she understood that an artifact was extraordinarily powerful.
Anbaixiu was also taken aback. An artifact bestowed by a deity was no small matter to deal with.
Yet upon closer reflection, he found it unlikely. An artifact capable of annihilating an entire nation would never be bestowed lightly, unless Lolth the Spider Queen had grown tired of living and was begging for a slap from Ao. Despite the Elven Gods being deities from beyond, once in this realm, they were subject to Ao's oversight.
If it were truly that easy, the Lord of the Dawn could have just tossed a warhammer down, and Ryan would have united the continent—what would other kingdoms even fight for?
The artifact might be real, but its power certainly wouldn't be so absurd.
Still, an artifact was an artifact after all. That sort of thing was worth an absolute fortune!
Anbaixiu said directly to Melina, "Daughter, change of plans. We're still catching the mastermind, but that artifact—we're taking it too!"
Chapter 254