I'll Do It!

He asked in surprise, "Why did you all follow me?" "We need backups." Liu Tong was a meticulous man; if Sun Jiayuan failed, someone would have to take over the mission. And so, the dozen or so guards rushed down to the riverbank and rolled around thoroughly in the thick mire. They coated themselves in three layers of mud inside and out until they hardly looked human when they stood back up, with only their eyes exposed. Even Willow did the same, rolling in the muck without the slightest hesitation. He Lingchuan also took the chance to fill his waterskin to the brim. Skinny spat out a mouthful of foul, muddy water. "Bah, stinks to high heaven!" He didn't even dare to imagine what else might be in the mud. Returning to their original spot, they stood at the closest point to the giant brood nest. Slinging his bow and arrows onto his back, Sun Jiayuan nodded to Liu Tong. "I'm ready." The dozen mud-men sprinted forward together, halting whenever any spiders drew near. A bizarre scene unfolded: whenever they stopped moving, the burrow spiders scurried straight past them, treating them as if they didn't even exist. Indeed, the heavy stench of river mud on their bodies completely masked their human scent. Having lived in the earth day in and day out, the burrow spiders naturally showed no reaction to the smell of soil. "Go, quickly!" Without needing another urge from Liu Tong, Sun Jiayuan sprinted with all his might to the edge of the nest, performed a forward roll, and curled in his face and legs as he tumbled down. Though this brocade looked magnificent, like ordinary spider silk, it was dotted with sticky globules every half-palm's length. Its stickiness was astonishing; anything that brushed against it had no way of breaking free without tearing off a layer of skin. Yet Sun Jiayuan was covered in several coats of dripping, water-logged mud. Each time he rolled through a layer of web, some mud sloughed off, and gravity pulled him down through one layer after another. Willow glanced back during a brief lull in the fighting and cried out in delight, "This plan works!" In just a few breaths, Sun Jiayuan plummeted through seven or eight layers of webs. As long as he breached the final line of defense, he would be able to hurl the fire bombs into the nest. The spider monsters sensed that something was amiss and surged forward from all directions. The patrol guards threw out the pest-repellent jars they had prepared, buying whatever precious time they could. The insect-repelling smoke proved remarkably effective. Ordinary spiders curled up and kicked their legs after merely two steps upon smelling it. However, the spider monsters guarding the nest possessed far greater endurance; they merely shook their heads, held their breath, and charged through. Their greatest specialty was naturally spewing silk webs. At this moment, He Lingchuan, Liu Tong, and the other dripping mud-men held the advantage—the webs couldn't drag them away. Liu Tong couldn't help shouting an urge down the pit, "Sun Jiayuan, hurry!" The spider monsters were thick-skinned, immensely strong, and full of tricks, but their numbers were limited. The patrol guards could still handle them one-on-two with room to spare. Yet the pest-repellent jars wouldn't burn for long. Once the smaller spiders swarmed in from every crevice, not even protective astral qi would be able to hold them off. In a moment where every second counted, Sun Jiayuan did not reply. "Sun Jiayuan!" Liu Tong called out several more times. The lavish brocade draped over the entrance of the burrow, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening below. Just as everyone grew frantic with worry, Sun Jiayuan's voice drifted up from underneath, sounding somewhat distant: "The space down here is too vast, and there are many more levels! I have to go further down..." Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly let out a shrill, bloodcurdling shriek! "It's an ambush! There's an army of spiders! Get out of here, fast!" Immediately after came a deafening explosion, and the glow of fire shone through the underside of the brocade. The patrol guards' hearts sank. Sun Jiayuan was likely dead. Standing right at the edge of the brocade, someone hacked viciously with a saber. Sure enough, while the web appeared feather-light, it was tougher and more pliable than century-old vines; a refined steel blade imbued with origin power could only sever a few strands. Moreover, there were more than a dozen layers of silk covering the burrow. To find out what was happening down there, someone else would have to go in. Sun Jiayuan had likely met with disaster. Should they continue? If they retreated now, what would happen to the main force? Even if General Nan Ke managed to rally the survivors and break out, the Baling forces were still lying in wait outside the Ghost Needle Stone Forest! Step forward into the fog, or step back into the abyss. They had to make a decision—right now, immediately! Several voices spoke in unison: "I'll go!" Among them were Liu Tong, Door Plank, and two other patrol guards. With the mud on their bodies still wet, any one of them could take over Sun Jiayuan's unfinished task. He Lingchuan felt a swell of admiration. In terms of elite training, these patrol guards truly fell short of the Gale Army; but in terms of sheer valor, the Blackwater City troops, Auxiliary Army, and Yuan Kingdom soldiers he had seen weren't even worthy of carrying their boots! Skinny hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "I—I'll go!" The sparrowhawk flew over, still clutching the bundle in its talons. "No, I'll go!" As it passed above He Lingchuan's head, he waved to it. "Give me the fire bombs!" He possessed a unique advantage that none of them could match. The sparrowhawk dropped the bundle. Catching it in his hands, He Lingchuan snatched out several command arrows, spun around, and sprinted toward the entrance of the spider nest, tossing the rest to Liu Tong. "If I don't make it, step in to take my place!" As he dashed past Willow, he also snatched the jar of lamp oil hanging at her waist. "Brave man!" He Lingchuan hadn't been with the squad for long, and Liu Tong had never expected him to step forward so boldly. Moved, he shouted, "Leave your final wish! We'll do everything we can!" He Lingchuan's survival was uncertain, but every person had their desires. According to the traditions of the Panlong City army, the living did their utmost to fulfill the wishes of the fallen. "No need!" He Lingchuan raised his waterskin to pour water over his head, wetting the mud on his body once more. Employing the Returning Swallow movement technique, he deftly dodged past several intercepting spider monsters, rushed to the rim of the nest, and leaped straight down just as Sun Jiayuan had done. Those above saw the brocade surge and swallow He Lingchuan, leaving only his voice drifting up from below: "Treat me to drinks at Tianshuang Restaurant when we get back!" Liu Tong shook his head. "That brat!" He was so certain he wouldn't die that he didn't even leave a final wish? Yet He Lingchuan's optimism proved infectious. The patrol guards felt their spirits lift, and the stifling atmosphere of anxiety and confusion faded. Only a few breaths later, they heard He Lingchuan exclaim in wonder, "There's a whole different world down here! It looks like a forest!" Amidst the chaos of battle, Door Plank and Skinny exchanged a glance, each seeing the bewilderment in the other's eyes. Had He Lingchuan knocked his head in the fall? What kind of forest could there be underground? "I don't see Sun Jiayuan!" He Lingchuan's voice continued to carry up. "I've set the fire! Zhu Erniang is going to suffer heavy losses!" Skinny hurried to the rim of the nest and peered down. Sure enough, beneath the brocade canopy, brilliant red flames flickered as though an inferno was blazing. Yet with the silk acting as a barrier, he couldn't feel even a whisper of heat. The fire resistance of this spider silk was truly extraordinary. If He Lingchuan hadn't plunged down to ignite the fire directly, the sparrowhawk could have dropped an entire armory from the sky to no avail. With the nest successfully set ablaze, Skinny shouted in delight, "He Lingchuan, hurry back up!" "The spider army is crawling out!" He Lingchuan's voice came fast and resolute. "Retreat! Get out of here, now!" Leave? Skinny froze. Suddenly, from the rolling folds of the brocade, a massive spider monster burst out and leaped through the air straight toward him! The creature was as large as a mountain goat. A single leap from its eight legs carried it two zhang, nearly flattening Skinny beneath its weight. He had never seen a spider capable of jumping, let alone moving with such absurd speed. Fortunately, he was remarkably agile himself. Tumbling across the ground in an awkward roll to evade the strike, he bellowed, "Spider monsters are coming up! More than a hundred of them!" Behind the jumping spider came an entire army of spider monsters, each one just as large if not larger, covered in varying patterns and colors. They rushed toward the mouth of the burrow along the webbing, clearly seething with fury! The largest among them was bigger than a brown bear, its body adorned with vivid, multicolored markings—evidently not a foe to be trifled with. Only then did everyone realize that the spider queen had left her elite guards behind to watch the nest; no wonder she had felt so secure in leaving. The orders these precious guards had received were likely to protect the burrow and never venture outside. Only when He Lingchuan set a massive fire did they surge out to fight the arsonist. A dozen patrol guards were no match for over a hundred well-rested, belligerent monsters. In the blink of an eye, two guards were knocked down and dragged into the nest with agonized screams. Once the spiders caught their prey, they executed their classic hunting technique: pinning their victims to the ground, rolling and kneading them, and wrapping them in layer after layer of sticky webbing, turning them into tightly cocooned bundles in moments. "Dammit!" Hearing the cries of her comrades abruptly cut short, Willow grew furious and felled the silk-spinning spider with two arrows. But the horde of spiders surged forward like a tide, poised to envelop them. Worse still, the pest-repellent jars she had thrown out were nearly burned to ash, and the smaller spiders were already growing restless. If they didn't leave now, they would merely be serving themselves up on a platter. Sweat pouring down his face, Liu Tong grabbed Willow by the arm and roared, "Retreat! Fall back!" Willow shouted one last time into the burrow, "He Lingchuan!" No reply came from the massive chasm. Door Plank pressed a hand against her shoulder and said in a heavy voice, "He's gone! If you want to live, run!" With the burrow on fire, the spider queen would likely rush back. They couldn't stay here any longer. He and Liu Tong flanked Willow, hoisting her between them as they sprinted toward the back of the slope. The horses were hidden there; the sooner they mounted, the greater their hope of escaping. Just then, fireworks flared once more across the horizon. Door Plank glanced back amidst their flight and cried out in overjoyed disbelief, "Fireworks from beyond the stone forest! Reinforcements might be here!" The fireworks were very far off, though still in the northeast. Judging by the distance, they must have detonated outside the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. The reinforcements they had awaited all night had finally arrived. *** The Gale Army advanced to Weicheng. Just as General Red had predicted before the battle, the journey of several dozen li from Puxigou to Weicheng had been leisurely and smooth. Not a single enemy soldier was in sight, save for two giant eagles circling in the sky. Commandant Sun personally drew his bow and shot one down. Apart from owls, the night vision of raptors was notoriously poor, and transforming into demons hadn't improved it much. In broad daylight, it would have had no trouble evading that fatal arrow. The other eagle flapped its wings in terror, climbing higher into the sky, not daring to fly low again. At night, Weicheng was eerily quiet. Only four or five specks of red light flickered atop the city gates, making it seem as though the guard was lax. Yet as soon as the Gale Army commenced their assault, a volley of arrows rained down from the city walls. Immediately after, a horn sounded across the wilderness, and an army charged out from behind the Gale Army! An ambush. These Baling men had been lying in wait in the open plains for most of the night, swallowing wind and choking on sand, without daring to light a single fire. Frost hung from their brows, beards, and lapels as they charged forward, venting their bellies full of rancor. Every soldier of the Gale Army drew their bow, unleashing two concentrated volleys directly into the ambushers.