Spirit Taming

Chapter 584: Too Many Hatchlings

"I don't want to ask this, but Grace, can you do that again?" Maria's slow but calm voice was the only thing that was warning everyone to not move.

Originally, the first thought they all had was simple. Go around the web that Grace had just had her frost finch freeze in a layer of frost. They knew where it was and could just avoid it. Who wanted to walk through more webs? Even when Reese cut the web, it was still larger and could stick to them.

But as Grace asked her frost finch to make a larger burst of frosty wind, they all understood the high amount of danger they had walked in to.

There had been more than just one or two translucent webs. Instead of just the one that Grace had found, every bush. Every tree. Everything around them had some strands of spider silk or webbing on them. They had walked in to what could only be known as a nest.

"The eggs must have hatched and begun hunting too since they didn't have enough food from their parent." Ella knew this was the proper theory. However, she clearly did  not enjoy this theory at all.

"And if we use flames to burn them all, the jungle might burn." Since Ralph understood the dangers of fire better than most people, he spoke out quickly to prevent the potential jungle fire that they could end up trapped in. But that didn't stop him from calling out his molten boar.

The heat from its body could still burn through the webbing it touched and deter the spiders when they showed themselves.

"This is a very rare occurrence. I heard that silk merchants would give their first born for a chance like this." Isa was on a different thought process though. "The amount of silk here can easily be sold for thousands of gold coins. It's higher quality and from spiders that not many people can get to without risk. We also know the dangers of these spiders so we might be able to harvest them."

The excitement was only coming from Isa. In particular, because everyone else had started to hear the slight ticking and tapping on webs. The small sounds of tough exoskeletons on leaves or on dried sticks of the jungle floor. The webs had been broken and chilled. Now that it was all revealed, the spiders were coming to look for their prey.

Smaller orange and yellow spiders than any of the exoskeletons began to appear. The frosty webs had already started to melt, but the spiders could care less. They had developed enough to easily hold on to the webbing regardless of the dampness or the cooler air. This was just part of how these beasts had grown over generations.

"We are going to be fighting a lot of these, aren't we?" Brad sighed loudly. He knew that the smaller enemies were not as strong. But, they still had venom. They still were in higher numbers. Worst of all, they were not just coming from one area, they were all around the group already.

"I would say we are going to be cutting through this area. The banana trees aren't just here. They are stretching in straight lines for miles. That means these spiders live along that line for miles and miles. We either fight now and scare them off or we die to be their food." Clark was calm as he prepared his black lightning spear.

These beasts were newly hatched. In their young minds, this was just food that they wanted more than anything. For an older beast, they would know that this prey was not prey at all just from the instincts they had. But the issue with the young was that they were foolish.

When one of the orange adolescent spiders leaped at Brad, he slammed it between his shield and a tree. It was smashed in a single attack. The only thing that anyone could think was gross. A proper thought process after squashing a spider like that.

The same expression that Brad was making was being made by Reese who had just slashed apart three in a row. The oozing guts of the barely hatched spiders was enough to make even the toughest people wonder why it looked the way it did. The benefits of these kings of enemies though. Was that their exoskeletons had yet to harden. They were easier to fight because of this.

When the midnight eel began to lash out with its tail coated in darkness because of its affinities, Maria had to act as well. This was a sign that the small size of the newly hatched jungle spiders was allowing them to get closer. For them to move faster than they had all expected.

This was the added danger that came with this kind of opponent. Number, speed, and smaller size. "Now this is damn annoying!" Ralph's frustration burst out as he exchanged his axes for two of hi8s forging hammers. They had more surface area and he didn't need much strength to smash the spiders.

With his efficiency growing, Isa saw a chance as well. Since fire was not working, she decided to copy Grace who was having her frost finch coat her arms in ice. That way Grace could use her arms as smashing weapons. Isa thought that ice wasn't half bad an idea.

In a flash of cold, Isa called out her winter witch. It melded with her body and a large flat slab of ice fell all around the group. It easily smashed an area of moving space. This was even better since the entire group had experience moving around the ice and cold due to their time in Nebula city. Without such a lesson, they would have had a harder time fighting.

But this gave them the space to spread out more. Each slash that Clark used with the black lightning spear managed to kill over five to seven of the small jungle spiders. However, he knew that it was a matter of time before the fathers of these spiders came out to see what was the issue.

"We need to push forward before the older spiders come this way. They are not as sensitive with all the smaller spider hatchlings moving around. But they will notice when the spiders stop moving." Clark knew this warning was also because the ice had frozen some of the webs. This was a large enough alert for them to begin marketing the group sooner anyways.

"Then I will charge through while you freeze." Brad began placing his shield squarely in front of him. The ice that Isa and Grace made paved the way while Brad charged through the webs and the ice that was on them.

The frozen webs and frozen foliage was easily shattered as Brad charged forward. He was a shield. A defensive person that was able to protect the group. However, that did not diminish his attacking ability whatsoever. He was able to fight and push through this with brutal strength that not many others had.

At his side, Ralph's molten boar was charging through the smaller spiders that attempted to get to Brad on one side. The same for Reese who was partnered with Jerold to slash down the opposing side.

The other followed behind as they noticed the webs slowly becoming less and less in front of them. By the time that Clark spotted the longer spider legs with clearly denser exoskeleton on them, it was too late for the attacking spider. The group had begun to disappear further in to the jungle.

What Clark had not noticed was that the map had recorded this all. The map that he had been trying to finish as part of his quest had made this as the spiderweb alley within the violent jungle. It would save many people's lives.

When exploring such a dangerous area, avoiding the spider alley would keep them alive and safe from the wrapped up food bundles they could become if they foolishly moved through such an area.

"I don't want bananas ever again!" Maria's shout was fair. No one thought that the wild banana fruits were appetizing any more. Especially if it meant they would face more than just a few beasts to get a bunch of them.

"I agree, no more following the banana trees to try and get to another dungeon. We will circle around them and then cut through when we need to." Isa supported this. Her desires to harvest all that silk had fallen apart. Not that she hadn't caught a few threads while running that she was currently winding on to empty spools that she carried just in case. That was a merchant for you.

"Then we will have to explore and adjust our path. It will take some time. For now though, we need to find a decent camp. After that, we need to rethink something." Clark's plan was very proper. They had changed paths by a decent margin to avoid the nesting spiders. The danger had increased.

But there were other beasts he began to worry about because of the spiders.