Chapter 56 - 56: 48. Spider on the wall
Upon seeing the big skeleton turn to debris, Mike Adams and two other soldiers breathed a sigh of relief as they slumped to the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
Noland Lee entered their field of vision, letting out a deep sigh:
“Comi has been sacrificed, killed by the Cavern Stalker. I’ve avenged him.” The three of them looked downcast.
Noland Lee glanced at their injuries, took off his backpack with supplies, and put it in front of them:
“You’d better use the medical supplies in the bag to treat your injuries. I’m going to check on Mars.”
“Jarvis, wait…”
Sergeant Mike Adams took Comi’s silenced short-barreled rifle from the supply backpack and handed it to Noland Lee, who was about to turn and leave:
“Take this with you. Don’t go too far; we’ll come find you once we’ve bandaged our wounds.”
“Yes, Chief Officer.”
Noland Lee slung the silenced short-barreled rifle over his shoulder and buckled the bullet bag to his waist before stepping into the darkness.
Deconstruction became Noland Lee’s “eyes” in the darkness.
He cautiously approached where Corporal Mars had disappeared, constantly casting Deconstruction.
Floors, stone bricks, stone walls, ceiling…
Anything that appeared before him was identified by his Deconstruction technique.
However, among all the system messages, there was no trace of Corporal Mars.
“Did I get the direction wrong, or was Mars dragged away by the undead?”
Noland Lee felt a sinking feeling in his heart, realizing that something was wrong.
Faint vibrations were in the air, signaling that the imperial soldiers were fighting elsewhere.
From it, Noland Lee discerned screams, gunshots, explosions, and the muffled sound of bone hammers hitting stone walls.
It seemed that Mars Squad was not the only one being attacked at the same time.
He wondered how many Imperial Soldiers would be left after this battle.
And where was the Death Notice assassin turned undead lurking?
Was he fighting Lieutenant Grett?
Noland Lee had many questions in his heart.
Honestly, if not for knowing that on the first Underground level of the temporary camp there was a secret Imperial Captain, he would have been pondering how to escape from the increasingly pessimistic battlefield by now.
Marsha Murphy, the captain with the strength of a Third Order “Imperial Fist,” should be the trump card of the Imperial Army on this trip.
No fool would dare to provoke an enemy knowing there was a big shot supporting them.
If Noland hadn’t guessed wrong, Marsha Murphy was the Imperial Army’s trump card for turning the tables in their disadvantage and ensuring Lieutenant Grett’s survival and the army’s victory.
“Hehehe… look what I’ve found…”
An ominous voice came from the darkness, as raspy as a blunt knife sawing through wood, like a low wailing of lost souls.
“Who?”
Noland Lee frowned, pulling out the short-barreled rifle from behind him and aiming it at the high point on the wall in front of him.
The area was pitch black, as if some creature with multiple legs was crawling on the wall. Noland could hear the sound of footsteps rubbing against the wall.
He had previously checked the wall with Deconstruction, and the system feedback showed only stone bricks and nothing else.
But now, when he cast Deconstruction again, the system indicated that an “Unknown Undead Creature” was clinging to the wall, watching him. Just then, Noland’s field of vision was artificially adjusted from being able to see a range of only one or two meters to ten meters.
As his field of vision expanded, the “Unknown Undead Creature” on the wall came into Noland Lee’s sight.
Noland suddenly felt his scalp tighten, and the hairs on his body stood on end.
It was a spider-like undead creature, half-human and half-spider!
It had eight furry spider legs, with outward-turned joints and a terrifying appearance.
Its black feet were covered in suction cups, enabling it to easily stand on vertical walls like a real spider.
The upper half of its body was an undead being with Undead Runes all over its skin.
The creature’s eyes were a striking crimson, as if they could spill vivid blood.
From the contours of its face, it was Sin Soldier No. 039, the Death Herald Guild’s Assassin!
It had actually become like this!
Why was it here?
Wasn’t it supposed to cause trouble for Lieutenant Grett?
As Noland instantly recognized the enemy’s identity, he cautiously moved backward step by step.
For every step he retreated, the spider monster advanced by one step.
The spider monster had a playful smile on its face, as if toying with its prey.
Its two chelate were shaped like hooks, and their fangs shimmered with a faint green light in the dim environment.
Pieces of tough-looking bone armor were arranged on its head and chest.
As for its eight spider legs, they moved as agilely as serpents.
System feedback showed that deconstructing this monster completely would require a total of 1500 Energy Points, half more than what was needed to deconstruct Lieutenant Grett.
Noland knew very well in his heart that he couldn’t fight or defeat such an opponent.
Even escaping from it would be a problem.
He could only hope that comrades like Sergeant Mike Adams would hurry over to provide support.
“Sin Soldier No. 888… hehehe… didn’t expect us to meet again, huh?”
The spider monster let out a series of creepy laughter:
“Before entering the second underground layer, I found out that you know a lot about Undead Runes, much more than ordinary people.
“…Where did you learn about Undead Runes? Hmm? Sin Soldier No. 888. Tell me who taught you? Give me your answer. That’s the only way I’ll consider sparing you.”
Noland remained silent, staring intently at the enemy while slowly moving his feet closer to where Mike Adams and the others were.
The spider monster suddenly let out a soft chuckle, opened its mandibles, and revealed its ferocious fangs before spitting out a white substance with a “puff.” Noland dodged to the side and quickly jumped away.
The white object landed on the ground with a “plop”, spreading out a large grayish-white spider web and blocking Noland’s retreat. “Don’t move. Hehehe. Next time, I won’t have a slip-up.”
The spider monster’s abdomen twitched for a moment.
A thick, bowl-sized strand of spider silk shot out from its belly toward the sky, pulling a bulging cocoon of spider webs from somewhere out of sight.
Noland’s pupils slightly contracted.
His gaze penetrated through the semi-transparent cocoon, and he could clearly see the silhouette of a person wrapped inside.
It was none other than Corporal Mars, who had been missing for some time.
He was wrapped with several layers of spider webbing, and there was only a small slit barely allowing him to breathe through the filter cartridge of his Breathing Mask.
“Now, answer my question honestly. Who taught you the Undead Runes?” The spider monster closed in, swung the cocoon of webs in front of Noland, and threatened:
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll wrap you up, slowly corrode your brain and body with saliva, and savor your pain..”