‘It seems the Spider Lord is much more impressive than the regular mobs; it even dropped equipment.’
By defeating the Spider Lord, Samimi earned a bit of Goodness Value. She had also gained some from clearing the Water Waterfall Labyrinth, but since those were mostly assist kills, the Goodness Value wasn’t substantial.
However, her Miworm account had already reached the late-game stage. With her various ability sets nearing completion, she didn’t need to orchestrate kill-stealing dramas like she did in the early stages.
‘I’ll just accumulate Goodness Value slowly. An assist is an assist. There’s no rush; even a small amount is fine. The most important thing in life is to be happy.’
With Niubao there going on a killing spree, Samimi only needed to equip her with the Biehe Crown to count as providing help.
Every time Niubao killed a Little Demon Spider, Samimi would rake in the Goodness Value.
Today was destined to be a bountiful harvest. This place was simply perfect for farming Goodness Value. She wished she could stay here and grind these monsters every day.
But unfortunately, this was a time-limited quest. Once it was finished, it was gone.
***
The next morning, a powerful adventurer team organized by a top-ranking guild prepared to set out to subjugate the A-Rank Quest [Spider Cave].
However, when they arrived at the location, they were instantly stunned.
They saw spider remains scattered across the hills and fields. As far as the eye could see, the ground was covered in the green blood of Magic Beasts that had not yet dried. Even the Spider Lord lay dead among them.
“Which team did this? They have no professional ethics! Why didn’t they say something before acting? Our Wildfire Guild is ranked in the top ten; would it have been that hard to notify us? They wasted so much of our effort!” The captain stomped his feet in anger, assuming another large team had beaten them to the punch.
However, such things rarely happened. This wasn’t like those online game worlds where there were too many players and too few bosses, leading to constant kill-stealing.
In this world, there were many monsters and few “priests.” Monster gathering points were everywhere.
If two teams set their sights on the same target and spoke to each other, one would usually bow out voluntarily to give Face, ensuring a friendly encounter in the future.
Alternatively, they would simply form a United Kingdom. With more people comes more power; they would hunt the Magic Beasts together. They would become friends through the struggle, for unity was strength.
An A-Rank Quest was no longer a problem that a single Adventurer Team could solve. It was rare for someone to sneak in and finish the job without a word. Generally, a report had to be filed with the Adventurers’ Guild.
For instance, the Wildfire Guild had reported their intent, allowing them to organize several elite Adventurer Teams for the subjugation. This ensured that casualties were kept to a minimum, which was the responsible way to act.
“Captain, something is wrong. We consulted the Adventurers’ Guild before leaving, and no Adventurer had taken this quest recently. I’ve asked members of other guilds, and none of them had the intention of organizing a large team,” the Wildfire strategist said as he stepped forward to analyze the situation.
“What do you mean? Could it be internal fighting among the monsters? A turf war?” the Wildfire Captain asked in surprise.
He would rather believe the Magic Beasts had slaughtered each other than believe a private team had cleared the Little Demon Spider nest. That would be an act of madness—all risk and no reward.
The biggest issue was that no one had registered for the quest. Even if they cleared the wave of Magic Beasts, they wouldn’t receive the reward money or XP. What would be the point?
“If it wasn’t a large guild, then a small team did it. Only small teams ignore the rules. A large guild wouldn’t hunt Magic Beasts without a word; a guild’s reputation is more important than anything else,” the Wildfire strategist continued to explain.
“Huh?” The Wildfire Captain still couldn’t believe it.
But soon, strong evidence appeared. Team members inspected the remains of the Little Demon Spiders across the field and determined they had all died from the same sword technique. This was undoubtedly the work of one person.
“Are you saying this many Little Demon Spiders were killed by one person?” The Wildfire Captain’s arms, which were crossed over his chest, slowly dropped. The irritation on his face gradually transformed into shock.
He personally rushed into the piles of Magic Beasts, braving the pungent, foul smell to inspect the wounds on the spider carcasses.
The sturdy insect exoskeletons had been sliced open smoothly. The spider legs looked like severed water pipes; every cross-section was incredibly level. Every sword strike had cut from head to tail without the slightest resistance.
He was an experienced Adventurer; he could do this too.
However, what if he had to deliver one hundred such high-quality strikes? One thousand strikes? Ten thousand strikes? Could he do it? His brain would likely give out before his stamina did.
“Captain, only the wounds on the Spider Lord are not simple sword wounds,” the Wildfire strategist said, coming over again.
“Take me to see it.” The captain was anxious, already starting to sweat.
The Spider Lord had been split in half and had long since stopped breathing. At first glance, the wounds on its body also looked like sword slashes, but the cross-sections weren’t smooth. Instead, they bore twisted, scorched marks, unlike the slaughtered swarms of Little Demon Spiders.
“Captain, we can now confirm that this small team has two members,” the Wildfire strategist reported.
“Two people? Two people cleared an A-Rank Quest Spider Cave? And exactly when did they do it? Our Scouting Corps came here yesterday to investigate and only returned to report at dusk,” the Wildfire Captain wiped his sweat.
“That means they could only have done it…” The Wildfire strategist was also sweating profusely.
“They came out to hunt Magic Beasts in the middle of the night? Are you serious?” The Wildfire Captain looked around, finding it hard to believe.
The entire large team fell into a suffocating daze, and the atmosphere remained heavy for a long time.
They were all experienced Adventurers, practically Magic Beast coroners. They essentially knew what this scene implied.
No person with a normal mind would do such a thing. A madman Adventurer must have appeared.
This kind of situation wasn’t uncommon in the South. After all, Adventurers faced terrifying Magic Beasts every day; it was normal to develop mental problems. It would be weirder if they didn’t.
However, the end for such madman Adventurers was usually tragic—torn apart by Magic Beasts or abandoned by their own kind.
But a madman wasn’t scary; what was scary was a madman with a cleaver!
Just what kind of physical strength was required to slaughter so many Little Demon Spiders? The normal process was to just kill the Spider Lord; as long as the leader was defeated, the rest would scatter.
“Something has happened. Go back and report the situation to the Adventurers’ Guild.” The Wildfire Captain felt a headache coming on.
***
Meanwhile, the two culprits had already slipped away to another frontier camp.
They arrived at Expedition Camp No. 13, which was a military barracks. The Adventurers here spent most of their time fighting Magic Beasts.
As long as they came here to engage in endless combat, the Adventurers’ Guild would issue subsidies and wages. They were no longer really Adventurers but had become mercenaries.
Although the pay wasn’t very high, it was stable and simple. It was very suitable for middle-aged and elderly Adventurers who wanted to earn money steadily. They just had to put all their effort into killing without needing to use their brains.
The poetry and distant lands in their hearts had been mostly crushed by reality. It was time for them to stop and embrace a stable life.
During the day, Samimi stayed in the inn to meditate and rest.
Niubao was snoring loudly on the bed. After all, she had been killing for an entire night and had to travel afterward. Even a Cow would be exhausted.
The two of them rested until nightfall. Only then did they get up, intending to follow their previous pattern—waiting for nightfall to go out and hunt Magic Beasts.
Except this time, the situation was a bit off. The sound of battle outside was deafening. Even at night, Expedition Camp No. 13 was still very lively.
Because after nightfall, a large number of Magic Beasts were harassing the perimeter of Expedition Camp No. 13. They didn’t choose to attack head-on; they just kept harassing them indefinitely to wear down the Adventurers’ spirits.
Even if the Magic Beasts didn’t attack directly, the Adventurers didn’t dare to rest. They all stood guard on the wooden walls. The pay for night watch duty was particularly high.
Samimi and Niubao also ran up to the wooden wall to watch the scene. They found that the creatures outside were all Magic Wolves—mostly small-time grunts.
Although Magic Wolves were low-level Magic Beasts, in a place like the Magic Forest, they could display 100% of their strength through their speed, agility, and seamless pack cooperation.
In any case, no Magic Beast in the Magic Forest should be underestimated.
The Adventurers were trapped inside the camp. No matter how strong an Adventurer was, they didn’t dare to go out because there was no beauty of adventure outside—only cruel, bloody jaws.
This was a problem. It made it impossible for the two “show-offs” to make a move.
Samimi and Niubao could only stand there and watch, unable to find an opportunity to slip out quietly. There were Adventurers on guard at every angle.
*Howl— Howl— Howl—*
However, two Magic Wolf Kings appeared faintly in the darkness. Their crimson beast eyes flickered, putting terrible psychological pressure on the Adventurers.
But the appearance of the two large Magic Beasts shifted the Adventurers’ attention, allowing Samimi and Niubao to find a gap.
Slipping away, the two of them ducked into a blind spot in everyone’s vision, jumped straight from the wooden wall to the outside, and dashed into the Magic Forest like a streak of smoke.
*Woof! Woof! Woof!*
Of course, their actions were like offering fat meat to the Magic Wolf pack. They were immediately greeted by a large group of wolves giving chase.
Samimi and Niubao had no time for them for now. They continued to run, first reaching a dark area where the Adventurers could no longer see them.
“Phew… let me breathe…”
Samimi performed a tactical slide behind a towering tree. She leaned against the trunk, exhausted. As a stamina “small fry,” she was on the verge of passing out.
Dozens of Magic Wolves followed closely behind, pouncing forward, ready to tear Samimi to pieces.
*Slash! Clang! Slash! Clang!*
Unfortunately for them, in the next moment, Niubao’s double swords came swinging. After her initial cuts, she could even turn around and swing again, performing a move called Double Sword Returning Axe.
In the gaming community, this move was known as a “Cart.” It was a long-distance, continuous tracking skill usually used only by bosses.
This design was especially prominent on dragons. A dragon would charge like a tank to crush the player. Even if you dodged the first wave, there was a second and third. Players jokingly called it the “Dragon Cart.”
So, could Niubao’s move be called an “Ox Cart”?
The joke was a bit dry, but Samimi laughed anyway.
Wherever Niubao passed, the Magic Wolves were instantly shredded. The crisis was temporarily averted.
“Let me see what the target for Camp 13 is…” Samimi pulled out a map to check the annotations.
“Lady Samimi, look at the sky,” Niubao warned.