Ch 367: Into the cave.

Once again, Artemisia wondered if the struggle was worth it.

She was laying on her stomach, on the padded floor of a large cage. Her body below the neck was wrapped in purple latex, her arms secured behind her back by a black leather armbinder, and her ankles bound together by black leather cuffs.

A chrome-plated metal collar was around her neck, its material and reflectiveness deliberately chosen to attract attention and increase her humiliation. It was the same for the chrome-plated chastity belt around her hips.

The infernal device, its two probes filling her, kept her constantly aroused but never gave her the release she needed so badly.

He had made clear that she would never get an orgasm again, unless she first agreed to become his sex slave.

"Ahhh." softly groaned Artemisia as she squirmed for a second, trying to find a more comfortable position, trying to grind her pelvis against the belt.

She knew that trying to get an orgasm by increasing the pressure would not only be futile but would also make her need more intense.

And yet, she could not stop herself from chasing after that pleasure.

Her thoughts kept circling back to the times where he had sex with her.

The first time, he pushed her to the point of begging to be raped. To her shame, she eventually did, and then, the pleasure was so overwhelming that she fainted.

When she woke up, she found out that she somehow had a tattoo on her pelvis, marking her as his property.

His property!

She had been incensed back then. He deliberately left her naked so she could notice the tattoo, and bound only with a simple pair of leather cuffs around her wrists.

Even without the use of her arms, she had been so angry that she had stopped thinking. She only reacted. She jumped him, sinking her knee into his stomach.

Her knee didn't actually sink more than a few centimeters, and he only smiled, seemingly unbothered. Not discouraged, she aimed at the side of his neck and clamped down.

She bit so hard that she felt a tooth crack, but she ignored the pain and kept biting.

And he just snorted and forced her away from him before golden chains appeared to restrain her once more.

Artemisia supposed she should have been thankful he healed her tooth and didn't punish her for her attack. He only bound her with stricter restraints. But she hadn't been in the mood to be thankful back then, and she still wasn't now.

Over the next few days, Artemisia had been subjected to more bondage, more teasing that lasted until she agreed to be pounded by his cock. And he proceeded to deeply engrave that pleasure into her.

She tried to endure, of course. But he was patient and unrelenting, and her surrender gradually came faster and faster.

Then, he put her into a chastity belt and told her that she would not orgasm again until she agreed to be his sex slave. Not only that, but her surrender would be magically enforced. She wouldn't be able to take it back later on.

That didn't mean he didn't use her. He did. But he also had done something to her, and no matter how much she wanted it, the orgasm just wouldn't come!

Artemisia's willpower was crumbling, and she was aware of it.

Now, in the throes of her arousal, she almost hoped he would return faster.

She didn't know what he was doing with Mana. He had separated them days ago. Artemisia hoped she was hanging on better than she did.

The door on the dungeon opened, and Artemisia saw her captor enter, wearing a white shirt and black pants.

He looked at her with eyes that managed to appear both sympathetic and cruel at the same time as he walked closer.

"Hello, Artemisia." nodded Noah. "Have you decided to give up?"

Artemisia was very tempted to nod here and then. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked away.

"Very well. You know the drill." said Noah as a key appeared from his pocket, and he opened the cage.

She knew the drill indeed.

Noah helped her to her knees, and she shuffled out of the cage. He removed the armbinder and massaged her slightly numb arms for a minute before clipping a short chain to her collar.

He tugged once, and Artemisia crawled on all fours, following him to the bathroom part of the dungeon.

He connected the chain he held to a bolt on the floor. The chain was short enough that she wouldn't be able to stand without hunching over, and Noah started to undress her, pulling on the suit near its neck.

The bodysuit that was so tight before was peeled off her torso and arms without difficulty. Once her arms were free of the suit, Noah used shackles to bind her hands behind her back.

Not because he feared her resistance or anything, but simply to make sure she wouldn't be able to touch herself once he removed the belt.

Noah worked efficiently, and within three minutes, she was naked aside from the collar and shackles around her wrists.

He started a shower, testing the water to make sure it was hot enough before washing her with careful, thorough, gentle moves.

Artemisia couldn't relax, even if the glowing ambers of her arousal started cooling down.

She knew what was coming after the shower.

She knew that this time, she was going to break.

Noah washed her, dried her, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. When he was done, he dressed her in another bodysuit, a black one this time, removed the shackles, and added a black latex blindfold.

Noah disconnected the chain from the ground and gave it a slight tug, and Artemisia crawled after him.

"The bed is in front of you, Artemisia. Climb on it." said Noah.

Artemisia did. Noah took her arms and pulled them behind her before slipping another armbinder over them. Or maybe it was the same.

Noah laced it tight, then opened her crotch zip, and Artemisia drew a shuddering breath.

"…Don't."

The word escaped Artemisia's lips before

"I have to. I want to." replied Noah. "You are beautiful, Artemisia, and I want you."

Artemisia groaned as he grabbed her left leg and puller it upward, and she felt something hot and hard touch her lower lips.

"This is your fate, Artemisia. Once you accept it, you will be happy. You will experience that pleasure every day, and I will let you cum as much as you want."

Artemisia clenched her teeth when Noah started moving.

Less than twenty minutes later, with tears in her eyes, she asked to become his slave and sealed her fate.

…

"So what happens now, Master?" asked Artemisia, once again dressed in a black latex bodysuit, but this time with a few more things. A black leather corset, knee-high black leather boots, and a black leather collar. But she wasn't bound.

At least, not by any physical restraint.

Her bodysuit wasn't entirely black. It sported on her pelvis a pink copy of her Crest, adding to her lewd appearance. She added it on her own, and he saw no reason to object.

After surrendering to Noah, he removed the block that she now knew was a Stop Rune and made her cum so hard that she fainted. Then, he appeared in her Soul Space and spent over a week with her, giving her the kinky girlfriend treatment.

Artemisia had finally accepted her place as his slave and shared his abilities.

"Now, you will assist me with Mana. Since I have trained her as a masochist so far, it takes significantly more time, but she is steadily progressing. Spankings definitely turns her on now. I think that just seeing you now will make her surrender faster."

Noah gestured for her to follow, and she did, her heels clacking on the stone floor of the long hallway. He stopped in front of another door and opened it.

The dungeon beyond the door was very similar to the one she had been locked into.

Mana hung from the ceiling in a spread-eagled position, naked save from a black leather collar, red ball gag, cuffs around her wrists and ankles, and a black leather blindfold. She looked completely exhausted.

Her feet barely touched the ground, and she would have to stand on her tiptoes to support her full weight on them alone.

She tiredly lifted her head when the door opened and tensed as she heard two sets of footsteps, one obviously those of a woman.

Noah stopped in front of her and removed the blindfold. It took her a few moments to get used to the light, and she groaned in horror when she saw Artemisia, and stared at her pelvis.

"Yes, it is as you think, Mana." nodded Noah. "Artemisia has irrevocably become mine."

"Mphou pfuouf…" groaned Mana.

Noah moved behind Mana and removed her gag.

"Since I am in a good mood, Mana, I am going to offer you a choice. I will leave the room for an hour or so, and you can have a good chat with your friend."

"Artemisia, you are not allowed to free her from her bonds, but I won't mind if you offer her water or anything."

"Yes, Master." nodded Artemisia.

"Mana, if you surrender to me when I return and agree to be my slave, I will stop the masochist part of your training and treat you like I do Artemisia now. She can tell you what it means… But if you're still stubborn, we will see it through its end. We both know it's only a matter of time, and I have plenty."

Noah nodded to Artemisia and left the room.

He truly hoped that she would manage to convince Mana.

Thanks to the Sanctuary Lilith had made, the three or so weeks he had devoted to those two, as well as occasional relaxing 'dates' with Qi Yue, had taken less than an hour in real life.

Time really was the mother of all cheats.

Noah shrugged and climbed the stairs. He found Qi Yue in the main living room, lounging on a sofa with a small pile of shoujo mangas and a half-eaten tuna sandwich near her.

"Artemisia has completed her training. She's trying to convince Mana right now. Hopefully, we'll return to Mystic Moon soon… Is there anything you need, Qi Yue?" asked Noah as he sat on the nearest armchair.

"I'm about to run out of those, my little master." smiled Qi Yue as she pointed to the manga in her hand.

"Later today, I will drain the Sanctuary out of energy, go on some errands, then return… Assuming more time is needed with Mana. And you don't need to call me your little master, Qi Yue. I like the sound of it, don't get me wrong. But we both know I haven't earned that title with you yet."

Qi Yue stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed.

"Consider this as compensation for what I am asking you to do, and the danger that comes with it. I am giving you permission to have your way with me."

"…Not yet." decided Noah. "I will have you fall for me first."

"Ambitious, aren't you?" smiled Qi Yue.

"I prefer confident." smiled Noah. "And to my defense, I have a good track record. Not all of my girls started unwilling."

Qi Yue nodded, but lost her smile.

"You told me before that you can see through lies and illusions."

"I can." nodded Noah. "Dealing with corruption is part of any Champion's job, so our Gods give us those abilities as a default. I know instantly when someone is lying, and any illusion is translucent to me. I see it, but I also see what is real."

"…I see." nodded Qi Yue. Noah caught her expression before she could hide it. Disappointment.

"Were you planning to manipulate me?" frowned Noah.

"…I was. Although it would ultimately have been for your own good." nodded Qi Yue, and Noah didn't detect any falsehood in her words.

"You shouldn't wait to take your compensation, Noah. Our mission is a dangerous one, and you never know what tomorrow will bring. You may come to regret not doing it when you could."

Noah frowned as he leaned forward, staring at her intently. His instincts were screaming that that was more to it than what Qi Yue had said… Could it be that she expected to die before the end?

Noah suddenly thought about a certain best waifu in a rather successful Xianxia fiction, a woman who pretended to become a villain and a betrayer so the protagonist wouldn't regret her passing, and… Oh Hell no! He would never allow something similar to happen!

"That sounds rather ominous, Qi Yue. So let me make something absolutely clear. You know I can revive people, and the stronger the person is, the more expensive. But you better not be planning your own heroic sacrifice or anything along those lines."

"I wasn't…" retorted Qi Yue before stopping herself, but it was too late. Noah's lie detection ability had triggered. She had been planning to die!

"Too late to fool me now. And you better come up with a better plan." glared Noah. "Because if you die, I will revive you, even if it takes me centuries to save up for it. And then you'll get the mother of all spankings!"

Qi Yue stared at him, realizing he was completely serious, and looked down.

A tense minute passed as Noah frantically wondered which approach he should use to convince a suicidal person not to do something stupid.

A minute during which Qi Yue wondered how to stop him from fulfilling that threat, and decided the only option was to tell him the truth. At least, the relevant parts.

"…It's my little sister, Qi Xing." sighed Qi Yue after a while. "She is the person I love the most. In our previous life, we were little more than beggars within the Moon God Clan. Even among Gods, there is a hierarchy, and orphans like us were at the bottom. We were bullied a lot, basically treated as servants, and life was hard. But we had each other, and we promised that we would always support each other and share everything."

"And then, Rashu killed us. At the time, we didn't even know why…"

"My little sister is back as well. I meet with her from time to time. But she has changed… Being killed has left a deep trauma in her heart, and she is terrified of Rashu's return. So she craves power… and she only has one avenue left to grow stronger than him."

Qi Yue leaned forward, and Noah braced himself.

"…By harvesting the minuscule flecks of divine power that dwells in mortals' souls."

"…So that is what the crisis is about." nodded Noah. "Your sister is planning a genocide out of fear. And I suppose you tried to talk sense to her, but she refused."

"I tried." nodded Qi Yue. "I tried again and again, until she lost patience and forced me into semi-exile."

"…That is why I plan to die, Noah." said Qi Yue. "I can't let her kill billions of people. This is too monstruous. But I also won't leave Qi Xing to go through another cycle of reincarnation alone… When she dies, I will, too, and we will find each other again on the other side. This will also be my atonement for betraying her. Even if she comes to hate me for betraying her in this life, I will not abandon her. Do not revive me, Noah. Do not take me from her, and her from me."

"…Or I could save up more and revive you both. And then you would both have trouble sitting down for a week." grumbled Noah.

Qi Yue's lips twitched for a split second, and Noah succeeded in lifting her spirit for an instant.

"…Damn, that was unexpectedly heavy." sighed Noah. "And quite ironic that I finally got a few answers by threatening to revive someone… Usually, it is threats of violence that do the trick."

"This is far from a normal situation." shrugged Qi Yue.

"Indeed." sighed Noah. "I really prefer clear-cut villains that I can kill or punish without remorse... When the time comes, I'll do my best to take your sister alive. If it isn't possible, just stay alive, and I will revive her when I can."

"…Thank you, Noah." nodded Qi Yue.

"…How strong are you, as a member of the Moon God clan, Qi Yue?" asked Noah. "And how strong are the other members I will end up having to face?"

Qi Yue closed her eyes for a few seconds, obviously considering if she should tell him or not. Then she opened them and nodded once.

"If Mystic Moon was real, and the NPCs inside could enter this world… I would define those on the upper end of the Saint Destroyer Grade such as the three Moon Goddesses as having maybe 3% to 5% Divinity. The Mad Scientist would sit at around 15%, and I would be slightly above him. My sister… has already reached 80%."

"That strong, huh?" sighed Noah, remembering the War Demon Beast, and it only being a Mysterious-God-Grade being. "Even with my real body, Eve and I probably wouldn't manage to kill the Mad Scientist right now."

"If you manage to restore the Lunar Scourge to its full strength and can summon its Divine Armor and Divine Spear, you will be able to face even my sister." shrugged Qi Yue.

Noah nodded, keeping in mind that what Qi Yue called 'Divinity' was only by her own world's standards. While admittedly much stronger than the local gods of the DxD/Bleach world, Qi Xing with her 80% Divinity wasn't anywhere near as powerful than a real God.

"So the Lunar Scourge is real, despite Mystic Moon being a virtual world… How does that even work?"

"You will understand, when the time comes." said Qi Yue as she reopened her manga, making clear that she didn't want to say more for now.

"I have one last question before dropping the subject. Rashu is coming back, right? how many members of the Moon God Clan are out there?" asked Noah.

"I haven't heard anything about Rashu. I do not know if he reincarnated already or not. As for the Moon God Clan members, I know of my sister, the Mad Scientist, and two others, Wan Chong and Rahu. Wan Chong is a muscle-head who is proud of the power of his fists, and Rahu's greatest strength is his tough body. Both are stronger than me, but still have at most 40% Divinity, and they follow my sister."

"I see…" nodded Noah. "I'll take a short nap, then check on Mana and Artemisia."

He still had questions to ask, like how she had planned to manipulate him exactly, how that would have helped against her sister, and how the harvesting of human souls would have been done, but those could wait.

…

Noah didn't know what Artemisia said to Mana, but it was extremely effective. When he returned to the basement, she took a deep breath and agreed to give herself to him.

Noah had her repeat it while he formed a verbal contract, then untied her and spent some time with her in the bathroom before dressing both Mana and Artemisia in Cassell College school uniforms.

"Artemisia, Mana, I am going to bring you to Cassell College, where I have an agreement with the Principal." said Noah, and they nodded.

"Kurumi and the other Spirits are also living in the same building, so that will be a good opportunity for you to get to know them. You can defend yourselves if anyone attacks you, but do not harm them, and try to get along with everyone."

"I will try." sighed Mana.

She didn't sound enthusiastic, but that was to be expected since she was still reluctant about her enslavement. A few nights with one of his shards would fix that.

"Everything will be okay, you'll see." smiled Artemisia as she squeezed Mana's shoulder.

Noah took their hands and brought them outside of the Sanctuary.

…

Once Mana and Artemisia were properly settled in, Noah reconnected to Mystic Moon and resumed his travel toward the north. It took him hours to return to the area he marked on the map, and with a bit of help from Xi Ling, found that goat path snaking between two rocky formations.

He followed the upward slope, walking higher and higher until the rocks around him were starting to be covered with a layer of snow, and after going around a ridge, saw the cave Xi Ling had previously spotted, a dark hole about three meters in diameter, about a hundred meters ahead.

"Let's see if this cave will let us cross the mountain range." smiled Noah.

*Ruff!* exclaimed Little Grey.

Xi ling, in her bird form, was circling around him. She landed near him when he reached the cave.

Noah entered the cave. It ground, walls and ceiling were made of the same dark gray stone reminding him of granite. It was a rather plain cave, except for faded, dark stains on the ground. It looked like some bloody corpse had been dragged in long ago.

Little Grey's usual good mood left place to a tense vigilance as he stared ahead, and Noah drew his swords.

They progressed further and turned a corner. The cave widened progressively, forming a large underground space filled with stalactites and stalagmites or mixed minerals and ice.

There wasn't much light, and Noah couldn't see past eighty meters or so. He couldn't determine how large the cave went. But what he saw made his heart sink.

Cobwebs.

Strings of white silk were all over the place, covering most of the walls and the ceiling between the stalactites, and some parts of the ground as well.

There were so many that Xi Ling's ability to fly would be severely hampered in this place.

And there were spiders, too. He already spotted four of various sizes on the walls or ceiling.

They had a white exoskeleton and abdomens far larger than their cephalothoraxes, making them look like giant black widows. A light-blue pattern on their abdomens vaguely looked like a human skull.

Noah used Scan on each of them.

[Juvenile Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: 1-star elite. Level: LV45, HP: 17 450. A spider that barely evolved past the spiderling stage. Its violent, icy venom will cause necrosis.

[Juvenile Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: 1-star elite. Level: LV49, HP: 19 310. A spider that barely evolved past the spiderling stage. Its violent, icy venom will cause necrosis.

[Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: 3-stars elite. Level: LV44, HP: 258 700. A rare type of spider feared by the people living in cold areas. Ice-treading spiders usually live in communities until they have exhausted all prey within their reach, then turn to cannibalism. Its violent, icy venom will cause necrosis.

[Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: 3-stars elite. Level: LV45, HP: 265 200. A rare type of spider feared by the people living in cold areas. Ice-treading spiders usually live in communities until they have exhausted all prey within their reach, then turn to cannibalism. Its violent, icy venom will cause necrosis.

They weren't moving yet, but Noah knew he had their full attention, and they were likely more of them further back.

"Qi Yue, why are the 3-stars elites lower in level than the smaller ones when they are from the same species?" asked Noah as he quickly checked above his head to be sure he hadn't missed any.

"Most of the beings in this world start at a low grade and Lvl 1, gain levels as they grow, and will evolve several times, reaching a higher grade." replied Qi Yue. "But they typically lose ten to twenty levels each time their grade improves, and the stronger the species, the more levels they lose. That is why a 3-stars elite guard in Azure Dragon City is much stronger than a player of the same level. Although the players' classes and their evolutions make up for some of the gap."

Noah nodded and spoke with a low voice.

"Xi Ling, move behind me when they reach melee range, and target the weaker ones first. We'll need to thin their numbers as soon as possible. We will slowly fall back if they risk overwhelming us."

*chirp* replied Xi Ling.

She stepped back, and her movement was the signal for the spiders that didn't intend to let their prey escape.

The four spiders advanced, and two more adults and a dozen juveniles emerged from the darkness of the cave's far end.

And behind them appeared a pair of spiders larger than horses.

[Elder Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: Fairy. Level: LV39, HP: 622 800. A rare type of spider feared by the people living in cold areas. Ice-treading spiders usually live in communities until they have exhausted all prey within their reach, then turn to cannibalism. This one has lived for over a century, feasting on countless living beings, and learned to use Ice magic against distant targets.

[Elder Ice-treading Spider]: Type: Beast. Grade: Fairy. Level: LV51, HP: 953 000. A rare type of spider feared by the people living in cold areas. Ice-treading spiders usually live in communities until they have exhausted all prey within their reach, then turn to cannibalism. This one has lived for over a century, feasting on countless living beings, and learned to use Ice magic against distant targets.

When the closest spiderling came within five meters from Noah, Xi Ling unleashed her Wild Flames, engulfing everything thirty meters in front of her a fiery inferno.

-27 000, -27 000, -27 000.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +45, Skill points +45.”

One juvenile died instantly, the other only had a sliver of HP left, and the closest of the adult spiders lost less than 10% of its life. The latter hissed, and a pair of meter-long Ice stakes appeared above it before being launched at Xi Ling.

Noah swung his swords, managing to shatter both stakes as they flew by, but found this troublesome. Xi Ling had a rather decent evasion rate, but her HP were very low, and even with Little Grey's buffs preventing her from dying in one shot and giving her a 5% HP regeneration per second as well as a significant damage reduction, she wouldn't be able to take too many hits.

Noah stepped forward, killing the other Juvenile and giving himself some room to maneuver as the first adult Ice-treading spider came close enough.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +49, Skill points +49.”

Surprisingly, the Ice-treading Spider rotated, showing its back to him, and its hind legs folded to reach its spinnerets.

Noah understood that those spiders' fighting methods were similar to the black widows back on Earth. They would use the long reach of their hind legs to try to entangle Noah with sticky silk while keeping their body out of reach, then close in for the fatal bite once they figured he would be unable to fight back.

Unfortunately for them, Noah's blades, boosted with the power of the Lunar Scourge's cancer Orb, would have no issue slicing through the silk.

Still, Noah didn't intend to end up covered in sticky stuff, and he moved forward unleashing a pair of Mirage Blades on the spider's hind legs before stepping back.

-2748, -1374, -2748, -1374, -2748.

-5496, -2748, -1374, -1374, -1374.

Noah inflicted over 23k damage in half a second. This was something no normal player of his level could even dream of replicating. But it was less than a tenth of the spider's HP.

The other adult spider had stopped to create two more Ice Spikes, targeting Noah this time. He evaded by suddenly leaning to the side.

Noah stepped forward again, striking with Mirage Blade twice once again.

-5496, -1374, -1374, -1374, -1374.

-2748, -2748, -1374, -1374, -2748.

*chirp* warned Xi Ling, and Noah jumped to the left to give her a clear line of fire.

Xi Ling fired her Red Laser, aiming at the wounded spider, then strafing the beam of fiery light toward the right, hitting the other Ice-treading spider close by as well as another of the four adults farther back.

-99 000, -99 000, -99 000.

The first spider, who now had less than half of its HP left, suddenly spread several strands of thick silk between its hind legs, before moving backward towards him. With a slash of his right sword, Noah cut through, and the threads were sliced apart as if they had been made of paper.

Noah launched a pair of Little Crescent Slashes this time, as some of the Juveniles were getting close, and he hoped that at least one of the two adults in range would be knocked back.

-3 298, - 3298, -6 595, -3298.

-6595, - 3298, - 3298, - 3298.

The second adult who had only fired Ice stakes so far did suffer a knockback, but Noah had to retreat before the juveniles, wounded but still alive, could reach him.

It was fine, though, as Xi Ling's Wild Flames were about to come off their 5 seconds cooldown.

Noah retreated to Xi Ling's side, and she used Wild Flames again. The dozen Juveniles and all six adults were caught in the thirty meters' area of effect.

-27 000, -54 000, -27 000, -54 000, -27 000, -27 000 -27 000, -27 000, -54 000, -54 000, -27 000, -27 000, -54 000, -27 000, -27 000, -54 000, -27 000, -27 000.

All the Juveniles died instantly.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +44, Skill points +44.”

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +47, Skill points +47.”

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +38, Skill points +38.”

…

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 1-star elite “Juvenile Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +42, Skill points +42.”

Still, things weren't that great, as all six adult spiders were now close enough to attack with either ice stakes or other means, and there were the two Fairy-Grade Elder Ice-treading spiders that had stopped fifty meters away, observing the fight from a safe distance to learn about their prey's fighting methods.

"Qi Yue, I can use the Lunar Scourge's skills here without risking detection, right?" asked Noah.

"You can."

Noah smiled and activated Moon Shadow. All six spiders suddenly froze, and Noah used the opportunity to charge the most badly wounded one, using Mirage Blade after Mirage Blade.

At the fifth attack, the beast finally died.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +135, Skill points +135.”

Noah didn't waste time and closed on the nearest Ice-Treading Spider. It hissed malevolently at him as Noah's Imperial Warblades and their echoes struck it again and again, and Noah shaved off close to 60k HP before the five-seconds paralysis stopped.

The Ice-Treading Spider jumped at him, trying to bite him, while two others moved to flank him on the left and right, already pivoting to prepare their sticky silk attacks, and the latter two manifested more ice stakes.

Noah evaded the bite and flailing legs, as well as the sticky strands. However, when the four ice stakes stuck him almost simultaneously, he only managed to shatter two of them.

One didn't do any damage thanks to Noah's high evasion score, but the other did.

-426.

Noah benefited from a 40% damage reduction from Little Grey's Holy Spirit Shield, on top of the defense provided by his, fairly good in his humble opinion, gold-grade armor set.

Against the average player, taking a pair of those Ice Stakes would likely kill anyone but a Shield Bearer.

But Noah possessed 6 325 HP, and the second effect of the Holy Spirit Shield, granting him 5% regeneration per second, allowed him to quickly be back to full HP.

For an instant, Noah considered activating Peerless Jade Dance. It would allow him to dash around the spiders with near impunity for ten seconds. But he decided to keep it for the two Elder Ice-Treading Spiders. Those would surely be much more dangerous than facing the six adult ones.

*chirp*

Noah dashed to the side, engaging the leftmost Ice-Treading Spider that was still trying to apply its sticky silk strands to him, while Xi Ling launched another Red Laser, starting with the Spider Noah had already damaged and strafing right.

-99 000, -99 000, -198 000, -99 000.

She managed to nail four of the five Ice-Treading Spiders before the beam died, and the one crit had removed two thirds of that spider's HP.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +132, Skill points +132.”

The number of Ice-Treading Spiders was now down to four, all of them significantly injured. Noah could manage as long as he used their numbers against them, constantly moving so that they hampered each other with their large bodies and couldn't surround him.

The spiders' silk, leg attacks and occasional biting attempts were fast, but Noah was even faster, unleashing Mirage Blade after Mirage Blade, and with the help of Xi Ling unleashing a third Red Laser, gradually wore them down.

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +150, Skill points +150.”

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +147, Skill points +147.”

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +153, Skill points +153.”

“*Ding* … … You successfully killed a 3-star elite “Ice-Treading Spider”, Fame +132, Skill points +132.”

Noah didn't have time to check the loot the spiders had left behind as the two Fairy-grade spiders moved forward at last, each of them almost the size of a rhinoceros.

"Xi Ling, don't target them immediately. Wait until they are very angry at me, so they won't target you." said Noah.

*Chirp*

Noah advanced toward the rightmost Elder Ice-Treading Spider. They both paused, and one manifested four Ice Stakes above its body, while the other did something new. It lowered its abdomen to the ground and deposited a white bundle of silk.

Noah gave it a quick examination as he broke into a dash toward the Spider that was about to launch the ice stakes.

[Ice-Treading Spider's Egg Sack]: Type: Special. Grade: None. HP: 5 000. An egg sack that will disappear after fifteen seconds unless destroyed first, randomly spawning ten to twenty Ice-Treading Spiderlings in the process.

'Just great' thought Noah as he timed his evasion to the right the instant the ice stakes started to move.

To his dismay, the stakes weren't aimed at him, but at Xi Ling, and despite her small body in bird form, two of the four stuck her, knocking her over.

Noah saw Xi Ling's HP bar on the upper left corner of his vision decrease by more than half.

Both Elder Ice-Treading Spiders created more Ice Stakes, and Noah understood that they intended to just ignore him until Xi Ling was dealt with.

And Noah couldn't unsummon her in the middle of a fight.

He hurriedly activated Moon Flare, blinding the two Elder Ice-Treading Spiders. They fired their stakes anyway, and Xi Ling managed to evade them all.

The Spiders were hissing and lashing around, which almost made Noah's task more difficult as their movements were less predictable.

He rained blows on the Lvl 39 Elder Ice-Treading Spider, since it only had about two thirds of the other's HP and would go down faster.

-5496, -1374, -1374, -1374, -1374.

-2748, -1374, -1374, -12748, -2748.

-2748, -1374, -1374, -1374, -1374.

-2748, -1374, -1374, -2748, -2748.

…

Since trying to keep a low profile hadn't worked, Xi Ling fired another Red Laser at the other spider and the egg sack.

-99 000, -99 000.

The Lvl 51 spider hissed and charged toward Xi Ling who hurriedly flapped her wings to take off, circling around the spider and flying a little deeper into the cave, trying to kite the spider around.

She had to be very careful as they were many barely visible strands of silk between the ground and the ceiling.

Noah couldn't do much to try to distract the Lvl 51 spider when the Lvl 39 one was pressing him hard, and he lacked ways to attack from a distance. instead, he activated his class's ultimate skill, Paragon.

For 40 seconds, each of Noah's attack was improved by Twice his magic attack power as Ice damage, and one time his magic attack power as Shadow Damage.

That damage would be reduced by the Spiders' respective Water and Dark resistances. however, they would apply in full to each of the Mirage Blade's echoes, without being reduced by half.

-3137, -1764, -3528, -1764, -3528.

-6274, -3528, -1764, -1764, -1764.

As she kept evading the Lvl 51 Elder Ice-Treading Spider, Xi Ling turned her head to send a Flame Attack to the one who Noah was fighting. it was her basic attack skill, inflicting 'only' 18 000 damage.

However, her temporary lapse of attention cost her, as her left wing hit a nearly invisible strand of silk, and the sudden impairment caused her to fall into a cobweb between two stalagmites.

With a panicked cry, she attempted to free herself from the sticky web, but it was too late, and the Lvl 51 Elder Ice-Treating Spider hit her with another volley of Ice Stakes.

Xi Ling's HP decreased to 1 after the first three stakes, and the fourth one killed her.