Chapter 50: Hunt

Yang Ling observed the nearby spider cave closely through the shrubbery. This was a tribe of Black Spiders. They were identical to the Red-haired Tarantulas other than the black hair covering their bodies.

According to the memories of the Spider King, this was a relatively strong tribe with tens of thousands of spiders. As Yang Ling’s army drew close to the tribe, the Horned Bee Beasts had silently disposed of the scouts sent to patrol the area. Otherwise, there was no way that they could get near to their lair this easily.

Even though the Red-haired Tarantulas were equipped with a lethal poison and possessed the ability to hide by digging into the ground, their prowess when it came to surprise attacks was incomparable to that of the speedy Horned Bee Beasts, especially the hundred Horned Bee Beasts who had evolved to develop angled wings.

After developing angled wings, the Horned Bee Beasts’ movements became fast as lightning and nearly imperceptible. In the forest, under the cover of leaves, shrubs, and rocks, there was no way for the patrolling Black Spiders to notice them in time. When the scouts realized that something was off, it was already too late. They were unable to retaliate against the poisonous stingers and sharp fangs of the Horned Bee Beasts.

The middle of the afternoon was usually when the Black Spiders were at their laziest. At this time, not many spiders would go out in search of food. Even the number of patrolling scouts were very small. Most of the spiders were either lying in their caves to rest or slowly consuming the prey they had stored in the cave. They were completely unaware of the tragedy that was about to befall them.

After Yang Ling confirmed that they had dealt with the outermost guards of the Black Spiders, he hesitated no longer. He summoned all of his slow Evil Eyes and instructed them to get into formation. The tarantula army led by the Spider King dug into the barren land in front of the Evil Eyes. Their mission was to stop the Black Spiders from attacking the Evil Eyes. After the battle was finished, they would charge into the lair of the Black Spiders with the Horned Bee Beasts to clean up the remaining stragglers.

After taking in a deep breath, Yang Ling issued the order to attack. In that moment, a rain of light beams shot straight into the wide cave of the Black Spiders. In that instant, pathetic cries spread from within the cave. Quickly, hordes of Black Spiders swarmed out of the cave like the tide, charging straight for the Evil Eyes not far away.

Compared to the Red-haired Tarantulas, the Black Spiders were large and more muscular. Some of them were the size of a salad bowl, and they skittered out with their fangs bared. Unfortunately, in front of a large group of Evil Eyes in formation, their brittle exoskeletons did not stand a chance. They were reduced to mush by the beams of light the moment they charged out of the cave.

Because of the lack of range, the devastating poison of the Black Spiders was completely ineffective. Most of them died near the entrance of the cave. The lucky few that managed to get near the Evil Eyes were quickly torn to shreds by the waiting Red-haired Tarantulas.

Massacre, this was a clear massacre!

The Black Spiders were unable to retaliate against the attacks of the large group of Red-haired Tarantulas and the continuous rain of beams of light released by the Evil Eyes. Quickly, the entrance to the cave was soaked in a river of blood, and a thick metallic stench of blood filled the air. Slowly, the pathetic cries from within the cave became weaker and weaker. The number of Black Spiders that charged out also became lesser.

Sensing that the time was almost right, Yang Ling turned and ordered the Spider King to attack. The latter let out a howl, and in that instant, ferocious Red-haired Tarantulas emerged from the ground and swarmed toward the cave of the Black Spiders, their bloodlust soaring. At the same time, the Horned Bee Beasts also charged in like fighter jets, providing aerial support and cover for the spider army.

The powers of the Evil Eyes were extraordinary in vast terrains, but they were rather ineffective for missions like clearing out a den. In narrow spaces and complicated terrains, their slow speed was a fatal weakness and would only render them living targets. After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling decided to recall them. He then carefully walked into the spider cave under the protection of a team of Horned Bee Beasts. Even though he had victory in hand, Yang Ling was still cautious of the spiders’ terrifying poison and their ability to tunnel into the ground.

Stepping on the thick layer of blood and entering the cave, Yang Ling saw the Tarantula King instructing the spider army and raiding all corners of the cave, unwilling to miss any suspicious spots. Whenever they discovered a hidden Black Spider, a dozen Red-haired Tarantulas would pounce forward instantly, tearing it into pieces in the blink of an eye before consuming its remains.

To an ordinary person, the poison and tunneling abilities of the Black Spiders might be difficult to defend against. But these were insignificant to the Red-haired Tarantula. A battle between spiders was mainly a competition of physical strength. It was a battle to see who had greater strength, whose poisonous fangs were sharper.

Under the command of the Tarantula King, the spider army soon finished searching every nook and cranny of the cave, killing all of the Black Spiders that were hiding. They had annihilated the massive tribe of Black Spiders at the cost of a few hundred small tarantulas. The only regret Yang Ling had was that the body of the unlucky Black Spider King had been torn to shreds when he discovered it. His dream of taming the Black Spider King could no longer be fulfilled.

Even though the Black Spider King had been torn into pieces, its brown Essence Crystal had been preserved. After seeking Yang Ling’s permission, the Tarantula King excitedly swallowed the Essence Crystal. Soon after, its body expanded, its glinting fangs becoming even sharper.

Magical Beasts can voluntarily force evolution by consuming Essence Crystals?

Seeing the Tarantula King grow from the size of a pail to the size of a bathtub, Yang Ling was elated. If the Evil Eyes and Horned Bee Beasts could also evolve this way, then he would be able to increase his abilities and train up an elite Magical Beast army within a short span of time.

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Following this, Yang Ling led his Magical Beast army and continued clearing the spider tribes nearby. He managed to tame five other Black Spider Kings with his blood. As for the Red-haired Tarantula King, it reached the size of a small calf after consuming a dozen Essence Crystals. The range of its poison had increased by twenty steps, and its offensive capabilities were terrifying. It had not only successfully seized control of the nearby territories, it now also had five more Black Spider Kings under its command.

In order to heighten the agility and offensive capabilities of the spider army, Yang Ling picked out two thousand elite tarantulas with the help of the Tarantula King and tamed them all over the course of the day. Then, with the Tarantula King as the commander, Yang Ling selected five evolved tarantulas and the five Black Spider Kings to be leaders before dividing the two thousand tarantulas into ten large groups. He then proceeded to strengthen the cooperation between the tarantulas and the Evil Eyes and Horned Bee Beasts.

The quality of the soldiers was more important than the quantity!

After a few days of battle within Spider Valley, the results proved that a coordinated spider army was indeed more powerful. They displayed their abilities to shoot poison, spin webs, and tunnel into the ground far more exquisitely. At the same time, Yang Ling also discovered a secret. Low level Magical Beasts like the tarantulas, Horned Bee Beasts, and Evil Eyes could only consume Essence Crystals of the same species, while the Unicorn welcomed any crystal, seemingly able to consume the Essence Crystals of every Magical Beast.

Even though the Terras Forest was said to span tens of thousands of miles, in actuality, no one truly knew how large this primordial forest was. No one knew how many low level Magical Beasts like the tarantulas, Horned Bee Beasts, and Evil Eyes there were in the forest. Yang Ling believed that given enough time, his army of low level Magical Beasts would one day evolve to reach a high level and become more powerful than mid level, or even high level, Magical Beasts that had not evolved.

After leading his Magical Beast army and circling the Spider Valley for a few days, Yang Ling decided to leave the spider army within Spider Valley. In order to quickly advance to the level of Earth Wizard, Yang Ling needed a large amount of Water from the Spring of Life or Magical Beast Blood Orbs. Rather than keep his spider army in the Wizard’s Pagoda to train, he might as well get them to hunt for him. Even though the spider army was unable to condense Blood Orbs from the Magical Beasts, the spiders were capable of capturing Magical Beasts alive with their strong webs. All he had to do was come here regularly to collect them.

After settling on the idea, Yang Ling left Spider Valley under the guard of his Horned Bee Beasts. He traveled quickly, jumping from tree to tree like a large bird. He led his Magical Beast army and hunted for a few days. He consumed a good number of Magical Beast Blood Essences and felt his Wizard Power increase even further. Perhaps he would be able to reach the mid levels of Spirit Wizard with just a little more effort.

When he returned to the castle, Yang Ling instructed his trusted guard Argus to fetch Goode. He wanted to expand the range of the area that the guards were patrolling. Once bitten, twice shy. Even though the patrols would not be able to deal with experts like heaven-ranked assassins, they would be able to limit the activities of the scouts they sent and prevent them from easily obtaining information about his activities.

Increase the area that the guards are patrolling?

After understanding Yang Ling’s intentions, Goode was silent in deliberation. Increasing the range that the guards patrolled could not only guard against assassins or the survivors of the Anca family, it could also further prevent troops and adventurers from fighting with each other. But there were some difficulties when it came to really executing the idea.

“Sir, increasing the range of patrol would have some great benefits. But in terms of funds, I am afraid…” Goode hesitated for a moment. There were both benefits and costs to expanding the scale of the patrol team. Without enough funds, the idea was mere talk.

Even though the dwarf weapons shop and the Evening Primrose Bar were raking in decent profits every day, they did not have much left after using it on the few hundred people they employed in the castle and the restoration of the building itself. They were lucky that the barbarians only cared about having enough to eat and a place to stay. Yang Ling might be operating at a loss if they wanted wages like the rest of the people.

“Goode, Wissen Town is rich in resources. We could set up our own merchant association that specializes in selling steel equipment, fine wine, and resources such as timber. How does that sound?”

Set up their own merchant association?

Goode’s eyes glinted, but he got a little dejected when he thought about the long distance and difficult mountain roads between Wissen Town and other human cities. “Sir, Wissen Town does have a lot of treasures, but unfortunately, its location is a little too out of the way. There are also many bandits along the way. The cost of transporting the resources would be exorbitantly expensive. It would be very hard to expect profits from trading in the short term!”

“Hehe, it is indeed unprofitable if we sold normal items, but we would definitely obtain a large profit if we sold Magical Beast Essence Crystals!” Yang Ling smiled as he looked at the worried Goode.

After a moment’s hesitation, Goode clapped his hands in admiration. The biggest reason for troops and adventurers coming to Wissen Town was because they had set their sights on the Magical Beast Essence Crystals in Terras Forest. An Essence Crystal from a low level Magical Beast might not be worth too much in Wissen Town, but it would definitely fetch an exorbitant price in the Banto Empire or the capital of the Rossi Empire.

Compared to the troops and adventurers, Yang Ling possessed a unique advantage. As long as he set a reasonable price, the hunters wouldn’t sell the items to anyone else. Furthermore, Yang Ling basically had control of the largest hunting party in town. The forest elves and barbarians would cooperate with whatever he was doing. He would be able to gain much more if he factored in his terrifying Magical Beast army.

Also, unlike selling heavy materials like steel ore and lumber, selling Essence Crystals only required a few horses, or even a mere teleportation scroll. It was simple and convenient! Goode became more excited as he thought about it, as if he could see the countless shining coins before him.

Following this, Yang Ling sorted out a few details with Goode. He was prepared to pay a sum of money in advance to hire a hundred or so warriors who were at least at the level of swordsman to be lead by Casey. He also came up with a plan to set up the merchants association to sell Magical Beast Essence Crystals.

That night, the townspeople saw groups of heavily armored warriors walking out of Wissen Castle. The townspeople felt an unprecedented sense of safety wherever the groups patrolled. The lazy troops and adventurers had no choice but to restrain their boorish acts of the past. After all, no one thought that the tire-sized axes in the hands of the barbarians were merely decoration. No one wanted to face a similar end as the Wind Troops.