Chapter 21: The Legion of Giant Spiders
"Looks like this is the end," I muttered, even in my berserk state, sensing the impending doom.
"Damn it!" Wolf King cursed loudly, watching as I was overwhelmed by a swarm of giant spiders. He knew the boy was doomed. Among the four of us, the rescued white man hadn't shown any remarkable combat abilities, and both Wolf King and Hachii Zhenfu had lost their most powerful weapons. They were helpless to assist.
"Retreat! Fall back the way we came! There are no giant spiders behind us!" Hachii Zhenfu shouted. Wolf King, realizing the dire situation, ceased pressing forward. He fired his machine gun in a furious burst to cover their retreat, downing several spiders that dared to chase them before retreating into the tank to regain control. They knew there was no saving me, a harsh reality trained warriors accept countless times. Left behind, a mound of monstrous spiders fed endlessly, their eerie gnawing filling the silent forest.
The cleaved remains of the fiery red spider I had slain emitted a faint glow, hinting at something hidden within. The battlefield was chaotic, with the surviving cadets racing towards camp, hoping to escape a second encounter with such a formidable foe. None paid attention to the strange corpse I'd left behind. Time passed, and despite the spiders' voracious appetite, my body lay oddly untouched, as if some unending feast kept them busy.
Suddenly, a radiant, pure white light burst forth from the gaps in their grotesque bodies, accompanied by a voice ringing with mystical power. "Holy Shield! Detonate!" The sacred flames blazed, melting dozens of spiders like acid, faster than snow near a furnace. The central spiders perished instantly, while those on the periphery screeched in terror and retreated dozens of meters.
Left at the center, enveloped in holy flames, I laughed wildly, swinging my blade, Gu Yue, in a mocking gesture, carving a perfect cross in the air. "The flames of holiness cannot purge all evil, but the Lord declares: Erase what wickedness your eyes perceive, and that shall suffice." The flames transformed, forming dozens of holy light bullets that shimmered with ancient Hebrew inscriptions, each containing fivefold my previous power. The spiders, driven back by the holy blaze, barely had a chance to recoil before the holy bullets struck, causing them to vanish entirely, obliterated by sacred might. Such is the holy power's ultimate strength against malevolence.
Exhausted, I staggered as the last of the spiders perished, the sacred fire extinguished around me. Yet, amid the remnants of the slain fiery red spider, a crimson rune stone gleamed on the ground. I retrieved it with Gu Yue, and immediately the Book of Demons revealed a note: *Giant Spider Legion Rune: Level One Legion. Grants a command post capable of summoning up to 999 giant spiders.* Present count: 0/999.
Suddenly, a spider that had retreated returned, sensing an opening as my holy flames faded. In response, the crimson rune stone pulsed with a red light, pulling the spider into the book. The legion count changed to 1/999. Unlike cards or treasures, a legion consumes an entire page of the Book of Demons, even including animated diagrams of its operation. The captured spider wandered the legion chamber, its confusion evident, unaware of how it ended up here.
Now, with command over a legion of spiders, I laughed in exhilaration and surged toward the spider hordes. Though my spirit was depleted, I fought relentlessly, slashing with Gu Yue and my tenfold strength card, cutting down spiders in mere moments. With larger clusters, I swiftly captured them within the legion's domain. Seeing me tearing through the swarm, several imperiled teams called out for aid. I may have been an ordinary high schooler with no heroic instincts, but if saving others required so little effort, I couldn't ignore them. Six teams joined behind me as I liberated them from their spider assailants.
At last, we fought our way back to the training camp, relief sweeping over everyone. Around the camp, an invisible power kept the relentless spiders at bay, preventing them from nearing the safe zone.
The pain I'd ignored during battle surged back, a piercing throb radiating through my mind. Even two healing cards did little to soothe it. Yet, enduring so much had strengthened my resilience. Finally reaching my tent, I opened the Book of Demons to check my status, and just as I expected, my mental power had increased once again.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone