Chapter 174: The Spider Queen’s Giant Web! 【Seeking Recommendation Votes】
November 18, 2016
Author: Floating Tower
Needle Forest.
A tall human ranger traverses through the dense forest, showcasing exceptionally high-level woodland movement skills, seemingly advancing at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.
Soon, this human ranger reaches her destination.
It is an area planted with numerous trees, all arranged according to a specific pattern, with a grand pale golden oak at the center.
This is the Sacred Grove.
It is a place dedicated to the ‘Goddess of Forest and Rangers’ – Merike. The goddess does not have many temples, and her most cherished altar is the Sacred Grove, which typically must have an oak tree nearby. Merike is the daughter of Father Oak, and she is currently the most powerful deity in the Nature Pantheon. However, due to the subsequent disappearance of Father Oak and Mother Earth, Merike’s influence within the Nature Deity hierarchy is not very significant. This goddess has long been trying to regain control over the power of nature, but these attempts have not been very successful; she is still best at the divine profession of the Forest.
“My lord!”
The human ranger kneels on one knee respectfully and says, “Recently, there have been a large number of magically mutated spiders appearing in the southwestern forest.”
“Their numbers are increasing, and they are reproducing rapidly.”
“I suspect it is related to the Drow in the Underdark; they seem to be planning to reignite the war with the surface elves, and the Spider Queen’s minions are conspiring about something. Perhaps we should consider organizing against them.”
In the center of the Sacred Grove.
A tall woman dressed in exquisitely crafted green-brown leather armor turns around. She possesses an extremely beautiful appearance, infused with an indescribable heroism, robust and beautiful. Merike is a humorous and kind deity, always wearing a confident smile. She is very cautious about making friends, but once someone is deemed a friend by her, she will sincerely and loyally protect them. Although she understands that d*ath is part of the life cycle, she is not as indifferent as Shivan, often intervening out of compassion to heal the wounds of living beings. This goddess has always protected the forest; she is revered by rangers.
“What do you think?” Merike turns to her side.
An elegant golden unicorn is leisurely strolling. Upon hearing Merike’s words, it lifts its head and speaks in a girl-like crisp voice, “It should be the Spider Queen’s scheme.”
“However, our most important task now is to protect the forest from undead encroachment.”
“I believe the Elven Pantheon can handle the Spider Queen’s schemes; we just need to ensure those magically mutated spiders do not spread to other forests.”
A faint golden radiance.
The unicorn before them emits an air of noble elegance, and the ranger beside it quickly bows in greeting.
This is the Unicorn Goddess – Lari, the most loyal friend, companion, and steed of Merike. Lari loves to wander, and her personality can be somewhat capricious. However, once she considers someone trustworthy, she displays loyal friendship and never abandons believers in distress. When facing battle, Lari would be a very formidable enemy, but what she loves are lighthearted banter, clever puzzles, novel discoveries, and the joyful explorations of life. This Unicorn Goddess rarely manages her church, with her followers largely attached to Merike’s church.
Both goddesses have a vast number of ranger believers, with priests also doubling as rangers and druids.
Among them, priests and druids who believe in Merike can freely use ranger weapons, a special ability granted to them by the goddess, just as Soren’s priests can use curved blades.
Merike fell into thought at her words.
After a moment, she raised her head and said, “By the way. What about the treants near the Misty Forest? Are they still unwilling to merge with us?”
The ranger gently shook her head.
She considered for a moment and replied slowly, “These treants serve Father Oak and firmly believe that one day, he will return.”
“But.”
“They seem to maintain a close relationship with the Lord of Shadows. The recovery of the entire Misty Forest is also significantly related to that deity.”
The Lord of Shadows?
The Unicorn Goddess showed an interesting expression upon hearing this, softly saying, “What kind of deity is he? To advance to Medium Divine Power in such a short time, he is undoubtedly a true powerhouse.”
“I want to personally thank him for killing that b*stard Mara!”
The God of the Hunt – Mara.
He is the forest that the Unicorn Goddess hates the most, showing no qualm in wanting to k*ll him, and similarly, Mara yearns to taste the bl**d of the Unicorn Goddess’s throat.
She has always longed to meet Soren and express her gratitude.
But she is also an ally and mount of Merike, and amidst the outbreak of the Saint’s Cataclysm, she must guard Merike’s side. This goddess may not have immense power, but should not be underestimated, as unicorns themselves are powerful beings, much like many dragon gods who are of Weak Divine Power—once they get serious, none are to be taken lightly.
“Soren, huh?”
Merike’s face also revealed a hint of curiosity as she murmured, “He seems different from other evil gods we have encountered. He has protected the south and rebuilt order.”
“Perhaps there will be an opportunity to meet him.”
Although deities rarely move, their news is not obscure.
Soren’s reputation has spread throughout the Multiverse, and even the oldest gods have learned of his tales.
………………
Spider Forest.
This is a forest ruled by spiders. Within this vast forest live numerous venomous spiders, phase spiders, shadow spiders, and now a terrifying new kind of spider.
That is—the black spider, the Magically Mutated Spider.
This type of spider measures over three meters long, with sharp fangs and venomous teeth; under the influence of some power, they rapidly reproduce, and now their numbers are staggering. The elves have been forced to withdraw, and now the entire Spider Forest is covered in white webs, spanning hundreds of meters, with everything enveloped in a pale color, and the webs hunt all creatures that enter, including wandering undead. The reproduction rate of the Magically Mutated Spiders is astonishing; passing through those webs reveals many of them nestled in caves, with occasional signs of activity numbering in the hundreds, merely glancing at them sends chills down one’s spine.
Druids are monitoring here.
Rangers stand ready.
Nearby elves are also feeling anxious, worried that these spiders might jump out at any moment to tear everything apart; no one knows exactly how many Magically Mutated Spiders are inside. Since the outbreak of the Saint’s Cataclysm, the spiders here have been rapidly multiplying, and they may now exceed hundreds of thousands. Their source of food is unknown; nonetheless, their numbers have never ceased to grow.
Nearby gnomes and dwarves have already been forced to relocate, even ogres have been compelled to flee.
The spiders continuously cover the forest with their webs, expanding to the southwest; the area of the webs increasingly grows, eventually approaching the Elf Kingdom.
This is a giant web woven by the Spider Queen – Rose.
Looking across the entire Multiverse, only she can control so many spiders. The Drow of the Underdark seem to have hidden, but the massive spider swarm continues to expand, and transformed spider-elf hybrids are becoming increasingly common.
Not only are the Drow being corrupted, but surface elves are also being turned into spider-elf hybrids by a certain secret art.
This is the power of Trickery.
From the very beginning, the Spider Queen – Rose has been constantly gathering the power of Trickery, and now her giant web has officially taken shape, enveloping the Elf Kingdom from all directions. However, at the same time, due to the massive reproduction of the spiders, the original ecosystem of the Material Plane has been severely damaged, alerting and inciting the vigilance and hostility of the Forest Goddess Merike.
………………
Modo City.
Soren is tidying everything in his study; after stealing the souls from the River of Underworld, his power increases every minute.
The Demon Legion is expanding.
The Heroic Spirit Legion is growing.
Soren is continually accumulating power, which needs to ensure his stand amongst the deities of Strong Divine Power, and this cannot be accomplished solely with Golem Puppets.
“Brother!”
“Brother!”
At this moment, an excited voice sounds as two identical Vivians, one black and one white, rush into the room, cheerfully exclaiming, “We finally succeeded!”
Vivian and Lilian.
After long periods of adaptation, they have finally adjusted to the transformation of divinity under Soren’s guidance, successfully completing the prayer and divine technique transition.
“Congratulations to you both.” Soren smiles and gives them a hug.
Vivian happily enjoys Soren’s embrace; wearing a white princess dress, she looks up, kisses him lightly on the cheek, and suddenly seems to recall something, saying, “By the way! Brother!”
“Recently, Lulu has been acting a bit strange.”
“Could you please go check on her?”
Soren raises his head with confusion and asks, “Lulu? What’s wrong with her?”
Lilian interjects, “She seems to be feeling unwell recently; she used to be so lively every day. But now she seems tired and unable to speak well!”
Soren frowns and replies, “Alright. Let’s go take a look.”
Lulu lives next door to Vivian, and with the increased power of Modo City, there are far fewer battles that require her personal involvement.
As a matter of fact, it has been a while since Soren last saw her.
In the room.
Soren quickly meets the lethargic Lulu; upon seeing her in such a withered state, a sharp glimmer appears in Soren’s eyes as he solemnly inquires, “When did she start showing these symptoms?”
“About a week ago,” Vivian quietly replies.
Soren furrows his brows and approaches, placing a hand on Lulu’s forehead while murmuring, “Can you hear me? Did you come into contact with any deities recently?”
“Meow~!”
Lulu struggles to open her eyes, looking extremely sleepy as if she hasn’t rested well in ages, murmuring, “Did I? I can’t remember!…”
After saying that, she falls back asleep.
Vivian’s expression immediately turns tense; she has always had a close relationship with Lulu, anxiously exclaiming, “Brother! What’s wrong with Lulu?”
Soren’s expression grows grave.
He turns to look at the little girl, his tone icy as he declares, “Someone (a deity) wants to use her to seize reincarnation!”
“She has been planted with a seed of divinity.”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
