Chapter 8: The Opponent’s Countermove

Along the way, corpses and traces of battle were everywhere, especially in the area around the two light bomb explosions. The circular pattern of blast marks and skeletal remains remained largely intact, allowing one to easily imagine the scale of the battle that had taken place there.

Although Aragon and the others didn’t say it aloud, they began to admire the rescue team led by Neo. The burned trees along the path clearly indicated how deep into enemy territory they had gone, while the number of corpses showed where the battle had begun. Naturally, the number of enemies killed in battles involving both offensive and defensive actions was higher than those killed in purely offensive actions.

However, soon Aragon and his group lost interest in observing their surroundings, as their combat team was troubled by something small—flies. It was hard to believe that so many flies and maggots could exist in a season devoid of heat. Fatty, white maggots covered the rotting corpses, giving them the illusion of still being alive. There were even more flies, each the size of a thumbnail, with their bristles clearly visible to the naked eye—utterly disgusting. They buzzed in swarms, harassing everyone, and couldn’t be driven away even with force. If one tried to be harsh, their hands and arms would become covered in foul, sticky messes, triggering nausea and toxicity while attracting even more flies.

Who knew what deadly diseases one might contract from being covered in such fly carcasses? People had to do everything possible to deal with these pests. Hiding limbs completely under clothes was the most basic measure, and they didn’t care about getting covered in a sticky, foul smell as if they had rolled in chicken manure. They even had to use combat skills and spells, as the sheer number of flies was overwhelming—there was no point being sparing with abilities.

Star 745 was in much better condition, as medical soldiers were part of their group. They carried large bundles of grass similar to mugwort. Star 743’s members thought it was some kind of load-bearing training, but later realized that burning these bundles produced thick smoke that could drive away and kill flies.

Since Star 745 was responsible for covering the rear, it took some time before Aragon and the others learned of the situation. They sent someone to borrow some of the grass bundles to replicate the method, but by then, most of them were already covered in fly carcasses and excrement—utterly miserable.

Moon 412, who was at the forefront, wasn’t disturbed by such trivial problems. Relying solely on their protective energy, they could easily kill weak creatures like mosquitoes and flies. The flies didn’t dare to approach these “glowing entities.”

After being severely annoyed by the flies, the group finally arrived at Spider Valley. The eerie, poisonous green jungle there shocked Aragon and the others who saw it for the first time, making them feel chilled. The forest was too strange, Aragon thought. Even if it were him who suddenly encountered such a sight, he would never allow the group to enter recklessly. It seemed that Star 745 and the others hadn’t been overly cautious—this place was indeed bizarre.

“Cut down every tree in this forest!” Maxim ordered through gritted teeth.

Just because of this not-so-large forest, Moon 412 almost perished there as a group. It turned out that during their retreat that day, they encountered unimaginable obstacles in this forest—those monsters were immortal; they would revive within seconds after being killed, right in front of their eyes. And the culprit was this forest, with its poisonous green light flickering in the night.

“The medical team should follow the logging machines to collect medicines and tree sap, while the combat team is responsible for protection, paying special attention to the immortal creatures in the shadowy corners. Alright, let’s begin the operation,” ordered Neo.

Swish swish swish! The prepared warriors dropped down using long ropes, followed by the members of the medical team, all carrying stacks of folded bags made from cloth and glue over the past two days. For this purpose, the supply team had made a trip to Armed Farm No. 5, buying almost all the necessary materials.

The logging machines took longer to lower, as special platforms had to be set up first, then lowered slowly using ropes. This time, to deal with these strangely resilient trees, not only 10 logging machines were deployed but also a team of over 50 people. First, two platforms were built to lower the logging machines, with plans to create a total of five platforms to allow for quick retrieval. Of course, people could also be lifted up using winches—six or seven people at a time.

The medical team, who had gone down first, began collecting herbs under the protection of the warriors. Neo had already illustrated what needed to be collected in the form of pictures during the mission briefing, so they didn’t hesitate to get to work.

As Neo said, there were dark creatures like skeleton monsters lurking in the shadows and corners. But even without direct sunlight, they remained relatively weak during the day. When a few were driven out, they were no match for the warriors and were reduced to piles of broken bones. Though they trembled on the ground, they couldn’t revive quickly.

The logging machines were two-legged mechanical beings with a human-like appearance—left arms shaped like claws and right arms as circular saws. Even after these strange trees recovered, they couldn’t withstand the relentless cutting of the high-speed circular saws, so they were felled one by one. The medical team immediately went up, attaching bags to the cut ends, then tilting the trees, which had been almost completely severed at the roots, so that the sticky, poisonous green sap could flow into the bags. The flow was faster than expected. As the sap drained away, the trees’ leaves and branches quickly lost their luster, turning yellow and shriveled before becoming brownish dry wood. Their appearance resembled somewhat the trees around the Spider Jungle.

At this point, a warrior brought a small bucket and brush to apply a pungent, shiny sap like paint to the cut stumps. Maxim asked Neo what this was for, and the answer was indeed as he guessed—it was to prevent the trees from growing back.

By now, the rest of Moon 412 also believed what Maxim had said before—that Neo had done thorough research on this place. No matter how he did it, the fact remained that he knew more than they did.

“Why hide information?” Mansson’s displeasure was evident on his face. This Simon was not only crazy but also kept things mysterious, putting them at a disadvantage. Mansson even suspected that Simon already knew quite a lot about this place before they arrived, yet he didn’t reveal anything, causing them to stumble into trouble.

Nio said with a smile, “Lieutenant Mansson, are you questioning the deputy leader of the task force as a member of the team? Or do you want to hear some reasons that strictly comply with the regulations?”

“…” Everyone, including Aragon, was surprised by Nio’s reply. It meant: I am the deputy leader of the task force; there’s no need to explain things to you as a mere member. If you try to pressure me based on your position or question me as an elder, I have plenty of legitimate reasons. The core message was simple: I won’t answer your question—stop causing yourself trouble.

Offended, Mansson’s expression darkened as he prepared to lash out.

Nio remained smiling. “The seniors of the Temple are all experienced warriors. I’ve long wanted to find an opportunity to learn from them and gain some real skills to stay alive. How about we have a spar sometime, Lieutenant Mansson?”

“That suits me perfectly.” A sharp glint appeared in Mansson’s eyes. He didn’t press further, knowing it wasn’t the right time.

Nio nodded at Mansson with a smile, then turned his gaze toward the woods below.

Though the exchange was brief, it revealed another side of Simon the Windrunner. “If you’re not nice to me, don’t blame me for not sparing you face.”

Because of this, Aragon discussed it with his companions and reiterated to his soldiers: Don’t bother those madmen from Star 745 unless necessary…
Logging and gathering herbs were dull and time-consuming tasks. With no issues down below, those above were bored, with nothing to do, plus having to clean up after fly corpses everywhere—it was truly frustrating.

Nio, on the other hand, was quite active. Today, he didn’t wear heavy armor or his classic weapon shield. Instead, he wore tight leather armor and, like his soldiers, carried a long curved knife along with ropes and hooks. Given Nio’s blood talent, his combat power was no less than that of the fierce Vincent, so Maxim couldn’t really accuse him of slacking off.

Nio wandered along the outer edge of the valley, occasionally checking the soil beneath his feet and the trees around him.

After going around once, they had roughly confirmed what had happened here: not only was it eroded and infiltrated by dark corrupting forces, but its energy was also drained by some kind of artifact or spell. The twisted forest and countless maggots and flies were all manifestations of the disrupted energy in this area. Just as cemeteries tend to gather deathly energy, making them convenient for undead entities to manipulate and cultivate, this ruined land, if not thoroughly cleaned, would also become a breeding ground for evil. Corpses would gather to form monsters, creatures would twist into demons, and even those flies, after several generations, might turn into pests that harm people, possibly even combining with some vengeful spirits to become some kind of monster. Purification was necessary here, but since Neo currently had limited means and couldn’t use them in public, he would have to apply for permission to carry out the cleanup.

Maxim didn’t show any displeasure toward Neo because of the minor disagreement with Manson. In fact, he was well aware that Manson, who had grown up in Kyles, had a temper that couldn’t be described as good. At the same time, Neo’s strength and performance had won his respect—that was what truly mattered. In other words, Maxim had no intention of showing off his seniority in front of Neo; instead, he focused on the facts. He believed Neo was a rational person, and if he was wrong, it wouldn’t be a big deal. A narrow-minded person could only suffer losses themselves, and it wasn’t worth wasting effort on dealing with such people.

“How’s it going? Any findings?” Maxim asked Neo, who had returned after circling the area.

Neo wiped the dirt from his hands. “The energy is disrupted, and this land has been severely damaged. If it’s not completely resolved, it will remain a threat. Before long, Farm No. 5, not far from here, will also be affected. Sending more people won’t make things easier than they are now.” Neo then explained in detail the extent of the damage in this area, his assumptions, and his outlook for the future.

After listening carefully, Maxim nodded and said, “Your understanding coincides with mine in many ways.” He then briefly recounted their exploration of the spider nest that day. The focus was on a poisonous green plant deep in the cave—a large cluster that almost filled a 300-square-meter cave, with its roots extending into surrounding caves as well, looking quite strange. After further research by the members of Moon 412, they all agreed that the root of all the problems lay with this plant. Considering that its roots were tightly connected to the land in this area, they felt confident and made careful plans. As Maxim put it, “With such a huge mass, there’s no fear it will escape.”

Neo, however, held the exact opposite view of Maxim. His specialty was controlling plants. Perhaps he hadn’t had much insight before, but after obtaining Thorns and Spines, Neo realized that some plants had a core entity and extensions. Take, for example, the core entity of the Alien Vine—those bitter thorns and vine-like plants, regardless of whether they were in jungles, forests, or among giant trees, were merely extensions. As long as the core Alien Vine remained intact, reproduction required only conditions that weren’t too difficult to fulfill. Otherwise, their magic would be lost, and no matter how numerous or vigorous they grew, it would be hard to trace back to the original entity. Thus, he believed that as early as the Night of Bloodshed, the Dark Ones had already taken the core away overnight, and what his group was facing was actually a mess they had left behind, which didn’t matter much no matter what happened to it.

While people rested, the machines kept working. From morning until late in the afternoon, the loggers finally cleared half of the valley, revealing the Poison Tooth Spider Nest hidden in the jungle.

“Most stay behind; the elites go into the nest,” Maxim ordered. Almost all members of Teams Moon 412 and Star 713 entered the spider nest, while Neo was responsible for coordinating and deploying the entire external army.

“Clap, clap!” Neo clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention. “The loggers should start lifting the logs. You have 30 minutes to finish the task. One hour later, return to the camp with Team Star 743.”

“Senior Maxim and the others have just entered the spider nest. They might need our help. How can we…”

Neo immediately raised his hand to stop Buckley from Team Star 713 from continuing. “It’s me who decides about external operations now. I’ll take full responsibility. Save your doubts and complaints for when we return. Execute the order now, Lieutenant.”

Buckley responded with a heavy grunt, indistinguishable as either “Mm” or “Hmph”—probably both. Some people were stubborn and liked to act tough; when the time came to explain themselves, they would have to.

Someone else maintained a perfect image of a great leader, standing with his hands behind his back on a rock, staring expressionlessly at the entrance of the spider nest for an hour. During that time, he only gave a few instructions after the medics and soldiers finished their work.

When the loggers and Team Star 743 were ready to set off, Neo called for a pause.

“What, changed your mind?” Buckley asked sarcastically.

“Mm. I suddenly realized a few things and plan to take action. I need help. Get everyone to move and drag the logs from the valley here. I need them.”

“Can’t we cut them down right here?”

“Lieutenant, execute the order.”

Then Buckley expressed his dissatisfaction outright. This time, Neo heard clearly—it was “Hmph”!

The trees in the valley were pulled up using ropes and winches. Neo selected the thick and straight ones, ordering that excess branches be removed and they be cut into logs, with conical tips carved at the ends. There weren’t many such logs—only 12. The rest could be simply rough-cut into logs.

While Buckley was busy leading the soldiers to deal with the giant trees, Nio had already drawn massive magic circles on a flat area at the edge of the valley. The main material for these circles was obsidian fragments from the obsidian guardians destroyed during the Night of Bloodshed. The larger pieces had long been collected by the soldiers under Nio’s orders while clearing the battlefield, and these fragments were gathered by the soldiers along the roads—Nio never expected them to be useful, just as he hadn’t anticipated things would get so complicated.

“Can you use magic circles?”
“I sneaked a look at the sorcerers’ textbooks.”
Buckley rolled his eyes at Nio’s answer. “So you know how?”
“A little!”
At that moment, Buckley really wanted to slap Nio’s smug face.

Just then, Nio asked seriously, “Are we of the same clan?”
“…May the winds and sands protect us,” Buckley said, reciting the blessing of the Sand Wolves, which was no different from “May the holy light protect you.”
“Great! I appreciate that. What I’m asking is, have you heard any noises? Or sensed anything?” Sand Wolves weren’t known for their sense of smell or hearing, as these abilities weren’t very useful in sandstorms. Instead, their intuition was extremely sharp. It was said that a skilled Sand Wolf could still find water in the desert even with his eyes covered, ears plugged, and nose sealed, covering dozens of miles.

Seeing Nio’s serious expression, Buckley held his breath and tried to concentrate. “Hmm… nothing!”
“Okay, then you can lead the team back. Aim to return by 2 o’clock, 1—before the sun sets below the horizon, not when it’s completely dark. Then, have Kaniato, who’s staying behind with Star 745, release the aluminum-foil eagle. We’ll use it to stay in touch. Remember, if we don’t return tonight, no matter what you see, you must not leave the camp to rescue us. If you can’t do that, I’ll do my best to send you to the Temple Court.”
“Did you sense something? Go inform Maxim and the others right away!” Buckley glared at him.
“If you keep wasting time with so many ‘whys’ and complications and cause problems, be prepared to receive 20 lashes!” Nio said, pulling out a magic map from his pocket, unfolding it, and clicking on it with a magic pen. A huge three-dimensional map of passages appeared before Buckley. “The captain and the others have been gone for over 2 hours. Tell me, where am I supposed to go to inform them?”
Buckley’s face turned pale. It was the first time he’d seen such a map of a spider’s nest. It seemed like a classic location in some dark region, but from the map, it appeared to be completely independent—just huge and complex, a three-dimensional maze.
“And the enemy? What exactly is it?” Buckley refused to give up. Allowing him to lead the team back to the camp without any chance of rescue really frustrated him.

“On your way back, go check those hollow dead trees. If I’m right, the tree mites will no longer be there. We’ve been deceived from the start, thinking those mites would only spray out like fireworks. In fact, the entire Spider Jungle is corroded, its energy drained and distorted, and the decay underground is likely even worse. The way energy leaks determines how the tree mites can move around. Perhaps this ability emerged recently, but I must say—whatever you think the flies on the road are like, the tree mites are a thousand, ten thousand times worse. They exist not just to disgust people. How do you plan to deal with them? How many can you kill with one sword?”

“How then will you deal with them?”

Neo pointed at the magic array. “If you can do it for me, I’ll lead the team back to the camp.”

Buckley said nothing more and ordered the soldiers to move, forming a group and leaving. Influenced by Buckley’s seriousness and urgency, everyone quickly got ready and headed back to the camp several kilometers away. The 1st Warrior unit and medics also returned. So many people weren’t needed here—mainly because Neo couldn’t protect that many people yet still needed laborers.

The twelve largest trees were the ones that needed to be purified. In front of the warriors, Neo used blood energy to turn them into bright red pieces of wood, as if painted with blood, glowing red and crystal clear.

With the magic array, the large trees were arranged in groups of six to form a huge base, resembling an enlarged campfire. Then, using the plenty of ropes and logs left over, the warriors built towers on top of the base. The overall structure looked like a large watchtower used by alien tribes in a barbaric land, with inner walkways made of logs leaning upward side by side and platforms formed by logs stacked at the top.

While the warriors built the structure, Neo kept working on the magic array below. To be honest, he wasn’t familiar with it. Even Nancy had taught him how to set it up based on assumptions. If anything went wrong, it would be disastrous. Naturally, Neo was extremely cautious, especially with the sacrificial altar of the wild wood and the Blood Rock Stele at the center of the array. The former was a log with the largest rings, purified and activated using life energy and took a long time to prepare, while the latter was the only remaining piece of Blood Rock near Neo. If anything went wrong, it would be truly catastrophic. So Neo was very careful, almost reaching a state of complete immersion as he drew magic patterns and incantations on it.

As the sun set and wind blew, dust rose like fog, making the sky even darker. The warriors who had completed their tasks watched patiently as Neo continued to carve.

Finally, the last curve was completed. Neo stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead and temples, and let out a long sigh. He had heard from Nancy about something called “engineering magic,” which allowed one to construct magic arrays through precise control and manipulation of energy. He had also heard of a super-complex magic combination called a “magic array program set,” which used the orderly operation of thousands of magic arrays to perform a specific spell. “It’s truly fascinating! If one had such power, they could completely break free from the constraints of magical materials and activate magic arrays with a mere wave of the hand. Tsk tsk… That would be true greatness!”

“Captain, the sun is about to set,” a warrior’s reminder pulled Neo out of his thoughts. He quickly began checking the warriors’ work. It was done quite well—solid enough. Then he descended to the ground and poured energy into the magic circle frantically. The blood energy seemed to take on a tangible form, flowing along the patterns of the circle and coloring it red, eventually turning the center entirely blood-red. On the desolate wooden altar submerged within, blood veins began to spread. When a blood-red orb of light appeared at the top of the blood rock, the energy infusion was finally complete.

After a brief flash that made one doubt its existence, the magic circle began to function, its most notable feature being movement—the flow of energy. The strange runes started to glow, and those once rigid patterns transformed into three-dimensional light images floating in midair, rotating, oscillating, flipping, and pulsing in various ways. Soon, thick black-purple, dark blue, and ink-green smoke began to rise from the ground covered by the magic circle. The wooden watchtower, like food roasted over fire, also started to emit smoke, especially from its base, releasing a foul stench that was nauseating.

It took over 10 minutes before the smoke faded and disappeared. By then, the watchtower was completely red, appearing to blend harmoniously with the active magic circle. It wasn’t glaring, but it was quite impressive to behold.

Only after completing the simplified Flame Blood Circle did Neo truly feel a bit relieved. Although activating such a device had cost him nearly half a drop of pure essence blood, there was no choice but to make the sacrifice—he believed he could recover double what he lost. Of course, if he miscalculated, he would have to give up hastily and accept the losses.

The Flame Blood Circle was a spell circle used by temple sorcerers. Besides materials, the requirements included mastery of magic circles and control over advanced blood energy. The materials had finally been gathered to meet the standards, while the technical aspect relied mainly on Nancy. Although Neo had started experimenting and learning from the professional books of the horseman sorcerer Kokar shortly after borrowing them privately, his experience was still limited. He mainly relied on Kokar’s excellent execution skills. As for advanced blood energy, Neo’s blood energy was already on par with that of the old-timers like Kales, so it naturally met the requirements.

In fact, not only Kokar’s books but also those of Zangin, Valrug, and Mary were borrowed by Neo. The pretext was to think from multiple perspectives, but in reality, it was to expand Nancy’s knowledge. As for what Neo needed to learn and what to discard, it would depend on Nancy’s integrated information. Anyway, as Nancy’s knowledge base grew richer, Neo’s training also underwent continuous adjustments. Of course, some fundamental aspects remained unchanged, such as the use and cultivation of blood energy. Simon the Windrunner’s hallmark was the Blood Boar Man—blood energy combined with strength, a principle that never changed. As for the other important aspects of cultivation, such as Vitality and Lunar Energy, they improved rapidly due to decreasing associated costs.

With only a finger-width strip of golden light remaining on the western horizon, Neo still heard no signs of Maxim and the others. He couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed: “We’ve already suffered at night once—how can we make such mistakes? Why do we have to rush?”

Neo also knew that complaining wouldn’t solve the problem. He ordered the soldiers to check once more the ropes hanging from the probes—rope that had originally been used to lower the logging machines. These ropes were thick, strong, and easy to climb along. There were 10 ropes in total for the 5 probes, while Maxim’s group consisted of 20 people, including everyone from Moon 412, 5 officers from Star 743, 5 sergeants, and Mary, Valrug, Zankin, and Kocar from Star 745.
“Report to the captain—rope inspection is complete, and everything is in order.”
“Hmm, go rest. Remember not to leave the magic circle, and it’s best not to even go down to the watchtower.”
“Yes,” the soldier replied, but didn’t move.
Neo, who was inserting obsidian fragments into one of the ropes, stopped and asked, “Is there anything else?”
“Captain, should we get fully armed and prepare for battle?”
“It’s good that you think of that. But not this time. Sometimes, relying solely on swords and armor isn’t reliable. Eat something and rest.”
“Yes.”
A simple long whip was made. Neo channeled his energy, causing the obsidian pieces on the rope to glow one after another, turning bright red. “20 meters—this is the limit!” Neo smirked. Although pure essence blood was powerful, his control level was still moderately low. He believed that if it were Kels’s old monsters, they could still wield blood-energy blade whips nearly 50 meters long without these ropes and obsidian, using them with ease.
“Brother can find other ways.” With that, Neo heaved a log about the thickness of a bowl but 20 meters long into the Flame Blood Array. After removing any decayed contamination from it, he tied it to the watchtower, creating a horizontal frame similar to a fishing rod probing the water. This way, the tip of the probe extended well above the valley, over 10 meters from the cliff face—far beyond the reach of the probes. Standing at the tip, Neo looked down and estimated the vertical distance to the valley floor to be about 80 meters. With two 20-meter-long blood-energy blade whips, he could at least protect the area near the top of the probes for now.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared below the horizon. The Spider Jungle immediately fell into a strange gloom. In the half-undecimated jungle at the bottom of the valley, poisonous green lights began to appear and move around, like a swarm of fireflies playing in the summer. As these lights grew in number, the once quiet jungle became noisy. Unidentified howls arose—more than one, not all loud and shrill, but also soft murmurs, whimpers, cries, and murmurs like delirious speech. But they all shared one common trait: these sounds seemed to possess magic, creating a sense of temptation and call, as if trying to lure something forward.
“An interesting monster creation system!” Neo saw faint lights coming from all directions into the forest. They were wild souls—not necessarily human. All things have spirits, and spirit is consciousness energy. Though not exactly the same, it was not far from a soul.

“Damn it, so many wild souls—was this place once a burial ground for animals?” Neo had read in books that many animals, knowing their days were numbered in old age, would go to their species’ burial ground and die there. This wasn’t really a big deal in itself, but when time stretched over tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, one could imagine how many bones would accumulate in such a burial ground.
What annoyed Neo the most was his lack of a method to harvest souls in bulk. Even though he knew those faint lights were the source of trouble soon, and that using them in the simplest ways would be extremely valuable to him, he could only watch helplessly as it happened.
The warriors chewing on flatbreads and dried meat with cold water were also drawn to this scene, but it wasn’t long before their attention was drawn to something else.
“Hey, did you hear that?”
“What?”
“That rustling sound!”
“It seems… yes! The sound is getting louder!”
“Look! Down there! Good heavens!”
When people looked up, they were shocked—some didn’t even realize their flatbreads and dried meat had fallen from their hands. In the open area of the valley, the ground heaved, forming hundreds of mound-like mounds. Then, as if flowers blooming, tree mites began to surge out from within. In less than a minute, the entire valley was submerged by tree mites.
Neo frowned toward the direction of the spider nest, thinking, “Are you guys planning to swim back?”