Chaos and pandemonium reigned in the spiders’ new home.

  Everyone and everything was running, from the newborn baby spiders coming out of their eggs, the swarm of [Juvenile Dungeon Hounds] encroaching on spider territory, and the evolved arachnids rushing to the ready to defend their kin.

  Panic gripped Click only for an instant, as even with the worst case scenario playing out, they were honestly ready for it.

  [Command Subordinates]! The lead spider cried out, their eyes darting between every group around them and giving each of them a different command. Retreat!

  The specific commands that Click gave out were a little more nuanced than that, but every single spider dropped what they were doing and followed them to the letter.

  The scattering newly hatched babies made an immediate U-turn and ran back to safety, through the small holes in the grate and into the dull brown colored cocoon of webbing. Due to their relatively small size and low evolutionary tier, they were downright trivial to take control of.

  The other spiders took a normal amount of the Skill’s charge, but their few numbers and Click’s high stores made the cost equally inconsequential.

  It started with everyone running to the back of the fortress of webbing and up the sheer wall that made up the rear defenses. That was, everyone except for the remaining [Bruiser Spider] and Bored, the [Alpha], the chokepoint the whole plan depended on.

  A series of howls echoed out from beyond the rocks that made up the final demarcation between the inner fortress and buffer zone to the outside. As each one ended, a head popped up from behind a rock, only to jump out and reveal a running [Juvenile Dungeon Hound].

  Their mouths were filled with razor sharp teeth covered in saliva. Some of their tongues flicked out of their mouths, as if trying to taste their meal before it even entered their mouths. Their wet noses shone in the light of glowing mushrooms, still sniffing heavily as they made their way towards the tray of webbing that held their prey.

  Why are they sniffing so much when it’s obvious where their meal is? On the other hand, why are they all attacking as the spiders hatch? Maybe it’s their sense of smell that gave away their hatching. Why else were so many of these predators by my old home when I first hatched? But I’m going to teach them a lesson so they learn to run when they smell us hatching.

  Bored the [Alpha] clamped their mandibles around the predator in front. They were about the same size as each other, but the spider was able to lift the attacker into the air by its neck as it flailed around. Another [Juvenile Dungeon Hound] just behind it wasn’t spared from Bored’s attention, however. The [Alpha] slammed its bulk into the approaching hound and sent it sprawling to the floor with a yelp.

  That didn’t deter the other predators, who measured at about a dozen in total, from running past the massive spider guardian.

  But thankfully, Bored wasn’t alone. Click, sitting in a hemisphere of protective webbing attached to the main mega web, looked on and let their plan fall into place. They had an equal number of troops to the attacking predators, but that didn’t mean much when every single one of the enemies outclassed just about each of the spiders.

  The one thing Click had that they didn’t, besides strategy, was total control. The spiders would fight to the last if the [Spider Army Commander] demanded it, but the predators? They were Juveniles, they didn’t even have the leadership of an [Alpha Dungeon Hound] to whip them into shape. They would run as soon as things began to get dicey.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  So that was the plan. Kill their confidence and send them running.

  [Command Subordinates]! Webslingers! Grab that one by the lower left leg!

  A trio of [Webslinger Spiders] jumped into action, and using impossibly accurate shots of webbing thanks to [3D Move Sense], each tied a string around one of the charging hounds in the back. It yelped as it was tripped and fell to the floor, but Click wasn’t done yet.

  [Shadow Spiders]! Grab the rope and tie its other legs!

  Click had seen the strength of webbing woven into a thick thread, and how it was able to carry an entire sac of eggs down to the ground without breaking, so they made the sensible decision of having their troops weave up a few more and position them throughout the outer bounds of the web fortress. The closest one was laid out between two rocks, and that was what the [Shadow Spiders] grabbed. A pair of them disconnected both of the ends and a third one joined in as they carried it over to the downed predator.

  The [Juvenile Dungeon Hound] yelped again, but even more loudly, as its legs were bound and it was thrown to its side. Its own brethren stopped their charge temporarily to look back at the fate that awaited them for this attack. Yet it left them undeterred, and they continued their charge towards the baby spiders, albeit with a little bit more wariness in their eyes.

  That wariness didn’t help them.

  [Command Subordinates!] Webslingers again! Tension Ropes!

  Another interesting property Click noticed about the webbing was that it held and released tension very well. The [Webslinger Spiders] made great use of it to move around by having gravity turn their webs into the equivalent of bungee cord, but Click imagined another use for it. A more combat-oriented one.

  Another pair of [Webslinger Spiders] ran over to one of the other ropes previously set up, this one extending between a stalagmite and stalactite directly on top of each other, and began to cut the ropes at the top. They moved around as they continued to cut, in time with the footsteps of the predators, and with one final cut…

  The web rope went flying down, the tension it held turning it into a whip as its tip flew into the back of a [Juvenile Dungeon Hound]. The force of the blow laid it out instantly, and after a short struggle, it collapsed and simply laid there.

  This made the other [Juvenile Dungeon Hounds] pause momentarily. But the next two ropes coming down forced them to stop. The young predators looked to each other, waiting, hoping for some kind of reassurance to continue their assault.

  They quickly got it, but not from any of them.

  [Shadow Spiders]! Start spitting venom into their eyes!

  The stealthed arachnids compiled and aimed their toxic spittle. While they didn’t have the same mastery of spatial awareness their Webslinger brethren did, they still landed many of their hits. Enough to elicit pain and force the predators back.

  When all hope was just about lost for the [Juvenile Dungeon Hounds], Bored came in to get rid of the rest of it.

  With one final assault at a nearby trio of reeling hounds, the massive arachnid had the group running away, tails literally between their legs. Seeing the three making their escape, the other predators followed their lead and ran alongside them.

  Click sat in their little war room, watching the proceedings down below with glee. After the last of the enemies had escaped and passed through the outer boundaries of their lair, the [Spider Army Commander] made their way out to greet the victors.

  The spiders all raised their limbs in joy, Bored the [Alpha] even jumping up and down. Click felt that it wasn’t satisfied with the physical activity it got out of the fight and was trying to make up for it.

  Click cheered with them. The battle was over and the tribe was safe. But most importantly…

  Several of the baby spiders began to crawl out of the cocoon of webbing, apprehensively looking around for predators or prey.

  So these are the new troops, huh? Click thought to themself. They’re pretty small, but there are a lot of them. Good thing I know just how to get them to evolve fast. And after that, we take the rest of this cavern, this and every single floor past it, as our new home!