A long creaking sound echoed through the deep jungle. A dead tree with a height of several stories swayed heavily before falling toward the ground. Splinters flew everywhere along with a cloud of rotting tree dust. Several flocks of frightened birds took to the sky to escape the mayhem.
At the same time, a wriggling, clattering wave of black emerged from within the broken tree trunk. It was not a smooth wave but one with countless furry bumps. Each furball had eight spindly legs and eight shiny eyes that gleamed with anger and viciousness. They were all seeking the enemy, the one who had destroyed their nest.
“Arrow, poison strafe!” A clear, energetic voice rose above the horde of spiders.
Zachary stood a short distance away from the fallen tree. He thrust a fist towards incoming bugs, a purple and green frog sitting on the back of his hand. Arrow opened its mouth wide and spat out a glob of poison. However, unlike in the past, it did not stop with just one and let out a constant volley of poison. This was a new ability routine. Instead of a single attack with high accuracy, it went for volume instead.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Wet sounds resulted as the poison landed on the carapace of several spiders. Those that were hit quickly lost their vigor, stopping in their tracks or moving about erratically, blocking the way of their brethren. Most died after a short struggle.
"Arrow, keep using poison strafe as long as you can!" Zachary said.
By now, Arrow's body was slightly shriveled. This new ability routine required a lot of energy as well as the poison it had stored for a long time. It couldn't sustain such a high rate of fire for long. But taking out a few more spiders meant a few less to deal with.
"Hammer, Oakley, Onkie, it's your turn, kill them all!"
At his command, the three summons met the charge of the horde of wild Ensouled head-on. Hammer waved its large crusher claw, knocking spiders away like they were made of paper. Oakley's arms split into multiple branches, grabbing several spiders in one go, snapping limbs and breaking bodies. Onkie charged into the midst of the enemy using its sturdy body as a battering ram, its thick fur impervious to their bites.
Oakley was now at the Four Paths Novice Rank, the same as Hammer. Onkie was at the Three Paths Novice Rank and was not far behind. Since leaving the river and delving deeper into the jungle, he had worked hard to train his summons to this point. These three were his frontline bruisers, with high defense, attack, and endurance. It didn't matter if they were not too fast or agile. Against wild Ensouled with limited intelligence and organization, it was an effective arrangement.
Amidst the battle, several spiders managed to outflank the defensive line. As if releasing their pent-up frustration and anger, they made rapid clicking sounds with their mandibles as they charged.
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"Marble, go!" Katherine said.
A black furry blur emerged and then disappeared. Reappearing on the right side, it pounced on top of a spider, stabbing its claws into its head before slashing another in half. It then used its void ability to travel to the left side, easily dispatching another three enemies.
Zachary gave her an appreciative smile. He still wasn't sure of the exact strength of her summon but its strength was no joke. She didn't like to let it fight but it was clear, Marble was the ace of the team.
"Looks like they are finally giving up," Katherine said.
The swarm of black spiders retreated as one, abandoning their foe as well as their destroyed nest, and faded into the darkness of the trees. Dozens of corpses littered the ground. These spiders were not that strong, with most at the One Path Novice Rank and a few at the Two Paths Novice Rank. If they were any stronger, Zachary would not have attacked them.
The battle was a success, giving them a big harvest of anima crystals. These were light purple, containing a weak poison attribute. They would be good for Arrow which was still at the Two Paths Novice Rank.
"Here," Zachary said and gave Katherine a bag with half of the crystals.
"Nice." She smiled as she felt the weight of the bag.
After the anima crystals, he also cut off some spider legs. He chose the biggest ones and tied them up in a bundle like a bunch of firewood.
"What are you going to do with those?" She asked.
"This? This is our food." He said
"Eh? Eww! I'm not eating that!"
"What?" He laughed, "A bug this size has a lot of meat in the legs. They are quite tasty. Think about it, you eat crabs and shrimp, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, crabs and shrimp are just bugs that live underwater. There's no difference."
She made a face, "Ugh, fine. If they taste like shit, you're sleeping alone for a week."
Zachary laughed and eventually, so did Katherine. They gave each other playful looks before packing up. Although Zachary had still not given her answer regarding the offer to join the Ice Saint Beast Cult, she didn't mind it at all. Having shared their past with each other, she was far more intimate than before and never left his side during the night. He wasn't sure what to make of their relationship but went along with it anyway.
The two continued their journey, traveling farther and farther away from the ocean. The terrain turned more mountainous. The air became thicker and there was fog everywhere, even in the middle of the day.
They pushed through the jungle which seemed to grow denser with every step. Thorns and bushes with razor-sharp leaves were everywhere. Trees were so close together that they had to squeeze in between the trunks. There were no Ensouled around, not even treants. The situation filled Zachary with a sense of danger and he instinctively slowed his pace.
“Kak!” Hammer cried out in surprise just a few steps ahead.
It broke through the foliage and revealed daylight in front. Only, there was nothing else, not even the ground. Where the trees stopped, what remained was a vertical drop into a bottomless abyss.
“Kaaaa!” It let out an uncharacteristic scream of fright as its ungainly body began to fall.
“Hammer!” Zachary shouted and quickly cast the recall sequence.
Two fingers pointed at his brow, focusing the invisible ray of Eternum that shot towards the plunging crab. His movements were fast and well-practiced. The connection was made and the soul bond pulled Hammer back in the nick of time. If he was any slower, then he would have lost his summon.
“Damn it, that was close,” He breathed out a sigh of relief, “Why is there such a huge cliff here?”
“It’s not a cliff, look!” Katherine said.
“What the…”
He was shocked at the sight. It was a giant sinkhole. It was so deep that clouds had formed within, hiding the bottom from view. It was so wide that a town could fit within it. Its walls seemed impossibly smooth as if a divine being had punched through the ground in anger.