"Richard! Wait!"

"What is it?" I bit back the words "this time" because I didn't want to sound rude to someone who had been my instructor. Instead, I coughed out a single word. "Sir?"

Feng Hai was placing a hand on his earphones at the moment, listening intently to reports over the coms. Consulting a few holographic screens, which displayed sporadic fighting from the mercenaries on the ground, he glanced at me and gestured for me to come over.

"We've narrowed the search radius for Anastasia. We found traces of poison that are very recent, and the fresh corpses of monsters as well as…a.s.sa.s.sins. The a.s.sa.s.sins that your young friends have reported, the a.s.sa.s.sin's Creed cosplayers."

Seriously, that was what we were calling them now? Cosplayers? I mean, he wasn't wrong, and modern a.s.sa.s.sins did not wear such anachronistic costumes in the present, not unless they were trying to blend in a cosplay convention.

"Glacia, get ready. We'll be moving in their position. I've a feeling we'll be able to find her in the next fifteen minutes, so we might as well get started." Feng Hai was sounding pretty excited as he stood up. The silver-haired ice mage nodded and joined him, drawing her coat around her. Her long hair hung loosely on her front in a single thick braid, the l.u.s.ter of the strands standing out against her black and dark blue clothing.

"I'm ready to move out whenever you are. Are we taking the hovercraft?"

"No. too big and too loud, not to mention there won't be a big enough s.p.a.ce for a landing zone where we are going. We'll be using an alternative method." Feng Hai glanced at me with a knowing smile. "I'll be counting on you, Richard."

"Yes, sir."

I immediately understood what he wanted. Nodding, I immediately began casting a summoning spell. It would take a while, but under the safety of the mercenaries' perimeter, there was nothing to threaten or obstruct my attempts.

"You'll tell me how to get there, right?"

"Yeah, so just provide the means of transport. And don't worry about drawing the attention of monsters in the forest. I'll take care of them." Feng Hai raised his hand, and twenty floating spears, eighteen hovering hammers and a bunch of other levitating weapons appeared behind him. For a moment, I was dumbfounded.

"Where are your swords, Instructor Feng Hai?"

"Huh? Swords? Since when do I use swords?"

"No, no, no. You're the Hurricane Blade, right? So you should be using swords, right? I mean, your Blade Body technique is supposed to allow you to convert your wind magic into swords."

"Yeah, that's what I did." Feng Hai gestured toward the floating weapons behind him. "All of these weapons behind me are converted from my wind spells.

"But where are the swords? The bladed weapons?"

Feng Hai burst out laughing at that. He waved a hand airily and conjured a bunch of wind swords. "There you go. Happy now? If you feel safer when you see me use swords instead of other weapons, then I'll throw swords instead."

Honestly, it made no difference to me. It just felt weird that the Hurricane Blade was a wind mage who didn't use bladed weapons. Well, I guess spears count as bladed weapons, but the hammers certainly did not.

In any event, I had succeeded in summoning Pegasus. Two of them, in fact. I was about to try and summon a third Pegasus, but Feng Hai and Glacia boarded the nearest one before I could say anything, with Glacia riding in the rear and wrapping her hands around Feng Hai's waist. Partially relieved that I did not need to spend any more mana than necessary, I climbed aboard Pegasus and looked at the mercenary leader expectantly.

Feng Hai tested the Pegasus that he was riding, pulling the reins on the armored winged horse to see if he responded. Pegasus, instructed telepathically by me, obeyed, and galloped.

"Nice! Thanks, Richard!"

Quickly getting the hang of riding Pegasus, Feng Hai took the reins – both literally and metaphorically – and guided him in a particular direction. As he and Glacia galloped past the other mercenaries atop Pegasus, he shouted several instructions. Probably instructing them to maintain the perimeter and protect the hovercraft.

I wasn't far behind them, spurring my own Pegasus into action. The two winged horses half-soared, half-galloped through the forest, occasionally gliding across the dense terrain in gigantic bounds. I didn't know where we were going, and the blue route marked out by my gla.s.ses were blinking in disarray, informing me of multiple errors when I went off course. Stifling an exasperated snort, I tapped my gla.s.ses to deactivate the holographic map and focused on following Feng Hai and Glacia into the heart of Aurora Forest.

As we plunged rapidly into the depths of the forest, the trees becoming a green and white blur (from the snow) around us, I could hear the com bead in Feng Hai's ear crackle through Pegasus Number One's ears.

"We've located Anastasia's position, but there is a bit of a problem."

I recognized that voice – seemed like Redfield had joined up with the rest of the platoon and were converging on Anastasia's position.

"Is Ana on the verge of erupting because of her Woeful Poison Body? Keep a safe distance, and don't get too close. But don't let her out of your sight either."

"No, it's not that. It's just that there's a troublesome enemy between us and Ana." Redfield's tone was unusually tense, a contrast to his usual cheerful demeanor. That meant that the brown stuff had truly hit the fan.

"a.s.sa.s.sins? The Veneneum a.s.ssa.s.sins have located her before us?"

"It would be great if it was just mere a.s.sa.s.sins, but nope…a more formidable foe stands in the way. Actually…they're the ones who wiped out the Veneneum a.s.sa.s.sins before we reached the area. They are rank B Arachnes."

A chill ran down my spine, and I reflexively urged Pegasus on faster. Sensing the urgency, Feng Hai also prodded Pegasus Number One to be quicker, and both winged horses picked up the pace. They leaped up and began soaring over the canopy, skimming just above the tips of the trees. A couple of Wood Apes jumped out, but Feng Hai immediately lanced them with floating spears, pinning them to the trees. They didn't die from such meager injuries and cheap, speedy spells, but they certainly wouldn't be able to pursue us for a while.

Not having the time to finish them off, Feng Hai had Pegasus Number One gallop past them, all the while maintaining a floating a.r.s.enal in the air. I swear, the guy was casting some wind spell to accelerate both Pegasuses and increase their speed by several times. It could just be my anxiety playing tricks on my mind, of course.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before we burst into a clearing, where we almost ran into a swarm of fairly huge monsters. Not as large as rank D monsters or rank A Behemoths, and they were just about two or three meters high, but they were still relatively big when compared to normal humans. I couldn't help but recoil in revulsion and horror when I caught sight of our new foe.

They were grotesque monsters, a horrifying fusion of woman and spider. A black, bloated abdomen sagged beneath a slim, feminine form with pale, gray skin. Eight legs scuttled on either side of the monstrous, bulbous body, each of the thin appendage tapering off to a point that seemed as sharp as swords. The human-like figure atop the gigantic spider body was, if possible, even more hideous. Wide hips joined with the black abdomen before curving inwardly into a fairly slim waist and demonstrating womanly curves on the chest. What appeared to be normal hands – other than the ghoulish pallor – rose and waved in agitation. Long white hair flowed silkily down the body, reaching the waist, but it wasn't able to veil the monstrous features of where a woman's face should normally be.

Eight red eyes gleamed ominously, and slavering manibles clacked incessantly in place of where a mouth would be. The nose was gone, the s.p.a.ce where it usually would be take up by several beady eyes.

While Feng Hai, Glacia and I disembarked from my Pegasuses and rejoined the rest of the mercenary platoon, I noticed lots of white fluff here and there. Looking around, I perceived that the entire clearing had been caught in cobwebs. The Arachnes had woven a gigantic web over the entire area, turning the place into a death trap.

"…!"

There were already a few victims. I saw what were clearly human bodies, mummified and all wrapped up in white silk, all coc.o.o.ned and stuck to parts of the web. Glancing at Redfield, who acknowledged our arrival with a silent nod, I guessed that those husks belonged to the Veneneum a.s.sa.s.sins we saw earlier.

"The Veneneum a.s.sa.s.sins tried to exterminate the Arachnes, but they were quickly defeated. The Arachnes trapped them in their web, and then injected them with venom before they could cut their way free."

Poor b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. That was no way to die. Knowing the feeding habbits of spiders, the toxins injected into the a.s.sa.s.sins wouldn't be enough to kill them (and besides, they were Veneneum a.s.sa.s.sins – professional killers who dabbled in poison – so I wouldn't be surprised if they had built up a resilient resistance to venom). However, they would be drugged to semi-consciousness, and have their bodily fluids and nutrients slowly sucked out of them, and they would gradually be rendered into dessicated corpses. It was in some way one of the worst ways to die. At least they wouldn't spend most of their last moments conscious.

I hope.

"…jeez…"

Shaking my head, I realized just how terrifying this swarm of Arachnes were. To be able to so easily take down an entire group of skilled a.s.sa.s.sins capable of instantly slaying rank C Wood Apes – just how much stronger were they?

I also noticed signs of corrosion here and there – traces of poison magic being used. I couldn't tell whether they belonged to Anastasia or her former colleagues, but one thing was clear.

Poison magic wasn't effective against these Arachnes. Then again, it was clear that they were one of the most venomous monsters in existence, so why wouldn't they have a natural tolerance to poison? Of course, that didn't mean they wouldn't die from poison or were immune to venom. Even the most poisonous spiders would die when fumed with pesticides. Of course, you always heard of insects such as ants, c.o.c.kroaches and maybe even spiders build up tolerance and resisteance to insecticide, so it was possible that these Arachnes had done so too.

How, I had no idea.

"Anastasia is just beyond that web," Redfield explained to us. "We tried going around, but the Arachnes would pursue us. They have surrounded her in what looks like…a gigantic nest made entirely out of strands of cobweb."

 Beyond the thick webs, I caught sight of something. I wasn't sure what it was, but it did fit Redfield's description of a nest. Furthermore, I could sense powerful venomous mana pulsing from within. A green glow that thrummed silently but visibly.

That mana signature…it definitely belonged to Anastasia. And given how it was flaring up exponentially every other second, it was obvious that she was on the verge of erupting. If we didn't place her in stasis, and soon, it would be too late.

"Hmph. Leave these foul creatures to me." Feng Hai stepped forward with a raise of his hand. Flinging his arm forward, he launched a volley of spears, hammers and swords at the swarm of Arachnes.

As one, the half-woman, half-spider monstrosities twisted around and fired thick strands of web from the end of their abdomens, the strong threads wrapping around and ensnaring the weapons. Feng Hai clicked his tongue and had them twist around to cut the webs, but the Arachnes skillfully spun their webs to restrain the struggling weapons.

"What?"

"A spider's thread is stronger than a length of steel that is of the same thickness," I whispered, dread filling my voice. "It'll be difficult for your weapons to cut through those webs."

Feng Hai took a deep breath and straightened himself. He acknowledged my statement with a nod, but he didn't seem discouraged or frustrated at all. Instead, he steeled his resolve further by raising his right arm and gathering wind mana into his loosely clenched fist. Another spear materialized in his hand and tempestuous winds blew about him, blasting leaves and soil up into the air. Fixing his glowering eyes on the enemies, he issued a single order.

"Silver Wolves, time to hunt! Slay those Arachnes!"

What, no Silver Wolves a.s.semble line? Whatever the case, at his words, all of us sprang into action immediately.