Novel Full Chapter 501: Sudden Upheaval at the Camp
Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Sudden Upheaval at the Camp
On the edge of the Black Forest camp, under the cover of night, several high-speed figures darted swiftly across the outermost fence line.
They were moving so fast that the soldiers patrolling the perimeter failed to notice anything unusual.
Even the elite scouts—those with enhanced abilities and extraordinary night vision—did not pick up on these fast-moving targets.
Once they crossed the outer fence, the figures quickly dispersed, splitting off toward different sections inside the Black Forest camp.
Each moved with decisive precision, as though they had very clear objectives.
Meanwhile, Luca was still waiting for Lucas to return.
Though he had forced himself to stay calm, Lucas had been gone far too long.
“I still feel like something’s off!”
He suddenly rose from his seat, his eyes on the dense darkness outside, anxiety edging into his voice.
“What do you plan to do? Go looking for him now? He’s probably with the senior officers. If you just barge into their area, the consequences could be very serious.”
Sophia still hoped Luca would wait patiently.
She too thought Lucas had been gone an unusually long time, but she believed keeping calm was what mattered most right now.
“I’m not that reckless. But I also can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Luca said quickly, straightening himself as he spoke.
“I can at least scout around inside the Black Forest camp. Maybe I can pick up some crucial information from others.”
With that, he pushed the door open and stepped out.
Inside the Black Forest camp, the atmosphere was still noisy and bustling.
Most people didn’t pay Luca any attention; they just assumed he was another ordinary soldier.
Of course, Luca couldn’t simply grab someone and start grilling them with questions.
He decided to wander aimlessly at first. In the process, he was bound to overhear some of the soldiers’ chatter.
The soldiers who gossiped likely didn’t have top-level intel, but even casual talk often revealed useful clues.
As long as Luca could piece together all of this useful information, he might be able to form a rough assessment of the current situation.
During this process, he had to maintain an easy, relaxed demeanor.
If his expression looked too tense, others might easily mistake him for a spy.
It didn’t take long for Luca to stumble upon a very important piece of intel.
All of the senior officers inside the Black Forest camp had been called away—apparently to discuss something of great significance.
“Could they be talking about the mission I just carried out?”
Luca furrowed his brow, muttering to himself.
From his perspective, although they’d run into some unexpected trouble during the mission—clashing with Dragon King’s subordinates, for example—it shouldn’t have drawn this level of attention.
“Could it be that there’s another secret hidden in that abandoned manor I don’t know about? Or is it that the senior officers in the Black Forest camp are just as obsessed with intel related to the Goddess of the Night?”
Luca was already very close to the truth.
But without more information, he couldn’t make a final judgment.
As he frowned in thought, a flicker of light suddenly flashed in the distance.
It lasted only an instant, vanishing almost immediately, but Luca’s sharp senses caught it all the same.
He instantly realized that this fleeting light was anything but ordinary.
There was an unmistakable surge of power radiating from it.
Never before had he felt such a force anywhere inside the Black Forest camp.
“Looks like I’d better go over there and see what’s going on.”
Luca made up his mind.
At once, he began moving quickly toward the direction of the light.
He was only halfway there when startled cries erupted ahead of him.
Something had clearly thrown the nearby soldiers into a state of sheer panic.
The scene only heightened Luca’s curiosity.
He quickened his pace, and moments later came upon a tableau of chaos.
Soldiers were scattering in all directions, fleeing for their lives. Some who hadn’t managed to escape already lay dead on the ground.
And the ones responsible for those corpses were enormous horror spiders.
“How is this possible?! Horror spiders only exist in the rainforest! Someone must have deliberately released them into the camp!”
Luca had encountered horror spiders before.
He knew their habits very well. Under normal circumstances, horror spiders would never venture outside the rainforest. Only the humid, prey-rich environment of the rainforest allowed them to thrive.
Once they left the rainforest, the spiders’ condition would deteriorate rapidly. However, in exchange, they became incredibly vicious outside their natural habitat.
They would recklessly devour anything they could find in their path.
“Stop running! Get down now! Horror spiders prioritize attacking moving targets!”
Luca shouted loudly at the soldiers who were scattering in every direction.
Most of the soldiers ignored his warning, already terrified by the horror spiders. They continued to flee in panic.
Only a small number of soldiers followed Luca’s advice, dropping to the ground and pretending to be dead.
Just as Luca had predicted, the horror spiders ignored the soldiers lying motionless on the ground and lunged at those who were still running.
Luca couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless, but he knew he had done all he could.
Now, the only thing left to do was to kill the horror spiders as quickly as possible.
He activated the fire magic runes. This time, he chose to surround himself with the blazing flames generated by the runes. Only the intense heat of the flames could protect him from the horror spiders’ venomous attacks.
Transformed into a fiery figure, Luca quickly ran toward the horror spiders.
The spiders immediately redirected their attention, seemingly realizing that the flaming figure charging toward them posed the greatest threat.
When Luca reached a closer position, he wasted no time. He hurled a searing fireball at the spiders’ eyes.
The majority of the horror spiders’ bodies were covered in fur that could withstand a certain amount of damage, with only their eyes and venom glands left unprotected.
Attacking the venom glands would be far too dangerous.
The most logical and highest-chance tactic was to target the horror spiders’ eyes.
As the flames struck the spiders’ eyes, they let out agonized shrieks.
The creatures thrashed violently and rolled around in pain.
Luca seized the opportunity, continuing his relentless attacks.
With each successive blow, the horror spiders were eventually killed.
The most obvious sign that a horror spider was dead was the complete clouding of its eyes. If the spider’s eyes remained clear, it meant that it wasn’t dead yet.
Seeing the horror spider’s eyes turn cloudy, Luca finally let out a sigh of relief.
He called out loudly to the soldiers around him: “The horror spiders are dead! You’re safe now, stop running around!”
Since all the senior officers were in a meeting, Luca had no choice but to temporarily take on the responsibility of directing the others.
Under his command, the soldiers began to clean up the aftermath.
But it wasn’t long before a panicked soldier ran up to him.
“Sir, more of these spiders have appeared elsewhere in the camp! What should we do now?”
Clearly, the frightened soldier mistook Luca for a senior officer who had stayed behind from the meeting.
After all, to ordinary soldiers, only a senior officer could possess the kind of power Luca had shown.
Luca thought for a moment before responding.
“There’s something off about this situation. Horror spiders wouldn’t just appear in the camp on their own. Someone must be trying to throw our camp into chaos, so they can carry out some hidden agenda amidst the confusion.”
Luca’s reasoning was entirely sound.
The soldiers around him agreed, believing his judgment was correct, and they waited for Luca’s decision.
“Alright, here’s what we’ll do. I’ll go and eliminate the horror spiders one by one. In the meantime, you must hold your positions. Do not let yourselves be thrown into disarray by these sudden attacks.
The horror spiders’ assault is just the beginning. I believe the camp is about to face a much stronger attack. Everyone must stay calm and remain vigilant, keeping a close eye on everything around them.”
Luca calmly made the arrangements.
He organized everything as if he were truly a senior officer, leaving no detail overlooked.
The soldiers in the Black Forest camp immediately acted on his orders.
Luca moved as quickly as possible to eliminate the horror spiders, while the other soldiers stayed on standby.
Thanks to Luca’s intervention, the situation in the Black Forest camp quickly stabilized.
Of course, this did not sit well with the enemies hiding in the shadows.
They decided to change their tactics.
Initially, their plan had been to use the horror spiders to disrupt the entire Black Forest camp, creating chaos while they infiltrated the camp’s critical buildings.
However, after the initial plan failed, they had no choice but to force their way into the important buildings.
Under the cover of darkness, these fast-moving enemies began to move again.
But this time, they weren’t as well hidden.
Soon, regular soldiers spotted them and quickly issued a warning.
As soon as Luca received the alert, he immediately decided to set the horror spiders aside. His priority now was to eliminate the enemies hiding in the shadows.