Chapter 110 | The Venom Spider

Chapter 110: 110 | The Venom Spider

Andrew’s expression suddenly changed. "Stop!"

The squad reacted instantly, skidding to a halt in a spray of dirt and leaves.

"What is it?" John whispered, hand already on his blade.

Andrew stared toward the dense forest ahead. His eyes narrowed, unfocused, as if looking at something beyond the visible. "I sensed something."

Before he could finish, the ground exploded.

"BOOM!"

An enormous black spider burst from beneath the earth, showering them with dirt and rock.

It was over six meters tall, its body a grotesque armor of chitin and hair.

Eight razor-sharp legs, each one capable of slicing through steel, stabbed into the ground around it.

Countless crimson eyes, clustered and unblinking, stared hungrily at the five humans. A Level 32, 2-Star Elite Monster. The Black Venom Spider.

Screeeech!

The monster opened its dripping maw and spat a huge web toward them, strands glistening with toxic green fluid.

"Scatter!" John roared. Everyone leaped in different directions. The sticky web slammed into the ground where they’d stood, instantly hissing and melting the rocks beneath it. The stench of burning stone filled the air.

John flashed forward. Lightning crackled around his blade, blue-white arcs dancing along the steel. "Lightning Slash!"

A brilliant bolt erupted as his sword cut through the incoming webs, splitting them apart before they could reach the others.

The severed strands fell harmlessly, still sizzling.

The spider lunged again, legs stabbing like spears. John met it head-on.

"Bang!"

Shockwaves exploded as the surrounding forest shook violently, sending birds fleeing from distant trees. He gritted his teeth, muscles straining. "Go! We can’t waste time here!"

Michael hesitated, Andrew still on his shoulder. "But..."

"I said GO!" John roared, blocking another flurry of attacks.

"Ding!" "Ding!" "Ding!"

Sparks flew where blade met chitin. "If we all stay, we’ll only lose more time! I’ll catch up!"

The spider screeched again and unleashed another storm of poisonous webs, the strands webbing between trees, fencing them in.

John charged straight into them, his lightning covering the whole battlefield like a personal storm. He was a blur of motion and thunder.

The others clenched their fists. None of them wanted to leave. But they understood.

Someone had to hold the beast back to buy time. John was the only one who could do it.

Michael gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. "Let’s move!"

The remaining four fled deeper into the forest at once. Behind them, the sounds of explosions kept echoing through the trees.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Each one vibrated in their chests. Eventually, even those sounds faded, swallowed by distance and dense foliage.

An hour passed. The forest grew darker, older. Still, John never caught up.

The mood grew heavier with every passing minute, an invisible weight pressing down on their shoulders.

Finally, Lucy stopped running. She planted her feet, turned around, and faced the path they’d come. "We’re going back."

Jasmine frowned, her breathing still steady. "John ordered us to leave."

Lucy glared at her, eyes hard. "And he would’ve caught up by now if everything was fine. If he hasn’t returned, then he’s in trouble. We have to help him."

Jasmine’s expression tightened, but her voice stayed calm. "If we go back now, we’ll only waste everything he fought for. He told us to trust him."

Lucy shook her head stubbornly, a lock of dark hair sticking to her sweaty cheek. "I won’t abandon him."

Silence fell between them. Thick and uncomfortable. Michael sighed, looking from Jasmine to Lucy. He scratched his head, caught in the middle as always. "I’m staying out of this."

Both women turned toward Andrew. Lucy’s voice was firm. "You decide. If we go back, we’ll save John. If we keep moving, we might never see him again."

Andrew lowered his head. Outwardly, he seemed deep in thought, weighing options. In reality, his Omniscient Perception had already spread across the kilometers around them, a silent, invisible web. Within moments, he found John. John had escaped the Black Venom Spider—barely.

But unfortunately, Gerald’s squad had caught up with him. Four members surrounded him from different directions.

Even though John was stronger one-on-one, he was being forced into a defensive, desperate fight. Blow after blow, he parried and retreated. Blood stained his sleeve, but his eyes were still fierce.

Andrew watched the battle closely, his breathing even. John still had many hidden techniques. Andrew could sense them if things became truly dangerous, John could escape. At least for now, his life was not in immediate danger.

Andrew pulled back his perception and looked at Lucy. His voice was calm, certain. "We keep moving."

Lucy’s eyes widened. "What?"

"If John truly could not escape, I wouldn’t say this."

She stared at him, searching his face. "How do you know?"

Andrew met her gaze without flinching. "My senses are better than yours. I can still faintly feel his aura. He’s fighting, but he’s not losing. If we go back now, we’ll only become burdens."

Silence. Lucy bit her lip hard enough to leave a mark. She wanted to argue. She wanted to turn around and run back anyway. Then she remembered something.

Andrew had saved every one of them. Twice. Against Gerald’s standoff, against the Monkey King. If anyone here deserved their trust, it was him. Reluctantly, painfully, she nodded. "Fine. But if you’re wrong..."

Andrew simply smiled. It was a tired smile, but it held no doubt. "I won’t be."

Jasmine let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly. "I knew John wouldn’t go down that easily."

Michael grinned, some of his usual cheer seeping back. "That’s more like our captain."

Without wasting another second, the four resumed their journey. They took the longer route, the safer route, toward the dimensional exit.

The path was far from peaceful. The deeper forest had its own guardians.

Several monsters crossed their path—some slithering, some prowling. Some sensed them and attacked without hesitation, driven by hunger or territory.

A pack of razor-toothed wolves, a territorial rock golem, a flock of screeching bat-like creatures with poisoned claws. When a monster blocked their path, Michael and Jasmine forced it aside with brute strength, their teamwork almost instinctual. Lucy took out anything fast enough to chase them, her arrows finding eyes and throats with deadly precision.

Andrew stayed unusually quiet. Michael was still carrying him, but Andrew’s mind was far ahead. His Omniscient Perception never stopped expanding, scanning the miles around them in constant pulses. Every possible threat.

Every shift in mana. Every living creature within his range. He saw ambushes before they happened, redirected their path to avoid sleeping behemoths, and once even warned them of a collapsing sinkhole seconds before the ground gave way.

Nearly two hours later, John was still nowhere to be found. The group didn’t speak of it, but the silence was loud. The mood grew heavier, a cold knot in each of their stomachs.

Eventually, the thick forest began to thin. The oppressive canopy opened. Sunlight, real and warm, filtered through the leaves. Ahead, a familiar spatial ripple shimmered in the air, bending light like heat over a road. The dimensional exit.

"We’re almost there." Michael let out a relieved sigh that came from somewhere deep.

"Finally."

Everyone sighed in relief when they closed in on the exit.