Chapter 67: War of Attrition
Not to mention a wind blade—even if he charged forward with his sword, the other monsters had never once tried to dodge him. Under Luo Yong's [Disguise] effect, all these monsters treated him as one of their own, which was equivalent to being [no threat], so they wouldn't attack or defend themselves. As a result, most of the time, they died without even knowing how.
But—
Why was this little green spider so different?
Could it be that his disguise skill had failed?
If that were the case, the other spiders should have sensed him and begun to swarm over. Even with the giant spider formed by the secret realm key present, they would still gather, though not attack directly.
Yet now, they clearly couldn't sense his presence at all!
Luo Yong glanced around, confirming his judgment.
But then, what in the world was going on with this little green spider?
With this thought in mind, Luo Yong stubbornly raised his hand again, unleashing another wind blade.
Swish!
The little green spider dodged in advance once more, and several of its eyes flashed mockingly, almost as if it were taunting him.
This was simply outrageous!
A flare of irritation rushed through Luo Yong. He handed Selly to Duoduo for safekeeping, then charged forward with his sword in hand!
He also believed that, although he was only an ordinary level 8, his overall strength surpassed that of his teammates. Otherwise, he would have exercised more caution.
Without hesitation, Luo Yong brushed his sword with his hand and intoned, "A faint pure light, floating on the blade!"
At the same time, he stepped into Gale Stride, controlling his wind magic, and sped toward the green spider at an incredible pace.
"Swiftwind Slash!"
This time, it was a true Swiftwind Slash.
The level 8 starting skill of the Gale Swordsman.
With the addition of wind magic, Luo Yong's skill was far more powerful than an ordinary level 8's.
Swish, swish, swish!
He pushed off the ground, leaping high, closing in on the little spider, and unleashed a rapid succession of slashes!
Yet, in the midst of his assault, Luo Yong sensed something amiss.
His movements felt off, and what should have been a seamless sequence was now awkward and sluggish.
Simultaneously, his mind flickered, lapsing into a momentary haze.
Naturally, the attack's effectiveness was less than ideal.
The spot where the little spider had been perched—atop the head of a giant spider—was shredded by Luo Yong and turned into experience points...
But the green spider itself darted away nimbly, leaping onto the back of another spider nearby, without suffering any harm whatsoever.
"Incredible... It must be a psychic attack..."
At this realization, Luo Yong finally understood why his teammates had fallen into such dire straits.
To encounter a monster capable of psychic attacks at this stage was simply bad luck.
Luo Yong had no words for the situation.
He immediately summoned the Holy Light Angel to hover protectively above, then drank a recovery potion.
It was as if he couldn't stand even a scratch without immediately healing himself—a true compulsive habit...
Before making another move, Luo Yong studied his opponent for a while, considering that their levels seemed roughly equal, perhaps with the spider holding a slight advantage.
Just relying on the Gale Swordsman's skills, even with wind magic augmenting them, wouldn't be enough to deal with this little spider.
In that case...
A spark lit in Luo Yong's eyes as he whispered, "Thank you, my treasure!"
In a flash, his figure vanished—then reappeared, unleashing not one, but several sword strikes!
"Swiftwind Slash!"
Swish, swish, swish!
After another sequence of attacks, the little spider, as if possessing precognitive powers, dodged in advance once again.
The moment Luo Yong vanished, the spider seemed to sense something and leaped away before he could reappear.
His strikes missed once more.
But this time, the spider's psychic attack had no effect on him.
Seeing this, Luo Yong revised his strategy.
No matter how formidable the Gale Swordsman's skills, if he couldn't land a hit on an enemy that dodged ahead of time, it was futile.
So now, Luo Yong switched to the method he'd used against Ivan.
He began channeling gravity magic.
"I see now—it uses psychic attacks, so it can sense my mental fluctuations. From those, it detects threats and even anticipates the nature of my attack, allowing it to dodge in advance!"
Luo Yong muttered to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips.
But so what if it could sense him?
Not every attack could be evaded!
As long as the attack was fast enough, even with advanced warning, it couldn't escape!
With that thought, Luo Yong gave a low shout: "Blink!"
At the same time, several types of magic erupted from his body. In a flash, he appeared beside the green spider, thrusting his sword at lightning speed!
And as he struck, the gravity field expanded, enveloping the little spider.
"Tenfold gravity!"
"Die, little spider!"
With a loud cry, Luo Yong thrust his sword. Though he didn't land a direct hit—only grazing the spider's leg, or perhaps just a leg hair—it was enough to notice something:
The spider's hearing truly resided in its legs, for if you chopped those off, no matter how much noise you made, it wouldn't flee...
Ahem.
For some reason, this odd thought popped into Luo Yong's mind.
Yet, under the crushing gravity field, the little spider could still move—it hadn't been crushed.
Meanwhile, the slightly larger spider beneath it was already flattened.
Even the soft ground beneath had been pressed down half a foot.
"It can still move?"
Luo Yong was astonished. He slashed again, and with a sharp crack, the little spider shook a few times, but remained unharmed.
Only its many eyes began to glow with fury.
And Luo Yong's sword was actually rebounded.
"What the—?"
What on earth was going on?
A psychic attack was one thing, but even after taking a direct sword strike, the little spider was unscathed!
In that moment, Luo Yong realized the situation was far more serious than he thought.
This little spider was much more powerful than he had imagined.
Its true level far surpassed his own, and perhaps even exceeded that of Ivan, whom he had recently defeated!
But—
He was clearly holding a low-tier secret realm key!
How could a monster like this appear?
Where had things gone wrong?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Luo Yong's mind. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat, but immediately realized that he was only suppressing the spider with gravity magic.
If he retreated now and let it break free or escape, would he ever dare to enter this spider secret realm again?
Ahem.
If he leveled up enough, he’d still come back.
But then—
Why leave future trouble for himself to deal with?
More importantly, this green spider was the very one pictured on the card Luo Yong needed to activate.
This was a matter of progressing to the next stage—there could be no delay!
"Fifteenfold gravity!"
Luo Yong shouted, downed another recovery potion, and maintained his magical output, sustaining the gravity spell.
The little spider was now being brutally suppressed.
It could barely move, its body slowly sinking downward.
But this stalemate couldn't continue forever.
Luo Yong considered using a big move—at such close range, could the little spider survive a tactical scroll attack right to the face?
In any case, he could always blink away to safety.
He scanned the surroundings for a spot to shield himself from the blast.
Crack—
Crack, crack!
Suddenly, a series of sharp snaps sounded before Luo Yong.
A premonition of dread washed over him as he turned his head. The little green spider's body was undergoing some kind of mutation, swelling to twice its previous size, and some of its features had morphed into something more [demonic].
Its internal structure had changed.
Venomous fangs now jutted out, aimed straight at Luo Yong.
Under the crushing weight of fifteenfold gravity, the green spider grew even more ferocious.
He could almost hear its shrieking roar in the depths of his mind!
Strange waves rippled out toward Luo Yong!
Swish!
The Holy Light Angel circled him, scattering holy light that blocked all the strange waves.
Seeing this, Luo Yong doubled down.
"Twentyfold gravity!"
With a shout, he swung his sword in fury!
Clang!
His blade struck the spider's body, but it rang with the sound of clashing metal.
He immediately transformed his Disguise Blade into a three-pronged fork, pinning the spider securely.
He reached for a recovery potion... then put it back, opting instead for stamina and energy potions.
Though they offered little boost now, they were still superior for recovery.
This was now a contest of endurance.
As a true pay-to-win mage, Luo Yong’s motto was: If I can’t beat you, I’ll outlast you!
In the end, victory would be his!
Just as he thought this, a green gas began to rise from the little spider's body, which was already verging on collapse under the gravity spell.
Although twentyfold gravity slowed the spread of the toxin, it still drifted toward Luo Yong.
In truth, it spread in all directions—Luo Yong was just closer.
"You little—!"
Luo Yong cursed. Maintaining twentyfold gravity was already draining his energy and stamina, and now he risked being poisoned on top of that...
Sizzle...
As he worried, the holy light descended, purging the green toxin.
But before he could rejoice, more toxic mist billowed out, enveloping him.
And because of the gravity spell, the poison was even thicker...
The Holy Light Angel could only protect a three-foot radius around Luo Yong—any farther, and even its power was stretched thin.
Gulp, gulp!
Luo Yong gulped down recovery potions, gritted his teeth, and glared at the spider. "Let's see how much poison you can release!"
Yet, as time dragged on, Luo Yong himself began to falter.
This was absurd!
He was actually being outlasted by a little spider!
He had never imagined that such a tiny creature could endure twentyfold gravity for so long!