Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 174 Dragon Roar

People looked toward the place the leader was pointing at. It seemed to be an entrance to a valley clasped between two high cliffs that prevented most sunlight from reaching in, so no one could see what was further inside.

The sound of whistling wind traveling through the entrance appeared to be almost like the cries of ghosts, sending a chill down everyone’s spines. Even from a distance, they could sense the sharp smell of rotting bodies and excrement mixed together, which was strengthened to a very terrible extent thanks to the hot environment.

Su Ping silently recalled useful clues he could remember. During his training, he had fought and died many times at this place.

“Keep a watchful eye, everyone,” Nie Chengkong ordered using a small voice, “Tell me as soon as you notice the slightest clue.”

Zhou Jing and Guo Yuelin agreed without lifting their concentration from their pets, while Old Mo slightly nodded in acknowledgment.

“Grrrr…”

The Dark Dragon Hound was getting restless as its eyes showed the gleam of excitement and bloodthirst. It would have charged into the valley already if not for Su Ping to constantly restrain its actions.

“Is something the matter, Mister Su?” asked Nie Chengkong, when he noticed the unusual reaction of the hound.

Old Mo also gave Su Ping a careful look, fearing that he’d overlook important clues shown on Su Ping’s face.

“… If the senses of my pet are not off, there should be a group of Hell’s Spiders in there. Stay cautious.” In fact, this had nothing to with the Dark Dragon Hound. Though Su Ping would gladly use this as an excuse rather than telling everyone that he had known about this area beforehand.

“Hell’s Spiders?” Nie Chengkong frowned in bewilderment. “I’m afraid I had never heard of such a thing before.”

The looks of all those present suggested that they were all uninformed about it.

Su Ping had just remembered that these spiders were supposed to be long extinct. Modern illustration books published by the Federation no longer included them. “It’s, well, a rather old species. Maybe it’s only known to certain archaeologists today, so it’s quite normal that you don’t know about it.”

That made everyone feel more concerned. If that was the case, where did a young man like Su Ping learn about such a creature? Did this mean he was as wise as senior scholars?

Though Nie Chengkong only cared about their safety rather than where Su Ping got that knowledge, he asked, “Can you tell us their rank?”

“High seventh rank,” said Su Ping, “However, their sheer number is enough to help them fight off ninth-ranked opponents. Don’t worry though, as this is not a big problem for us. The only thing we should be careful of is to avoid their poison. Meaning, do not get bitten. As I said, you don’t find these spiders elsewhere, so hospitals would probably no longer remember how to treat the poison. If anyone is careless, you could be forced to drop out of our mission, or in worse cases, die.”

People were clearly not happy to hear about something so deadly.

Chen stepped up. “I’ll tell my Earthen Dragon to shield us, while the captain and Mister Mo shall use their pets for offense, sided with extra help provided by others, just like what we did a moment ago. How’s that sound?”

Nie Chengkong considered and looked at Old Mo, hoping for an opinion.

The old man nodded back. “That’s our plan then.”

Deep down, the old man wished to get the Dark Dragon Hound on the front line as well, but didn’t find that suggestion to be proper since Su Ping had already contributed greatly to the team. He would be put in a very embarrassing situation if the others all rejected his idea.

Even though he didn’t like Su Ping, he wouldn’t say it out loud and ruin their mission.

“Okay. Prepare for entering.” Nie Chengkong gave the command.

Chen ordered his dragon to apply a high-level defensive enchantment onto everyone’s bodies, causing them to glow slightly. In a matter of seconds, they were covered by armor made from stone and dirt that protected their entire bodies except for their eyes and ears.

Nie Chengkong told his Fallen Priest to move to the front, while the old man’s Death Scythe followed closely behind. Meanwhile, everyone stayed behind the Earthen Dragon while keeping their astral perception expanded.

Soon, they saw broken cobwebs and monster corpses randomly scattered here and there, which was enough to prove Su Ping’s words.

They had been proceeding for some time without finding any spiders. Still, they continued to move as slowly and carefully as possible because Su Ping had just told them that these bugs were good at hiding inside stone gaps and concealed corners.

After some walking, Su Ping lost patience. He ordered his Dark Dragon Hound to rush ahead.

Roaaar!

A deafening growl that carried the menacing will of a dragon echoed inside the valley, causing the Earthen Dragon to suddenly flinch in fear. Then it grew angry as it noticed that it was a “black dog” who had made that noise, but not a high-level dragon as it had imagined

The Dark Dragon Hound howled again, almost forcing the Earthen Dragon to back down.

“Mister Su??” Nie Chengkong gave Su Ping a questioning look. There was no doubt that it was Su Ping who had made the hound act in such a manner.

“Get ready for a fight. We’ll do it the quick way.”

Crack, crack! Pieces of rocks and stones suddenly fell from the nearby cliff walls, revealing several large, black spiders that looked as big as small transport vans. Each of them had an extra, fanged mouthpart at the rear, from where a slim, extendable tongue was stretching out; its tip was yet another sharp jaw used for biting.

People’s mental peace was instantly broken down by the creepy sight.

Chen reacted first by ordering his dragon to summon an earth shield again. The dragon was still frustrated at the Dark Dragon Hound, though it heeded the order in time.

“Kill them!” Nie Chengkong also began commanding the Fallen Priest to fight. It was actually a good thing that those spiders chose to come out in the open instead of waiting in the dark for an ambush.

“Damn it! I forgot to-” Chen looked at Su Ping and suddenly felt a terrible déjà vu hitting his mind. “I—I didn’t mean it!”

Inside the shield, they could hear the hound still drawing the attention of more spiders by roaring madly. It was obvious that it would be for the better to keep the hound protected rather than leaving it outside.

The others gave Chen a blaming look as they wondered whether this man was intentionally making it hard for Su Ping.