"This sound…" Benedict focused. "It sounds like someone is tapping on a rock with something metal. And it isn't just one noise. I can hear… hundreds, if not thousands, of taps at once. It's moving too. It's alive!"
"That's the largest creature, but there's more noise than that!" Shirley explained coldly. "I can hear a nonstop sea of noise around this creature. It's almost deafening! There's a huge amount of something in there!"
"Can you tell what condition my sister is in?" Freon asked the key question.
Shirley shook her head. "It's too loud. I can't sense Nassandra at all."
Freon looked to Benedict. He was a genuine Perception Realm, so there was a chance he could sense something that Shirley could not. But at this moment, Benedict unsheathed his sword and slashed the air! His movement caught everyone's attention. They saw that at the tip of his sword there was a shiny white thread. Why would there be a silk thread here? The knights quickly moved into formation and drew their weapons, facing the cave with extreme caution. They could hear something approaching. One of the knights tossed a torch in, which dispelled the thick darkness.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes to see an insect crawling across the cave ceiling. This insect had a long thin body, about the length of a human arm, with eight large hairy legs. These legs stabbed into the rock wall, allowing it to stay upside down. It had a pair of mandibles on the front that clattered with an unnerving sound. Traces of silk were left around its mouth. The most eye-catching thing was the thick turtle-like shell that covered its back like a coat of armor. It was definitely not something that existed in the human world. If Elizabeth had to give it a name, it would be Silk Turtle Shell insect.
A Grand Knight stepped up and slashed it with their sword. Clang! Against their expectations, the sword slid across the turtle shell in a clash of sparks. The bug was unharmed! It could actually withstand a sword strike! The knight shouted and thrusted his sword in. Since he could not slash it, he would pierce it! The Silk Turtle Shell insect responded at this time, shooting silk at the knight at lightning speed. Its retaliation was much faster than the knight's sword! An intense sense of danger emerged, scaring the knight into defending. Pew! Right before the moment of contact, Shirley charged in and chopped at the thread, ending its momentum. She had a strong feeling that this knight would have died, if she did not help! But how was that possible? This thread was limp and weak. What exactly was it?
Freon snorted and pointed his wand. He was not in a good mood. He was not about to entertain some dumb bug! He would directly torch it! Flames spewed out in a narrow jet that submerged the insect, subjecting it to extreme temperatures! Whoosh! The snow and cold were blasted away, as the rocks turned red-hot. It instantly felt like summer arrived! Even the insect's turtle shell turned orange from the heat. When Freon stopped his spell, a pungent smell of roasted insects spread. People looked at Freon strangely, wondering if there was a need to go that far. Magic Energy was quite precious. There was a need to reserve it for unexpected situations. But Freon did not care. He felt some of his stress disappear.
The expression on Benedict's face shifted. He did what that knight failed to do and stabbed his sword into the insect's head. There was an ear-piercing screech, as blood spewed out. It thrashed and writhed about violently, trying to free itself from Benedict's sword. It actually had so much vitality after Freon's spell! In fact, Benedict was startled to sense how much strength this insect had. He quickly channeled Martial Energy and twisted his sword. The energy rampaged and shredded the bug's insides. Within seconds, the Silk Turtle Shell insect fell from the ceiling in multiple pieces, dead. Everyone frowned. Although this insect was smaller than the beasts they faced outside, it had superb defense and vitality. Its turtle shell could repel swords, while its body could withstand blazing heat. For many, they saw something they could not comprehend. Nature was both beautiful and terrifying!
Elizabeth walked over and inspected the bug corpse. Although she felt disgusted, she needed to learn more about what lurked inside the cave. This was a valuable opportunity! Freon realized this too, though his heart pained. Through their investigation, they learned several things. First was that the bug's legs were outrageously sharp. They could leave deep marks on plate armor. If they were used as a weapon, they would have an unparalleled edge. It was no wonder the heavy bug could crawl across the ceiling. The mandibles on the front looked strong and imposing, but they were not sharp. It was unknown how dangerous they were. The turtle shell on its back was mostly impervious to heat and blades, giving it a near-perfect defense. The easiest way to kill the bug was to avoid the shell and pierce its soft body, like Benedict had done. The silk was the odd part. Both Shirley and the knight felt an intense sense of danger, when the bug shot out the silk, except it was just a simple thread. They could not both be wrong, right?
Armed with this knowledge, they entered the cave. Ten Grand Knights were at the front. They led the party with torches in hand. Benedict, Shirley, and some Arcane Knights were mixed into the group to provide support. Elizabeth, Freon, Yuna, Lady Kalasena, and her two maids were in the center, at the safest part of the formation. Bringing up the rear were the three junior Arcane Knights, Sir Melvin, Lady Rainie, Sir Pelton, along with five Grand Knights, and five Arcane Knights. Altogether, there was thirty-six people, including fifteen Grand Knights and ten Arcane Knights! Their group was massive and brought a feeling of safety in the dark and cold cavern. However, the more experienced soldiers knew this was a false sense of security. The cavern was too tight to allow many fighters at once. If a fight broke out, their large numbers would turn into a hindrance instead.
Many Silk Turtle Shell insects hung upside down on the ceiling, asleep. When they heard people approaching, they stirred awake and screeched. Their voices were particularly horrible! They were furious that their territory was encroached upon. Shish, shish, shish. More than ten bugs slithered over and attacked the Grand Knights! The frontmost Grand Knights handled the battle with care. They avoided the turtle shell, mandibles, and silk, focusing their attacks on the soft underbelly. Their attacks were accurate, and their defenses were sturdy. As expected from the Grand Knights, they coordinated quickly. If they got tired, they would rotate to the next three Grand Knights and rest. Bugs died one by one.
At first, Benedict, Shirley, and the others had nothing to do. The situation was under control. Gradually though, more bugs were lured by the loud sounds, intensifying the pressure on the frontline, from five to ten to finally twenty bugs! Even though the knights had excellent coordination, two hands could not beat four. Not to mention, these bugs were smaller, so more of them could attack at once. Clang! Someone used their sword to stop a bug from pinching them with its mandibles, only to realize in horror that their sword cracked and shattered under the pressure!
Silk threads spat out and the tight tunnel made it hard to dodge. Swoosh! One sliced through a knight's gauntlet, past their pauldron, grazed their helmet, and pierced deep into the rock! Everyone's eyes bulged out. That seemingly normal thread, when shot from the bug, carried such shocking lethality! It was like death's gaze. Anything that happened to be in front of it would die! The only options to survive were to dodge it or cut it down like Benedict and Shirley did before. Except that was easier said than done. There was too little space! At that moment, Shirley leapt into the fray, her halberd twirled and slammed down. Martial Energy burst out into a vast flying strike that came crashing down with immense force. Cloud Sea Style: Crashing Waves! Compared to when she used it in the Xingyuu Empire, she could release far more Martial Energy after becoming a Half-Perception Realm. Boom! The entire cavern shook violently, as every bug cried out. They were smashed into the ground, along with the threads in the air.