Ding Longyun swung his axe down, this time striking the joint of one of the hind legs. The axe fell, severing one of the Spider Queen’s hind legs. At the same moment, Gong Xiao struck, her dagger slicing through the fascia of another hind leg’s joint, cutting it off as well.
Losing two more hind legs in an instant, the Spider Queen spun around in a frenzy, attempting to attack Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun from behind.
“Run!” Gong Xiao warned Ding Longyun as she severed the leg, and the two fled in opposite directions, refusing to prolong the fight.
The Spider Queen, once possessing eight legs, had now lost three, slowing its movement by nearly a third. Even as it turned, it hesitated, unsure whether to chase Ding Longyun fleeing left or Gong Xiao fleeing right.
Xu Xuehui, who had retreated far away, watched with sparkling eyes. Lacking the strength of Su Li and the other two, she wisely kept her distance. Seeing the trio work in seamless coordination, toying with a powerful leader monster, she couldn’t help murmuring to herself, “So impressive…”
As the Spider Queen angrily turned to deal with the fleeing Ding Longyun and Gong Xiao, Su Li, hidden inside the stairwell entrance, struck again. He extended the “Fangs of Gluttony” in his left hand, slicing through the joint of another leg, severing it.
Having lost half its legs, the Spider Queen panicked, shifting from rage to desperation. It moved away from the stairwell building, crawling toward the edge of the rooftop in the distance.
With only four legs left to support its massive body, the Spider Queen’s speed had dropped below that of Su Li and his companions. Su Li, unwilling to let it escape, charged out of the entrance and gave chase.
He knew the opportunity had come.
The Spider Queen let out a sharp screech, sensing Su Li closing in. It steadied itself on three legs and raised one to stab at him fiercely.
Su Li met the attack head-on. Just as the leg was about to pierce him, he twisted his body, narrowly dodging as the leg grazed past his back. He then closed in on the Spider Queen’s side.
Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun, who had been fleeing, stopped. Gong Xiao turned and immediately sprinted back toward the Spider Queen, but she was too late.
She wasn’t slow to react, realizing this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to kill the Spider Queen. For a leader-class monster like this, everyone coveted the reward—both Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun didn’t want to miss it. But by the time they turned and rushed back, Su Li had already struck.
Closing in on the Spider Queen, Su Li leaped into the air, gripping his cleaver with both hands, and brought it down heavily.
With a “chop,” the cleaver, imbued with Su Li’s formidable strength, sliced across the Spider Queen’s blurry human-like face.
The face split open, spewing a torrent of fluid.
A faint, ethereal screech echoed as the massive Spider Queen froze in place, then shuddered violently. Liquid gushed from the half-destroyed face.
Its body slowly sank, legs contracting.
Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun slowed their approach, seeing they had missed their chance, and saw no need to compete.
Ding Longyun was the most envious and frustrated. That night had yielded an elite beast and a leader monster. Gong Xiao had slain the elite beast and gained a special ability, and now Su Li had killed the leader monster, guaranteeing a special ability.
Though envious, Ding Longyun wasn’t jealous. Su Li deserved the kill—without him, they couldn’t have taken down the Spider Queen. The reward was rightfully his.
A spirit source appeared and merged into Su Li’s forehead. He took a deep breath, not overly concerned with the spirit source itself, but eager for the special ability he was about to gain.
“Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 16/50”
Su Li was slightly surprised. Killing a leader-class monster of the same level had yielded four spirit sources—double that of an elite beast of the same level.
“No wonder it’s a leader-class monster. Without Gong Xiao and Brother Ding to distract it, I’d have struggled alone. At least, it wouldn’t have been this easy.”
Su Li knew that while he seemed on par with the Spider Queen in level, his extra enhancement made him nearly surpass a typical Level 4 Spirit Source User. Yet, facing the Spider Queen alone would still have been tough.
“But as I gain more special abilities, dealing with leader monsters of the same level should become easier.”
He looked at the Spider Queen’s corpse. The four severed legs and the four intact ones began to wither and shrink, each leg condensing into a white light source.
Suddenly, these eight light sources shot toward him. Four merged into his right leg, four into his left, vanishing.
As the eight sources fused into his legs, Su Li felt a change within them, and a message appeared.
“Slain Spider Queen. Gained special ability: ‘Spider Walk.’”
“Spider Walk, huh?” Su Li sensed the energy in his legs. With a thought, he dashed toward Ding Longyun. Ding Longyun was about to speak when he noticed phantom limbs appearing around Su Li’s legs—as if he had sprouted eight legs. Centered on Su Li’s body, leg illusions surrounded him in all directions. Su Li’s sprinting speed surged, leaving an afterimage as he circled Ding Longyun and stopped behind Gong Xiao.
Gong Xiao, startled, turned and stepped back, her face barely hiding her shock.
If Su Li had intended to harm her, she’d have been dead already.
“What kind of ability is that? Terrifying,” Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun exclaimed in awe.
Su Li smiled. “Spider Walk. This ability is interesting.”
Spider Walk enhanced movement speed and agility. Su Li’s first attempt revealed its power—it would be devastating in combat.
Gong Xiao looked envious.
“Seems like killing a leader monster gives a better ability than an elite beast.” She felt Su Li’s “Spider Walk” was superior to her newly acquired “Mantis Fist.”
Su Li chuckled, in high spirits, his face content. He looked up at the sky. “It’s late. We can call it a night.”