The three Wood Elves reluctantly stepped aside, clearing a path just wide enough for them to pass.
Qimeng led the Spirit Maiden along, keeping her bound with Water Thread and Shadow Entangle.
She had the three guards walk in front while she and Xiaomi followed closely behind.
After walking for a while, she glanced down at the exquisite girl who was a head shorter than her.
The more she looked at her, the more pleasing she found her.
“Just now, you were thanking me, weren't you?”
“Mhm... yes.”
“Excellent! Since I pulled you out of that cocoon with my own two hands, you're officially my free loot. From today onward, you are my second vassal.”
She glanced at the other girl's silver-white hair with green-glowing tips. It looked like a silver branch sprouting new leaves.
Nodding to herself, she came up with a name on the spot.
“From now on, your name shall be Yinzhi!”
“What?!”
The Wood Elves walking ahead nearly tripped over their own feet, their eyes widening in shock.
“What absolute nonsense are you spouting, you black-haired rogue?!”
“Lady Spirit Maiden! Please, do not let yourself be deceived by this suspicious woman!”
However, what happened next left everyone completely flabbergasted.
The silver-haired girl who had just been given the name Yinzhi didn't show the slightest hint of resistance.
Instead, she nodded meekly.
“O-Okay. Since it is a name bestowed upon me by Big Sister, I shall be called Yinzhi from now on.”
A dead silence fell over the passage.
Even Xiaomi was stunned. She rubbed her tiny eyes and tugged at Qimeng's sleeve, whispering in disbelief.
“W-Wait a minute, Master! You used such a lazy naming trick and actually managed to snag the Wood Elves' noble Spirit Maiden for free?!”
“Nonsense. I picked her up fair and square through my own abilities. How can you call that 'for free'?”
The three Wood Elves stood frozen in the wind, their wooden staffs half-raised, unsure of whether to attack or lower them.
Hiss!
Suddenly, a sharp hiss from the giant spider echoed from the passage behind them.
Qimeng swept her gaze back.
“Move. If you don't want to end up as spider droppings, double-time it.”
The three Wood Elves blocking the path hesitated for a moment.
Seeing their Spirit Maiden being protectively—yet forcefully—held behind Qimeng, they had no choice but to raise their staffs and clear the way ahead.
Along the way, earth spiders began pouring out of the crevices and side passages.
Qimeng followed from behind, showing absolutely no intention of lending a hand.
Perfect. This is a good chance to see what these little girls are actually made of.
Though the three Wood Elf guards looked petite and delicate, their actual combat performance was incredibly fierce.
On the surface, their mana fluctuations were only at the High-tier Novice rank.
Yet, their coordination was more terrifying than even the most veteran human adventurer parties.
The silver-haired leader held her wooden staff high, its tip bursting with a brilliant emerald glow. A flurry of leaves materialized out of thin air, spinning rapidly to slice right through the joint connecting an earth spider's head and thorax.
Almost simultaneously, the silver-gray-haired guard covered the flank. Three arrows of green light shot from her staff in rapid succession, pinning another spider's abdomen to the ground.
The last girl, with silver-blue hair, moved even more swiftly. Pressing her hand downward, she summoned thorny leaf chains that erupted from the rock crevices, tightly binding the remaining earth spider's front legs.
The three rotated their positions seamlessly, advancing and retreating with perfect discipline.
Without a single word spoken between them, they cleared a troublesome wave of spiders in less than thirty seconds.
“A textbook display of teamwork. However...”
Qimeng narrowed her emerald eyes.
She had caught a small detail. During a sudden, evasive maneuver earlier, the silver-haired guard had slid aside so quickly she left behind a literal afterimage.
That was absolutely not the reaction speed of a High-tier Novice.
As I thought, these little girls are intentionally hiding their true strength. Are they trying to keep me on guard? What a pointless effort.
“Master, Master...”
Xiaomi crept up to Qimeng's side and whispered.
“Those long-eared girls seem way stronger than they look!”
“Don't worry about them. Free muscle is free muscle. Might as well make use of it.”
Up ahead, the silver-haired leader looked back, shooting Qimeng an irritated glare.
“Hey! Black-haired girl! We've reached the outer area. Isn't it about time you let our Spirit Maiden go?!”
“Talk when we reach the exit. Keep moving.”
Qimeng had absolutely no intention of letting go.
As the passage ahead gradually widened, a long-awaited sliver of golden light spilled onto the damp stone walls.
However, just as Qimeng was about to step out of the cave entrance, a sudden rumble shook the area as her root perception detected a violent tremor from deep underground!
“Everyone, stop!”
Before Qimeng's warning could fully register, the three Wood Elves, eager to get their Spirit Maiden to safety, had already rushed out of the cave.
Blinding afternoon sunlight poured down. Having been in the dark underground for so long, the Wood Elves and Xiaomi cried out in surprise, instinctively raising their arms to shield their eyes.
Only Qimeng, who possessed 【Night Vision】, remained completely unaffected by the sudden change in light.
Because of this, she was the first to see the scene outside.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
As Qimeng took in the sight before her, her beautiful, delicate face darkened.
The sunny forest clearing just outside the cave was completely engulfed by a boundless, squirming tide of gray!
And in the very center of this massive gray tide, a familiar, terrifying figure loomed, looking down on them from on high.
It was a colossal spider, its back covered in patterns resembling human faces.
The Mid-tier Intermediate magical beast, the Crying-Face Spider Queen!
“H-How is this possible?!”
Once the Wood Elves' eyes adjusted to the sunlight and they saw what lay ahead, their voices cracked with sheer terror.
Xiaomi was frightened out of her wits, clinging to Qimeng like an octopus.
“M-M-Master! So many earth spiders! Help! That giant spider can teleport!”
“No, it didn't teleport.”
The silver-haired leader's face was as pale as a sheet, her teeth gritted.
“It has the Earth Transit trait.”
“The reason it didn't pursue us inside the cave wasn't because it couldn't see us. It was gathering all its forces on the surface, burrowing underground to bypass our escape route, and setting up a death trap here to wipe us out in one go...”
Hearing this, Qimeng actually let out a soft chuckle.
“Heh, interesting. A mere Mid-tier magical beast actually knows how to use tactics? I guess you learn something new every day.”
Screeech!
In the distance, the colossal Crying-Face Spider Queen let out a piercing screech.
In an instant, hundreds of earth spiders around them began to move, swarming toward the five gathered at the cave entrance!
At the same time, the sound of scurrying echoed from the dark passage behind them.
They were surrounded from both sides!
With the situation so dire, the silver-haired Wood Elf who had been hostile toward Qimeng the entire way suddenly did something unexpected.
She took a massive step forward, placing herself between the danger and everyone else.
She turned her head and shouted urgently at Qimeng.
“Hey! Black-haired girl! There's no time to argue! You... you take our Spirit Maiden and get out of here! Do not harm her! The Wood Elves will richly reward you afterward! So... just go!!”
The other two girls stepped forward as well, using their slender backs to form a defensive wall.
“A reward? The compensation I want is never something I need others to hand to me.”
Qimeng scoffed. She was no fool to get bogged down in sentimental drama.
Since they were volunteering to hold the line, she decisively grabbed Yinzhi and retreated toward a weaker flank of the encirclement, with Xiaomi in tow.
Yinzhi looked back several times, but knowing now was not the time for hesitation, she could only grit her teeth and follow.
However, after retreating some distance, the mana feedback transmitted from her underground roots caused Qimeng to halt.
Rate on N.U.
