“Train hard, girls!”
Qimeng tossed the task of drilling these Wood Elf lolis directly to Spirit Maiden Yinzhi to keep an eye on, completely washing her hands of the matter.
It was foreseeable that in the near future, these lolis would become a major headache for anyone in the Great Black Magic Forest.
But that was a matter for the future; for now, Qimeng was not idling.
Her underground roots began expanding purposefully toward the north, aiming to forcibly plow out a controlled combat zone within a single day.
“This is quite a bit easier than I expected.”
After all, this expansion did not need to be a full-scale spread like before. It was simply about establishing a main channel, much like laying a pipeline.
With the violent boost of her 【Digging Enhancement】 skill, the thick roots surged forward like an unstoppable torrent, clearing an underground path toward the northern valley.
Considering that the Wood Elves were still maintaining their Hidden Gate spell, Qimeng planned to have her roots bypass their hidden valley, after which they would expand into a massive root network, clamping down on all the surrounding forest areas that could potentially become a battlefield.
“A brilliant commander always sees the outcome before the battle even begins.”
Qimeng felt quite satisfied with her strategic layout.
However, plans could never keep up with changes. Just as her roots extended outside the valley, her stored mana ran dangerously low, throwing cold water on her high spirits.
Although she had handily strangled many suicidal low-tier magical beasts with her roots along the way, that meager amount of mana was barely a drop in the bucket compared to what she would need for the upcoming war.
“As expected, at this stage, I have to hunt beasts that are at least Intermediate Rank...”
The trouble was that Intermediate Rank magical beasts possessed a decent level of instinctual awareness and were highly cunning.
Once they sensed danger, they would instinctively keep their distance, never foolishly stepping into her Root Domain on their own.
Since the prey refused to deliver itself to her doorstep, she would have to pay them a personal visit.
As for the target...
Didn't she have a friendly neighbor nearby?
The Mid-tier Intermediate, the Crying-Face Spider Queen!
As the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. Since she had a ready-made neighbor right there, wouldn't it be terribly impolite not to pay a visit?
Plus, she could try her luck at obtaining the 【Earth Transit】 trait.
Moving like a ghost through the earth sounded incredibly fun, didn't it?
When she stepped into the earth spiders' cavern once again, everything was completely different.
Since her Root Domain had already permeated deep into the cave, Qimeng was navigating familiar territory.
As for the earth spiders below the Intermediate Rank that swarmed out along the way, she strolled through them like she was taking a walk in the park, entering full lawnmower mode and crushing them effortlessly.
Countless pure white roots burst violently from the dirt walls and the ground, skewering the low-tier spiders in droves and dragging them underground to become nutrients for her roots.
With the path ahead cleared of obstacles, she elegantly stepped into the massive nest.
This was supposed to be the Crying-Face Spider Queen's throne room.
However, the spacious cavern was completely empty, and the silence was somewhat suffocating.
“Oh? Not at home?”
Qimeng let out a cold sneer.
The hiding job was far too clumsy.
The ambush that the other party thought was flawless shone as brightly as a massive lightbulb in the dark to her root perception.
Behaving as if she were completely off guard, she took light, slow steps toward the center of the nest.
The moment she stepped into her opponent's attack range, the ground beneath her feet shook violently!
Rumble!
Dirt and gravel exploded as eight massive spider legs thrust up through the very spot she was standing on!
The Crying-Face Spider Queen's hideous human face shrieked, and countless pale spider webs wove into an inescapable net, completely sealing off her escape route!
Yet, Qimeng, who should have been torn to shreds, vanished.
In her place, a flurry of glowing, glittering petals was left behind.
Flower Shadow Dual Flash!
After advancing to the Intermediate Rank, the power of this skill had been enhanced.
Almost at the exact instant the petals exploded, Qimeng's delicate body slipped into the shadows like ink dissolving in water.
“Got you.”
A bone-chilling whisper drifted from just above the Spider Queen.
Two Scythe Blades gleaming with magic slashed out in unison.
The twin blades traced two elegant arcs in the air, slicing through the descending canopy of spider webs.
Sensing the danger, the Crying-Face Spider Queen refused to back down and let out a sharp screech.
Its massive body suddenly became as slippery as mud. Relying on its Earth Transit trait, it attempted to burrow deep into the ground to escape into the darkness once more.
But this time, its wishful thinking was in vain.
Qimeng was faster. The twin blades had already arrived.
Hum!
Just then, the compound eyes on the Spider Queen's head suddenly glowed.
Under the influence of this power, Qimeng's figure was forcibly locked down by the dynamic tracking of those countless compound eyes. Even the surrounding space seemed to slow down under their gaze.
“My, these eyes are quite impressive.”
Sitting at the center of the heavy pressure, Qimeng let out a soft chuckle.
She hurled the Scythe Blade in her right hand. Like a spinning, purplish-red crescent moon, it carried a violent, air-rending screech and shattered the entire row of compound eyes!
At the same time, the roots lying in wait underground surged up like countless pure white pythons, binding the Spider Queen's abdomen just as it was about to slip into the earth.
“Get... out!”
With a yanking motion, Qimeng ripped the Crying-Face Spider Queen out of the dirt and slammed it violently against the cavern wall!
The Scythe Blade drew an elegant arc.
The battle was brought to a close.
“Now, thank you for the meal.”
Countless roots erupted from behind Qimeng.
At this moment, she looked more like a predatory spider girl herself, completely submerging the dying Spider Queen.
Devour All Things.
In the blink of an eye, the Spider Queen's massive body dissolved into drifting ash.
Left in its place were only a few deep purple glands radiating highly concentrated mana, filled with premium raw spider silk.
“The material is quite nice. I'll throw this to the Wood Elves later and have all their high-ranking members tailor a set of loli maid dresses. That will definitely be a sight to see.”
Regrettably, the Earth Transit trait slipped through her fingers.
However, she unexpectedly harvested another, even more powerful skill.
As a complex mana structure fed back into her mind, an image of a frozen landscape flashed through Qimeng's thoughts.
It was the ability of the Crying-Face Spider Queen's compound eyes!
“Compound eyes?”
Wait, she couldn't possibly grow a row of eyes on her body, could she?
That would completely ruin her perfect body!
Was she really going to hurtle down the path of an unspeakable, eldritch horror? Even if she were to become an evil god, she still wanted to maintain her elegance!
Fortunately, after being converted into her own skill, the trait underwent a benign mutation.
The new skill was 【Pupil of the Instant Scene】.
Curious, Qimeng tested it on the spot.
Hum.
She eyes lit up with a faint green light that spread like the growth rings of a tree.
In an instant, everything around her changed.
The drifting dust froze in midair, the dripping water droplets turned into static amber, and the world seemed to have its pause button pressed.
Yet, this was not actual time stopping. Rather, her cognition had been elevated to a sub-dimensional level, slowing the movements of all things to a near standstill.
In this dilated field of vision, any movement spell or invisibility illusion would be nothing more than a joke.
Rate on N.U.
