Chapter 685 The Two Guardians of the Spider Demoness Shrine

"The hidden passage has to be somewhere."

Marcus muttered to himself as he studied the shrine. The experts from Beastmaster Manor had searched the place for a long time without finding anything, so he had already prepared himself for a tedious search. Whatever secret the shrine concealed, it clearly wasn’t going to reveal itself so easily.

Yet, to his surprise, the moment he finished clearing the courtyard of Soulless Spider Maidens and approached the entrance to the main hall, something unexpected happened.

Whoosh!

Black light suddenly shone from the two enormous stone spider statues flanking the entrance. Each was roughly the size of a bull, and as the light spread across their bodies, their pitch-black eyes began to move. Slowly, they turned toward Vixen Queen Camillo, who stood beside Marcus, and fixed their gazes on her.

A system notification immediately appeared before him.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, your pet Vixen Queen Camillo meets the requirements for the Spider Demoness’s Corpse Possession due to her innate beauty, peerless elegance, and capacity for thought. A hidden condition has been triggered, attracting the attention of the two Centennial Spider Maidens, guardians of the Shrine of the Spider Demoness since the ancient immortal era. They will attempt to capture your pet Vixen Queen Camillo.]

Marcus’s eyes widened slightly. ’A hidden condition!’ So the trigger was Camillo’s suitability for the Spider Demoness’s Corpse Possession. That explained why the experts from Beastmaster Manor had failed to uncover anything despite searching the shrine for so long. If the hidden event could only be activated by meeting such specific requirements, it was hardly surprising that no one had discovered it before.

Still, one part of the notification caught his attention more than anything else. They intended to capture his pet? Marcus frowned. He had never heard of monsters stealing players’ pets, and the very idea was unsettling. Pets were among a beastmaster’s most valuable assets, often requiring considerable time and resources to raise. If monsters could simply snatch them away, the consequences would be disastrous for players who depended on their companions in battle.

Before he could give the matter much more thought, the black light surrounding the two stone spiders began to tremble. Cracks spread across their rigid bodies as the massive statues stirred, their dormant forms gradually coming to life.

Another system notification appeared.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, the two Centennial Spider Maidens have locked onto you. You have entered combat status and cannot return your pet Vixen Queen Camillo to Pet Storage. If you die in combat, in addition to the normal death penalty, your pet Vixen Queen Camillo will lose half of her soul, drop ten levels, and lose her newly acquired abilities of thought and speech.]

Marcus’s expression darkened. So that was how they intended to capture her. They weren’t simply trying to drag Camillo away. If he died, she would suffer severe consequences, losing half her soul, ten levels, and the intelligence and speech she had only recently acquired.

He glanced at Camillo, his gaze growing more serious. Whatever happened next, he couldn’t afford to let these monsters get their hands on her.

A third notification followed, revealing an even more alarming detail.

[After obtaining half of Vixen Queen Camillo’s soul, the two Centennial Spider Maidens will offer it to the soul of the Spider Demoness, who is currently locked in battle with Lady Silvia. This will allow the Spider Demoness to devour Lady Silvia and successfully complete Corpse Possession.]

Marcus’s eyes lit up. ’Finally, some information about Lady Silvia!’ He had been trying to figure out what had happened to her and the Roaring Tiger Squad ever since arriving at the shrine. Now, at least, he had a clearer idea of the situation. Lady Silvia was still fighting the Spider Demoness, and the outcome of that battle had yet to be decided.

However, the implications of the notification weren’t encouraging. If the Spider Demoness could devour Lady Silvia and take possession of her body, then whatever was happening deeper within the shrine was far more dangerous than an ordinary monster encounter.

He couldn’t afford to waste time here.

Crash!

The two stone spider statues finally completed their transformation, shedding their lifeless appearance as black light surged around them. Their bodies were now fully animated, each bearing a dark, spider-like form covered in countless crimson patterns. Where ordinary spiders should have had heads, these creatures possessed unmistakably human female faces, their expressions cold and unnerving.

’Centennial Spider Maidens!’ Marcus immediately activated Insight to examine them. Although the system had already identified the creatures, he still needed to know exactly what he was dealing with. He had been forced into combat without any warning, and the last thing he wanted was to underestimate an enemy simply because it appeared manageable.

He had even prepared his escape skill, Cicada Sheds Its Shell, just in case things went south. Normally, he wouldn’t be so quick to consider retreating, but Lady Silvia’s situation changed everything.

If these two guardians were protecting the Spider Demoness while she fought Lady Silvia, Marcus couldn’t afford to let an unexpected complication delay him for too long.

Fortunately, the results of Insight were far better than he had anticipated.

Both Centennial Spider Maidens were only Level 60 Golden Bosses, roughly comparable to the Black-Robed Corpse General he had encountered in Jasper’s Tomb. Marcus relaxed slightly as their attributes appeared before him.

—

Centennial Spider Maiden

Level: 60

Rank: Golden Boss

HP: 200,000

Description: Guardians of the Shrine of the Spider Demoness within the Temple of the Lustful Demon Lord during the ancient immortal era. They were originally Level 80 Golden Bosses, but their power deteriorated to Level 60 following the Divine War ten thousand years ago.

Talent: Spider Silk Web

A talent with both offensive and defensive applications. The Centennial Spider Maiden can launch a web to entangle its opponents and prevent them from escaping, or wrap itself in layers of silk to greatly increase its defense.

Talent: Spider Venom

Its attacks carry potent venom that inflicts damage over time and may also cause Blindness and Enfeeblement.

Skills:

Spider Leg Slash: Attacks with its front legs, inflicting severe bleeding.

Silk Ice Art: Fires frozen silk infused with poison, dealing heavy damage while inflicting Poison and Slow effects.

—

Marcus finished reading the information, and the tension in his shoulders eased. Level 60 Golden Bosses? That was manageable.

With his current lineup of pets, two enemies of this caliber shouldn’t pose much of a threat. Even so, he wasn’t about to get careless. Their ability to inflict status effects could become troublesome if they managed to exploit a weakness in his formation, and the consequences of dying were too severe to justify taking unnecessary risks.

"Go!"

At his command, the two Sea Demon Souls and two Yin-Yang Giant Pandas immediately charged toward one Centennial Spider Maiden. The other was met by Pebble, Goldie, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and Vixen Queen Camillo, who attacked together without hesitation.

The battle erupted. Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two Sea Demon Souls moved in to restrict their target’s movements, preventing the massive spider from freely maneuvering across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the two Yin-Yang Giant Pandas coordinated their attacks, one engaging the enemy at close range while the other supported it from a distance.

The close-range panda swung its Green Bamboo Yin-Yang Sword, unleashing Yin-Yang Dance Slash. A swirling torrent of yin-yang energy swept across the spider’s body, and damage numbers exceeding 8,000 appeared above its head. The relentless assault also triggered repeated Knockback and Knockdown effects, disrupting the creature’s attempts to retaliate.

Behind it, the other panda pounded its Yin-Yang Divine Drum, unleashing Drumbeat of Yin and Yang. Each booming strike sent a wave of energy crashing into the Centennial Spider Maiden, dealing more than 6,000 damage per hit.

Their coordination was nearly flawless. One attacked from the front while the other struck from the rear, with one specializing in close combat and the other providing ranged support. Neither panda needed to expose itself unnecessarily, and together they kept the Centennial Spider Maiden under constant pressure.

More importantly, their defensive capabilities were just as ridiculous as their offensive power.

Despite being only Level 45, each panda took a mere 2,000 damage or so from the Centennial Spider Maiden’s attacks. For a Level 60 Golden Boss, that was an almost laughable amount of damage.

Marcus couldn’t help but marvel at their performance. The Yin-Yang Giant Pandas already had their exceptional defense, but their natural recovery made them even more troublesome to deal with. Even at Level 0, each panda possessed an HP recovery rate of 500, which increased by another 50 with every level gained.

With the Green Bamboo Set skill, Green Bamboo Life, boosting their recovery even further, their HP regeneration was now approaching an absurd 3,500.

In other words, unless an enemy could inflict overwhelming burst damage or suppress their recovery, wearing them down was going to be a miserable experience.

And that was before considering their offensive capabilities. A Level 45 Yin-Yang Giant Panda could potentially hold off two or even three Level 60 Golden Bosses at once. Their strength was nothing short of monstrous, befitting their status as Super Divine Beasts standing just one step below the Holy Beast tier.

No wonder they were so ridiculously powerful.

The Centennial Spider Maiden soon realized that its attacks weren’t producing the results it wanted. With the two pandas relentlessly battering it from different directions, it had little room to fight back effectively.

"Spider Silk Web!"

Unable to break through their defenses, the creature activated its defensive talent. Thick strands of white silk shot from its body and rapidly wrapped around it, forming a protective layer that covered its vulnerable areas.

Unfortunately for the spider, the tactic accomplished very little.

The webbing reduced the damage it received from the pandas by only about 1,500 per attack. That was hardly enough to turn the tide, especially when both pandas continued attacking without giving it a moment to recover.

From Marcus’s perspective, the Centennial Spider Maiden had effectively turned itself into a punching bag.

He didn’t even need to intervene. The same couldn’t be said for the other spider, though its situation was arguably even worse.

Marcus turned his attention to Pebble’s group. Pebble had taken the lead with Holy Shield Charge, following up with Quadruple Surge to batter the Centennial Spider Maiden with successive attacks. Goldie, Lyanna, and Camillo supported him with their own offensive abilities, unleashing a steady stream of physical and magical damage.

The spider had activated Spider Silk Web early in the fight, apparently hoping to withstand the combined assault. Yet even with its defenses reinforced, its HP had already fallen to somewhere between fifty and sixty thousand.

At this rate, neither fight would last much longer. Marcus watched the battle unfold, his expression gradually becoming more thoughtful.

Something about the situation bothered him. If the two Centennial Spider Maidens were merely Level 60 Golden Bosses, how had they managed to capture Lady Silvia and the Roaring Tiger Squad?

Lady Silvia was at least as strong as Princess Celeste, if not stronger. With her abilities and experience, she shouldn’t have been so easily overwhelmed by two guardians of this level. The Roaring Tiger Squad might have encountered difficulties dealing with them, but Lady Silvia was an entirely different matter.

There had to be more to the story. Perhaps the two spiders weren’t the real threat. Their reduced levels suggested that their strength had deteriorated considerably since the ancient immortal era, but that didn’t necessarily mean the shrine itself had become any less dangerous.

’Could there be another boss lurking nearby?’ Marcus discreetly scanned the surrounding area, keeping an eye on the shrine’s entrance and the nearby courtyard. He wasn’t about to let his pets handle the fight while he carelessly assumed everything was under control. If a more powerful monster suddenly appeared, he wanted to notice it before it had the chance to launch a surprise attack.

Still, the battle continued without any unexpected developments.

Scree!

The Centennial Spider Maiden under Pebble’s group’s assault let out a shrill death cry as its HP finally reached zero. Its enormous body shuddered before collapsing to the ground.

With the first enemy defeated, Pebble immediately led the others toward the remaining spider, joining the ongoing assault and overwhelming it with an even greater number of attacks.

It didn’t take long for the second Centennial Spider Maiden to meet the same fate. Another piercing screech rang through the courtyard before the creature collapsed, its HP completely depleted.

Marcus waited for a moment, watching the surrounding area carefully.

Nothing happened. No hidden boss emerged from the shadows, and no additional enemies appeared to avenge the two guardians. The courtyard remained quiet apart from the fading sounds of battle.

He frowned. ’Strange.’ If these two creatures had been responsible for capturing Lady Silvia and the Roaring Tiger Squad, he would have expected them to be considerably more powerful. Yet his pets had defeated both of them with barely any difficulty.

Either the circumstances surrounding Lady Silvia’s capture were more complicated than he had imagined, or there was something about the shrine that he hadn’t discovered yet.

For now, he could only keep moving forward and see what else he uncovered. Marcus approached the first corpse and activated Gathering.

A few moments later, several materials appeared in his inventory: a Centennial Spider Venom Web, a Centennial Spider Gallbladder, and a Centennial Spider Eye. All three were high-grade materials suitable for Forging and Potion Making, making them worthwhile additions to his collection.

However, none of them seemed particularly unusual. He checked the loot dropped by the spider as well, but there were no weapons, armor, or other pieces of equipment. The only item of interest was a heavy, fist-sized black carving shaped like a spider.

Unlike the other materials, this object came with its own description.

—

Spider Stone Carving: A carving made from a peculiar type of spider stone. It is the key to opening the underground structure of the Shrine of the Spider Demoness.

,---

Marcus’s eyes brightened. ’Found it!’ So the hidden passage really was connected to the two guardians. After all that searching, he had finally found something that could lead him deeper into the shrine.

He immediately looked around, searching for a concealed entrance or some mechanism that might respond to the carving. However, the surrounding walls and floor revealed nothing obvious. There were no visible doorways, no suspicious gaps between the stone slabs, and no discernible opening near the main hall.

Marcus turned the carving over in his hand, examining its shape.

If this was the key to the underground structure, there had to be somewhere to use it. The system wouldn’t have given him such a specific description for an ordinary piece of loot.

Still finding no clues, he walked over to the second Centennial Spider Maiden’s corpse and activated Gathering again.

As expected, he obtained another Centennial Spider Venom Web, another Centennial Spider Gallbladder, and another Centennial Spider Eye. The materials were identical to those from the first spider, but there was one additional item among the drops.

A second Spider Stone Carving. Marcus picked it up and examined it alongside the first.

The two carvings were completely identical. Before he could work out why he needed both of them, the corpses suddenly began to change.

Black light seeped from the spiders’ bodies, spreading across their limbs and torsos. Their flesh-like forms gradually stiffened, and within moments, both Centennial Spider Maidens had reverted to their original appearances as enormous stone spider statues.

The transformation complete, they returned to their original positions on either side of the main hall’s entrance, as though nothing had happened.

Marcus stared at the statues, then took a closer look at them.

That was when he noticed something he hadn’t paid attention to during the battle. Each bull-sized stone spider had a human face on its abdomen, roughly the size of a large plate. On the forehead of each face were two grooves shaped like tiny spiders.

Marcus’s gaze shifted to the fist-sized carving in his hand.

The shape was remarkably similar. A thought immediately occurred to him. If the carvings were the keys to the underground structure, and the statues had returned to their original positions after being defeated, perhaps the mechanism was built directly into them.

He stepped toward the nearest statue and carefully examined the grooves on its forehead. One of them looked like it had been designed to accommodate the carving perfectly.

There was no need to overthink it. Marcus reached out and placed one of the Spider Stone Carvings into the groove.