Lord of the Magical Beasts

Chapter 129: Spider Hive

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Just as the fox elder felt his scalp turning numb and realized that there was no escaping this crisis, a concentrated rain of light suddenly fell near the entrance of the cave, reducing the horde of Giant Crab Spiders to a paste!

At the critical moment, Yang Ling had stood up with much effort and summoned the Evil Eye army and their powerful attacks!

After receiving backup from the Evil Eye army, the fearful Dogmen felt a boost in morale. They threw their harpoons out fiercely, sealing the Giant Crab Spiders within the cave together with the Evil Eye army.

The Giant Crab Spiders had powerful attacks, but they lacked sufficient range, and so they were fully suppressed by the Evil Eyes and Dogmen. They were not able to force their way out despite their heavy casualties!

Roar!

Seeing the consistently failing attacks, another low, powerful roar came from within the cave. This time, Yang Ling reacted quickly, using Earth Evasion and phasing ten steps away, narrowly avoiding the terrifying air wave.

Having successfully advanced to the level of Earth Wizard and formed the Wizard Core, he had rapidly mastered the beginner Wizard Technique “Earth Evasion.” According to the explanation on the stele, reaching the level of Earth Wizard would not only allow him to gain further control over the souls of the Magical Beasts he tamed, he could also gradually master various evasion techniques and cultivate more mysterious Wizard Techniques. At the very least, he had another ability to save his life, and he could avoid sudden attacks by his enemies.

Yang Ling managed to avoid the attack in time, but the slow-moving Evil Eye army in front of him could not dodge. The terrifying wave of air blasted over a large portion of them, killing a few dozen on the spot and heavily injuring the rest. Even the powerful Evil Eye Tyrant bled from the mouth, suffering from heavy internal injuries.

The Evil Eye army suffered heavy casualties, but the Beastmen who were nearby were not affected, as they had merely taken a few steps back. After the Evil Eye army was hit, the pressure landed on the Beastmen, and the situation took a turn once again!

Could the terrifying roar be an attack on the soul, one that was only effective on him and the Magical Beasts he had tamed?

After a moment’s surprise, Yang Ling quickly recalled the Evil Eye army to prevent any greater losses. He grabbed a bunch of Wizard Amulets and charged forward. Behind him, the Unicorn followed him closely and shot out thick bolts of lightning.

Receiving assistance from Yang Ling and the Unicorn, the pressure on the Dogmen was alleviated a little. But with the Giant Crab Spiders who were unafraid of death swarming out, and people frequently falling after being hit by the fatal poison, the situation was still rather bad for them!

“Braska, notify the elf archers to come here, quick!”

Yang Ling gave a loud order after throwing out a Wizard Amulet and blasting away a Giant Crab Spider. Like the barbarians, the Twin-headed Ogre Braska was formidable at close combat, but he had little to no abilities when it came to ranged battles. The Evil Eyes and Horned Bee Beasts couldn’t resist the terrifying soundwave, while the spider army hadn’t finished their evolution. At this point in time, only the elf archers could be effective.

“Yes, master!”

Seeing that he could not help even if he stayed, Braska bowed after receiving the order and left quickly with a few of his clansmen. But he let out a cry after turning around. Yang Ling turned back to see a large group of people coming out of the forest, charging toward them at high speed!

“Elder, it’s the Bullmen and Medusas! Our reinforcements have arrived!” Looking closely, a Foxman Spellcaster cheered loudly, clenching his teeth and expending the last of his Magical Energy to cast a rising wall of fire.

“Oh Yiblis, defend on! We’ll burn their nest with flames later!”

“Die, d*mn it!”

…

Knowing that their reinforcements had arrived, the Beastmen had a boost in morale, clenching their teeth as they attacked the horde of Giant Crab Spiders.

The Beastmen reinforcements were extremely fast, charging in front of the group in the blink of an eye. There were three-meter-tall Bullmen who were carrying giant totem poles on their backs and wielding battle halberds, and there were also Medusas with the lower bodies of snakes who wielded two blades.

The Bullmen’s attacks were simple but effective. They roared as they flailed the giant battle halberds to release a shockwave. The shockwave was like a sharp blade, mercilessly slicing all of the Giant Crab Spiders in a ten step radius in two.

Compared to the Bullmen, the Medusas were more adept at close combat and were mainly responsible for the stragglers who were charging out of the cave. They charged forward with a flail of their long snake tails, slicing Giant Crab Spiders in two before rapidly retreating. They were so fast that they left afterimages, truly living up to their reputation as the “Rulers of Blades.”

With the entry of over three hundred Bullmen and two hundred Medusas, the pressure on Yang Ling and the Dogmen eased. They quickly gained the upper hand after Argus led the elf archers over.

Despite the heavy casualties, the hordes of Giant Crab Spiders still charged forward, unafraid of death. Their numbers were unbelievable. It was obvious that there was a spider hive within the cave, an unprecedentedly large spider hive!

The spiders had powerful attacks and massive numbers, but unfortunately, they were unable to charge out of the cave under the combined attacks of the group. In just an hour, blood covered the area, and the entrance of the cave was piled high with the corpses of Giant Crab Spiders. Over that period of time, several angry roars came from within the cave, but they did not alleviate the situation!

Against low level Magical Beasts like the Horned Bee Beasts and Evil Eyes, the terrifying soundwave had immense power, but to the Beastmen who had thick hides and muscles, it could not cause much harm. At the very most, it caused them to take a few steps back.

After many repetitions, Yang Ling could confirm that the roars that came from within the cave were a unique way to attack the soul, and they would only cause great harm to himself and the Magical Beasts he had tamed.

According to the explanation on the stele, the reason a Wizard could tame Magical Beasts was precisely because he could control their souls, and thus they were more susceptible to attacks on the soul. That was also the reason why high level Wizards would primarily cultivate their ability to control souls. After they were successful, they could not only attack the souls of their opponents, they could also strengthen a soul’s resistance to attacks.

Seeing the endless stream of Giant Crab Spiders unafraid of death, the fox elder, ox chief, and Medusa leader decided to take turns entering the fray in an attempt to exhaust the spiders using a long drawn out battle. Yang Ling also split the elf archers into two groups and instructed them to attack in waves. He got onto his Unicorn and moved to the back of the army, closely observing the changes in his body.

The grain-sized Wizard Core was pulsing in his dantian, causing the Wizard Power in his body to circulate. Despite being only the size of a grain, Yang Ling could feel that it harbored a massive Wizard Power, much more than before.

Furthermore, his mental energy was also visibly enhanced, allowing him to sense movement in his surroundings more clearly. In fact, he could even sharpy detect every action of the Tarantula King that had turned into a cocoon a few miles away. Through its memories, Yang Ling knew that the spider army was in the final stage of its evolution, and the spiders would emerge from their cocoons in a few hours.

He had managed to break through to the level of Earth Wizard after absorbing a portion of the energy. How much would the Wizard’s Pagoda have changed after absorbing tens of times, even hundreds of times more energy than he had?

Recalling the mysterious Wizard’s Pagoda, Yang Ling had a thought and injected his consciousness into the area.

In one night, the space around the Wizard’s Pagoda had increased tenfold. A pond with azure waters had appeared in the middle of the vast field. The little Unicorn stood guard beside the pond, only allowing the Horned Bee Beasts and injured Evil Eyes to take a small sip each. Those who took a larger sip would be immediately pushed back by a small bolt of lightning. It had become the owner of the water.

“Hehe, you sure are a miser!”

Stroking the head of the little Unicorn, Yang Ling curiously took a sip of the azure pond water. He had just drunk the water when he felt a cold current circulating in his body, slowly seeping into every part of his body. He felt a jolt of energy, as if he had taken a sip of the rare Water from the Spring of Life!

Could this be spring water formed by the green life force?

Taking a look at the azure water, seeing the Evil Eyes recover after taking a sip, Yang Ling had a thought. The Wizard Pagoda had not only absorbed a large amount of energy from the stars and the energy accumulated by the Wizard Formation in the stone forest, it had also absorbed a massive quantity of green life force. It was possible that the massive quantity had invoked a change in quality, causing it to form a pond in the space holding the Wizard’s Pagoda.

Perhaps taming the sapling of the Tree of Life and moving it to the space containing the Wizard’s Pagoda would cause it to grow faster!

Seeing the Withered Tree Warriors in front of the Wizard’s Pagoda turn into tall trees, seeing their lush leaves, seeing their bark getting thicker under the nourishment of the white fog, he quickly came up with an idea.

With his Wizard Power getting stronger, the white fog released from within the Wizard’s Pagoda became thicker. It could not only greatly boost the evolution of the Magical Beasts such as the Horned Bee Beasts, Evil Eyes, and spiders, it could also hasten the growth of trees. If he transplanted the sapling of the Tree of Life here, he might be able to obtain a large amount of Water from the Spring of Life in a few short years, many times faster than its normal rate of growth!

According to the explanation on the stele, Wizard Techniques were harder to cultivate the higher level one was. Without any miraculous elixirs, one would need more than a hundred years to advance from the level of Spirit Wizard to Earth Wizard, and a millennium or longer to advance from the level of Earth Wizard to Heaven Wizard, so on and so forth!

Yang Ling didn’t know how many miraculous elixirs there were in this foreign world, but he was sure that the Water from the Spring of Life was a treasure he desperately needed. If he had a large amount of Water from the Spring of Life, he would be able to stabilize his level of Earth Wizard. In fact, he might be able to break through to the level of Heaven Wizard within a short span of time.

Chitter…

Just as he was about to further investigate the transformations in the space containing the Wizard’s Pagoda, a familiar ripple suddenly appeared in his brain. He instinctively formed a hand gesture after some deliberation. In that instant, the spider army led by the Tarantula King appeared in his eyes.

After consuming a large amount of Giant Crab Spider Essence Crystals, the normal spiders had all evolved to the fourth level. The range of their poison had doubled to become much further than that of the Giant Crab Spiders. Furthermore, they had all gained the ability of Earth Spike and could dig underground to release waves of Earth Spikes to attack the targets above ground, just like the Giant Crab Spiders.

The Tarantula King had evolved to the fifth level, formally entering the ranks of a mid level Magical Beast. Other than obtaining the ability of Earth Spike, it also grew two lumps of flesh on both sides of its body, near its ribs. According to its memories, the lumps of meat would turn into wings during its next evolution, transforming it into a fearsome Flying Spider, its offensive capabilities much higher than Magical Beasts of the same level.

It needs to evolve one more time?

Yang Ling shook his head bitterly after understanding what was going on. The Tarantula King had only managed to evolve from level four to level five after killing the swarm of Giant Crab Spiders and consuming thousands of Giant Crab Spider Essence Crystals. How hard would it be to evolve it to level six?

In principle, every Magical Beast could evolve continuously, but it was near impossible practically speaking. It was harder to evolve a Magical Beast of a higher level. For example, the tarantulas could evolve from level one to level four in a short amount of time, but if a level eight Magical Beast like the Unicorn consumed the same amount of energy, it would not have any visible transformation, much less evolve.

After understanding the difficulty when it came to the evolution of Magical Beasts, Yang Ling did not harbor hopes that the Horned Bee Beasts, Evil Eyes, and spiders would evolve to become high level Magical Beasts. All he wanted was for there to be a high level champion responsible for commanding the army.

The battle ability of an army was not completely dependent on the number of brilliant soldiers, but also the cooperative abilities between the warriors. The Magical Beast army was no exception. Yang Ling believed that as long as he commanded them properly, and if there was a degree of collaboration, an army of mid to low level Magical Beasts would still stand a chance when they encountered a team of high level Magical Beasts.