Chapter 339: The Burrow XIII
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A suffocating pungent stench of sothing rotten filled the chamber of the Wolfspider Burrow.
The decomposing dead leaves that made up the soft ground released so heat. Coupled with the abundant thick cobwebs that acted as a heat trap, the temperature within the chamber was surprisingly higher than the outside’s near freezing point.
There was no sign of any Wolfspiders. During the last battle with the Demon-Hunters, all of them apparently rushed out of the burrow to defend their territory out of basic instinct.
ssy strands of spider webs intertwined with the decomposing leaves. The Demon-Hunters followed the trail and searched every chamber.
“Huh?! ”
As they arrived at a certain chamber, everyone’s footsteps stopped abruptly. Their eyes were fixed on an unfortunate Demon-Hunters who lay completely immobilized on a cobweb. They were none other than the ten-man Demon-Hunter party who appeared along with Alxa before Grimm’s party ventured into the Burrow World. They had now entered the presence of the final resting place of these valiant vanguards.
Grimm recognized them all. They were the exact ten mbers from the original team... their eting still fresh in his mory... their leader, a Rank-2 Demon-Hunter...
Was...
The others paid their final respects to the deceased Demon-Hunters and moved onward to continue exploring the Wolfspider Burrow, leaving behind only Alxa and Grimm.
The two of them stood before their forr Demon-Hunter comrades in silence.
Or one should say, what was left of them. Only their skin remained—their muscles, skeleton, and organs had all vanished.
“We’re too late. We couldn’t save them...”
Grimm could almost imagine their last mont’s struggle as the Thought Echo overpowered them. The feeling of one’s very own internal organs lting under their skin, only to be sucked dry by the ravenous Wolfspiders.
In other words, they were eaten alive! The feeling of helplessness... They must have hoped for soone to put them out of their misery. It was nothing but pure torture!
“Let it go... The life of a Demon-Hunter is always filled with danger. Consider this the course of natural selection. Only the strongest can survive and those who remain must bravely continue with the mission so their sacrifice will not be in vain.”
That very mont, everything was so still as if ti itself has stopped. The old sorceress, Alxa opened her palm. The green sapling appeared once again.
“Hmm... It appears that the sorcerer who specializes in studying the force of life is still very much alive. Let’s see if we can find anything useful.”
Grimm nodded and scavenged the corpses of his fallen comrades. Nothing of much value here.
“Over here! I found sothing!”
Soone shouted from a nearby chamber.
Grimm and Alxa exchanged glances and quickly made their way toward the source of discovery, where their twelve-man-team had surrounded a Demon-Hunter with swollen and abnormally decaying skin.
They carefully freed him from his cobweb prison. His breathing was slow and he had since passed out. His unsightly and festering wounds emitted an unbearable, disgusting odor.
“Will he make it?” asked Alxa who approached the crowd.
A Ranked-2 Demon-Hunter from Alxa’s team examined the newly-rescued Demon-Hunter. He shook his head and did not say a word. Then, he left him where he was.
Alxa nodded. She, too, did not spit a word.
However, Grimm would not give up rescuing another life. He was one to do anything in his power to rescue another fellow Demon-Hunter. He approached the dying Demon-Hunter and attempted to wake him up using his crystal orb, but to no avail.
After a mont of thinking, Grimm lit up a tiny Soul Fire at the tip of his finger and proceeded to draw so symbols on the Demon-Hunter’s decaying wound.
Grimm learned this simple soul manipulation during the ti of his apprenticeship with a foreign world Devil Lord. He outwitted him and got his hands on a copy of the Devil’s Contract. Through self-study, he managed to learn so simple soul manipulation tricks.
Grimm’s sudden utilization of the soul manipulation spell surprised everybody at the scene.
Usually, no Demon-Hunter would be interested in studying a soul manipulation spell. While it appeared powerful, those who would advance to Hearkening Sorcerer would naturally master soul manipulation spells anyway. Therefore, spending ti learning these spells were largely considered a waste of ti.
Even Grimm agreed to this consensus during his ti as an apprentice.
The Demon-Hunter who was suffering from decaying wounds slowly gained his consciousness as Grimm cast the simple soul manipulation spell.
Slowly but surely, he ca to, struggling to keep his eyes open. He tried to say sothing but violent coughing ca out instead of words.
Most Demon-Hunters who were observing them, bar so Level-2 veterans were imdiately disturbed by what they saw.
His eyes...
One of his eyes was filled with veins. Though looking unhealthy, it still looked normal for a human’s eye.
However, his other eyeball beca the host of a three-centiter translucent spiderling. It moved about slowly within the confines of his eyeball, as if ready to hatch anyti.
“Cough, cough, cough... ”
After a series of violent coughing, so peculiar thick fluid oozed out from the edge of the Demon-Hunter’s mouth. He tried to say sothing but could not summon the strength to speak.
Grimm’s tried to communicate with him using his own Soul Fire but his communication partner’s Soul Fire was almost extinguished. He was done for.
The previous Rank-2 Demon Hunter shook his head as he witnessed what had just unfolded.
“What are you trying to say?”
Grimm leaned his head closer toward the dying Demon-Hunter.
Obviously, the Wolfspiders had done sothing to him. Otherwise, why did he not suffer the sa fate as the other Demon-Hunters whereby their internal organs were dissolved?
“Cough.... Plea... kil... ...”
The extrely debilitated Demon-Hunter took about a full minute to make his last wish known. Even so, Grimm had to employ the best of his judgnt to understand what he was trying to say.
Should Grimm oblige?
Grimm mulled about it but dared not make the hardest decision.
As long as no one violated the Holy Tower’s rule, any fight between Demon-Hunters outside the protection zone was all fair ga.
However, to take the life of another Demon-Hunter during any expedition constituted a cri if there was no reasonable justification for it. It would be equivalent to jeopardizing the interest of the Sorcerer World... a felony. One that could lead to capital punishnt.
“Aa...”
The Demon-Hunter closed his eyes. It seed like he did not even have the strength to react from the severe pain he was enduring.
“Eww! His skin...”
Parrot Leafie cried suddenly but held it back. It covered its beak with its wings. There was nothing but horror in its eyes.
Grimm also noticed sothing peculiar. His breath beca slightly heavier under the Mask of Truth. Soon, everyone realized what was happening which gave them goosebumps.
A three-centiter long light black spiderling crawled out from under the decaying Demon-Hunter’s skin, literally!
The reproduction thod of Wolfspiders was to use the body of their victim as a living nursery.
It so happened that this poor Demon-Hunter who practiced a Force of Life spell was unfortunate enough to be chosen by the Wolfspiders as their unwilling host; a source of nourishnt. Once hatched, their very first lunch would be him!
At this very mont, hundreds of Wolfspider spiderlings were feeding on his flesh and blood from within.
What a cruel and horrifying way to die! Even watching this was enough for anyone to be hit by a swarm of angry butterflies in their gut.
This was an evolutionary thod unique to the Wolfspiders, one of the survival principles of Infinity World.
Alxa took out her crystal orb and said to Grimm without much emotion, “Let’s end his suffering. This is the least that we can do for him... I’ve gathered the necessary logs.”
“Ok,” Grimm nodded.
To have oneself used as a vessel against their own will... The Wolfspiders robbed him of his control over his physical body. This was worse than outright killing him. How inhumane! Grimm did not know what to do. He was left with an only option.
With that, a fireball ignited atop his Sabbatic Goat Staff.
“Rest in peace, brother. May you be cleansed and freed from tornt...”
Under everyone’s watch, the fire consud the infested Demon-Hunter. With a heavy heart, they split the sorcerer equipnt of the Demon-Hunter. He would not be needing it anymore. Grimm received an ordinary ring, which he threw into the pocket world without a second thought.
They did not forget to collect so live specins of the three-centiter spiderlings for further study. The crowd cast destructive spells as they retreated to purge the inhabitants of Wolfspider Burrow.
In the sea of fire, Alxa and Grimm led their teams to continue on their journey, now more determined than ever.
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