Chapter 158: The Golden Era! The Double-Headed Poisonous Wolf-Spider!

Just as Veil contemplated retreating, a sudden, nauseating stench of blood assaulted his senses, causing a wave of queasiness to churn in his stomach. Before he could comprehend what was happening, a massive, glistening black creature, coated in viscous slime, burst forth from the cave.

Reacting instinctively, Veil took a step back—his quickest response to the unexpected threat. Yet, this very movement seemed to alert the creature. From its slime-covered body, it suddenly thrust out a black blade over two meters long, striking at Veil with lightning speed.

“Ice Guard!” Veil commanded.

His reserves of wind magic were nearly depleted, leaving him unable to enhance his agility with wind spells. With no time to dodge, he braced himself and summoned an ice shield for defense.

“Crack!”

A sharp sound echoed as the two-meter blade pierced through Veil’s Ice Guard, but, lacking follow-through force, the blade became lodged in the thick ice. Sensing an opportunity, Veil hurriedly retreated. Yet, the black creature swiftly drew another blade of similar length and, with the speed of a thunderbolt, shattered Veil’s ice shield completely.

“Ice Guard!”

“Flame Swallow!”

“Frost Bat!”

Veil wielded his enchanted staff with rapid precision, unleashing three distinct spells in succession. The Ice Guard served as a shield against sudden attacks, while dozens of fiery swallows and icy bats swirled around him, providing critical deterrence.

This was becoming troublesome.

Veil thought grimly. Any movement he made would provoke immediate aggression from the dark creature. Escape was impossible under the current circumstances. His only option was to confront it head-on.

Gritting his teeth, Veil raised his gaze toward the looming black figure. The creature was at least a meter long, with legs over two meters in length—those legs were the razor-sharp black blades. Its total length exceeded three meters. From these features, Veil recognized it as a venomous wolf-spider. Yet, something puzzled him: the spider’s body was encased in a sticky, viscous slime that enveloped most of it, and its tail was longer and translucent—unlike any venomous wolf-spider he had encountered.

Wait—translucent?

A sudden realization flashed through Veil’s mind. He immediately extended his senses toward the slime-covered spider, revealing astonishing information.

Contrary to what Rosty had described as a mid-level grade-five beast, this venomous wolf-spider was a high-level monster above grade eight! Veil recalled his previous hunt with Rosty—an Infernal Rage Bear, a high-level beast but only grade six, the lowest tier among high-level monsters. In comparison, this venomous wolf-spider surpassed it by far. It was not grade seven or eight, but grade nine—a golden stage venomous wolf-spider.

A grade nine high-level monster was unimaginable for Veil at that moment. But the next piece of information was even more fortuitous. This venomous wolf-spider had just advanced into the golden stage and was undergoing molting—a critical and taxing period. In other words, it was currently in a vulnerable, weakened state. Its strength had diminished by nearly eighty percent, leaving only twenty percent remaining. Even conservatively estimated, the spider’s current power was equivalent to a grade five or six beast.

Though still a high-level monster, a grade five or six beast was within Veil’s capability to handle alone, especially since he had laid numerous traps nearby before.

With this knowledge, Veil maintained his sensory lock on the venomous wolf-spider while slowly retreating step by step, not to flee but to find a more advantageous battleground and to create distance between himself and the creature.

Why the hesitation? Veil wasn’t rushing to strike because the spider was still molting—a process that was the most grueling and energy-draining for a beast. All Veil needed to do was wait, let the spider exhaust itself, and then seize the perfect moment to act.

Veil was not a naive sixteen-year-old boy as he appeared. In a previous era, he had experienced the cruelties and intrigues of the world, his mind tempered into wisdom and maturity. Whether his tactics were considered unscrupulous or dishonorable mattered little to him. He understood that the measure of life and death could never be judged by the purity of one’s methods. This harsh truth applied to cunning humans and beasts driven purely by instinct alike.

Thus, Veil was patient. He would hold his ground and wait for the most opportune moment. Yet, the venomous wolf-spider was not idle either. As a grade nine creature, it possessed rudimentary awareness and understood the grave danger it faced. If it did not strike while it still retained some strength, once the molting finished and it was utterly depleted, it would become easy prey for Veil.

“Whoosh!”

Another black leg emerged from the slime, joining the two legs already poised like blades embedded in the ground. Using them as leverage, the massive spider lunged forward. A fissure appeared in the slime at the spider’s frontal region, revealing eight eerie eyes that shimmered with an uncanny green glow. Below these eyes, two powerful mandibles snapped open, spitting dozens of razor-sharp black blades.

Dark wind blades?

Veil’s heart leapt. He swung his staff, and the Ice Guard instantly reformed around him, multiple layers of icy shields rising to intercept the dark wind blades. Though prepared, the spider—even in its weakened state—still wielded the strength of a sixth-rank high-level beast. The barrage of dark blades shattered much of Veil’s ice shield.

Crystalline ice shards scattered like dazzling dreams. Though his shield was breaking into pieces, Veil’s expression remained calm. With a forceful sweep of his staff, the ambient ice magic surged violently. The shattered ice fragments rapidly coalesced in midair, reforming new icy shields to block the relentless dark wind blades.

The repeated breaking and reforming of the Ice Guard created a tense, evenly matched standoff with the venomous wolf-spider. As Veil contemplated his next move, a slit appeared near the spider’s abdomen within the slime, revealing a row of strange glowing eyes. Beneath these eyes grew a pair of razor-sharp mandibles.

Veil’s resolve steeled—this battle had only just begun.