“Rustle rustle rustle rustle!” If it weren’t for Lago’s reminder, the sound of fine sand sliding could easily be ignored. However, when everything around them quieted down, not only the thieves, but also the others heard something strange.

Everyone’s expressions became nervous again. These past few days, they had encountered too many dangers. No one would take any chances. The Yin Yang Fish pattern in Qin Lun’s left eye spread out slightly, gathering the perceptual beams that were staring at the halo into a line as far as possible, and looked around.

“It’s not just the top of the cave. There are holes everywhere in the stone walls of this area.” Qin Lun’s expression was somewhat grave, and his gaze suddenly narrowed. “Wait, I really want to see something! It’s a spider, a fist-sized spider … There are a lot of spiders, both in front and back. We really want to be surrounded.”

“That’s right, it’s an octopus. They like this kind of environment the most.” Mastasia sighed and shook her head. “I’ve met him once in a cave in the Northern Lands. I didn’t expect that I would meet him a second time in my life.”

“Swarm of spiders? Why haven’t we seen a whole web along the way?” Rick and Winnie exchanged glances in surprise.

“Eight-eyed spiders are different species among spiders. They can spin silk, but they can’t weave webs.” Highland Elves said with a strange expression, “They are different from most spiders. They live in groups and rely on the strength of their prey. Their spider silk is much stronger than ordinary spider silk, no less tough than steel silk, and the fluid on it is extremely sticky. You should be careful not to get stuck by too many spider silk.”

“These … what kind of innate magic do Octopus spiders use?” Hill asked cautiously.

“No, they’re not magical beasts. They don’t know how to use magic.” “Don’t underestimate them. These creatures have sharp claws that cut gold and iron. They have strong leaping abilities and a steel thread. Their combat strength is no less than that of the dragonflies we encountered before. Although they don’t have the innate domain of dragonflies, their numbers are dozens of times that of dragonflies,” Mastasia warned with a bitter smile.

“… Moreover, the terrain here is not good for us. Other than underground, we are almost surrounded by their nest.” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up as he vigilantly added.

“Should we break through the encirclement or retreat?” Lago asked cautiously.

“Forward!” Mastasia’s expression was resolute. “Eight-eyed arachnids don’t have intelligence, but their hunting instincts are very strong. Because they arrange their nests in the holes in the stone wall, they usually let their prey enter the middle of the cave and then attack from all directions. In other words, the distance ahead and back is the same.”

Everyone understood and retreated. They still had to return to the lake where the Ghost-Faced Squid lived, and then enter the Giant Demon’s Claw through the entrance to the other canyons. Since the distance was the same, it was better to continue forward. The only risk was not to take the wrong path and run into the dead end of the cave.

“The octopus has four pairs of single eyes on its back. This is where its name comes from. These little creatures have excellent eyesight and can see far away in the dark. Don’t try to dodge them. We can only charge out this time.” “Fortunately, they are afraid of fire and light because they live in dark caverns all year round. If there are too many spiders blocking the way, Winnie and Rand will use magic to disperse them,” explained Mustacha, taking advantage of the last bit of time.

“Understood!” Winnie and Rand agreed.

After making proper preparations, everyone finally began to break out of the encirclement. Qin Lun was running at the front. He needed to use his reconnaissance skills to guide the crowd ahead of time. Two fire-capable professionals, Winnie and Rand, were on both ends of the team, with Rick at the back.

“Pa!” Qin Lun’s punch flattened an eight-eyed spider that was pouncing on him.

Perhaps because there were no natural enemies, this kind of spiders that lived in karst caves and were the size of tennis balls did not have very hard shells on their bodies. Qin Lun, who had a strong power attribute, smashed his fist and directly exploded into a ball of rotten sauce on the stone wall.

Everyone cautiously maintained their formation and did not blindly speed up their escape. Occasionally, they would pick up eight-eyed arachnids from both sides and above their heads. After running all the way down, they suddenly realized that the crisis they encountered this time was much easier than the previous ones.

The Eight-eyed Spider’s silk was indeed a bit difficult to wrap around, but Winnie and Rand, who had been warned beforehand, had always burned off the silk that wrapped around their companions. If they encountered a large number of arachnids that were swarming up at the same time, they would use a spell of light or a fireball to disperse them.

Although the situation was still incomparably dangerous, the panic and helplessness of last night were no longer present in the hearts of everyone present. Soon, everyone realized that it wasn’t that the octopus wasn’t strong, but that their team had formed a certain degree of tacit understanding and trust in the course of a series of adventures.

In this form, even Schiff, who was originally a burden, could sometimes use the torch in his hand to deal with a bullied spider. Although he couldn’t help others, he had the ability to protect himself and saved his companions a lot of trouble.

Highland Elves and the three Blood Stabbing Mercenaries might have taken the current situation for granted, but for the three Apostle, their feelings were much deeper.

Even though the three Apostle sometimes had a tacit understanding, they lacked a lot of team qualities compared to the real Apostle team. This experience finally allowed them to truly experience the qualities that an adventure team should possess.

If Qin Lun and the others were combined, they might not be able to hold back their companions. Each of them could rely on their outstanding combat awareness to display 100% of their strength.

However, a truly outstanding adventure team could increase everyone’s strength. It was nothing to exert 100% of their combat strength. A team that cooperated with a tacit understanding should have one plus one greater than two. Each member should exert strength that surpassed their own.

In fact, this was also the true meaning of Apostle’s team and combat career planning. Every Apostle could develop in an all-round way and make up for their shortcomings. However, there was one thing that was certain. They all needed to have their own areas of expertise and combine them to let the team display greater combat strength.

“I can see the light. There seems to be an exit ahead!” As he ran, Qin Lun suddenly shouted happily.

“Don’t be careless. The more you reach the exit, the denser the attacks of the Octopus Spider will be. Don’t drop the chain at the last moment.” Mastasia reminded everyone solemnly.

Highland Elves played an irreplaceable role in the adventure, and everyone was glad to have joined a harpsichord master. Perhaps Mastasia wasn’t the strongest among them, but she was clearly the most important. Even the three Apostle couldn’t deny this.

“I’m finally out!” When the warm sunlight fell on their bodies, everyone sat on the ground somewhat exhausted, their hearts filled with joy.

Turning around to look at the dark cave behind them, everyone suddenly felt their heartbeats accelerating again. Thinking about it now, although the Eight-eyed Spiders weren’t as dangerous as the magical beasts they had encountered before, the battle lasted the longest.

It was almost morning when they entered the cave, but it was already evening when they came out. Even Qin Lun had no choice but to admit that if he was alone, he probably wouldn’t be able to last that long. This was a victory for the entire team.

“Perhaps after our world returns, we should seriously consider forming a fixed team.” “In such a high-level mission world, adventuring alone is not advisable,” Rand suggested on the guild channel. “No matter how strong and intelligent an individual is, no matter how well prepared they are, they will undoubtedly not be able to contend against certain dangerous situations.”

Qin Lun and Hill exchanged glances and agreed with each other.

Almost every time their career paths reached this level, the Shattered Star System would assign them to the more difficult Middle Demon World. Whether they were willing or not, their careers as lone wolves had gradually left them. If they didn’t want to die, the few murderers had to start taking risks in groups.

After taking a breath, everyone began to look at their current surroundings. A real valley basin appeared in front of them through the dark cave where the octopus lived. For the first time since this adventure, they saw other green trees besides the swamp banyan tree.

In front of them was a small basin surrounded by relatively gentle slopes with sparse green trees that clearly carried the characteristics of mountain coniferous forests.

After arriving here, everyone seemed to have returned to the World of the Living from the bizarre Forbidden Zone of Death. The cries of insects and birds once again filled their ears. The surging aura of life finally relaxed everyone’s tense heartstrings.

“Hahaha, we’ve crossed the Land of Death.” Schiff cried out in a strange manner.

“It can’t be counted as crossing, right? At most, it’s diagonal!” Mastasia was delighted, even during her harpsichord career, it was a rare adventure.

However, she was right. They had never crossed the Land of Death.

Coming from the west of the Land of Death, he circled around the edge of the core region of the Land of Death and finally pierced through the entrance of the Giant Demon’s Claw to the north. Compared to the legendary pirate Bodean, who had truly crossed the eastern and western planes of the Land of Death, they could only be considered to have crossed the Land of Death diagonally.

Of course, if they could return to the human city alive, it would be a great adventure.

“Unfortunately, we have no chance to see Bodean’s treasure.” Lago said with a face full of frustration.

Qin Lun and the others looked at each other and smiled. Lago was right. Although they still had the storyline quest of “Bodean’s Trace” on them, it could only mean that the legendary pirates had come to the Giant Demon’s Claw before and could not prove anything else.

Legendary pirate Bodean was a human. No matter what, he would not leave his inheritance and treasures near the Giant Demon Tribe. Perhaps in order to truly find Bodean’s legacy, they would need to continue deeper into the core region of the Land of Death, rather than simply bypassing the lake where the Ghost-Faced Squid was located.

However, judging from the strength of this team, they did not have the ability to do so. Unless a standard squad-sized storyline legendary expert acts together and gathers a group of cannon fodder, Bodean’s treasure will forever sleep in the depths of the Land of Death.

Actually, Qin Lun and the others no longer had any hope of completing this mission. The exploration mission given by the Broken Star System could only end here. Perhaps after they left, the next batch of Apostle who entered Toril World would receive another notification from the starry sky, but all of this had nothing to do with them, and even the three of them were a bit gloating over their misfortune.

The Land of Death was in such a dangerous state. Unless a large guild like Lost gathered all the high-level Apostle to carry out this mission, other Apostle guilds could only come in with their lives at stake. They didn’t have Qin Lun’s identity as Elf Prince, and there wouldn’t be another master harpsichord to help them.

“Alright, find a safer place to rest. Don’t forget our purpose in coming here!” Mustacha smiled and said, “Your companions are still waiting for help!”