Part of my idea was accepted by the team leader. We used cedar leaves to mask our scent, while making spears was deemed a waste of time. And yes, they were all Strains with advantages, unique powers of their own. So we moved quickly, pressing cedar leaves over our bodies and securing them with sap from the trees.
The sharp resin smell rising from everyone made my head spin.
We continued the journey despite the night and the increasingly suffocating air. The oxygen we breathed felt limited, as if it had to be shared with the dense forest around us. I started to feel drained from the lack of air, but I forced myself into a light run, keeping up with the others.
The deeper we went, the more pungent the spiders' nauseating stench became. Even the tree trunks were wrapped in thick webs. When touched, they were sticky and left behind a disgust I knew I would never forget.
The team leader, whom I now knew as Fredrick, warned us not to touch the spider silk. The tension in those strands was extreme. Even the slightest pull could make the nests above vibrate, alerting the spiders that prey had entered their territory.
The climb grew harder as we avoided the sticky webs and the path steepened. We were getting close to the finish point. I kept telling myself that we would make it out alive.
I saw a bird flying low toward us, then shifting midair into Damian. I figured I would get used to seeing people change forms if I survived this. Who knew? Maybe someone could even turn into an otter or a sewer rat.
"We have to fight them," Damian said grimly. "There's no other way but straight through their nest. And you know the best part?"
Fredrick muttered, "What?"
"They have a broodmother. Her legs are sticking out of the cave entrance. They're three times bigger than a normal spider's."
Of course, the spiders had a leader. They would not move in such coordination without a mother. As far as I remembered, spiders were solitary creatures. Some even ate their own mothers after hatching, then scattered and lived alone. That was why each spider had its own web.
But these spiders were genetically engineered. Who knew what else had been added to them?
This would make phase one difficult for every team. If Legendary Trinity were easy, there would be no point in calling it a survival game.
"How many spiders are around the main nest?" Fredrick asked.
"Not sure. Two dozen. Maybe three. I'm not worried about the small ones, but the broodmother." Damian exhaled. "Have you ever felt your skin crawl just from looking at something?"
"Hm. Yeah. When my mom gets mad," Fredrick replied. "Just one look and I feel it down to my bones."
"Then imagine the broodmother has the same kind of aura as your mother."
I listened to their exchange, tense and oddly amused at the same time. Even now, they were capable of making ridiculous comparisons.
"We need to eliminate the smaller ones first, then face the broodmother," Fredrick said.
"More will come if they realize the main nest is under attack," Damian countered. "Can you handle hundreds of enraged spiders rushing in at once?"
Fredrick fell silent. None of the others spoke either. Damian was right. We would be trapped. The fastest option was to push past the broodmother.
But how were we supposed to kill her? Just hearing Damian describe her was enough to terrify me. Facing the mother of giant spiders was another matter entirely.
"We should strike now. No more wasting time," Damian said.
No one argued. We were running out of time. If we couldn't get past the broodmother, then by morning, everyone here would be nothing more than names. One by one, the members of Team Radon nodded and followed Fredrick.
We moved more slowly as the spiders' clicking sounds grew louder. The web thickened, becoming harder to pass through. Then one participant accidentally got his leg caught, and the webs began to tremble.
"Damn it!" Fredrick shouted.
I froze as the rapid movement of countless legs shook the webbing that covered nearly the entire area. This was it. We had no choice but to fight.
The shifters transformed. Some became lions, others cheetahs, even bears. The channelers unleashed their elemental powers. I was the only one who did nothing, standing there like an idiot with no purpose.
Because what could I do? I couldn't do anything.
Then the stench of rotting flesh hit my nose, making my stomach lurch. The ground trembled as heavy thuds grew louder. I stepped back as the broodmother emerged from the dark nest.
She was massive. Her legs were covered in coarse, intimidating hair, and her body looked impossibly hard. Multiple eyes glowed yellow-green in the darkness. From her mouth, the broodmother sprayed a white liquid at terrifying speed.
Several participants were caught by the sticky substance and yanked back toward her in an instant. That was the first time I ever saw human bodies torn apart and chewed without leaving anything behind. Weren't spiders supposed to consume their prey slowly? That was horrifying enough, but being ripped apart and swallowed was far worse.
The broodmother wasn't a spider. She was a grotesque genetic abomination that should never have existed.
The channelers attacked with fire, but the broodmother barely reacted. Flames couldn't penetrate her body. Her offspring shielded her, willingly sacrificing themselves.
It was disturbing.
Fredrick tried to collapse the ground beneath her, but the cursed creature leapt straight into the trees. She was terrifyingly agile for something so massive. Hanging from her webs, she prepared to spit venom again.
I pulled Ash back. He was too focused on fighting the smaller spiders, whose numbers seemed endless. Then something clicked. The other spiders were always trying to protect the broodmother.
Oh my god.
"Ash, we need to kill the broodmother. Focus on her," I shouted. "If she dies, all the spiders will die too!"