Chapter 228 : Underground Heat Battle

Chapter 228: Underground Heat Battle

At this moment, Ice Dome A5 was positioned at a junction within a small tunnel cluster, surrounded on all sides by tunnels of varying sizes. It stood right at the center of one of the entrances.

The other four Mobile Cities were far away and could not possibly rush over in time—this time, it had to rely on itself.

After Li Ye issued his command, the Special Forces immediately activated their jetpacks and leapt upward, soaring and climbing toward various positions.

Each Level 0.5 Mobile City had been allocated twenty Special Forces members, divided into four squads of five.

One squad was responsible for replacing mechanical limbs and operating the city’s Level 3 weaponry to provide firepower support.

The other three squads were each assigned to deal with one Arachnid Demon.

Before long, three Arachnid Demons emerged from different tunnel entrances.

They appeared exceedingly cunning, deliberately positioning themselves at angles that avoided Ice Dome A5’s cannons and autocannons.

“Exterminate all humans!” shrieked one Arachnid Demon.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, the Special Forces engaged them in a firefight.

With their jetpacks ignited, trails of flame slashed through the pitch-black space in sharp zigzags.

The Special Forces members maneuvered swiftly through the air like a swarm of bees.

One member fired a climbing claw—upon making contact with the rock wall, the claw’s barbs snapped open. With the propulsion from the jetpack, he was instantly pulled toward the top of the cavern.

During the ascent, he wielded his firearm single-handedly and fired directly at the head of an Arachnid Demon.

Meanwhile, three other members hovered briefly in midair using their jetpacks and hurled grenades toward another Arachnid Demon.

In the short window of calm, several Special Forces members deployed drones outside, raining down suppressive fire on the Arachnid Demons.

However, their attacks had little effect.

At first, they were puzzled—but upon closer inspection, they quickly understood why.

They saw that every vital spot on the Arachnid Demons’ bodies was tightly wrapped in dense, translucent silk.

These interwoven strands formed a layer of silk armor so tough it was nearly impervious.

“That’s defensive spider silk!” Oleg cried out in alarm.

Just like the Special Forces, the Arachnid Demons moved with agility through the tunnels, launching their counterattack.

They spewed large amounts of corrosive silk and magnetic silk.

The former corroded the tunnel walls until they were fractured and crumbling, while the latter was even more troublesome.

The magnetic silk stretched taut as it shot out, emitting a powerful magnetic field that severely interfered with the jetpacks and drones— even the firearms of the Special Forces were forcibly yanked away.

During this chaos, one of the Arachnid Demons let out a furious roar.

“Humans! Why have you invaded our Underground Kingdom?”

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, Lin Mei decisively issued an order.

“Quick—use the special spray!”

The special spray device was mounted on the exterior of the Mobile City, shaped like a spray gun connected to a large gas tank.

One Special Forces member immediately grabbed the spray gun, turned the tank valve, and pulled the trigger.

A green mist burst out of the nozzle.

The moment it touched the corrosive and magnetic silks, the strands instantly lost all activity, turning into withered, gray-white filaments that soon peeled away like dried snakeskin.

The special spray contained potent neuro-disrupting compounds designed against the Arachnid Demons. Upon inhaling it, the joints of the Demons’ limbs oozed foamy mucus, and their movements grew sluggish and uncoordinated.

One Demon attempting a sneak attack suddenly collapsed, its forelegs buckling to the ground. Its hind leg twitched violently before its entire body went limp like a broken marionette. Its compound eyes spun wildly, indicating complete delirium.

The other two Arachnid Demons soon met the same fate.

“This stuff actually works that well?” Li Ye exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Mei smiled faintly.

“Of course. Our Titan Throne is an organization specialized in monster research—we’ve developed different killing methods for each Monstrous Civilization.”

Then her brows furrowed slightly.

“Still, although the special spray is effective, our supply is limited. We should only use it when absolutely necessary.”

Taking advantage of the moment, the Special Forces quickly concentrated fire and eliminated the three Arachnid Demons, collecting their drops afterward.

Aside from the usual Level 3 resources and Crystal Coins, there was also a design blueprint.

They hadn’t expected that one to drop!

Li Ye was pleasantly surprised.

He immediately said,

“Quick! Let me see it!”

A team member held the blueprint before the camera.

【Item Name: “Frost Prophet” Freezing Helicopter】

【Level: 3】

【Bonus Effects: 1. Speed +20% 2. Hover Stability +30% 3. Freezing Rate +25%】

【Required Materials: 200 units of Level 3 Iron Ore, 50 units of Level 3 Precision Flight Components, 100 units of Level 3 Frost Ore】

This Level 3 aerial vehicle had an icy-blue paint scheme and an elegant, streamlined design.

Its primary weapon was the Extreme Frost Ray Cannon, while its secondary weapon was the Iceburst Rockets.

The Extreme Frost Ray Cannon fired a continuous freezing beam that progressively immobilized the target within seconds, making it exceptionally fragile. The beam also spread frost outward upon impact.

The Iceburst Rockets were homing freeze munitions that exploded upon impact, freezing everything within a radius of several dozen meters.

Li Ye’s eyes gradually lit up as he examined it.

It was, without a doubt, a genuine treasure.

However, to unleash the full power of the Freezing Helicopter, they would first need to secure air superiority.

This Level 3 aerial vehicle’s anti-air capability was relatively weak.

What made Li Ye suck in a sharp breath was the requirement of 100 units of Level 3 Frost Ore to build it.

Moreover, both the Extreme Frost Ray Cannon and Iceburst Rockets required at least Level 2 Frost Ore to replenish.

Although it was rather resource-hungry, Li Ye still intended to construct a few of them.

Once its mechanical limbs were reinstalled, Ice Dome A5 regained full mobility.

Meanwhile, Ice Dome A2 had made a new discovery.

“Reporting in—we’ve found the Arachnid Demons’ Underground City.”

Everyone froze for a moment, then quickly turned their attention to Ice Dome A1’s screen.

They saw Ice Dome A2 slowly emerging from its tunnel, arriving at a vast opening.

Before it stretched a massive subterranean expanse.

Ice Dome A2 was positioned near the top—looking down from above, the Arachnid Demons’ Underground City resembled a gigantic ant nest cut open vertically.

But this nest was not made of soil; it was a grotesque marvel woven together from layers of architectural silk, mycelial mats, and rocky walls.

The entire Underground City descended along a colossal natural cliff, with hundreds of bridges and suspension cables of silk crisscrossing through the dim air, connecting countless layers of caverns.

The first thing visible was the Arachnid Demons’ carefully cultivated fungal farms, where luminescent fungi grew in dense clusters—this seemed to be their primary food source.

Next was the enormous hollow chamber at the city’s center, linked in every direction by countless silken threads that extended outward through every tunnel. Dozens of Arachnid Demons moved about, tapping the silk with their limbs to send vibrations far into the distance.

In response, vibrations returned from various distant threads.

A closer look revealed that these vibrations followed specific rhythmic patterns.

Li Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully.

So this was likely how the Arachnid Demons communicated across long distances.

Old-fashioned, perhaps—but undeniably effective.

When he turned his head, he noticed that Lin Mei and Oleg were watching the silken threads intently.

“You know, young man,” Lin Mei said slowly, “through these threads, two Arachnid Demons can communicate even across vast distances.”

Li Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression changed slightly.

“Then, Professor Lin Mei, may I ask—just how far can that distance reach?” he asked softly.

Lin Mei responded concisely.

This Arachnid Demons’ Underground City in the Tundra Zone was located in one of the most remote regions.

Through their silken threads, however, the Arachnid Demons could transmit messages to the farthest and deepest parts of the Underground Kingdom.

“How is that even possible?” Li Ye shook his head slightly.

He was aware of the depth of the Underground Kingdom—it spanned a horizontal area of 7.64 million square kilometers, with a maximum vertical depth of 15,871 meters.

If messages could truly be transmitted over such a distance, that would be terrifying.

“It’s possible,” Lin Mei said carefully, word by word. “Those are the communication silks produced by the Arachnid Demons themselves.”

She explained to Li Ye her theories regarding the communication silks.

First, the communication silks were covered with special luminescent mycelium. When the Arachnid Demons wished to send a message over long distances, they would gently pluck the threads with their limbs, creating bioluminescent light pulses.

The frequency, duration, and color of these pulses would convey different kinds of information.

Second, the communication silks contained micro-glands intentionally left by the Arachnid Demons, capable of secreting numerous types of pheromones to transmit complex messages such as “The Underground City is under invasion,” or “Our kin are engaged with the enemy in the tunnels.” The Arachnid Demons could decode these chemical signals through chemoreceptors—though the range of such scent transmission was limited.

Third, certain key communication silks were equipped with resonance sacs that allowed the threads to transmit infrasound waves.

“In the end, this is only my hypothesis,” Lin Mei concluded. “For now, the Ice Dome Research Base has yet to obtain a sample of communication silk, so we cannot conduct further study.”

Li Ye looked at the screen and shook his head lightly.

That Arachnid Demons’ Underground City housed over a thousand Arachnid Demons—acquiring any communication silk from it would not be easy.

Aside from the hollowed central chamber, the middle layers were densely filled with the Arachnid Demons’ nests.

These nests were woven from silk, resembling clusters of diseased blisters clinging to the rock walls, while the interiors resembled semi-transparent palaces of silk.

The lower layer was the hatching zone.

“It’s about time we regroup,” Lin Mei said. “We’ve already located the Arachnid Demons’ Underground City—this expedition has been quite fruitful.”

Following the order, the Level 0.5 Mobile Cities scattered across the area began to regroup.

Li Ye let out a quiet breath of relief.

The Arachnid Demon Civilization’s subterranean world, though bizarrely magnificent, still felt oppressively stifling to traverse.

At that moment, Lin Mei suddenly turned toward him.

“The Arachnid Demon Civilization doesn’t have many deployments in the Tundra Zone. If I’m not mistaken, this should be their only Underground City here.”

“Is that so?” Li Ye asked in surprise.

“Don’t relax yet,” Lin Mei said softly. “This Underground City serves as the Arachnid Demons’ forward base in the Tundra Zone. In time, they’ll continue to dig tunnels, caves, and new cities here.”

Following her reasoning, Li Ye immediately understood her meaning.

“So what you’re saying is—we need to find a way to destroy this Underground City?”

“Yes,” Lin Mei nodded. “The Human Forces have already begun underground city construction in the Tundra Zone—we can’t allow the Arachnid Demons to occupy this place.”

Li Ye fell into thought.

During his recruitment phase in the Western Wasteland Continent, he had initiated another expansion, increasing the Special Forces’ numbers to three hundred.

He hadn’t expanded since.

The reason was simple—the Special Forces’ purpose wasn’t as broad as regular armies.

They were defined as “elite but few,” suited for small-scale operations.

After several rounds of resource investment, the Special Forces had finally achieved full standard equipment.

But with only three hundred people, there was no way they could eliminate the thousands of Arachnid Demons inhabiting that Underground City.

In fact, some of those three hundred were still recovering from earlier injuries.

The special spray was effective, but its quantity was far too limited.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from afar.

Both turned their heads to see a researcher leading Heath toward them.

“Archbishop Heath, why are you here?” Li Ye asked in surprise. “Weren’t you supposed to be commanding the battle at sea?”

“The seas are still relatively calm for now,” Heath replied evenly.

Li Ye was momentarily stunned—then realization dawned, and his face lit up.

“So those Monstrous Civilizations aren’t attacking the Polar Continent anymore?”

Heath shook his head.

“No. According to reconnaissance, they’ve either landed in other regions of the Polar Continent or stationed themselves on nearby islands.”

“...”

Only then did Li Ye understand—Heath’s Mobile City Battle Cluster was primarily tasked with defending the Tundra Zone, ensuring the Human Forces could build underground shelters for survivors.

“Then why have you come to the Titan Throne’s research base?” he asked.

Heath lifted his gaze to the screen.

“The plan has changed. Higher command has issued a new order,” he said clearly. “This mission is far more challenging than defending the Tundra Zone.”

From his words, everyone present learned the truth.

The Human Forces intended to seize control of the Arachnid Demon Civilization’s Underground Kingdom.

In essence, this Underground Kingdom was equivalent to a continent-scale fortress.

The tunnels, caves, and underground cities excavated and constructed by the Arachnid Demon Civilization were all interlinked, forming a vast and intricate subterranean transportation network.

If the Human Forces could gain control of this “network,” they could launch attacks across the Polar Continent’s surface or retreat into the depths of its caverns to conceal troops—or even shelter human survivors.

“So you all understand now?” Heath concluded. “If we can control the entire Underground Kingdom, humanity will effectively control most of the Polar Continent.”

Since the outer seas of the Tundra Zone were calm, Archbishop Heath had been reassigned to prepare for the campaign against the Arachnid Demon Civilization.

The Ice Dome Research Base would serve as the temporary command center.