Chapter 230 : The Continent-scale Project of the Arachnid Demon Civilization

Chapter 230: The Continent-scale Project of the Arachnid Demon Civilization

“This is a despicable, opportunistic kind of expansion,” Mist spoke, enunciating each word clearly. “If you truly had the strength, why don’t you conquer an entire continent on your own like those Super Monstrous Civilizations?”

Ozuma burst into loud laughter.

“Think whatever you like. You may leave now, Lord Mist.” It waved its forelimbs. “The Arachnid Demon Civilization will never be driven by you, nor will we surrender the homeland we’ve lived in for generations. Send as many high-level forces as you wish—even if your so-called Valkyrie, the leader of Natural Selection herself, comes here, it would make no difference.”

At these words, Mist’s gaze instantly turned cold.

“You want Lady Aida to act? The Arachnid Demon Civilization isn’t even qualified. Just wait—someone will soon come to deal with you.”

With that, the meeting ended, and Mist departed.

As the envoy of Natural Selection, it did not board any vehicle. Instead, it spread its wings and, at unprecedented speed, shot upward into the sky.

The Antfolk emissary relied solely on its own power to easily ascend from fifteen thousand meters deep within the Underground World, returning once more to the surface.

Watching Mist’s figure fade into the distance, Ozuma extended one of its limbs and lightly tapped a nearby strand of communication silk.

As rhythmic vibrations spread outward, a gathering of Arachnid Demons swarmed in from all directions.

Some were ministers, others generals, and some were noble elders.

Ozuma spoke concisely.

“Unfortunately, our negotiations with the Three Major Monstrous Organizations have collapsed. Their troops will soon arrive. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

As it spoke, a fierce glint appeared in its eyes.

“Even if our Arachnid Demon Civilization perishes, no one will claim the Underground Kingdom. On the contrary, our civilization will ensure that the entire Polar Continent is buried along with us!”

To prepare for such a scenario, the Arachnid Demon Civilization had long devised a plan.

A plan equal in scale to a continent-spanning project.

Its name: “The Web of Doom.”

The plan involved injecting massive amounts of corrosive spider silk into numerous key nodes throughout the Underground Kingdom, hollowing out its interior into a fragile, honeycombed structure.

Afterward, they would fill those cavities with large quantities of explosive silk.

Moreover, the Arachnid Demons had woven high-frequency vibrating silks nearby.

All these critical nodes were connected by countless strands of silk, forming a hidden and terrifying chain reaction, like a web-shaped domino effect.

The final controller of the plan rested in King Ozuma’s hands.

Once he triggered the predetermined high-frequency vibrations, they would travel through the network of silk strands to each critical node, igniting the explosive silks and collapsing the hollow structures from within.

This would cause a chain of underground collapses. As more and more nodes failed, the entire Underground World would shatter like glass along the web’s lines.

By then, not only would the Monstrous Forces invading the Arachnid Demon Civilization be completely buried alive, but the entire Polar Continent would undergo a cataclysmic transformation.

As the Underground World of the Arachnid Demon Civilization collapsed, the surface of the continent would experience a geological apocalypse beyond any conventional earthquake or volcanic eruption.

The land would not sink all at once, but fall in massive steps, like a tower of blocks losing its supports—forming “Crustal Terraces” with vertical drops of several thousand meters.

As Ozuma envisioned that earth-shattering scene, a savage light flickered in his eyes.

Holding such a card of utter destruction in his hands gave him great comfort.

Most crucially, he fully understood the Monstrous Forces’ intentions.

They sought to control the entire Underground World—to seize this vast subterranean network beneath the Polar Continent.

However, if they used large-scale, high-level weaponry, it would cause extensive collapse and ruin the network entirely—rendering their conquest meaningless.

“Yes… they will definitely hesitate. And when they do, our Arachnid Demon Civilization will have the chance to protect our Underground Kingdom!” he said passionately.

—

A day later, at the Ice Dome Research Base.

After being converted into a temporary command center, the base had undergone major modifications. Heath and his subordinates had moved in.

Li Ye was among them.

Over the past day, he had deployed the special forces from the Tomorrow onto fifteen Level 0.5 Mobile Cities, using the facilities of the research base for command.

According to his plan, every three Mobile Cities would form one squad—five squads in total.

This way, they could avoid fighting alone.

Heath and his team, meanwhile, commanded sixty-five Level 0.5 Mobile Cities.

At that moment, the Mobile Cities were queuing to enter the tunnels.

Their primary objective: to attack the previously discovered Arachnid Demon Underground City.

Heath gave a simple explanation for the operation.

Once the Arachnid Demons were eliminated, the underground city would serve as a forward base for the Mobile Cities.

The combat personnel could rest there, while supplies from the surface—such as food, freshwater, first-aid kits, and ammunition—would be continuously delivered.

“You’ve planned everything perfectly,” Li Ye said sincerely. “Then we’d best prepare for the coming battle.”

Heath merely shook his head.

“A major battle won’t be necessary.”

He gestured toward the screen before him.

On it was a Level 0.5 Mobile City equipped with Level 4 weaponry. Inside, the soldiers were calibrating a weapon.

A Level 4 ‘Geocore Rose’ Overpressure Fragmentation Shell.

It was fired through the city’s main cannon, with a lethal radius of eight hundred meters.

Upon detonation, the shell’s twelve thousand steel spikes and fragments would erupt at thousands of meters per second, forming a conical blast zone.

Each shard and needle would ricochet twenty to thirty times within 0.1 seconds, creating absolute kill density.

Inside the shell was also thermite, which would ignite during the explosion.

The resulting fragments would transform into a torrential rain of molten metal.

“Its destructive power… is that terrifying?” Li Ye asked in shock.

“With the Geocore Rose’s power, using it on a few Arachnid Demons would be wasteful. It’s only effective against large concentrations,” Heath replied calmly. “Just a few of these shells are enough to annihilate an entire underground city of Arachnid Demons.”

At Li Ye’s request, Heath allocated one Geocore Rose shell to each of his five squads.

“Use them sparingly. Level 4 shells like these are scarce,” Heath reminded.

“Of course,” Li Ye replied.

When the Level 0.5 Mobile Cities reached their designated positions through the network of tunnels, the Arachnid Demons inside the underground city were already fully prepared for battle.

In truth, the moment the human forces entered the Underground World, the Arachnid Demons detected them through their Magnetic Silk.

Even the humans’ exact positions had been pinpointed.

Realizing this, both Li Ye and Heath could only shake their heads.

In this regard, the Human Forces were at an overwhelming disadvantage.

Heath looked at the screen filled with the densely packed, battle-ready Arachnid Demons.

“Eliminate them all,” he said softly.

At his command, multiple Geocore Rose shells were launched toward the underground city.

In the instant they detonated, time itself seemed to freeze.

The casings of the shells blossomed like metallic flowers. Tens of thousands of steel spikes and fragments burst forth at supersonic speed, tracing golden arcs through the air—an explosion of death and light.

Before the foremost Arachnid Demons could even react, their hardened carapaces were pierced; their bodies and armor shattered like brittle glass. Their yellow-green ichor vaporized in the heat before it could even splatter.

The storm of metal expanded in a perfect cone. Wherever it passed—Arachnid Demons, stone walls, and underground structures alike—everything was sliced into fragments just a few centimeters wide.

Li Ye saw with his own eyes several Arachnid Demons attempting to fight back, but in the next instant, their bodies were severed midair by the metallic tempest.

Muscle fibers, veins, shards of shell—

Everything hung briefly suspended in the air before falling like rain.

Then, as the thermite within the shells ignited, the Arachnid Demons’ true nightmare began.

The raging metallic storm ignited completely.

In an instant, a rain of fire poured over the entire underground city.

The steel needles and shrapnel melted mid-bounce, turning into millions of tiny steel beads that splashed across ceilings, walls, and floors—painting a boiling abstract mural.

The Arachnid Demons screamed in agony, watching their carapaces melt like wax.

They wanted to flee, yet there was nowhere to run.

The Level 0.5 Mobile Cities occupied all tunnel entrances, pouring relentless firepower upon the Arachnid Demons.

After a long while, everything fell silent once more.

Thousands of Arachnid Demons had been slaughtered, leaving only a smoldering underground city with scattered embers flickering in the dark.

Heath nodded, then issued his order.

“Clean this place up. It will become our forward base.”

Li Ye, however, could not take his eyes off the Arachnid Demons’ corpses.

He turned toward Heath, hesitating to speak.

After working together for so long, Heath naturally understood what Li Ye meant.

After all, these were the corpses of thousands of Level 3 monsters—their loot would surely be bountiful.

“The resources dropped by the monsters must be submitted to the higher-ups,” Heath said.

Yet, considering that the Tomorrow Alliance had joined this campaign to help, he allowed Li Ye to pick up a few things freely.

With permission granted, Li Ye immediately ordered the special forces to search the Arachnid Demons’ corpses.

“Iron ore, fabric, and crystal coins don’t matter. What I really want are some Level 3 blueprints!”

Two minutes later, a special forces member held a blueprint up to the camera.

Li Ye looked closely and saw that it was a component for a Level 3 Drone’s Mini Missile Launcher.

“Not bad at all!” His eyes lit up.

Even Heath showed a flicker of surprise.

“This one’s quite good—I’m a little envious myself,” he said.

Li Ye thought he was joking.

After all, as a World-class Organization, the Apocalypse Sect naturally possessed an abundance of resources; they wouldn’t care for such small items.

As the two spoke, another special forces member came to the camera with another Level 3 item.

Li Ye focused his gaze and saw that it was a packet of Level 3 crop seeds.

【Item Name: Emerald Shadow Vine】

【Level: 3】

【Attached Effects: 1. Air Purification Efficiency +45% 2. Environmental Noise Reduction −30%】

“Not bad,” he thought.

Soon after, the special forces found a Level 3 Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint.

Li Ye ordered one of the soldiers to return to the surface immediately and deliver the two blueprints and the crop seeds.

Then, he instructed the special forces to stop picking up items.

For him, these finds were already enough. After all, the loot rightfully belonged to the Human Forces—continuing to collect more would be excessive.

According to Li Ye’s plan, the fifteen Level 0.5 Mobile Cities would not delve deeper into the Arachnid Demon Kingdom.

Instead, they would use the newly captured forward base as their stronghold, hunting scattered Arachnid Demons in the vicinity.

They aimed to gather more resources and, hopefully, obtain additional Level 3 blueprints.

Just then, Li Ye suddenly realized something and turned to Heath.

“Archbishop Heath, how do you plan to deploy your sixty-five Mobile Cities?”

“We’ll advance all the way—to the Arachnid Demon Civilization’s capital itself,” Heath replied.

Li Ye couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.

He knew full well how deep the Arachnid Demon Civilization’s capital lay—over fifteen thousand meters!

He had to admit, Heath’s answer carried an impressive air of iron resolve.

At that moment, a Disciplinary Deacon hurried over.

“Lord Heath, the upper echelons have sent an urgent intelligence update,” he said, handing Heath a document.

Heath took it, and his expression changed slightly as he read.

“The Monstrous Forces have dispatched multiple Monstrous Civilizations to attack the Arachnid Demon Civilization? Could it be that they aren’t united after all?”

Li Ye nodded silently.

At last, the Human Forces understood—the situation in the Underground World had turned into a chaotic three-way war.

“The Blood Clan Civilization, the Werewolf Civilization, the Ghoul Civilization, and even the Wind Element Civilization…”

Heath read aloud, his expression growing more solemn.

“They’re certainly not here with good intentions.”

Just then, Lin Mei and Oleg approached, immediately drawn by Heath’s words.

“This time, the Monstrous Forces even deployed an Element Civilization?” Oleg said in surprise.

“The Wind Element Civilization belongs to Natural Selection’s faction,” Lin Mei explained. “Their combat strength is formidable—and extremely troublesome to handle.”

Li Ye then asked,

“Professor Lin, what level is the Wind Element Civilization?”

“Level 4,” Lin Mei replied. “Not only the Wind Element Civilization—all Element Civilizations start at Level 4.”

“In that case, how should we fight against such civilizations?”

Based on his reasoning, the Fire Element Civilization and Wind Element Civilization likely had forms made of flame and air currents.

That would make them extremely difficult to deal with.

Lin Mei spoke softly.

“Energy.”

“What did you say?” Li Ye was startled.

“The monsters of Element Civilizations rely on their internal biological energy to function,” Lin Mei said clearly. “So, to fight them, you must find ways to drain or deplete that energy—or use energy-based weapons against them.”

Li Ye thought about it carefully and found her reasoning sound.

For instance, fire elements could be extinguished by water, but wind elements were another matter entirely—wind had no tangible form.

Conventional bullets and shells would be completely ineffective.

“The higher their level, the stranger and more inexplicable these Monstrous Civilizations become,” he thought silently.