Chapter 387: Force Demon Blood Spider Legion, Returning to Territory (6000)

As the magic torches were brought out, they illuminated the depths of the deep, dark goblin cave.

The cave walls were uneven, seemingly covered in strange carvings and traces left by unidentified fluids.

Water droplets fell from the cave ceiling from time to time, making crisp sounds that seemed particularly eerie in the silent environment.

Just as expected, apart from being brutal, goblins were also dirty and slovenly creatures.

The entire cave was filled with a foul stench.

The ground underfoot was very muddy; with every step, one could feel the sticky mud squishing underfoot, which was quite unsettling.

Cao Xing said with a look of disgust, "I'll need a good bath when we get back."

"And all the clothes and battle armor we're wearing will need a thorough cleaning."

They continued to push deeper, quickly entering the heart of the cave.

As they advanced, a more intense scent of decay washed over them.

A wide cave appeared ahead; this was clearly the main hall of the goblin tribe.

The interior of the cave was similarly chaotic.

Various debris was piled on the ground, including damaged weapons, armor, and animal furs.

In the center stood a throne constructed from the bones of various animals.

It looked like the place where this group of goblins used to gather.

Cao Xing looked around.

He discovered four or five tunnels appearing around the cave.

These tunnels were dark and deep, with no indication of where they led.

The entrances to the tunnels were jagged, as if they had been violently chiseled out. Faint sounds could be heard from some of the tunnels, suggesting there was still something inside.

Cao Xing ordered, "Braum, Xiao, Herlie, Sarah, each of you take twenty or so people and explore these tunnels."

"Understood!"

Upon hearing this, the four quickly divided their teams.

Then, each chose a tunnel to enter.

Cao Xing, meanwhile, searched the cave hall to see if he could find anything good.

However, after a thorough search, he found nothing else.

A moment later, news came from Xiao, "My Lord, this tunnel seems to lead to the goblin breeding room."

"There are many little goblins in here. How should I deal with them?"

Hearing this question, Cao Xing pondered for a moment.

Then he said directly, "Take care of them all."

"Understood."

Hearing the order, Xiao felt no extra emotion.

Meanwhile.

Xiao and the twenty-plus Star Country swordsmen simultaneously drew their longswords.

In the dark cave ahead of them were hundreds of little goblins, less than a meter tall, with blue skin.

They looked at the group of humans in panic, their eyes flashing with fear and unease.

Some little goblins held crude wooden clubs, while others clutched tattered items tightly, as if seeking a shred of security.

However, they dared not resist.

Because each of these humans before them posed a lethal threat, capable of easily slaughtering all the goblins here.

Then, Xiao said directly, "Do it."

Everyone nodded.

In an instant, sword light flashed.

A chorus of screams erupted.

A moment later, everything returned to silence.

…

Meanwhile.

Herlie quickly emerged from a tunnel and came to Cao Xing's side.

"My Lord, that tunnel is where the goblins keep the captives."

"The people being held there are in such a miserable state… Should we release them?"

Herlie waited for his decision.

Cao Xing thought it over.

He was different from Liu Yang.

As a goblin, Liu Yang was also an oppressor in the eyes of those captives.

So, by releasing these people without considering the consequences, he had nearly brought about his own demise.

As a human, Cao Xing naturally didn't worry about being repaid with evil after releasing these captives.

He said, "Take me to see them first."

Upon hearing this, Herlie immediately nodded her little head.

Then, she led Cao Xing into the tunnel.

The temperature in this tunnel was low, and many torches were stuck to the walls.

The orange light illuminated the muddy passage.

The entire goblin cave was filled with an indescribable stench.

It smelled like a mixture of various excrement and rotting flesh.

It was truly unbearable to stay there for even a second.

The further they went into the tunnel, the more intense the stench became.

Along the way, there were numerous iron cages on both sides.

Cao Xing turned his head and glanced inside the iron cages.

Inside the cell, there was only a burning stove and a small wooden bed.

And a naked woman lying on the bed like a walking corpse.

It was unknown how long this woman had been captured.

Her limbs were restrained, and her body was covered in various bite marks and wounds.

Some wounds had even festered, with tiny maggots growing on them…

Yet she seemed completely unaware, her legs spread open, staring blankly at the sky.

Cao Xing glanced at her.

[Survivor: Feng Xinyan lv23]

Although the system had been updated and he could not easily see other people's information now.

He had [Eye of True Sight].

After discovering that she was a Survivor, Cao Xing felt no fluctuation in his heart.

Clearly, Liu Yang, as a Survivor, also knew that Survivors possessed the system's built-in communication function.

Therefore, he had tied up the woman's hands and feet specifically to prevent her from sending out messages.

After so many days of torture, this woman named Feng Xinyan had already lost her sanity.

Cao Xing continued walking forward.

He found that the scene was similar in every cell inside.

These women were basically kept alive for the purpose of the goblins' breeding.

And the men who had been captured had it even worse.

The few heads impaled outside the forest had already explained everything.

Cao Xing said, "Herlie, go open the chains, then give them a set of clothes and some food, and let them leave on their own."

After saying this, he turned and left the place.

Upon hearing this, Herlie tightened her grip on her dagger.

Then she stepped forward and severed the chains of each cage.

As for what would happen to these women afterward, Cao Xing could not concern himself with that.

On the other side, Braum sent a message.

"My Lord, I have found their warehouse!"

"There really are some good things in here!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes instantly lit up.

"Very good, I'm coming over now."

After saying this, he quickly arrived at the tunnel where Braum was.

Reaching the end, a huge stone door appeared.

However, this stone door had already been smashed open by them using brute force.

Stepping inside the stone door, Braum was already waiting there.

"My Lord, you've arrived."

Cao Xing nodded slightly and took a look inside.

Inside were piles of large amounts of crowns, iron, copper, and other ores, as well as some looted materials.

"Not bad, not bad, these goblins actually have quite a lot of resources!"

He, without hesitation, swept the warehouse clean of all its resources.

[Obtained: crowns * 3,750,221]

[Obtained: iron * 68,225]

[Obtained: copper * 54,992]

[Obtained: sturdy wood * 4,719]

[Obtained: silver ore * 5,241]

[Obtained: gold ore * 1,252]

[Obtained: damaged animal hide * 35]

[Obtained: rusted iron sword * 153]

[Obtained: books * 136]

[Obtained…]

Besides that, there were some beast bones, as well as some damaged shields and leather armor.

Overall, the harvest was quite good.

After all, that iron and copper were materials Cao Xing was in urgent need of.

The quantity of over a hundred thousand was quite astonishing in value.

Plus, with over a hundred books, he could expand his library again.

With this, the goblin tribe had been thoroughly looted by him.

As for the other two tunnels, there was nothing in them.

Hilda's cold, clear voice came to his ear.

"My Lord, I have arrived."

Cao Xing replied, "Good, wait for me outside."

After saying this, Cao Xing pressed the team channel, "Alright, everyone come out."

As he finished speaking, everyone swarmed out of the large cave.

From afar, he could see that flash of red already standing on the battlefield waiting.

"Respected My Lord." Hilda bowed slightly.

Cao Xing nodded, "Hilda, you should know why I called you here."

"Now, hatch all these corpses into Blood Spiders."

Looking at the nearly five thousand corpses before her, Hilda licked the corner of her mouth.

"So many corpses, I can certainly hatch quite a few Blood Spiders."

"With this, I can at least raise a Blood Spider legion of nearly one hundred thousand."

"However, with so many corpses, I suggest cultivating some elite-level Blood Spiders."

Cao Xing was taken aback, "Can elite Blood Spiders be cultivated from these ordinary goblin corpses?"

Hilda nodded, "Yes. Although the self-destructing Blood Spiders hatched previously can be mass-produced, with one corpse hatching over a dozen of them…"

"They are too fragile; one large-area skill from an enemy can wipe out a large group."

"However, there is a large quantity of corpses here. I can use twenty corpses to feed one Blood Spider, making it an elite-level one."

"However, cultivating these elite Blood Spiders requires consuming the Royal Blood within my body."

Cao Xing asked in confusion, "Royal Blood, what is that?"

Hilda's expression remained unchanged as she explained, "Royal Blood is the bloodline power of the Blood Spider royal family. Blood Spiders with Royal Blood in their bodies will be connected to my consciousness."

"Likewise, they will also gain the ability to devour and evolve."

"However, since I am currently at Tier 5 strength and don't have much Royal Blood, I can currently only cultivate at most one thousand elite Blood Spiders."

Cao Xing was shocked!

Good heavens, one thousand elite Blood Spiders!

This was even more than the total number of combatants in his own territory.

Since Hilda became a commander, it seems she has activated more and more abilities.

This made Cao Xing feel like he had found a treasure.

Hilda continued, "However, if hatching those self-destructing Blood Spiders, it won't require using my Royal Blood, and they can be hatched infinitely."

"After fusing with that drop of blood, my Blood Poison is also very suitable for the Blood Spider self-destruct path."

"How to choose, please decide, My Lord."

Hearing this, Cao Xing fell into deep thought.

Hilda's words were easy to understand.

It meant using these nearly five thousand corpses to directly hatch tens of thousands of Blood Spiders for the self-destruct path.

The other was to take the elite route.

Twenty corpses to cultivate one elite Blood Spider.

Cao Xing asked, "How many self-destructing Blood Spiders do we have now?"

Hilda replied, "There are about four thousand or so."

Cao Xing nodded.

Don't let the large number fool you; in a real fight, they would be wiped out in a single battle.

After all, these Self-Destructing Blood Spiders are too fragile; they are just consumables on the battlefield.

And there are five thousand corpses here; if they were all cultivated into Elite Blood Spiders…

…we could probably cultivate over two hundred Elite Blood Spiders?

Furthermore, since Elite Blood Spiders are commander-type creatures belonging to the Blood Spider Queen, they do not occupy Cao Xing's population limit.

Cao Xing said, "Then let's use half the corpses to hatch Elite Blood Spiders, and the other half to hatch Self-Destructing Blood Spiders."

Hearing Cao Xing's decision, Hilda gave a slight nod, "As you wish, my Master."

As she finished speaking, she once again extended her right hand, which was covered by a black veil, and a deeper pool of blood condensed within it.

This was Hilda's Royal Blood.

Then, this drop of blood fell straight onto a Goblin's corpse.

Just like when hatching the Blood Spiders earlier.

The Goblin's stomach rapidly swelled up!

With a 'pop' sound, a different kind of Blood Spider crawled out from inside.

Those ordinary Self-Destructing Blood Spiders were only about the size of a fist when they first hatched.

But this Blood Spider was the size of a baby.

Moreover, its body was covered in a layer of pale red carapace, and its eight spider legs were disproportionately thick.

Especially its forelimbs, which looked like bulging muscles, giving one a sense of immense strength.

Hilda waved her hand and said indifferently, "Blood Spider, begin devouring."

Upon hearing this, the Blood Spider immediately began to gnaw on the Goblin corpse beneath it.

"Sizzle…"

The Goblin corpse below was devoured clean at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Blood Spider's body grew slightly larger, becoming the size of a small dog.

Then, it continued to devour, taking five minutes to consume nearly 19 more Goblin corpses.

This Blood Spider had now reached the height of an adult human.

Its massive size and forelimbs, as thick as ox hooves, were intimidating!

And the carapace covering its body gave one a feeling of immense sturdiness!

Cao Xing glanced at this Blood Spider's attributes.

[Power Demon Blood Spider]

[Race: Blood Spider]

[Level: 38 (Tier 4 Elite Creature)]

[HP: 47240 / 47240]

[Attack: 2043 ~ 2126]

[Armor: 467 ~ 532 (Additional Armor +200)]

[Skills: Power Demon's Feet (Deals an additional 20% damage when attacking enemies with forelimbs.)

Thick Insect Carapace (Additional Armor +200, reduces physical damage taken by 10%)

Heavy Strike (Lifts thick and powerful forelimbs to attack enemies, dealing 178% Heavy Strike damage to enemies in a fan-shaped area in front, knocking them back. Cooldown: 120 seconds)]

[Talent: Power of Royal Blood (Possesses the Blood Spider Queen's Royal Blood power within, increasing all attributes by 10%)]

[Bonds: Blood Spider (When the number of simultaneously active Blood Spiders reaches 100, movement speed increases by 10%

1000 Blood Spiders, Attack increases by 10%

10000 Blood Spiders, Armor increases by 10%

100,000 Blood Spiders, activates Legion Skill, Blood Sea Frenzy)]

…

Seeing this Blood Spider's attributes, Cao Xing's eyes lit up.

These attributes were much higher in HP and armor than an average Tier 4 Elite creature.

Besides that, its skills were quite good, and it even had an area knockback effect.

Furthermore, if more than 100,000 Blood Spiders were active at the same time, it would activate a Legion Skill.

With Hilda's abilities, 100,000 Blood Spiders would be an absolute breeze.

Of course, it also had a weakness: its movement speed was much slower.

However, this did not affect the Power Demon Blood Spider's strength in the slightest.

With a sufficient number, this group of Power Demon Blood Spiders would be bulldozers on the battlefield!

Cao Xing exclaimed in admiration, "Not bad, Hilda, this Power Demon Blood Spider is quite strong."

"Continue hatching them."

The Blood Spider Queen nodded gently, "As you command, my Lord."

Then, she began to continuously condense Royal Blood, hatching a large number of Power Demon Blood Spiders.

It took about half an hour.

The thousands of corpses here were devoured completely.

Even the Goblin King and the corpses of the small Goblins inside the cave were not wasted.

In the end, Hilda had cultivated a total of 145 Elite-level Power Demon Blood Spiders, 23 scout-specialized Swift Shadow Blood Spiders, and a massive amount of Self-Destructing Blood Spiders, exceeding over forty thousand.

Cao Xing was quite satisfied with this number.

Meanwhile.

Cao Xing brought Hilda to the corpse of the Soul-Eater Insect and asked.

"Can you devour this Soul-Eater Insect's corpse?"

This Blood Spider Queen, upon seeing the corpse, already had a look of surprise in her beautiful eyes.

She exclaimed, "What an evil monster!"

"This looks like the corpse of a Tier 7 Commander-level monster!"

Cao Xing chuckled, "Yes, didn't you say last time that you could also hatch a Commander-level Giant Magic Spider?"

"I specifically saved this corpse for you."

Hearing that last sentence, a blush appeared on Hilda's pretty face, her long eyelashes fluttered, and she stood there feeling somewhat awkward.

Seeing her like this, a smile tugged at the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

He found that teasing this Blood Spider Queen was truly interesting.

It was completely different from her previous aloof style.

It was a sense of conflict—wanting to maintain her dignity while also not wanting to be cold to Cao Xing.

Cao Xing laughed and stopped teasing her.

He said directly, "Hilda, see if this corpse can be used to hatch a new Blood Spider?"

The flush on Hilda's face gradually faded, and she nodded gently, "Hmm… it is possible."

"A Commander-level corpse like this, and so large, should be able to hatch a complete Giant Blood Spider…"

Hearing that, a look of joy immediately appeared on Cao Xing's face.

But Hilda continued, "However… my current tier is two levels lower than this corpse, so my Royal Blood cannot erode its corpse."

A look of realization appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

After all, Hilda's [Bloody Feast] hatches Blood Spiders that are ten levels lower than herself.

If he were to hatch a Tier 4 Commander-level Blood Spider from this 62-level Soul-Eater Insect corpse, Cao Xing would feel it was a waste!

"Alright, I understand. Let's move this corpse back to the territory first, and when you break through to Tier 7, we can use it."

Hilda nodded slightly and said softly, "Alright…"

"And, thank you…"

Cao Xing waved his hand.

After doing this, he called over a few Star Country swordsmen and instructed them.

"Move this Soul-Eater Insect's corpse onto the Magic Ox Chariot."

"Then bring those catapults; we are ready to return."

Upon hearing this, everyone began to take action.

When everything was cleaned up, they left the valley.

Not long after Cao Xing and the others left.

The women who had been locked in the cave seemed to have regained their senses.

Among them, the woman named Feng Xinyan, looking at the clothes and food on the ground, seemed to recall what had just happened.

At this moment, she pounced like a starving wolf, stuffing the food on the ground into her mouth ravenously.

As the food entered her stomach, the woman seemed to regain a bit of strength.

Then, she saw the clothes and weapons nearby.

Not knowing what she remembered.

For a moment, tears welled up in her eyes.

Then, as if she could no longer hold it back, she began to cry loudly.

Her crying echoed throughout the entire cave.

The crying lasted for about five minutes.

The woman stopped crying.

At this moment, there was no sadness or pain in her eyes, only endless hatred!

A ferocious look appeared on her face.

Gritting her teeth, she said word by word, "I will… possess power…"

"I will… kill every single Goblin in the world!"

"Not a single one left, kill them all!"

"Let this filthy race disappear from the world!"

This woman seemed to have found a reason to live.

She quickly put on her clothes and picked up her weapon.

Then she went to the other cages and woke up the other women one by one.

Perhaps in the near future, this woman would truly become a renowned powerhouse.

Or perhaps before long, they would fall into the hands of other Goblins again.

But Cao Xing did not know about this.

…

…

About half an hour later.

Everyone returned to the territory.

Cao Xing checked the time; it was ten o'clock in the morning.

About four hours had passed since they set out to crusade against the Goblin tribe.

Compared to when they left,

their party had six more catapults and one Magic Ox Chariot.

And over a hundred Elite Blood Spiders.

Plus a large amount of supplies; it could be said that the harvest was quite fruitful.

Cao Xing first had the soldiers move the body of the fallen mage to the Hero's Grave area of the territory and bury him.

Then he asked about the battle situation on Liu Muxue's side.

Upon hearing that after Hilda left, they lost a major damage dealer, it now took about ten minutes longer to clear an Ice Nest Monster legion than before.

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and replied, "Muxue, I will have Hilda go to your side in a while; I will keep my original team and continue to operate separately."

Liu Muxue said softly, "Alright, A-Xing, just arrange it as you see fit."

Both sides hung up the call.

Then, Cao Xing turned to the soldiers and said, "Pull these catapults to the foot of the city wall and set them up, and put the Magic Ox Chariot to the side."

"Have the Arctic People move that Soul-Eater Insect's corpse to the basement first."

"Everyone else, follow the previous teams and set out with me to deal with Zhuo Mas Claw."

Hearing the order, everyone entered combat readiness.

Just as Cao Xing was preparing to assemble his troops and lead the soldiers out to deal with Zhuo Mas Claw.

A system notification appeared.

[Orchid Kingdom: Marita Vilgas is requesting to visit your territory. Do you accept?]

…

Seeing that familiar name, Cao Xing was stunned for a moment.

"Marita? She actually found my territory?"