75: Chapter 75 It's right on your face!

Seeing that everyone was merely lowering their bodies and looking forward warily, Chen Yanzhi immediately spoke again:

"Stop looking, run!"

His tone was urgent, and his expression was even uglier than before.

He could sense that the energy fluctuations were terrifying... it must be that magical beast fighting another team. He sensed that the energy fluctuations from the opponent were stronger than any he had seen before.

And most critically—the opponent was rapidly approaching their position.

That squad had been routed, and they were fleeing for their lives, heading straight toward them!

Su Wan was the first to react. Almost the instant Chen Yanzhi's voice fell, she had already turned around and barked a low command: "Go!"

Everyone stowed their weapons and immediately turned to run.

On the way back during their escape, Su Wan quickly scanned the surroundings, her gaze locking onto a relatively dense patch of forest to their rear flank.

"Over there! Into the woods!"

In the dense forest, even if they were being hunted, they still had a certain chance to escape. If they were on this plain, then once they split up to run, not a single person would get away.

Everyone nodded and immediately turned to sprint toward that patch of forest.

Lin Jianqiu's expression was somewhat panicked as she turned her head while running to ask, "What is it? Is it that spider?"

Chen Yanzhi was still frowning, fine sweat seeping from his temples, as he shook his head and said, "I'm not sure... but the energy fluctuations are terrifying. It's definitely no ordinary magical beast."

Listening to this, everyone's hearts rose into their throats, and their pace quickened by a few more notches.

No way, could they be that unlucky?

Soon, they plunged headlong into the dense forest.

Branches and leaves blocked out the sky, leaving the forest in dim twilight.

Each person found a thick tree trunk to hide behind, pressing close to the bark and holding their breath, trying their best not to make any sound.

After a while, only the rustling of wind through the leaves remained in the forest; there were still no unusual sounds outside.

Su Wan poked her head out slightly from behind a tree, glanced outside, and then looked at Chen Yanzhi behind another clump of bushes not far away, jerking her chin.

Chen Yanzhi understood immediately. His hands quickly formed a seal, quietly releasing a Surveyance Technique toward the edge of the forest.

The rest of the squad also stared at him nervously, waiting for the result.

However, the instant the technique's fluctuations spread out and fed back.

Chen Yanzhi's expression suddenly froze, and his pupils constricted violently.

In the next second, a massive sound of breaking wind rang through the forest almost simultaneously with his scream.

"Run!" His voice even changed pitch: "It's right in our faces!"

Boom! The sound of breaking wind erupted!

A blood-red energy blade tore through the air, slashing out from the bushes not far away, heading straight for the spot where Chen Yanzhi was hiding.

Wherever the energy blade passed, branches and leaves were instantly reduced to powder.

Chen Yanzhi's face turned deathly pale.

The path he had chosen was that of a mage, and his physical reactions were far inferior to those of close-combat practitioners. Against this sudden attack, he had no time to block or dodge.

And seeing this scene, Su Wan and the others were too shocked to know how to save him; it was too fast, they simply couldn't react in time.

But at that same moment, a dark shadow lunged out from the side!

The speed was so fast it almost left an afterimage.

The next second, Gu Changming appeared steadily in front of Chen Yanzhi.

His left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Chen Yanzhi by the collar, while his right hand flicked simultaneously. "night erosion" instantly appeared in his hand!

The blade turned horizontally, precisely parrying the blood-red energy blade.

Clang!!

The ear-piercing sound of clashing metal exploded, sparks flying in all directions.

Using that massive impact force, Gu Changming let his body fly backward with the momentum. Simultaneously, the hand clutching Chen Yanzhi's shoulder exerted sudden force, violently throwing the other man toward a safe area to the rear flank!

Chen Yanzhi gave a cry of surprise, tumbling a few times in the air before landing clumsily on the ground over a dozen meters away.

However, the moment he stood up, he immediately cast a grateful look toward Gu Changming.

Though it was a bit pathetic, at least his life was saved.

Su Wan reacted extremely quickly. The moment Gu Changming saved Chen Yanzhi, she had already drawn her bow and notched an arrow.

The bowstring thrummed, and a stray arrow with the sound of breaking wind shot explosively toward the bushes where the blood blade had come from!

However, the expected explosion of fire did not occur.

The arrow vanished into the dim bushes like a stone dropped into the ocean, silent and without a trace.

Immediately after, those bushes shook violently, and a shadow as huge as a small building slowly walked out.

A spider, its body covered in eerie dark-red patterns, its eight compound eyes flashing with a cold, ghostly light in the gloom.

Its mouthparts were chewing on the fragments of the arrow Su Wan had just shot, and its walking legs were like sharp iron spears, stabbing deep into the ground with every movement.

"A spider..." Zhang Yuanfan looked at the colossal creature, his voice somewhat lost.

The others also trembled slightly, their expressions turning grim.

They had only just mentioned it; were they really so unlucky as to run into it?

After appearing, the Blood-Patterned Snapping Spider gave them no time to adjust at all. As soon as it showed itself, the spinnerets beneath its head writhed rapidly.

Ssh-ssh-ssh!

Several strands of viscous spider silk, shimmering with an ominous dark-purple luster, shot toward the group like rapid-fire javelins!

Su Wan performed a side roll, narrowly avoiding the spider silk that brushed past her shoulder.

At the same time, she loudly warned, "Careful, don't let it touch you! It might be highly toxic!"

Just as everyone was perilously dodging the spider silk, a ghostly blue magic circle suddenly lit up beneath the Blood-Patterned Snapping Spider's feet.

Following that, dozens of thick ice pillars condensed out of thin air, plummeting rapidly from mid-air with a whistling chill, smashing hard against the spider's massive body!

It was Chen Yanzhi, who had finally caught his breath and launched an attack through gritted teeth.

The ice pillars smashed against the carapace with muffled thuds, and shattered ice shards flew everywhere. The Blood-Patterned Snapping Spider's form was momentarily hindered by this sudden strike, and it let out a low hiss.

Lin Jianqiu's eyes turned sharp as she gripped her sword hilt, but she didn't rush forward immediately.

She shot a quick glance at Su Wan, her eyes filled with a question: should they attack now, or should everyone immediately scatter and flee, saving whoever could be saved?

Su Wan's face was also full of internal struggle. Reason told her the best choice now was to split up and run, but her emotions feared that her decision would lead them to their deaths.

In the instant she hesitated, her peripheral vision caught Gu Changming nearby.

He had already regained his footing, "night erosion" held slightly low in his hand, but his entire posture was like a fully drawn bow, ready to strike at any moment.

With just that one look, Su Wan's heart suddenly steadied.

Her right hand quickly reached for her quiver, pulling out a specially-made arrow with a faint silver glow on its shaft, and notched it to the string.

Draw full, aim, release!

The arrow turned into a streak of silver light, precisely piercing into the relatively fragile gap in the Blood-Patterned Snapping Spider's abdominal carapace!

Pfft!

Dark green fluid splattered out from the wound.

"Attack first!" Su Wan's voice was decisive. "Create some kind of advantage before we run!"

Hearing her words, everyone's spirits were suddenly bolstered, and their eyes instantly became fierce.