CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 117: SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAIN, BESIDE THE RIVER, THERE IS AN ORPHANAGE

The sound of the signal horn echoed through the night sky, making the dense clouds tremble.

"Wooooo—"

The Holy Gun Company members who had been sleeping near the carriage, oh no, the armored chariot, jumped up and quickly donned their chest armor and helmets.

They streamed out of the tents, and the grass blades vibrated with the sound of footsteps.

The Holy Gun Company expertly jumped into the chariot, picked up their weapons, and took their pre-practiced positions on the chariot ahead of everyone else.

The rest of the Black Hat Army and Imperial Guard assembled in formation at the sound of whistles and ran towards the chariot.

In the midst of sounds of assembly and disassembly, tall and thick wooden walls rose above all the chariots.

The oak armor and the carriages beneath it were connected together, reaching over three meters high from the ground, higher than the Cow Spider, which could only jump as tall as a person.

Yet for the soldiers inside the carriage, it reached about chest height.

Gaps below the carriage and around the wheels were filled with bags of dirt to prevent the Cow Spiders from tunneling underneath.

Between the carts, spiked wooden stakes were set down to prevent the Cow Spiders from crawling over.

Two robust soldiers held half-human-height black wooden shields, blocking the way, with four long spears or lances protruding from behind the shield, pointing diagonally into the air.

The Gunners placed their spring guns into the gaps of the oak armor, while their assistants immediately filled the gun barrels with a package of stone pellets and iron sand.

Next to them, the flail handlers and Long Spearmen each took up their weapons and stood in their designated positions.

Torches and phosphor lamps were raised high, illuminating everything brightly.

The iron chains connecting the carts rattled and then gradually steadied, as the noisy sounds slowly subsided.

After the flurry of activity ended, the camp suddenly fell silent.

Apart from the sound of the wind in their ears, there seemed to be no other noise, whether from the Command Company or the Holy Gun Company, sweat started to ooze from their hands.

The wind tossed the flames of the torches, swaying them left and right, carrying the scent of pine resin and grease into the forest through the cracks of the armor, helmets, and chariots.

In this quiet environment, everyone waited in silence.

Every small sound was magnified multiple times, including the distant sound of spring water flowing and the sound of a companion swallowing.

The forest was so quiet, there were no noisy birds, very different from the Black Bone Marsh.

In the sound of the horn, the giant spiders were agitated as well.

Their legs scratched restlessly on the ground, their bodies swayed left and right, sometimes stepping forward a couple of steps, sometimes stepping back.

Yet they still did not attack, as if waiting for something.

The strange ringing in the ears made Horn and Jeanne cover theirs, leaving only Jia Li in full plate armor from head to toe, furrowing her brows.

But the remaining villagers seemed oblivious, firmly watching ahead.

"Here they come!" Someone shouted.

The ground began to tremble, the grass and trees shook together, and the scarlet spider eyes crawled from the darkness into the light.

They did not rush in blindly, as if knowing doing so would only get in each other’s way.

"Wind them up," Horn shouted loudly.

On the position, the sound of gear mechanisms creaking filled the air.

"Hold steady, don’t move!" Horn yelled from behind the spiked stakes and the large shield, "Follow my command!"

Twenty fathoms, ten fathoms, five fathoms...

In the army of hundreds of jumping spiders, a dozen or so of them leaped up as the vanguards.

"Fire!"

Amidst a burst of explosions, the front ends of ten spring guns spat out a mass of black shapes, with hundreds of fragments shot from the gun barrels, scattering.

Four or five jumping spiders immediately shrieked, their heads shattered by stones and iron sand, the stench bursting out like a whirlwind.

Two or three others were knocked down by the swings of spears and flails, their shells cracked, screeching chaotically.

In an instant, the ground was full of jumping spiders convulsing and struggling.

The oak armor boards emitted a thumping impact, as all the remaining jumping spiders collided with the erected wooden walls.

One jumping spider had good luck, grasped the edge of an armor board with one leg, just as it was about to exert force, a shortsword swung down, cutting off the leg.

"Reload," Rudilo shouted to a spearman beside him, if the auxiliary gunner couldn’t reload in time, the first substitute was the spearman.

The spearman immediately bent over, picked up a paper package of iron sand stone pellets from the ground, and stuffed it into the gun barrel, pushing the spring key and stone pellets together with a stick.

"Move aside!" Rudilo roared, moving the gun barrel away, pulling out the spring key, a mass of black shadow rushed out, knocking a jumping spider leaping high into the sky back to the ground.

Rudilo felt dizziness, gritted his teeth and moved aside, the auxiliary gunner quickly took his place, began winding the spring key.

He took a calming potion, tilted his head back to drink it in one go, the dizziness immediately lessened significantly.

Coughing once, Rudilo tapped his chest, drew his short sword, and stood back at the front, plunging a sword into a jumping spider’s abdomen.

At the connection beside him, two Shield Soldiers had faces pale as iron, the shields constantly echoed with thumping hits.

"Don’t chicken out." Victor thrust his Long Spearman, hitting a jumping spider down, "Don’t forget Rudilo, that lucky kid.

Whoever kills the most giant spiders, gets priority for the Holy Gun!"

The armored chariot stood like the Great Wall, while the jumping spiders leaping at it resembled monsters, continuously crashing into the chariot’s armor boards.

The wailing of jumping spiders, the officer’s commands, the dull thud of flails shattering shells, were all overshadowed by the continuous sound of gunfire.

The chains connecting the chariot rattled, while the wheels and axles beneath the carriage wailed as they cracked.

The clash on the battle line was fiercer than anyone had imagined.

"Look quickly, what is that?"

Upon seeing the creature hinted at by these words, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

Crushing through the shrubbery, a giant spider larger than a cow raised its forelimbs high.

The fangs, as thick as a forearm, continuously clashed in front of its mouth, as if two longswords were grinding against each other.

It was trying to intimidate Horn’s group.

A bolt of lightning rushed into its mouth, directly splitting its fangs and leaving them dangling by its mouth.

The Cow Spider let out a painful scream, its hateful eyes immediately fixed on Jeanne.

With strides more robust than a thigh, waves of mud rolling, the Cow Spider charged directly at Jeanne.

Even brighter sparks of electricity rose from Jeanne’s body, forcing the soldiers around her to step aside; their hair stood on end.

Intense flashes of electricity pierced the night sky, illuminating everyone’s eyes, and the small jumping spiders emitted squeaky cries of pain.

After the electric flash, the Cow Spider lay prone on the ground, its body still sliding across the surface, leaving a palm-deep trench in the mud.

After fighting until now, beads of sweat finally appeared on Jeanne’s forehead for the first time.

Where did these giant spiders come from?

Horn could see that distant mountains and forests were still trembling, indicating more giant spiders rushing this way.

"More, more!"

"Look, look over there, there’s another one."

A growing number of Cow Spiders emerged from the forest, four, eight, sixteen.

They lurked in the darkness of the bushes and woods, coldly watching this group of puny upright insects.

The largest of the Cow Spiders made the first move, crushing through the shrubs once more, charging toward the carriage.

If it crashes into the wagon, even with oak panel armor, it may not withstand the impact.

As the soldiers on the targeted wagon grew pale, Horn finally took hold of Ferdinand’s Great Bow.

"Drop and cover your head!"

Horn’s voice came from behind Victor, who complied immediately.

The next second, it was as if a banshee shrieked nearby.

The short spear shot from Ferdinand’s Great Bow roared past Victor’s head, the wind whipping up his clothes with a loud crack.

The short spear pierced the night sky, driving straight into the Cow Spider’s chest, flesh spiraling and spraying along the spear’s shaft.

Raising its head, the Cow Spider let out a screech, its body twisting, struggling, trying to break free from the spear.

But the more it struggled, the more its flesh tore, causing the spear to drive deeper, binding it entirely.

When Victor stood again, the Cow Spider had entered its death throes.

Originally eager Cow Spiders paused slightly after witnessing their comrades’ tragic fate, seemingly hesitant.

Yet, the strange ringing returned, prompting the other jumping spiders to launch an even more frantic attack.

The Cow Spiders immediately resumed their charge at Horn’s group.

"Beep beep beep beep——"

Just as Horn grabbed another short spear, readying for a second shot, a peculiar and clumsy flute sound began to rise from somewhere.

The flute sounded unpleasant, even jarring and off-key.

Yet, amidst that clumsy flute sound, the vague ringing echo melted away like snow.

"This sound is..."

Horn looked toward where the flute sound came.

It was Jia Li.

She was fully armored but held a short flute.

The unpleasant off-key melody flowed out from the crude bone flute, filling the mountain path like water.

Horn could see clearly that it wasn’t the Beastman’s bone flute but the one he had found earlier in the assassin’s rabbit burrow.

Miraculously, under this awkward flute sound, the charging Cow Spiders and jumping spiders seemed bound by an immobilization spell, standing dazed in place.

They seemed unsure of where they were, who they were, wandering a bit before those giant spiders began to gradually retreat.

"This is..."

Horn had heard it, the tune was so familiar.

Since he met Jia Li, he often heard this tune.

Since Jia Li obtained the long flute from the Beastman, she had been practicing this melody.

Now, as if welcoming this grand performance, Jia Li blew the tune from the wondrous bone flute.

She had sung it countless times, a tune Horn knew by heart.

"On the south side of the mountain, beside the river, there is an orphanage..."

"They are clever and devout, devout and clever, with little elves flowing inside them..."

"Blue orphans, oh, you must be careful..."

"Hunters and magical spirits hide in the green forest; everyone must escape quickly!"

Amidst the rustling of bodies brushing against trees and grass, the giant spiders retreated like a tide, as if nothing had just happened.

Approaching Horn, Jia Li flashed a smile: "Horn... Papa, I remember now."