Chapter 225: Chapter 157: There Are No Heroes Who Descend From the Heavens (Part 2)

Mr. Xiong shielded the Bear Cub behind him, his dark eyes staring straight ahead — pairs of ghostly green eyes appeared from the shadows in the corners, their silhouettes gradually emerging from the tunnel ahead and the rock walls above.

The bright blaze illuminated the surroundings, allowing Chen Yuan to quickly discern these figures’ distinct forms — their bodies were entirely purple, irregular black stripes scattered across their backs, their round ghostly green eyes staring forward, supported by eight legs on a not-too-large body.

Black-striped Spiders, Insect-type Pet Beasts, most adept at using woven spider silk to set traps and capture prey, often dwelling in dark caves.

In the blink of an eye, the leading Black-striped Spider opened its mouth, shooting a white spider silk towards him.

Clearly, Chen Yuan was viewed as prey by these Black-striped Spiders.

Without even needing Spark to make a move, the Flame-tailed Fox had already unleashed a stream of flames, the scorching light reflecting off the rock walls on both sides, instantly dissolving the spider silk.

Seeing the Black-striped Spiders launch an attack first, Chen Yuan lost the desire to communicate and directly ordered, "Quickly end the battle."

As his words settled, he glanced at the rock ceiling, adding, "Try to keep it quiet, don’t collapse the cave."

"Spark, you stay back and hold the line."

"Chirp~"

Spark nodded obediently and retreated to Chen Yuan’s side.

The cave environment limited Spark’s performance and wasn’t suitable for its engagement.

Most of Spark’s techniques were high-power skills with a wide impact range, and using them in this narrow cave might defeat the opponent, but they could roast themselves first.

"Woof woof!"

Upon hearing this, Cola’s eyes gleamed, and it charged impatiently towards the group of Black-striped Spiders.

With the big boss not stepping in, it’s my turn to shine!

"Roar!"

While making sure the Bear Cub was hiding in a corner, Mr. Xiong stepped forward, swinging his sharp claws at the nearest Black-striped Spider.

In an instant, the battle erupted.

At the same time,

Wu Peng slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself in a pitch-black cave where he couldn’t see his fingers. Although he did not have claustrophobia, he was still a bit afraid.

He attempted to get up to inspect the surroundings but found himself entangled by layers of fine lines, unable to move at all.

No, not fine lines.

It’s the spider silk woven by the Black-striped Spiders.

Recalling the earlier events, Wu Peng felt a bit vexed.

He and Zeng Hui were ambushed by a group of Black-striped Spiders. Both of them and their Pet Beasts were ensnared by spider silk and eventually brought here.

Right, where’s Zeng Hui?

"Zeng Hui, Zeng Hui, are you there?"

Wu Peng loudly called his companion’s name, his voice echoing in the cave. After a while, a raspy voice finally emerged beside his ear:

"Here..."

"Are you okay?" Wu Peng asked with concern.

"I’m fine."

"It seems we’re trapped here, and the Pet Beasts were taken somewhere unknown." Wu Peng struggled for a while; however, he couldn’t break free from the tough spider silk’s constraints, finally accepting the harsh reality, "It’s all my fault for letting you come in."

Just woken up, Zeng Hui gradually regained clarity. Though angry about the earlier events, hearing Wu Peng’s words, he sighed deeply: "No one to blame. It’s just our strength that’s lacking."

"Yes..." Hearing this, Zeng Peng nodded in deep agreement, "Being weak is the original sin. If it were Advisor Chen here, these Black-striped Spiders would be no match for him."

This time, Zeng Hui said nothing, remaining silent for a long while, finally squeezing out the words: "Do you think we’ll get eaten?"

Before Wu Peng could answer, a snigger unexpectedly echoed around them.

In the dark, gloomy cave, the sudden occurrence of an untraceable eerie laugh startled both of them, causing goosebumps to rise all over; Zeng Hui’s face turned pale, and he stammered, "Are... are you a person or a ghost?"

"You’re Beastmasters; why are you afraid of ghosts?" the person said in a tone laced with laughter, continuing, "Relax, I’m just another unlucky soul like you, but I got trapped here two days before you."

After that statement, he cursed and complained, "Damn, finally seeing a living person. Two days without talking; it’s driving me crazy."

Hearing that, Zeng Hui and Wu Peng exhaled in relief, and even secretly felt a sense of solace.

Turns out, they weren’t the only unlucky ones...

The thought clicked, prompting Wu Peng to ask, "Dude, what should we call you?"

"Just call me Tian."

"Tian, what was that laugh about?" Wu Peng pressed on.

Tian replied, "I just found your conversation amusing."

After a brief pause, he explained, "Rest assured, the Black-striped Spiders don’t eat humans; they just use you as practice tools for their skills."

Practice tools for skills?

This statement knitted Wu Peng’s brows in confusion. Pondering for a while didn’t bring any enlightenment, so he decisively asked, "Could you elaborate?"

"Sure." As if being conversation-starved for long, Tian burst forth with sentence after sentence, "You’ve already witnessed their spider silk, right?"

"Isn’t it incredibly tough, giving you a real headache?"

In the dark, both men nodded furiously.

"The impressive silk-spitting abilities these Black-striped Spiders possess are all honed through practice."

At this point, Tian paused slightly, as if he was deep in memory or phrasing his words carefully.

When he spoke again, his voice carried discernible fear: "These Black-striped Spiders consider us as training tools for their silk-spitting, repeatedly binding you with spider silk."

"In this process, you can’t resist and can only watch as a group of Black-striped Spiders gathers around you, ensnaring you in strand after strand of spider silk."

"They might even let you escape, spewing silk at you as you run at high speed to practice accuracy."

Wu Peng remained silent for a long time, eventually blurting out a sentence: "What... what dedicated Black-striped Spiders." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

This training vigor surpassed even his own efforts as a Beastmaster.

"What about our Pet Beasts?" Zeng Hui only concerned himself with the whereabouts of their Pet Beasts.

"Faced with the same fate as ours," Tian replied.

For a long stretch, they all lingered in prolonged silence.

After some time, Tian unexpectedly asked, "Is there anyone among you who is a mid-level Beastmaster?"

"Or have a Tier Two Fire-type Pet Beast?"

Wu Peng shook his head, "I’m a mid-level Beastmaster, but I don’t have a Fire-type Pet Beast."

Zeng Hui said nothing, yet his silence was an answer.

"Figures; if you had a Tier Two Fire-type Pet Beast, you wouldn’t have been caught." Tian chuckled, "Then, let’s quietly await fate’s verdict."

"See if we can encounter a Beastmaster with a Tier Two Fire-type Pet Beast who enters this cave and rescues us."

After finishing this sentence, Tian shook his head, "That won’t work either; there’re too many of these Black-striped Spiders. One won’t be enough; we’d need at least two."

He stressed, "Two Tier Two Fire-type Pet Beasts."

Although his tone was filled with laughter, both men could sense the madness hidden deep within.

This Beastmaster, captured before them, was already on the brink of collapse.

Zeng Peng showed a bitter smile, "In Fire State there might be such a Beastmaster, but around here..."

"Then we just wait to die, no big deal," Tian replied offhandedly.

The dark cave plunged them back into silence again.

Until... the sound of battle wafted into their ears, causing the three of them to suddenly look up, gazing into the pitch-black ahead.

"Someone’s entered the cave." Hope shone brightly in Wu Peng’s eyes, "They must be fighting the Black-striped Spiders."

Zeng Hui was staring intensely ahead; despite seeing nothing, he felt an unprecedented tension and anticipation.

Tian faintly smiled, "I once reacted the same way as you, yearning for someone to rescue us until..."

"Until you were caught too."

After a pause, he stated, "Would you say this might be more poor souls like us?"

"Soon enough, we might have more folks to chat with."

"Hmm, sounds good when you think about it."

Wu Peng frowned, "Are you really this pessimistic?"

"What else would you suggest?" Tian queried back, "Really counting on a powerful Beastmaster to save us?"

"Wake up, this isn’t a novel, nor a movie; heroes don’t fall from the sky."

At that very moment, a surge of brilliant firelight suddenly illuminated the entire cave.