As the bubble burst, the sea spiders surrounding the shipwreck sprang into action, clashing with the chimera jellyfish that had stayed behind to attack the bubble.
With half of the chimera jellyfish lured away by the sea spider queen, the remaining ones still outnumbered the sea spiders, though the disparity wasn't as overwhelming. In terms of average soul power, the sea spiders actually held the advantage, so at first glance, they seemed to be holding their ground.
However, the chimera jellyfish weren't fools. Realizing they couldn't overpower the dispersed sea spiders, they quickly clustered together, forming a translucent gelatinous mass. In just two breaths, another fused jellyfish monster emerged before the sea spiders, boasting over 80,000 years of soul power—slightly stronger than the one battling the queen.
Among the sea spiders, aside from the queen entangled with the first fused jellyfish monster, only two others had soul power exceeding 10,000 years—one just over 20,000 and the other barely past 10,000. These two were the only ones capable of putting up a fight. The rest, with soul powers ranging from a few hundred to a few dozen years, were instantly overwhelmed by the fused jellyfish monster.
With a single twist of its body, the monster unleashed a swirling current that swept through the sea spiders. The weaker ones were flung hundreds of meters away. If not for the two 10,000-year sea spiders absorbing most of the force, that single move could have caused devastating losses.
The fused jellyfish monster didn't expect this attack to annihilate the sea spiders—it aimed only to scatter them. Once the current dispersed their formation, it ignored the two troublesome 10,000-year spiders and turned its focus to the weaker, scattered ones.
Its dozen or so tentacles lashed out like a vacuum cleaner, snatching the weaker sea spiders and funneling them into the feeding maw beneath its massive body.
Watching from afar, the sea spider queen's eyes blazed with fury. These were her people, her family, being ruthlessly devoured by the fused jellyfish monster. As the queen of her colony, grief and rage consumed her.
She wanted to intervene, but she was in dire straits herself. Had she opted for a long-range battle of attrition, she wouldn't be in such a bind. But in her rush to aid her kin, she'd chosen the riskiest path—close combat. Now, not only was she fully ensnared by the fused jellyfish monster, but its toxins were relentlessly eroding her body, and her consciousness was beginning to blur.
Just then, a voice pierced into her mind, snapping her back to awareness: "I can help you deal with these jellyfish, but you must agree to one condition."
This voice… The sea spider queen suddenly recalled the monstrous spider that had been chasing her earlier. It must be him.
She'd been too focused on fleeing to pay him any mind, but she remembered his voice.
She desperately wanted to respond, but one of the fused jellyfish monster's tentacles was probing near her mouth. The moment she opened it, the tentacle would invade her throat.
Fang Chang understood her predicament and continued transmitting: "If you understand me, nod your head."
Despite being bound by over a dozen tentacles, the sea spider queen managed a strained nod.
"My condition is," Fang Chang paused for dramatic effect, "after we drive off these jellyfish, you must lead your clan to submit to me."
This… The sea spider queen hesitated.
Most sea soul beasts lived in clans, and pledging allegiance to another group meant losing their freedom—effectively becoming slaves.
As she wrestled with the decision, Fang Chang's voice began counting down in her mind: "Ten, nine, eight…"
A soul beast with over 80,000 years of cultivation wasn't lacking in intelligence. She understood his intent: if she didn't decide by the end of the countdown, she'd forfeit this chance.
But… this was about her entire clan's future!
"Seven, six, five…" At five, Fang Chang deliberately stretched the syllable, adding, "Look at your poor tribesmen—they're almost a third gone."
Hearing this, the sea spider queen quickly glanced over.
The weaker sea spiders were utterly helpless against the 80,000-year fused jellyfish monster. In mere moments, forty or fifty had been devoured.
It wasn't quite the third Fang Chang claimed, but for the already sparse sea spider clan, it was an unbearable loss.
Her resolve wavered…
"Four, three, two…" Fang Chang dragged out the syllables again, his tone carrying a subtle threat.
"One!"
"I agree!"
Almost simultaneously with Fang Chang's "one," the sea spider queen opened her mouth, letting out a shrill cry as her head shook violently.
Instantly, her mouth was stuffed by the fused jellyfish monster's tentacle, which slithered down her esophagus. The sensation was so unbearable she nearly wept.
She tried to bite the tentacle off, but it was soft and slippery. Though her bite deformed it and drew faintly fishy liquid, the tentacle's tip kept wriggling inside her.
Spiders of different species didn't share a common language—let alone a land spider and a sea spider. All Fang Chang heard was a series of "zzt zzt zzt" sounds.
But her intent was clear enough without words, especially with that nod.
Fang Chang abruptly dropped his "Stealth" state, his figure appearing out of nowhere beside the first fused jellyfish monster and the sea spider queen.
Raising a shield-like spider leg, he smashed it down onto the fused jellyfish monster while simultaneously activating his "Shadow Clone" skill, spawning three indistinguishable spider phantoms that charged at the second one.
The first fused jellyfish monster was startled by the sudden appearance of this mysterious spider, its aura matching both itself and the sea spider queen. Before it could react, the mysterious spider attacked without a word.
Boom! Fang Chang's shield leg slammed into it, flattening its soft body. The chimera jellyfish composing it shuddered, their auras thrown into slight disarray.
Fusion didn't just boost their soul power—it heightened their intelligence too. Realizing it couldn't hold its own against two 80,000-year soul beasts, it decided to retreat.
In an instant, it withdrew all its tentacles from the sea spider queen's body and darted backward, racing toward the second fused jellyfish monster.
The sea spider queen felt a sudden lightness as the tentacles pulled free, though the sensation of something being yanked out left her reeling. She dry-heaved for a while before steadying herself.
Meanwhile, the three spider phantoms reached the second fused jellyfish monster in a flash. Their combined twenty-four legs stabbed into its body, thrashing wildly inside like the sea spider queen had, causing it to convulse in agony.
The tentacles it had aimed at the weaker sea spiders reluctantly retracted, swiping at the three phantoms embedded in its flesh.
The phantoms vanished one by one under the assault but not before inflicting some damage.
At that moment, the two fused jellyfish monsters collided with a resounding crash, merging once again.
Their—no, now its—aura surged rapidly, surpassing 100,000 years in a blink and still climbing…
Finally, a super fused jellyfish monster with 148,000 years of soul power emerged before the horrified gazes of the sea spiders.
This was after being weakened by Fang Chang and the sea spider queen's attacks—otherwise, it might have been even stronger.
The sea spider queen stared at it, her eyes half-filled with dread, half with resignation. A soul beast of this caliber was beyond her reach.
But Fang Chang was making different calculations: Its soul power was still too high. He'd need to weaken it more before devouring it.