Chapter 225 225 Relax. . .

Chapter 225 225 Relax. . .

"Huh?"

Nexus took a deep breath;

"The whole point of this journey is to get you to open your third eye. I need you to begin to see things differently. . .to see opportunities at every turn, to be innovative. . to not just blindly work with what you've been told and given. . ."

The wind carried his words through the open air- and blasted it right into her ears.

Eye brows up- and hands wrapped around his waist, she listened-

". . .you need to what is there, and- most importantly, what is not there. . .that is the whole point of this mission. . .this is precisely why I'm not telling you what you do. Because you need to–"

She completed it quietly;

"–start thinking for myself."

"Exactly."

In a gentle rush, a warm breeze swept through the narrow pass.

Wheezing through the tiny enclaves in the rocks, the wind brushed over both man and girl- picking up the strands of the hairs- and lapping it in the air.

Through the howling wind, Nexus announced;

"Oh, did I tell you that wireworms are also fast?"

Her red eyes flashed;

"Fast?" she repeated- cocking her head to the right; "How fast master?"

"Fast enough for you to know that tracking them is a bad idea."

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The rocky wet terrain hindered them at every turn.

Nexus' horse- a big sturdy stallion, plunged forward with bulging shoulder muscles. Under its rugged hooves, tiny, and big puddles splattered with every trot. It snorted victoriously every half a dozen minutes.

"Look up," he nodded to the north eastern part of the hills; "Up there, see those boulders?"

The girl's gaze drifted over his shoulders:

Bobbing her head, she replied;

"I do," her glare lingered- "What about it master?"

"Very few hunters are willing to come here. Even if the wireworms are dead, it still takes guts to even breathe near this place."

Stacy fixed her eyes on the golden brown rocks all around them. The evening sun beat down on them with its harsh rays. Dark spaces- like looming shadows- reigned over the entrances to the caves and clefts.

"What makes this place so dangerous?"

She didn't realize it, but her voice had dropped down to something of a whisper.

Nexus didn't answer right away.

The circle of his hat bounced up and down- reflecting the horse's trots. Stacy's jaw tightened- thinking he was ignoring her.

"Mas-"

"Isn't it obvious? We're deep in wireworm territory. Can't you feel the change in the air?"

On her back, her shoulders tensed.

Her ears strained- searching for something, anything out of place. But her eyes, and ears picked nothing. Her nostrils twitched- sniffing the air, but nothing came.

But her instincts- her sixth sense, it tugged her from within. She held her breath- fighting to isolate the feeling.

The wind came howling again. And this time, she heard it. It was the blood curdling scream of death.

"Relax. . ." Nexus assuaged her; "I can feel your heartbeat thudding against your rib cage."

He was exaggerating of course.

He continued;

"Like I said before, I know that you can take on any wireworm that shows itself. . .but then again, the goal here is not to kill. Remember that."

Nexus had done his homework.

The York girl was an A-class mage. He himself, although being a B-rank mage, had more than a few tricks up his sleeves. So, between the both of them, they could give any wireworm a run for its money. Their safety was assured.

"Master," her calm voice came from behind him; "If this is truly wireworm territory, then we'll certainly come up on at least one, are we really not going to-"

Suddenly, Nexus jerked his arm up- in the air and closed his fists.

It was the universal sign to be quiet.

The horse also stopped.

Barely breathing, he slowly directed his hand forward- pushing it to a thirty degree elevation- towards his right. At once, Stacy's squinted eyes flared open! The veins on her forehead bulged in pulsating rhythms.

At the end of Nexus' fingertips- atop the midsection of the hill to their right, stood a giant milky white slug. Stacy gasped.

The monster was about fifty yards out- and yet, it looked as big as four horses tied together in a train. Like a massive maggot, its skin shone milky white. Under the glare of the midday sun, - fat folds of its membrane, bulged in ugly folds- curving, and stacking atop each other.

It seemed to be slowly dragging a big branch- filled with fresh green leaves. In slow motions, the branch dragged along the steep rocky slope- upwards, towards a dark hole above.

"Master-"

He shushed her with a flick of his wrist.

"We're not engaging."

"But-"

"Look around," he rasped impatiently; "This is absolutely the worst possible place to try to kill it. There's probably a colony of these infernal creatures lurking inside those dark caves. F we pop off now, they will all come out at once."

She was about to issue another'but' when she bit back her tongue.

Softly, Nexus dug his feet into the horse's sides.

Thankfully, it didn't neigh too loudly. He whirred it around, keeping a firm hand on the reins, and forced it to keep moving. Its legs thudded softly against the slippery ground- jerking both of them forward.

Both hs eyes never left the creature. Not even for a single moment.

With their hearts beating in their chests- muscles tensed- they trotted and sated in tune with with the horse underneath them. A delicate tension cackled in the air. In the background, the faint rustling of leaves on the ground echoed as the creature dragged the branch deeper and deeper.

"Heads up," he whispered; "Two to the right. . ."

Sure enough,

opposite the creature, up on the hill, the ugly figures of two more wireworms appeared.

Out from the mouths of the dark caves- on the same latitude as the first, their heads bobbed out, sliding like huge snails. On the ground, they left a thick smudge of slimy liquids as they slithered out.

Nexus heard her gasp behind him.

"They're technically blind, so, they're drawn to noise. Don't worry. . .they want all want a part of the leaves on that branch."

The words were hardly out of his mouth- when a dark figure appeared on the horizon.n()o--V-/e)(l(-B)/I-)n

On eight legs, the massive furry beast pulled its powerful body across the steep slope. The blackness of its fur contrasted sharply with the golden brown of the terrain. Under the sunlight, it moved brazenly- slithering in surprisingly quick motions- heading towards the wireworms in front of it.

Nexus' face darkened under his hat.

His eyes clocked the creature- and he automatically tightened his hold on the reins- forcing the horse into a stand still.

"Master Ni Yang?"

He heard the astonishment in her voice. She had seen it too. Her words rasped in his ears;

"What's that?!" she mouthed; "Is that a–? Is that a spider?!"

Straightening his back, he answered;

"No." he said flatly; "Spiders don't weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds. That right there is a black widow."

Behind the hill, the golden sun dipped even lower- leaving only half of it's glowing orb in the horizon.