"Urghh..."

Oliver slowly opened his eyes. His head still felt dizzy. As he looked around, he realized he was lying in a forest, beneath a tree.

"What? Why am I here?"

He tried to recall what had happened and immediately remembered the battle with Arachqueen.

He quickly checked his hip. The wound was still there, but nearly healed. The black veins were gone. The injury on his shoulder had also partially recovered. There was only one explanation.

"Did I... tame the Arachqueen?"

"I think so, my Oliver..."

"Kiyaak!"

Oliver jumped in shock, hitting a low branch above him. He turned to his side and saw her. Arachqueen stood there. Her size had reduced as expected, but she was still nearly three metres tall.

"Arachqueen... you really became my monster." Oliver smiled brightly as he hugged her. She lowered her body slightly and returned the embrace.

"Don’t forget your promise. You said I can eat anything I want."

"Err... okay, okay. I’ll find something for you to eat," Oliver replied. In truth, he had only said that to convince her. But now, he actually had to think about her meals.

"Can I eat the group of humans approaching us?" Arachqueen asked.

"Humans?"

Oliver frowned slightly. As far as he knew, no one had come to this place for years until him. But now, a group was approaching.

"Let me check first. You hide." Oliver moved quietly into the forest while Arachqueen slipped away into the shadows of the jungle.

After a few minutes, he heard voices. He crouched low and peered ahead. There was a group of hunters. From their attire, they were clearly from his town.

"What are they doing here?" Oliver muttered.

He leaned in closer, trying to catch their conversation.

"Where is he? We’ve been searching here for 15 minutes already," Evan said as he angrily slashed at nearby plants.

"Just wait a second. Sniffang is trying to track his scent. It seems it lost it earlier and is trying to pick it up again," Peter said.

"Hey, don’t you think it’s strange? Why would that failure kid come all the way out here? And without a monster at that," Opuc added.

"I don’t care. It actually makes things easier. If he dies here, no one will suspect anything," Evan replied coldly.

"Died?!" Oliver’s eyes widened in shock. In that instant, everything clear to him.

"These bastards... they came here to kill me!" A surge of rage rose in his chest. A group of grown men had come all this way, to kill a boy. Even if he was an adult inside, his body was still that of a child.

But after a while, a smirk crept onto his face. A plan had already formed in his head. He stood up and stepped out from the bushes.

"Huh? Uncles? Are you here to save me?" Oliver asked while putting on an innocent expression.

"Oliver? We finally found you!" Evan stepped forward immediately, but Peter stopped him.

"What are you doing?!" Evan hissed.

"Not yet," Peter said calmly.

He crouched down and looked at Oliver with a gentle smile.

"Hey, Oliver. What are you doing here? We were really worried about you. Did you come here alone?"

"Yeah... I was alone. I was just playing, and then I got lost... sniff, sniff..." Oliver faked tears.

’It seems he’s alone. Now’s the time to act.’ Peter stood up and subtly signaled the others.

As they began to move, Oliver suddenly spoke.

"Are all of you the only ones searching for me?"

"Yes. We’re the only ones. Your father told us to bring you back," Opuc replied.

"I see... then that’s a pity."

Suddenly, Oliver’s voice turned cold.

"Pity? What do you mean?"

"It’s a pity... that your children will lose their fathers here." Oliver’s eyes sharpened as he stared at them.

"What?! What nonsense are you talking about? You’re the one who’s going to die here!" Evan snapped as he stepped forward.

Rumble... Rumble!

Evan suddenly stopped as the nearby bushes began to shake. Then a large spider crawled out.An Arachix.

"Arachix? Why is it here? Did the Arachnid Nest dungeon break?" Peter asked, startled.

More spiders followed. Including Arachoid and Arachcrux. In total, nearly twenty of them surrounded the area. Sniffang barked fiercely at the approaching swarm.

"Damn it! Where did they all come from?" one of the hunters cursed.

"Forget it. We deal with them and get out of here. Leave that boy behind, he won’t survive this place anyway. Tomorrow, we’ll just collect his remains," Peter said.

As they braced themselves and expecting the spiders to attack Oliver, suddenly, they froze. The spiders ran past him and crawled straight toward them.

"Why... why aren’t they attacking him?!"

"Oh, that? Why would they attack their master?" Oliver replied casually.

His answer stunned the entire group.

"I have no choice but to kill all of you here. If I let you live, you’ll become a danger to me and my family. Everyone, kill them!"

At his command, the spiders charged forward.Sniffang was the first to flee. It running away from its own master without hesitation.

"No! No! Get away from me!"

"Arrgh! My leg!"

The hunters screamed as the spiders tore into them mercilessly. Then, suddenly, all the spiders stopped and they retreated at once. For a brief moment, Peter and the others thought Oliver had shown them mercy.

But then, a massive shadow loomed behind them.

"My Oliver... may I eat them all?" Arachqueen’s voice was heard. Saliva dripping from her mouth.

"Go ahead. But leave one body intact," Oliver said calmly. He turned and began walking away, heading back toward his home.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Arrrghhh!! NOO! Help me!!"

Their screams heard across the forest until everything fell silent.

Later that night, a commotion spread throughout the town. Peter’s wife, Theresa, was frantic as she worried about her husband’s whereabouts. Arnulf joined the search party and leading a group of hunters to look for the missing men.

Meanwhile, Oliver slept soundly in his bed as if nothing had happened.