Chapter 1269  1269 Cut the Cord


    --- Nixilei ---


    The next engagement with the local wildlife didn''t start off with a bang, but with a whisper. Nixilei spotted them first. Unlike Asteodia who was focused on the front, Nixilei was able to look around for living threats instead of obstacles for their path. It was a giant spiderweb, with a few silk cocoons tied down. The web itself stretched from one of the giant branches to the other. While the ne had the magical means to slice through those webs, the webs themselves were more thanrge enough to catch the ne and have room for half a dozen more.


    Yet despite the web, Nixilei could see no spiders. Was it abandoned? Did the spider get driven off? Nixilei didn''t know. Yet, there was nothing outwardly dangerous, so Nixilei kept the information to herself. She didn''t mention every potential threat she spotted, just the ones that were close, or looked particrly aggressive. Though of course, as the feline had proved she wasn''t infallible. Still, one giant spider wasn''t a worry when they could just fly past it. The web wasn''t even in their path.


    Now one web wasn''t a problem. Two weren''t either. Neither of them were in the way at all… but as that number climbed from two to five, then to seven, and suddenly the webs were starting to close in on both sides, Nixilei realised that the time to speak up was probably a minute ago. "Asteodia… can we turn around? Should we?"


    "Um… why?" asked the elf.


    "Well it seems that we''re being hemmed in by giant spiderwebs. I can''t actually see any spiders, but they''re closing in on us. Both sides are gaining more and more webs and while I can''t see one directly ahead of us, my eyes might not be good enough if they were. All the ones I can see, are only visible because the sunlight is pointing them out," exined Nixilei.


    "Ah… well that might be a bit of a problem. You see… we don''t really have enough space to turn around here. Sure the ne can flip to the side easily. Heading left or right? No problem. Turning around though? We''d need a lot of space for that. The shortest turning radius I can go for would be flipping either directly up or down but well," Asteodia trailed off but the answer was rather obvious.


    The pair had settled into the space between two branches of the giant trees. They all seemed to be around the same height, and you just needed to go up or down a slight amount to ensure the ne always had plenty of space. That had backfired somewhat now. Sure there was plenty of space to fly side to side… but flipping upwards and around? The leaves were above and the branches below. There was no space to do such a flip.


    "Shit. What are we going to do? We can slice through the webs right?" asked Nixilei.


    "Even if the ne couldn''t with that fancy cutting mode it had, I''m sure your wind de could slice through the silk… the problem isn''t the web, no it''s the spiders. Now that I''m looking I can see the webs too… and those things are massive. Sure they''re not ''giant snake eating cloud-bird'' big, but stillrge enough for the idea of fighting whatever spiders they belong to seeming like a bad idea. A horrible one really. An insect that big has to be at least Rank 2 right?"


    They were, in fact, wrong in that case, though not in the way they were thinking. Indeed, a spider the size of their ne orrger would likely need to be Rank 2. Most lower ranked monsters didn''t have the sheer size. Though some species were clear outliers to these rules, insects were usually not among them.


    "I''m not sure…" said Nixilei slowly, eying the webs. They continued to multiple as they went further and further in. "If the spiders are so heavily based around their webs, I''m not sure if they''ll even try to attack us after we burst through the webs. I imagine anything that can do it isn''t something the spiders want to tangle with,"


    "Well, we can''t turn around, and I seem to be the only one that thinks the spiders will be a problem… the real question is, should we swap roles? I''m not confident in being able to use the suit, but my legs are getting tired so I don''t know how much longer I can keep pedalling for. I can force myself for a bit, I''m not just going to stop helping out in the middle of a spider infested area of forest… but just know I''ll need a break soon," said Asteodia.


    Nixilei frowned and said, "I understand. I''m not sure what the best course of action is. If I have to fight off giant spiders, or even just the one giant spider, I might end up using a good chunk of my mana, more than I''ve regenerated at any rate. Though… it''s been… um suit how long has it been?" A big 1:20 remaining appeared. "Right, so it''s been forty minutes or so and I''m nearly topped off on mana. Huh… it might not be a problem then,"


    Right as Nixilei finished speaking Asteodia shouted, "Well we''ve gotta work it out. I see a web in our path and it looks bigger then usual. What''s the n?"


    "I… I''ll stick in the suit and fight as best I can without wasting mana. Once we''re past all the spiders, we can swap off and I''ll start pedalling. I''ll keep going until you feel like you''ve rested, then we can swap once more, and hopefully that will be enough to give us the win. A bit optimistic perhaps, but I can''t think of anything better and if you need a break, best you get it soon,"


    Asteodia nodded and Nixilei grinned back, then started to slide on the suit. Sure she was trying to conserve mana, but a those two seconds it took to put on the suit might matter surrounded by webs as they were. Asteodia used one hand to do up the zip and soon Nixilei was ready forbat. A few momentster Asteodia mmed the button on the console, and they sliced straight through the web in front of them.


    .cοm It was at that moment, they realised the mistake. As the web fell apart around them, it was not one giant spider that leapt from the shadows to attack them. No, that might have been better. Instead it was a swarm of tiny spiders that had been lining the web, the leaves, just about every avable surface nearby.


    Thos above them fell upon the ne while those from the side all leapt towards the wooden vehicle. Nixilei got to work but she didn''t really know how to deal with this properly. Nixilei summoned the air de and tried to slice through the horde of smaller spiders, but only partially seeded. They were just too small, and the de just knocked them away instead of slicing them.


    As they fell, they trailed long strands of silk that attached to the wood of the hull. Nixilei cursed mentally but kept working. She was blocking Asteodia''s view regrly as she leaned all around the cockpit. More than once she was pressed awkwardly against the elf, but neither noticed, the situation too tense.


    The spiders that were on the ne were releasing their own long threads while standing on the wood, and it was starting to slow the vehicle down noticeably. Others were trying to attack the clearly moving section of the cockpit where Nixilei and Asteodia were. Nixilei was torn between a desire to leave the cockpit and slice through all the webs, or stay and ensure none of the spiders got a direct hit in on Asteodia. It wasn''t too hard to brush them all away, but even that didn''t really herp, because it just meant more threads of silk.


    Asteodia mmed the lock button, hoping that if it would work against winds, it would keep the ne moving despite the webs. From there she started to whip the scarf that Thyme had around and over the spiders. It definitely wasn''t killing them, but like Nixilei''s de it knocked them away. "I''ve got this. Not sure how much mana it''ll take to keep the lock going, but I''ll be fine!" shouted Asteodia.


    Trusting her partner, Nixilei jumped onto the wood and started to knock spiders away with her wind des as best she could, while letting the wind pull her further back along the body of the ne, cutting away as much of the silk as she could as she went. There was a swarm of bloody spiders on the wings, but it seemed like, for now, the numbers were no long growing. Nixilei kicked off the ne for a moment, and used a st of air blowing away a massive chunk of the spiders on the wings… and forcing her backwards. Nixilei''s hand snatched out,tching onto the back of the ne. From there Nixilei was able to pull herself back onto the body and start back on her crusade against arachnids.