The next day, they resumed their advance toward the spider castle. The path narrowed into hard stone trails and damp ridges, with silk-strung trees looming like skeletal guards. Spiders came in waves now—ambushes from above, burrow strikes from below, coordinated lunges from behind.
The Spider King knew they were coming.
Kai fought in nearly every skirmish. He switched between George 1 for electric bursts and raw claw strikes, then George 3 when he his opponent is strong. The parasite bond had gotten easier—he no longer had to focus as hard. The mutations flowed naturally now.
Even so, he only reached Level 4.
All that fighting, all that blood, and this is all I get?
They crossed a ravine where dozens of spiders had made a nest. The battle was bloody.
They won, but the cost was heavy. Eight knights dead and five more injured.
The air reeked of venom, sweat, and scorched flesh.
Afterward, Prince Albrecht ordered the fallen laid down gently in rows. He knelt by each one and gave them a quiet farewell, one by one.
Kai watched from the edge.
He really does care. Even though he's still young, he's a good heir. Better than most warlords I've seen.
He glanced at the Prince's face, worn and stiff. There was something else there—guilt, heavy and quiet.
Kai looked down at his palm, slightly trembling.
I get it. I used to feel the same. But maybe I still do.
They moved on by dusk. The trail twisted downward, closer to the spider kingdom. Webs coated the trees like frost. Kai took stock as they camped.
Gene Count: 34
Still no rare genes.
Thirty genes and all trash? Either my scanner's cursed or the system's mocking me. I need something that shifts the balance, not just numbers.
He laid back and stared up at the glowing web strands above the cave roof.
Prince Albrecht sat beside Kai, the fire between them crackling softly as the night wind howled beyond the cave mouth.
"I might not make it," Albrecht said, voice low. "If I fall… I want you to keep her safe."
Kai didn't answer at first. He stared into the flames, then finally muttered, "That's not happening. You're not dying."
"I'm not planning to," the prince said with a faint smile, "but plans break in war."
Kai turned to him. "She's your sister, right? Why are you saying this to me?"
"Because you're not like the others. You do stupid things, but not without reason. You'll get her out even if everything falls apart."
Kai looked away. "You're trusting the wrong guy."
"No. I'm trusting the one who crawled through a horde of spiders with a broken arm."
A beat of silence passed.
"…If I find her, I'll protect her," Kai said, quietly. "But only if you're not around to do it."
"Fair deal," Albrecht replied, rising to his feet. "Then let's make sure I don't die."
---
A knight stood stiffly in front of him, helmet tucked under one arm. He had a narrow face and a streak of silver in his hair despite being no older than thirty.
"You're Sir Ottokai, right?"
Kai nodded, arms crossed, leaning against a boulder. "Yeah. What is it?"
The knight hesitated, then spoke. "Do you really think we can defeat the Spider King? I mean… he's not like the others. He's… different."
Kai blinked. Is this guy serious? "You're a knight. Aren't you supposed to be the one saying crap like 'fight with honor' or whatever?"
"I've fought ten campaigns. I've seen stronger men die for less. We're walking into a web we can't cut through."
He glanced toward the others. "They think you're reckless. That you act without thinking and charging alone, getting yourself nearly killed."
Should I tell them I was leading a bigger army than this when I was nine?
Kai sighed. "I don't care what they think. If I see a child about to die, I move. You'd do the same."
The knight didn't answer.
"So," Kai continued, "you wanna know how we beat the Spider King?"
The man nodded slowly.
"We don't. Not head-on. We cut through his web, we slice at the anchors, and when he's crawling out of his castle to stop us, we burn the whole thing down."
"…You're insane."
"Yeah," Kai said. "But sometimes that works better than logic."
They both stared out toward the dark edge of the ravine.
"…I'll fight beside you," the knight finally muttered.
Kai nodded. "Good. Just don't die for no reason."
"Name's Alfred..." The knight smiled neatly at Kai before disappearing.
Such a weird person...or maybe he has PTSD from previous battles.
---
Morning came red.
The air stank of ash and iron as the rising sun barely broke through the web-choked trees.
Their boots squelched in blood and ichor. They were close now—so close the spires of the Spider King's castle were visible through the twisted branches like broken black bones stabbing the sky.
The army trudged forward. What was left of it.
Half their force was gone. Another third were wounded, limping or carried. Yet no one stopped.
And then the ground trembled.
Kai raised a fist, halting the column. His Gene Scanner pulsed.
[Aberrant Widow]
[D+ Threat]
And there were five of them.
From the canopy above, a massive spider dropped like a living guillotine, its legs slamming into the mud, scattering knights like pins. It shrieked—an ear-piercing screech of metal grinding bone. Another emerged from a ruptured cocoon on the cliff wall, bloated and twitching. More poured from the hillsides. They weren't just guarding the path—they were the path.
"Form defensive lines!" Prince Albrecht roared, already swinging his blade at the nearest beast.
Kai didn't wait. He swapped to George 1—his body sparked as thunder raged beneath his skin. Electricity snapped across his arms as he ran straight for the largest one.
A leg as thick as a tree trunk slammed down. Kai rolled under it, sliced upward with a thunder-infused claw, severing the limb in a crackle of black blood and lightning. The beast shrieked, stumbling.
Another spider pounced. Kai jumped, landing on its back, stabbing with everything he had.
"Behind you!" a knight shouted.
He was too late. Another spider slammed into Kai, sending him flying through the trees. He crashed through bark, rolled, coughed blood—but didn't stop.
He triggered George 4—his skin hardened into bone scales combined with the carapace shells.
And another spider lunged. He didn't dodge. He caught its fangs between his palms and twisted its head clean off.
The battlefield was chaos.
Knights screamed, fire danced in the underbrush, Albrecht's sword cleaved a spider down the middle as another tore into his flank, arrows bounced off chitin, steel bent, and blood spilled.
Kai blinked sweat and gore from his eyes. His limbs were shaking. He saw the largest spider—their commander. Massive, armored, eyes glowing blue.
This one's mine.
He lunged, every parasite syncing to his pulse. He stabbed, kicked, dodged, and got grabbed. He unleashed lightning, then acid.
The spider roared.
He roared louder.
Finally—finally—it collapsed.
Kai dropped to one knee, panting. Around him, the knights cheered weakly.
But they were alive. They had survived. And ahead, past the carnage, past the webs and smoke—
The Spider King's castle loomed.
And Kai stood again.
Albrecht stood tall, blood drying on his cheek, his armor cracked and webbed in grime. Before him, the Spider King's castle loomed—a jagged mound of obsidian webstone wrapped in silk and shadow, its towers rising like black thorns from the earth.
A knight staggered to his side, panting, helmet dented, cloak torn.
"My Prince…" he said. "When should we strike?"
Albrecht didn't even look away from the castle. His voice was cold steel.
"Now."
Gasps broke across the surviving ranks.
"Now?! After everything?!"
"We've just buried half our men!"
"We'll be slaughtered at the gates!"
Albrecht turned, eyes hard as flint. "If we wait, we die slower."
Silence.
Kai stood in the back, arms crossed, head tilted slightly. He didn't speak, but his thoughts stirred like thunder beneath calm waves.
He's right.
From this position, they were only a few kilometers from the heart of the Spider Kingdom. That meant reinforcements could pour in from any direction if they lingered. And worse—if the Spider King realized what they were planning, he wouldn't just reinforce.
He'd drown them in legs and fangs.
If we wait even half a day, we lose the advantage of chaos. We give him time to adapt. This isn't a game of attrition—it's a race.
And Albrecht gets that.
Kai clenched his fists, watching the prince. No hesitation, no trembling voice, no fear behind his eyes. Only grief sharpened into purpose.
He's a real general. Not just a prince by blood—but a commander born from fire. I'm proud of him.
Albrecht looked to the battered remnants of his knights. "We ride in thirty minutes. Burn the webs, sharpen your blades, or Say your prayers before we invade."
He turned to Kai. "Sir Ottokai, walk with me. We plan the assault."
And Kai followed, a grin ghosting his lips.
Albrecht and Kai stood alone atop a rise overlooking the battlefield. The last rays of sunlight cast long shadows over the ruined land, tinting the broken webs and fallen soldiers with gold and crimson.
Below them, the army—what remained of it—made final preparations. Armor was tightened. Blades were checked. There was no cheering. Only the kind of silence that comes before the storm.
Albrecht glanced at Kai, then unrolled a worn parchment across a stone slab.
"The outer wall's webstone," he began. "Reinforced with layered bone lattice. There are no gates, only breaches we make ourselves. The spiders reinforce weak spots quickly, but we can exploit the brittle underside of their silk bridges if we detonate them first."
Kai leaned closer, eyes scanning the hand-drawn map. "Explosives?"
"We brought five charges. Enough to collapse an entry route through the northeast tunnel. Once inside, we split—two units move to clear the barracks and supply chambers. The rest push toward the throne room. That's where the princess is held."
"And the Spider King?"
Albrecht exhaled, voice dropping. "He'll be guarding her. I've seen what he does to people who delay him. We don't get a second chance."
Kai nodded slowly. "And what do you want me to do?"
Albrecht looked at him for a long moment. "You've seen more of these things than any of us. You command creatures, command mutations, fight like nothing I've ever seen. But you're unpredictable."
"I need that," he added. "I want you at the core of the breach. You and your parasites make the push through the silk pit and open the way for the rest of us. Can you do it?"
Kai was quiet for a beat, then grinned faintly.
"I can do better than that."
Albrecht raised a brow.
Kai looked toward the castle, his eyes gleaming like steel. "Burn it."
"What?"
"Burn the castle," Kai repeated. "Spider silk is flammable. And if we're right about the silk pits beneath the throne room, that stuff burns hotter than oil."
Albrecht frowned. "We can't just set it on fire. The princess is inside."
Kai held up a hand. "I know. That's why we don't just throw a torch. I've got a plan."