Chapter 236: Between Life and Death

The Dwarfs around Sinuoli had learned their lesson; the moment they saw the Brood Queen acting strangely, they immediately broke their dense formation, preparing to wait until it finished using its skill before deciding on their next move.

The imagined splitting of the earth did not occur; the Brood Queen spider let out a "Puff!" and birthed a large mass of spider eggs, which rolled twice until they reached the front of the Dwarf line.

"Hahaha! This spider is so scared its legs have gone soft!"

"Could it be that we smashed its backside, and now it can't hold it in?"

"Who is that? Always aiming for the lower three paths!"

The Dwarfs burst into laughter at the sight, and Sinuoli did not understand it either; could it be that the Brood Queen knew it was doomed and wanted to leave behind some offspring? He would not let this spider have its way.

Before the Dwarfs could react, a force from the Shenkan empowered the spider eggs; those eggs began to hatch in the blink of an eye, and the emerging spiderlings grew larger at an extremely rapid speed.

In an instant, a squad of adult spiders had formed; they did not need to charge, nor did they need to break through a hail of bullets, appearing directly beneath the Dwarfs' feet. Such an occurrence, defying common sense, undoubtedly plunged Sinuoli's defensive line into chaos once again.

"Tighten formation!" Sinuoli shouted while slamming his Warhammer into the ground, unleashing a Thunder Strike. The spiders were sent reeling, and the Dwarfs quickly restored their shield wall.

"Look out!"

"Don't!"

Sinuoli did not stand up immediately after using his skill; after one battle followed by another, coupled with the continuous smoke, fire, and the deafening roars of people and hisses of spiders, he was somewhat exhausted.

He was still dazed when he heard his clansmen's shouts, and as the blood flowed back to his brain, he looked up and saw a mass of indescribable milky-white substance shooting straight at him.

"Slap!"

Sinuoli's muscle memory was faster; he raised his Shield with his left hand, blocking this strange ranged attack.

"Cough!"

The impact contained in this strike made him grunt, and as Sinuoli tried to step back to dissipate the force, he discovered with horror that he could not move!

The milky-white spider silk had glued him and his Shield to the ground. Before Sinuoli could figure out how to break free, a fishy gust of wind swept down from above.

Two enormous chelicerae appeared above his head, and the Brood Queen's mandibles scraped the ground, taking Sinuoli, along with his Shield, into its mouth in one bite!

"I cannot die here yet!"

Sinuoli let out a fierce roar; at this critical moment, his subjective initiative erupted. Ever since he transmigrated, he had been toiling and busy, and the End Times hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles. As a transmigrator, he could not accept dying in a spider's mouth without having performed the fancy tricks he had enjoyed in his previous life.

Sinuoli used both hands to hold up his Shield, bracing against the constantly pressing chelicerae that were dripping with venom; these two massive things were each almost as large as Sinuoli himself.

At the same time, his feet were also exerting force, and the Runes on his legendary-quality boots flowed, preventing the Brood Queen from closing its mandibles. Sinuoli was slightly surprised; he discovered that the Brood Queen's bite force was not as strong as he had imagined.

This was because a spider's mouthparts are very small and cannot ingest food through chewing or swallowing. Therefore, after capturing prey, a spider first injects a digestive enzyme to break the prey down into a nutrient-rich soup, which it then sucks up through its mouthparts.

But this "poor bite force" was only relative to other behemoths; the gap between Sinuoli's strength and the spider's was vast, and within a few breaths, Sinuoli began to struggle to hold on.

He certainly would not sit and wait for death, so he poured his Revival Points into the Grimnir ritual's strength-boosting option as if they were worthless.

The Dwarfs stood with mouths agape, watching as the Chosen of the Goddess, who was about to suffer a misfortune, began to glow with red light, and with a burst of strength, he actually began to slowly pry the Brood Queen's mouth open.

"By the Ancestor Gods!"

"Attack! Save him!"

The members of the Expeditionary Force finally did not need Sinuoli to call them; they swarmed to annihilate the Brood Queen. The Brood Queen did not show weakness either, using its eight legs to strike left and right while biting down hard with its mouth.

"Sizzle!"

The wrestling match was gradually tipping in his favor, but before Sinuoli could rejoice, he discovered that the Shield he relied on for protection was being corroded by digestive fluids. Although this Shield, crafted by a Rune Master from Weifengbao, could be called a masterpiece, it still could not withstand the venom of a Demigod giant spider.

"What to do?" Sinuoli fell into a frantic state of thought; he dared not test the venom that could corrode even his Shield with his own flesh.

Suddenly, his gaze focused on the hand supporting the Shield; the Iron Chisel Ring on his left middle finger shimmered in the lightless mouth of the Brood Queen. Ever since the level of his Storm Hammer had gradually increased, he had rarely used that Master-class Flight Rune he had obtained at the very beginning.

This Rune could produce a large fireball, but compared to the Storm Hammer, it had no other advantages besides a longer range. To balance single-target and area-of-effect damage, the fireball was not condensed enough, had a long wind-up, lacked impressive power, and could not lock onto targets, making its aim poor.

Against swarms of enemies, its effect was not as good as the Rune of Wrath and Ruin, which triggered explosions directly from the ground. Not to mention it lacked the secondary effects of slowing enemies and breaking formations, it could also be blocked by enemies in the front row.

Therefore, this Rune had been gradually excluded from Sinuoli's frequently used skills, but he suddenly realized that it was perfect for the current situation.

"Hah!"

Sinuoli tensed every muscle in his body, shifting all his strength to his left hand to free his right, then gave a light flick to trigger the throwing Rune and recall his Warhammer. He then held the hammer in his right hand, using the hammer face to support the Shield before switching his left hand.

These two hand-switches bought his left hand more room to maneuver for aiming. Sinuoli struggled to twist his body to make a slight adjustment to his direction, and finally, with a light flick, a massive fireball appeared inside the Brood Queen's mouth.

Feeling the sudden rise in temperature in its mouth, the Brood Queen also realized something was wrong and tried to spit Sinuoli out, but how would the Dwarf Prince let it have its way! Eat when it wants, spit when it wants—what did it take him for?

"Boom!"

The fireball shot into the depths of the Brood Queen's oral cavity and exploded there. A spider's body is divided into the cephalothorax and the abdomen, connected by a relatively thin waist. This strike, exploding from the inside, nearly snapped the Brood Queen's waist in two!

Sinuoli now felt like he was on a roller coaster; the giant spider was rolling and struggling frantically. In the dark space of its mouth, he could not feel what was happening outside, and all he could do was try his best to steady his body and protect his face and head, which lacked armor.

After two rolls, he did not know where his Shield had been flung; unable to defend himself, Sinuoli had no choice but to take the initiative. He could not aim, so he fired a Storm Hammer blindly.

"Puff!"

His Warhammer seemed to have burst a venom sac, and a large amount of green venom surged straight toward his face!