bookbashuk Chapter 150 The Basilisk Appears
Chapter 150 The Basilisk Appears
Chapter 150 The Basilisk Appears
With Dui's head-bubbling spell, the poisonous gas in the surrounding air could no longer affect the elven warriors.
Undeterred, the elven army once again displayed its formidable fighting power, rapidly advancing southward and killing all the giant spiders that blocked its path.
The rest fled south in panic.
The army marched straight in and quickly recaptured half of the dark forest.
But soon, everyone realized something was wrong.
Because there were no more giant spiders in sight ahead, and not even one in their nest.
It seems the giant spiders have abandoned this place.
Even after advancing dozens of miles south, the situation remained the same.
Inside the spider's nest, besides some uneaten animal carcasses, there were even unhatched spider eggs.
It looks like they fled upon hearing the news, and had only recently escaped.
But instead of joy, the crowd became solemn and serious.
Giant spiders are very cunning, and their unusual absence from their nests suggests they have all fled south.
The giant spiders have gathered together, and their numbers must be considerable; what follows is sure to be a difficult battle.
Dui stopped the elves from destroying the spider eggs and collected the spider eggs that looked like black pearls.
Some were frozen as potion ingredients, some were kept to hatch as a future potion source, and some were stored as food for the basilisk Helpo.
As the army continued its southward march with constant vigilance and caution,
A sudden noise came from the forest.
The elven warriors, on alert, quickly drew their bows and fired arrows, but the attack was swiftly blocked.
A wooden cart pulled by a large rabbit sped towards them from a distance and then came to an abrupt stop in front of the elf group.
"Darigast! It's you!" Dui greeted him in surprise.
The newcomer was none other than the brown-robed wizard Darrigaster, who looked somewhat eccentric, but his eyes lit up when he saw Dui.
"Ah, it's you, Duir! What are you doing here?"
"His Majesty Thranduil is hunting down the giant spiders in the forest, so I came to lend a hand," Dui explained, then asked, "But what brings you here, Darrigaster? Has something happened?"
"Me? Oh, right, I almost forgot!" Darrigast exclaimed, slapping his forehead as if he'd just remembered, and immediately said, "I'm here to warn! I'm here to warn the elves!"
"What warning do you want us to issue?" Thranduil asked, frowning.
As neighbors living in the same dark forest, Thranduil naturally knew of the brown-robed wizard, but they didn't have much interaction.
Upon seeing Thranduil, Darrigast, as if he had found his target, immediately exclaimed, "All the spiders are gathering south! There are thousands upon thousands of them, densely packed, and all the animals in the forest are terrified, including me!"
"Those bastards of Ugoliant are preparing to attack. They are led by the Spider Queen and intend to wipe out all the elves. You must be prepared—"
"Wait, what did you say about the Spider Queen?" Thranduil seized on the key point and asked.
"The Spider Queen? Oh yes, that's right, the Spider Queen! Her name is Cenassa, and she's the biggest giant spider in the entire forest! She's also the leader of all the giant spiders!" Darrigast replied somewhat incoherently.
When he spoke of the Spider Queen, his expression became extremely agitated, and he said with a hint of fear, "She's bigger than my little house! And she's a minion of that Dark Lord! Right now, she's gathered all the spiders together, preparing to attack you!"
Upon hearing Darrigass's words, Thranduil's expression turned serious.
Dui was also very different.
I never imagined that there would be a Spider Queen in the Dark Forest, and that she would be connected to Sauron.
Upon hearing that the giant spiders were gathering, Thranduil did not hesitate and immediately led his army south, determined to drive all the spiders out of the Dark Forest.
The brown-robed wizard Darrigast also joined them.
Led by Darrigus, everyone continued their march towards the Spider Queen's lair without stopping.
The Spider Queen's lair is located at the southern end of the Dark Forest, not far from Dorgu.
The trees here are taller and more secluded, and the sky is blocked by countless layers of spider webs and leaves, so that not a single ray of light can get in, and it is so dark that the ground cannot be seen at all.
Moreover, because the giant spiders have lived and thrived here for thousands of years, the entire dense forest is covered with countless spider webs, with only spider web tunnels specifically for the giant spiders to walk through, forming an incredibly huge spider kingdom.
Other creatures struggle to survive here, and some even become food for the giant spiders.
When Dui and the other elf army arrived in the valley, they saw the endless "Spider Castle" in front of them.
Such a spider kingdom cannot be achieved through mere destruction.
Seeing the impenetrable wall of spider webs, Thranduil frowned, his expression grave. If they didn't seize the opportunity to wipe out the giant spiders in one fell swoop, this siege would be a complete failure.
Once the giant spiders start multiplying again, they will eventually spread to the northern part of the forest, squeezing out the elves' living space and threatening the safety of the Woodland Kingdom.
But if they were to actually attack, the countless spider webs in front of them would be a huge obstacle, and destroying them would be even more difficult.
"Father, let me lead the squad through those spider tunnels and force them out," Legolas pleaded resolutely. Thranduil shook his head in refusal: "No, there are countless giant spiders inside, not to mention the Spider Queen. Going in would be like walking into a trap!"
"But if these giant spiders are allowed to continue to exist, the Mirkwood will never be peaceful, and before long they will reproduce and move north again, threatening us!" Legolas said worriedly.
"Moreover, I still possess the magic taught by Duir, so I can protect myself even if I enter."
But no matter how much Legolas tried to persuade him, Thranduil had no intention of letting Legolas take the risk.
Watching Thranduil and Legolas argue.
Dui spoke up, "Your Majesty Thranduy, since we cannot break through the spider web, could we perhaps choose a fire attack?"
Upon hearing Dui's words, Thranduil and Legolas both looked at him in surprise.
Thranduil shook his head: "I have considered your suggestion, but if we set fire to it, the entire forest could be affected in a single misstep."
Not only will the creatures in the forest suffer, but we too will be homeless!
"But you could have your army clear a firebreak in the forest and then set fire to the southern part of the forest. That should prevent the fire from spreading to the north," Dui said.
But Dui underestimated the elves' love for nature. The elves of the Dark Forest had a close relationship with the forest, relying on the forest environment for survival; the forest was their home and sanctuary.
Therefore, the elves rarely even cut down trees, let alone burn down large areas of forest to eliminate the giant spider.
Besides the elves, the brown-robed wizard Darrigast also vehemently opposed the suggestion.
As the plant goddess Yavanna, Maia's love for plants surpasses even that for the elves, to the point that she forgot her mission to Middle-earth.
Choose to stay in the forest and be accompanied by plants and animals.
Therefore, they simply cannot bear to see trees being harmed.
Seeing this, Dui regretfully abandoned the suggestion.
Otherwise, a single fire would be enough to engulf these giant spiders in flames, which would be convenient and simple.
Moreover, he was confident that he could control the fire and prevent it from spreading.
However, since fire attack didn't work, Dui simply switched to a slightly more complicated method.
"Your Majesty Thranduil, I have another way to force the giant spiders out, though it's a bit risky. Would you be willing to try?"
"What method?" Serandui asked curiously, knowing that Dui wouldn't speak without reason.
Dui took a leather suitcase out of his spatial bag.
"What's in here?" Thranduil frowned slightly.
He sensed the aura of a dark magical creature within, a species he had never seen before, and one that was extremely dangerous, giving him a feeling of mortal threat.
"It's a creature I bred called the Basilisk," Dui explained. "Its eyes are dangerous; ordinary life forms cannot look directly at them, or they will die instantly. Even looking through a mirror will petrify it."
"Such a creature exists?!" Thranduy was extremely shocked. Just from Thranduy's description, he knew how dangerous this creature was.
Legolas, Alvin, and the others were also quite surprised.
They had never heard Dui mention before that he kept such a creature.
"So, if Your Majesty is willing to give it a try, I can send the basilisk out to force the spiders out of their lair. However, before that, everyone must be on high alert and avoid direct eye contact with the basilisk; otherwise, I cannot guarantee anyone's safety!"
Dui said very seriously.
Serandui hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but ultimately agreed to Dui's plan.
Then he immediately gave an order that no one should look directly at the basilisk, and explained in advance how dangerous the basilisk was.
Once everyone was ready, Dui opened his suitcase and then took a few steps back.
The next second, a huge snake head with a blood-red feather on its head emerged from the box space.
All the elves present, except for Dui, including Thrandui, closed their eyes.
However, even with their eyes closed, the elves were still able to sense everything around them with their extraordinary perception.
Powerful and ancient elves like Thranduil can even perceive things with their mental power, and the perception is almost as accurate as what they see with their eyes.
Therefore, in the perception of Thranduil and the other elves, a giant green python, ten meters long and as thick as an adult's torso, emerged from the box, exuding a powerful aura of dark magic.
Dui did not close his eyes at this moment, because he had signed a "blood oath" contract with the basilisk Helpo, so the basilisk could not harm him in any way.
Therefore, when the basilisk sees Dui, it always closes its eyes on its own initiative.
The basilisk grew incredibly fast, especially after it ate the two giant spiders kept in the tower, its size increased dramatically, and it was almost the size of an adult.
Like snakes, basilisks can sense their surroundings and hunt prey even with their eyes closed, relying on their forked tongue, sense of smell, and heat perception.
At this moment, the basilisk became extremely excited. It used its forked tongue to sense the surrounding air, and then excitedly slapped the ground with its tail.
"Master, I smell food! It's delicious food!" (Snakes)
Upon hearing this, Dui gently patted its head.
"Then go find your food, kill them with your eyes, and force them out!" (Snakes' language)