The Glorious Evolution

Chapter 14 - Queen DraʼWebra.

Suddenly, an enticing melodious voice resonated from above, calming the agitated army of spiders.

As the noise died out, the voice owner moved past the dim light, casting a horrific shadow of a humongous Queen Spider tiptoeing on a complicated web.

But then, a single web line fell from the ceiling and what came down wasnʼt the giant horrific spider Queen. But, a stunning blue-skinned curvy humanoid female with violet wavy hair, two dark red eyes, and smooth violet fur covering her private parts.

If one looked at her from the front, they would be absolutely smitten as no monstrous qualities were displaced.

However, the moment they looked at her back, their hearts would be chilled at the size of her abdomen attached to her tailbone.

As Queen DraʼWebra sat in midair, crossing her muscular lean legs, another telepathic message resounded in her mind...This time, the voice was rough and rugged.

ʼQueen DraʼWebra, everything is going according to the plan. The Daywalkers will reach the Harrowing Forest in less than an hour.ʼ

ʼHow about those early vermins, and especially the red haired girl? Have they perished yet?ʼ

ʼNo, they have already reached the center of the forest. Our ambushes fail every time like they have a great detection skill.ʼ

Queen DraʼWebra frowned in displeasure.

Seemingly sensing her dissatisfaction, the messenger hastily tried to appease her.

ʼMy Queen, I will make sure they will be the first to die. We will move once the forest is sealed. No one and nothing will ruin your precious feast.ʼ

ʼNelʼVass, words mean nothing to me.ʼ Queen DraʼWebra uttered icily, ʼBring me results, or you will be the appetizer to my children.ʼ

ʼUnderstood...ʼ

Meanwhile, at the depths of the fallen Shadow Castle nest, a devilish humanoid goat with two curvy horns and a long shadowy goatee was seen sitting on a chair made out of rocks.

He was tapping his finger on the armchair with an irked expression.

ʼDraʼWebra is merciless and loyal only to her hunger. She didnʼt hesitate to weaken my Lordʼs nest and leak the information to the humans just to bait the follow-up Daywalker cleaners and feast on them.ʼ He thought to himself, cold sweat covering his back.

ʼShe is a true demon and if I were to mess up her feast, she wonʼt hesitate to eat my crystallized seed.ʼ

NelʼVass was the only surviving intelligent Tier 3 nightcrawler from the Shadow Castle nest. He didnʼt survive because he was lucky, he betrayed his own nest after watching with his own eyes how Queen DraʼWebra manhandled his Lord.

In the world of nightcrawlers, there was no such thing as ultimate loyalty, only fear and respect for absolute strength.

The moment NelʼVass saw what happened to his Lord, his respect turned into scorn, and he didnʼt hesitate to jump boats.

While this had saved him from falling with the nest, his treatment under Queen DraʼWebra was even worse than a Tier 1 nightcrawler.

Thatʼs because Queen DraʼWebra wasnʼt following the same nesting system as other nightcrawlers, where the nightcrawlerʼs tier and his achievements defined his hierarchy standing within the nest.

She was considered a Lurker Nightcrawler, who hunted after both humans and nightcrawlers to fulfill her hunger, evolution, and her childrenʼs endless appetite.

In other words, NelʼVass understood that his worth in her eyes was next to nothing unless he proved himself.

ʼF*ck, if I canʼt even take out a bunch of kids, I might as well commit suicide.ʼ NelʼVassʼ expression turned sinister.

...

A while later, the sun was peeking over the horizon, offering its rays of hope and safety.

Shia lifted her head and glanced at the sky slowly being painted in lavender as the first light scattered over the hills.

”Mantisʼ party must have already reached the forest.” Shia rubbed her tired eyelids, ”Letʼs take a rest for two hours. Use SR Drops and get some sleep. I will take the first shift.”

Although Daywalkers didnʼt need the medication to get a natural eight hours of sleep due to their contracted nightcrawlerʼs protection, they still relied on the SR pills heavily.

After all, a two hour of induced coma that provided an equal rest to a six-hour sleep was a true hack in life.

Unfortunately, those free hours of the day didnʼt come free of cost...

”I canʼt believe we havenʼt found a single Blood Crystal Flower.” Jamal sighed as he sat down on the ground, feeling disheartened.

”Now, it will be more annoying with Mantisʼ army snooping everywhere.” Sergio kicked a rock in irritation.

”Donʼt be discouraged.” Shia replied calmly, ”We did find some seeds at least. If we get unlucky for an entire week straight, we will leave with the forestʼs soil and give it to my familyʼs botanists to grow me the flowers I need.”

”For the rest of the materials, I will just find a way to buy them from the Sunstrike agency. They must have an overstock.”

”Wait, this isnʼt part of the deal.” Arthur immediately protested, ”Even I know rare graded natural treasures take months to grow at their optimal environment.”

”You donʼt have to worry, your brother will get his recommendation...He made sure of it in the contract.” Shia glanced at Levi, who was sitting alone against a tree in silence.

”Oh yea, I forgot...”

After hearing this, Arthurʼs shitty memory acted up and made him remember the term she was referring to in the contract.

The term forced Shia to fulfill her part of the deal and help Levi participate in the upcoming assembly, even if his method hadnʼt been checked out yet. After all, it wasnʼt his problem if Shia failed to collect the materials in the next two months.

”You guys have drops or pills?” Shia asked the Larson Brothers.

”We have neither.” Arthur lied through his teeth shamelessly.

Unbothered, Shia threw a pill bottle to Arthur and said, ”Keep it with you.”

”Woah...” Arthurʼs eyes gleamed in delight, ʼWe got two bottles in one day? Life is good.ʼ

Then, he went to feed his brother a pill, but he rejected it.

”Itʼs okay, I am not tired, I will take the first shift with Shia.” Levi smiled, ”You should get some rest, you have been working tirelessly.”

”This is nothing to what I do at the gym,”

Arthur smirked cockily as he flexed his massive muscles, annoying Jamal and Sergio with one move.

”Gym rat.”

”Cocky asshole.”

They mumbled under their breaths, not wanting to look jealous in front of Shia. Then, they pulled their own SR Drops and poured one drop on each eye.

They entered their tents and waited for the medication to take effect. Just like being drugged with anesthesia, in less than ten seconds, their eyes became too heavy to open. Once they were closed, their minds entered a mimicked deep sleep state.

Since this state lasted for less than two hours, they could dream all they wanted, and the nightcrawlers wouldnʼt bother them even if they had no contracted nightcrawler to keep watch.

Arthur soon joined them under his brotherʼs insistence, leaving only Shia and Levi awake.

”Do you know anything about tracking?” Shia inquired curiously.

”I know a bit.” Levi answered.

”Good, come help me throw Mantis off our back.” Shia sneered, ”I know that two-faced prick, he will come rushing here to screw with us.”

”Oh, okay.” Levi stood up, dusting his buttocks. Then, he asked one question, ”Is there a tracker within his party?”

”Thatʼs the thing, he has a great tracker called Masai.” Shia rubbed her eyebrows, ”He is rarely wrong.”

”I see.” Levi smiled serenely, ”Leave it to me then.”

”Oh? You have something?” Shia raised an eyebrow in intrigue.

As Levi was sharing his plan with Shia, Mantisʼ massive raid finally reached the forest.

The moment they stepped inside, they separated into their chosen squads and each went to their designated location to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Mantisʼ main squad headed straight to the center of the forest.

”Shiaʼs party must have already found something precious, we canʼt stop them, but we can slow them down.” Mantis spoke coldly, though, his feminine voice wasnʼt helping.

If it was up to him, he wouldnʼt hesitate to eliminate her entire party and ensure that all the remaining treasures would go to his agency.

Thatʼs because he wasnʼt the one funding this expedition, but his agency. However, as its leader, he would be compensated heavily for each natural treasure found.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to make a move against another Daywalker when they were using the NeuraLens.

Those lenses were recording everything each second and transmitting the data to the cloud services of their respectful Holy Region, ensuring that the Daywalkers behave even in the wastelands.

The Daywalkers only agreed to such a breach of privacy due to the Nocturnal Contracts.

The staff responsible for those cloud services were under strict contractual bindings to not peer through anyoneʼs data unless an anomaly occurred, and a warranty was used to extract the data.

Those were the precautions used to protect the Daywalkers from each other. But, if there were one thing humans were masters of, it was finding ways to adapt and bypass the rules...

Unfortunately for Mantis and his army, humans werenʼt the only ones with the cruel cunningness to harm their own race for selfish reasons...

ʼMy Queen, your food is preparing itself neatly on the plate.ʼ Malak shared with a sinister smile, her eyes turning pitch-black for a split second.

Danny felt a sudden chill on his back as he was riding his camel through the forest.

When he turned around, he noticed Malakʼs sweet smile while she looked at him...Immediately, the smile washed away the chill, leaving him to smile back, feeling butterflies in his stomach.

”Are you comfortable?” Danny asked while touching her arm.

”You have no idea...” Malak replied sweetly as she leaned against his back.

The same Daywalkers in their squad couldnʼt help but roll their eyes in annoyance and speed past them, incapable of taking in the cringe.