Chapter 241: The Sunken Gate and the Visage in the Dark

“Since they can understand commands, they have value for taming.”

Having lived in the lifeless northern lands for so long, Phield cherished any form of life here. Looking up at the corpse cocoons hanging above, his eyes lit up. “Since these spiders can carry bodies up steep walls, they can help us transport defensive weapons onto the city walls in the future.”

“That’s true.”

Ashina sheathed her sword, no longer seeing the spiders as enemies. She forcefully pulled a strand of silk from one of the cocoons and handed it to Phield, smiling. “These threads are incredibly tough. No wonder they can bear heavy loads.”

“Strong, and flexible.”

Phield held the spider silk in his hand, stretching and examining it repeatedly, growing more and more pleased. “It feels very similar to silk. I think the spider silk itself is the real treasure.”

“Black Wolf, can you tell them to submit to me?”

Drakewolf spread its claws awkwardly, forming a distorted “OK” gesture.

“My lord, it can do it, but it will need some time to communicate.”

Ashina acted as the translator, finding it quite amusing, her eyes curving into a smile.

“As expected of the hardest worker in the Nightfall Domain.”

Phield gave a silent thumbs-up. Seeing the spiders attempting to communicate with Drakewolf, he knew it would work and suggested, “Let’s give these spiders a name.”

Ashina stared at the crimson patterns on the spiders that formed human faces and said, “How about… Human-Faced Demon Spiders?”

“Absolutely not!”

Phield nearly choked and waved his hands repeatedly. “That name sounds like something meant for sacrifice.”

Although she did not understand why the baron reacted so strongly, Ashina flicked her wolf ears lightly, her lashes trembling as she smiled. “Then how about Rose Spiders, since you come from the Ross family?”

“That sounds nice. I like it.”

Just as the two finished discussing the name, Drakewolf had already convinced the spiders.

The Rose Spiders lowered their heads one by one, showing submission.

“I accidentally harmed some of your kind earlier. I apologize. From now on, your safety will be my responsibility.”

Whether they understood or not, Phield said his piece.

“Let’s keep moving. The sound of the waterfall is getting closer. I think we’re nearing the end.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The two continued forward through the darkness, while the Rose Spiders followed obediently behind.

As time passed, the rock walls began to narrow, stalactites appeared everywhere, and the air grew thick with moisture.

“My lord, look. The underground river is blocked by a door.”

Ashina’s eyes gleamed in the darkness. With a wave of her hand, Drakewolf ignited flames, acting as a bright light source as it quickly moved forward to illuminate the path.

As Drakewolf approached, Phield finally saw clearly. A massive, heavy door filled with an ancient aura stood there, cutting off the darkness.

Standing before the door, Phield could not help but feel small.

“To be precise, the water seems to flow out through the gaps in the door.”

Walking to the base of the door, Phield could clearly see tiny cracks where water seeped through.

“Let me see what’s inside.”

Peering through the gap, Phield looked inside. With just one glance, he was nearly scared out of his wits.

A woman’s head, completely black and submerged in water, met his gaze.

Her face hovered between decay and life, her bluish complexion twisted in an unnatural way.

Even more terrifying, the woman suddenly smiled strangely, then burst out of the water and slammed violently against the door.

Bang!

“What the hell!”

Phield staggered back several steps, his heart pounding wildly.

“What was that?”

Seeing her lord startled, Ashina was immediately angered. A flash of cold light appeared as she thrust her spear into the gap, but it struck nothing.

Looking again, Phield saw only darkness behind the door, with nothing but the deep underground river.

“You heard that just now, right?”

“I did. The sound of something breaking through the water. I heard it too.”

Ashina’s expression was serious as she nodded quickly.

“There’s definitely something unusual inside. What kind of monster was that?”

Even more strangely, the mini-map showed no indication of danger.

Phield pushed against the door, but it did not move at all. Looking around, he noticed stone pedestals standing on both sides of the door. Ashina brushed away the dust, revealing the words carved on them.

“Silver Key, Gold Key? What does that mean?”

Phield rubbed his head, feeling as though he had heard of this before. After pacing back and forth, he suddenly clapped his hands in excitement. “Do you remember that ornate longsword called the Silver Key? The one we found in Ophelia’s treasure chest after defeating her.”

“It wasn’t particularly powerful, but its craftsmanship was astonishing.”

“I remember now.”

Ashina nodded repeatedly, suddenly enlightened. “These two pedestals are sword sheaths.”

“More precisely, they’re locks, and the swords are the keys. Unfortunately, I only have the silver key. Otherwise, I’d really like to open this door and see what’s inside.”

Phield placed his hand on the door, feeling the overwhelming aura emanating from within. “I have a feeling there’s something extraordinary inside.”

“We’ll need to find out where the gold key is. As for exploring, we’ll leave it for now. There’s no path ahead, so let’s head back.”

Phield was not shaken by the earlier encounter. After taking a few steps, he turned to Ashina. “We can develop this underground area. There’s a lot of space, and many areas are free of gray mist. Most importantly, there’s water here.”

“However, this water… My lord, please don’t drink it.”

Ashina looked worried.

“It’s fine. We can filter it with charcoal and cloth, then have Tisiana purify it with holy light. At worst, we can use it for industrial purposes.”

Phield waved his fist energetically.

On the way back, Phield tested the abilities of the Rose Spiders.

They were indeed able to move within the gray mist, but it was not because they were immune to it.

When one Rose Spider entered the mist, the veins on its body began to wriggle and turned a deeper red, forming a cross-shaped pattern. Then a faint layer of holy light appeared on its surface, dispersing the gray mist in a small area around it.

“They’re actually creatures of holy light? No wonder they’re so docile.”

Phield recalled records from old texts. Holy light creatures did exist in this world, though they were rare and usually kept by the Church.

“Oh? Then Miss Tisiana will be very pleased.”

Ashina glanced at Phield with a teasing expression.

“Cough… perhaps.”

Phield pretended not to understand, acting clueless.

Back on the surface, the Rose Spiders poked their heads out of the pit, startling the soldiers guarding the area so badly that they nearly jumped out of their skins.

“Protect the lord!”

One of the cavalry shouted and rushed forward.

“It’s fine. These are pets I just caught. Aren’t they cute?”

Phield waved his hands and casually patted the furry head of a spider beside him.

“Cute, very cute.”

“If that thing bumps into me, I’d probably cry for a long time.”

“The lord is truly favored by the gods.”

The soldiers were stunned. Such ferocious-looking creatures were as docile as lambs before the baron, making them admire him even more.

“The aura of holy light. These are creations of the Goddess of Holy Light.”

Tisiana sensed the power of holy light and immediately saw through the nature of the Rose Spiders. She was delighted at first, but as she looked at them, her brows furrowed slightly. “The Church once had a living divine artifact, a giant white spider. Its Divine Chosen later disappeared. Could it be… that it vanished in the northern lands?”

“Holy light isn’t the origin of everything. Don’t overthink it.”

Phield shrugged, worried she might fall too deeply under the Church’s influence. He gestured for her to stop overthinking, though he silently took note of it.

“I suppose I’m overthinking.”

Tisiana stuck out her tongue.

Before long, Kai arrived with the demi-human cavalry. He dismounted swiftly and knelt on one knee. “Please punish me, my lord. Even something as simple as escorting slaves has troubled you.”

“I’ll let it slide this time. Be more vigilant next time.”

Phield spoke sternly but had no intention of punishing him. He pointed to the area around the pit. “Kai, escort another hundred slaves here. Clear the surrounding corruption, build watchtowers and wooden walls, widen the pit, and construct stairs.”

“Yes, my lord. I will complete the task.”

“Good. Ashina, let’s continue the assault on the city. With the Rose Spiders, taking Starnight City will be much faster.”

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