Chapter 98: Queen Spider
The drills hadn't stopped in days.
More gold. More iron. More ominite. The village was richer than ever, and the forge glowed day and night. But Caelen wanted to keep digging. Something tugged at him—like there was more just below the next layer of rock.
So he kept going.
He had two golems beside him and a reinforced lantern on his belt. The tunnel ahead grew tighter, warmer, and smelled of something... odd. Not metal. Not earth. Something sharper.
"Smells like... rot," Caelen muttered.
Ten more steps. Then the wall opened.
A vast cave spread out before him, twice the size of the village square. His lantern light caught glints of silk strung across the ceiling—massive webs crisscrossing like bridges.
And there they were.
Spiders.
Dozens of them.
Their bodies shimmered black and red. Legs like spears. Some crawled across the walls, others crouched over shiny egg sacs. One raised its head toward him and hissed.