Chapter 40: Reunion
Gum Torin reacted instantly, scrambling up a towering ancient tree nearby. From his vantage point, he spotted movement in the distant woods—a figure weaving through the branches, robes fluttering. There was no mistaking it: Lordi Payne.
"That punk's right ahead!" Gum Torin grinned, shouting down to his crew below. "Looks like he's lost—running straight toward us!"
"Ha! Stumbled upon the jackpot after kicking rocks for miles!" Hwong Hyun and Chen Mave froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. Hwong Hyen cracked his knuckles, sneering as he moved to intercept. "We were worried chasing him would delay Senior Brother Chen's timing, and here he comes knocking!"
They fanned out to cut him off. Lordi Payne, mid-escape, soon noticed them and lit up as if he'd spotted long-lost kin. "Senior Brother Hwong! Senior Brother Gum! And Senior Sister Chen—I finally found you! Wait, where's Senior Brother Chen and Senior Sister Sil?"
"They're waiting for you at the Soul-Devouring Parent Formation!" Hwong Hyen smirked, lunging to grab him.
But in that instant, a blood-red glow flared around Lordi Payne. His speed spiked, and in a hair's-breadth dodge, he shot past them like an arrow loosed from a bow. The gust he kicked up even stung their faces!
Hwong Hyun's trio blinked, sensing the situation too late. Lordi Payne was already a blur in the distance, shouting as he ran, "Sister and Brothers, I've done Senior Brother Chen's orders! The demon beast's lured here as planned—quick, let's kill it together! Send it to reunite with its offspring!"
Instinctively, the trio glanced back. Several ancient trees shattered under massive spider legs, crashing down as five pairs of crimson eyes glared with unbridled fury!
Then, the giant legs bent and stretched, hurling a hulking hill into the sky. The trio's blood froze as they saw the human face on its belly—it was the Man-Faced Spider, its malice-filled visage twisted with rage. It spat a vast web straight at them.