## Chapter 765 – Arachne Subjugation

After talking to Hilde and Ari, I went out to the backyard and trained moderately until noon before heading back inside. Everyone was already awake, so I told them about the situation as well.

“Oh, so you’re going to subjugate an Arachne this time?”
“Risha, do you know anything about them?”

Risha showed interest after hearing the story.

“I’d say they aren’t very common monsters. Like the Manticore, their numbers used to be quite large, but they’ve become much rarer recently.”

Risha began to share what she knew, as always. She’s definitely the most knowledgeable among us.

Arachnes used to be plentiful, but their numbers dwindled due to constant subjugation and land development. The same goes for Manticores. Powerful monsters are eventually either defeated or driven away by humans.

It’s because those bastards cause immense damage when they’re near human settlements.

No matter how strong they are, they can’t withstand a zerg rush of moderately strong humans. In the end, monsters above a certain level either flee to unexplored territories to avoid humans or become extinct.

Though they still manage to survive somewhere out of sight.

Lycanthropes are similar in that regard.

“A powerful Arachne is certainly a threat, but if it’s not, you should be able to subjugate it without much trouble… Judging by the soldiers’ difficulties, they must have built a very elaborate nest.”
“Nest?”
“Arachnes create armies from their offspring, so if they’ve built a good nest to serve as their base, it could be as defensible as a fortress.”
“Ooh.”

Monsters are better at utilizing terrain than humans.

If they build a nest well, it could truly be a fortress. What if they created such an impregnable fortress and used it as a base to expand their power?

It’s obviously dangerous.

All these dangers are why Arachnes have become rare monsters. They’re like rebel factions, so they’re exterminated on sight.

Of course, this one will die by my hand as well.

“Anyway, a strong Arachne is a challenging opponent, but it’s worth the effort.”
“That’s for sure.”

Strong monsters are valuable.

Their byproducts can be used as magical ingredients, which are quite expensive. And their powerful organs can be eaten as tonics.

“Are you leaving tomorrow? If so, I should prepare.”
“Not right away. We need to prepare first. Take your time. Take your time.”
“Hehe, I understand.”

We can start preparing today.

“A spider monster… Ugh, just imagining it is disgusting.”

Liz, my sister, shuddered and rubbed her arm, as if she had been picturing it. She had goosebumps.

She doesn’t seem to know much about Arachnes.

“Hehe, are you weak against creepy things?”
“How can I not be? So many legs.”

Usually, people are okay with regular spiders, right?

I find things without legs creepier than things with many legs. If I had to choose between hugging a giant spider and hugging a giant caterpillar, I’d pick the former.

“Kehehe, the woman who tears people apart for a living is being squeamish. What’s so creepy about it?”

Karin chuckled and poked Liz’s side.

“Ugh… That’s different. Creepy is creepy. Karin, you should try to be a little more ‘feminine’.”
“I’m feminine enough, aren’t I?”
“Not just in looks. I’m talking about your personality and tendencies.”

Karin is beautiful, though.
Even if her personality is violent, she’s still charming.

“Karin is feminine enough.”
“See?”

As soon as I said that, Karin came over and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Ugh, fine. I guess you’re not bothered by spiders.”

Liz shook her head.

“So, Kkamtung, is it true that the Arachne and a demon are working together?”
“Read this. A field paladin suspects that’s the case.”
“Really?”

I handed the document to Winia and asked.

“If a monster that used to be quiet suddenly starts acting up, it could be because it’s receiving power from a demon. Don’t you think?”
“Hmm… well, maybe.”

Arachnes are intelligent monsters, which is why they’ve been hiding all this time. It doesn’t make sense for them to suddenly become so conspicuous.

That means something unusual is happening, and the church’s suspicions and experiments suggest that a demon is definitely involved. They said it showed a weak reaction to divine power, so it’s a sure thing.

They must have become arrogant while collaborating with the demon.

“Katt, so that monster has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a spider?”
“That’s what they say, but I’ve never actually seen one, so I don’t know.”

It does sound pretty grotesque.

Alraunes and Dryads just look like human women. There aren’t many differences. And Harpies only have bird-like hands and feet; the rest is the same as a human woman.

But the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a spider?

And a huge one at that?

That’s a monster you’d only see in a truly twisted nightmare. A nightmare creature that takes concrete form, growing fat on the fears and prejudices of children around the world who are afraid of spiders.

That bastard is eating people, so we need to subjugate it as soon as possible.

—Tremble, tremble…!

Imagining it made a deadly murderous intent surge from within. That crazy monster! Spiders inject venom into their prey to dissolve their insides into a mushy juice, then suck out the fluids in an inhuman manner!

Arachnes must do the same!

And it’s a bizarre spider monster that’s on a completely different level from the pathetic Giant Spiders! Those bastards must be the same!

It’s like the madness of the imperialist era, where evil and vicious imperialists exploited the blood of poor black people to line their own pockets!

—Sugar cane fields!!!!!

The same act as the cruel Belgian King Leopold II, who tried to make primitive chocolate by squeezing the blood of black people! That worst-of-the-worst Belgian king squeezed the blood of his colonial black subjects alive just to make money, and dismembered and processed their limbs to make imperialist products!

The humans captured by the Arachne must be losing their dignity and suffering in a similar process before dying!

As a seeker of Fusion Confucianism, a Cheonma, and an anti-war activist, I can’t stand by and watch!

“Kuh…!”

Imperialism is an enemy that must be defeated! We must subjugate them to prevent any more victims, no matter what!

“Interesting. I want to see it. How strong can it be?”
“Hah… No matter how strong it is, it can’t be stronger than us.”

I barely managed to suppress my rising anger as I answered.

That evil act that Leopold II, the King of Belgium, committed…

Must never happen again.

“Let’s go kill some monsters and come back.”
“Hehe, yeah. We have to.”

And so, we prepared for departure.

This is a holy war on par with defeating inhumane imperialism. I resolved to dismember those Arachne bastards.

* * *

“Let’s go, you bastards.”

—Krrr.
—Grrr, grrr.

As usual, I finished preparing and got into the carriage. As soon as I urged the inhumane Ilryong and Iryong, they snorted and began to move forward.

These guys inherently love pulling things.

“Hehe, do you like it?”

Ah, this is so heartwarming.

Just looking at these guys makes me feel at ease. Although I still couldn’t tell who was Ilryong and who was Iryong, these pets are angel-beasts that benefit their owner’s heart.

“Do you like it?”

Extremely pleased, I asked them.

Do these guys like it as much as I do?

—…
—…

Why aren’t you answering!

“Hey, you bastards, do you like it! Answer me!”

—Grrr.
—Krr.

They finally made a sound when I shouted.
How dare these bastards?

“Hehe, yeah. You like it a lot.”

Still, I feel good seeing them answer.

Yeah, this is what pets should be like.

They’re beings that are somewhat beyond human comprehension, but that’s why they’re tolerated and feel cute.

Truly healing drakes.

Anyway.

The journey was the same as usual.

We stuck to the main roads and headed to our destination as quickly as possible. It was a bit far, but Ilryong and Iryong seemed to be getting used to it, and their speed increased, so it didn’t take too long.

We arrived at Fioal, a city located near the Mestes Mountains. Fioal is a commercial city that frequently uses several roads through the Mestes Mountains for upward trade, but now an Arachne has appeared in those mountains.

So the city was gloomy.

The air was obviously uneasy. Commercial cities are usually bustling with energy, but the upward trade routes were blocked, so everyone looked like they were about to die.

“Ooh.”

Not only that, but soldiers and armed people were moving busily everywhere.

In addition to the lord’s army and religious people who were currently fighting, mercenaries and adventurers seemed to have flocked in from all over after hearing the rumors.

And there would also be mages who had gathered to study.

Arachnes, strange spider monsters, are all very dangerous, but they’re also profitable. It’s not surprising that people are gathering. But small groups of swordsman adventurers, not mercenaries, won’t be of much help.

They’ll just form parties and hunt one or two for the reward money. Well, that’s usually how it goes. When something like this happens, they offer a reward for each monster killed.

“Here, please take care of the carriage parking and lodging.”
“Yes, I understand.”

The inn wasn’t too expensive, and there didn’t seem to be any price gouging because of the overall recession. We got a room at a reasonable price, entrusted the carriage, and went up to the room.

“Ugh… Katt-nim. Are you going to rest today?”
“I should rest today. Oh, but I’ll go say hello to the church for a bit.”

Let’s do that first and then rest.

“Katt. Be careful.”

As I was about to leave, Claudia came up to me and kissed me on the cheek.

“Hehe, ah. Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Then I immediately looked for the church in the city. I stopped by the plaza on the way, and there was a large bulletin board that said, “Reward per Demon Spider: 1 Silver.”

Demon Spider?
That must be the strange spider monster.

A reward of 1 silver per spider means they’re quite strong monsters. At least a D-rank adventurer from Isvant-Krasheim would be needed to deal with them.

Or it could just be that the problem is so big that they’re offering a lot of money, but judging by the lord’s army and religious people struggling, it seems to be the former. It would be difficult if fairly strong monsters were using the terrain to launch a zerg rush.

Above all, the problem would be finding the demon or Arachne hiding somewhere.

It wasn’t difficult to find the church. I soon found the Brass Holy Angel Society Church. Well, it wasn’t that big.

Anyway, I went right up to it and was about to talk to the gatekeeper, but there wasn’t one.

“Huh?”

The main gate was open too.

So I immediately went through the main gate and knocked on the church door.

—Knock, knock, knock, knock.

“Hello?”

As I was gently knocking on the door…

—Creak.

The door soon opened.

“…What brings you here?”

The one who opened the door was a priest with a very tired expression. I immediately took out my ID and token, which I had prepared in advance, and greeted him.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Katt, a paladin directly under Saintess Kadia.”
“A paladin directly under the Saintess…? Ah, please come in.”

The priest, recognizing me, opened the door wide and led me inside.

“Thank you.”

I immediately followed him inside.

—Thud, thud.

It was dark inside. Were they not turning on the lights? And there was no sign of anyone else. It seemed like I was the only one in the church right now.

“Are you alone?”

When I asked, he replied.

“Yes. Everyone else is currently in the mountains… So I’m taking turns resting and guarding the church.”
“Oh dear, you must be working very hard.”
“It’s our job.”

Well, it’s a demon-related matter, so they can’t just sit in the church. It’s not a big church, so they probably don’t have many people, and they must be suffering.