As Luo Yan crossed his legs and settled down for meditation and rest, in a corner of the north side of level 1 of the Underground Maze, the chittering of insects in a nest resembling Silk Cave was as tumultuous as surging waves.

Dense spider webs entangled with each other in the not-so-spacious area, weaving into an interconnected network of bridges in the air.

Tens of thousands of Earth Cave Spiders scuttled about here.

There were behemoths two meters long, and tiny ones the size of a palm… the sight of the teeming swarm could make one's sanity plummet with just one glance!

Even the bravest and most experienced adventurer from Sword and Broken Sword Pavilion would, upon witnessing this scene, turn tail and flee without a second thought…

If they could still make an escape, that is.

Clearly,

this place had gone beyond the scope of a mere maze and had completely become a monster's nest… This was no longer an issue for adventurers to handle but something that the local lord should deal with.

For adventurers who eked out a living in the maze, there was absolutely no need for them to worry on behalf of the lord and risk their lives.

It's worth mentioning that although Earth Cave Spiders fall under the category of monsters and can be summoned by the core of the maze, dying and dropping Demon Crystals… they also possess certain biological traits that do not conflict with their monster characteristics.

And not only that.

Powerful Earth Cave Spiders could even develop intelligence akin to humans or even overcome their racial talent for "solitude" and evolve into "communal tribes" with the traits of a civilization.

Especially when the maze's monsters cohabit with those under natural conditions, the latter would naturally bring the "advanced ideas" from outside into the maze, accelerating these little bugs' transformation from "primitive spiders" to "civilized spiders."

Normally, a competent Demon King would avoid such a situation.

After all, only obedient monsters are good monsters; those that unite are not only useless but become pests within the maze.

Monsters capable of establishing their own order were not limited to Earth Cave Spiders.

And once these monsters formed their own order, they would no longer actively respond to the Demon King's summons and might even show signs of separatism, establishing independent "nests" within the maze and preying on other monsters in the maze.

In a sense, the Slave Rats that fled to North Peak Mine are victims of such circumstances.

While Reggie Dragon was still alive, they lived quite comfortably in the maze, not only with a steady supply of food but also venturing out every now and then to steal the farmers' food, frustrating the latter to no end.

However, after the death of Lord Demon King, this situation underwent a drastic change.

Originally being the lowest slave in the Demon King Territory, they went directly from "cannon fodder" to "food."

Conversely, as one of the Rat People's natural enemies, the Earth Cave Spiders thrived amidst the lack of basic order in the maze.

A matriarch spider named Alachinos proclaimed herself "Cave Lord" with the support of her myriad offspring and established a realm known as Weaving Shadow Nest on the first level's northern part.

Different from the "lone dwellers" wandering in the maze,

they were not only stronger and more industrious but also had a clear social division of labor.

They moved in groups through the caves, some taking care of the spider eggs, some packing up their prey, others feeding the plump maggot larvae or digging the maze's walls, transporting soil, and expanding the nest outward... as busy as bees in a hive.

Furthermore, under the leadership of the Cave Lord, the Earth Cave Spiders of Weaving Shadow Nest rapidly assimilated the "lone dwellers" wandering in the maze and the emerging big and small Earth Cave Spider tribes, becoming a powerhouse in the underworld of Thunder City, creating a miracle-like prosperity!

Ambition swells not just in humans, but in insects as well.

Especially since "Alachinos" was well aware of the great power of the Demon King's minions, and how puny she seemed in their presence.

Those Demons were not as easily bullied as the little mice.

Although for now they were preoccupied to pay attention to the maze's surface-level, setting their sights on this place was inevitable.

And Hell would send a new Demon King.

That being would not care who was innocent and who deserved to die.

To achieve true freedom, Weaving Shadow Nest had to expand its territory outwards, enlarging their living space and population until they could establish a vast "Nest City" deep in the mountains, far surpassing the Underground Maze and even Thunder City—

By that time,

neither Hell nor the realms of men would dare look down on them!

However, just as the noble Cave Lord was implementing its grand plan, a group reeking of the stench of corpses happened to step into its web...

The frantic steps interrupted Alachinos' contemplation, as a strong gray-shelled male spider crawled at the entrance of her chamber.

"Your Majesty, our people sent to the 'expansion territory' have been slaughtered by the outsiders who came in! The outpost is destroyed, the ground littered with the corpses of our children, none have survived!"

The chittering sounds carried anger and sorrow.

If not for the fear of the intruders' power, it would have desperately rushed to tear them to shreds.

Alachinos, towering like a mountain, gazed down at her servant; a flicker of disbelief and wariness shone within each of her crimson pupils.

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