Our Family Has Fallen

Most of these children could only recognize characters and then become farmers, soldiers, or craftsmen, contributing to Hamlet.

Only those who truly showed talent could move on to deeper learning, come into contact with profound knowledge, and receive better nurturing.

Just as Lance was engrossed in his writing, a stir from Paracelsus's tent caught his attention. He saw the neatly dressed doctor emerging, having only removed her mask.

Lance noticed her slightly awkward expression and probably guessed the reason. It was a call of nature, nothing to be embarrassed about.

"You don't need to wake her up. I'll accompany you."

In the wilderness, one should never be alone at any time. Even for a bathroom break, one should go with another person. William had Fergus, whereas Lance had Wang Cai. During the day, Boudica would partner with her, but now it was somewhat awkward.

Even someone of Paracelsus's aloof disposition couldn't help but feel embarrassed upon hearing this.

"Or shall I let Wang Cai go with you?" Lance reached over to rouse Wang Cai, who lay beside him.

Roused from his sound sleep, Wang Cai glanced at Paracelsus without moving a muscle and laid his head back down.

He was quite disagreeable toward anyone other than Lance. It was already well-behaved of him not to attack.

"Let's go. It's good for me to move around a bit anyway," Lance said, rising to his feet, feeling stiff after sitting for so long.

With no other choice, Paracelsus followed him out of the structure's ruins, leaving the light of the campfire behind as darkness swallowed them.

"Right here is fine. I can't see anything at night anyway."

"A bit further~" Paracelsus whispered, fearing the sound of her relieving herself would be heard by others.

Lance, unable to see her face in the darkness, still couldn't help but caution her.

"I've told you not to stray too far from your companions in the wilderness. I need the campsite within my line of sight," Lance said, turning his head to wait for her, still contemplating the study materials.

Paracelsus couldn't care less. If she could hold it, she wouldn't have gotten up. She quickly squatted down, intending to finish quickly.

"You need to talk to me, so I know you're alright."

Paracelsus was already too nervous to let go, and hearing that made her even more resentful. Unsurprisingly, she did not respond.

Lance waited for quite a while without hearing any sound from behind. This made him snap back to reality. He turned around and activated Spiritual Vision, turning the world black and white.

But as soon as he did, it was like he noticed something, looking up sharply to see long, slender limbs glowing with spiritual fluorescence in his sight.

A night ambush!

The crossbow appeared in his hand. He forcefully cocked it without hesitation and shot towards Paracelsus's head, but the shot missed and embedded itself in a tree, trembling slightly.

Lance's sudden action startled her. Already on edge, she let out a trickle of water as her body relaxed.

But Lance didn't have time to concern himself with that. He was already loading the second crossbow arrow and took another shot.

Hearing a different thud this time, he wasn't sure what he hit, but at the same time, frantic thrashing sounds came from the treetops, like something whipping through the branches.

Only then did Paracelsus realize something had truly been above her. She hastily composed herself.

And she drew the flame-shaped Short Sword in her hand.

All she saw when she looked up was pitch darkness, while the sound above had died down.

"What was it?"

She barely got the words out when she saw a serious expression spread across Lance's face. He whispered, "If I tell you to run, you run back to the camp, got it? Don't look back~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lance pushed her away with one hand while shouting lowly.

"Go!"

Lance retracted the crossbow and instead drew Giant Slayer, holding it before him as he charged forward.

Paracelsus, not understanding the situation, still instinctively turned and ran back. She heard rustling sounds behind her but managed to resist the urge to look back, speeding towards the camp.

But when she returned to the edge of the campfire's glow, she couldn't resist looking back. In the light of the fire, she saw what was behind her.

It was a Giant Spider, half the size of a man. Eight single eyes of varying sizes on its head glowed a dark red. Its mouthparts were a pair of prominent and thick pincers, and it had four pairs of slender, black-armored limbs that ended in points like spikes. The spider's hefty abdomen was also covered in dark red bristles as stiff as steel needles.

There was another type of Giant Spider with a ring of spikes around the edge of its abdomen, dark green bristles, and two differently sized pairs of pincers as its mouthparts.

Why on earth did such enormous spiders exist?

What was even more terrifying was that there wasn't just one, but three, arriving one after another. As for the Lord, his figure had vanished into the darkness; he hadn't followed.

Where was he?

Without seeing that figure, she didn't know why her heart began to panic.

But the enemy would not wait for her, and the moment she paused, she attracted the spider's attack. One of the spiders raised its backside and shot out a thick white substance.

"AWOOO!"

A wolf's howl pierced the air. Paracelsus, caught off guard, tried to dodge, but the substance reacted with air and unfurled like a white canvas, expanding its reach as it enveloped her.

Even though she was quick to react, some of it inevitably stuck to her, and she then realized it was exceptionally sticky and tough. When she tried to cut through it with her Short Sword, it only stuck more to it.

At that moment, the Giant Spiders pounced forward, showing agility that belied their massive size, their mouth pincers quivering as if eager for a feast.

A white flash leaped forward, undaunted by the Giant Spider's menacing visage. Wang Cai displayed his innate talent, biting directly into a front leg of the Giant Spider and interrupting its attack.

As they both landed, the pain sent the Giant Spider thrashing wildly, its remaining limbs raised high, ready to plunge down the next second.

But Wang Cai was no pushover. With a snarl and a forceful bite, he shattered the hard shell on the limb, which snapped with a crisp sound like breaking potato chips. He shook his head violently and tore the limb right off.

However, for a Giant Spider with four pairs of sharp legs, the loss of one limb was insignificant. The two separated and the next second were locked in combat again.

But the other two spiders had set their sights on Paracelsus...

"WAAAGH!!!"

A battle cry erupted as Boudica charged out, bringing her War Halberd down directly on the head of the Giant Spider. The green Giant Spider, abandoning its attack, moved swiftly on its eight legs to dodge the blow.

But it had no intention of retreating. Opening its mouth wide, it spat a thick green unknown liquid at Boudica with its two pairs of pincers.

With her abilities, she naturally wouldn't be hit so easily. She nimbly dodged and then rushed up with her War Halberd, not allowing the Giant Spider any chance to widen the distance.

To Boudica, who grew up in the forests, a spider, no matter how large, was still a spider—just something to be hacked to death.

Meanwhile, Paracelsus finally tore off the sticky spider silk. While she might handle ordinary people well, against these non-human creatures, her Short Sword wasn't much longer than their pincers.

"WOOF!"

A bark sounded, and Fergus also charged in, with William wielding a baton right behind him.

The two men and a dog attacked the Giant Spider together.

Boudica quickly figured out the Giant Spider's attack pattern: it used its piercing legs to pin down prey and then bite when close, or spit some unknown substance that might be venom from a distance.

But to her, neither mattered anymore.

Her War Halberd came crashing down on the Giant Spider, splitting its head open, and various colored fluids splattered on the ground.

Wang Cai stepped back, tearing off another piece from the spider, but he too had been grazed by a piercing leg. Luckily, his thick fur prevented the attack from penetrating deep, but the blood stained his snow-white fur red.

But such a minor wound didn't bother him at all; on the contrary, it made him even more excited. His attacks became more proficient, measured in advance and retreat, and the Giant Spider couldn't even flee before dying in his jaws.

At the same time, Boudica came to the rescue and hacked the remaining Giant Spider to death. Then, she turned to Paracelsus, her tone obviously not friendly as she asked while holding her War Halberd.

"Where's the boss?"

Hearing this, William also reacted, turning his gaze in her direction.

The night attack had just passed, but this question pushed the team to the brink of collapse.