Psychokinetic Eyeball Pulling

Chapter 213: Overload: Courage 3/7

Level ??? - Vanguard Arachnid.

Astrid’s teeth chattered at the predator's visage. It was a strange feeling that she hadn’t managed to overcome yet.

Fear.

She could practically count the number of times she had felt that emotion on one hand since she had begun her adventures.

The first was when she looked in horror at the arrow sticking out of her chest.

The second was when she glanced at the nightmare walker standing with crooked limbs in the shadowed staircase of the Underbelly.

The third was when she had thought all her friends were going to die, only for them to come out on the other hand all thanks to good old luck.

And now it was the fourth.

Dozens of red eyes looked at her as if it had chosen Astrid as her prey. Or maybe it had picked the entire Lord’s army as its meal, not just her.

Courage 47/100%

The hulking spider moved. But it didn’t just leap at them. Instead, it leapt from tree to tree, spreading its thick webs across the tree line.

It’s trying to trap us.

Luckily, Astrid had just the technique for it. Primal fire. With a thought, she connected to the burning energy within her container, and let it pour out of her hands.

In an unstoppable surge, lava that was eerily similar to that of Avemoth shot outward like a hose. It doused the entire of the webs like a blazing blanket.

All Astrid could hear was the crackling of the mucous like webs, and all she could see was a sea of red. However, she frowned. What she was expecting didn’t happen.

The webs didn’t burn. In fact, Astrid realised that her attack worked against them. The lava that she had doused the webs in, were now dripping blazing hot liquid down at them. Not only that, but the lava droplets were now infused with whatever venom the spider had.

Astrid spat.

The usual weakness that a spider has was always fire. That was because the web it so proudly relied upon, was usually susceptible to the fire element.

But it was clear the arachnid didn’t have the same flaw. Not only that, it had turned its once flaw into a strength. Clearly punishing any who thought it had such a vulnerability.

Because of that, Astrid’s hopeful offence had turned into a desperate defence. Not wanting any of the soldiers to be harmed because of her mistake, she grit her teeth, and focused on creating Mind Barriers.

Thankfully, she wasn’t alone.

The knight in shining armour hoisted his polearm in the air, then slashing the air, a scary blade shot out of the long weapon, tearing the molten spider web in half.

The spider was revealed.

Astrid was quick to react. She fired a concentrated void bullet straight to one of its eyes. The spider was about to react, but Astrid formed her clone in an instant.

Surprise!

Grinning, Astrid pulled its body back into position. The weight of the beast was staggering, but it wasn’t because of its high strength; but the level difference.

Despite that, with blood pooling out of Astrid’s nose, she managed the feat with great mental effort.

Her bullet tore through one of its eyes, scattering blood in its surroundings.

Thrashing around, it accurately jumped onto one of the further trees, but the knight of Darian’s army pursued it in a flash.

Polearm swiping through one of the monster's many legs, the green venom hiding within splattered the tree. The bark sizzled, melted, then it continued even further until the looming tree fell straight down.

Astrid focused her mind, exploding the tree in a mass of splinters which bounced off her Mind Barrier.

However, it was clear the arachnid was no ordinary enemy. Even with one less eye, and a severed leg, it was a force to be reckoned with.

Its mouth opened, and a rocketing thorn shot out its mouth, colliding against the knights metal armour. A sickening screech followed as the thorn bore through the thick plate metal, and travelled further into his shoulder.

Astrid swore she saw a grimace glancing through his visor. But instead of retreat, it didn’t seem to phase his original plan in the slightest.

To destroy the attacking spider.

His troops were relying on him and the faster he could defeat their enemy, the less casualties that would occur.

“Knight, we’ll attack it on all sides!” Astrid shouted.

Astrid was well aware she couldn’t defeat the monster on her own. She was unable to pull out its eyes despite all of her boosts, and the armour chitin covering its vitals made it difficult to kill.

The only area of attack was its eyes, but that was easier said than done. It was evident the spider was well aware of its weaknesses, and after Astrid had attacked its face, it refused to show them.

Instead, it closed all the others, only having two open.

And that was how Astrid intended to kill it.

Another thorn shot out its mouth, moving through the air like a phantom arrow. It was so fast, Astrid could only rely upon her keen battle instincts to dodge.

Blinking to the side, she watched as the knight was moving into position. He had heard her.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Astrid blinked to a position between the trees, and so did her clone. Mana container straining at the use of her abilities, they had to end the battle quickly.

With the knight to the front, Astrid on either side, there was only one way for the spider to go.

Astrid sent repeated Crashes to the arachnid's body, giving it no time to prepare for any other attack.

That was where the knight arrived with full force. His polearm was like a reaper's scythe as it tore straight through another two legs, balancing the spider off kilter.

Stumbling, it moved straight into one of Astrid’s spiralling void spears. Like a drill, it tore into the thick carapace, making mince meat of the flesh underneath.

However, it didn’t go as deep as Astrid was expecting. Damn being a low level.

Astrid scowled and upped her attacks to a manic degree.

At first, the spider tried to resist Astrid’s attacks, but it was clear that the little demoness had more mana than it expected.

The intelligence was shocking to Astrid. It was rare for such a monster to be as smart as it was, but it seemed that at her current level, she had reached a threshold.

The monsters were evolving.

And it was clear it was biding time for something. Astrid didn’t have to wait for long to find out what that something was.

The blackish-blue carapace of the armoured spider glowed a menacing light. Purple shone from beneath, illuminating the shell in a magnificent hue. And then the mana in the air trembled.

Astrid widened her eyes, and immediately created multiples of her Mind Domain. She wanted the knight to join her, but it had all happened too fast.

In the time it took to blink, the chaotic energy spiralled outward, blasting Astrid’s shield, shattering all but one in an instant.

The resulting force ripped through the last remaining barrier with ease, colliding against her voidbent armour with startling power.

Crashing against her armour, Astrid was sent tumbling through the air, exploding the hard iron-wood trees in her path.

Heat flowed through her body, and if not for transferring all her Intelligence into Constitution, perhaps she wouldn’t be able to walk out of that strike alive. Thankfully, she was very perceptive against attacks that aimed for her life.

Despite that, her insides were a mess. And even with stimulants–which she used with haste–would take a while to heal.

But she didn’t have a while.

All she could do was take the pain in stride, and forge ahead like a true warrior would do.

Although the armoured arachnid was smart, it had bitten off more than it could chew.

It didn’t take much longer for Astrid, her clone, and the knight, to trap the massive spider in a corner. Or more accurately, a wide open space with no trees in sight.

That meant the warriors of Darian’s army were currently dealing with a horde of venomous spiders, but if the knight was forging ahead, it meant that they could deal with them. For now.

With nowhere to run, the spider was beset on all sides. Phantom blades tore into its body, then from the wounds, Astrid blew up the weakened areas with psychic blasts.

In a mess of gore, the demonic spider was finally bested.

You defeated an Vanguard Arachnid - Level 310

…

| Extra experience is granted for defeating an enemy many levels above!

You have Levelled up!

| Oculus Witch Level 234-> Oculus Witch Level 239

| Voidmare Level 234 -> Voidmare Level 239

You have gained 50 stat points.

| You now have 2156 Intelligence.

“Haha!” Astrid landed next to the spider, and just as she was just about to kick it to cement her victory, its legs twitched.

Jumping back in horror, she raised her guard. But it was truly dead.

Goddess, I hate these things.

Courage 51/100%

Blinking forward, she snapped her leg to the monster's carcass, only for her powerful kick to be absorbed by its dense carapace. The resulting strike sent a portion of the force back into her body. Grimacing at the harrowing pain that only furthered her injuries, she glanced at the knight in surprise.

The arachnids armour was no ordinary defence. It was capable of rebounding a portion of the force. It was incredible. Not only that, but it held strange magical properties.

The knight faced it head on despite knowing that?

Astrid couldn’t help but look at the knight in a new light. Maybe the faceless man was even stronger than Tennyson?

But she shook that thought from her mind. To her, no one could be Tennyson. He was like an insurmountable wall that refused to be passed, or broken. To her, he was unbeatable.

Turning her mind away from family for now, Astrid’s gaze remained on the spider. The armour it had was amazing, but could she make use of it with Matter Absorption? After all, it was no longer alive, but dead.

Motovated at the promise of a new armour she could use that wouldn’t burn her alive, Astrid slowly reached her hand forward. To the tall, hairy… too many legs…

Courage 58/100%

Astrid retched, closed her eyes, then placed her hand on the monster.

However, just as she was about to use her skill, the sound of air being torn screeched across the land. Frowning, Astrid peeled her eyes open, and gazed up at the sky.

In the distance, an army of spiders fell down like an apocalyptic rain.

A deep shiver crawled up her spine.

So that’s why it was called a Vanguard Arachnid…