After Duke and his team dealt with the five evil spirits, their mood was not eased; instead, it became even heavier.

Dealing with these five evil spirits was indeed simple; any second-level Wizard Apprentice could do it, albeit with some effort.

The problem lay in the fact that no one knew why these five people turned into evil spirits.

There must have been something that attacked this team and used some unknown power to turn them into evil spirits.

Duke and his team were well aware that encountering these five evil spirits indicated they were likely not far from that thing.

After a brief discussion, they immediately decided to leave the area and couldn't stay here any longer.

They looked towards the direction the evil spirits came from, which was pitch black, with a wailing sound as if someone were crying.

At first, they thought it was just the sound of the wind, but now it seemed not to be so simple.

They then headed in the opposite direction, marking their first night journey.

As they gradually moved away from that place, the piercing cries faded out of hearing.

This area seemed quite peaceful, without strong winds; even a half-moon appeared in the night sky, providing some light for those traveling in the desert.

Simon marked that area on the map, and they decided not to approach it easily in the future.

Whatever could wipe out an entire team of Wizard Apprentices, they certainly wouldn't handle easily either.

The desert nights were not peaceful, and Duke's team's encounter rate with demons increased significantly.

Many demons slept and rested during the day and came out to forage and move at night when the temperature dropped.

At some point, the wind rose again around them, blowing the clouds in the sky and blocking the half-moon.

The only light source disappeared, and Duke and his team had to rely on themselves to see the way.

About three hours later, now nearly dawn, everyone felt somewhat exhausted.

They hadn't rested well, restarting the journey after the encounter with evil spirits, focusing all their energy on dealing with demons that could appear at any moment. Both body and mind were worn out.

Duke, walking at the front, suddenly stopped his steps, sensing something amiss.

The surroundings were eerily calm, and they hadn't encountered a single demon along the way, which was unusual.

Based on the previous demon encounter rate, it had been peaceful for quite some time.

Duke did not think the demons would sleep so early; there was likely another reason.

More importantly, he had a creepy feeling in his heart, a warning from his instincts.

Due to their high spiritual power, Wizards often possess strong perception and warning abilities.

They tend to trust their instincts, and it is rare for them to have inexplicable illusions.

A drop of liquid fell, landing on the back of Duke's hand.

Fully clad in Rock Armor, he found this unknown liquid corroded the armor, creating a small pit.

Looking up, Duke spotted something like a cocoon hanging in mid-air, with some liquid seeping out, dripping right onto him.

Noticing Duke's action, Simon and others also looked up and found the anomaly in the sky.

Above them hung many cocoon-like things, varying in size and shape.

Some appear distinctly human, others seemed wrapped Lizardmen, and some enveloped desert demons.

"This is... spider silk..." Abel used Hawkeye to inspect and saw clearly what was above them.

In the air of this area stretched a vast spider web, with many silk threads hanging down, suspending one cocoon after another wrapped in spider silk.

Upon seeing this situation, Duke and his team gasped.

Such a large spider web almost darkened the sky; what kind of spider could weave such a massive web?

After observation, Abel quickly noticed the spider's presence.

Not far ahead of them, a colossal spider lay nestled between several sand dunes, seemingly at rest.

This spider, nearly as large as a football field, resembled a small mountain to them.

Behind the spider, a lot of white eggs piled in heaps, presumably laid by the spider.

With this information, they understood what sort of place they had entered.

This was the territory of a terrifying demon, and the sky-bound cocoons served as its food reserves, prepared both for itself and its soon-to-be-born offspring.

Duke and his team began to retreat slowly, each step taken with utmost caution to avoid making any sound.

Roughly five kilometers away, they finally dared to breathe deeply.

"I swear this is the longest path I've ever walked in my life," Abel gasped, his forehead drenched with sweat, sporting a look of one who survived disaster.

As the scout, he viewed the spider from an extremely close distance and felt its incredible power, which strongly intimidated him.

If Duke and the others had walked a few hundred meters further, the spider would have sensed them, and they would likely have faced death.

To a colossus like that, unless one could burrow to escape, it's challenging to outpace its speed.

Even if Duke and his team managed to run 500 meters ahead, the spider could effortlessly leap to appear in front of them, the size disparity too great.

At this moment, Duke couldn't help but envy the desert lizard's ability to tunnel through sand; no wonder Desert Lizardmen could survive here, likely relying on this skill to evade enemy attacks.

However, they had just seen in the sky that there were indeed Desert Lizardmen present, proving they were merely food for the spider as well.

Duke was grateful for his keen intuition to halt in time.

The sheepskin parchment of the test task made no mention of the spider's presence; Duke suspected even the Lizardman Leader might not be able to handle the spider.

Just then, it was sunrise, the sun rising from beyond a distant sand dune, bathing the entire desert in golden light.

The sunlight was gentle, providing some warmth and dispelling the cold of the night.

Yet, in a moment, this gentle sunlight would become increasingly scorching, seemingly ready to bake everything in the world dry.

When Duke and the team sat down to rest, they suddenly heard some commotion in the distance.

Looking up, they saw the spider climbing along its web to a higher altitude, retracting a dangling thread, lifting a cocooned prey, and beginning its meal.

Although far, with few obstructions between, the spider's high position allowed them to clearly see the scene of the spider having breakfast.

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