Chapter 286: Arachnid Lair
He used the Heavenly Demon's generosity to his advantage, namely, using the system's ability to see monster levels to select his enemies. Then he killed them alone in wrath stance.
He also ensured he drank as much of their blood as possible, no matter how repelling it was to do, and how many nasty stares he got from his ladies, who were always very happy to let him know he'd have to wash his teeth before even thinking of kissing them.
The fact that they happily kissed him back during the little blood drinking escapade didn't seem to matter in their minds.
'Women…' Kaiden shook his head while he slid under a spider with his sword pointed upwards, slashing its belly wide open. A shower of steaming ichor spilled over him.
Out of habit, he moved his attention inward, where the stream's overlay flickered into view for the briefest of moments. He only checked it for a split second, but he could tell it was going absolutely insane.
Viewer numbers moved past his personal stream record, and easily at that. Millions were tuned in, and the number was climbing even further in real time. The chat was a blur of colors and symbols.
The Awakened Media Platform's algorithm always had a tendency to promote dungeon clears that were in their most exciting moments, the boss battle finale. Valhalla's Sinners were enjoying that boon in full, making many seething, jealous awakened people grit their teeth together out of frustration.
This boost in views was especially beneficial to them because of one thing.
Most of their current followers had come in with a particular impression of him.
For many, Kaiden was 'the guy' who dicked a boss monster down so hard she went from bloodthirsty nightmare to his loyal, tanned kitten who was utterly obsessed with him, purring at his every word, shivering under his mere touch.
Others knew him for the 'incident,' the time he somehow nuked all access for men to the "educational" videos he and his girls made in the past, even wiping them from offline computers across the globe. Nobody knew how he'd done it. In fact, whole cybercrime agencies had been spinning their wheels ever since the incident, baffled and incredibly terrified.
Many had openly sent him letters, wishing to at least gain an audience for a brief chat. Of course, such requests were declined by him, saying he had no clue what they were talking about, and he had nothing to do with the 'great wipe.'
Yes, Valhalla's Sinners were known for quite a few interesting things, but none of them were about them being actual, competent combatants.
As such, this was different.
For the first time, the world was seeing him in pure, unfiltered combat. No teasing, no seduction, no handsome smirk before the clothes came off. These were proper monster slayers at work, which gave them a whole new dimension.
The fangirls lost their minds. Their hearts pounded in sync with his swings, their squeals echoed his lovers' scolding when he downed a mouthful of spider blood without hesitation. The fact that it dripped down his chin and his tongue moved out to lick it up didn't hurt engagement either...
The OGs were in form.
First was Sarah, who addressed the few volunteer mods she recruited under herself to help manage the stream's rocketing amount of chatters.
- Princeless Princess: My loyal servants, I can't keep up with banning all the creeps and muting the copy-pasters on my lonesome, stop munching on popcorn and activate yourselves! We have a sacred duty to fulfill.
- Mod1: Yes, mistress…
-Mod2: Who reads chat in these moments of turbo badassery?! I quit
Mod3: You really want to quit helping Kai?
Mod2: Wait, I wasn't that serious… Haaah. Middle management can be so troublesome.
The other two ladies also spammed their usual nonsense.
- Lady Leia: That's right, baby, drink all that smelly monster blood. Do it slower next time. I'll straight up cream my pants if you look at the camera while you do. Gods, what I would give to have Kai drain my life with his fangs…
- Kaiden's Wife: Go, go, Kai!!! You can do it! SLAY ALL OF THESE UGLY BASTARDS!!! YOUR FAITHFUL (online :((((((… for now!!) WIFE IS CHEERING YOU ON FROM UNDER HER DESK!
The spam scrolled so fast the words became a blur, but the roaring wall of text carried the same core message. To most ladies, seeing Kaiden in combat was just as addictive as it was to see Kaiden in bed.
The first wave of spiders soon fell in a frenzy of steel, spells, and blood.
The lair's floor glistened with slimy ichor, which created the kind of stench that was thick enough to ruin even a starving barbarian's appetite.
Yet even in the lull of the finished skirmish, the chamber remained alive with sound because wet, muffled movement came from deeper within.
All around them, dozens of pulsating sacks still hung from the vein-lined ceiling and walls. Inside, shadowy shapes could be observed. Their silhouettes shifted sluggishly, unaware of what was about to happen.
No one hesitated.
Steel punctured sacs with wet pops. Sickly green fluid splashed to the ground as half-developed bodies writhed briefly before falling still.
The experience gains were meager, being nothing more than mere crumbs compared to killing a mature monster, but that wasn't what they were here for. They were culling every potential threat before it could hatch, and in the process, each member of the group wore the same expression: grim satisfaction.
The wet, gurgling squelch of dying brood filled the chamber.
They moved on.
Step by step, sack by sack, they carved their way deeper. Sometimes they found more newborns to slaughter, other times fully-grown arachnids that had managed to mature in the shadows.
An hour passed like this, the only breaks coming when Kaiden paused to wipe ichor from his blade or glance at his rank-up requirements counter.
Then, finally, another sound came.
A voice.
It drifted through the fetid air, trembling with disbelief and ragged breath.
"I… I can't believe you've truly made it this far…"
Countess Veylin's voice.
It came from deeper in the lair.
And it was quivering.
But then, she found strength somehow, stabilizing herself. Her shock turned to begrudging acceptance, then simply wrath, filled with the desire to end their lives.
"Come on then. Let's end this for good."