Chapter 167: Rise of the Spiders

After the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was devoured, there were no longer any rivals to the Sea Spider Clan in that stretch of ocean. Fang Chang, for once, enjoyed a period of rare tranquility.

With their numbers now substantial, both the Sea Spider Clan and the Spider Clan of the Star Dou Great Forest began expanding at several times their previous growth rates.

At the same time, the young spiders, following Fang Chang's orders, continued driving soul beasts from the forest outskirts toward human settlements.

The Sea Spiders' range of activity steadily crept closer to human coastal cities, pushing certain sea soul beast species into areas where humans fished.

Under Fang Chang's deliberate orchestration, tensions between humans and soul beasts escalated rapidly—on the brink of open war.

Worse still for human soul masters, their dwindling numbers meant that attacks by wild soul beasts in the forest were becoming increasingly frequent.

Even soul masters nurtured by powerful factions were mysteriously vanishing in the Star Dou Great Forest, as if someone was deliberately targeting them.

In just two years, the area of the Star Dou Great Forest expanded significantly, engulfing several human cities.

It wasn't that the trees of the forest had grown—it was the soul beasts within that had broadened their territories.

They launched frequent incursions into nearby human settlements. At first, cities could muster some resistance.

But as the attacks became more frequent, several cities on the forest's edge were eventually destroyed in so-called "beast tides." Human resistance waned, while soul beast activity surged.

And at the center of it all was none other than Fang Chang—who was now, unbelievably, holding a "military parade" deep within the forest.

The spider population in the forest had exploded to a staggering 40,000—far exceeding even the peak numbers of the Spirit Hall's soul master legions.

Columns of spider squads marched in unison from the eastern forest to the west, while Fang Chang lounged with interest atop a massive, half-felled tree, watching it all unfold.

Beside him were the trio of Little White and Little Gold sisters. Below them stood the submissive Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and over a dozen other powerful ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

First came the spider infantry. They still followed Fang Chang's original formation: five small spiders per squad.

A slight variation had emerged—each squad now consisted of one Domination Evil Spider, two Dark Scythe Demon Spiders, and two Dark Armor Demon Spiders.

Offense and defense were balanced, with team buffs and crowd control—plus their overall soul power had greatly improved.

Roughly 1,000 such squads made up about one-fifth of the entire spider army.

It took nearly two full hours for these spiders to pass by once, yet Fang Chang never grew bored.

Next came the underground troops—mostly made up of the submissive Cave Demon Spiders and other subterranean-capable spider breeds, along with their offspring.

To the naked eye, nothing seemed to pass—but their auras were clearly felt from beneath the earth.

There were only about 500 of them, and they moved quickly.

Fang Chang valued them highly in strategy. They could scout and break sieges, making them incredibly useful.

Their biggest downside was their lack of devouring ability, meaning they grew slowly.

After that came the spider navy. The Sea Spider Clan had grown remarkably, now numbering close to 20,000.

But they were too far away to mobilize en masse—only about 200 representatives had made the journey.

These Sea Spiders were known for their long legs and short bodies. Each had ten-meter-long legs but torsos only two or three meters long. As they marched, nearby soul beasts gasped in awe.

Many were seeing sea soul beasts for the first time and couldn't help but be intrigued.

Their movement on land was slower, and though there were only 200, it took over ten minutes for them to pass.

Then came the spider cavalry—the largest contingent, making up nearly half of the army.

They came from various spider breeds, ranging from lower-tier Dark Scythe and Dark Armor Demon Spiders to higher-tier Shadow Evil Spiders, Domination Evil Spiders, and even Death Pursuit Spiders.

Now, each one rode a tamed soul beast—creating "Wolf Rider Spiders," "Tiger Rider Spiders," and even four formidable "Dragon Rider Spiders."

Nearly 20,000 spider cavalry thundered past, kicking up clouds of dust. The watching soul beasts were all awash in emotion—amazement, awe, and a repressed fury.

Never before had the Spider Clan strutted so arrogantly in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Finally, the main attraction appeared—Fang Chang's meticulously crafted trump card over the past two years: the Spider Air Force.

Numbering around 5,000, every member of this force was a Bloodwing Demon Spider. As pair after pair of blood-red wings sliced across the sky, the entire forest fell into silence.

Over the past two years, Fang Chang had worked overtime to produce many first-generation Bloodwing Demon Spiders. He gave them one order: reproduce—a lot.

He even granted them "priority breeding rights," and under such generous conditions, the current numbers were achieved.

These Bloodwing Demon Spiders had the noblest bloodlines among all spider types and possessed the power of flight—giving them massive advantages in combat.

As a transmigrator, Fang Chang always placed high importance on air superiority.

And after the main force flew by, a special division appeared—more Bloodwing Demon Spiders.

They too could fly, but had been trained as amphibious, all-terrain combat units.

Naturally, they were the handiwork of the Little Gold sisters.

Though the same species, these spiders had underwater breathing capabilities and spent most of their lives in the sea—experts in aquatic warfare.

Perhaps due to more original bloodstock, there were even more of these sea-born Bloodwing Spiders than the forest-born ones—about 6,000.

Over 10,000 Bloodwing Demon Spiders soared by in total—what a spectacle. Not only the Spider Clan, but all other soul beast species were completely awed.

Against such a force, what resistance remained? Wouldn't that be suicide?

That was exactly Fang Chang's purpose in holding the "Star Dou Underground Hive Military Parade."

After this parade, countless hesitant ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the forest made their decision—they joined the Star Dou Underground Hive.

Fang Chang became the undisputed King of Beasts.