It's so hard being a hero!

She pointed to the holes around the cave filled with spider silk cocoons.

“But one of those captured is my father, and I have to take him back. As for the others, if possible, I hope you can let them go. The humans outside are already assembling a powerful team to come and rescue us. You don’t want to start a full-scale war with humans, do you?”

The Spider Queen was clearly pondering this question.

Chapter 35 The Agreement with the Queen

Sofia waited quietly for the Spider Queen's response.

The air in the cave seemed to have frozen, with only the spider silk hanging from the ceiling trembling slightly.

The Spider Queen's eight deep red eyes stared at her, her gaze scrutinizing and carrying something else that was hard to define.

A few seconds later, a strange mental force suddenly touched the edge of Sophia's consciousness.

That wasn't an attack, but rather a tentative contact.

Sofia did not refuse.

She released her mental energy, allowing that unfamiliar consciousness to connect with her own.

The next moment, a mature and beautiful female voice rang in her mind.

“Human cub, you are special.”

That's the Spider Queen's voice.

It wasn't a sound produced through her vocal cords, but rather a spiritual fluctuation with a certain ancient quality that resonated directly within her consciousness.

“You are the first human I have ever seen who has trespassed into my territory without immediately attacking.”

Sophia smiled and immediately responded with her mental power.

"Take action only as a last resort. Why take action when you can solve a problem without it?"

A low hissing sound came from the Spider Queen's mouthparts.

That was laughter.

Sophia could sense it.

"interesting."

The Spider Queen's mental fluctuations carried a hint of amusement.

“You are not old, but the strength of your magic and mental power is not what a twelve or thirteen-year-old human child should be.”

"intrinsic."

Sofia replied casually.

The Spider Queen narrowed her eight eyes slightly.

"I'm afraid it's not just something you're born with."

Her mental energy was like an invisible snake, wandering along the edge of Sophia's consciousness. It didn't forcefully intrude, but the feeling of being scrutinized made Sophia somewhat uneasy.

"Your soul is very powerful."

"The Spider Queen suddenly said."

"It's like a person who has lived for many years being stuffed into a small body."

Sophia's fingers trembled slightly.

But her expression remained unchanged; she simply looked calmly at the Spider Queen.

Everyone has their own secrets, don't they?

The Spider Queen stared at her for a few seconds, then let out a low hiss.

The sound echoed through the enormous cave, making the hanging spider silk tremble.

"You're right."

The Spider Queen withdrew her mental energy, which had been wandering on the edge of her consciousness.

"Your secrets are none of my concern; I only care about my people and my territory."

Sophia nodded.

"Now let's get back to the main topic. Can you release those humans who were captured yesterday?"

The Spider Queen shifted her eight legs slightly, turning her body on the spider silk carpet to face the dense array of holes on the left side of the cave.

"Human cubs, do you know that?"

There was a hint of resentment in her spirit.

"It was you humans who first trespassed into my territory."

She paused, and hissed again from her mouthparts.

“Those miners, digging day after day, deeper and deeper, closer and closer to my lair, have disturbed the peace of my people, disrupted the magical balance underground, and killed many of my people who went out to forage.”

Sofia remained silent.

She couldn't refute it.

From the Spider Queen's perspective, humans are the invaders.

I understand your position.

Sophia replied using her mental power.

“But my father was among those who were arrested.”

"I know."

The Spider Queen turned her head, and eight eyes locked onto her again.

"The reason I am willing to talk to you is not because of your reasoning, but because you have not killed a single one of my people along the way."

Sophia was slightly taken aback.

“Your people are still alive, but I have hypnotized them. They will wake up naturally after a while.”

The Spider Queen emitted that hissing laughter again from her mouthparts.

"That's why I'm willing to talk to you."

She raised one of her front legs and pointed to the holes around the cave.

"If other humans broke into this place, they wouldn't care about reason or logic. They would just start killing, killing my people, destroying my nest, and then leaving, thinking they are heroes."

Her mental energy fluctuations carried a clear hint of mockery.

"You are different."

“You clearly have the ability to kill them, but you chose a gentler approach. You don’t kill indiscriminately, you don’t show off, and you’re even willing to reason with me, a monster.”

The Spider Queen stared into Sophia's eyes, and there was something in her gaze that she herself was unaware of.

That's a sign of respect.

"So I'm willing to take a step back."

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

But she didn't show it on her face; she simply nodded calmly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The Spider Queen's spiritual power carried a hint of warning.

"I can release him, but you must promise me one thing."

"what's up?"

"Stop humans from digging deeper into the earth."

The Spider Queen slammed her forelegs heavily on the ground, causing the entire cave to tremble slightly.

“This underground area is my territory, the home of my people for generations. I don’t care what you humans do on the surface, but once you step into the depths of the underground, it is an invasion.”

Her voice became stern.

"My decision to back down this time does not mean I will back down next time. If human excavation continues to go deeper, I will not talk to anyone next time."

Sofia was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I will pass on the message, but I cannot guarantee that humans will listen."

"I know."

The Spider Queen's tone softened somewhat.

"But at least you are a human being who is willing to listen to me, which is already better than most humans."

She turned around, facing a huge hole on the right side of the cave, and made a series of rhythmic hissing sounds from her mouth.

That's giving commands in the language of spiders.

The hissing sound echoed in the cave, like some kind of ancient incantation.

A moment later, responses came from the holes around the cave.

The sounds came from all directions, getting closer and closer, more and more intense.

Sophia saw that one by one, grayish-white spider silk cocoons were being pulled out of those holes.

They were being dragged by spider monsters of varying sizes, ranging from the size of a washbasin to the size of a millstone.

They clung tightly to the spider silk cocoon with their eight legs, climbing down the rock wall with agile and orderly movements, like a well-trained transport team.

One, two, three...

Sophia counted silently.

Soon, the open space in the center of the cave was piled with spider cocoons, more than thirty of them, of various sizes.

Sophia walked over quickly, squatted down, and a blue light shone from her palm.

A slender yet sharp cyan blade of light extended from her fingertips, like an invisible pair of scissors.