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“Who are you people?” Starry did not accept the request rashly.

“Miss, I don’t have time to answer your questions. If you’re not going to help, then forget it.” Parcio shook his head helplessly and turned to walk back.

She decided to check their stats first.

The description could not be inspected, perhaps a trait of the Thief class itself. The same applied to the rest of the group behind him: every one of them was a Thief, all around level 20. No wonder they could hold their own against these wild monsters.

And as for the spider’s stats—

For an Epic-grade small monster, its HP and defenses were clearly on the low side, but its attack power and skills were extremely troublesome.

If the Flaming Web skill was as literal as its name, it likely meant binding combined with burning damage. That was indeed the case. A few unlucky thieves got caught in the web, and flames surged along the threads, scorching them until they screamed in agony. This spider silk seemed to have a high-temperature tolerance, retaining its stickiness even while ablaze.

On the surface, the battle still appeared evenly matched. In reality, more than half the monsters were already on their last legs, while most of the thieves were injured. They were ill-suited for direct combat.

Even though a few Lava Spiders had been killed, they still held the upper hand.

“Alright, I’ll accept!” Starry nodded.

At the very least, these thieves were still humans. If she didn’t help, they would likely be wiped out. The Lava Spiders were unnervingly quick, once entangled, escape was impossible. Judging from the speed of their pouncing attacks, they were far more agile than these men.

“Wow! You truly are our savior!” Parcio exclaimed in an overly dramatic tone.

“…”

The instant she accepted the quest, the thieves’ once-yellow neutral health bars all turned green. Many of them were hanging by a thread!

Their survival rate would likely affect the final rewards. She would protect as many as she could!

**Swish!**

With a single slash, she swept aside the Lava Spider rushing toward her.

Starry’s attack power already exceeded the spider’s HP. Combined with her level advantage, even a casual strike could inflict nearly 4,000 damage.

Flinging the corpse aside with the Autumn Moon Sword, she was about to move on when the little beetle that had been quietly perched on Starry’s head suddenly sprang toward it.

Zane froze for a moment, there was no way he could catch it this time. What if it fell to its death?

But the beetle clearly had more sense than he gave it credit for. It landed steadily on the Lava Spider’s corpse without losing even a single point of HP. Then it stuck its head into the wound and disappeared from sight, leaving only small bulges shifting under the corpse’s carapace from time to time.

‘Is it… eating the corpse? I’d heard from somewhere that beetles are a sort of scavengers. Bah, forget it! If it likes to eat, then let it eat its fill.’

Now was no time to worry about it anyway. A spiderweb wreathed in scorching flames was hurtling straight toward them! Starry easily sliced the web apart—yet even split in two, the sticky threads continued flying forward, clinging to her and yanking her right off the wolf’s back, slamming her onto the ground!

The combined impact damage from the fall and the relentless burn effect instantly stripped away nearly half of her HP. And to make matters worse, she was now bound. Binding couldn’t be removed with Unchained Will as it was considered an indirect status effect.

Meanwhile, the Gray Wolf itself was in danger, as several Lava Spiders shifted their attention toward Zane. The hairs on Zane’s neck stood on end. The Gray Wolf, being a Rare-tier monster, was already a grade lower in rank. On top of that, he noticed the thieves’ side had suddenly fallen silent.

“Starmew!” Starry gritted her teeth and summoned her pet from the pet space. The Frostfang Tiger appeared in a surge of commanding presence. Wrapped in an aura of extreme cold, it merely brushed up beside Starry and the flames on her body instantly dissipated.

The Lava Spiders seemed to sense their natural predator, their bodies tensed rigidly, ready to spring at any moment.

She had underestimated them. Starmew bit through the web, freeing Starry from its grip. She hadn’t expected the web’s binding effect to be this strong. To survive in the volcanic zones, the quality of their silk was clearly top-tier. She didn’t know why they had appeared here, but that didn’t change her intent, she would wipe them all out!

Several more webs shot toward them. Before Starry could even act, Starmew gathered icy energy in its maw and unleashed Frost Breath! The freezing power solidified every strand of web in midair, sending them falling harmlessly to the ground. Against these spiders, the Frostfang Tiger had an absolute advantage.

A sweep of sword energy burst forth, scattering into a flurry of white light as damage numbers flooded the air, with strings of 7,000+ and devastating critical hits surpassing 15,000.

In moments, more than a dozen Lava Spiders lay dead, and her HP was fully restored from the lifesteal effect.

The group of thieves stared in stunned silence. Even the wounded forgot their pain, murmuring in disbelief, “An adventurer’s power… can be this terrifying?”

With Starmew present, there was no longer any need to worry about the threat of webs. What followed was an effortless slaughter. In less than five minutes, Starry had wiped out every last Lava Spider, taking care of the zombies along the way.

Fia’s spirit in the heavens would surely be glad, she had freed all the villagers on her behalf.

Parcio swallowed hard in disbelief. “You… you actually killed them all.”

“What? Did I ruin your chance to run away?” Starry’s smile carried a faint chill. She had noticed earlier that when she drew the spiders’ attention and became ensnared in their web, these people had been ready to turn tail and flee.

However, Starmew’s sudden appearance made them hesitate for a moment, making their retreat less obvious.

“Haha, of course not. Miss, you misunderstand. We may be thieves, but we still have a basic code of conduct.” Parcio wiped the cold sweat from his brow with a strained laugh.

Starry extended her right hand.

“Oh, look at me…I almost forgot.” Realization dawned on Parcio as he said, “This is your reward!” He produced a strangely shaped stone.

Ten thousand EXP, one copper coin? Outstanding completion? And this stone…

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, they had already run more than a dozen meters away.

‘Tch! As expected, a leopard cannot change its spots.’

Zane hesitated no longer and instantly transformed into Elna.

A tender yet commanding voice of invocation rang out.

Snow and ice descended in a flurry, the falling snowflakes striking most of the thieves and weighing their bodies down.

The parched, yellowed ground quickly absorbed the sudden moisture, turning into a thick, muddy quagmire. The thieves, trapped in the frost and snow, now sank into the muck with every step.

Parcio turned around, trembling, to see a pair of bewitching crimson eyes and long, silky violet hair. Her delicate face was laced with frost as Starry gave Autumn Moon Sword a light flick.

“Where do you think you’re going?”