Arthur stared at the scattered human remains, his mouth hanging open in extreme shock.

  All strength left his body. His hind legs turned to jelly, and he fell onto his haunches, trembling.

  He felt the cold touch of death tightening around his throat, and it became hard to accept the horrific scene before him.

  The dead were not monsters… they were humans—his former kind. Because of that, he had always looked at them differently.

  The Spider Woman revealed a savage smile, clearly satisfied with his terrified reaction.

  Yet her killing intent did not fade. She directed her overwhelming aura at him and added in a mocking tone,

  "Did that scare you? Explain yourself… or you will share the same fate as those filthy humans."

  Under the crushing pressure of her aura and her serious threat, Arthur completely lost his composure. His thoughts grew chaotic.

  'I’m going to die… she’s not joking this time. It’s really over. Just look at how she killed all those people without even blinking.

  I… I can’t face her. She’s far stronger than me. There’s no choice but to beg and hope she spares me—no, that’s impossible. I’d rather fight to my last breath than do that.

  Wait… does she really want to kill me?'

  Suddenly, he regained a bit of clarity. Understanding flashed in his eyes.

  Her overwhelming aura… it was another mental attack. After her seduction failed, she chose fear instead—trying to break him and force him to reveal everything he was hiding.

  Despite realizing that, he kept his shocked expression and continued pretending to tremble. He tried to ignore the horrific sight of the humans and thought more rationally this time.

  'She traveled all this way just to find me. There’s no way she’d simply get rid of me after all that effort.

  It’s obvious she wants to humiliate me… to hear me beg. That twisted smile of hers is proof enough.'

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  He let out a silent sigh and continued,

  'This sadistic insect is seriously pissing me off. Damn it… staying silent too long isn’t a good idea. I need to say something fast before she gets annoyed.

  No matter what I try, I can’t satisfy her sick expectations. Begging her isn’t an option. Maybe I can throw in a few sweet words… but will that even work?

  Hah… just when I thought I was finally free, I ran straight into this wall again. And the worst part? By running away, I destroyed all the feelings she had slowly built toward me over the past month.

  Something… I need something that will make her forget everything that happened… and regain her trust in—'

  It took him only a moment to find the solution he needed.

  Relieved, he let out another sigh—this time aloud.

  The Spider Woman heard it. Annoyance flashed across her face. With a slight flick of her finger, one of the floating spears shot forward at terrifying speed, passing right beside his face and leaving a shallow cut across his cheek.

  "If you don’t speak immediately, I’ll aim for your head next," she said coldly.

  Arthur didn’t panic. On the contrary, he stopped pretending to be afraid. He lifted his head and looked at her with confidence.

  A strange expression appeared on his face as he replied in an excited tone.

  “Milady, I’m truly happy that you found me. I thought I would never see you again.”

  Then he lowered his head and showed a sorrowful expression.

  "I’m truly sorry for worrying you, Milady. I understand your concern… and your displeasure with me. But I didn’t run away. I did everything I could to return to your side. After all, I am your subordinate."

  Once again, the Spider Woman found herself stunned by the sheer audacity of his words.

  It was obvious he was lying and shamelessly flattering her, yet he sounded convincing enough that her anger and irritation noticeably lessened. She didn’t even interrupt him.

  Of course, Arthur didn’t give her the chance to speak. He continued pouring out carefully chosen, honeyed words, subtly trying to win her over.

  "Do you know what happened? During the full moon frenzy, I fell into a deep underground cave and lost my connection to you, Milady.

  That terrified me.

  I searched desperately for an exit, but I got lost in an endless network of tunnels. I faced many enemies, and when morning finally came, I found myself in a completely distant and unfamiliar place."

  He paused for a moment, then shook his head bitterly.

  "I felt so alone. I missed you deeply. The only thing on my mind the entire time was you, Milady. You have completely captured the will of this sub—"

  "Enough."

  Before he could finish, another spear shot past his face.

  His eyes widened. He shut his mouth immediately and looked at the Spider Woman, who now seemed unable to tolerate his audacity any longer.

  Their eyes met again. This time, he didn’t feel any temptation, nor did he see that overwhelming anger and resentment. Instead, there was a strange, unfamiliar expression in her gaze.

  Of course, he didn’t care.

  All his focus was on celebrating his success in calming her down. His words alone had been incredibly effective, and he hadn’t even revealed his hidden card yet.

  The spider woman let out a short sigh, unable to clearly define what she was feeling.

  Then she spoke in an indifferent tone that carried a faint trace of malice, "So you’re saying you didn’t run away, you simply got lost, is that correct?"

  "Yes, Milady, I swear it," Arthur replied without hesitation. It wasn’t in his interest to let her take full control of the conversation, so he quickly added,

  "And that’s not all. I found something I’ve been dying to show you."

  The words she was about to say froze in her throat. A puzzled expression appeared on her face as she responded with hesitation and suspicion, "Something? What is it?"

  Honestly, she had already decided how she would punish him. Whatever he said or did couldn’t change her mind—or at least, that’s what she thought at first.

  But the moment she saw him take out a small chunk of mana stone ore from his "Dimensional Storage" and place it in front of her—

  Her pupils shrank.

  Instinctively, she dispelled the spear spell. A stunned expression crossed her face.

  Then, visibly agitated, she rushed toward him, grabbed him firmly by his broad shoulders, and said in a tone that allowed no argument,

  "Where did you get this? Do you have more?"