I Have Tamed a Spider Monster - Chapter 229, Chapter 230, Chapter 231

Amidst the Dragon Hunt
"Hey, you over there. Lift it up a bit more."

"Yep, got it."

The dragon hunt was now well into its middle stages.
About half of the transport vehicles that had come with us were filled with the corpses of Plain Earth Dragons.
The hunt had started because these dragons had been spotted as far as visible plains, and adventurers were also tasked with confirming the numbers and investigating why they had ventured into human-inhabited areas.
What we knew so far was that the Plain Earth Dragons had come closer to places near the roads in the plains, but the cause had yet to be determined.
If the cause couldn't be identified, another hunt would be conducted after a few days' rest, so it would be best to figure it out sooner rather than later.

"Ugh, it's frustrating not being able to move myself."

"Give it up, Lily. Those waiting have their own responsibilities. Always be ready to move in case of an emergency."

"Yesss..."

Plum’s scolding came in response to my muttering.
Was I really slacking off that much?
… Yeah, maybe I was.
We were surrounded by guild transport vehicles and the command car, with enough forces prepared that we weren’t even necessary.
According to Melanie, if we ended up having to fight, the operation would be considered a failure.
We were here purely as transport, not even a reserve force.
We were the very last line of defense, but it seemed that ideally, that line would never need to be used.
Yeah, it was frustrating.

"Hey! Two more Plain Earth Dragons have been taken down ahead. Time to move out!"

"Again? Finding this many Plain Earth Dragons this close is abnormal."

"Even if it’s abnormal, we’re just haulers. Let’s get moving, Lily!"

"Roger that!"

I started up the engine of the Lumite Grand Wing, preparing to move.
It was about time for me to begin loading operations too, right?

When we reached the site where the dragons were supposedly downed, there were no dragon corpses.
Moreover, the adventurers who were supposed to be keeping watch were nowhere to be seen.
What’s going on here?

"... This isn't good. Something’s wrong."

"What should we do, Guild Master Roland?"

"Have the transport and medical vehicles fall back. Use only the reserve personnel in the command vehicle to...!? "

As Roland descended from the command vehicle to give orders, the ground suddenly began to shake.
An earthquake!?
Since coming to this world, I’d never experienced anything like this before!

"Damn...! We’re already within its range!"

"Guild Master Roland?"

"It’s a Grand Death Worm! Everyone, prepare for battle! We don't know where it’s coming from!"

Oh no, it’s going to be a fight.
The fact that there’s no order to flee to the vehicles means we can’t run away, right?
Eeey, I’ll think of this a bonus and take it down!

----------

Battle With the Grand Death Worm
"Whoa!? Another transport vehicle’s down!"

"Damn it! Are the reinforcements not back yet?"

"It’ll take a while longer! Ugh, we have no choice but to handle this ourselves!"

"How are we supposed to handle it!?"

"We’ll figure something out!"

Amidst the furious shouts of the adventurers left guarding the rear, the Grand Death Worm kept targeting the transport and medical vehicles that were vital to our mobility.
Of course, we weren’t just standing around letting it attack us.
We had spread Talat’s spider silk all over the ground to strengthen our defense, but the creature was so strong that it wasn’t being held back much at all.
Seriously, having to fight something like this is a real disaster!

"Lady Lily, what should we do? At this rate…"

"What can we do? We have no choice but to fight. If we try to run, it’ll chase us. That’s obvious."

Yep, some people had panicked and tried to flee in their vehicles early on.
But they were devoured, vehicle and all, by the Grand Death Worm, and after that, no one else attempted to run.
According to Roland, the Grand Death Worm uses vibrations in the ground, like footsteps, to pinpoint its prey’s location.
So, after the first fleeing vehicle was destroyed, we had Talat spread spider silk all over, and everyone parked their vehicles on top of it.
This way, it couldn’t locate us by the vibrations of our footsteps anymore, but now it seemed to be destroying the web at random, gathering information from that.
It’s likely using the tremors from tearing apart the web to estimate our general location.
What a troublesome opponent.

"Lily, can’t you freeze the Grand Death Worm?"

"Don’t say impossible things, Melanie! If I could, I’d have done it already!"

"But the Grand Death Worm’s weakness is the cold. If we can catch it the moment it surfaces and freeze it, the rest of the body should follow."

"That’s easier said than done…"

"Hmm, so that’s why it stopped momentarily when it touched the web after surfacing."

It was Plum who chimed in on my conversation with Melanie.
And, seriously, that’s the kind of information we could’ve used a lot sooner!

"Sorry, sorry. I was fully focused on protecting you, after all. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it would emerge from the ground, so I had to focus all my senses on that."

"Does that mean we can actually catch the Grand Death Worm?"

"If we use the Lumite Grand Wing as bait, it’s not impossible. If we can figure out where it will surface and strike first… well, we might manage."

"Using the Lumite Grand Wing as bait? How would we do that, Plum?"

"Ah, well, the method is…"

The method Plum explained was rather bold but made sense.
First, Talat would create an ice path, and I would race along it at the Lumite Grand Wing’s top speed.
Of course, since the Lumite Grand Wing would zip through the ice path in an instant, the Grand Death Worm would immediately know our location.
But we’d turn that against it. Talat would scatter ice threads from behind the Lumite Grand Wing as we moved, luring the Grand Death Worm into a trap.
The worm, unable to attack the vehicle directly from below, would get tangled in the ice threads and surface.
Once it was above ground, Plum would grab it with her whip, drag it up, and then Talat would freeze it solid, completing the takedown.

It was certainly a bit dangerous, but if we sat around doing nothing, we’d get attacked sooner or later anyway.
I’ll bet on Plum’s plan.
Talat, I’m counting on you!

----------

The Grand Death Worm’s Subjugation
"Whoaahhh!?"

(Lily! Drive straight! I can't get a good aim!)

"Easier said than done! The Grand Death Worm is making the ground all bumpy!"

Yeah, this plan to take down the Grand Death Worm wasn't as easy as it sounded.
At first, when I raced across the ice path, things went smoothly, but once I passed that, I could feel and hear the rumbling of the Grand Death Worm burrowing just beneath the ground, even from inside the Lumite Grand Wing.
And to make things worse, I’m the only one in the lead vehicle.
Everyone else is scattered in different vehicles, preparing to engage.
We’re communicating through the radios we were given.

"I don't want to wreck the Lumite Grand Wing!"

(From the sound of things, the Lumite Grand Wing is faster than the Grand Death Worm! If you drive straight, it should chase you in a straight line!)

"Uwaaah!"

I pulled myself together and drove the Lumite Grand Wing straight.
Sure enough, the rumbling sound directly beneath me began to fade away.
Alright, this might just work!

"!?"

Just as I thought we were in the clear, a huge crash sounded as the ground shattered, and the vehicle shook violently.
The Grand Death Worm had surfaced.
I hope Plum and Talat are managing okay.

(There! I caught it!)

(Hissss!)

"Plum! What’s the situation!?"

(I’ve got the Grand Death Worm with my whip! Talat is wrapping its threads around it through the whip!)

"Should I slow down!?"

(No, it’s still chasing at high speed, so don’t slow down yet! Ugh, I didn’t expect such a huge creature to move so fast!)

I couldn’t see it since we were communicating through the radio, but if it was able to keep up with the Lumite Grand Wing, the Grand Death Worm must be incredibly fast.
How powerful was this thing?

(Lily, slow down now! Its body is starting to freeze, and its movements are slowing!)

"Got it!"

I eased up on the accelerator.
At that moment, something massive, like a giant worm, zipped past the side of the Lumite Grand Wing.
I hadn’t been able to see it earlier when it attacked the other vehicles because of its speed, but... it really looked like that?

(Lily, steer the vehicle away from the Grand Death Worm! I’m going to jump onto it and freeze it completely!)

"Understood!"

I turned the Lumite Grand Wing's steering wheel and moved away from the worm.
Then, over the radio, I heard a heavy thump—seems like Plum had made her jump.
Even though we weren’t out of danger yet, I kept driving the Lumite Grand Wing as far away as possible.

It took about an hour after that for the Grand Death Worm to be completely frozen.
It was just that massive.
Talat and Plum worked tirelessly to freeze it, and it still took that long.
But at least, the immediate threat had passed.
… I’m exhausted.
I just want to go home and rest.

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