Chapter 49: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

Where is Mother Maria?
Mother!
Little Martha wet her pants again, whew whew whew, so silly, she only knows how to call for Mom.
Big brother, Kevin is hitting me again!
When the hypnotic spell was broken, the true disaster truly arrived.

When several mischievous children threw a tantrum right in front of someone, it was already hellish, but if more than thirty children started crying and acting up together, it was practically a hopeless deadlock.
Would you like a candy? They are fruit-flavored. The arachnid's six arms produced various brightly colored candies that smelled wonderful and looked quite expensive.
Don't worry, let me help you change your pants. Little Susan, may I borrow your skirt? Extracting two of her hands, she immediately began tending to the child's clothing.
Kevin, stop bullying your little brother. Pulling out another pair of hands, she started disciplining the unruly child.
At this moment, Leon could not help but sigh in relief that Larry was here.
Her six arms moved with lightning speed, changing clothes for those who needed it, stuffing candies into mouths, and swiftly dealing out punishment to the troublemakers.

This scene left Dimon somewhat dazed. He probably had never seen a "man" who liked children so much and possessed such overwhelmingly maternal instincts.
Meanwhile, Leon was putting on his new gear on the side, adjusting his equipment to make it better suited for actual combat.
Frankly speaking, Larry's equipment was remarkably good, especially this suit of armor.
Not only was the silver armor made of superior material, but it also bore defensive enchantments, rendering it fireproof, acid-proof, and lightning-proof.
Such multiple enchantments combined with magical metal definitely indicated the work of a master craftsman. It even featured lightweight (anti-gravity) modifications specifically tailored for an arachnid, to the point where Leon dared not even estimate its value.
A standard knight's armor easily started at forty to fifty gold coins, enough to cover ten months of rent for Leon's apartment. Had it not been for Shallyman's gift, Leon could never have afforded it himself.

Enchanted armor was outrageously expensive; even the slightest enchantment doubled the price. Magic armor of this caliber could easily be passed down as an heirloom in a knightly family for generations.
And this was still not the most expensive item she possessed.
The most expensive one was currently on Leon's feet.
The boots... they should fit reasonably well. Looks like you can wear them, that's good.
Watching Leon try on her boots, Larry's face flushed with an enigmatic blush.
This subtle facial expression made Dimon stare from behind for a long time. Was this dude acting a little strange?
Wait a minute, earlier Larry had been extremely clingy towards Senior Brother Leon, and Senior Brother Leon didn't seem to resist at all... At this thought, Dimon abruptly turned his head and decided to pretend he saw nothing and heard nothing.

Not bad. Never expected you to have such a top-tier item as boots of speed, especially since I never saw you use them.
Leon was quite surprised. Boots of speed, gauntlets of might, and holy power were the holy trinity that Suer had once mentioned for rapidly building up a novice paladin.
These boots came with a built-in "haste" spell, allowing the wearer to nearly double their running speed for a short duration, making them particularly suitable for close-quarters combat that required charging.
As for Leon, while he had dared to ask for the gauntlets of might and holy power, he wouldn't even dare to dream of the far more useful boots of speed.
After all, purely speed-enhancing enchanted equipment was exceptionally expensive, and the demand was practically infinite; almost no transcendent would refuse the ability to run faster.
When crisis struck, even master mages lamented that they didn't have more legs.
For a paladin fighting in heavy armor who lacked any natural speed-enhancing abilities, slow movement had always been their greatest weakness.
Sometimes, being a single step short during a charge meant the difference between life and death. Although boots of speed only provided a temporary burst, they were immensely helpful in both offensive and defensive scenarios.

After being instructed by Suer, Leon knew this gadget was genuinely useful, and he had proactively inquired about its price.
Upon hearing that it cost thousands of gold coins and was virtually priceless in the market, he rationally chose to give up... he couldn't scrape together even 10 gold coins from his entire body.
...True enough. Your swordsmanship is too refined and your footwork is very fast. You don't really need to worry about failing to close the distance against opponents. In Leon's view, Larry indeed had little need for boots of speed.
Among knights, Larry belonged to the agile fencing school, and the paladin's weakness of having short legs was not very noticeable on her.
Furthermore, she was wealthy enough to own a battle-beast mount, and a paladin with a mount was an entirely different entity from one without.
Her swordsmanship system did not require boots of speed to provide a "massive temporary acceleration" in order to forcefully close in on an adversary.
...It's really nice, truly nice. Meanwhile, short-legged Leon genuinely needed them.
Leon was testing the equipment while simultaneously adjusting the armor on his body.
I'll help you adjust it.
Sure, thanks.
This was a composite armor, an assembly consisting of a main piece and numerous accessories. With Larry's help, Leon could adjust the tightness of various attachments.
As an arachnid, Larry had a larger build than Leon's "evolved reptilian" frame, so the armor felt somewhat loose on him and required readjustment.
The armholes on the left and right made it easy to exert force, but the openings for the four auxiliary limbs on the back meant that the armor's protection from behind was practically zero.
There was no time to modify it now, so he would just have to make do with it.
Big brother Larry, are there any more candies?
No sooner had they spoken two sentences than Larry was dragged away again to tend to the children.
Mom, Mother Maria, where is mom?
The most fatal part was precisely this desperate longing for mothers.
When one child started crying and calling for mom, it quickly infected the others, and soon they were all shouting for their mothers.
Your mother... Faced with the weeping children, the honest paladin opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
A quick pain is better than a long one; they would find out sooner or later. She hardened her heart and decided to speak the truth.
Your mother? She is waiting for you outside. Go find them with big brother Larry. By the way, your mother has delicious treats in her hands. If you go too late, be careful she eats them all up!
In stark contrast, Leon directly trampled upon paladin virtues and uttered a blatant lie.
I knew mom went to the amusement park first! Big brother Larry, hurry up and take us to find her...
Watching Larry being dragged away by the children, Leon smiled faintly and continued consolidating his gear, preparing himself for the bitter battle ahead.
Perhaps in the future, he would properly explain everything to the children and even apologize for his deception, but certainly not now.
...I will grant your mother peace. At this moment, I am merely a warrior.
Preventing this "mother" from ever appearing before her children again was perhaps the only thing he could accomplish right now.

Leon touched the Sword of Heroes in his hand. Although the exterior of the blade remained entirely unchanged, he faintly sensed that something internal had shifted, as if something had altered.
Previously, the weapon completely ignored him, forcing Leon to treat it merely as a "sturdy" fine sword.
But now, he could feel a faint connection establishing between them.
It has acknowledged me... well, just a tiny bit. This connection was extremely tenuous, and when Leon attempted to actively borrow its power, nothing happened at all.
To truly unleash its might, one likely needed the corresponding hero hardware, such as a specific class or bloodline.
Never mind, being slightly better than a blank slate is at least a good thing... Leon was quite open-minded about it.
If it truly awakened completely and unleashed its full power, Leon would basically have to start running for his life... because his identity would be one hundred percent exposed.
Leon.
At that moment, a sudden female voice startled him.
This voice that directly resonated within his mind—was this a transcendent ability?
Look up, idiot.
He jerked his head upward, only to see a large gray python.
It... she quietly gazed at Leon and flicked her forked tongue.
Those pupils actually revealed a trace of joy. Leon was even more astonished to find himself perceiving emotions of delight and relief on a snake's face.
He honestly wondered if something was wrong with his head.
Thud!
The gray python was still holding a large sack in her mouth, which she dropped directly in front of Leon.
It's me, Shallyman. Here are some things... perhaps you might need them...

While Leon was busy rumbling through supplies, in a certain corner of the cavern, Maria was still cheerfully hunting.
She still held a head in each hand, and one of them was even humming a little tune.
She urged the small beasts at her feet to accelerate this final hunting season.
It seemed that alongside casting off her disguise, her mindset had also grown much younger.
With her assistance, those scattered squads were utterly incapable of stopping the beast horde and were hunted down one by one.
Thus far, the slave market had suffered heavy losses.
An increasing number of small beasts had completed their evolution, growing broken horns... At that moment, she stopped feeding them and instead directly harvested those mercenaries, turning them into "small horns."
Two masked individuals stood perpetually behind her.
Protection? Surveillance? Or perhaps both...
Heik is dead.
One of them suddenly stated in a calm tone.
Such trash.
A brief communication concluded the discussion regarding the life and death of a companion, seemingly devoid of any human sentiment between them.
Dead was dead; it was one less waste to share the food and divide the labor.
Their greedy eyes drifted toward the bag of "small horns" Maria was holding. For them, "dieting" was a necessity to maintain their humanity.
Yet for creatures of eternal hunger, it was also a torturous endeavor that suppressed their instincts. With delicious food right in front of them, taking just a little bite should be fine, right? Or perhaps they should just eat Maria too, so they wouldn't have to worry about exposure.
Maria?! Hand over those things, and I'll leave you an intact corpse... An abrupt roar interrupted their brewing internal conflict.
Guided by the shadows, Kevilduff, the "Volcanic Howl," had finally cornered his desired target.
He stared fixedly at Maria, noticing the severed heads she carried—specifically the unblinking head of his third-in-command subordinate.
...Forget it, die. I will find what I need upon your corpse.