~Chapter 4 – Edi's Hunt ~

~Earlier that day~

Edi and a small group of Arachna set out early in the morning, heading west with a clear target in mind. When they returned, they were carrying the bodies of eight-legged creatures with pincered arms and a long tail with a stinger at its tip. Each of these scorpions, were about the same size as a person. There were at least ten of them wrapped up in web cocoons and being dragged along the ground.

Waiting at the western entrance were Petri, Vos, and Diva. Petri squinted his eyes as Edi reached them.

Edi was carrying several scorpions behind him. With a swing of his arms, he tossed the bodies ahead of him and remarked, "Our quarry today should feed the clan for a while."

Petri squatted near the ground and looked over the bodies, "...These are baby scorpions, aren't they?"

Edi nodded as the rest of his group brought their haul into the woods, "These scorpions aren't as sturdy as the beetles we usually go after. We were able to make short work of them before the adults even noticed us."

Petri merely sighed.

"Do you have an issue?"

"You know I do. This will stunt the growth of the scorpion population."

"That's your problem Petri. You're so concerned about the welfare of our prey, that you'll allow the clan to go hungry," Edi lectured.

Petri shook his head, "Very well. The carver will be busy with these. You're right; this should keep us fed for a while."

Diva floated through the air besides Petri, "We could use this surplus of food as a chance to train everyone. It'll be a good time to grow our strength as a group."

Petri nodded, "That's a good way to think about it."

They were all about to return to the forest when Petri noticed something to the west. He promptly climbed a tree to survey what it was. His heart sank when he saw it.

"Edi! Get up here!" Petri shouted.

Edi promptly scaled a tree up to his fellow clan leader. Diva flew alongside him, wanting to see what it was. They were speechless at the sight.

Approaching their woods was a horde of fully grown, adult scorpions, scuttling through the terrain at frightening speeds. Each one was several times larger than a person, snapping away at trees with their mighty pincers. Their numbers might've matched those of the entire population of Arachna residing in the woods.

"You said you got away without any of the adults noticing you!" Petri shouted fiercely.

"W-We did! I thought we did..." Edi's conviction turned to a soft whisper.

Petri began climbing back down the tree, "You led the horde right to us! The four of us will hold the line the best we can! Let the other warriors know that they should start laying web traps in the western part of the forest now!"

Petri swung to the ground and began spinning a web at the western entrance of their forest, forming a wall of webbing to deter the incoming horde. Edi joined him and did the same.

Vos stood outside the forest, flexed his arms, and they became enraptured in a purple light. Diva floated overhead, prepared for the threat. Petri and Edi joined them when the horde was nearly there. The two shrugged their shoulders, and insect-like limbs emerged from their backs.

The scorpions stampeded through the rough terrain, their tails poised to attack. Vos bounded forward and struck the ground with both fists. A burst of radiant purple light emerged from him, rocketing through the horde and casting them aside, creating a cloud of dust in the process. Through that plume of bright light, several scorpions jumped at Vos. One landed beside him and lunged its stinger-pronged tail at him.

If he were an ordinary person, it likely would've pierced his body and ended him. But when it struck his chest, it pushed him back but didn't break the skin. He gripped the tail with his strong arms and flipped the scorpion over him, slamming the creature into the ground.

Several scorpions jumped past him. Diva flew overhead, flourishing her wrists at the creatures and casting bursts of purple light at them. A scorpion tried to jump at her, but she deftly evaded it in the air. Petri acrobatically avoided several swipes of pincers and tails, weaving a web around them as he did until they were ensnared.

Edi fired webbing at them to try to pin them in place before using brute force to beat them down. When several came upon him at once, they all began jabbing him with their stringers simultaneously. He gripped a tail that came at him and swung the scorpion by it, striking the nearby horde as well.

As they fought to subdue those scorpions, others managed to move past them into the woods.

Petri threw a scorpion into one of the walls of webs he created between the trees and ordered, "Diva, you and I can stop the scorpions from going deeper into the forest! Vos and Edi! Hold the line the best you can out here!"

"Got it!" Vos and Edi shouted as they suppressed the oncoming horde as best as they could.

Diva flipped through the air and flew into the woods, and Petri swung from the trees after her. The two tried to pick off scorpions that had made their way into the forest before they reached the main settlement. One of them walked directly into a web trap. It popped, and a powerful rupture of webs ensnared the creature.

Despite their efforts, scorpions reached their settlement, and everything turned to panic. The scorpions trampled their dwellings, but the quick-witted Arachna decided to scale the tallest trees to escape the danger.

A scorpion pierced its tail through a web-based house and screams erupted from within. Petri swung down, grabbed the scorpion by its back legs, and yanked it away.

"Run! Now!" Petri yelled.

From the house, a family of three Arachna scurried out. The scorpion chased after them, only for Petri to fire several strands of webs to hold it back. The creature turned and swung its pincered arms at Petri, leaving a cut across his chest.

While chaos broke out in the Arachna settlement, one single scorpion, one with a pale white body moved away from the disorder, deeper into the woods.