Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1070 - 185: The Magical Beast on the Cliff Wall

Chapter 1070: Chapter 185: The Magical Beast on the Cliff Wall

"What kind of magical beast is it anyway?" Upon noticing Lina’s strange gazes drifting towards her, Freya felt a wave of bafflement and struggled to sit up as she asked, "And why do you keep staring at me? It can’t possibly be a spider, hahaha."

"Nothing, nothing," Lina chuckled dryly, shaking her head, "Just a few small magical beasts, don’t worry about it. Let’s focus on regaining our strength and hurry to leave. Camping on the edge of this cliff with no way out is very dangerous."

"Why is everything so secretive?" Freya complained dissatisfactorily. Although her curiosity was not as strong as Lina’s, she was thoroughly provoked at this moment and started staggering towards the edge of the cliff, muttering, "You guys are too much. Don’t you know that acting this way only makes me unable to resist wanting to look?"

"If I were you, I wouldn’t look," Pannis, sitting by the fire pit, took out more than a dozen freshly cut strips of meat. The strips of meat, having been washed clean with water, bore a bright red surface marked with fine white lines, traces left by a thin layer of fat. He then casually pulled out a fine metal grill from his backpack and set it over the built-up fire pit. No sooner had the meat touched the metal grill than a faint aroma wafted out, and one could see that the meat changed color much faster than ordinary meat, with the fat also exuding rapidly. Pannis, with nearly imperceptible hand speed, flipped each strip, then looked up at Freya, who was walking toward the cliff, and said, "For adventurers, curiosity can be a very powerful enemy, sometimes plunging you into endless regret."

"Uh... really?" Freya’s steps slowed and finally stopped. The princess remembered that Pannis had said the same thing not long before. That time, Lina had not listened and ended up feeling sick for more than an hour. It seemed it would likely be the same result this time. After hesitating for a moment, Freya turned around decisively and sat back by the campfire, her eyes fixed on the sizzling meat strips, and said forcefully, "Smelling this, my stomach immediately feels painfully hungry. How much longer until lunch? I can’t wait any longer."

"You are only allowed to eat one piece of meat," Catherine, even though slumped on the ground, still wouldn’t let Freya off easily and seriously said, "Don’t think I didn’t know, you sneaked and ate Ava’s leftover food from last night this morning. I didn’t say anything because I figured we would need a lot of energy today anyway."

"Big sister, you are too cruel," Freya lamented, "Even though we were just chased by a forest rhinoceros, you can’t treat me like one. I can’t stand eating grass every day."

"That’s wild greens, not grass," Catherine said, unable to help laughing herself, and she shook her head resignedly, "Alright, two pieces at most, definitely no more."

"Hehe, I knew big sister is the best," Freya’s grievances immediately evaporated, and her gradually resuming normal face beamed with a smile, excitedly urging, "Pannis, you heard it, big sister agreed. Hurry, hurry up, I can’t wait. Hey, by the way, what kind of meat is this? It looks very fresh, but I didn’t see you hunting."

"Arrow Mouse back meat," Pannis explained, "When Catherine was holding off the Arrow Mice, I waited for her and managed to collect some today’s food from a few bodies with smashed heads but intact bodies. Don’t underestimate the meat of an Arrow Mouse; its biggest feature is its tenderness. It’s like melting in your mouth as soon as you put it in, and you will know when you eat it soon."

The back meat of Arrow Mouse was indeed very tender. Slightly heated, its surface turned a tempting golden brown. Not only was the meat tender, but the fat within it easily came out. Placed on the fire for less than two minutes, the golden brown mouse meat oozed large, shiny beads of fat. Transparent fat dripped drop by drop onto the flame through the metal grill—each drop causing the flames to surge, kissing the bottom of the metal grill, and the evaporating fat spread a rich meaty aroma, irresistibly drawing the attention of the surrounding expedition members to Pannis.

"Arrow Mouse meat is rarely eaten by people, but it’s actually very delicious and very simple to cook," Pannis continued with his hands moving rapidly, barely stopping at all, flipping every strip of meat every few seconds, ensuring they were exposed to very brief heating times. Although he claimed it was simple, the speed alone was not something ordinary people could achieve, "Arrow Mouse meat tastes best when roasted, and besides a little salt, no other seasoning should be added. Any seasoning is superfluous and only masks the natural delicate flavor of the meat. Such roasted mouse meat, with its fats already rendered out, tastes not at all greasy. The crispy texture as you bite feels like crunching on cartilage, but as you chew, each muscle fiber easily breaks apart, a sensation that is simply indescribable."

"Howl, howl." Even the little fox jumping around on the collapsed Vivian’s chest was attracted by the aroma of the meat, silently sliding over to the fire pit. Overcoming its innate fear of flames, it squatted on Freya’s shoulder, eagerly watching the increasingly tempting strips of Arrow Mouse meat.

"Ah!" Catherine’s scream startled the group of demigods and legends gathered around the fire pit. They turned their heads just in time to see the cautious knight girl at the cliff’s edge looking down. The moment she peeked over, she let out a short scream.

"These, these magical beasts." Catherine covered her mouth, her eyes wide, stuttering as she pointed down the cliff, "I, I have never seen flying spiders before."

Freya was right, those living on the cliff were spiders, and not just any spiders but large groups of them. Each spider was the size of a dinner plate, their bodies brown, closely matching the color of the rocks on the cliff. When they moved on the rocks, they moved as smoothly as though they were walking on flat ground. Their eight long, thin legs, each over a meter long, provided them with incredible jumping ability. At full force, they could leap horizontally for over ten meters before beginning to fall. A closer look would reveal that between the last three legs on each side, there was a wrinkled, transparent membrane connected, allowing normal movement without disturbance. But once they leapt from the cliff, spreading their six legs horizontally, the membrane stretched out, and they could glide through the air with the help of the wind, returning to the cliff face.

"They, they not only fly," Catherine said in amazement, "but they also live by catching birds?"

"Yeah, their name is bird-catching spiders," Pannis replied without looking up. "Of course they live by catching birds. However, if other animals are willing to come to them as dinner, they wouldn’t mind changing their diet."

This cliff was in the middle of the forest, with trees growing at both the top and bottom ends, naturally providing a habitat for a large number of birds. The several hundred meters tall cliff represented an insurmountable barrier for terrestrial creatures, but it meant nothing to the birds, which flew past near the cliff every day, some even resting on projecting rocks.

The bird-catching spiders lived in caves on the cliff, feeding on the birds that passed each day. Each spider was a patient and skilled hunter. They lacked the ability to spin webs but retained their powerful hunting capabilities. After climbing out of their nests each afternoon, they would remain motionlessly perched on the cliff face, a position they could maintain all afternoon and night. Their camouflage made them appear as just another rock, making it hard to distinguish whether a spot was a stone or a spider when they were still.

As soon as a flock of birds entered their hunting range, the spiders would launch from their hiding spots with lightning speed. The passing birds often didn’t even realize what had happened before the spider’s front two legs tightly embraced them, and their venomous fangs instantly plunged deep into the prey, instantly incapacitating it. Simultaneously, they would spread their gliding legs, clutching their prey as they returned to the cliff and into their caves for a delicious dinner.

Even if they failed to catch birds during the day, it wasn’t a problem as this was still the jungle. At night, various small climbing animals would move up and down the cliff, naturally becoming targets for the bird-catching spiders that hadn’t caught any birds during the day. These aerial hunters easily handled climbing creatures.

Though their legs were very long, almost taller than an adult human when fully spread, their bodies were not large, and because of the gliding membranes on their legs, their movement on flat ground was greatly restricted. Therefore, they rarely attacked large creatures on both sides of the cliff. However, if a large creature was spotted climbing the cliff, all the bird-catching spiders would rush out of their nests, doing everything in their power to kill the intruder, unless the direct sunlight they loathed was present. That meant if the expedition team had arrived at the cliff a few minutes later, the revitalized bird-catching spiders would not have allowed them to pass through their territory easily.

Catherine was astonished, especially since before her eyes, a bird-catching spider elegantly leapt out, tightly embraced a skylark, circled in the air, and then laid back against the cliff. It wasn’t just that one; more spiders continuously jumped and glided, filling the air with flying spiders.