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While Ronin's team had been busy exploring the lower levels, other expedition groups had also appeared throughout the underground city.
They moved quickly between buildings, dodging the monsters inside while trying to map out what each structure contained.
A few of them had already figured out that fire worked extremely well against the monsters. Flames were now flickering in several different parts of the city.
From the top of the building where Ronin's team had first entered, those scattered points of fire looked almost like streetlights illuminating the pitch-black underground metropolis.
But high above, on the cave ceiling, the massive spiders clinging to the rock had begun to stir.
The rising smoke from the fires seemed to disturb them. One by one they woke from their long slumber and started moving uneasily toward the entrance Ronin's group had used to reach this level.
At that same entrance, the area was now empty of people.
Ronin's team hadn't been the last group to enter the underground city, but only a handful of teams had come after them.
Getting permission to explore the ruins still required certain qualifications, which had already filtered out most of the civilian groups.
However, some of the teams that had originally gone down the other two passages had returned empty-handed and decided to try their luck here instead.
The moment they stepped into the tunnel, they ran straight into the giant tank-like spiders.
In the narrow passage, even Nen users had almost no chance against the endless tide of spiders. Ordinary people stood no chance at all.
Screams echoed through the tunnel in a continuous chain.
Outside, the soldiers who had already withdrawn heard the cries and immediately began forming up in defensive positions.
When the first massive spider finally burst out of the ruins, the battle between humans and the underground creatures erupted once more.
Down in the city below, Ronin had no idea any of this was happening.
After clearing several more buildings, his team confirmed one important fact: every structure that contained monsters also had a single withered giant tree growing beneath it.
That tree was the source of the enormous monster population.
Muir decided they had explored enough. He planned to pull the team out and report everything to the Hunter Association.
Once the Association and V5 reviewed the findings, they would decide what kind of personnel to send into the underground city for proper research and exploration.
The mercenary group would almost certainly be hired again, most likely for protection work—the kind of job Muir's people specialized in.
Ronin listened to Muir's analysis and nodded in agreement.
Still, his instincts told him the underground city was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.
He had no intention of diving deeper alone, though. His real interest remained the other passage that supposedly held clues about the Kurta Clan.
According to Muir, that passage still hadn't been fully explored.
Once the Association sent teams to secure the underground city, they would likely seal off the left-hand passage for the time being. That would allow the kingdom's soldiers to resume digging in the right-hand passage.
Ruins excavation involved too many technical risks. One wrong move and everything could collapse.
Professional work was best left to professionals.
With their next steps decided, the team began heading back toward the tall building they had originally entered through.
They hadn't gotten close before they noticed something was wrong.
Hundreds of spider corpses lay scattered around the base of the building, all of them fallen from above.
Many of the bodies showed clear signs of battle damage—wounds inflicted by humans.
Had fighting continued on the upper levels while they were exploring below?
The group didn't understand what was happening, but they quickened their pace as they entered the building and started climbing.
The monster corpses they had left behind earlier were still there, but now they showed obvious signs of being partially eaten. The spiders that had fallen from above had been feeding on them.
Any spiders that were still alive had turned their attention to the monster remains during the climb.
The corpses seemed to be some kind of delicacy to them. Even when Ronin's team approached, the spiders only showed defensive aggression, like guard dogs protecting their food. They hissed warnings but didn't immediately attack.
The moment anyone stepped too close, however, the spiders would lunge.
The team didn't bother negotiating. Before a spider could even finish its threat display, the golem's war hammer came crashing down on its head.
A shrill, piercing screech burst from the crushed spider's mouth, but it only lasted a few seconds before fading into silence.
"The monsters inside the buildings seem to be very attractive to these spiders," Ronin said. "But ever since we entered this space, we haven't seen a single spider willingly enter a building to attack the monsters. Why?"
No one had an answer.
They kept climbing. There were fewer spiders now, but the sound of heavy footsteps and the faint vibration of the floor above them grew steadily louder.
A bad feeling settled over the entire group. Their pace quickened.
When they reached the Earth Style barrier Ronin had created earlier, they could see the hairy underbellies of spiders pressed against the gaps.
The golem moved first.
With a war hammer in one hand and a flamethrower in the other, it raised a massive mechanical leg and kicked the barrier open.
The spiders above reacted instantly. Several long, blade-like legs stabbed downward toward the golem.
The golem thrust the flamethrower upward and opened fire while its hammer caught the descending legs.
The flames that had worked so well against the lower monsters had almost no effect here. The spiders shrieked in pain from the heat, but they didn't ignite.
Ronin saw the golem locked in a stalemate. He stepped forward, formed hand seals, and exhaled.
Wind Style: Vacuum Wave.
Compressed wind-nature chakra became a high-pressure blade that shot through the narrow gap between the golem's arms and slammed into the spider's body.
The spider was blasted upward in an instant. The wind blade carved deep into its flesh, sending thick fluid spraying in every direction.
The golem didn't waste the opening. Its heavy mechanical body launched upward with surprising force. The moment it cleared the lower room, the war hammer came down hard on the spider's head.
But as Ronin and the others followed the golem out onto the upper platform, what they saw made their blood run cold.
Dozens upon dozens of giant spiders had already turned toward them, their countless eyes gleaming in the dim light.