Chương 78: Recruiting the Crimson Queen

Li Qinwu was stunned. To think such a colossal creature was entrenched so close to his core territory, commanding a whole swarm of Cave Spiders—what a massive hidden threat! Fortunately, he had discovered it, and today, he would deal with it. The Spider Queen was imposing, her carapace etched with eerie red patterns that could cause vertigo if stared at for too long. Yet, the voice echoing in everyone's mind sounded like a little girl on the verge of tears.

"Eeeeek!!! Get out, all of you green mildews! Or I'll kill you! You nasty little things, I could crush you with one foot!" She thrust a massive foreleg forward in a threatening gesture, but her body honestly retreated until her giant abdomen bumped against the cavern wall.

"Damn, why is she kind of cute?" The thought flashed through Li Qinwu's mind.

"Wait? Did you just say I'm cute?" the voice rang out, fear momentarily replaced by a tentative, cutesy expectation. Li Qinwu's expression hardened instantly. She can read my thoughts? This creature has sought its own doom! No one planning grand ambitions could allow a mind-reader to exist. He immediately reached for the lid of a demolition charge.

"Aaaah!! Put that down! No, no! I can't read your thoughts!" Do I look like a three-year-old? He twisted the lid faster.

"Waaaaah! No! Put it away! That thing won't work on me! It won't work, okay!!" The Queen trembled, shielding her hundreds of eyes with her forelegs like a shy maiden about to be ravaged, able only to cover her eyes and pray. Li Qinwu paused, and the Queen sighed in relief, sensing his next thought:"Hmm, she's so big, one might not be enough. Better use a few more." He pulled out three more charges. The Queen shrieked, a sound so piercing it nearly shattered the Goblins' minds.

She bolted for the exit like a runaway freight train. Dang-Dang, the "dim-witted younger son of the Earth Goddess," was too slow to react and was flattened by the charging Queen. Li Qinwu mourned the loss of his best laborer, only to see Dang-Dang sit up, dazed but alive. Being an Ogre meant being incredibly sturdy—he was merely "truck-hit" but otherwise fine. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Don't let her escape!" Li Qinwu led the pursuit. The Queen burst out of the mine and charged into the forest, snapping massive trees like twigs and plowing a kilometer-long path through the woods by sheer brute force. However, such exertion took its toll. After two kilometers, the Queen collapsed, gasping for air like an out-of-shape shut-in forced to run a marathon. Musket fire pinged off her heavy armor to no effect, but the "shut-in" Queen wailed in pain regardless.

Li Qinwu, knowing the explosive vibrations were her Achilles' heel, closed the gap. Standing 50 meters away, he used his Herculean strength to hurl a 13kg demolition charge like a shot put. BOOM!! The blast landed 20 meters from her. The vibration shattered her sensitive sensory organs. The Queen collapsed, her legs twitching, and her glands—both venom and silk—lost control in the shock. Li Qinwu circled to her defenseless flank.

He began stuffing demolition charges under her abdomen, intent on blowing her to the heavens.

"Wait! Can we settle this peacefully?" the Queen whimpered in his mind.

"You must be joking!" Li Qinwu stuffed another one in.

"Dame! Dame-dame!! Spare me, I'll do anything!!" Li Qinwu's grin split his face to his ears.

"Then join my army!" He sent a recruitment invitation through the system. A window popped up: [Recruit 'Crimson Queen' for 200, 000, 000 Denars? (Yes/No)]"Are you kidding me? 200 million?! Why don't you just rob me!" Li Qinwu roared. If he couldn't buy her, he'd blow her up. He ramped up his speed, stuffing more charges. Suddenly, he noticed the price dropping. 180 million... 150 million... For every charge he stuffed under her, the price plummeted.

When he piled his entire remaining stock of dozens of charges there, the cost hit zero—and then flipped to negative 10 million. Li Qinwu slammed "Yes." [Ding! You have recruited companion: Crimson Queen.] [You have received 10, 000, 000 Denars.] The Queen curled up, sobbing, "Are you... satisfied now? Waaaah..." Li Qinwu couldn't help but laugh. Not only did he get a powerhouse subordinate, but she actually paid him a 10-million "entry fee." This was the ultimate form of"paying to work."