"I am very satisfied with the name 'Nephila', it has a lot of ambiance when paired with Spider Witch," I said. However, my wife insisted on calling her the 'old and ugly eight-legged woman'.

"Wife, hurry, she's still moving!"

"Coming, just a moment!"

Before my wife could remove all the webbing from her body, I quickly drew my gun with my right hand and aimed at the Spider Witch, who seemed to be breaking free from the petrification magic.

Petrification magic doesn't turn people into stone, it simply makes their bodies stiff to the point where they cannot move. Shooting a person who has been petrified causes more damage than in normal circumstances. The same goes for monsters.

I shot the Spider Witch in the belly and it had an excellent effect. She immediately fell to the ground, and a dark red liquid started to flow from the wound. I thought her bodily fluids would be green.

"You're injured."

"Oh, it's nothing. As long as you're safe."

Although my wife said it was nothing, I could still tell that the battle had drained a lot of her physical and magical strength. If that Spider Witch could survive both the petrification magic and the attack of a large-caliber bullet, then we would have been at the mercy of fate.

It made sense for the kingdom to want to seal off this cave. Monsters like these that can withstand petrification magic would be difficult for the old men of the Magic Council to handle. Our victory earlier had a lot to do with luck. If my shot hadn't connected, we would have become dinner for the Spider Witch.

I took out the matches I had with me and began searching the surroundings. But then I hesitated. Spider silk should be flammable. If I were to accidentally set fire to the spiders' silk in the entire cave, my wife and I would be suffocated. By the cold light of the two spider-shaped hanging lamps on the wall, I examined the wounds on my wife's body. Most of them were superficial cuts, just external injuries, but there was a lot of bleeding, making it look scary.

"Does it hurt? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"It's okay, just very tired now, want to sleep..."

"Wife, don't sleep, wait until we're out of here."

"Mm..."

I took off my clothes and covered my wife with them, then examined the cave. I hadn't paid attention to the surroundings during the intense battle, so I was shocked when I started to explore. The lair of the Spider Witch was shaped like a spider, with a total of eight holes on each side. The ninth hole led to the outside of the mountain. If viewed from above, it looked like a giant spider hanging upside down inside Mount Guli.

The Spider Witch lay motionless on the ground, her eyes closed, as if she had died.

"Wife, have you seen this monster before?"

"Although I haven't seen it... it has been mentioned in the book we bought."

"Which book?"

"The one we bought in Night Fall Town, I read it to you."

"Oh... that book, I didn't really read it."

My wife was referring to the book about the kingdom's knights fighting dragons to save the princess. Most of the stories in that book were in support of the kingdom and didn't interest me, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Among them, there was one that described how the giant spider specialized in catching and eating children, and how it was eventually defeated and sealed forever in a cave by a righteous magician.

But now it seems that the Spider Witch has always lived in this cave, with no connection to the magician. Those stories were probably just exaggerated and embellished by the kingdom to strengthen the position of the Magic Council and the royal family.

However, thinking about it, I couldn't help but believe in the existence of dragons. Although the kingdom's stories were exaggerated, each type of monster really existed in reality. If that dragon truly lived in Mount Dotch...

"Husband, she's not dead yet!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing my wife's exclamation, I quickly stood up, gripping my gun firmly and aiming at the Spider Witch on the ground. I couldn't help but gasp when I saw that the monster was actually climbing up the wall unsteadily!

After a few moments of standoff, the Spider Witch didn't come forward, probably wary of the gun in my hand. At this moment, I intentionally put down my weapon and tried to negotiate, but my wife no longer had any fighting capability. If I were to throw away my last weapon, it wouldn't be wise.

"We don't want to fight you anymore."

"But if you insist on eating us, then I'll have to use fire."

"At worst, the three of us will die here."

I asked my wife to take out a match from my pocket and prepare to ignite the spider silk. However, the monster on the other side clearly didn't believe in the power of matches. My wife became anxious and disregarded the danger, quickly lighting the match. As the fire illuminated the area, the monster immediately trembled and retreated, its eyes darting around. The spider witch's eyes had no pupils, only a blood-red color, which made me a little apprehensive.

In the end, I was the first to put down my gun, blow out the match, and sit on the spider silk carpet on the ground.

"Hey, what about your injury? Shouldn't you take care of it?"

"No need for you to tell me."

I originally wanted to help treat her wounds and establish a closer relationship, but she refused to accept it. Seeing that we no longer had any intention of fighting, she sprayed spider silk from her hind legs and neatly bandaged the gunshot wound on her waist.

"Did you say that this monster is your wife?"

The spider witch asked, her tone filled with disbelief.

"Yes, don't you believe it?"

"Hmph, I didn't expect it to be true."

"Of course it's true."

I held my wife in my arms, and our conversation had a hint of disdain for each other.

"You said you were a black market dealer?"

"Yes, that's right. I am a black market dealer."

"How did a black market dealer end up in my cave?"

"If I hadn't entered, how could I have had contact with you?"

"Black market dealers usually leave food at the entrance of the cave. I just dragged it into the cave."

"Oh... in fact, my wife and I came into your cave to seek shelter from the rain. It's nothing else."

"Shelter from the rain?"

"My wife... doesn't like the rain."

The spider witch suddenly showed curiosity in response to my answer. Quietly, she approached me and used her hard legs to lift my head, poking and prodding. Then she turned to my wife and used her silk-like secretion to lightly treat the cut. Although my wife accepted these actions, there was some displeasure on her face.

"Are you really a couple?"

"Can't you tell now?"

Before I could answer, my wife spoke first. This crisis made her naturally think of the time I was captured by the succubus. Moreover, the opponent was a monster with a female appearance, so she thought I was going to be used as a mating tool again. Her fiery temper naturally flared up.

I briefly explained some of our experiences as a couple to the spider witch, and she became more and more surprised, furrowing her brow. Particularly when I mentioned mating, she interrupted us.

"Are you sure that humans and monsters can... have children?"

"Um... at least I know Medusa can have children with humans."

"What about me?"

"You?"

How would I know if a big spider like you can have children with humans! Don't ask us about that kind of thing!

During our conversation, I noticed that the spider witch was a bit neurotic and lived in her own world. If she wanted to know something, she would ask endlessly, but if she didn't want to know, she pretended not to hear. It reminded me of my wife's state of mind when I first met her.

"How did you have children?"

"We... what does it have to do with you? Our bodies are different."

"I want to see!"

"You want to see, but we can't just do that in front of you!"

The topic changed too quickly. We were just fighting to the death a moment ago, and now we were suddenly talking about mating, as if someone had taken a shot of adrenaline.

Looking at my wife, I knew she had sighed a hundred times in her heart.

"Honey, let's hurry and leave."

"Don't go! Can you guys just do it so I can see? Hurry, hurry!"

As she spoke, she tried to use her spider silk to bind us together. When I saw this, I realized that it was nonsense and quickly stopped her.

"Miss, ma'am, please stop. Regarding having children, let me explain it to you slowly."

"Oh? Then hurry up."

"Um... whether humans and monsters can have children mainly depends on their bodies."

Actually, I didn't know anything, but I just wanted to make it up and quickly move on to talking about the war of the kingdom.

"You see, my wife has a beautiful figure and appearance, perfect for childbearing."

"What about me?"

"You..."

"Speak!"

"Um... can you take off your clothes first?"

"Honey, do you want to get beaten up?"

My wife secretly pinched my waist, causing me to grit my teeth in pain.

"Hmm... Honey, I need to take a look first before I can tell her..."

"Well, go ahead then!"

Before my wife and I could finish speaking, the Spider Witch had already taken off her evening gown. As we turned to look, we were stunned by what we saw between her legs... No matter how twisted one's tastes may be, it would certainly cause shrinkage. Even my wife couldn't bear it, which means the monster's body structure must be truly terrifying.

"What's wrong?"

"Your body... It's not capable of bearing children like a human."

"..."

"I'm sorry..."

When the topic of not being able to have children was brought up, the Spider Witch suddenly became downcast. Being able to nurture one's own child is truly a significant thing for a woman. She had heard that Medusa and I were able to procreate, and she also wanted the same.

Maternal instincts are a shared trait among women. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her, especially as she sighed and sat alone on the ground, looking like a miserable woman. Thinking of spiders, calling her "Lonely Bride" seemed appropriate; although she may not seduce men, she still devours them.

"Do you really want a child that badly?"

"Yes..."

In response to my wife's question, the Lonely Bride only answered with two words. Even from those simple two words, you could hear her determination and obsession with having children. My wife didn't say anything and gently walked over to hold the Lonely Bride's hand. At that time, I didn't understand why my wife, who used to confront her so aggressively, suddenly comforted her. I just thought it was women's empathy for each other in their tough circumstances. In reality, while Medusa may not be fixated on the mother-daughter title, she still highly values procreating. But that's another story.

Since the Lonely Bride wouldn't fight or kill anymore, and we still needed to rest in the cave for a few more days, we asked her if there was anything she needed help with. The next morning, while the rain stopped, my wife hunted two small animals and shared them with the Lonely Bride. I didn't want to eat raw meat, so I satisfied my hunger with some wild fruits.

The Lonely Bride's temperament was not entirely cruel. It's just that humans tend to see her at her most ferocious. If there was a man who could break through her defenses, perhaps she could be like my wife.

The three of us sat together, each feeding ourselves in our own ways. I thought for a moment and decided to subtly inquire about the Lonely Bride's attitude towards the kingdom.