I'm still of the opinion that Hidemoto is telling them to run away because he's too powerful a foe for them to take on.
Besides his immense physical strength, the legend described the Tsuchigumo as:
Quote:
|
Historically, the "Tsuchigumo" or "Earth Spider" was said to be a derogatory term for mountain-dwelling race or a band of thieves, who came to be portrayed as literal arachnids in art and literature. Tales of giant spiders may have actually arisen independently and reach back even farther in Japanese culture, but the Tsuchigumo became the most famous by name, and is commonly portrayed as a colossal, predatory monster of great magical power and malevolent intelligence. Armed with toxic silk, deadly breath and a wide array of duplicitous transformations, it often appears as a beautiful woman or small child to ambush human prey. Paralleling the dragon-slaying knights of medeival Europe, many stories pit the Tsuchigumo and similar monsters against famous samurai warriors.
|
From this we can assume this is only the tip of his powers. His "fear" might be overwhelming.
And interesting enough Tsuchigumo was mostly portrayed as a woman.