Chapter 301: In Their Eyes, He Had Long Since Become More Than Just Their Master! [1]

Twenty Third Floor.

The instant the teleportation light disappeared, before Zich could even make out his surroundings, the black stone platform beneath his feet suddenly began to shake.

Rumble!

One massive stone wall after another rose from deep underground, forcibly dividing the once complete battlefield into several interconnected zones.

At the far end of each area, tightly shut black iron gates slowly opened at the same time, and dense footsteps echoed from behind them, as though several armies that had been waiting for a long time were advancing toward the battlefield.

[Twenty Third Floor Trial: Divided Battlefield.]

[Trial Objective: Defeat the invading armies and their commander.]

[Special Rule: Multiple fronts will open simultaneously.]

Zich’s gaze swept across his surroundings.

To the west was a narrow passage trapped between rows of stone pillars. The eastern side was much more open, while directly ahead stood numerous broken walls capable of obstructing vision. There was nothing sealing the sky above, but a swarm of dark silhouettes was already circling overhead.

The enemies had yet to fully reveal themselves, but the terrain alone had already divided the battlefield into several separate fronts.

If Zich concentrated all his summons around himself, then no matter which direction he chose to attack, the enemies in the other regions would simply break through the undefended lines and completely surround him from the sides and rear.

This time, what the Tower wanted to test was clearly not merely strength.

It wanted to see whether he could truly command an army.

There was no panic in Zich’s eyes. The moment he understood the terrain, he completed his deployment.

"Iron, take two Skeletons and hold the western passage."

The heavily armored Undead Knight tightened its grip on the bone greatsword it already wielded and headed west with two Skeleton Soldiers.

"Silverback Ape Grunt, take the other two Skeletons and go east."

The Silverback Ape Grunt released a low growl and smashed its fists together before striding toward the right side of the battlefield. The remaining two of the four Skeleton Soldiers followed closely behind it.

"Blood Leech, enter the broken wall zone. Hunt freely."

Blood Leech lowered its body slightly. In the next instant, it silently slipped into the shadows ahead and disappeared between the shattered walls.

"Tiamant, the sky is yours."

Her enormous skeletal wings suddenly spread wide, and Tiamant soared into the air amid a violent gust. The soul flames burning within her hollow eye sockets locked onto the approaching flying monsters.

Tiamant was Zich’s high maintenance trump card, and keeping her deployed placed a constant burden on his mana. However, with an entire swarm of flying enemies controlling the sky, leaving her in the Graveyard would cost him far more than summoning her.

Finally, Zich lowered his head and looked at Slimy, who was pressed against his feet.

"You stay in the center. Seal every gap."

"Gulu!"

Slimy’s body bounced vigorously, as though it had just been entrusted with the most important task on the entire battlefield.

The moment Zich finished giving his orders, every black iron gate fully opened.

Boom!

Large numbers of monsters clad in dark armor poured out like a tide, flooding into the different regions in an instant. At the same time, the flying monsters circling overhead began diving downward, their piercing shrieks nearly drowning out every other sound across the battlefield.

"Move!"

The moment Zich’s voice echoed, his scattered summons charged toward the enemy simultaneously.

The western passage was the first to erupt into battle.

Iron gripped its bone greatsword with both hands. Facing the monster army charging directly toward it, it did not retreat a single step. Only when the monsters at the front entered its attack range did the heavy blade suddenly sweep horizontally.

Bang!

Several bodies were blasted backward, crashing into even more enemies behind them. The Skeleton Soldiers standing on either side of Iron immediately stepped forward, using their own bodies to seal the brief openings created whenever it swung its sword.

To Iron, the number of enemies before it did not matter.

It had never been created to calculate the odds of victory.

Its job was simply to grip the sword, advance, and carry out Zich’s command.

If an enemy truly wished to cross this passage, then it could only do so after every piece of its armor and every bone in its body had been shattered.

Another wave of monsters pressed forward.

But the soul flames in Iron’s eyes did not fluctuate in the slightest.

The bone greatsword slashed out once more, colliding violently with several weapons at the front and creating sparks that lit up the air.

Clang!

The two Skeleton Soldiers behind it quickly thrust their weapons forward from the left and right.

They did not possess Iron’s complete combat awareness, nor could they understand what the Tower or advancement truly meant. However, within their vague and fragmented consciousness, several commands had always remained clearer than anything else.

Follow their master!

Protect their companions!

Kill the enemies ahead!

...

On the eastern battlefield, the Silverback Ape Grunt unleashed a deafening roar. Its thick arms seized an armored monster charging toward it and directly used the creature as a weapon, smashing it into the enemies behind.

Boom!

Several figures were sent flying simultaneously.

The Silverback Ape then charged directly into the enemy formation beneath the incoming attacks, its enormous fists crashing down repeatedly and sending every enemy that approached sprawling across the ground.

At this moment, fighting was not the only thing occupying its mind.

It remembered when it had first begun following Zich.

Back then, it had been one of the strongest members of the group.

Whenever it charged forward, it could easily tear apart any monster blocking the way.

But later, Iron appeared and Blood Leech became increasingly dangerous. Slimy gained the power to protect everyone. As for Tiamant, her presence alone was enough to make many monsters lose the courage to resist.

Every member of the group was becoming stronger.

Only it seemed to be finding it increasingly difficult to keep pace.

The Silverback Ape Grunt could not organize such complicated emotions the way a human could. It only felt a dull, instinctive unease whenever another companion surged farther ahead, as though the group might one day move on without it.