Chapter 303: In Their Eyes, He Had Long Since Become More Than Just Their Master [3]

Zich tightened his grip on Frostgrave Scythe, preparing to forcibly block the attack, when a translucent barrier appeared in front of him first.

Bang!

The spear slammed heavily into the Silk Barrier.

"Bo!"

Slimy was sent tumbling backward from the impact, yet it stubbornly maintained the barrier.

Almost simultaneously, a bone greatsword slashed in from the left, directly intercepting the second enemy’s massive axe.

Clang!

The stone beneath Iron’s feet shattered, and its heavy armor released an overwhelmed grinding sound, but it did not retreat even half a step.

Blood Leech erupted from the shadow behind the spear wielding enemy after abandoning its hunt among the ruins without waiting for an order.

The Silverback Ape Grunt charged back from the eastern battlefield on its own, smashing itself and the battle blade wielding enemy through a distant broken wall.

The four Skeleton Soldiers followed from the western and eastern fronts immediately, using their bodies to rapidly fill the newly opened gaps around them.

Boom!

A violent gust descended from the sky.

Tiamant’s enormous skeletal wings blocked out the air above as she landed directly behind Zich. The soul flames within her hollow eye sockets burned fiercely, and her ancient draconic pressure swept across the entire battlefield without restraint.

The cost of their uncommanded rescue appeared at once. Without Iron, the Silverback Ape Grunt, Blood Leech, and the four Skeleton Soldiers holding the divided fronts, armored enemy remnants surged through the western passage, spilled from the east, and poured out from among the broken walls toward the center.

Standing at the center, Zich looked at all his summons, who had arrived around him almost simultaneously.

For the first time, obvious surprise appeared in his eyes.

He had not issued a recall command through their contracts.

Nor had he ordered them to abandon the areas they were responsible for defending.

Yet the moment he was surrounded, every single one of them had returned.

This was not because of a System command, nor had their contracts forced them. They had chosen to stand here themselves.

Iron stood at the very front, its bone greatsword held horizontally.

Slimy pressed against Zich’s leg. Although its body was still trembling, it once again unfolded the Silk Barrier.

Blood Leech crouched at the edge of the shadows, its crimson eyes locked onto every approaching enemy.

The Silverback Ape Grunt pounded its chest, while the four Skeleton Soldiers reformed their defensive line.

Behind them, Tiamant slowly lowered her enormous dragon head, as though the moment Zich gave the order, she would tear everything before them apart.

After a brief silence, the corners of Zich’s lips slowly lifted.

"Since you’ve all come back..."

Pale, ghostly blue Spirit Flame surged down his arm and poured into Frostgrave Scythe, instantly covering the icy blade in eerie flames.

He raised his weapon and pointed toward the armored commander who had remained motionless in the depths of the battlefield.

"Then let’s finish this floor together."

The next instant, every summon charged forward simultaneously!

Iron was the first to crash into the enemy formation. Its bone greatsword tore open the defensive line through sheer force, while the Silverback Ape Grunt followed closely behind, sending every enemy attempting to close the gap flying.

The four Skeleton Soldiers covered one another as they advanced along both sides.

Slimy expanded its Silk Barrier, blocking every long range attack outside the formation, while Blood Leech used the chaos to slip across the battlefield and charge directly toward the armored commander at the rear.

High above, Tiamant folded her skeletal wings.

The constant pull of maintaining such a high cost summon had already consumed a considerable portion of Zich’s mana. Now that Tiamant had cleared the flying enemies, this final descent had to help end the battle before her upkeep drained him further.

Fwooooom!

Her enormous body descended like a meteor falling from the heavens.

The armored commander finally raised its weapon.

But just as it prepared to meet Tiamant’s attack, the space before Zich suddenly distorted.

Spirit Exchange!

He instantly exchanged positions with Iron, who had already returned to the same battlefield and reached the front of the enemy formation, well within Spirit Exchange’s one thousand meter range.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zich twisted his body with the momentum.

Frostgrave Scythe, burning with Spirit Flame, carved a pale blue arc through the air and slammed violently into the armored commander’s chest.

Blood Arc!

BOOM!

The blood colored slash and ghostly blue flames erupted simultaneously. Cracks rapidly spread across the commander’s armor, and at that exact moment, Tiamant descended from above, her enormous dragon claw crashing down heavily upon its body.

The entire battlefield shook violently.

With their commander gone, the formation of the remaining enemies collapsed instantly.

Iron, the Silverback Ape Grunt, and the four Skeleton Soldiers completely tore through the enemy ranks from the front. Blood Leech continuously harvested enemies from within the shadows, while Slimy firmly protected the rear of the entire group, never allowing another monster to approach Zich.

Several minutes later, the final armored monster fell beneath the bone greatsword, and the noisy battlefield finally returned to silence.

[Twenty Third Floor Trial Completed.]

[Trial Evaluation: SSS.]

The cold notification appeared before Zich, and the teleportation light leading to the next floor rose from the center of the battlefield.

But he did not enter immediately. He turned around and looked at all his summons behind him, battered and scarred, yet still standing.

"Good work."

Iron planted its bone greatsword before itself and dropped to one knee.

The four Skeleton Soldiers lowered their heads simultaneously.

The Silverback Ape Grunt struck its chest heavily once, while Blood Leech silently retreated into Zich’s shadow.

Slimy threw itself against his leg, its soft body quickly wrapping around him.

Finally, Tiamant slowly lowered her enormous dragon head.

At that moment, no command passed through their contracts. Yet for the first time, Zich could feel with unmistakable clarity that what they were sending back to him was no longer merely obedience.

He reached down and gently patted Slimy’s soft body twice before raising his head toward the light leading to the Twenty Fourth Floor.

"Let’s go. We keep climbing."