Chapter 310: The Big Guy Arrives

The crossbowmen excelled at ranged attacks, but once the Silverback Ape Grunt charged into their midst, they barely had an opportunity to reload.

Several garrison soldiers attempted to block the staircase, only to be intercepted by the advancing skeleton soldiers, leaving them unable to stop the ape from pushing forward.

Thanks to the disruption, the rain of arrows coming from that direction noticeably reduced.

Seizing the opportunity, Zich emerged from beneath the wall and advanced toward the raised platform with Iron. Slimy remained beside them, using its silk to disrupt the soldiers’ spears and arrows.

However, just as they reached the halfway point, the shield soldiers ahead suddenly parted, revealing a row of heavy crossbows that had already been loaded.

Zich’s eyes sharpened when he saw the glistening tips of the heavy bolts.

"Fire!" the Garrison Commander shouted from the platform.

FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH!

The moment the order was given, the volley of bolts rained down.

Zich quickly dodged to the side, but Iron couldn’t completely escape their firing range in time. The heavy bolts slammed into its already damaged breastplate, forcing it several steps backward, with one even punching straight through an armor plate.

"Come back!"

He recalled Iron and was himself forced behind a stone pillar by the subsequent volley. Lowering his gaze, he glanced at his left arm, where a fresh wound was already bleeding.

His left shoulder had reopened during the ravine fight, and now there was another wound.

While Zich was taking cover behind the pillar, the commander atop the platform redirected a group of soldiers to reinforce the wall, recovering the advantage Zich had only just secured.

Remaining behind the pillar, he checked Iron’s condition through their contract before looking toward the row of heavy crossbows being reloaded.

If he continued testing their defenses like this, his summons would only end up taking turns getting injured.

He needed to break through in one decisive attack.

"Blood Leech."

A summoning circle appeared beside Zich, and Blood Leech emerged.

After giving the summon a command, he watched it use Silent Steps and quietly slip away.

At the same time, he contacted the Silverback Ape Grunt, which was still fighting atop the wall.

’Don’t get entangled with the reinforcements. Head toward the platform.’

With all his orders given, he then summoned Tiamant.

ROOOOOOAR!

The bone dragon emerged from the summoning light with a fierce, thunderous roar.

Her sudden appearance struck fear into the enemy ranks. Zich felt the strain on his mana as well. She had fought in the ravine on the previous floor, and he couldn’t afford to leave her under concentrated fire for long.

The commander made a series of gestures, ordering the heavy crossbows to change targets while the shield soldiers tightened their ranks around it.

This was precisely what Zich had been waiting for.

Rather than charging toward the platform, Tiamant extended her bone chains and wrapped them around several shields in the front row. The shield soldiers planted their feet firmly against the ground, but they were still dragged forward, opening a gap in what had previously been a tightly secured formation.

At that moment, Zich stepped out from behind the stone pillar.

A Spirit Bomb sailed over the soldiers ahead and landed directly among the heavy crossbows.

BOOOM!

An explosion thundered across the training ground, sending wood, broken crossbows, and enemies in every direction. Zich coughed as a cloud of dust swept over him, but his gaze never left the platform.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue when he saw that the commander was still alive. It had retreated behind its guards in advance, leaving the shield soldiers stationed at the front to take the blast.

Upon seeing Zich reveal himself, it drew its longsword and ordered the garrison troops on both sides to surround him.

"Bring it on!" A fierce light shone in Zich’s eyes as he held the Frostgrave Scythe in a fighting stance.

Just as the soldiers on the other side began moving, confused shouts suddenly erupted from behind the platform.

The Silverback Ape Grunt had arrived!

ROOOAR!

It let out a shout of dominance and beat its chest savagely.

Having bypassed the main garrison forces by advancing along the wall, it leaped down near the platform. The four Undead Skeleton Soldiers also came rushing down the stone staircase, crashing directly into the rear ranks of the commander’s guards.

The rear attack forced the commander to turn around.

And at that exact moment, Blood Leech, which had slipped close to the platform, pounced on the commander. Its claws caught on the commander’s armor, and its mouthparts pierced a gap beneath it as Blood Drain began siphoning its blood.

Through their contract, Zich could feel the pressure Blood Leech was enduring. The commander was attempting to tear it off.

Because the commander was clearly stronger, he knew Blood Leech wouldn’t be able to hold on for long, so he dashed forward.

The guards attempted to intercept him, but the Silverback Ape Grunt pressing in from behind forced them to turn and defend themselves. By the time the commander finally tore Blood Leech off, Zich had already used \[Shadow Blink!\] to cross the remaining distance and appear directly before it.

Longsword and scythe collided in midair.

Clang!

A sharp pain shot through Zich’s injured left shoulder, but he refused to retreat. More garrison soldiers were already rushing toward him from behind. If he gave ground now, all his previous arrangements would have been for nothing.

The commander clearly understood this as well. Tightening its grip on the longsword, it continued applying pressure, attempting to force him back down the steps.

However, it had forgotten about the Silverback Ape Grunt behind it.

A heavy blow crashed into its backplate, causing its movements to falter noticeably.

Zich swiftly forced the longsword aside and drove his scythe blade into the gap beneath its neck guard.

The commander staggered backward, and the sword finally slipped from its hand.

"Cheater," it said, anger palpable in its voice as it collapsed.

"I never promised to fight fair," Zich replied, stomping on its head and crushing it beneath his feet.

\[Twenty-Eighth Floor Trial Completed.\]

\[Trial Evaluation: SS.\]

The soldiers who had reached the foot of the platform came to an abrupt halt. Together with the crossbowmen stationed along the walls, their figures gradually faded away.

Only after seeing that all of them were gone did Zich loosen his grip on the scythe and flex his numb fingers.

"Well done."

The Silverback Ape Grunt stood beneath the platform with several arrows protruding from its body. Upon hearing his praise, it responded with a low grunt.

After recalling it and the other summons into the graveyard, Zich cast one final glance at the scattered remains of the heavy crossbows.

He walked directly through the clearance portal and sat down, letting out a long exhale.

At first, he thought he could clear this realm solo, but even for him, it was becoming too much.

’I wonder how far the others have come,’ he thought.

Little did he know that by now, most of the challengers had already exited the tower, having failed to proceed.

By the time Zich stood up again, he had placed his two remaining mana potions where he could retrieve them most conveniently.

Tiamant had just fought two consecutive battles, and the damage Iron had sustained hadn’t completely recovered either. If he continued relying on them to hold the front line, then even if he managed to clear the next floor, the thirtieth would become considerably more difficult.

’It seems the big guy might come out earlier than planned,’ he thought as he passed through the portal to the next floor.

When the teleportation light of the Twenty-Ninth Floor dissipated, a vast open arena surrounded by beast cages appeared before him.

What was worse, all the beast cages were beginning to open at once.

Zich watched the enormous figures emerging from within them. However, unlike the previous floors, he didn’t summon Iron. Instead, he reached toward that particular tombstone.

Since there was more than enough space here, there was no reason to keep hiding it.

"Big guy."

A summoning light far bigger than any he had summoned before unfolded before him.

"Come out."