Chapter 311: The Weight of Sixty Tombstones

The giant ape that had been the first to charge out of its beast cage abruptly stopped when it saw the figure before it.

The Myriad Beast Chimera had already landed in the center of the arena. Its lion shaped body, more than twenty meters long, stood in front of Zich, its entire body covered in black and golden bone armor, while two serpent heads extended from either side and stared toward the other two open beast cages.

Zich looked up at it and finally felt a little more reassured.

The Level 1 Commander summon that had taken sixty tombstones and the Myriad Beast Origin Core to create had finally gotten its chance to fight.

[Twenty Ninth Floor Trial: Kill all Trial Beasts.]

As the notification appeared, the other two magical beasts emerged from their cages as well. One was a massive lizard covered from head to tail in thick armor, circling along the edge of the arena, while the other was a black winged beast that had already taken to the air, its gaze passing over the Chimera and locking directly onto Zich behind it.

The three magical beasts did not crowd together. Instead, they approached from different directions.

Zich did not summon any additional helpers. The Chimera's summoning cost of one hundred and twenty mana had been reduced to one hundred and two by the Ring of the Soul Commander, but maintaining it still consumed twenty mana every second. If he brought Tiamant out as well, he would probably have to start thinking about which summon to recall before the battle was even decided.

"Hold off the ape. Use your tail to bring down the flying one."

He transmitted the order and stepped backward.

The black winged beast quickly dove toward him, but the Chimera collided head on with the charging giant ape. The heavy impact made the ground tremble, and the two enormous creatures immediately began grappling with each other.

The winged beast seized the opportunity to fly past them and dive straight toward Zich.

Zich tightened his grip on his Frostgrave Scythe but did not dodge, wanting to see what would happen.

Just as the winged beast was about to descend upon him, a scorpion tail rose from behind the Chimera and stabbed into its outstretched wing. The winged beast shrieked and desperately flapped its wings to break free, but its flight path had already been thrown off course.

Only then did Zich step aside.

The black shadow brushed past him before crashing into the ground and snapping one of the bars of the beast cage behind him. It struggled to get back up, but its injured wing became increasingly unresponsive, and even the claws supporting its body began slipping.

'Hmm, the poison is more severe than I gave it credit for.'

However, before Zich could relax, a sharp cracking sound came from ahead.

While the Chimera was entangled with the giant ape, the armored lizard had bitten down on the serpent head on its left side. The giant ape quickly grabbed the long neck and actually tore the entire head off by brute force!

Zich's fingers tightened, but he didn't alter his command or even take a step forward.

The severed serpent head fell to the ground, while the Chimera's remaining two heads continued attacking. Just as the giant ape tried to press its advantage, the central lion head bit down on its outstretched arm, while the other serpent head coiled toward the armored lizard and forced it away.

Zich glanced at the severed neck, his eyes flashing.

...Three Headed Regeneration.

Destroying a single head was not enough to kill it. Unless all three heads were destroyed within ten seconds, any destroyed heads would regrow.

The real problem now was time. The giant ape's strength was not inferior to the Chimera's, while the armored lizard remained close beside it. If this dragged on, even if the Chimera could endure, his mana could not.

"Stop wasting time with them. Eat that one first."

The pair of wings on the Chimera's back spread open, and a powerful gust swept dust from the ground. Using the momentum to break free from the struggle, it lunged toward the winged beast lying beside the cage.

The armored lizard gave chase, but it was already too late. As the Chimera lunged forward, the severed neck finished rebuilding itself. The torn serpent head had grown back before it reached the fallen beast.

The lion head bit down on the winged beast's neck and dragged it beneath its body. The magical beast that had tried to attack Zich only moments earlier could no longer put up any meaningful resistance, and it soon stopped moving entirely.

The Chimera immediately began devouring the corpse.

Zich could feel the stamina it had expended during the earlier collisions rapidly recovering, while the bone armor on its chest that had been cracked by the giant ape began repairing itself. The serpent head restored by Three Headed Regeneration lunged toward the pursuing armored lizard.

The armored lizard visibly hesitated.

The head that had just been torn off had already grown back. Their previous assault had barely weakened the opponent before them.

A faint smile finally appeared on Zich's face.

Now this was what something worth sixty tombstone slots should be capable of.

But his smile quickly disappeared. The Chimera might have recovered well, but his mana was still continuously dropping. Devouring its enemies could not pay the mana cost required to maintain the summon. After just one kill, his reserves were already running low.

Zich took out one of his two remaining mana potions and drank it, replenishing his mana before returning his attention to the battlefield.

There were still two beasts left.

He had to finish everything in this round.

The giant ape had already charged forward again, but the armored lizard did not follow it into a direct attack. Instead, it circled toward the Chimera's flank, searching for another place to bite.

With a glance, Zich understood their plan. The giant ape would restrain it from the front while the armored lizard attacked from the side. As long as the Chimera remained trapped between them, it would be difficult for it to focus on killing either one.

Thinking about this, he changed his command.

'Deal with the armored lizard first. Dodge the giant ape's attacks whenever possible. If they cannot be avoided, use the bone armor to take them.'

The next few collisions were even more violent than before.