Chapter 88: SSS-Level Mandatory Sharing! The Undead Legion Grows Exponentially

Judging by the color outline, Zach thought it resembled a spider.

The closest comparison that came to mind was a creature with eight legs and a head that was less than one-tenth the size of its body—exactly like this one.

This creature was absurdly large!

A spider that could keep pace with an adult elephant was already a terrifying thought, but seeing such a huge swarm of them was enough to make anyone flee in terror.

Zach tested the dense fog surrounding the area. It couldn't be blown away; it was a fixed environmental feature designed to increase the difficulty. The blocked visibility would undoubtedly escalate panic, as people would be unable to predict when or from where the next attack would come.

Fear thrives in the unknown.

Out of the thick fog, the first spider emerged.

Its face was enormous, resembling a bird's-eye view of a human brain, and its body had a cement-like texture with deep, rough details. Beneath its large, dark eyes, a circle of smaller eyes was barely noticeable against its skin.

Further down, a set of exposed mandibles lay, designed to draw food into its mouth. These mandibles were covered in needle-like bristles.

The eight thick spider legs had bony spurs protruding from them, resembling maces to anyone unfamiliar with such creatures.

The significant gap between the spider's head and body was because smaller spiders, about half the size of the mother, were crawling across its back. These smaller spiders were far from reaching their mother's size.

The mother spider was covered in webs, with arrows and swords still embedded in her body, evidence of numerous past attacks. How she had managed to survive this long was clear from the fact that she still stood before them.

Da da da!

Da da da…

The rapid sound of pointed feet striking the ground quickened the heartbeat.

The spider mother carried a large group of smaller spiders on her back as they charged toward Zach. Miria, preparing to act, quickly transformed the Rubik's Cube into its second form, raising her hands to aim and shoot.

Boom!

A laser blasted directly into the spider mother's body.

Simple?

Not at all.

Given that this spider could thrive on the twelfth floor of the Tower of Trials and was specifically designed to deal with intruders, it was far from a simple creature.

Even though the spider mother's body exploded, the smaller spiders, almost miraculously, were unharmed. They swiftly began gnawing and devouring their mother's flesh, growing into fully-formed adults at an astonishing rate.

Within moments, over a dozen little spiders grew into full-grown versions of the mother.

This surprised Zach.

It turned out that the spider mother itself was a trap.

In essence, the puppet was merely a source of nourishment for the smaller spiders.

The nutritional value of the mother was extraordinary!

Once the little spiders matured, they formed an encirclement with the other spider mothers who were now emerging from the fog, closing in on Zach and Miria.

Growl!

Zach drew a fire blade, flames enveloping the weapon as he traced a circle around him.

He lifted his foot.

Boom!

The fire surged, expanding the circle of flames until it neared the spiders.

Clearly, the spiders were terrified of fire!

Despite their greed for the "delicious" prey in front of them, they all retreated, unwilling to face the searing heat.

"So they really are afraid of fire!" Zach said with a triumphant smile.

The portal to the shadow world opened, and the five-headed dragon, the Red Emperor, emerged.

Boom! Boom! Boom…

The five-headed dragon flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Flames began raining down from above, with pillars of fire sweeping across the fog!

The Red Emperor followed closely behind, shifting into dragon form. It waved its four wings and summoned four flame dragons, claiming aerial superiority and bombarding the spider swarm with firepower.

The thick gray fog was lit up by the intense flames, transforming the area into a sea of fire.

The fire showed no mercy to the spider mothers or their young—everything was burned to ash.

Most of the spiders never even had the chance to reach their goal of nutrition, incinerated into cinders and curled into brittle, blackened husks.

A few had time to screech in terror before they were consumed by the flames.

Miria had hoped to contribute but realized that Zach had already handled it. She was not disappointed, though; instead, she resolved to keep improving.

Zach instructed Miria to stay within the circle of fire and not venture out.

Within a radius of 100 meters, amidst the sea of spider corpses, Zach moved quickly to extract what he could.

Call!

[Extracting…]

[Extraction successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill "Support," increasing defense by +100, speed by +50!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill "Support," which has automatically upgraded to SSS-level "Mandatory Sharing!"]

Zach had initially thought that the undead spiders and the vast amounts of attribute points would be his biggest gain.

However, the skill he had just unlocked turned out to be far more powerful.

Who would have expected that such an overpowered skill could be extracted from this swarm of relatively weak creatures?

The "Mandatory Sharing" skill was extraordinary—allowing anyone to be the "spider mother" supporting their own "greedy little spiders."

It was, in a word, divine!

Zach refocused and continued his work.

[Calling…]

[Successful summoning! Congratulations on obtaining an Undead Spider Mother!]

[Successful summoning! Congratulations on obtaining an Undead Spider Mother!]

[Successful summoning! Congratulations on obtaining an Undead Spider Mother!]

…

The process was fast but relentless.

Zach had no problem moving at this speed, especially with the five-headed dragon, Red Emperor, and Yanlong he had summoned, all of which were clearing the spiders at an incredible rate.

Finally, Zach summoned the last spider mother. A total of 17,886 spider mothers had been added to his army!

This number was just the visible count—each spider mother carried at least twelve smaller spiders on her back.

By the time Zach was done, he had amassed over 214,000 undead soldiers on the twelfth floor of the Tower of Trials alone!

Over two hundred thousand!

This was no mere army—it was a true legion!

And it was composed of monsters and undead, with the capability to overwhelm enemies one against ten, one against a hundred, one against a thousand, even one against ten thousand.

Among these forces were the five-headed dragon, the Red Emperor, and the White Emperor, all of which could wreak havoc in any battlefield.

Zach looked up at the sky, his voice low but filled with resolve: "Just make sure your neck is clean, because I'll be coming for it."

All the undead, including the five-headed dragon and Red Emperor, were called back into the shadow world.

Zach stepped out of the fog and returned to Miria.

As soon as his foot touched the flame circle, it automatically extinguished, dissipating as the air cleared.

A thin trail of black smoke lingered in the air before gradually fading.

"It's over now," Zach said, as he habitually reassured Miria.

This was one of the main reasons why Miria was not transformed into an undead.

Zach didn't need her to be strong—he just needed her to keep him company.

After spending so much time isolated, Zach feared that one day, he might become a madman.

As a mechanical life form, Miria provided him with smoother and more comfortable conversations.

"Congratulations, master!" Miria said, her smile radiating warmth.

"Yes, that's taken care of. Let's move on to the next floor," Zach replied.