Chapter 179

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Thud, thud!

Fragments of the giant spider rained down. Those fragments were the small spiders themselves. A considerable number had died in the blast, but most of them were still alive. The creatures rolling over the floor immediately tried to gather back around the mother body. But Zeon did not leave them alone.

Shh-shh-shhk!

Dozens of strands of Sand Blaster pierced the small spiders racing toward the mother body. Having isolated the mother body, Zeon unleashed Sand Mixer once more.

Gaaaaaang!

The sand around the mother body spun with terrifying force. The mother body itself was a B-rank beast. The toughness of its hide was on a completely different level from that of ordinary spiders. Thanks to that, it could endure inside Sand Mixer for a brief moment. But it really was only for a moment.

After a little time passed, the force field vanished completely and cracks appeared across its hide.

At that, the mother body became frantic.

Screeeee!

It let out a high-frequency cry.

Then black objects rained down from the air.

The small spiders that had spread throughout the quicksand zone above were answering the mother body’s summons.

The small spiders entered the underground chamber through the hole Zeon and the mother body had fallen through.

The underground chamber turned black with small spiders.

The small spiders piled themselves in front of Zeon to protect the mother body.

A huge, writhing wall.

They were using their own bodies to physically block Zeon’s skills.

They were laying down their lives without hesitation for the sake of protecting the mother body.

That was what made a swarm beast frightening.

If it was to protect the mother body, or the core individual, they would surrender their lives without any reluctance.

All while being one.

One while being all.

That was a swarm beast.

The mother body had summoned every small spider to protect itself.

Watching that, a cold smile touched Zeon’s lips.

“So you are coming at me with numbers? Too bad. I am pretty confident when it comes to overwhelming something with sheer numbers too.”

Ssssss!

The sand around Zeon writhed and took human shape.

He had summoned Sand Soldiers.

More than a hundred Sand Soldiers formed up around him.

Zeon gave the Sand Soldiers an order.

“Break through.”

At once, the Sand Soldiers shot forward like bullets.

The Sand Soldiers collided with the small spiders.

Pak! Kwaaang!

With each explosion, the small spiders burst apart.

The Sand Soldiers were powerful.

They were no match for Zeon himself, but each one had strength comparable to a competent martial-type Awakened.

The Sand Soldiers shattered and burst apart the small spiders blocking the way.

It was not as if the Sand Soldiers were unharmed.

More than ten small spiders leaped upon a single Sand Soldier.

Under the weight of their numerical assault, a Sand Soldier would lose its shape and collapse back into sand.

Even so, Zeon did not panic at the sight.

Tsssss!

As long as mana was supplied, Sand Soldiers regenerated endlessly.

The Sand Soldier that had collapsed under the spiders’ assault rose again in perfect condition.

And then it destroyed more of the small spiders.

Puh-eong! Paang!

Under the attacks of Sand Soldiers that revived even after being destroyed, the small spiders burst apart and the path to the mother body opened.

Zeon walked down the road the Sand Soldiers had carved.

Kiiiii!

The mother body retreated backward with an eerie shriek.

It had felt extreme fear toward Zeon.

Neither the giant spider nor the numerical assault of the small spiders worked against him.

The surroundings were nothing but sand, leaving nowhere to hide and nowhere to flee.

Zeon was the perfect nemesis of the spiders.

“Now where are you going to hide?”

Naturally, the mother body could not answer.

No, it had no ability to.

It was too busy struggling for survival.

Chweuuuu!

Black mist poured out from the mother body.

It was the mother body’s trump card skill, Corrosive Mist.

By releasing the acid inside its body to the outside, it could melt down mediocre Awakened or beasts in an instant.

The black acidic mist instantly surrounded Zeon.

Seeing that, the mother body trembled in delight.

Because it looked as if things were finally going according to its plan.

The mother body believed the Corrosive Mist would melt Zeon away.

That was when it happened.

Chweuuuu!

Black mist rose from Zeon’s body as well.

Exium was being emitted from his pores.

Exium revolved around Zeon’s body and pushed the Corrosive Mist away.

Even the acid that melted all things could not affect Exium in the slightest.

In an instant, the Corrosive Mist was neutralized and the mother body was laid bare.

Zeon stared at the defenseless mother body.

The mother body shuddered under Zeon’s emotionless gaze.

Zeon sent Exium at it.

Whirrrrr!

Exium spun like a drill and struck the mother body.

A hole punched clean through its torso.

That was the end of the mother body.

Kiiiii!

With a shriek, the mother body collapsed.

The moment it died, the small spiders all screamed and scattered in every direction.

“Hoo.”

Zeon let out a breath and was just about to dismiss the Sand Soldiers.

Fwush!

Suddenly, a being holding a huge scythe burst out through the sand.

It was the Grim Reaper that had abducted Cha Jin-cheol.

Skaaaak!

The Grim Reaper swung its massive scythe toward the dead mother body.

At once, the mother body lost all luster and shriveled up pathetically.

The Grim Reaper had absorbed all the mother body’s vitality.

Zeon’s brow furrowed at what had happened in an instant.

“You?”

The Grim Reaper looked at Zeon for a moment and then passed straight through the wall and vanished.

In the direction it disappeared stood the ancient castle.

Zeon could not know why the Grim Reaper had taken the mother body’s vitality.

But he could tell it had not done so with good intentions.

Zeon waved a hand toward the wall where the Grim Reaper had vanished.

Kwaaang!

Sand flew forward and blasted a large hole in the wall.

Beyond the hole, a dark passageway was visible.

Entering it, Zeon muttered, “I need to hurry.”

***

“Damn! It’s huge.”

“The atmosphere is insane.”

The Pegasus Raid Force and the Awakened looked at the enormous ancient castle before them with expressions of awe.

Thanks to Zeon, they had crossed the quicksand and reached the castle far more easily than expected.

Seen from up close, the ancient castle was truly gigantic.

It was large enough that one had to crane the neck to the point of pain just to see the top.

Clouds hung especially thick above it.

The already black castle looked even darker because of them.

“It feels like something could come out at any moment.”

Lee Ji-ryeong muttered while watching the castle.

“As long as it isn’t sand…”

“Wahaha!”

“That’s right. As long as it isn’t sand, nothing can stop us.”

At Bronson’s words, the Awakened burst into laughter.

That was when it happened.

Fwush!

Hands suddenly burst out from the ground.

Not just one or two.

Hundreds of arms tore through the floor and appeared.

“What is that?”

“Watch the ground.”

The Awakened hurriedly retreated.

The owners of those arms tore through the surface and revealed themselves.

They were soldiers with rotting flesh and exposed bones here and there.

Lee Ji-ryeong recognized their identity at a glance.

“Undead. Everyone, be careful.”

“Undead?”

“You mean living corpses?”

“Shit! That’s disgusting.”

The eyes of the Awakened wavered.

They had conquered many dungeons, but it was their first time seeing undead.

The feeling of seeing the already dead rise and move again was truly horrifying.

“After the Grim Reaper, now undead too. What exactly is this dungeon?”

“Is now the time to leisurely speculate? Everyone, prepare for battle. If you die here, you might end up as one of them.”

“Ugh!”

The Awakened shivered at the very thought.

Dying was terrifying enough, but becoming undead and being bound to the dungeon like that was even worse.

At that moment, Bronson, the leader of the Pegasus attack team, stepped forward and shouted.

“What is there to be afraid of from corpses? We sweep them away in the first formation. Everyone prepare.”

“Yes!”

At Bronson’s cry, the members of the Pegasus Raid Force moved in perfect order.

The Pegasus Raid Force routinely trained in multiple formations for dungeon assaults.

First Formation was the most traditional of them all.

Martial-type Awakened with outstanding physical ability held the enemy in front, while the magic-types bombarded from the rear.

The First Formation, which swept away the enemy with overwhelming firepower, was the formation the Pegasus Raid Force liked to use most.

“We’ll help as well.”

The Awakened from the western district stepped forward too.

Ordinarily they would have hung back to conserve their strength as much as possible, but they were acting in order to rescue Cha Jin-cheol.

Time was not on their side.

The later they were, the lower the chance Cha Jin-cheol could be saved.

This was no time to conserve strength or hold back.

The mechanized Awakened took position beside the martial types.

Wiiiiing!

With metallic sounds, the components hidden beneath their skin revealed themselves.

Grrrraaaah!

At that moment, the undead soldiers charged forward with monstrous cries.

“Come on, you disgusting corpses!”

“Don’t let a single one through!”

The martial-type Awakened roared and swung their weapons.

Kwaaang!

The undead and the Awakened collided.

The martial-types led by Bronson displayed overwhelming might against the undead.

Crack!

Slash!

Bones broke, and limbs were severed.

While the martial-types and mechanized Awakened held the undead back, the bombardment from the magic-types began.

“Chat! Magic Arrow.”

“Fire Wall.”

“Wind Cutter.”

Kwaaang!

Countless spells poured down on the undead soldiers.

Flames exploded, and blade-like winds turned into a storm.

Under the bombardment of the magic-types, many undead burst apart and were cut down.

It was truly overwhelming force.

“We have them.”

“They’re nothing.”

The martial-type and mechanized Awakened smiled in victory.

They had eliminated the undead much more easily than expected.

Already more than half of them had been destroyed under the overwhelming firepower.

It felt as if sweeping away the remainder would only be a matter of time.

The battlefield changed at that exact moment.

Whooo!

A sinister red aura burst from the castle and swept across the battlefield.

The undead that had fallen rose again.

“What?”

“The dead ones are reviving.”

Lee Ji-ryeong shouted.

“We have to find the core and destroy it. Only then can we stop their resurrection.”

“Shit!”

Only then did the Awakened realize it.

An endless battle was waiting for them.