Chapter 58: Chaos on the Frontline

Relentless hammer blows!

He raised both hands high, his shield strapped to his back.

As the only Peak Second-Stage melee awakener in the team, the middle-aged man, his face set in steely determination and his body seeming to be bathed in golden steel, smashed two nearby dire wolves in rapid succession. Faced with a tidal wave of monsters, he had no choice but to spin and strike again. With tremendous force, his left fist crashed down, shattering the mutated waist of an enemy charging in close. Only then did he gasp deeply for breath.

After such prolonged, continuous combat, even he was beginning to struggle.

“Captain Song Gang! To the right!”

“Watch out!”

Thud, thud, thud! Thud!

The ground trembled as a giant spider let out a piercing shriek while crushing several zombies amid the horde, charging toward the crowd like a lumbering truck.

Trailing behind Song Gang, the Peak Second-Stage melee awakener, several melee fighters shouted in unison, desperately trying to halt the rapidly advancing giant spider.

Song Gang was their spearhead; if the middle-aged man were to fall or be injured, the entire team would be doomed!

At the far right of the team, a burly man wielding dual hand axes roared as he rushed forward. But before he could engage, a massive spider claw burst from behind with a sickening sound of flesh piercing, impaling him through the head.

His body trembled and his furious eyes went lifeless. Like skewered meat, the gleaming metallic claw shuddered twice before flinging his corpse aside.

“Huang Yan!?”

Another monster from the other side!?

Suddenly, a massive chasm had been excavated on the ground behind them, and the ambushing giant spider emerged straight from it!

As comrades were ambushed and met gruesome deaths in an instant, screams erupted from the team. Many found their eyes welling with tears.

Though they hadn’t fought long enough to truly know each other, after several rounds of life-or-death cooperation, they’d come to regard one another as brothers-in-arms.

But there was no time to mourn now. As they watched two giant spiders alternately charging in, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.

This is the fifth round!

Out of the nine melee fighters, only four remained. Any further casualties might mean total annihilation by the sixth round!

Hearing shouts from behind, the burly fighter Song Gang gritted his teeth and shifted into defense mode, charging at the giant spider’s foot that was about to strike again.

With a clanging sound, several ranged awakeners atop the City Wall desperately drew their bows. Their energy-infused arrows rained down like a volley, causing the giant spider to stagger.

But it wasn’t nearly enough!

Watching the other giant spider surge into the crowd, the middle-aged man’s expression grew bitter as he cursed his lack of the power to duplicate himself!

Although he had reached Peak Second-Stage, he was a Constitution Type. In prior battles he’d only been tasked with drawing the monsters’ fire; direct combat was never his strength.

Could he possibly not hold on any longer?

He might survive this round, but the melee fighters behind him were likely to suffer more losses!

Atop the City Wall, several ranged awakeners looked ashen, their energy reserves nearly spent.

After five consecutive rounds of fighting, no amount of skill conservation could help—they had enough internal energy for just one use of a skill. Originally, that final ability was meant to carry them through to the sixth round!

Even…

Glancing furiously at the ever-watchful Farming Team behind them, a few of the fighters felt nothing but frustration and helplessness.

Those bastards weren’t leaving them any room to survive!

The dungeon’s difficulty is calculated based on every member’s level! If those seven had stepped in, they wouldn’t be in such dire straits!

Sixth round? No! These beasts planned to start reaping in the fifth round, leaving them no chance to fight back!

At the rear of the defensive line, the Blood Wolves’ Vice Captain sneered at the hesitant group.

“Want to save your skills?”

“Did you really think you’d be able to hold back your power?”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on another Peak Second-Stage awakener, continuously drawing his bow. In his calculated estimation, only that young man among the remaining fighters posed any threat. Even with a Third-Stage guarding, those used to flawless completions were unwilling to risk further losses in such a desperate fight.

“Keep your eyes on him.”

“He should have two more opportunities to attack. Force him to give everything he’s got.”

Emotionlessly.

The woman in red armor standing at the rear issued her orders with a cool indifference.

She cared little whether the rest could last until the sixth round; as the strongest fighters, they had all preserved their peak combat power.

After the sixth round, they’d pull back immediately. After all, once casualties mount, one command from her is enough to exit the dungeon. She had no intention of enduring a seventh round.

Having grown accustomed to reaping awakers without any risk, she cared little about the dungeon rewards.

“Ah! Ahhhhh!!”

A piercing scream echoed as a giant centipede—emerging from underground unnoticed—burst forth. Amidst flying debris, its monstrous, grimacing mandibles clamped down in one bite on a Second-Stage fighter atop the City Wall who had been hurling a spear.

With the sound of cracking bones, in just a few bites, it swallowed the awakener whole.

The dreadful aura of that Second-Stage enemy sent chaos across the City Wall. They had already suffered heavy losses in previous rounds. As ranged fighters, once caught in close combat, their deaths were even swifter than those of their melee comrades!

At the opposite end of the wall, a Peak Second-Stage fighter—who had been hesitating until now—fixed his gaze and reluctantly gathered all his energy.

It was hopeless—two stragglers at the front and one at the back. If he continued saving his skills as planned, he feared that in the end only he and the middle-aged man would remain!

Even after activating his ability, after a brief struggle he prioritized shooting at the distant spider.

Ice Arrow!

A chill swept in as an ice-infused arrow sliced through the air. Leaving behind a trail reminiscent of shattered ice, it detonated instantly upon the giant spider.

Crack, crack.

An intense cold spread rapidly over the spider’s body, and in a blink it was frozen into a massive block of ice.

After helping the middle-aged man dispatch a mutated foe and restore his strength, the entire frontline squad erupted into cheers.

However, a scream of agony soon echoed from the City Wall at the rear.

A giant worm, some seven or eight meters long, had already crashed onto the wall; its rotund body, like a steamroller, ground a nearby awakener into splinters.

Tiny compound eyes hidden above its gaping maw now gleamed with bloodthirsty greed.

“Focus fire! Focus fire! Take him down!”

Without a moment to catch his breath after dealing with the giant spider, a Peak Second-Stage fighter spun around and drew an arrow. He shouted urgently, rallying the others for a counterattack. Arrows flew from his hand like splashed water, causing the mutated creature to erupt in bursts of green blood.

However, while trying to dodge up close, the ranged fighters on the City Wall found themselves unable to free their hands, with many desperately fleeing in panic.

For a mid-level Second-Stage enemy, without deploying his trump card, it would take at least several tens of seconds to kill him!

Amid the ensuing chaos, an infuriated centipede writhed wildly. After gulping down the nearest awakener, its narrow eyes immediately fixed on Yenir beside it.

“ShAA!!”