Published at 19th of October 2026 7:35 am

Chapter 2119: Great Teamwork

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The giant arachnid lunged with terrifying speed.

Its enormous body flashed forward, eight legs pounding against the stone as two massive pincers snapped toward Stroud.

Stroud, fearless and grinning, raised his shield just in the nick of time.

Clang!

The pincer slammed into the metal, sending brutal shockwaves through his arm.

Stroud twirled, redirecting the kinetic force, and swung his axe with his other hand. The blade buried itself into one of the creature’s legs. But before Stroud could attack again, several smaller monsters rushed toward him from the darkness.

Aurora finished weaving hand seals and silently raised both hands. A translucent, hexagonally linked barrier appeared around Stroud just as the creatures pounced.

Claws and fangs slammed against the blue, shimmering barrier. The defensive spell rippled violently but held. All the while, Aurora nonchalantly chewed gum in her mouth and blew tiny bubbles as though bored. It would appear fighting stronger monsters wasn’t her first rodeo.

Another wave of monsters charged from beyond.

The two Templar Paladins immediately moved to intercept them.

Luca howled like a manic wolf, his sword flashing in through the darkness.

Splat!

A creature fell beneath his blade, cleaved in two.

Barett said nothing. Silent as ever, he simply advanced, striking with efficiency as he cut through one monster after another. From time to time, he would look toward the female Magus, confirming that she was safe.

Meanwhile, Adam remained behind the main formation, carefully surveying the battlefield. He cast [Magic Missiles] and bombarded the weaker monsters—and there were many such monsters.

He also watched Stroud fight. Watched Aurora’s ingenious applications of warding spells. Watched the movement of the swarm of monsters. How they attacked. How they were guided by the giant arachnid.

While the others took care of the weaker monster army, Stroud continued his fight with the arachnid. The giant arachnid raised one of its legs. Stroud immediately lifted his shield. The massive leg crashed into his defense, unable to pierce.

Adam’s hand flicked upward.

[Earth Bind]

The stone beneath the arachnid’s leg suddenly turned soft and muddy before half a dozen brown tendrils shot upward and coiled around the leg. The creature staggered.

That brief opening was enough.

Stroud stepped forward and buried his axe into the exposed joint. The arachnid shrieked in agony. At the same time, it commanded several of its smaller servants to come to aid. But they were efficiently taken care of by Luca and Barrett.

The Transcendent monster realized the problem. And so, it immediately commanded a good chunk of its spider army to rush toward Aurora—who would provide defensive support not only for Stroud, but also the two other Paladins who supported him.

Adam turned his attention toward the incoming army. Hands blurred and slammed to the ground.

[Mud Wall]

A wall of earth erupted between the monsters and Aurora. The creatures crashed into it, buying Aurora the few seconds she needed to cast her spell. And then she brought hell upon the monsters.

She turned to Adam and offered him a nod of thanks.

Adam said nothing. His eyes were already elsewhere. Another group was moving toward Luca and Barrett from the flank.

"Three on your right. Four more behind them," he said to Luca through the communication artifact that only the two of them shared.

Luca glanced over after hacking two monsters he was fighting. Right at that moment, a bolt of concentrated lightning from Adam tore past him and struck the leading creature. The remaining monsters were forced to break formation—exactly what Adam wanted.

Luca and Barrett moved simultaneously. He cut down the first. Barett crushed the second. The rest fell one after the other.

Adam continued to cast, providing support. Every spell had a purpose.

He slowed monsters approaching Stroud while he was busy dealing with the big bad arachnid. He blocked routes leading toward Aurora, allowing her to cast spells with ease. He disrupted the swarm whenever Luca and Barrett were in danger of being surrounded. And whenever Stroud created an opening, Adam exploited it.

Throughout it all, he did not use the Viper.

After dozens of exchanges, with all members of the party being intensely engaged with their counterparts, Stroud found the opening he had been waiting for ever since the battle began thirty minutes ago.

His axe came down with the might of a mountain.

CRACK!

The enormous arachnid collapsed to one side. Stroud immediately raised his shield as another pincer came sweeping toward him. Aurora reinforced his defense. Adam gathered mana from his Seed.

[Lightning Lance]

The spell shot across the cavern and pierced directly through the creature’s exposed flesh—the exact spot that Stroud had weakened after repeated attacks.

Black blood erupted across the stone. The arachnid screeched in terror.

Luca and Barrett moved in from opposite sides, each severing one of the monster’s legs. The arachnid finally lost balance and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Stroud stepped forward. He raised his axe high above his head, mana flaring wildly around the blade.

For a brief moment, the wounded arachnid could only stare at him helplessly with its countless eyes. It wanted to unleash a suicidal attack and gathered an orb of vicious poison in its maw.

But something strange occurred.

Something sharp and invisible cut through the venom sphere gathering in its mouth. It severed not just the spell but also the creature’s tongue and cheeks.

Stroud’s eyes flashed. His momentum unhindered, he brought his axe down with all his strength. The blade tore through the center of the arachnid’s skull, splitting its head open in a spray of blood and shattered chitin.

The enormous body convulsed. It twitched once. Twice. Then its legs scraped weakly against the stone. And it went completely still.

The remaining creatures gaped in horror before quickly scattering into the darkness.

"Marvelous!" Luca’s voice boomed as he thumped his fist against his chest plate. "What a marvelous battle!"

Barett looked around, weary. Confirming there were no more monsters, he walked toward Aurora to give her a helping hand. She did not need it.

Stroud the Ugly stood before the corpse of the arachnid, looking at the clean cut that ran horizontally across the creature’s mouth. His eyes narrowed. He turned around, his gaze first landing on Aurora. Then at Adam.

Was it him?

Adam sensed the Paladin’s gaze. He turned to Stroud and winked.

Stroud grinned.

That little rascal.

"Alright, great teamwork, everyone." He clapped to draw their attention. "Gather around and collect the loot. We leave as soon as we’re done. The fighting will have attracted more monsters."

Everyone quickly got to work. Within the hour, the arachnid’s lair had been completely swept clean.

En route, they attacked two more lairs ruled by Transcendent monsters before finally arriving at Dark Port.

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