Published at 22nd of January 2026 6:58 am

Chapter 1008: Race against Time 4.

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Alec could feel it, memories and blade techniques being engraved straight into his head. Greatsword. Broadsword. Every form, every grip, every rhythm, he couldn’t even name half of what he was absorbing, but he understood it all like he had been training with them for years.

The evolution of the skills wasn’t just about him understanding new skills now it was almost like his whole muscles were being programmed to understand and flow with the execution of those move, like each and every one of those sword and blade moves in each of those weapon form were being downloaded into his very being like that he was gaining something akin to the muscle memories of each of the weapons execution.

Still, in a place like this, he couldn’t afford to get distracted—not even for a second.

So he moved his right hand and this time he drew out his changdao.

When he finally woke up from his daze he realized that, before him stood the five defensive Arachne, unlike their mother, they were bulkier, taller, and built like walking fortresses.

Each of them had a male upper body, and iron armor that covered their torso and shoulders, each and every one of them seemed to carry a shield, and it was obvious they weren’t just brute tanks, they had spells and skills meant to reinforce their defense even further.

Alec had always wondered how, in the world, the Hive Queen could “house” all those her kids that hadn’t died yet inside her bottom, the same place she still used when summoning the new ones she was just giving birth to.

He had racked his brain about it more than once, until he finally accepted it wasn’t as disturbing as it looked, the setup was actually simple.

Hive Queen was a golem, and no matter how much Alec tried to humanize her because of her humanoid features... she was still a golem.

Her lower body had multiple internal components that worked separately, most of them existed for one purpose: creating a new summon.

Whenever she pushed mana through the correct routes, she could form the specific spider-offspring type and summon it out.

And because the summons still emerged from her lower body, because that was where her summoning rune was located, it always gave the impression that she was literally giving birth to them.

In a way... she was.

As she was giving them life by using her own life signature and mana, to create something from nothing, something only possible because the System’s golem-crafting was far beyond any normal attainment.

That was the first part.

The second was that she also had a space stone inside her, and it functioned like a space pouch, meaning her kids could be recalled back into it when they weren’t needed, and brought out again the moment a battle demanded it.

Staring at the defensive Arachne in front of him, Alec understood something instantly:

In that brief moment of stillness, the Hive Queen must have moved them to cover for him, and have them shield him from being torn apart before he could even react.

He could feel countless techniques rising to the surface of his mind like they wanted him to execute them, but he forced them down, shoving every new insight to the back of his mind.

As before him was something more important right now, and that was protecting the rear that faced the Dark Forest so Titan and Legion could be safely dragged to the main region successfully.

He sprang off the ground, landed on the massive spider-lower body of one of the defensive Arachne meant to shield him, and then dashed along its body before he eventually pushed off its shoulder like a launching platform.

He was still midair when he remembered that he’d already unsheathed his changdao.

It was almost funny, he hadn’t even noticed or remembered doing so, all because the blade now felt like an extension of his own body now, like it had always belonged in his hand.

Twisting in the air, he coated the sword with both his flame mana and his Qi.

As he spun, ribbons of fire curled and swirled around him, twisting into a rotating spiral, and then he dropped straight into the middle of the Tier 7 demonic beasts that were tearing through the other Arachne types that were keeping them busy.

Bang!

A small explosion erupted with him at the center.

The flame ribbons snapped outward in a wave, lashing through the wolves clustered around him, as bruises bloomed across fur and flesh, and fresh slashes opened where the heat and Qi cut cleanly through.

In that same moment, another wolf lunged at him from behind, Alec’s widened mental presence caught it before it even entered his blind spot.

Normally, even if he noticed this before, his body wouldn’t have reacted fast enough, but this time was different.

He turned the sword tip backward to face his chest and thrust—not by swinging wide, not by twisting fully, a precise stab.

The changdao slipped through the gap under his armpit, threading past his own body like it was nothing, and the blade met the wolf’s mouth the instant it committed to the bite and was just inches away from chomping down on Alec’s shoulder

A sharp yelp split the air.

The wolf was critically hurt from the premeditated strike , but it didn’t die instantly, it thrashed and tried to pull back, desperate to free itself from the blade lodged in its maw.

On the other hand Alec moved his left palm towards the base of the hilt, ready to drive the changdao deeper into the beast and finish it—

—but the beast was fast, as it tore itself away before the slam could land.

Blood dripped in thick drops as it staggered back, then its body sank and vanished into the ground like a shadow being swallowed whole.

“Not even powerful enough to kill a low Tier 7 shadow wolf,” Alec muttered, feeling a flicker of disappointment at himself, due to the limitation of his strength as he believed if he was powerful to an extent then the premeditated stab should have been enough to kill the shadow wolf.

If Old Man Alderic heard his thoughts right now, he’d probably kill Alec himself before Alec could get himself killed, because Alec had just clashed with a low Tier 7 demonic beast, forced it to retreat, and still didn’t look satisfied.

Those weren’t ordinary demonic beasts.

They were creatures with Tier 8-level battle power, enemies he could barely survive in the past unless he brought his full golem force down on them.

Alec’s eyes narrowed.

Then he turned the changdao and drove it into his own chest, activating the second seal of the Changdao, as his aura shifted instantly.

At his waist, the Bone Katana reacted, its form twisting and reforming until it became a handguard that latched onto his left arm.

“If I don’t have enough power... there’s an easier way to fix that, I would just use your blood to push me forward.” Alec’s voice deepened, growing darker with each word.

The two alphas still hadn’t moved from their positions, as if each was keeping the other in check, they had at least three wolves each with them, but one of the shadow wolves had already melted into the darkness and refused to re-emerge, and one of the Grimfang killed.

Ahead, Two Tier 7 Grimfang Wargs were tearing into the five attack-type Arachne, ripping them apart more brutally as time passed, meanwhile, the two shadow wolves that were supposed to handle the four hunter-types had restrained their targets, yet their eyes kept flicking back to Alec, wary of him, even as they held their prey down.

“Master, we have to move now!”

Hive Queen’s voice cut in sharply.

“Legion and Titan have been moved to the main region after the clearing of all the TIer 6 beast blocking the way the few left have retreated, so with Legion missing, Oni took command of navigation, using his stored souls to find the place you wanted, he already used the souls to mark the location, and he confirmed that the two regions are in direct opposite directions, we’re just waiting on your orders.”

Alec’s gaze sharpened.

“Oni, huh...” He exhaled once, then spoke cleanly.

“Have him lead Legion to the Unique region with his minions. Magnito will support him, and have Butcher tag along with them, tell him to make haste.”

“Message delivered,” Hive Queen replied the instant Alec finished speaking.

That made him raise an eyebrow at her, though he didn’t know how she did it, but he could already feel Legion’s aura, along with Oni and Magnito moving off in another direction.

“And have the rest take Titan toward the ice region we would come meet them there, they should just stick to following the route still being lit by Oni’s soul-mark.” Alec added,

The next second, he felt their auras shift as well, proof she’d sent that message just as instantly.

“Now what next?” she asked.

“We stay alive until they finish their evolution,” Alec replied.

“Then you might want to move away from there,” she said.

Alec, still in his tense stance, froze for half a beat after hearing her words, he then cursed under his breath as he realized what she was about to do.

He swiftly pushed off the ground, by erupting an earth pillar backward in a diagonal push as it erupted beneath him, launching him into the air.

And the moment he lifted off, a massive boom detonated below, swallowing everything in sight.

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