The sky darkened, not from clouds, but from the sheer density of the swarm descending upon the Hexapod Dreadmaw. One hundred and sixty thousand creatures. It was a number that defied comprehension.

And it did absolutely nothing.

The Dreadmaw didn't even flinch. It simply shook its massive, armored head, and thousands of spectral ravens disintegrated into mist, like they were made of paper because of the stupid high pressure… spit. A FUCKING SPIT.

A wave of Skeletal Warriors hacked at the creature's legs, but their weapons sparked without damaging the Dreadmaw's body.

The monster raised one of its six legs, which looked more like a pillar of chitin and muscle as thick as a redwood than a leg, and brought it down. The ground shuddered, and the shockwave alone pulverized thousands of skeletons, turning them into a cloud of bone dust that was instantly swept away by the wind.

A group of Rift-Sprites kept sending elemental attacks to the monster, but again, that ended just in several death cries as its body moved.

"It's not working!" Jake said. He was pouring mana, summoning more monsters, as the rate at which they got killed was astronomically high, but it was like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom, given how fast the monster was killing them. "They can't even scratch it!"

"I know," Reidar said, trying to figure out a solution.

The Dreadmaw opened its maw, a cavernous pit lined with rows of serrated teeth, and unleashed a roar.

The sonic blast tore through the ranks of the Rift-Sprites floating above. The shockwave was so strong that they popped like soap bubbles. The swarm was dying.

Thousands were being erased every second. They were buying time, yes, but they were buying it at an exorbitant cost, and the return on investment was zero.

"Reidar!" Lena's voice reached him. "It's going to target the left flank next!"

He didn't question her. His mind reached out, pulling at the threads of mana that connected him to his summons. The smaller creatures on the left scattered just as the Dreadmaw's mandibles clamped down on empty air.

<Shit…>

"The tier difference is too high," Lena said. Her eyes were darting back and forth, tracking the monster's movements. "These summons act as distractions, but they don't have the penetration power to get through that natural armor. We need heavier hits."

"All right then," he said, "We're switching tactics."

In truth, Reidar wanted confirmation that the tactic wouldn't work. After all, he was going to summon hundreds of thousands of monsters; how was it possible they would not be able to kill a single creature? But even those numbers failed, confirming the grim theory once and for all.

"To what?" Jake asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We have nothing bigger or better."

"I do," Reidar said. He turned to them. "And now, so do you."

He reached out with his Skill Sharing trait. He didn't just share a skill; he shared his entire arsenal of heavy hitters.

Summon: Twin Boulderback Behemoths. Summon: Cinderheart Efreeti. Summon: Bark Behemoth. Summon: Zephyr Muse. Summon: Terran Bulwark. Summon: Tidal Saint.

The knowledge slammed into Jake and Lena's minds. Jake gasped, clutching his head, and Lena hissed through her teeth. These were high-tier skills, complex and mana-intensive.

"These aren't Tier 30," Reidar warned. "But these creatures have the mass and the damage output to hurt that thing if we swarm it. We're going to use the same strategy as before, but with Titans. It's going to drain us dry. If we don't kill it before our mana runs out, we are going to leave."

"Understood!"

Another wave of Reidar's summons rushed forward. They swarmed the monster, clawing, biting, and tearing at any part they could reach.

It didn't matter.

The Dreadmaw reared back and sent three thousand monsters flying.

But then, the trio summoned the creatures, and the first to appear were the Twin Boulderback Behemoths.

The earth groaned, and it did not just groan on a surface level but a deeper one, almost as if it was the bedrock itself that was shifting. Around the Dreadmaw, the ground exploded upward. Massive stone giants clawed their way out of the earth.

Then roots tore through the ground, thick as tree trunks, and massive, treelike constructs hauled themselves up. Their bodies were covered in bark as hard as iron, and their limbs were bristling with thorns.

Behind them, the Bark Behemoths had just come.

Then the Zephyr Muses, the Cinderheart Efreetis, appeared amidst columns of white-hot fire erupting from the sky. Feminine figures made of living flame and swirling winds descended, their heat warping the surrounding air.

Reidar didn't stop. Jake didn't stop. Lena didn't stop.

The Terran Bulwarks rose from the earth itself, and finally, the Tidal Saints. Within seconds, the Hexapod Dreadmaw wasn't fighting a swarm of ants anymore. Reidar's other creatures constantly summoned an army of giants to surround the Dreadmaw. But he didn't have mana to summon thousands upon thousands of them, even if he shared the skills through his trait.

Each summon played a specific role in Reidar's battle strategy, which relied on every piece executing its part perfectly.

As the heavy hitters, the Bark and Boulderback Behemoths had to use their massive strength to land armor-cracking blows, while the Cinderheart Efreetis supported the offensive by scorching through gaps in the creature's defenses with torrents of flame.

Meanwhile, the Terran Bulwarks served as shields to absorb damage and lock the Dreadmaw in place, allowing the Tidal Saints and Zephyr Muses to provide support by slowing the beast with freezing wind and healing the damage to the titans.

Even though the strategy was built on coordination, there was no guarantee of success against such a powerful monster, but the alternative was to flee.

The summoned titans weren't Tier 30. But in numbers like this, with Reidar's buffs layered over them, they could bring down anything that wasn't too far from their levels.

"Left side again!" Lena called out. "It's going to charge in three seconds!"

"Attack!" Reidar shouted.

The Twin Boulderbacks moved. They were slow, but their momentum was unstoppable. One of them slammed its stone fist into the Dreadmaw's flank.

The sound was like that of a missile being shot. The Dreadmaw stumbled. Its chitin fractured, and a spiderweb of cracks appeared on its side.

"It works," Jake said with wide eyes.

"Focus!" Lena snapped. "It's going to attack on the right!"

Reidar repositioned the Terran Bulwarks, forming a wall on the left. The Boulderback Behemoths moved to support them. The Dreadmaw did exactly what Lena said it would.

"Now!"

The Cinderheart Efreetis unleashed torrents of flame, scorching the Dreadmaw's exposed underbelly.

The Tidal Saints sent waves of healing water crashing over the other summons that were enduring the monster's unrelenting blows.

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