SSS-Class Zombie Overlord: My Undead Legion Evolves Infinitely!

While marching towards the fourth floor, the group was met with an even larger horde of zombie blood ants. The numbers were staggeringly high.

Until now, the group had already killed nearly two hundred blood ants, and from the moment they entered the nest, the number of enemies they encountered had seemed to decrease considerably.

At first, they believed that most of the surviving mutated blood ants had already been drawn out of the nest by their presence—after all, hundreds of them had poured out from the entrance when the envoy first arrived, making it reasonable to assume that the majority of the colony’s forces had already gathered outside.

But the deeper they progressed, the more they realized just how wrong they were.

The majority of the ants had gathered in the deeper floors, and instead of recklessly charging towards them as they had done near the entrance, these ants were attacking in a far more systematic order.

They would first send a small group forward, forcing the awakeners to reveal their movements, before another group attacked from the sides, and whenever an ant was injured, it would retreat while another immediately replaced it.

It was natural that fighting inside their own natural habitat would be favorable to the ants. But to think they’d struggle this much out of nowhere, even the Radiant Stars hadn’t expected it.

Standing at the very front of the incoming assault, Owen Reyes blocked half of the incoming attacks with his hair-condensed spiky gauntlets.

*Bang!*

A blood ant was sent flying after his fist landed directly against its head.

Yet before Owen could even retract his arm, another ant lunged forward, its crystal-coated mandibles clamping down towards his shoulder and forcing Owen to hurriedly twist his body.

*Crack!*

The mandibles scraped against his gauntlet, tearing apart several strands of hair.

A part of his long robes had already been ripped apart, revealing a middle-aged body underneath—his body was covered in natural hair, while his physique was slightly fat, resembling the typical build of a middle-aged father who had spent more time sitting than exercising.

His mask, however, was yet to be damaged. Thankfully. Otherwise, the panic written across his face would’ve been exposed to everyone.

"Get off me!" Owen roared, swinging his arm sideways. The spiky gauntlet smashed into the blood ant’s body, piercing through its crimson exoskeleton before sending its corpse crashing against the wall.

Green blood splattered all across the tunnel. Yet another ant immediately took its place.

Owen’s expression became increasingly ugly. Every time he punched, the spikes created from the hair on his arms penetrated through the blood ants’ bodies.

However, the durability of his gauntlets decreased with every attack, not to mention the constant assault coming from every direction.

By now, the gauntlets that had once appeared thick and lustrous had become worn and torn, with countless small strands of hair sticking out in different directions.

If this continued, it wouldn’t take long for his main defense to collapse.

Knowing this, Owen nervously twisted his neck and looked towards his right.

A tall, bulky young man was standing there like a sturdy wall against the incoming assault, his robes long since torn apart to reveal the casual black vest he wore over his muscular body.

His hair was very short, matching his straightforward personality.

Derek Voss.

Just like everyone else present, Derek was a genuine D-rank awakener, and in fact, his abilities were among the most suitable for defense.

By circulating his Nox through his body, Derek could temporarily inflate his muscles, turning his already muscular physique into an even denser mass of flesh. His body became heavier.

His muscles became harder. And the physical damage he received was reduced considerably for a short period of time.

But even such an ability had its limits. The blood ants were simply too numerous, and every time Derek smashed one of them aside, another three would rush towards him.

His fists were becoming numb. His breathing had become heavier. And even his muscles were beginning to ache beneath the constant strain.

In a sense, Derek was in the same boat as Owen. Both of them had awakened usable classes and skills; both were genuine D-rank awakeners; and both had enough strength to stand above ordinary F-rank monsters.

Yet their potential had become their greatest limitation. They were strong enough to become the strongest awakeners within a small region, but they weren’t strong enough to become truly exceptional. Their growth had already reached its natural limits.

"Owen!" Derek suddenly shouted.

"I know!" Owen gritted his teeth.

The two exchanged nervous gazes before simultaneously turning their heads backwards.

"LIAM!"

"HOW LONG WILL YOU TAKE?!"

Their voices echoed through the tunnel as behind them, Liam Ashford stood with his back straight, both hands raised into the air and surrounded by a weak icy-blue hue.

Tiny particles of ice were continuously forming around his body. At first, there had only been a few. Then dozens.

Then hundreds. With every passing second, the temperature surrounding Liam continued to fall, the air freezing and condensing into finger-sized spikes of rough ice.

Unlike Owen and Derek, Liam’s robe remained completely untouched.

Only the blood splattered across it revealed the intensity of the battle taking place around him. His crystal-blue eyes shone through the mask.

"Almost there!" His voice remained gentle despite the urgency within it.

The number of ice spikes floating around his body had already reached nearly a hundred.

Normally, Liam could create much denser and better-shaped ice spikes, but increasing the quantity naturally meant sacrificing quality.

A single powerful spike was useful. A hundred weaker spikes, however, could potentially be much more destructive against a large horde.

That was precisely why they had chosen this strategy—Owen and Derek would stop the incoming ant wave inside the narrow tunnel, while Liam remained behind them and prepared a massive attack.

Once enough ice spikes had accumulated, he would release them all at once, clearing the majority of the blood ants.

While D-rank awakeners were theoretically capable of handling hundreds of F-rank monsters simultaneously, reality was never so simple.

Variables existed—the enemy’s numbers, their environment, their cooperation, their combat instincts—and the abilities possessed by both sides could all drastically change the outcome.

The blood ants were one such variable. They were naturally a species that excelled at teamwork, and when given enough numbers and a favorable environment, a large enough horde could easily threaten the life of a D-rank awakener.

"There are too many!" Derek shouted as another wave rushed towards him. His arms expanded once again as he activated his ability, his fist smashing downward.

Boom!

The ground cracked beneath the impact, crushing several ants underneath it. But the moment he raised his fist, another ant had already climbed onto his back.

"Get off!" Derek grabbed it and threw it against the wall. Before he could even turn around, two more jumped towards him, his expression becoming increasingly grim.

"How many are there?!"

"Don’t ask me!" Owen shouted. "I’m busy!"

His gauntlets had begun falling apart. Several of the blood ants had already managed to bite through the outer layer, forcing him to retreat several steps as he felt the sharp pain spreading across his arms.

For the first time since entering the nest, Owen genuinely began regretting his decision to come here.

’If only that damn Clara was here on time...’ Adrian grumbled beneath his breath, suppressing his anger. The words were barely audible, yet the frustration behind them was obvious.

Standing at the very back of the group, a robed man held tightly onto his bleeding left arm, a torn piece of his robe wrapped around his forearm in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding.

Adrian Whitfield.

He was yet another genuine D-rank awakener, though unlike Owen, Derek, and Liam, his class didn’t possess any particularly impressive specialty.

It simply allowed him to face enemies head-on by granting him a small boost to his physical abilities—strength, speed, durability, everything enhanced slightly.

But there was nothing exceptional about it. Among the seven Radiant Stars, Adrian was one of the weakest.

And upon entering the cavern, he had made a terrible mistake. He had lost himself. Believing that his D-rank strength was enough to overwhelm the F-rank monsters, Adrian had recklessly charged into a group of dozens of zombie blood ants.

At first, he had killed several of them. Then the ants surrounded him. His confidence immediately turned into panic, and his left forearm was eventually slit open by the crystal-coated mandibles of one of the ants, while several smaller injuries appeared across his legs. If not for the others intervening, he might’ve already been dead.

Now, he had become the burden of the group. And Adrian knew it. If things continued like this, he would be left out of the envoy’s goodwill—after all, a person was only as valuable as their usefulness.

The envoy had already given them an opportunity to prove themselves, and if Adrian couldn’t contribute, there was no reason for the association to care about him. That thought alone filled him with anxiety.

Thus, instead of accepting his own weakness, Adrian decided to shift the blame.

"If Clara had arrived earlier, we wouldn’t be struggling this much," he muttered.

But nobody responded.

Immediately, Adrian’s expression darkened. "She’s the one carrying Christine, but how long does it take to walk through a damn forest?"

The others barely even paid attention to his words, too busy fighting for their own lives.

"She should’ve stayed outside if she couldn’t fight!" Adrian raised his voice.

Owen finally turned his head. "Shut up, Adrian." His voice wasn’t loud, but the irritation within it was unmistakable.

Adrian’s face stiffened. "I was only saying—"

"I don’t care." Owen punched another blood ant away. "If you have enough strength to complain, use it to kill something."

Adrian’s face became ugly beneath his mask. But he didn’t answer.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!