Toxin Erosion

Critical Strike: Damage dealt -901, Ignore Defense Damage -31309, True Damage -369388.

Attack: Deals -391 damage, ignores defense -9493 points, true damage: -131332 points

He struck twice in quick succession; the first strike landed on the human-faced phantom on the spider's abdomen.

But by the time he made his second backhand strike, his opponent had completely regained consciousness.

A slight sway at the tail caused the blade to deviate from its target when it struck the critical spot.

At the same time, the arthropods behind him reacted again and stabbed at Lister from behind.

"Clang~ Clang~ Clang..."

The attack speed was extremely fast; Lister dodged several arthropod attacks in succession by twisting his body.

Even as the final blow came toward his side, he used a Flash to escape.

The mother creature simply followed much faster and was far more agile than him, not to mention fighting in a dense spiderweb environment.

The sharp, segmented limbs continued their original movement, striking his side precisely.

It was only when Lister fought against a mother entity of this level for the first time that he realized the weakness of his movement skills.

As long as the opponent's base attributes are high enough and their movement speed is extremely fast, in combat within such a limited space, whether or not they have spatial displacement skills makes little difference.

True agility lies in fundamental skill; as long as the speed is fast enough, even spatial displacement can keep up.

Seeing that the end of the segment was about to pierce through, Lister had already adjusted his breathing again.

With his Fighting Spirit heightened, he swiftly reversed his grip on the Shadowless Blade, preparing to sever the limb.

"Boom!"

Before he could even draw his knife, a yellow flash rushed in front of him and collided with the segmented limb.

Roland finally caught his breath, and his health points were mostly restored.

With his current combat strength still acceptable, he transformed his photon-like body once again and braced himself forward with one hand.

A dark barrier blocked Lister's side, and the sword he had originally intended to use for defense was immediately transformed into another strike aimed at the spider's abdomen.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh.

Despite their seemingly softer appearance compared to their limbs, spiders possess considerable defensive capabilities.

Lister could easily sever the limbs, but the spider's abdomen, already swollen to its limit, only suffered another cut.

But as he drew his sword, another limb was already poised to strike.

It was as if they had been waiting for his chance to strike, wanting to fight back and trade blows.

By the time Roland realized what was happening, it was too late to stop it. He could only watch helplessly as the sharp ends of the limbs pierced Lister's brain.

"Pfft!"

The ends of the limbs are ultimately blocked by an invisible barrier.

A tremendous burst of energy erupted from the black arm armor on Lister's arm.

No matter how hard the limbs tried, they couldn't penetrate any further.

"Damage taken: Time Crystal Bracers activated, absorbing -144992 damage. This damage will reappear after 24 hours. Armor cooldown: 2 days 23 hours..."

During the rare lull in the use of arm guards, Lister seized the opportunity.

A surge of energy flowed into the wrist guards, causing them to expand.

An overwhelming sense of power surged through his body, and the arm holding the knife was already flushed red.

"Notification: Merrick's Tyranny Bracers have taken effect: all four stats increased by 45 points, physical attack increased by 45%, remaining duration 59 seconds. Gauntlets cooldown: 4 days 23 hours..."

After each attribute increased by 45 points, Lister's and the Soul-Devouring Spider's base attributes were completely leveled out.

He no longer cared about the consequences; extreme attack was his best defense.

With a light tap of his heel, the bones on the ground instantly turned to dust, and the soil and rock caved in deeply.

Lister leaped up, his blade slashing with unstoppable force across the mother's forehead.

It seemed they had also sensed Lister's current sharpness and the extraordinary nature of his strike.

All six of the mother's available segments converged to block the flow.

"Clang~ Clang~ Clang~!"

A crisp sound rang out, and several limbs were severed.

The Shadowless Blade finally pierced the mother's forehead, and then, using its momentum, pressed downwards.

The blade sliced across the forehead, face, upper torso, and down to the eerie human face on the spider's abdomen.

Critical Strike: -1505 damage dealt, -43491 damage ignored defense, total true damage -551332 points.

In a burst of extreme force, Lister's strike directly severed the mother's major artery.

At this point, the opponent's health was barely 100,000 points, less than 8% of their total health.

"Boom!"

An extreme energy surge erupted from the mother body.

The six severed limbs immediately regenerated.

His upper body was now engorged with blood, his face became bloated, and his upper body seemed to burst open as if it could not withstand the force.

Only those scarlet eyes remained, staring at the two amidst a pool of bloody, rotting flesh.

Having learned his lesson, Roland had already turned away, while Lister stared back without fear.

Just as he had predicted, his level was too low to scan for much information, but the mother of this Soul-Devouring Spider did indeed have a second stage of eruption.

The human face on the spider's abdomen was now completely Twist and had turned scarlet.

The Soul-Devouring Spider vanished in the next instant.

Its speed is faster than before, and its aggressiveness has greatly increased.

At the same moment, the cocoons throughout the cave began to fall, and countless Soul-Devouring Spider bodies spread and gathered once again.

A foul gust of wind wafted from behind, the Killing Intent Wave completely locked onto the mother.

Unfortunately, the opponent's attack speed was too fast, and the reverse-grip Shadowless Blade barely managed to block behind him.

"Clang! Pfft!"

The end of the right segment is blocked by the handle.

However, the other limb inevitably pierced through his left arm.

"Attacked: Attacked -121393 points, has been parasitized by the Parasitic Soul Pearl, and has been corroded by toxins."

"Notice: The Robust Soul has taken effect; the Parasitic Soul Pearl has been destroyed."

"Resolute Heart is in effect, Potential Burst is in effect, Merrick Saber Technique... Paralysis and stun effects are now immune. This toxin erosion is true damage and cannot be completely immune; current maximum immunity is 47.9%."

"Attacked: Poisonous Corrosion, -19931 points, -17381 points..."

Lister held his left shoulder with one hand, the intense pain from the wound and the agony of the toxins shooting straight to his head.

Fortunately, having experienced a previous Robust Soul growth, this pain was nothing compared to that.

But his expression couldn't help but become serious.

In past battles, even if his rank was lower than his opponent's, his basic attributes were by no means inferior.

Often, when their basic attributes overwhelm their opponents, they can still put up a fight even in battles against opponents of higher levels by relying on their extreme true damage and speed, as well as their excellent combat skills.

This time, facing the 17th-tier Soul-Devouring Spider Mother, Lister experienced for the first time the feeling of being suppressed by basic attributes in battle.

Indeed, a strong foundation is true strength. Even though he can sense the opponent's movements, his enhanced combat potential allows him to make super-level extreme reactions.

However, they could only barely dodge or block the first attack, and under the opponent's extremely high attack frequency, they still inevitably suffered damage.

The left scapula was completely pierced, exposing the muscles and bones. At the same time, the dark green toxin continued to spread, eventually reaching most of the left arm and left shoulder.