Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 34: The Application of the "Warming" Spell, Massacre!

A single Gallows Spider isn't terrifying!

But when they appear in swarms, they become extremely horrifying, ranking among the most troublesome monsters in the outer regions of the Great Tob Forest.

Gallows Spiders spit webs at incredible speeds. Once entangled by a group of them, one would quickly become wrapped in massive amounts of silk, making escape impossible.

Rumor has it these spider threads possess remarkable toughness, making them excellent materials!

But now was clearly not the time to dwell on that.

Tang Zheng swiftly maneuvered through the jungle while contemplating how to shake off the pursuing horde of Gallows Spiders.

In this forest environment, his speed kept getting hampered.

Those basketball-sized Gallows Spiders, however, remained unaffected. By continuously spraying silk to attach to surrounding tree trunks, they could actually move faster!

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Tang Zheng swung his iron sword backward.

Squelch!

The leading Gallows Spider let out a piercing shriek as Tang Zheng's blade sliced it in half, spilling pale green viscous fluid across the ground.

[Gained 23 EXP]

Huh?

Though his feet never stopped moving, Tang Zheng's eyes widened slightly at the unexpectedly high experience yield.

Considering the pursuing Gallows Spiders numbered at least seventy to a hundred...

If he could wipe them all out in one go,

He'd gain around two to three thousand EXP—enough to level up twice!

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Pencil-thick spider threads shot forth from the swarm behind, all converging toward Tang Zheng's position.

With a twist of his left foot,

Tang Zheng dodged behind a large tree to his left, using the thick trunk to block most of the incoming silk.

Several strands landed on the ground nearby. Seized by an idea, Tang Zheng tested slicing them with his sword.

"Twang!"

The silk bent under the blade's edge before snapping with a resilient twang.

Trouble!

Feeling the silk's elasticity firsthand, Tang Zheng finally understood why it was prized as premium magical material.

Thud!

His expression changed as he pushed off the tree trunk with his back foot, dashing away just in time.

Within a blink, several Gallows Spiders had surrounded the tree.

Though Tang Zheng had shaken them off again, the distance between them kept shrinking!

"If only I had Druid, Forest Priest, or even Ranger skills, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

Beads of sweat formed on Tang Zheng's forehead as he kept using trees to evade the silk attacks.

He couldn't keep this up!

The hissing of pursuing spiders grew distinctly closer—they'd catch him soon.

Magic?

His only offensive spell, "Magic Arrow," would be useless against so many targets.

Wait!

His eyes lit up as he recalled another spell that might help.

"Warming!"

Tang Zheng gripped his iron sword tightly and murmured the incantation.

The "Warming" spell could heat any touched object, though it required time and couldn't reach high temperatures, making it only suitable for cooking or reheating meals.

Despite spending a skill point to upgrade it, the improvement was negligible, so Tang Zheng still mainly used it for food.

But now!

He realized—if it could heat objects, why not weapons?

"Warming!"

Within ten seconds,

Tang Zheng clearly felt his sword's temperature rising, heat transmitting through the hilt to his palm.

Rip!

Using his left hand, he tore off his right sleeve's coarse fabric and wrapped it around the hilt as insulation.

Preventing burns from the escalating heat.

One minute passed swiftly.

The sword now reached 150°C, its surface radiating blistering heat.

The blade's appearance remained unchanged—iron's melting point exceeded 1500°C, so 150° couldn't even make it glow.

Thwip!

The sound of silk projectiles came again.

This time,

Instead of dodging, Tang Zheng raised his superheated sword to intercept the incoming threads.

The notoriously tough silk severed effortlessly under the scorching edge!

"Just as I thought. No matter how strong spider silk is, it can't withstand high temperatures."

"Now it's my turn to attack!"

A cold smile played on Tang Zheng's lips as he glared at the approaching swarm.

The real threat had always been the indestructible silk.

But now!

With his heated blade cutting through them like butter...

Then—

Tang Zheng stomped the ground, halting his retreat before charging straight toward the spiders.

"Four Light Combo Slash!"

With a shout, his sword left four black afterimages in the air.

The searing blade sliced through incoming silk while simultaneously bisecting four leading spiders!

[Gained 21 EXP!]

[Gained 27 EXP!]

[Gained 22 EXP!]

[Gained 25 EXP!]

"Skree!"

"Skree!"

"Skree!"

"...!"

A chorus of ear-piercing shrieks erupted!

Having stopped fleeing, Tang Zheng soon found himself surrounded by the spiders.

Dozens crawled among surrounding branches, hissing as their crimson eyes fixed on Tang Zheng standing atop thick foliage.

Thwip—thwip—

Countless white strands shot simultaneously from abdomens, the spiders cooperating to weave an intricate web overhead to ensnare him below.

"Useless!"

Tang Zheng grinned, casually swinging his sword upward.

The sticky web split instantly under the heated blade, collapsing harmlessly to the ground.

This development made the hissing spiders pause momentarily!

"The massacre begins!" Tang Zheng sprinted to a tree, kicked off its trunk, and launched into the air.

"Four Light Combo Slash!"

Squelch!

Squelch!

Squelch!

[Gained 27 EXP!]

[Gained 25 EXP!]

[…………]

His status panel updated continuously.

Spider carcasses flew everywhere as foul-smelling greenish fluid rained down, saturating the air with a nauseating stench.

Without their silk advantage, the Gallows Spiders became lambs for slaughter under Tang Zheng's assault.