Chapter 111 – Life-and-Death Marathon (2)
◎ The Zombie King skilled in military strategy ◎
At a critical moment, a domain rose over Tongwan, holding back the flood of zombies surging in like a tide.
Song Ke breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Well done, Taotao!’ She shouted in her mind, aware that Taotao couldn’t hear her, yet the lively barking of Taotao echoed in her ears like an illusion.
Xu Xing clung to Song Ke’s clothes, their disheveled head poking out of the cabin, releasing their abilities with trepidation. Unfortunately, it had little effect. Even after dealing with a group, more zombies followed closely behind. Xu Xing was a bit afraid of heights and also had a fear of densely packed zombies. With a troubled expression, they asked, “Sister, as long as Taotao keeps the domain open, won’t the zombies be unable to get in?”
Before Song Ke could reply, Zhuang Qingyan broke the innocent wish of Xu Xing. “Don’t be optimistic. Although Taotao’s ability covers a large area, it’s only C-level and can’t hold for long.”
Domain-type abilities require a considerable amount of mental power support. When Taotao covered a single building in the community before, the consumption was relatively small, enabling it to persist for several days. But now, covering the entire city and facing relentless zombie attacks, it was only a matter of time before the ability exhausted.
“Can we find the position of the Zombie King?” Song Ke turned to Lu Xiaoyu.
The number of zombies below was too dense, all one could see were rotting faces and lifeless white eyes. Besides ordinary and evolved zombies, there were also over a thousand mutant zombies, their awakened energies mixed together, making it hard to distinguish.
Lu Xiaoyu released all the unmanned drones, sending them in different directions to quickly scan the zombies.
Both Song Ke and Su Cha were more adept at single-target combat. Faced with a large-scale tide of corpses, they were at a disadvantage. Rushing in recklessly would easily put themselves in danger. It would be best to first find the Zombie King and figure out a way to take it down.
“Clang, clang!”
The zombies at the city gate relentlessly pounded the domain. The golden light dispersed for a moment, returning to normal. Yet in that instant gap, several hundred zombies surged in. Taotao was starting to struggle.
The night was pitch-black, stars twinkling, when suddenly, engines roared from all directions! Steamboats, floating cars, and ornate ships, new and old in various designs, arrived just in time. Dazzling abilities burst forth; windstorms, thunderstorms, intense fires, freezing snow… a multitude of elemental abilities wielded their might, and tens of thousands of zombies fell. A vacuum zone appeared in front of Tongwan’s city gate.
They were awakeners rushing in from other places to support! Whether it was for an S-level mission or for Tongwan, their arrival was crucial.
With the pressure eased at the city gate, Tongwan’s counterattack began. Armored vehicles rumbled across the ground. Led by Zhao Liqiang, members of the security team carried flamethrowers and cannons, bravely charging into the zombie army.
Even ordinary people climbed onto the city walls, hurling sandbags into the battlefield. Some glass bottles hit the zombies, while others landed on the ground, producing a faint shattering sound. Soon after, they were swept by flamethrowers and artillery, causing intense chemical reactions—corrosion, combustion, explosions. The pungent smell of chemicals filled the air. It was truly remarkable, even in the city of medicine, how distinct their methods of killing zombies were.
“Found it.” Lu Xiaoyu enlarged the screen, and amidst the horde of corpses in the middle, a distinct zombie appeared.
Standing at about three meters tall, though not as towering as a Level 3 zombie, it had robust muscles. Its chest veins wriggled like black serpents. What was more horrifying, behind this zombie were two enormous palm-like appendages resembling wings, with claws larger than half its body.
Similar to their time in Xiangang, Song Ke calmly set up a heavy crossbow, aimed, and fired!
The arrow whistled through the air toward the Zombie King’s head. But as it approached, a nearby mutant zombie stomped, causing the ground to shake, and huge chunks of earth erupted, deflecting the crossbow’s attack. This was a classic use of earth-based abilities.
Song Ke’s gaze hardened. Indeed… the Zombie King could control other zombies.
Lu Xiaoyu lowered the starship’s altitude to the minimum as Song Ke, Su Cha, Lin Youyou, and Xu Xing jumped down.
“I’ll go for the Zombie King. You all provide support,” Song Ke said.
Lin Youyou followed behind Su Cha, enhancing the surrounding awakeners with buffs. As they heard the melodious singing, their spirits lifted, their hands moved faster, making it easier to kill zombies. A-level support-type awakeners might have limited combat abilities, but they were remarkably effective on the battlefield.
Song Ke manifested dual blades, rushing toward the Zombie King’s position. Her speed was remarkable, almost becoming a blur. Before the zombie army could react, she had dashed past them. With a forceful push from her toes, she leaped into the air, cutting through the battlefield from the side. Both blades came down simultaneously, but the Zombie King sensed the danger, swiftly turned around, and swung all four claws toward Song Ke.
Unfortunately, Song Ke’s blades were faster. “Clang!” The sharp edge struck the raised flesh-wing, but it didn’t cut through? The Zombie King fiercely swung its arm, its sharp nails clashing against the blades, producing a teeth-gritting scraping sound.
Song Ke somersaulted backward, landing steadily. Only then did she notice that its flesh-wing seemed clad in steel armor, shimmering metallic hues. This was… an awakened ability? Did the Zombie King possess an ability? No, Song Ke quickly realized. It didn’t have any awakened energy within itself, but there were numerous mutant zombies around. At a critical moment, one of them must have released an ability to protect the Zombie King.
The Zombie King agilely evaded Song Ke’s attack range, leaping onto a collapsed base station. Its lifeless white eyes fixed on Song Ke, suddenly it dropped onto all fours and let out a low growl.
Several Level 3 zombies leaped from both sides, while more mutant zombies arranged themselves in a backward-stepped formation, enclosing Song Ke in a V-shaped formation. Ahead of her were fierce high-level zombies, while behind her, the Zombie King eyed her hungrily. She was trapped within the enemy lines.
Song Ke suddenly realized the most challenging aspect of the Zombie King wasn’t its own strength but its ability to command other zombies at will, even forming an army. Blades gleaming with a faint blue light, Song Ke’s awakened energy surged in waves. Instead of fleeing, she chose to confront them head-on.
On the starship, Zhuang Qingyan observed the group of zombies facing off against Song Ke. Her gaze turned cold. “Spearhead formation.”
“What’s a spearhead formation?” Fang Zhixu asked.
Zhuang Qingyan explained, “A spearhead formation relies on infantry and cavalry cooperation, specializing in flanking maneuvers. I never expected zombies to use tactics. This Zombie King might have served as a battlefield commander before.”
Fang Zhixu looked shocked. “Are you suggesting the Zombie King retains memories from when it was human? Then why does it attack humans?”
Zhuang Qingyan stared at the Zombie King’s grotesque appearance, shaking his head slowly. “No, it’s undoubtedly a zombie. I’m inclined to believe it retains human intelligence.”
“If it has intelligence, can’t you directly control it? Can’t we win easily?” Lu Xiaoyu’s thoughts always had an unconventional twist.
The power of a Level 4 zombie was equivalent to that of an A-level awakener. Although Zhuang Qingyan thought the chances were slim, he released his mental ability to probe, only to encounter a hindrance. “It has a mental barrier, similar to Taotao’s domain.”
“Oh? It can even prepare for this? Seems pretty smart,” Lu Xiaoyu felt intrigued.
“Congratulations, you’ve synchronized brainwaves with the zombie, but unfortunately, it’s smarter than you,” Zhuang Qingyan couldn’t resist poking fun at Lu Xiaoyu.
Of course, the barrier wasn’t created by the Zombie King itself; it lacked awakened energy and could only utilize the abilities of other mutant zombies.
To put it simply, the Zombie King was like a worker screwing in screws, familiar with the use of each screw, and able to place them in the most suitable positions.
“I think I understand how Rongzhou was destroyed. This Zombie King is too terrifying,” Fang Zhixu sighed.
“This is perhaps the most cunning opponent we’ve encountered,” Zhuang Qingyan said in a deep voice.
Beneath the base station, Song Ke’s dual blades were ruthless, tearing through the flank defense. She faced dozens of high-level zombies alone, like a Grim Reaper amidst chaos, cutting through the tangled mess. Even splattered with tainted blood, her expression remained unchanged.
The military tactics of the ancient civilization emphasized “winning before battle,” signifying that victorious armies always created a winning momentum before engaging the enemy. And when the situation turned unfavorable, they sought to “conserve strength for a future battle.”
The Zombie King watched the dwindling zombie army, clawing at the ground beneath it, making a thoughtful gesture.
…
In the center of the battlefield, poisonous mist spread around Su Cha, rapidly harvesting the lives of zombies.
Lin Youyou cautiously followed him, never forgetting to glance back and instruct, “Xiao Xing, stay close.”
“Okay,” Xu Xing obediently replied.
However, in the midst of the chaotic situation, zombies occasionally lunged forward. Xu Xing, with shorter legs and a timid disposition, got obstructed three or four times, gradually falling behind Lin Youyou. Luckily, his position was relatively close to the city gate, with other powered individuals and members of the guard nearby, so it wasn’t particularly dangerous.
Mechanically and numbly, Xu Xing threw ice spikes into the pile of zombies. There were so many of them that even his haphazard throws managed to impale a large number.
Various abilities flew around him, shells and flames intertwined, chemical bottles bobbed up and down intermittently. Xu Xing couldn’t help but wonder amidst the chaos: could this kind of chaotic fighting accidentally harm their own people?
For better or worse, a tornado-like power whirled, picking up a massive bunch of zombies.
Whether due to a lack of control or the weight being too much, the tornado’s eye gradually veered off course, turning in Xu Xing’s direction.
Cursing himself internally, Xu Xing turned and ran. Unfortunately, with his short legs and light weight, he was swept away after just a few steps.
The damned tornado blew for a good ten seconds. Xu Xing felt like he was in a tumble dryer, disoriented. Finally, he was unceremoniously thrown to the ground. He sat there, feeling aggrieved, rubbing his head, and swaying as he stood up, only to realize he was at the back of the shelter. Suddenly, his eyes widened! Several zombies stared at him expressionlessly, having witnessed his sudden descent from the sky.
Describing zombies as “expressionless” was odd, but these zombies sat or stood in pairs, lacking the fierceness and brutality on their faces. They wore a bored expression, completely detached from the ongoing battle on the front lines.
Suddenly, Xu Xing forgot about his dangerous situation, the first thought that crossed his mind was: Do zombies procrastinate too?
One of the zombies approached Xu Xing, yes, it walked, using its legs.
Its hair was braided in an unattractive style, vaguely showing female features. Xu Xing was surprised to notice that this zombie was relatively intact, apart from prominent marks on its neck and the murky gray eyes, it appeared more human in other aspects.
The braided zombie extended its claws, causing Xu Xing to shiver. Secretly forming ice spikes behind his back, he was taken by surprise as he was suddenly overturned, tumbling and landing on his rear end, making a ‘duang-duang’ sound.
The zombie seemed to find this amusing and turned back, emitting indistinct sounds from its throat. The other zombies gathered around, like a group of towering bullies, surrounding Xu Xing, clawing at him, pushing him around, flipping him over, as if toying with a soft ball.
These peculiar zombies seemed to be having fun. They neither killed him nor attacked the city, simply playing around with Xu Xing.
Xu Xing was stupefied: “… ” What is happening? Is he being bullied by zombies?
At that moment, a low growl of the Zombie King suddenly came from the direction of Tongwan. The large horde of zombies within a dozen kilometers received the call and, no longer interested in the fight, immediately dispersed like a receding tide.
The Zombie King abandoned the siege! Tongwan was safe!
A thunderous cheer erupted. Excited powered individuals and the guard chased the fleeing zombies, driving them far away.
Several zombies in front of Xu Xing glanced at each other. Yes, they actually made an apparent “eye contact” gesture. The braided zombie retracted its claws, and the others followed her, stealthily blending into the troops and gradually disappearing from sight.
Covered in dirt, Xu Xing climbed up from the ground, feeling utterly perplexed.
