Chapter 94: Advanced Zombie

I seized Yujing and leaped down with Murong Xue and the nine-tailed fox, circling around a sea of flames as we headed toward Phoenix Blue City, searching for Qin Tian along the way. To reach Phoenix Blue City, we had to cross these mountain peaks. The trees on the mountains had already burned away to nothing, and now and then a tree still stood in the road, belching white smoke. This heavenly fire had nearly reduced everything to ashes. From atop the peak, aided by the power of the heavenly eye, the distant scene lay clear before us: everywhere was the wreckage left behind by the blaze. Villages had become mounds of ash, dead branches and withered leaves were strewn through the river, and a few crows were pecking at a wild buffalo that had perished in the fire.

“Look, Ke'er is over there,” the nine-tailed fox said, pointing toward the distant mountains.

Sure enough, faintly in the distance, a woman in white could be seen hurrying toward us. If it was not Xiaoxiang Ke'er, then who else could it be? I hastened down from the peak and came to her side.

“Miss Ke'er, where is Qin Tian?”

Xiaoxiang Ke'er pressed a hand to her chest, panting. “Qin Tian, they... they were surrounded over there beyond the mountain.”

“By what?” Yujing had also run over. At first he wore a pleased expression, but the instant he saw the blood on Xiaoxiang Ke'er, he could no longer remain calm. He pulled her to his side at once and bombarded her with questions. I hurriedly cut between them.

“Miss Ke'er, take me to Qin Tian right away.”

This was no time for romance. Fortunately, Yujing was still a sensible man. Upon hearing that Qin Tian was in danger, he said nothing further and simply drew the short sword from his back. We followed Xiaoxiang Ke'er over a great mountain, and before long the crackle of gunfire reached our ears. I charged ahead first, and only when I drew near did I see that it was a horde of zombies. There were not many of them, perhaps a little over a hundred. The Azure Dragon Gang had three or four hundred men, all armed with guns and artillery. How could they fail to deal with a hundred-odd zombies? But when I saw the bodies of the Azure Dragon Gang brothers lying on the ground, I understood. They had probably run into high-level zombies.

Bullets were utterly useless against those things. Aside from punching a few bloody holes in their bodies, they did not slow them in the slightest. Several of the larger zombies were even more terrifying; even Qin Tian's Desert Eagle could not inflict any real damage. I gripped the Ice Sword and joined the battle, while Yujing rushed in with his short sword as well. I told the nine-tailed fox and Murong Xue to stay behind and look after Xiaoxiang Ke'er. Against these zombies, the two of us were more than enough.

The moment Qin Tian saw us coming to help, his spirits lifted. After cutting down a mutated zombie, he backed to my side and said, “Old Li, good thing you came. These things won’t die. I’m about spent. Hold them off for a moment while I catch my breath.”

This brat had gone straight to a move this fierce from the very beginning. No wonder he was drenched in sweat. Looking at the pitted craters all over the ground, I could only sigh. No need to ask—it had to be the Heaven-Shattering Strike. To unleash such a killing move the moment a fight began... Qin Tian still lacked a little experience in battle. If we had not arrived in time, given enough time, this kid would surely have been torn apart. Still, a powerful attack really was effective; the scattered zombie corpses strewn across the ground were proof enough.

I dodged the sharp claws of a zombie covered head to toe in bone spurs, then kicked the rotted head clean off another. It seemed the rotting zombies were the lower-tier ones, while those with thick shells clinging to their bodies were the high-level zombies. As I evaded their attacks, I fell back beside Yujing and said, “You handle the high-level ones. I’ll take care of the rotten ones.”

Yujing nodded and charged straight at the high-level zombies.

My thought was simple: once the lower-tier zombies were wiped out, we could focus our strength on the high-level ones. That way they would not keep getting in the way. The lower-tier zombies had almost no real attack power, and their speed was only a little greater than that of ordinary people. Just like in the movies, they still retained their most primitive instinct: hunger. Anything living that came near them would be ripped to pieces.

They were easy enough to deal with. Wherever the Ice Sword passed, one rotting head after another was sent flying high into the air. Those gray-white eyes were filled with unwillingness as they slammed heavily into the ground.

In not much time at all, I had already wiped out every lower-tier zombie. What remained were the high-level ones. Yujing was struggling to fend off their attacks, yet the violet-green short sword in his hand seemed to come alive, always able to unleash power far beyond expectation. Sword energy swirled around the blade as he danced it into dazzling blossoms of steel. The zombies were pinned down by that sword energy and could not close in on him for the moment, but it would not hold forever. Beads of sweat as large as beans had already broken out on Yujing’s forehead.

I swiftly raised my sword and hacked down at one of the large zombies. The Ice Sword struck the creature’s waist, sinking three inches into flesh, nearly cleaving it in two. But the blade became wedged in the zombie’s middle and would not come free no matter how I pulled.

“Old Li, I’m here!” Qin Tian flung the cigarette butt from his hand aside and rushed over. Before he even arrived, a gust of palm force had already slammed into the large zombie’s chest. The creature staggered back a step, and my Ice Sword severed its waist as easily as a knife through tofu. Even after losing its lower body, the giant zombie was still crawling on the ground, and I brought my foot down to crush its skull.

With the giant zombie dealt with, Qin Tian and I retreated to Yujing’s side. The three of us stood back to back, resisting the assault of the high-level zombies. I had five high-level zombies on my side, one of them the bone-spur type I had seen before. Its defense was not exceptional, but it was far too fast, making it extremely troublesome to handle. Qin Tian had three high-level zombies I had never seen before, one of them female, her clothes in tatters, her undergarments hanging loose from one shoulder, shamelessly exposed. Yujing had the easiest fight of the three, facing only two short, small-bodied high-level zombies.

“Old Li, use your strongest move,” Qin Tian said, forcing back a mutated zombie. “If we keep fighting like this, we’ll waste too much stamina.”

“Brother Qin is right. Let us finish them with our ultimate techniques!” Yujing agreed.

My strongest move was the final form of the Thirty-Six Demon Forms: the Descent of the Heavenly Deity. In truth, it was the thirty-seventh form. Since I had already stepped onto the demonic path, I no longer cared to avoid such a vicious technique, and my demonic body would no longer suffer backlash. Perhaps the Thirty-Six Demon Forms should now be called the Thirty-Seven Demon Forms.

“Earth-Shattering Strike.”

“Chasing Wind, Capturing Shadows.”

The two of them unleashed their killing moves in turn. I could not afford to embarrass myself either. I sheathed the Ice Sword and rapidly gathered demonic energy.

“Descent of the Heavenly Deity.”

With a wolfish roar, my right hand transformed into a fist and came crashing down upon the ground. This move was somewhat similar to Qin Tian’s Earth-Shattering Strike, but by the look of it, its power should have been even greater.

At last, several high-level zombies were blasted into a bloody ruin, clearly beyond saving. On Yujing’s side, one was still barely alive, its body riddled with shocking wounds. I walked over and put a bullet through its eye socket.

At long last, another crisis had passed.

The brothers of the Azure Dragon Gang had suffered heavy casualties, and it seemed the journey to Phoenix Blue City would have to be delayed again. With night about to fall, I found a place that offered at least some shelter from the wind and called everyone over.