Chapter 43: Killing the Level 40 Zombie with Ease
Cain stepped inside the attack.
His left hand caught the Tyrant’s upper arm above the mutated elbow.
The sharpened forearm passed behind him.
He then tightened his fingers, causing the hardened flesh to sink beneath his grip.
The zombie pulled backward, but its arm did not move at all.
Cain drove his knee into its stomach.
Bang!
The creature’s upper body folded around the impact. Black blood burst from its mouth before Cain released it.
The Blade Mantis Tyrant flew backward and struck the road.
Its feet scraped against the pavement as it struggled to recover its balance while stabbing his bladed-arm on the road.
The green blade carved through the road and stopped its retreat.
Cain raised an eyebrow as he thought that the zombie’s speed was impressive.
Before he obtained the Undying War Body, received the latest investment rewards and the boost stats he got from killing 1st Echelon zombies, its attacks might have forced him to fight more carefully.
Now, even its fastest movements were clear in his eyes.
The Blade Mantis Tyrant stood again.
The hands hidden beneath its curved growths twitched. The Wind surrounding its arms changed.
Rather than flowing toward the tips, the green currents began rotating around the blades. The compressed energy moved faster until the limbs were surrounded by narrow spirals of sharpened Wind.
The creature crossed both arms before its chest.
Then it rushed forward.
Cain saw the attack forming before the Tyrant reached him.
The blades opened from opposite directions, intending to close around his waist.
He moved toward the zombie’s left side.
The right blade passed behind him. Its other arm changed direction and thrust toward his chest.
Cain turned his body.
The sharpened Wind tore through the front of his jacket without touching his skin.
He entered the space beside its elbow.
Faultline Vision revealed a thin weakness in his eyes and Cain immediately took the chance as he swung his sword downward.
The sword passed through the mutated elbow in a clean strike.
The severed forearm dropped to the road and the compressed Wind surrounding its curved edge immediately scattered.
Black blood poured away like a small fountain.
The Blade Mantis Tyrant screeched and twisted toward Cain, sweeping its remaining arm across his waist.
Cain stepped inside the arc.
The green edge passed behind him and carved through the side mirror of a nearby car.
Before the zombie could reverse the attack, Cain drove his shoulder into its chest.
Bang!
Its upper body snapped backward.
One foot left the ground, and the broken rhythm of its movement exposed the entire side of its neck.
Cain did not waste the opening as he planted his foot and swung the sword horizontally.
The blade flashed through the air.
The Tyrant’s head separated cleanly from its shoulders.
Its remaining arm lost all strength. The curved blade struck the road first, followed by the rest of its body.
The Wind coating dispersed into faint green currents.
[Ding! You have killed the Level 40 First-Echelon Blade Mantis Tyrant.]
[Ding! You have obtained Strength +3, Agility +9, Physique +4, and Sense +3.]
[Ding! You have obtained 18,000 System Points.]
The familiar energy entered Cain’s body as usual.
For a brief moment, his body felt lighter than expected.
Cain adjusted almost immediately since he had already gotten used to it and the difference wasn’t that big in the first place.
He lowered the amount of Ruin Dragon Force circulating through him. The pressure filling his body faded, though he kept enough energy active to respond if something unexpected appeared.
The fight had ended far more quickly than he had planned.
By then, the others had already started fighting with the approaching horde.
Nathan stood several meters behind Ron and Jack with his bow raised.
Green Wind compressed tightly around the arrowhead. Unlike the wide currents surrounding his body, the Wind gathered around the metal point rotated rapidly, becoming denser with every moment.
Nathan released the string.
Whoosh!
The arrow crossed the road almost instantly.
A Level 22 zombie had just taken another step when the arrow struck directly through its knee.
Crack!
The reinforced joint was blown through by the speed and penetrating force of the shot.
The arrow continued past the ruined knee before striking the road behind it.
The zombie immediately collapsed.
Ron was already moving. He rushed past the creature’s reaching hands and thrust his spear downward.
The point entered through its temple.
Ron pulled the weapon free before the corpse fully settled onto the ground.
"Next!"
Nathan had already drawn another arrow. Green Wind compressed around its tip.
This time, his target was a zombie approaching Jack from the right.
The bowstring snapped forward.
The arrow drilled straight through the zombie’s kneecap.
Its leg folded beneath it.
Jack stepped forward and met the falling zombie with a heavy punch to the side of its head.
Bang!
The skull collapsed.
Neither man waited for Nathan to cripple every enemy for them.
Several untouched zombies were moving between the disabled ones, and both Ron and Jack deliberately chose some of those targets themselves as they still needed experience.
Standing around and executing helpless zombies would certainly provide it, but neither of them wanted to become dependent on Nathan every time they encountered something stronger than an ordinary infected person.
Ron intercepted a Level 21 zombie near an abandoned car.
The creature swung wildly toward him.
Ron shifted outside its arm and used the longer reach of the spear to strike before the zombie could turn.
The metal point entered beneath its jaw.
He then twisted the shaft and pulled it free.
At almost the same time, Jack ducked beneath another zombie’s hand and drove his fist into its ribs.
The first strike forced the creature sideways.
His next punch landed against its face.
Crack!
The zombie stumbled backward before Jack stepped closer and finished it with another blow to the temple.
Nathan watched both sides of the battlefield.
Whenever too many zombies approached together, he interfered.
Whenever Ron or Jack had enough room to fight, he allowed them to handle the enemies themselves.
Another arrow left the bow.
A zombie’s knee broke beneath the penetrating shot.
Then another.
Cain observed them briefly before losing interest.
Nathan had already entered the First Echelon. Unless something unexpected happened, a horde consisting entirely of Unranked zombies posed little danger to him.
Cain turned toward the opposite side.
Elara had already killed several enemies of her own with her sword covered by a sharp ice.
However, unlike before, the cold Mana did not flicker or weaken whenever she swung as it clung closely to the blade, forming a thin layer of pale frost across the sharpened edge.
A Level 23 zombie charged toward her.
Elara did not meet it directly, as she lowered her free hand slightly.
Cold Mana entered the pavement. A thin patch of ice appeared beneath the zombie’s next step.
When its foot landed, the zombie immediately slipped. Its body tilted forward, leaving the side of its neck completely exposed.
Elara moved past it.
Swoosh!
One clean slash was all she needed.
The zombie’s head fell from its shoulders.
[Advancement Mission Progress: 8/25]
Elara glanced at the notification before turning toward the next target.