Chapter 131: Sonya Becomes 1st Echelon
Cain looked toward the gray-black energy flowing across the distant sky.
"How many strong members of your race are inside this Corridor?"
The zombie remained silent for a moment.
Ron lightly pressed the spearhead against its throat, a thin line of dark blood immediately appeared.
Cain did not even bother looking at Ron.
The zombie’s expression changed.
"There are... only a few 3rd Echelon commanders."
The atmosphere around the group immediately became heavier.
Professor Ian frowned, while Jack’s previously relaxed expression disappeared. Even Elara became noticeably more serious after hearing those words.
They had already expected the Invasion Corridor to contain enemies far stronger than the zombies they encountered on Earth, but knowing that several 3rd Echelon beings were actually present was another matter entirely.
However, Cain remained focused on the zombie as he asked another question.
"How many is a few?"
"I don’t know exactly." The zombie swallowed before continuing. "Because ordinary soldiers aren’t told where every commander is stationed."
"Then tell me what you do know."
The creature hesitated briefly.
"But... One of the commanders went south recently."
Cain’s eyes narrowed.
"To the Southern Anchor Gate?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
" I heard that there was a problem."
Cain raised an eyebrow.
’A problem?’
That immediately caught his attention.
The existence of several 3rd Echelon enemies was troublesome, but he had already expected powerful beings to exist inside the Corridor. Something going wrong with the very Anchor Gate they were heading toward was far more interesting.
"What kind of problem?"
"I don’t know."
The zombie answered quickly this time, especially when Ron’s spear shifted slightly against its throat.
"I really don’t know. We were only told that something happened with the Anchor Gate, so one of the commanders was sent there."
Cain studied its face carefully.
Dragon’s Eyes allowed him to see the subtle changes in the zombie’s body and the fluctuations in its Mana as it spoke.
It was frightened. More importantly, nothing about its reaction suggested that it was lying.
Cain stood up.
"Anything else we should know?"
The zombie quickly shook its head.
"I’ve already told you everything I know."
"Good." Cain nodded and stepped aside.
"Then let’s do the challenge."
Sonya walked forward.
The zombie tried to push itself upright, but Nathan’s arrow was still buried through its calf.
Cain crouched, grabbed the shaft, and pulled it free.
Dark blood immediately flowed from the wound.
The zombie grimaced, but its 1st Echelon body was strong enough to keep it standing despite the injury.
Cain looked at it calmly.
"Don’t act funny."
The zombie’s expression stiffened.
"You agreed to take one attack, so block it properly."
Cain’s lips curved slightly.
"If you survive, that’s that."
The zombie looked around.
Ron stood only a short distance away with his spear ready.
Elara had one hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
Nathan already held another arrow between his fingers.
Even Jack looked slightly disappointed that the zombie had surrendered instead of putting up a fight.
The meaning was obvious as trying to escape would only get it killed faster.
Cain continued.
"If you die..."
He shrugged. "Then it means that you’re just too weak."
The zombie’s expression became increasingly unpleasant.
Sonya stopped around twenty meters away.
Cain turned toward her.
"You remember your Advancement Mission, right?"
Sonya nodded.
She had received the mission during the battle against the Zombie King’s forces.
[Advancement Mission]
[Deal considerable damage to a 1st Echelon being.]
At the time, completing it had been troublesome.
Sonya had still possessed much weaker Fire abilities, while the 1st Echelon zombies surrounding the Zombie King had already been dealt with before she could inflict enough damage on one of them.
Her situation was completely different now.
Nine Suns Divine Body had transformed her compatibility with Fire.
Even though none of the nine Suns within her body had awakened yet, the quality of her Fire Mana had already reached a completely different level.
Sonya raised her right hand.
Crimson-gold flames gathered above her palm.
The zombie’s previously relaxed expression disappeared as the Fire Mana continued pouring into the growing sphere.
Inferno Compression naturally condensed the flames further, causing the color near the center to deepen as more energy accumulated within the same space.
Heat rapidly spread across the surrounding area.
The stiff black grass near Sonya’s feet began curling before slowly turning brittle.
The zombie swallowed.
"Wait."
Sonya ignored it as the Inferno Orb continued growing until it became roughly the size of a human head.
Compressed flames rotated across its surface, while the surrounding air visibly distorted from the heat radiating outward.
The zombie looked toward Cain and complained.
"You said she’s the weakest!"
"She is."
Cain answered without hesitation.
Unfortunately, that did absolutely nothing to reassure it.
Mana immediately erupted from the zombie’s body and dark energy gathered around both arms as it crossed them in front of its chest.
Its expression had become completely solemn as only now did it realize that being one Echelon above Sonya might not be enough to guarantee its survival.
Sonya stared at it.
"Ready?"
"No."
She threw the orb with a chuckle.
The crimson-gold sphere shot across the distance.
The zombie roared and poured everything it had into its defense.
Bang!
Fire exploded across the barren ground.
Crimson-gold flames swallowed the zombie completely as a violent wave of heat rushed outward.
Elara raised one hand in front of her face.
Cole stepped backward to avoid the strongest part of the heat, while Jack’s expression changed slightly as he watched the flames continue burning.
Several seconds passed before the Fire gradually weakened.
The moment the flames finally dispersed, a charred body collapsed onto the ground.
The surrounding fell silent.
Sonya stared at the corpse and mumbled to herself.
"...I killed it?"
Cain glanced toward the information above the body.
[Level 30 Zombie Race Soldier]
"Looks like it." He replied with a chuckle.
Ron slowly turned toward Cain.
"You really are shameless."
Cain looked at him.
"What?"
"You told him you wouldn’t kill him."
"I didn’t." Cain pointed toward Sonya and shrugged. "She did."
Ron stared at him for a second before shaking his head.
"Fucking shameless bastard."
Sonya was still looking at the corpse when several notifications suddenly appeared before her.
[Ding!]
[Advancement Mission completed.]
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