Chapter 330: Bizarre Zombies
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In places that were occupied by necromancers, the nights were quieter. Anfey chose a large tree as his team’s resting site for the night. The tree was not comfortable, but it was better to be off the ground and out of sight. No one complained, as they knew it was the best place to camp.
Suddenly, a dull red light appeared among the trees. At first it appeared as specks of light, then the specks began to increase until it was impossible to ignore the strange light. Anfey opened his eyes. The Heart of Nature had sensed that something was wrong in the forest.
Anfey could tell that the red light was from eyes of the zombies. The zombies were marching through the trees at a surprisingly high speed. They were all looking around as if they were searching for something.
"Ernest," Anfey said quietly. "You awake?"
Ernest nodded. He was a master swordsman and could sense change in the environment better than anyone. "What are those?"
"Zombies."
Behind them, the others began to stir as well. After months on the run, everyone had developed a sensitivity to change in their surroundings.
"Those are zombies? How is that possible?" Blavi asked quickly.
"Wait!" Anfey said, shocked. One of the zombies suddenly raised its hand, stopping the others. The lead zombies had issued an order. This should only be possible among intelligent beings. These zombies could send and obey orders without the assistance of necromancers, which was thought to be impossible.
"What is it?" Blavi asked.
"They’re acting strange," Anfey said. He took a deep breath and expanding the range of the Heart of Nature. He saw more zombies, but that was not the only thing he saw. There were two humans, a man and a woman, lying low in a bush. The zombies walked past them but did not discover them.
Anfey focused on the two. The man slowly moved his hands in a strange pattern, and a black line appeared in front of him. The line was made up of millions of strange ants. The ants swarmed towards one of the zombies and devoured it within seconds.
The other zombies walked past the fallen one without stopping.
The woman nodded at the man, who grinned widely. The other zombies walked past the corpse of the attacked zombie without noticing it. They were still looking around as if they were searching for something. The two humans must have known what they were doing, or else they wouldn’t have been so bold.
"What did you see?" Suzanna asked anxiously.
"Nothing," Anfey said. "Christian, Blavi, stay here. Black Eleven, you should stay with them too. These zombies are acting too strange."
The red lights were moving faster now. Anfey raised his hand and summoned wind element, forming it into a large broadsword. He jumped off of the tree and landed on the ground.
The zombies were fast, but Anfey didn’t think they would be difficult opponents. If the zombies really could defeat senior swordsmasters and master swordsmen, the necromancers would not hesitate to launch attacks on the major cities. The goal of the necromancers was to create a place where they could freely practice their magic. The first step would be to destroy the existing civilization. The major cities were seen as the height of civilization. As long as those cities remained, the people had hope. The necromancers were avoiding battles with major armies because they knew it was not the right time.
The zombies were fast, but Suzanna was faster. She summoned her combat power and launched into the zombies. Whenever she drew her sword, she would never reserve her strength.
Anfey gripped his broadsword and jumped towards the zombies as well. He swept his broadsword through the zombies’ ranks, leaving dozens dead with each sweep.
Unlike Suzanna, Anfey only had one method of attacking. Every time he attacked, he would avoid places like arms and torsos. Instead, he aimed for the zombies’ necks, which were weakest part of their bodies.
Sometimes, he would change his direction of attack mid-swing. It would appear that he was aiming for the creature’s head, but his broadsword would land on its neck. Sometimes, he would aim for a zombie’s stomach but would jump over the zombie and take off its head. He was skilled enough that he could easily combine his sword skills with his use of the broadsword.
There were about three hundred zombies present in the forest and no necromancer within a mile radius. Halfway through the battle, the zombies all turned to Suzanna. Dozens of zombies leapt at her at once. The light of Suzanna’s combat power was very bright, but zombies blocked it with their bodies. The last zombie to jump at her opened its mouth and reached out towards Suzanna with its sharp claws. The zombie’s jaw was dislocated and its mouth was opened wide enough to swallow Suzanna’s entire head. Dark smoke was emitting from the zombie’s mouth.
The zombie was clearly using magic, which was also impossible. It wasn’t clear whether Suzanna’s combat power could save her from this strange zombie magic. Anfey’s grip on his broadsword tightened and he dashed towards the zombie. As the zombie’s claws were almost touching Suzanna, Anfey jumped up and brought the sword down on the zombie’s head. The head flew off and dark fluid splattered onto the ground. The zombies that came in contact with the fluid howled in pain and their bodies were burned by the dark fluid. Some of the burns on the zombies were so bad that stark white bones were easily visible through the wounds.
Anfey had been keeping his eye on that zombie. He could tell it was the leader of the group after it issued on order. Even though it was much faster than the other zombies, it appeared to be more timid and avoided joining the fight. Anfey did not know what made this zombie special and did not want to kill it until he found out why it was different. He was forced to kill it because he did not want any harm to come to Suzanna.
Suzanna bellowed and jumped into the air. Her combat power expanded and struck the zombies around her.
Large chucks of rotting flesh and dark fluid splashed out. Anfey jumped back and quickly summoned a fire shield to avoid coming into contact with the zombies’ bodies. Then he hurried and hid behind a large tree to avoid more bloody parts of rotten flesh.
The rest of the zombies became much slower after their leader’s death. A bright sword radiance turned all the zombies into pieces.
"Are there any necromancers here?" Ernest asked. He was hiding because he needed to take care of the hidden necromancers, though now it was apparent there weren’t any around.
"No," Anfey said, shaking his head.
"This is impossible," Ernest muttered under his breath. He scanned the remaining zombies and frowned.