Chapter 491, Level 18 Corpse King
Hoo~!
A skeletal wyvern swept across the sky over the factory.
Solid iron shells whistled death as they plummeted rapidly.
In an instant, the roars of explosions erupted, shaking the heavens and earth.
Piles of zombies were reduced to scattered flesh by the bombardment.
"Attack~!"
Without waiting for the dust to settle, Wu Heng gave the order.
The skeletons formed tight ranks, spears pointed forward, and began advancing step by step.
Forcing their way through the gate, they clashed with the zombies blocking the way inside.
Sharp weapons pierced through flesh.
The roars and howls of zombies filled the entire area.
Aside from the discovered Zombie King, the number of zombies posed no real threat.
Compared to the earlier clearing of city-scale zombie tides, this was merely a fraction of their numbers.
The Zombie King had yet to make an appearance.
The number of zombies dwindled rapidly as they were slaughtered by the skeletal army.
"Wu Heng! A group of zombies is flanking us, aiming for the convoy at the rear," Glenda reported quickly as she descended from above.
"Is there a Zombie King?"
"No, but there are Tier-2 zombies and many evolved ones," Glenda replied.
This indicated it was a surprise attack squad.
Commanding zombies had even started employing tactics.
Wu Heng glanced at the direction Glenda indicated, where the ambushing zombies were. He tossed the [Silentblade Cursed Sword] from his spatial ring to Glenda.
"Go handle it, and watch the range. Don't hurt our own people."
Glenda caught the cursed sword and reminded him, "Be careful, I'll be back soon."
Wu Heng nodded, and Glenda quickly left.
"You all go assist her and speed up."
Several Level-15 skeletal attendants nearby drew their weapons and charged into the battlefield.
They swiftly killed the zombies along the way.
...
Forest area outside the factory.
Three Tier-2 mutated zombies and over 200 evolved zombies.
They were sprinting rapidly through the forest.
Along their path, a drawn longsword hovered in mid-air.
Swoosh~!
A flash of sword light, and the head of the leading big zombie rolled to the ground.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh~!
Then came the second head, the third...
As they entered the artifact's range, heads kept falling one after another.
The zombies at the rear of the group suddenly halted.
They turned and started fleeing in the opposite direction.
The hovering cursed sword chased straight after them.
...
Factory grounds.
The ground was littered with the corpses of zombies.
Only a handful of zombies were left to resist the skeletons.
In no time, pushing forward would completely clear out all the zombies.
"Uncle, the Zombie King has come out," Xiaoxiao reported as she descended quickly.
Bang~!
As Xiaoxiao spoke.
The third-floor glass to the side suddenly shattered.
Amidst the raining shards of glass, the bloodstained Zombie King in a tattered suit rode on the back of a Tier-2 crawler, descending from the sky.
Then, it crashed through the scattered skeletons and fled towards the rear of the factory courtyard.
Fleeing?
Wu Heng had thought it would charge straight in.
Instead, it was retreating.
The Zombie King, riding on the crawler's back, turned its grotesque head to glare at Wu Heng.
Its eyes brimmed with hatred and resentment.
It clearly possessed higher intelligence.
It couldn't be allowed to escape.
Once it got out and gathered zombies in the city, it would only become more dangerous.
"Stop them," Wu Heng ordered decisively.
With the command, Keramu and the Level-17 skeletal Boxer, Tolga, darted out like arrows.
A mass of axe-wielding skeletons also surged forward.
They circled the building, pounced, dragged, and hacked at the two fleeing mutated zombies.
In the blink of an eye, the crawler was covered in clinging skeletons.
Whoosh~!
Mist rose at the perimeter.
The next second, Keramu appeared behind the Zombie King.
The Zombie King, sitting on the crawler's back, glanced back. A black, keratinous layer rapidly covered its decaying skin.
It ducked its head, narrowly dodging a beheading strike.
However, a deep gash exposing bone appeared on its nape.
The wound, though, began visibly healing at a rapid pace, flesh reconnecting and the keratinous layer reforming.
Keramu swung the longsword again, targeting the Zombie King.
The Boxer Tolga blocked the crawler's front, delivering a double punch.
Bang~!
The explosion and shockwave flipped the fleeing crawler onto its back.
It hurled the Zombie King off, and the crawler was swarmed by axe-wielding skeletons.
The Zombie King tumbled and slowly stood up.
It grabbed its twisted left arm, snapping it back into place with cracking sounds.
Muscles writhed and restored it to normal.
Its eyes quickly scanned the surroundings and sprinted towards a side, still intent on escaping.
Keramu and Tolga quickly pursued, unleashing relentless attacks with their sword and fists.
Targeting their prey.
Both skeletal attendants were Level-17 and highly skilled in melee combat.
Even though the Zombie King had enhanced intelligence.
Its skills and abilities were still no match for melee professionals.
The black keratin granted high defense, and though their fierce attacks caused twisted limbs or left wounds, they weren't fatal.
The Zombie King's regenerative ability was terrifyingly strong.
Most of its injuries healed visibly within moments.
Bang bang bang~!
From the rear, Wu Heng set up a sniper rifle, firing bullets at the target.
The bullets pierced through the Zombie King's body in an instant.
But the wounds continued to heal bit by bit, twisting back together.
Once healed, the strange Zombie King simply kept running, fixated on escaping.
...
Such powerful regeneration?
This surprised Wu Heng immensely.
No professional, even at Level-18, could possess such extraordinary regenerative ability.
Broken bones healed, and gaping wounds closed within seconds.
It was too terrifying.
If a professional had such a capability.
Their survivability would be astounding, and they'd save a fortune on potions.
Watching the Zombie King darting around, avoiding the skeletons' blockade by using terrain.
Wu Heng frowned.
He couldn't afford to waste time chasing a zombie in circles; the rescue team could arrive any moment.
If the battle wasn't finished by then, he'd be in a tough spot.
Handing a chain to the nearby Level-18 Boxer, Kashu, Wu Heng said, "Kashu, go and kill it."
Kashu took the chain and dashed off.
Swiftly bypassing the skeletons blocking the front.
Closing the gap, he threw the chain.
Before the Zombie King could react, it wrapped tightly around its waist, the other end connected to Kashu.
[Duel Chain] would only unlock upon the death of one party.
The chain began to shorten.
No matter how the Zombie King struggled, it couldn't break free of the artifact's effect.
The distance shrank rapidly.
Kashu's fists, clad in knuckle dusters, rained down like a storm on the Zombie King.
The keratinous armor began to shatter internally.
Black, viscous blood gushed continuously from the wounds.
Even with its formidable regeneration.
Under the Boxer's [Domain Fist Intent], the relentless strikes.
Its recovery speed couldn't keep up with the mounting injuries.
Bones were crushed in succession, and its body collapsed limply to the ground.
The chain remained intact, proving it was still alive.
"Keramu, sever its head."
The Mist Spell was cast again.
Keramu appeared behind the paralyzed Zombie King, slashing his longsword at its neck.
He followed with another powerful strike.
Crack~!
The neck bone snapped.
The head rolled aside.
The corpse twitched briefly.
The chain unlocked, freeing the two.
The skeletons returned to standby mode.
This indicated all the zombies in the vicinity had been eliminated.
Wu Heng walked over, glanced at the body, and gave a new order: clean up the battlefield and collect all the corpses.
Rustle~!
The idle skeletons mobilized.
They began clearing the battlefield.
At this moment, Glenda returned, glanced around at the scene, and exclaimed, "You finished so quickly?"
Wu Heng looked to the side and said, "The kid's here, don't talk nonsense."
"No, I mean, you killed the Zombie King so fast! I thought it'd take longer," Glenda clarified.
"It came out on its own. Otherwise, fighting inside the building would have taken even longer," Wu Heng said, kicking the severed head aside.
"Well, I told you not to worry too much. With your current strength, even Level-18 might not be able to beat you," Glenda remarked, handing back the cursed sword.
Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement. "Uncle, you're way stronger than before."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence." Wu Heng glanced outside and said, "Not sure if the rescue team will show up. Keep an eye out for me."
The two phantoms nodded and took to the skies again.
Standing guard.
Wu Heng pulled out the communicator and instructed Qi Hancai to bring the convoy over.
His gaze settled on the corpse.
A Level-18 Zombie King.
Qi Hancai had mentioned it earlier, but Wu Heng hadn't expected to kill one so soon after arriving.
[Raise Skeleton] activated.
Flesh peeled away, and the skeleton slowly rose.
[Skeleton Demon (Level 18)]
...
Xinbiao Road.
The rescue team's convoy halted at a roadside junction.
Someone examined the zombie corpses nearby and reported, "Captain, these were killed with melee weapons. It matches what the service station mentioned about their combat style."
The crew-cut captain chuckled. "They're low on ammo. What we traded to them was limited."
"Yeah! But those two armored vehicles are still pretty dangerous."
The captain asked, "How much longer until we reach the factory?"
"About 40 minutes. We'll see it soon."
The captain sneered. "Let's hope they're not all dead. Get in, and let's move faster."
"Yes, sir!"