🎄 Christmas Special! 🎄
To celebrate Christmas, enjoy 30% off monthly subscriptions from December 25th to 31st 🎁✨
The adjusted price is available on the Patreon page.
Chapter 523, Bite Them Hard
The skeleton army continued clearing the remaining zombies.
Wu Heng began summarizing the characteristics of the Light Knight he had just summoned.
Judging by its appearance, its body was an elemental-type summon. Not just its body, but its armor and weapons were of the same type.
The [Water Nymph Conch] he had obtained before summoned a water elemental shark, which was also an elemental summon.
The elemental properties were different, but their essence was the same.
The biggest advantage was the lack of a physical body burden.
Although it could still be attacked and damaged, it wasn't susceptible to fatal physical injuries.
Moreover, its level was quite high. Currently at Tier 4, it could further level up by killing undead.
If it reached Tier 5, that would be equivalent to Level 18.
Indirectly, it was like having a high-level bodyguard.
Its attacks were simple slashes, but the main feature was that every strike ignited flames on its target.
He hadn't yet tested if the flames could ignite regular living creatures.
However, it was most likely a suppression effect against undead.
So far, it seemed this artifact was quite useful.
"If only it didn't have side effects."
...…
In the distance,
Glenda flew back and tossed the sheathed cursed sword to him. "The mutated zombies are dead. There are some zombies hiding in that building over there; let the skeletons search it."
"Thanks to your help, things have sped up." Wu Heng put the cursed sword away and complimented her casually.
Glenda floated beside him and asked, "What was that glowing thing you just used? It felt a bit dangerous."
Wu Heng explained, "Yesterday, the guild issued rewards. One of them was a church emblem that summons a Light Knight to help in battle."
Hearing about the church, Glenda paused and said, "You're a necromancer, why would you want that kind of reward? It's bad luck."
Though her words were awkward, Wu Heng understood her meaning.
Even if Wu Heng had no ties to the church, necromancers naturally developed in opposition to it.
Too much exposure could easily lead to trouble.
"I had no choice; the guild assigned the reward." Wu Heng paused briefly before continuing, "For now, I'll use it. The summoned knight's combat ability isn't bad. Later, I can give it to Andviel or Minnie for protection."
"Fine, but don't stray down the wrong path. Xiaoxiao and I are counting on you."
"Don't worry, I won't abandon or give up on you."
"Good."
The two—one man and one spirit—chatted briefly.
The battle on the field had ended.
The skeletons automatically dispersed and began cleaning the battlefield.
Wu Heng directed a few skeletons to search the building where Glenda had killed zombies to find any remaining corpses.
He stood by and waited.
After a short while,
the corpses of the mutated and evolved zombies were gathered and piled up.
Wu Heng began converting them and collected the corpse cores, storing them in his spatial ring.
He continued releasing [Battlefield of the Dead] along the way.
Skeletons stood up one by one, their bodies shaking as they joined the ranks.
When they first arrived, he had brought just over 50,000 skeletons, but now that number had more than doubled.
As far as the eye could see, there was a dense sea of white skeletal frames.
Wu Heng took out the radio. "Tell the convoy to move forward."
"Copy that!"
The convoy advanced from the rear.
Wu Heng got back into the truck, and they continued onward.
The sound of the bombardment was loud, attracting the zombies around them.
The road ahead became much smoother.
...…
After driving for a while,
the lead vehicle began to slow, and the radio crackled with a report: "Sister Qi, there's a roadblock ahead with signs saying the bridge is under repair and to detour. Should we keep going?"
As the message came through, the convoy slowed down and eventually came to a stop.
Qi Hancai furrowed her brows, grabbed the radio, and asked, "What does the repair look like? Can our vehicles cross it?"
"Can't tell from inside the truck, not sure if it's passable," came the reply.
Then, someone from the lead truck stepped out and approached.
They handed a crumpled notice through the window. "Sister Qi, this is what it says."
Qi Hancai took it, glanced at it, and handed it to Wu Heng.
「Bridge Under Repair – Please Detour:
The bridge ahead has sustained damage. From today until June 8th, it will be under repair. Please detour to avoid inconvenience.
Site Manager – Liang Zheng」
"I'll send someone ahead to check," Qi Hancai suggested.
"Hold on," Wu Heng replied.
He waited for Xiaoxiao, who was scouting from above, to bring back information.
Once she returned with the report, Wu Heng said, "No problem. Let's keep going; taking the detour would be too far."
Qi Hancai nodded and relayed the command through the radio: "Move the signs blocking the road and proceed."
"Copy that."
The roadblock signs were cleared.
The convoy continued moving forward.
As they advanced, Wu Heng saw the large orange barricades,
along with the prominent detour signs.
...…
On the bridge connecting the two roads,
several structures had been built.
Made of steel frames and colored steel panels, they looked like temporary guard posts but were solid enough to withstand harsh winds.
The ends of the bridge, where it met the road, had been blocked off.
Only the area around the central buildings was supported by large bridge pillars.
At the blocked-off areas, drawbridges had been installed, reminiscent of ancient times, preventing zombies from wandering into the buildings.
It formed a unique refuge.
The sound of a motorcycle engine buzzed through the air.
A man rode up quickly, waving to the guards on the other side.
The drawbridge was lowered slowly.
The motorcyclist rode straight across.
The drawbridge was raised again.
He parked the motorcycle to the side and walked briskly into the building, heading up to the second floor.
Outside a room, he knocked and shouted, "Brother Liang, I'm back with news!"
"Hold on!" came a voice from inside.
Soon, the door opened, and a young, slightly thin woman stepped out quickly, keeping her head down.
The motorcyclist stared at her back, eyeing her before entering the room.
The room was dim, offering minimal protection from the cold.
A middle-aged man with a buzz cut, dark complexion, and height just under 170 cm sat on a sofa, fastening his belt.
"What was all that noise? Is the military entering the city?"
The motorcyclist turned around and spoke urgently, "Brother Liang, it's skeletons—a large army of them, wearing armor, wielding iron spears, and accompanied by skeletal wyverns. It's the same group that dropped supplies for us before. They even have trucks."
Liang Zheng's eyes narrowed. "The people from Xinfu City?"
"It has to be. No other base has flying wyverns like that. It's definitely them."
Liang Zheng grew tense. "What are they doing here? No, where exactly are they, and are they coming this way?"
"I don't know. As soon as I suspected it was them, I rushed back. I'm not sure if they're heading our way."
Thump, thump, thump!
As they spoke, footsteps echoed outside the door.
Another man rushed in, his tone anxious. "Brother Liang, bad news! There's a massive skeleton army heading this way."
Liang Zheng stood abruptly, his eyes filled with suspicion and fear.
Were they really coming for him?
It didn't make sense. He had no connection to them.
Why were they heading here?
Were they planning to cross the bridge?
Yes, that had to be it—they wanted to cross the bridge!
"Brother Liang, what should we do?"
Liang Zheng pulled a pistol from a drawer and said, "Tell the brothers to gear up. Let's go check it out together."
"But Brother Liang, they're from Xinfu City, and their skeleton soldiers are overwhelming."
"Stop talking nonsense. We've got nowhere to run." Liang Zheng holstered his pistol and put on a down jacket. "Maybe we can make some gains out of this."
The group quickly moved to another building.
From the window, they could see the convoy parked in the distance, along with the seemingly endless line of skeletons.
Swallowing nervously, Liang Zheng said, "Send them a radio. I want to talk to them."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "And get the explosives we collected last time ready, just in case."
...…
They hadn't traveled far before
the convoy slowed down again.
The radio crackled with the lead truck's report: "Sister Qi, we can see the bridge ahead. It looks like houses have been built on it, blocking the way."
Qi Hancai furrowed her brows and turned to Wu Heng. "There are survivors on the bridge."
Wu Heng nodded. "Tell the convoy to stop and wait for now."
Qi Hancai picked up the radio. "Convoy, slow down and stop."
The convoy gradually came to a halt, and the skeleton army followed suit, standing by.
The skeletal wyverns landed, wagging their heads and tails.
As soon as the convoy stopped, the radio crackled again, "Sister Qi, someone is coming from the other side with a radio."
Qi Hancai said, "Bring it to me."
Someone quickly ran to the back and handed over an old, yellow-taped radio.
The radio's battery was nearly dead, and its indicator light kept flashing.
Then came a static noise. "Hello? Is this the Xinfu City shelter?"
Qi Hancai pressed the button and replied, "Yes, we'd like to pass through here. Please give us access."
There was a brief silence on the other end before the response came, "Ah, that's a bit difficult. We've already built structures on the bridge. If we let you through, we'll have to tear them down. And in this cold weather, you know… it's really inconvenient."
Qi Hancai responded, "We've cleared the area outside. You can find buildings for winter shelter, which are much safer than these temporary ones."
"But we're used to living here and haven't thought about moving out."
Qi Hancai was about to continue speaking when Wu Heng interjected, "Ask them what they want."
"What are your demands?"
"Ah, I knew you big shelters are straightforward. Give us 100 large sacks of grain and one of your military trucks, and we'll lower the drawbridge right away so you can pass," the voice replied.
Qi Hancai glanced at Wu Heng.
"Don't agree just yet."
Qi Hancai spoke into the radio, "We need to discuss this. Please wait a moment."
"Okay."
Qi Hancai looked at Wu Heng, puzzled.
Wu Heng said, "Let's wait for now."
"Understood." Qi Hancai nodded and picked up her radio to issue instructions.
After waiting briefly,
Xiaoxiao returned.
Through shared vision, they overheard preparations for explosives.
Wu Heng's eyes narrowed instantly.
He said softly, "Go and kill them."
"What?" Qi Hancai thought he was talking to her and asked softly.
"Nothing, just wait," Wu Heng said and folded his arms, waiting on the side.
...…
On the bridge, inside the building.
Liang Zheng and the others were waiting for a response.
One of them asked, "Brother Liang, isn't your demand a bit too much? They probably won't agree to it."
Liang Zheng turned around, a trace of excitement on his face. "They're in a hurry to cross and don't have time to waste negotiating. We'll squeeze them for whatever we can. Once they've passed, we'll follow their path and leave, so we don't have to worry about retaliation."
"Will that work?"
"Of course it will—" Liang Zheng's words suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
His body stiffened, and his eyes widened in terror.
Crack!
The sound of twisting bones echoed.
Liang Zheng's neck twisted violently backward, and his body collapsed to the ground.
The remaining men jumped up in shock, staring at the scene before them.
He was dead!
Liang Zheng, who had absorbed corpse cores and enhanced his body,
died in such an eerie manner right before them.
"I... I feel like something's wrong," another man stammered with difficulty.
His face filled with fear and disbelief as he drew his pistol and aimed it at his companions.
"What are you doing? Put the gun down."
"Are you crazy?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets tore into each other's bodies.
The room was soon littered with bodies, blood pooling on the floor.
"Help…" One man struggled to crawl toward the door, shouting for help.
The hovering pistol fired again.
The bullet struck the back of his head.
Silence fell over the room.
...…
"We're hearing gunfire from the other side. It sounds like they're fighting among themselves," the lead truck reported.
Qi Hancai looked at Wu Heng. "They're having an internal conflict."
Wu Heng nodded. "Move closer."
Qi Hancai picked up the radio and gave the command.
The convoy slowly approached the drawbridge and stopped on the opposite side.
Wu Heng looked at the drawbridge and the several-meter drop below it.
These people were clever—they had come up with a way to keep zombies at bay.
"Cross over and lower the drawbridge," Wu Heng ordered.
The raised drawbridge stood like a wall in front of them.
Even with a good jump, it would be hard to get across.
Keranmu climbed onto a wyvern's back and flew to the other side.
He lowered the drawbridge.
Wu Heng said, "There are explosives on the bridge. Send someone who knows how to disarm them to take care of it carefully."
The explosives were homemade.
They were simple to make and just as easy to dismantle.
Qi Hancai immediately gave the order, and someone went to disarm the explosives on the bridge.
"Sister Qi, they're disarmed. There were only four, and even if they had exploded, they wouldn't have damaged our trucks," a survivor said, tossing one of the explosives lightly in his hand.
Qi Hancai said, "Bring them to me. Also, check the drawbridge's stability to see if the trucks can cross. Take some skeletons and search the buildings for any remaining people."
The orders were quickly carried out.
Some people inspected the drawbridge, while others, accompanied by skeletons, searched the buildings.
They dragged out the corpses and found several men and women.
Qi Hancai went over to inquire further.
She returned and handed over the collected explosives and pistols, saying, "The drawbridge needs reinforcement. Besides the dead, we found four women and two men. The men know some mechanical repair work."
"What do they plan to do?"
"They're frightened, but they'll likely come with us," Qi Hancai replied.
Wu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "What's their relationship to the dead?"
"They said they were survivors from nearby and didn't know each other until they gathered here. But there's a chance someone's lying," Qi Hancai said.
"Separate them and arrange for them to ride in the truck beds."
"Understood!" Qi Hancai relayed the order.
Wu Heng waited until all the supplies were loaded and then ordered the dismantling of the structures blocking the bridge—blue metal foam panels and some steel sheets.
Dismantling them wasn't difficult.
Soon, the area was cleared, and the materials were piled to the side.
"Let's go, cross the bridge."
Everyone got off the trucks and unloaded the heavy cargo.
One by one, the trucks cautiously crossed the bridge, followed by the skeleton army in batches.
Once across, they reloaded the trucks and continued moving forward.
...…
After leaving the bridge, they drove for a while.
Up ahead, another large horde of zombies appeared.
The convoy stopped.
The skeletal wyverns flew overhead, dropping bombs like a torrential downpour.
Explosions thundered, shaking the earth.
After several rounds of bombardment, the horde along the road began to thin out.
Wu Heng summoned the Light Knight again. "Don't attack the skeletons; focus on killing the rotting corpses outside."
The knight once again transformed into a streak of light and appeared at the front of the formation.
Wielding its longsword, it slashed at the zombies one by one.
Flames engulfed the struck zombies, turning them into charred corpses that fell to the ground.
...…
Once the Light Knight's form dimmed again,
Wu Heng recalled it and ordered the skeleton army to continue clearing the road.
In two consecutive battles, the Light Knight had cleared nearly a thousand zombies.
Its combat performance wasn't bad.
Especially with its special effect against undead.
However, its level hadn't increased.
Wu Heng began to suspect that its leveling conditions were as stringent as his own experience requirements.
If that were the case, the Light Knight might never reach Tier 5 in its lifetime.
With the battle over, they began cleaning the battlefield.
By this time, the sky had darkened.
Wu Heng used [Battlefield of the Dead] to convert the corpses while the convoy's headlights illuminated the road.
Qi Hancai approached with the convoy and asked, "The airport is just ahead. Should we wait until tomorrow?"
Humans generally believed the night was unsafe.
With human vision being limited at night, it was indeed a disadvantage.
Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Let's get closer and see what's happening."
Qi Hancai nodded, carefully glancing at him again. "What about Yanhong? The radio said she's already at the military factory."
"She won't be able to return tonight. If nothing urgent comes up, have her stay there for a day, and we'll head back together tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll inform her."
"Don't share our intel over the radio; just pass messages."
"Understood!"
...…
After a brief meal and rest,
the convoy set off again, driving through the night. Under the moonlight, the silhouette of the airport gradually came into view.
The convoy turned off its lights and disappeared into the darkness.
Wu Heng released the two wraiths to scout the area.
Before long, the wraiths returned,
entering his body and sharing the visuals.
The inside of the airport was a mess, with claw marks and bloodstains covering every corner.
Large groups of zombies aimlessly wandered through the buildings.
On the second floor of one section,
a strange zombie came into view.
Its skin was black and keratinized, with an oval, bulging shell on its back that seemed to hide wing-like structures underneath.
It stood motionless.
Like a humanoid stag beetle.
A Tier 4 Corpse King.