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Chapter 524, It's So Ugly
The shared visuals made Wu Heng frown.
He had encountered another Corpse King.
The central station had only announced the existence of Corpse Kings, without providing any detailed intelligence.
Yet, he had already run into two of them back to back.
What kind of luck was this?
He examined the Corpse King's appearance once again.
Its skin was covered in black keratin, and its back carried an oval-shaped insect shell, like it had a black pot strapped to it.
Beneath the shell, there were structures resembling dragonfly wings.
Can it fly?
Though he couldn't see clearly,
the fact that it had evolved wings probably meant it could fly.
Besides the Corpse King, he could see some other mutated zombies.
However, they posed no real threat to Wu Heng's forces.
...…
After reviewing the shared visuals,
Wu Heng turned to the side. "Have everyone reload the skeleton wyverns' ammunition bays. Tonight, we'll take the airport."
Qi Hancai was briefly stunned but quickly nodded. "Got it, I'll handle it now!"
As she spoke, she opened the truck door and walked toward the rear while issuing orders over the radio.
The airport was just ahead, and she had already guessed that Wu Heng planned to act tonight.
After all, the wilderness was dangerous.
They might as well go on the offensive and engage in full combat mode.
It would be safer that way.
After Qi Hancai left,
the two wraiths appeared beside him.
Xiaoxiao asked, "Uncle, are we attacking tonight?"
"Yes, we are." Wu Heng thought for a moment. "Xiaoxiao, you'll go inside and monitor the Corpse King. Glenda, you'll stay with me and keep an eye on the surroundings."
"Okay." Xiaoxiao nodded and flew off.
Glenda floated overhead, monitoring the area.
...…
Wu Heng got out of the truck.
The skeleton forces began to mobilize.
They formed a tightly packed spear phalanx, sealing off the entire road.
After waiting for a moment,
Qi Hancai's voice came through the radio, "The skeleton wyverns are ready."
"Good, I got it." Wu Heng replied before turning to the skeletal Corpse King beside him. "Send a skeleton ahead to lure the zombies over."
Clatter!
A skeleton squeezed out of the formation and jogged toward the distant airport.
Once it got close enough,
it raised its fist and pounded twice on a roadside advertising kiosk.
The sound of metal clanging echoed through the night.
The zombies wandering in the open fields outside the airport all turned their heads toward the noise.
The horde instantly became agitated.
Roars and howls filled the air.
The skeleton turned and ran.
The zombies outside the airport charged forward, while those inside broke through gates and windows to join the gathering horde.
They howled and sprinted through the night.
...…
Wu Heng activated [Divine Descent], using his spiritual sense to control the nearby skeleton and observe the front.
Even though his perception was beyond that of an ordinary human, his eyesight was still affected by the night. Through the skeleton's perspective, however, he could clearly see the massive wave of incoming zombies.
Once they were close enough, he deactivated [Divine Descent].
Wu Heng issued an order to the skeleton beside him, "Skeleton wyverns, begin bombing."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The skeletal wyverns swooped overhead.
Explosions rang out in rapid succession, sending thick smoke into the air as flames engulfed the vehicles on the road.
The approaching zombies fell in droves.
The second wave of zombies quickly filled the gaps.
"Zombies are coming from the side alleys. There aren't too many of them," Glenda said, flying down to give the warning.
Wu Heng nodded and turned to the skeletal Corpse King. "Send soldiers to intercept the zombies."
The skeleton forces moved accordingly.
Two skeleton squads formed a spear wall at the alley entrances to block the small groups of incoming zombies.
They stopped the zombies attempting to launch a sneak attack.
The skeleton wyverns swooped down for another bombing run.
After the second round of bombing, most of the zombies on the road had been cleared.
The remaining ones staggered slowly toward them.
...…
Wu Heng was about to give the order to advance,
when Xiaoxiao's slightly panicked voice came through. "Uncle, the Corpse King is flying toward us. Be careful!"
He quickly looked up.
A figure flapped its wings, rapidly approaching the skeleton formation from above.
Was it trying to break through the lines?
Wu Heng focused on the target and realized something was off when it didn't descend.
Its target was the convoy behind them.
It believed the convoy was the main force.
"Stop it! Have the skeletons open fire," Wu Heng ordered.
Although they didn't bring any machine gun-equipped vehicles, they had some skeletons armed with guns.
Following his command,
gunfire erupted from the middle and rear positions.
Bullets tore through the night and hit the Corpse King, embedding themselves in its flesh but failing to penetrate its body.
But the powerful impact still made it emit a painful wail.
It changed direction several times.
However, it was still showered with bullets, forcing it to alter its course and land on the roof of a scrapped car.
It bared its teeth and shook its body, dislodging the embedded bullets that clattered to the ground.
"The skeletons are shooting! There's something in the sky attacking them," Qi Hancai's voice came through, sounding panicked.
Wu Heng pressed the radio button, "Get back in the truck and don't come out."
"Got it!"
After ending the call, Wu Heng quickly scanned the battlefield.
The Corpse King, perched on the car roof, crawled back and forth on all fours like a beast.
Its eyes, peering from the black keratin gaps, were filled with hatred and caution as it glared at the massive skeleton army.
When the skeletons began charging at it,
the Corpse King let out a heart-wrenching roar in their direction.
With a powerful kick, it leaped into the sky, flapping its wings to escape into the distance.
Wu Heng frowned.
He pulled out the flying carpet and tossed it to Kashu. "Go, chase it down and kill it."
Kashu unfurled the flying carpet, which lifted him into the air as he pursued the fleeing target.
Wu Heng quickly cast [Light Dance], sending a glowing orb into the sky to illuminate the night.
Then, he swiftly took out his sniper rifle and aimed at the retreating figure.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed as the bullet struck the Corpse King's lower back.
Bang! Bang!
Two more shots followed, both hitting their mark.
Blood sprayed into the air, and the Corpse King wobbled as it flew.
Riding the flying carpet, Kashu rapidly closed the distance.
He leaped off the carpet, landing directly on the Corpse King's back.
The now-unmanned flying carpet rolled itself up and plummeted from the sky.
The Corpse King, feeling someone on its back, immediately struggled, trying to shake him off.
Kashu gripped its wings tightly with one hand, while the other, wearing brass knuckles, prepared a powerful punch.
In the next moment, his fist came down.
Boom!
The sound was like a hammer striking a drum.
The Corpse King shuddered, spewing black blood from its mouth.
Kashu's punches rained down like a storm on the back of the Corpse King's head and spine.
The Grand Boxer's [Penetrating Force] ignored surface defenses.
The tough black carapace was no match for Kashu's blows.
With each punch, dark blood oozed from the gaps in the carapace and the Corpse King's mouth and nose, flowing downward.
The Corpse King roared in pain.
As its body fell toward the ground, it thrashed and fought back, desperately trying to kill the enemy on its back.
But its efforts were in vain.
The two of them plummeted rapidly.
Boom!
The Corpse King crashed to the ground, while Kashu used [Light Fall] to land gently.
The Corpse King lay there, covered in blood, its wings broken, and its limbs twisted from the fall.
It let out furious roars as it crawled toward the distance.
Kashu approached it slowly.
He knelt on one knee, pressing down on its back, and clasped its head with both hands.
Crack!
A sharp, grating noise echoed as the Corpse King's neck was twisted 90 degrees backward.
Roar!
Even with its head twisted backward, the Corpse King continued to roar and snap its jaws.
Kashu hammered its cervical spine with punch after punch.
Finally, the neck was completely broken.
...…
Back at the main battlefield.
With the last few zombies cleared, the road fell eerily silent.
Capturing the airport had been much easier than expected.
The number of zombies at the airport was significantly lower than at the train station or bus terminal they had previously cleared.
The Tier 4 Corpse King was just an unexpected obstacle.
But it hadn't caused any significant danger.
After two encounters with Corpse Kings,
Wu Heng was starting to get familiar with them.
They had high stats and had evolved various special abilities. But with increased intelligence came fear and the ability to sense danger.
Both times, the Corpse Kings had chosen to flee in the end.
However, since his sniper rifle could still kill them, their escape only made them easier targets.
Of course, the fact that it could fly had been a bit of a surprise.
The skeletons began cleaning the battlefield.
Xiaoxiao returned from the distance.
"Uncle, the Corpse King is dead. Kashu broke its neck with a few punches."
As she spoke, Kashu walked over from the distance.
He dragged the Corpse King's corpse with one hand, its broken neck still loosely attached to its head, and carried the rolled-up flying carpet in the other.
He squeezed through the skeletons and dumped the corpse on the ground.
"Uncle, quickly convert it! Let's see if the skeleton version can fly," Xiaoxiao urged excitedly, hovering nearby.
Wu Heng fixed his gaze on the corpse and activated [Raise Skeleton].
Flesh began peeling away as a skeleton slowly rose from the ground.
Its bones were covered in black keratin, and its back featured an oval insect shell that opened to reveal dragonfly-like wings.
Sometimes it walked upright on two legs, other times on all fours.
It now looked even more like a giant beetle than it had in life.
"Eww~! It's so ugly."
Xiaoxiao shrank back in disgust.