Squeak!
Another mutated rat emerged from the tunnel underground, and Sylas immediately killed it.
Sylas stood up and followed the sounds of mutated rats beneath the ground, moving from one place to another. After some time, he concluded that almost all the underground tunnels had merged into only a few main passages, all heading straight outside the safe zone.
Sylas didn't want to miss this opportunity. He made up his mind to track down the leader of the mutated rats one that he believed possessed an energy stone.
He looked at the wall before him and then at the ground. Faint sounds of mutated rats running underground reached his ears some heading outside the safe zone, others coming in.
If this mutated rat issue wasn't dealt with at its source, the people inside the safe zone would never be able to live peacefully.
Sylas turned back and went to find Major Kyle. On the way, he saw many soldiers scattered throughout the safe zone, dealing with mutated rats.
The mutated rats had infested the entire safe zone within a single day.
Major Kyle was busy handling the situation in the living areas. Many survivors were panicking, and some had already been bitten by mutated rats. Those bitten were immediately separated from the others. At the same time, the remaining survivors were arranged to undergo check-ups to prevent anyone who had been bitten or scratched from concealing their injuries. If such people were to transform into zombies, the entire safe zone would be in danger.
"Major Kyle," Sylas hurriedly called out.
Major Kyle shot a mutated rat dead before turning toward Sylas. "What happened? Did you find anything?"
Sylas immediately informed Major Kyle about the locations where the mutated rats had dug tunnels and explained that the source was outside the wall.
"It seems the mutated rats have connected their tunnels to all areas inside the safe zone. Sylas, I'll accompany you outside and eliminate the source," Major Kyle said.
How could Sylas allow Major Kyle to accompany him? He had his own plans. He immediately replied, "Major, you should focus on stabilizing the situation here. If the survivors cause a commotion, it'll be difficult to handle. I alone am enough to deal with this. If I can't handle it, I'll immediately request backup since it's close to the safe zone."
Major Kyle listened and felt that it made sense, so he agreed. Moreover, almost all the soldiers were currently busy dealing with mutated rats, while some were on lookout duty for mutated birds.
"Alright. If anything happens, head back into the safe zone immediately," Major Kyle said. He knew Sylas's spatial ability was powerful, so he was confident Sylas could handle it.
Sylas immediately left the safe zone and headed outside.
There were no zombies outside, as the patrol soldiers had already cleared the surrounding area. Sylas moved straight toward the mutated rats' source. He listened carefully to the sounds beneath the ground and followed the tunnels. All the tunnels had merged into one, leading directly into the forest.
As he scanned his surroundings for possible threats, he noticed the tunnel leading toward a small mound in the forest.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The squeaking sounds of rats echoed beneath the mound. Sylas approached and concentrated his senses once again. This time, he felt the presence of a much stronger mutated rat.
"Caught you," Sylas thought, immediately using his spatial blade to blast the mound open.
The mound exploded into smithereens. Many rats tried to scurry away, but Sylas didn't let them escape. With swift movements, spatial blades flew out, killing all the mutated rats.
A mutated rat much larger than the others let out a shrill squeak as Sylas slaughtered the rest. It immediately attacked him.
"There you are. I've been waiting for you," Sylas smirked as the rat appeared. Its eyes glowed an eerie red as it leaped toward Sylas at lightning speed.
Sylas dodged and countered, sending a spatial blade toward it.
The rat landed nimbly when it missed, but when it sensed the invisible blade heading straight at it, it let out another shrill, angry squeak that was unpleasant to the ears.
Then Sylas saw something that made his eyes widen.
An earthen barrier formed in front of the mutated rat, blocking his spatial blade.
"An earth ability?"
"Interesting!"
Sylas murmured as he swiftly attacked again. The mutated rat was extremely fast, using its ability to manipulate earth, it raised obstacles that nearly made Sylas stumble.
"You're quite a tricky one," Sylas said as he regained his footing, but he was immediately met with another attack.
This time, the rat summoned dust and stones and hurled them at him. Sylas quickly raised his barrier and blocked the assault. Suddenly, he felt light and the soil beneath his feet sank, causing him to lose balance.
"What the hell?" Sylas cursed. With a quick movement, he stabilized himself and retaliated, launching spatial spikes.
Several spatial spikes rained down, but the mutated rat once again used earth to block them.
Sylas could feel that this rat was stronger than he had expected.
Increasing his speed, Sylas unleashed another barrage of spatial spikes and blade attacks.
Squeak!
This time, the mutated rat's tail was severed by Sylas's spatial blade.
Sensing danger, the mutated rat immediately turned and fled at great speed.
"Where do you think you're running?" Sylas said, narrowing his eyes as he gave chase.
The rat was quite fast, but Sylas was not going to give up on it. In a flash, he seemed to disappear, reappearing as he pursued the rat at terrifying speed.
They went deeper and deeper into the forest.
'Not good!'
Sylas thought as he glanced at his surroundings.
He was getting farther and farther away from the safe zone, which was not good for him. Moreover, he didn't know what dangers lay ahead in the forest.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The mutated rat let out sharp squeaks as it fled. Within minutes, Sylas saw several other mutated rats emerge from the forest, swarming toward him. The larger mutated rat was clearly trying to obstruct Sylas's path and escape.
Sylas narrowed his eyes at the fleeing rat. It was quite clever.
Without hesitation, he sent out spatial blades, killing the mutated rats in his way. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move faster.
At the same time, Sylas felt his body grow as light as a feather. His speed increased sharply, allowing him to rapidly close the distance with the mutated rat.