Chapter 39: A Frenzied Battle

Guo Hanxue did not use her bow and arrow. Instead, she caught the white blade thrown by Seito and sliced off half the skull of a zombie with a single stroke.

The battle was essentially one-sided. Protected by the thick brick wall, even if a zombie managed to crawl in, its forehead would be pierced through in the next second. It must be said that compared to the survivors still struggling to stay alive everywhere else, the strength of Jiang Yi, Guo Hanxue, and Seito was far superior.

As long as they weren't being swarmed to the point of immobility, ordinary zombies couldn't harm them. Jiang Yi counted each zombie as he cut them down, his heart filled with joy. Such excellent opportunities to harvest experience points were rare indeed.

At this moment, his progress toward level 7 was already more than halfway complete, yet the zombies outside showed no signs of thinning. If not for the fact that his physical stamina couldn't keep up, Jiang Yi, a true score-grinding fanatic, would have happily kept hacking away forever.

Meanwhile, Seito and Guo Hanxue were also growing stronger bit by bit without even realizing it. Every time they killed a zombie, a faint orb of light entered their bodies. They couldn't perceive it themselves, but Jiang Yi saw it clearly; these experience points allowed the two of them to improve slowly but steadily without needing to consume zombie cores.

Seito, in particular, was only an ordinary person. Despite his superior swordsmanship, his physical limitations had previously hindered his progress. But since successfully teaming up with Jiang Yi, these precious experience points were comprehensively enhancing his physique, and would continue to do so until he reached the limits of a human.

"Hah... hah!" Seito mechanically dispatched the zombies at his side. Only when no more zombies appeared at the window he was guarding did he let out a sigh of relief, his right hand gripping the sword trembling uncontrollably. Watching the other two still fighting, he prepared to rush over to help, but suddenly, a loud crashing sound erupted from the second floor above.

Seito was startled and stood up straight. "Did you hear that?"

Jiang Yi was licking his lips in excitement, roughly calculating that he was about to level up to 8. Guo Hanxue, having finished off the last zombie, looked toward Seito. "What's wrong with you?"

Seito gripped his sword tightly, looking nervous. "There seems to be a noise upstairs."

Guo Hanxue listened carefully for a moment. "I don't hear anyth—"

*Crash!* A deafening explosion rang out as the crystal chandelier above suddenly shattered. A large section of the ceiling collapsed, and shards of glass rained down. The three of them hurriedly shielded their vital parts, but except for Jiang Yi, the other two were more or less cut by the debris.

"Roar!" A massive gray head emerged from the hole above. Seeing fresh prey below, the monster excitedly squeezed its way through the gap, which was slightly smaller than its body. As it struggled frantically, the hole grew larger. This zombie was exceptionally grotesque; its head didn't resemble a human's, but rather a skinned rabbit. Its two extended limbs were not human either, twisted into bizarre, distorted forelegs, their sharp claws easily digging away the bricks and stones around the hole.

Jiang Yi was entangled with zombies nearby. Seeing Guo Hanxue sprawled on the ground, he didn't even stop to check if she was hurt, roaring, "Guo Hanxue! Attack it, fast!"

Guo Hanxue shook off the debris from her head, grabbed her large bow, and lying on the ground, drew it to shoot at the monster above!

"Awoo!" A fierce purple arrow streaked toward the monster's brow. But the creature seemed incredibly fast; it caught sight of the incoming arrow, tilted its body, and dodged the fatal blow. Although the arrow missed its mark, the wind energy imbued within it erupted, and violent wind blades shredded the surroundings. Dark, bloody mist sprayed from the monster's shoulder. Even though it was only a glancing blow, Guo Hanxue's arrow had shorn off one of its ears and half its shoulder!

The monster roared madly, its giant maw filled with jagged teeth. Seeing the prey that had wounded it drawing its bow again, it suddenly opened its mouth, and a thick, muscular tongue shot out like a spear toward Guo Hanxue's chest!

Seito, who had been on guard nearby, saw this and lunged forward. His sword flashed, hacking at the blood-red tongue!

*Thwack!* Black blood splattered onto his blade. Seito was shocked; he hadn't expected his sword to fail to sever the tongue, only managing to deflect it, causing it to smash into the ground right past Guo Hanxue's waist.

Guo Hanxue ignored her bow and scrambled to dodge. The floor tiles behind her were shattered into pieces by the monster's strike. The sudden turn of events left all three of them horrified. What on earth was this thing?

Jiang Yi, while dealing with the small zombies at his side, glanced up. A crimson crystal was embedded clearly in the monster's head. Having missed its strike, the monster's tongue retracted with agility. By now, the monster had pulled half its body out!

Guo Hanxue suppressed the fear in her heart and nocked an arrow, but the monster dropped from the hole before she could fire! Guo Hanxue hurriedly lowered her aim, but the monster, having landed, lunged forward and swiped her bow away.

Guo Hanxue let out a cry. She swung her left hand, and a wind blade instantly slashed through the air. The monster's raised arm was severed by the blade. Suffering a heavy blow, the creature rolled away in a panic, looking at Guo Hanxue with terror—it was clearly terrified of the wind blades she could unleash.

Seito immediately stood in front of Guo Hanxue, asking nervously, "Are you alright?"

Guo Hanxue frowned; when her bow was swiped away, her wrist had been twisted. But compared to her life, this minor injury meant nothing. Holding her wrist, she climbed up. "I'm fine, but be careful—my wrist is injured, I can't draw the bow anymore!"

Saying this, she yelled at Jiang Yi, who was blocking the window to keep the zombies out, "Jiang Yi, hurry up! We can't hold out!"

Jiang Yi's heart sank, and his speed with the blade increased. He didn't want to leave them to handle it alone, but he knew that with their combined strength, they were already struggling against this one monster. If he let the ordinary zombies outside swarm in to cause trouble, their situation would become dire. Glancing at the remaining zombies, Jiang Yi gritted his teeth and roared, "Hold the line! I'll come as soon as I finish this side!"

Guo Hanxue grimaced, knowing Jiang Yi couldn't abandon his post. She and Seito watched the monster, which was pacing around on three legs, with extreme caution. Now that its full body was visible, it was even more terrifying; if not for the lack of a tail, it looked exactly like a massive dog that had been skinned alive. Its blood-red eyes were fixed on Guo Hanxue, showing intense hatred.

Seito, blocking in front of Guo Hanxue with his short blade, was also having a hard time. Although the monster was missing an arm, the wound was already healing! There was even something faintly visible trying to break out from the wound!

Guo Hanxue and Seito exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes: the monster was regenerating!

"Oh no!" Seito shrieked, ignoring Jiang Yi's repeated warnings. He lunged forward, his black short blade stabbing directly at the monster's head! The monster seemed deathly afraid of sharp objects; seeing the black blade coming, it raised its hand to block, and the blade instantly pierced through its claw.

But the next second, Seito felt a terrifying force erupt from the monster. With its arm wounded again, the monster roared and swung its limb with the black blade still embedded in it. Seito was sent flying by the monster's immense strength, crashing into a wall before falling to the ground as Guo Hanxue gasped in alarm.

Seito's black blade was still stuck in the monster's body. The creature looked down, and its long tongue flexibly wrapped around the hilt, pulling the blade out. Then, the wound on its arm healed rapidly! A small, new limb began to sprout from the stump. The monster tossed the black blade aside and roared as it lunged at Guo Hanxue!

Guo Hanxue snatched up the katana from the ground and rolled away, dodging the monster's attack. She turned and slashed, slicing across the monster's cheek!

The monster shrieked and recoiled sharply; the blade that could have decapitated it only cut its mouth. Such a wound healed almost instantly! Guo Hanxue didn't truly expect to finish it with one strike. Seeing the monster hesitate to approach, she hurried to Seito's side and lifted his head. "Seito, wake up! Are you okay?"

Seito finally regained consciousness at her call, spitting out a mouthful of blood, which made him feel slightly better. "I'm fine!"

Seeing Seito was awake, Guo Hanxue let go and handed the sword back to him. "You're no match for it, stay safe!"

Seito gave a bitter smile, looking at the rapidly recovering monster. *Is the gap between me and them really this large?*

Guo Hanxue pulled out two purple arrows to use as makeshift weapons, channeling the little energy she had left into them. "Jiang Yi, if you don't hurry up, you can prepare to collect our corpses!"

Seeing Jiang Yi still not coming, Guo Hanxue couldn't help but yell at him. "I can't help it! You guys keep drawing more zombies from outside!"

Jiang Yi was sweating profusely, the repetitive hacking motion causing his arms to ache intensely. But if he didn't kill the zombies, he couldn't free himself to save them.

Hearing Jiang Yi's reply, Guo Hanxue cursed under her breath and flicked her left hand, launching the energy-infused arrow! Although it had less than a tenth of the power of a bow-shot, the monster instinctively dodged to the side. Guo Hanxue had anticipated this, and the second arrow was launched instantly!

*Whoosh!* Amidst the heavy sound of piercing air, the purple arrow traced an arc of light and plunged straight into the monster's body.