Chapter 344: Chapter 239: Trap
Marcus Monroe did not enjoy shapeshifting.
Back when he couldn’t wield his Energy Blade proficiently, he had been forced to, because his Shapeshifting White Lion form had greater killing power.
But now, he rarely needed to do so.
He would only do so in situations like today’s, where shapeshifting allowed him to use the authority of a High-Rank peer to compel the Mutant Beasts to obey his commands, making their infiltration easier.
The reason was actually quite simple.
After shapeshifting, his control over his actions would diminish. Just as his body automatically changed its scent, his actions would lean more toward instinct than human reason.
Ever since he realized this, he had been somewhat averse to it.
However, the fact that Paige Summers could so frankly express her fondness for his transformed self also gave him an inexplicable sense of pleasure. After all, that was also him.
People are always so full of contradictions and complexities.
In any case, without the Mutant Beasts to sound an alarm, they quickly scaled the west gate undetected. Zombies were wandering around on the other side of the gate, but that wasn’t a major problem. The two of them lay in wait on the outer parapet, quickly mapping out the Zombies’ positions. They found a corner the Zombies avoided, shimmied over, and then, with a final push, vaulted over the gate and landed inside the city.
Fortunately, the gate was high enough and the distance far enough that the Zombies didn’t immediately catch their scent, allowing them to enter smoothly.
During the previous battle, Norgate had been severely damaged, especially near the two main gates.
The ruined buildings remained collapsed to this day.
Zombies weren’t about to clean up the debris, which worked to Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe’s advantage. Using the rubble for cover, they snuck deeper into Norgate, section by section.
They had discussed Nora Lowell’s whereabouts beforehand and unanimously agreed that, given her personality and what she had been through, she would definitely be staying in The Citadel upon her return.
Their guess was correct.
The deeper they went into the city, the denser the Zombie population became.
Along the way, Paige Summers did a rough count. From what she could see alone, there were already hundreds of Zombies. Including those in other areas, the total number in the city was definitely over a thousand.
The path of their reconnaissance grew increasingly difficult.
Everywhere they looked, there were crumbled walls, corpses, severed limbs, organs, and vast patches of earth stained dark brown with blood. The stench of decay filling the city was so strong it made one’s eyes water.
Behind a half-collapsed wall, Paige Summers crouched, waiting for a few Zombies outside to wander past. She touched the bandana she was using as a makeshift mask, her expression grim.
Hearing about the tragedy of Norgate had been one thing, evoking a sense of sorrow. But now, seeing it all with her own eyes, her heart filled with more and more anger and hatred.
’If Nora Lowell had become an ordinary Zombie, even if she’d killed all these people, I would have had nothing to say. But the situation now is that she clearly has the ability to think, yet she still slaughtered every last human without hesitation. Did she immediately fall into character because she thinks becoming a different species—a Zombie who can lord over ordinary people—makes her superior?’
’No matter what, she used to live here, didn’t she...’
’So, she must not have any human feelings left.’
’Even though she can think, at her core, there’s nothing left but greedy hunger, is there?’
’I have to end this!’
Paige Summers had never felt such an urgent desire to kill this woman!
’I don’t care if she’s the protagonist or not. Now that she’s become a Zombie with an endless craving for human flesh, she has no right to live!’
A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth.
Paige Summers instinctively grabbed the person’s wrist, only to realize that the only one beside her was Marcus Monroe.
’What are you doing?!’ she silently demanded, annoyed.
To her surprise, Marcus Monroe was even fiercer. He shot her a harsh glare before pulling her to look at two Zombies on the other side of the wall. Unlike the others, they hadn’t wandered off. Instead, they had stopped in place, their bodies rigid, as if waiting for or confirming something.
Marcus Monroe wrote in her palm, "Stop releasing your killing intent! Do you want to draw all of them here?"
Paige Summers swallowed her indignation. She had... indeed gotten a little carried away just now.
She nodded silently and reined in her aura.
After waiting for five or six minutes, the two Zombies let out a couple more howls before finally shuffling away.
By now, they had covered less than half the distance. They were still a long way from The Citadel.
But before long, things started to get strange.
The path ahead, which they had expected to become even more difficult, was suddenly much clearer.
Fewer Zombies appeared before them.
Amidst the rising and falling howls that they had almost grown used to, they couldn’t make out any specific meaning, but they could faintly sense that something had happened, causing the Zombies to gather elsewhere.
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