Chapter 85: Variant Zombie (1) [75 PS Bonus Chapter (2)]
"Bastard! Forget our enmity for now!" Marcus shouted to Leon. "We need to bring this thing down together, or we’ll both die."
Leon sighed and nodded, looking at the creature standing between them.
He slowly unsheathed his sword, holding the hilt tightly.
"Leon, you can’t be serious about fighting this thing. It’s a Variant Zombie. A Zombie King. Not just some special zombie. Besides, given its aura, it’s probably close to Level 40 or above it already," Thyra said hurriedly, not wanting him to fight.
Her words made Leon’s expression darken more, but he knew he couldn’t turn back and run. The only chance he had of surviving was to fight.
So, he took a step forward, and attacked. At the same time, Marcus moved. Three blades came together, converging on the zombie.
Clang!
Leon’s eyes widened, just like Marcus. The zombie had dodged, causing them to merely attack each other.
Marcus staggered backwards from the impact, and before he could regain his bearings, something slammed into his ribs.
He was lifted off the ground, crashing into the upper floor of a building next to him.
Leon barely processed it. He immediately set his sights on the zombie, then went into defensive mode.
The zombie came for him next, throwing a straight punch at his chest.
Bang!
Leon blocked with the flat of his blade, but he felt it tremble like it was going to crack.
That aside, his own condition wasn’t that good. He didn’t want to break his wrist again, so he merely raised the sword as a shield with one hand.
When the blow landed, the sword was instantly pressed against his chest, almost crushing his ribs from the force.
He crashed into a small bookstore behind him, with shelves crashing on him.
He pushed them away and stood up with a groan, only to come face-to-face with the zombie.
His eyes had barely widened when its palm struck his chest, and he was lifted off the ground.
He felt pain flare from his torso, and he crashed through the upper floors of the building as though he were falling upward.
"Gahrk-!"
Blood spurted from his lips as he finally came to a stop on the fifth floor. Groaning, he forced himself to move. He got to his knees, panted heavily, and raised his head.
What he saw was the grotesque bony sole of the zombie’s foot.
It stepped on his head, sending his face crashing into the ground.
Leon felt the bone in his nose break, and he was forced back to the ground floor in a humiliating pose.
For a moment, he lost consciousness, but he stubbornly snapped awake a second later.
The zombie raised its leg again, ready to crush his skull when Marcus burst into the building and tackled the zombie.
Bam!
They both crashed to the ground not far from Leon. Not even a second had passed, but the zombie suddenly rose up, holding Marcus’s neck in its hand.
His legs kicked helplessly in the air while his hands clawed at the zombie’s arm.
’I... can’t... breathe...’
Seeing him like this, Leon sighed. Although he wanted this man dead, he couldn’t let him die. If Marcus died, then his chances of surviving would lessen significantly.
So, he struggled to get to his feet, grabbed his sword from the ground, then struck the zombie’s back.
Clang!
The hit was heavy, but lacked power. After all, Leon wasn’t in his peak condition and could barely swing that sword.
The zombie seemed distracted by his attack, and flung Marcus away as if disposing of a milk carton.
Turning, the zombie faced Leon, then slammed its palm into his chest again.
The Asura Armor breastplate was instantly rendered useless, and Leon spat out even more blood. He burst through the second floor, then flew out of the building through the window.
He landed on a crashed car on the street, flattening it.
’Good grief. I’m already doing poorly trying to survive.’
Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the pain from his shattered ribs and stood up from the car.
The moment his foot touched the ground, a figure was hurled toward him. He groaned and immediately blocked.
It was Marcus who looked unharmed but drained. It must have been extremely hard keeping that metal ability active for so long.
Leon pushed him aside, then made a black spear from the shadows around them.
He watched the zombie step out of the bookstore, drew back his hand, then threw the spear at it.
The zombie turned just in time for the spear to stab into its shoulder. Leon’s eyes brightened, then dimmed as the zombie easily crushed the spear.
Then, it came at him. Leon tilted his head to the side, causing the punch to narrowly miss him. The building behind him trembled, its glass windows shattering from the shockwave of the punch.
Leon’s heart trembled, feeling blood flow from his eardrums. The zombie was so close to him that its grotesque breath could have washed over him, but fortunately, no foul breath accompanied it.
His gladness barely lasted a moment since the zombie’s palm struck his chest again. This time, Leon felt his ribs cave in.
He was once again sent flying, but at this point, he might as well consider it a routine.
While the zombie was focused on Leon, Marcus brought his hands together, forming a thick metal spike.
Then, the moment it sent Leon away, he dashed at it and stabbed into its side with his spike hands.
The weapon dug deep, and for a moment, he could swear he saw a flicker of surprise in its yellow eyes.
"You... die already."
Gritting his teeth, he tried to push it back and stab deeper. However, he couldn’t even move the zombie by an inch.
It raised its hand, then smacked him across the face with utter disrespect. As usual, the smack alone launched Marcus into a nearby building that was threatening to collapse on him.
Some meters away, Leon was lying on the ground, unmoving. It looked like he was dead, or at least unconscious.
However, his fingers twitched, and the sound of bones being reset could be heard from his body.
