Chapter 52 What's a grenade?
Although the city wall was only a five-minute walk from where Luke's group previously was, it took them over an hour because Julia, Rio, Lori, Professor Nina, and Ben took quite a bit of time to kill zombies.
Luke, Alice, and Shadow only joined the battle when they were outnumbered by a lot, were on the verge of getting injured or dying, or encountered zombies stronger than level 5.
Thanks to this, Ben, Lori, and Rio had reached levels 6, 5, and 6, respectively, and were no longer prone to zombie infection, which meant Luke and others no longer had to worry about them as much.
As for Julia and Professor Nina, they had reached levels 3 and 4, respectively, had gained quite a bit of fighting experience, and their fear of zombies had decreased significantly.
Seeing them become evolvers, Rio's wife also tried to kill a zombie but fainted when it appeared right in front of her. So, now only she and Kean were the ones who needed protection.
Luke was very satisfied by this. Just a day before, he and Alice, as the only evolvers, had to worry about the entire group, but everyone could ensure their safety if they didn't encounter an enemy three or more levels stronger than them.
The only thing that Luke didn't like was that no matter how many zombies they killed, they didn't get any more skillbooks. In fact, even the drop rate of the treasure boxes was decreasing rapidly.
…
Finally, the group arrived before the tall city wall.
Julia looked at the wall and then at Luke with a confused expression.
"How are we going to climb it? It is as smooth as a mirror."
Luke shrugged. "Who said we were going to climb it?"
He then glanced at Alice and said, "Alice, use your fire magic and see if you can melt a hole in it."
"Okay." Alice nodded and walked over to the wall. She then raised her hand, and a half-foot-large ball of fire appeared in front of it. The ball of fire then slowly flew over to the wall and started burning against it.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The group watched with rapt attention, but when nothing happened for over half a minute, they became disappointed. However, just before the fire was about to die out, Alice knitted her brows, twisted her hand before jumping back.
As soon as she did,
Boom!
The fireball exploded, breaking a melting and breaking the wall in almost two feet in diameter and over a foot in depth.
"Woah! It was quite powerful." Ben and Julia cheered before Ben sighed and complained, "But the damage isn't enough for us. Damn, why they had to make it so thick?"
"Because if they hadn't, animals from the forest would have swarmed the city before all this happened." Shadow gave him an impassive glance.
"Ahem, I know that. But it has become a hindrance for us now." Ben said.
Alice's eyes narrowed. She believed the explosion at last could easily kill even a level 8 or level 9 zombie, which was quite an achievement for her given she had created this herself, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to blow a hole in the wall.
Noticing her expression, Luke said, "Hey, that was quite a powerful attack."
Shadow also chimed in, "Yes. If I'm not wrong, it was as deadly as an old version of a grenade's explosion, which is… remarkable."
"Eh? What's a grenade?" Ben asked in confusion.
Hearing this, Luke sighed. The Rulers had completely taken out any and all the information about explosives and weapons from the world, stating that under their peaceful ruling, there was no need for such weapons of war and destruction.
The people around the globe had praised them for this, saying that the crime would plummet as a result.
However, they didn't know the Rulers didn't do it to lower the crime or mortality rate but to make the population harmless like sheep.
So, when the real shit hit the fan, they wouldn't have the means to fight against the zombies or the beasts and had to submit to them for protection. If not, they could become zombies or beasts' food and help them evolver so the rulers could kill them to become stronger.
If they hadn't taken out the weapons out of the equation, even a weak or sick person could kill zombies and not many would need their protection. Some might even try to fight them, which would surely be a headache for them.
So, they took the easy route and removed the weapons or the information about them from the public. Even the police didn't have any guns and would only use sticks and electric tasers.
As he thought of all this, his gaze became cold.
…
Shadow looked at Ben and sighed inwardly before nodding. "It's something that explodes and causes destruction."
"Oh? I seemed to have heard of such things on the internet, I think." Ben said with a pondering look.
Right then, Rio stepped forward and asked, "Sir Luke, should I try to break it?"
"It's alright." Luke shook his head and then glanced at Alice. "How much mana did you use just now?"
"10 units." Alice said, took a deep breath, "Let me try again."
However, Luke stopped her and asked, "How much mana do you have left? We can't drain your reserves completely in case we need to fight again."
Alice looked at him for a moment and then said, "40 units."
"40 units? You… have more mana than what I have." He commented, surprised. He then asked, "Maximum, how much can use in one attack? You can see just ten mana unit fireballs won't be enough."
"I know. I can use 20 units." Alice said, "Now let me try."
"Alright. Go ahead." Luke nodded, stepping back. Alice walked over to the melted and broken part of the wall before raising her hand.
Whoosh!
As she activated her [Flame Manipulation] and channeled her mana, a fireball gradually appeared in front of her hand, which then started to swell and a moment later, it was two times bigger than the previous one.
"Let's move back a little more. The explosion would be bigger than before." Ben said and stepped back. Luke, Professor Nina, Lori and others also moved back.
A moment later, Shadow frowned. "Why isn't she attacking?"
Luke also raised his brow. Unlike before where she had attacked as soon as the fireball formed, she was now just holding it in the place.
"Maybe she is having difficulty controlling it. Let's wait and watch." He said, but got ready to step in to help her if she couldn't control it.
Alice's eyebrows were knitted in concentration. She was trying to do something she hadn't tried yet because it was too risky. But with Luke here, she wouldn't have to worry too much. She hated to admit, but she somehow knew even if her fireball were to explode now, he wouldn't let her die. At most, she would just get some injuries.
Therefore, she focused on the fireball and then started using [Flame Manipulation] on it once again, but this time without infusing any mana.
Sizzle!
The fireball flared up as if it was about to explode, but she gritted her teeth and continued to use [Flame Manipulation].
Sizzle!
A moment later, her hands started trembling, and sweat marred her face. The mental pressure was starting to overwhelm her, but she didn't give up. She knew if she could succeed in what she wanted, her strength would increase a few times at least.
Sizzle!
"Just what is she doing?" Ben mumbled from Luke's side.
"Look carefully and you would notice." Luke said with a hint of surprise in his voice as he kept his eyes glued to the fireball.
"Mm? Let's see." Ben nodded and squinted his eyes at the fireball. A moment of confusion later, his eyes brightened up. "I see now. She is making the fireball smaller."
He then frowned. "However, why is she doing it? Can't she control the bigger one?"
Smack!
Professor Nina, who was standing behind them, slapped the back of his head lightly and admonished, "You should've paid attention in your classes. If you did, you understand what is she doing."
Ben glanced at her, and then at Julia and others only to find them looking at him as if he strangely. He coughed dryly and said, "It seems I wasn't present that day. Why don't you enlighten me, Professor?"
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