Free Web NovelChapter 561: Chapter 561: Night Battle
These undead don’t know how long they’ve been buried underground; their clothes have long decayed into ash, revealing their dark, iron-blue skin.
Their muscles are completely dehydrated, with tendons and bones protruding beneath the skin. Bald heads hang with a few strands of hair, hollow eye sockets, and savage fangs at the corners of their mouths. Their swaying hands expose ten sharp claws.
At first, their movements are quite slow, with limbs appearing very stiff.
But as the Daoist Soldiers charge forward following Zhang Yuan, these undead seem to be activated in an instant. Tiny ghostly flames ignite in their dark eye sockets as they take large strides, starting to accelerate in their run.
In just a moment, hundreds and thousands of zombies rush over the low hills in a dark surge.
They stare intently at the Daoist Soldiers a few miles away, like hungry beasts discovering a succulent prey.
An uncontrollable desire for slaughter and devouring!
The speed of these undead increases, their throats emitting deep growls.
Waves of evil qi surge skyward.
Among the running undead, a few rapidly swell in size, dried-up muscles bulging high, claws and fangs growing longer, making them appear even more ferocious and terrifying.
Roar～
One large undead charges to the front, raising its head to unleash a deafening roar at Zhang Yuan and his men, who are rushing towards it, as if issuing a challenge!
Zhang Yuan, mounted on the back of the Gray-toothed Lynx, suddenly sharpens his gaze.
"Bow!"
At his command, three hundred Daoist Soldiers simultaneously raise their longbows, pulling strings and fitting arrows aimed at the position ahead.
"Shoot!"
As the distance between the two sides shortens to within three hundred steps, Zhang Yuan’s shout rings out again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows whistle through the air, like a violent storm, enveloping the zombie horde.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Special fine iron triangular arrowheads pierce the resilient skin of one zombie after another, sinking into their bodies.
Those at the forefront are even skewered like sieves!
Yet, this does not stop the zombies’ charge. They either swipe claws to knock off the arrows embedded in them or continue running forward heedlessly, their speed barely diminished.
"Throw spears!"
Witnessing this, Zhang Yuan orders once more.
The three hundred Daoist Soldiers immediately put down their bows and arrows, grabbing short-handled spears fixed beside their saddles, and hurling them with all their might towards the horde.
These spears are custom-made, each forged from Hundred-Forged Refined Iron, heavy in weight and endowed with powerful penetration. Masterfully thrown by the Daoist Soldiers, they unleash power far exceeding that of arrows.
Squish! Squish! Squish!
Dozens of zombies at the forefront are pierced alive and pinned to the ground by the spears one by one.
Only the leading big zombie, as the spears come shooting over, swings its arms to knock them all away.
Appearing extremely formidable.
But in the next instant, Zhang Yuan is already charging to its front, his Overlord Halberd stabbing at the chest of this suspected Iron Corpse-like monster with lightning speed.
Unable to evade, the Iron Corpse opens its claws, trying to grab the incoming halberd.
But its hands don’t even touch the halberd before the burning Qianyang Fierce Flame scorches them. It involuntarily lets out a harrowing scream amidst the fierce burning struggle.
Puff!
The scream of the Iron Corpse comes to an abrupt stop.
The Overlord Halberd ruthlessly pierces through its chest, the inner Primordial Gang Qi detonating, shredding its organ-like solid Gold Iron from inside, and the condensed Qian Fire annihilates the evil qi, inflicting enormous irreparable damage.
In the next moment, Zhang Yuan raises the Overlord Halberd sharply into the air.
Hoisting the Iron Corpse up into the air.
The Gang Qi inside the halberd erupts again, instantly tearing this monster into pieces.
[Source Material +1538]
A striking message pops up in Zhang Yuan’s vision.
Boom!
The Gray-toothed Lynx crashes heavily into another zombie, sending the latter flying away.
This Profound Beast bares its sharp teeth, a gaze filled with fierce and wild intent.
Zhang Yuan swings down the Overlord Halberd abruptly, smashing it down onto the head of another obstructing zombie with overwhelming force.
The latter’s head bursts open suddenly, its body subsequently knocked open by the Gray-toothed Lynx.
With the long halberd as a plow, Zhang Yuan charges into the horde like a sharp knife; not a single zombie can withstand him.
Including the robust Iron Corpse, also penetrated and shredded by the Overlord Halberd!
In less than ten breaths of time, Zhang Yuan has already carved his way through the horde.
And behind him, three hundred Daoist Soldiers gather indomitable Iron Blood Battle Qi, swinging their long blades to sever one zombie head after another, trampling these monstrosities’ remains beneath their horses’ hooves.
Even though the zombie horde vastly outnumbers the Daoist Soldiers, just one encounter sees the zombies fall like wheat mowed by a scythe.
Next, Zhang Yuan changes direction, launching a second charge at the horde.
This time, he specifically targets the prominent Iron Corpses, blasting open their heads with a single hit.
The thunder of hoofbeats, the clash of impacts, and the screech of blades cutting through tendon and bone interweave, spreading in all directions.
During this, a few Daoist Soldiers are inadvertently struck by zombies’ claws, losing balance and falling off their horses.
But the surrounding comrades immediately provide support, working together to eliminate nearby zombies, allowing their companions to return to their mounts.
This sudden battle lasts about a cup of tea’s time before it declares an end.
All zombies, including five Iron Corpses, are slain and destroyed!
However, a dozen Daoist Soldiers are injured.
Since the zombies’ claws carry corpse poison, their wounds quickly turn a blue-gray color.
Fortunately, everyone carries Elixirs for healing and detoxification.
Thus, there is no risk to life.
"Return to camp!"
Zhang Yuan instructs Mo Wei, "You guys go back and guard the camp; I’ll be back soon."
Mo Wei reluctantly swings the large axe in his hand and replies, "As ordered!"
He hasn’t had his fill of killing, yet Zhang Yuan plans to hog the loot?
But superior rank trumps everything, so this valiant warrior can only reluctantly lead his Daoist Soldiers back to camp.
Zhang Yuan shakes his head, continuing to charge forward with the Gray-toothed Lynx.
The recently concluded battle has yielded him over seven thousand points of Source Material.
Absolutely an unexpected surprise.
But if he had dealt with this group of monsters alone, the amount of Source Material gained would at least be several times greater.
And currently, Zhang Yuan is in great need of Source Material.
Thus, in the upcoming battles, he will no longer continue to lead the Daoist Soldiers.
After all, for the monsters they kill, Zhang Yuan gains not a single point of Source Material—so hogging the loot is unavoidable.
The Gray-toothed Lynx continues to run forward for half a mile, a deserted Ruins City appears in his sight.
This is precisely the source of the zombies.
Zhang Yuan even sees fresh pits in the ground!
But intuition tells him a big one is still hidden within this small-scale Ruins City.
He suddenly leaps high, landing in the ruins.
Scanning his surroundings, he sees nothing unusual.
Only the night wind whistles past his ears, faintly bringing the howls of wild beasts.
Sounding particularly desolate!
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Wishing everyone a healthy and fortunate Dragon Boat Festival!
