Free Web NovelChapter 31: Chapter 31: Dungeon 3 (1)
Gavin Donovan’s martial arts foundation was truly excellent. The long spear in his hands was like an extension of his arm.
The zombies that seemed so agile and nimble in Faye Yardley’s eyes appeared clumsy and awkward when facing him.
Caleb Colby stood in front of Faye Yardley, also holding a long spear, ready to provide backup for Gavin Donovan at a moment’s notice.
The shriveled, dark zombie’s eye was gouged out first. Then Gavin Donovan not only plunged his spear into the partially-sliced-off head but also twisted it viciously several times.
Then, the zombie’s limbs visibly grew sluggish. Finally, under Gavin Donovan’s continuous assault, the flickering black flame in its one good eye was extinguished. With a THUD, the constantly gurgling zombie collapsed, dead.
[Team points +3]
Immediately after, they heard the system prompt twice more: [Team points +1].
"You’ve got some real skill, kid," Caleb Colby praised him genuinely. "Looks like the fight on Pierce’s end is over too. It’s not safe here anyway, let’s hurry over."
Gavin Donovan looked at Faye Yardley, who was trembling slightly as she gripped her saber. Only after seeing her nod did he agree. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
As they exited the room, they saw Zachary Pierce heading toward them. When he saw them come out, he gestured to Caleb Colby before turning, lowering his body, and moving silently toward the next room.
Caleb Colby was in front of Faye Yardley. He turned back and instructed, "Follow carefully. Try not to make any noise."
Although Faye Yardley was very nervous, she did her best not to hold them back.
’I might not be able to help, but I can’t let fear make my legs give out.’
Gavin Donovan was at the rear. His only job here was to ensure Faye Yardley’s safety.
Exploring the Dungeon and all that had nothing to do with him.
After entering the Dungeon, they didn’t immediately get a completion notification from the system. It seemed they had to meet certain prerequisites first.
They reached the stairwell without incident. Finn Ford was at the very front. He carefully and quickly peeked into the stairwell, saw nothing, and was the first to press his back against the wall and step onto the stairs.
Zachary Pierce followed close behind, and by then, the three behind him had also caught up.
Caleb Colby immediately had Faye Yardley go first, waiting for a moment to become the last one in line.
As they quickly descended to the fourth floor, they heard gurgling sounds coming from the rooms on both sides of the hallway. Moreover, in the distance, the massive zombie army was already advancing toward the city along the Black River.
The arrival of the zombie army might have been what was causing the scattered zombies within the city to become more active.
Finn Ford glanced back at Zachary Pierce.
Without a second thought, Zachary Pierce gave the command: "Take them out."
Finn Ford immediately headed left, while Zachary Pierce took the right hallway.
Faye Yardley crouched at the entrance to the hallway, waiting. With trembling hands, she tried to secure her hair bun, afraid her hair would come loose and get in the way when she had to run.
Gavin Donovan leaned against the wall, guarding her while observing their surroundings.
’It’s a shame there’s no vermillion yellow paper or anything like that here,’ he lamented inwardly. ’Otherwise, I’d like to see if the old ways could deal with these dead things.’
Caleb Colby was about to go help up front when he heard a WHOOSH from behind and immediately turned to block with his spear.
A small, intact zombie with gray flames in its eyes lunged at him. When its surprise attack failed, it pushed off the wall to lunge again.
A spear was very restrictive in a place like the stairwell. The tall Caleb Colby actually preferred hand-to-hand combat.
Still, having a weapon was better than nothing. Unlike Gavin Donovan’s fluid and effortless spear technique, Caleb Colby somehow managed to use his long spear like a shield.
By this point, Faye Yardley had already grasped her saber again and was slowly getting to her feet, her back against the wall.
"Donovan, go help him."
"Boss, the big guy can handle it himself."
Caleb Colby, still fighting the small zombie, heard them and chuckled. "Yardley, listen to the kid. As long as he’s protecting you, it’s fine."
The [Team points +1] notification sounded in their ears once more.
Finn Ford’s figure quickly appeared in the hallway to the left of the stairwell. He was then seen entering another room and coming out just as quickly. Soon, he turned back and jogged toward the right side. As he passed Faye Yardley, he nodded at her and left her with a few words: "Left side is clear."
Soon, they received another system notification: [Team points +2]. Caleb Colby, behind them, had also finished his fight. He was then seen hopping down the stairs with his spear and heading to the right.
This was followed by three consecutive [Team points +2] notifications. Sure enough, Zachary Pierce and the other two men appeared in the right hallway a moment later.
They proceeded to clear the third and second floors with similar ease, but the first floor had a main hall where seven zombies had gathered.
Faye Yardley grabbed Zachary Pierce, who was about to charge straight down. "Mr. Pierce, do you know how to use a bow?"
"I do."
Faye Yardley took out a Longbow and 30 Frozen Arrows and handed them to him.
’Hot damn,’ Caleb Colby’s eyes lit up. ’This young lady really is something else to be able to hire Pierce. She’s got so much good stuff.’
Seeing the Attributes of the Frozen Arrow, he realized it was a crowd control Skill that could instantly create a three-meter-diameter circular freeze zone, forcibly freezing everything within its range for 3 seconds.
This made Zachary Pierce’s eyes light up. After a moment’s thought, he said, "These are too precious. It’s a bit of a waste to use them here."
"It’s not a waste. We need to end this quickly. We still don’t know the completion requirements. Mr. Pierce, if you want to explore the Dungeon, it’s best to wait until we know what those are." Faye Yardley believed in using what you have. If she weren’t worried about her poor aim, she would have done it herself.
’After all, she’d been completely useless since entering the Dungeon.’
"Alright." Zachary Pierce glanced back at Caleb Colby and Finn Ford and reminded them in a low voice, "This Frozen Arrow can hard-control the zombies for 3 seconds. The moment I fire, you two move in and take their heads."
After speaking, Zachary Pierce was the first to head down to the landing between the second and first floors. Colby and Ford followed close behind, each with a saber in hand.
Gavin Donovan’s posture seemed much more relaxed, but he was at the very rear of the group now and couldn’t let any zombies sneak up from behind.
’Even though we just cleared the upper floors, what if one pops out from somewhere?’
Zachary Pierce intentionally made a small noise. As expected, the zombies were drawn to it and charged toward them.
An Arrow was instantly loosed from the string, accurately piercing the middle zombie’s left eye. A flash of icy blue light swept out, and starting from the zombie that was hit, every zombie within a three-meter radius lost its ability to move, as if they had been rooted to the spot.
Colby and Ford charged the zombies with incredible speed. Without wasting a single word, they raised their sabers and began hacking at the nearest zombies’ necks.
In an instant, zombie heads rolled to the ground, while their bodies remained standing in rigid poses.
It was only three seconds, but unbelievably, all seven zombies had been dealt with.
The notifications for the increased points came in one by one.
Zachary Pierce went to retrieve the Arrow. At the same time, all five of them heard the system’s notification for the completion requirements.
