Free Web NovelChapter 45: [Bonus Chapter] Zombie Treehouse (1)
As Shinon moved deeper into the forest, the foliage around him thickened, and the trees grew taller. The scent of pine and damp earth filled his nose, and he inhaled deeply, feeling refreshed until he got reminded about his sword.
"Oi, Macrosoft, done updating yet?"
[Blade of Eternity is analysing the new substance... Sword skills will be unavailable till further notice. Progress: 74% completed.]
"Great."
Shinon had been walking through the forest for a while now, looking for an undiscovered area. His eyes were peeled for irregularities in the surrounding trees or the ground beneath his feet, as the zombie nests were usually located in places with abnormalities.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound coming from ahead. After following the noise, he noticed a group of zombies ahead of him. They looked like Acid-spitters to him, but strangely enough, they were on the ground, protecting the tree behind them.
"I know a nest when I see one..." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Shinon mumbled, remembering the Bloater and the Screamer duo from around the abandoned factory. They, too, were protecting the zombie nest like the zombies before Shinon.
Having no other way to decipher the situation, he decided to take a closer look and crept up slowly, mindful not to attract their attention. The tree seemed to be in worse condition than the others around it, and it was decaying and appeared to be on its last legs.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound coming from above him. He looked up and saw several zombies perched on the branches of the trees, looking down at him with grotesque faces. They were different from the ones he had encountered before, with sharper claws and long tongues dripping with acid.
"Great," Shinon muttered. "Some more zombie treehouses. Just what I needed." free𝑤ebnovel.com
Without wasting any time, Shinon summoned his shadow tentacles and sent them up towards the zombies. The tentacles lashed out, grabbing the zombies and pulling them down to the ground. The zombies screeched and hissed as they landed on the forest floor, but Shinon was ready for them.
He quickly punched one of the zombies in the face; its head exploded into hundred smaller pieces. The other zombies charged at him, spitting acid in his direction. Shinon dodged the attack and countered with a swift kick to the side of a zombie’s head, sending it flying into a nearby tree.
The commotion got the attention of the zombies guarding the tree, who decided to join the fray. The zombies turned towards him, growling loudly as if they were warning him to stay away from the tree. Shinon didn’t back down and simply grinned.
"No wonder the living hate you lot," he said. "You’re terrible hosts!"
Shinon decided to have a little fun with them. He summoned his shadow tentacles, which grabbed the zombies and flung them around like rag dolls while dealing with the rest himself.
"Come on, guys, don’t be so rough," Shinon taunted as he dodged the zombies’ attacks.
The zombies continued to attack, and Shinon continued to dodge their clumsy attacks. He used his shadow tentacles to grab the zombies and smash them against each other, causing them to explode, splattering their acid all around.
"Come on, guys, is that all you got?"
Shinon taunted as he punched one of the zombies in the face. It stumbled backwards, its head splitting open. Shinon continued to fight them off, his fists and tentacles a blur as he danced around the group.
But as he got closer to the tree, the zombies became more vicious, spitting acidic bile at him. Shinon deftly dodged the acid, his shadow tentacles deflecting the rest away from him.
As he approached the tree, Shinon noticed that the zombies were becoming more agitated. He knew that he had to act fast.
Summoning all his strength, he launched himself into the air, his feet kicking out at the zombies’ faces. He landed on the ground, the zombies around him moaning in distress.
With a quick flick of his wrist, the tentacles turned into swords and sliced through the remaining zombies easily. Just then, he received a notification.
[Blade of Eternity has finished analysing the new substance. Sword skills are now available for use.]
[Blade of Eternity has been imbued with a new element: Necrotoxin.]
"Necrotoxin... interesting name," Shinon mumbled, checking his sword, which now sported a greenish hue along the sharp blade.
[More rare elements can be absorbed and combined by the Blade of Eternity upon the user’s wish.]
"I’ll think about this later," Shinon mumbled and walked towards the tree, "But first, I need to destroy this zombie-spawning treehouse."
He walked over to the tree, his sword at the ready. As he approached it, he saw a small hole in the trunk. But more importantly, there was something shiny inside it.
"Finally," Shinon muttered as he peered inside.
There was a glimmer of light emanating from within the hole, something Shinon was immediately drawn towards. For some reason, he wanted to grab whatever was inside the tree, even though he knew doing so was dangerous, but he couldn’t stop himself.
As he reached in to grab it, a hand shot out from within the tree, grabbing his wrist with a vice-like grip.
"What the hell?" Shinon exclaimed as he tried to pull his arm back. But the hand held fast, and he could feel something pulling him in.
"What was I even thinking by putting my hand inside a Zombie nest!?" Shinon yelled the moment he snapped out of his tranced state.
As the tree kept pulling him inside, Shinon tapped into his shadow abilities. Shadowy tentacles burst forth, wrapping around the arm and pulling with all their might.
With a sickening squelch, the arm was ripped free from the tree. Shinon stumbled backwards, his arm dripping with a foul-smelling liquid.
"Ugh, what the hell is this stuff?" Shinon said as he wiped his arm on his pants.
He turned to the tree and saw that the hole had become much larger as if it was the tree’s mouth. But before he could investigate further, a loud creaking noise filled the air. Shinon looked up and saw that the tree was moving. It was alive, and it was angry.
"...really? A moving zombie nest?"
