AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

What did Feng Yimo plan to do with Rope?

---

Feng Yimo ignored the hedgehog Corpse King’s head as it rolled past his feet, and turned his head to look at the five other Corpse Kings instead. The group were frozen in place, dumbstruck.

He glanced down.

Sensing his gaze, the five Corpse Kings had instinctively recoiled. The next moment, realizing what they had done, realizing that Feng Yimo had just killed their leader, they were all consumed by all-consuming rage. Their five vanguard units were divided not by numbers, but by strength. While they were no match for the black snake or the other top-tier Corpse Kings in its unit, they were still powerful members of the second tier.

Feng Yimo’s attack had been a surprise. Their leader must have been caught off guard, never expecting such a shameless, dishonorable tactic.

“ROOOAR!”

Their eyes instantly filled with blood. All five beasts lunged at him simultaneously, intent on tearing him to shreds, drinking his blood, and feasting on his—

Feng Yimo, who had been frowning at the fact that none of them had feet suitable for digging, felt their killing intent and instinctively swung his longsword.

By the time he realized what he had done, five more bodies had fallen before him.

All five were dead.

Feng Yimo’s brow furrowed. Catching Corpse Kings was proving to be more difficult than he had imagined.

He looked on with disgust at the corpses on the ground, then in the direction the badger-like one had fled. It had a pair of sturdy front claws, sharp and strong—perfect for digging. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to give chase. He had just realized a major problem: he hadn’t brought any rope.

Even if he caught the badger-like one, he had no way to lead it back.

Thinking about finding some rope, he turned and walked out of the forest. The moment he emerged, a black shadow shot toward him at high speed. He was about to draw his sword, but when he got a clear look at it, he slid the blade back into its sheath.

“You’re just in time,” he said, looking back at the pile of dismembered corpses in the woods. “Clean this up.” Ji Yanqing didn’t like messes.

Seeing the person who had suddenly appeared, hearing that cold, familiar voice, the black beast, who had finally seized a chance to escape, nearly choked. It had been running at full tilt and couldn’t brake in time, only managing to veer off-course before slamming headfirst into a nearby tree, the force enough to make the trunk shudder.

“Oof…” It collapsed to the ground, clutching its aching head.

“Don’t dawdle,” Feng Yimo reminded it.

The black beast looked at him, then at the pile of dismembered Corpse Kings in the forest. The breath it had been trying to catch hitched in its throat, and its black-furred face turned a ghastly shade of bluish-green.

Feng Yimo waited for a moment. Seeing the beast still dawdling, he turned and headed for the distant camp. “Come back to camp as soon as you’re finished.”

Still in a daze, the black beast was stunned by his words. It whipped its head around. Come back?

No one had ever said those two words to it before. The county ahead would be the camp of those humans, their future home, but not its home. It had never considered itself a part of their group. It had only been forced to stick with them because of Feng Yimo’s … coercion. “Grrr…” It didn’t know how to react, but something in its chest began to pound, and a warm current flooded its body, a strange and unfamiliar sensation.

Feng Yimo heard the sound and turned, his gaze falling on the beast’s two front paws.

Sensing his gaze, understanding his intent, the flicker of warmth the beast had just felt was instantly extinguished by a surge of pure rage. It would not dig! If anyone was going to dig, let it be Feng Yimo himself! The black beast was so furious at the thought that it wanted to taste blood.

Feng Yimo ignored the murderous intent radiating from behind him and walked out of the forest toward the camp hidden behind the trees, his mind preoccupied with the problem of rope.

“How did you end up behind us?” Lan Zi’s voice came. She was walking ahead and was baffled to see Feng Yimo suddenly trailing their group.

“Walking,” he said, glancing at her.

Lan Zi was speechless, then the corner of her mouth twitched as she remembered something. She looked toward the small county ahead, and for a moment, she could almost see a vision of Feng Yimo, lost and alone in the city, exposed to the elements, completely unable to find his way home.

Imagining this, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, and her gaze toward him became strange. He didn’t seem like a cruel, bloodthirsty Corpse King at all. The same was true for Ji An and Ji Le. Speaking with them, standing face-to-face with them, being on the same team—all things that should have left her terrified and sleepless—had only been frightening for the first few days, precisely because they were so unlike Corpse Kings.

She was starting to forget that they were.

“How’s it looking over there?” Li Pingsen’s voice called out.

Back at the camp, by the convoy, Li Pingsen, Mo Xian, and Bai Haoxuan had already returned and were reporting their findings to each other. Hei Long, who had gone farther out, was on his way back.

Lan Zi gave a brief report on the situation in the mountains she had scouted. “No zombies. The mountains are full of mutated trees and plants. It’s hard to say if there are any specific issues right now, but overall, it seems relatively safe.”

Li Pingsen and Mo Xian nodded. Their areas were the same.

A few minutes later, Hei Long returned. The area he had checked was largely the same as the others.

With the immediate vicinity confirmed as safe, they all turned their attention toward the county.

*

Ji Yanqing led his two little bodyguards to the edge of the county. As he approached, he saw Xia Shen Shu emerging from a vegetable patch. Many of the residents had been farmers, and the area was covered in fields. The mutated plants and overgrown weeds provided easy cover.

Ji Yanqing waited.

As Xia Shen Shu drew near, he asked, “So quick?”

“There aren’t many zombies in the county. Looks like there might be a Corpse King or an Awakened Zombie inside. I didn’t dare disturb it.”

A serious expression crossed Ji Yanqing’s face. He glanced at the county town behind them, then led the way back to camp. “Let’s talk when we get back.”

A few minutes later, the four of them returned. Seeing Xia Shen Shu back so soon, Lan Zi and the others sensed something was wrong and gathered around.

Before they could ask, Xia Shen Shu explained the situation. “…If we alert them, it’ll be an immediate battle.”

Hearing that there was a Corpse King or Awakened Zombie in the city, the team leaders and the others who were listening in all turned a little pale. If they wanted to move in, the first thing they had to do was clear out every single zombie. The presence of a high-level one made things infinitely more complicated.

“If it’s just an Awakened Zombie, it’s manageable. But if it’s a Corpse King… this county must have had a population of at least one hundred and twenty, or even thirty thousand. Even if some escaped or died early on, and some were eaten, there must still be at least seventy or eighty thousand left. We only have about fifty or sixty thousand rounds of ammunition right now. Even if we don’t waste a single bullet, it’s not nearly enough,” Li Pingsen said.

No one spoke. A heavy silence fell over the group. And that was just one problem. They still needed to scavenge for supplies in nearby cities later. If they used up all their ammunition now, the entire team would be doomed if they ran into trouble later. It was impossible to enter and exit a city without alerting any zombies, and the number of Awakened Zombies and Corpse Kings was only increasing.

“If bullets won’t work, how about we use fire?” Lan Zi suggested.

“The zombies aren’t going to just stand there and let us burn them,” Hei Long pointed out.

“We could dig a big pit, lure them in, and then pour gasoline on them and light it,” she proposed.

“For seventy or eighty thousand zombies? How big of a pit would we need to dig? We don’t have time for that. And how much gasoline would it take to burn that many?” Li Pingsen countered.

Lan Zi fell silent.

The group fell into a thoughtful silence again, all of them frowning. Hearing their conversation, the other members of the camp began to discuss it in hushed tones, trying to come up with a solution.

“How about we lure them somewhere else?” a female voice suggested.

Ji Yanqing and the other leaders all looked over.

Under their gaze, Gu Ranran, standing in the crowd, blushed visibly. She quickly explained, “We could lure them out of the city and then lead them away from here with the vehicles, take them somewhere else.”

Ji Yanqing immediately realized the plan had merit. “How, specifically?”

She clearly hadn’t thought it through in detail and was momentarily taken aback. But she quickly formulated a plan. “We can use the speakers to draw them out of the city and gather them in one place, then lead them away with the vehicles. We could lure them behind the mountains and then find a way to shake them off.”

“And that way, we wouldn’t have to deal with the bodies. The corpses are toxic. Even if we burn or bury them, we can’t be one hundred percent sure the virus won’t infect our people. It’s safer to just get them far away.”

Hearing her words, a spark of light appeared in their eyes. She had a very good point. No one spoke as they quickly ran through the plan in their minds.

“There are too many zombies in the city. We probably can’t lead them all away at once. We’ll have to do it in batches,” Lan Zi said.

Li Pingsen agreed. “And we should lead them as far away as possible. We don’t want them lingering nearby, or they’ll just come back as soon as we make any noise.”

Bai Haoxuan reminded them, “Luring them out of the city is the easy part. The problem is how to lose them after we lead them away. Before, the most we ever dealt with was a few thousand. This is tens of thousands. If we mess it up, we’ll be trapped.”

“Are there any other cities nearby?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Mo Xian, who was closer to the vehicles, immediately went to get a map. Two minutes later, he returned and spread it out on the back of a truck. The squad leaders, and Ji Yanqing, all gathered around.

“Two cities, one to the left and one ahead,” Mo Xian said. “The road to the one on the left is easier to travel, flat with no mountain passes. The one ahead requires crossing several mountains, which makes it easy to lose track of the zombies if you’re not careful.”

They all looked at the city to the left on the map. It was large, about a two-hour drive away.

“We can lead them into that city,” Ji Yanqing said. “And then find a place to lose them there.” They could use forests or mountains, but to shake off tens of thousands of zombies, a city, with its endless hiding places, was ideal. And a two-hour drive was far enough that they wouldn’t easily come back.

They had a direction and a plan. But the question that followed made their faces grow even more serious.

Who was going to do it?

---

Luring tens of thousands of zombies on a two-hour journey was no joke. A single mistake could mean that the people acting as bait would never return. Although they could drive far ahead, they couldn’t go too fast, or the slower zombies would fall behind. The entire time, they would be dancing on the edge of life and death.

“I’ll go,” Xia Shen Shu said.

Everyone turned to look at him. A smile of eager anticipation was on his face. “Taking a few tens of thousands of zombies for a stroll. How fun is that?”

Seeing him like this, Ji Yanqing took in a deep breath, but didn’t protest. Someone had to do it, and those who remained behind wouldn’t necessarily be any safer. Once the main horde was lured away, they would have to go door to door, clearing out the zombies still trapped inside buildings. Facing one zombie or a hundred was, in essence, no different. A single bite meant certain death.

“We’ll split the zombies into three groups,” Ji Yanqing said after another glance at the county. Trying to lead away seventy or eighty thousand at once was too difficult. Dividing them into three batches would both maximize their chances of not leaving any behind and ensure a greater degree of safety—though such assurances were flimsy at best.

Xia Shen Shu nodded. “Then I’ll go to the other city first, find a safe route for entry and escape, and bring back a few faster vehicles.”

“Find some safe houses in the city,” Ji Yanqing reminded him. “Stock them with food and water. If the commotion doesn’t die down quickly, you can stay there for a while before coming out.” He added, “Prepare extra vehicles, too. Drive them out of the city and hide them somewhere. Abandon the lure vehicles each time, then sneak out and come back in the new ones.” If tens of thousands of zombies flooded the city, it would undoubtedly cause chaos, and the cars they used as bait would be immediately swarmed.

Xia Shen Shu nodded, committing it all to memory.

True to his nature, he immediately turned and selected twenty-odd people from his squad. They picked a faster vehicle from the convoy and emptied it. The other city was only a two-hour drive away. It was just after nine in the morning. If they were quick, they could be back before the snow got heavy that night. Huang Rongyue and Qin Yue were more than half a month ahead of them. They had no more time to waste.

With the vehicle ready and his squad geared up, Xia Shen Shu held the case housing his precious drone with the solemn expression of a man entrusting his only child to another’s care as he placed it carefully in Ji Yanqing’s hands.

“Promise me you’ll take good care of it. Don’t let it suffer. It’s the only one I have…”

The corner of Ji Yanqing’s mouth twitched.

His theatrics complete, Xia Shen Shu boarded the vehicle with his men and quickly drove away from the basin.

After Xia Shen Shu left, Ji Yanqing placed his “precious only son” in a nearby vehicle and continued his discussion with the others.

Beyond the normal zombies, there was still a major problem in the city: the unknown high-level entity, whether it was an Awakened Zombie, a Corpse King, or even both.

Ji Yanqing looked toward the county, considered for a moment, and quickly made a decision. “We’re not going to capture the one in the city. We’ll just kill it. We have too much to do, and we can’t be bothered with it. Besides, we don’t have anywhere to keep it right now.”

Hearing this, the group, who had been racking their brains over what to do, was speechless. The problem is that we don’t have anywhere to keep it?

Lu Qing, who had been looking on with anticipation, looked as if he had been dealt a heavy blow, but he swallowed his words. The priority now was to build the paradise.

As the others were processing their complex emotions, Ji Yanqing turned to them. “How did you hunt the Corpse King before?”

“We rammed it with vehicles. Once it was immobilized, we opened fire with everything we had,” Hei Long said.

Ji Yanqing was taken aback. Xia Chen had suggested this method when they were hunting Awakened Zombies, but they had rejected it because the city roads might not be suitable for driving, and it was too dangerous. Someone had to drive the vehicles, and a Corpse King wouldn’t die from a single hit. Once it was rammed, it would undoubtedly turn its rage on the driver. It was a suicide attack, trading lives for a kill.

He had heard people say that Xia Shen Shu and the others had gone mad searching for him. He hadn’t really felt it before, but now he understood. Their madness wasn’t just talk. They had truly been insane.

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath. “I’ll go into the city later and kill it. You all don’t need to go.”

Hearing his casual tone—I’ll go into the city later and kill it—the group, who had just been choking on his reasoning of we’ll kill it because we have nowhere to keep it, choked again. That’s a Corpse King. Does he think he’s picking out an old hen for dinner?

Though they were speechless, their faces were perfectly obedient. The square-faced man and his group had already witnessed him knock an Awakened Zombie unconscious with a single blow. That same zombie was still lying in one of their trucks. Thinking of it, they were as quiet as a brood of chicks.

As for Lan Zi, Li Pingsen, Mo Xian, Hei Long, and Bai Haoxuan, knowing that Feng Yimo, Ji An, and Ji Le were thrice-evolved Corpse Kings, they were just thankful that he wasn’t planning on catching two more to raise as pets.

“Then it’s settled,” Ji Yanqing concluded, closing the map.

With the day’s tasks decided, the paradise officially entered its preparation phase. Ji Yanqing looked once more at the crowd before him. The eyes of many in the eight-hundred-strong team were still red. Seeing those red-rimmed eyes, seeing the smiles and hope gradually blooming within them, his own heart grew heavy.

Sometimes, to die in ignorance was a kind of happiness.

Seeing his expression grow solemn, the other team leaders, who knew what lay ahead, also looked grave.

“Move the camp into the mountains. I’m going into the city later,” Ji Yanqing told them.

They nodded and quickly got to work. Since they were going to lure all the zombies out of the county, this location was no longer suitable for a camp. The mountains were safer.

After they had started moving, Ji Yanqing picked up his axe and looked at Feng Yimo, Ji An, and Ji Le. He had hunted Awakened Zombies and killed a thrice-evolved Corpse King, but he had never killed an ordinary one. He felt that of all the zombies, the ordinary Corpse Kings were the most difficult to kill, not because they were particularly powerful, but because of their massive size. Many of them were beast-like, with speed and strength far exceeding a human’s, and thick, powerful necks. Even if they stood still, it would take a long time to hack through.

He looked at his two little bodyguards. “Want to help Dad?”

Ji An and Ji Le looked at him, confused. When they saw the axe in his hand, they understood.

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Their fair little faces flushed red, and a faint mist of excitement gathered in their eyes, making them appear even clearer.

Getting his answer, Ji Yanqing pinched their thin cheeks. Not satisfied, he then stroked their heads. One day, he would fatten them up until they were chubby. They would surely feel nice to the touch then.

Ji An and Ji Le stood perfectly still, letting him pinch and pat them.

Ji Yanqing looked at Feng Yimo, who was just watching him silently. Meeting those dark, brooding eyes, his heart beat uncontrollably. He remembered his question from before. The lips Feng Yimo had touched now felt scalding hot.

“Will I turn into a zombie?” he asked.

Feng Yimo’s eyes held a faint confusion.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze slid down from his eyes to his lips. Feng Yimo still didn’t understand.

Nearby, Lan Zi’s group had already loaded everything back into the vehicles. The convoy started up again, heading for the mountains.

Ji Yanqing raised a hand, his cool fingertips lightly tracing Feng Yimo’s lips. The touch was so light that Feng Yimo had barely registered the cold sensation before it was gone.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. When he looked again, Ji Yanqing had already boarded a vehicle with the two children.

“Let’s go,” he said from the truck, a reminder. Feng Yimo was the only one still outside.

Feng Yimo’s heart, which had stopped beating, now remembered its duty. As if to make up for it, it began to pound with a rapid furiosity. He quickly got onto the truck.

The distance to the mountains was short, only a few minutes, so the people inside were standing. He was surrounded, which allowed him to get closer to Ji Yanqing, but it also made him feel that the others were in the way. He stood before him and looked at his face. “You won’t…”

Ji Yanqing looked at him.

“You can control…” Feng Yimo’s voice was so hoarse he barely recognized it himself. “…the power you give. It turns the other into a subordinate.”

It took Ji Yanqing a moment to understand. The virus in a thrice-evolved Corpse King’s body was probably more like a form of power, not something that could be given away casually.

“Ji—” Feng Yimo wanted to say more, but the truck had already stopped. They had reached the forest at the edge of the mountains, and people were getting off. They had been the last to board and were now blocking the door.

Ji Yanqing got off, holding the two children. Feng Yimo watched him leave and silently followed.

In the forest at the foot of the mountains, Lan Zi’s group quickly chose a suitable spot for the camp. Ji Yanqing didn’t get involved. They were more than capable of handling such small matters without his input.

He took some food and water, intending to eat an early lunch and head into the city quickly. He still didn’t know what kind of situation he was facing, and he needed time to investigate.

The moment he finished eating, Ji An and Ji Le immediately put down their biscuits. Knowing they no longer needed to eat human food, he didn’t force them. He found a piece of clothing, tore it into strips, and wrapped them tightly around his hands. Then, he picked up his axe and headed for the county town.

Seeing him leave, many of the busy people in the camp stopped what they were doing and watched him with concern.

But Ji Yanqing didn’t explain. He just left.

---

Leaving the forest, the group headed toward the county. After nearly ten minutes, they stood in the vegetable fields just outside it. The county was slightly larger than average, but a county was still just a county, not a massive city. Looking from one end, if you found the right angle, you could almost see the other side.

It had been in a state of rapid development. Many buildings and roads were newly constructed, but even so, the buildings were not very tall. Aside from the usual trash and abandoned vehicles clogging the alleyways, the town had a slower, more languid feel than a large city. From the fields, Ji Yanqing could see that the planters in the alleys, which should have held ornamental greenery, were now overflowing with various mutated vegetables—a sight that was both frustrating and amusing.

He led Feng Yimo, Ji An, and Ji Le into the city, avoiding the zombies in the fields. Weaving between residential buildings, Ji Yanqing quickly divided the county into sections in his mind, planning to search for their target systematically.

Forty minutes later, in the center of the county’s busiest pedestrian street, he spotted a massive figure. It was a fox-like creature, two stories tall. It had already evolved beyond an Awakened Zombie; it was a Corpse King. It lacked any semblance of a fox’s cuteness. Its fur was a matted mix of black and brown, hard and bristly to the eye. Its claws and teeth were exceptionally sharp, like polished blades.

Having confirmed his target, Ji Yanqing, on a nearby rooftop, turned around. But he only saw two small, serious, and nervous faces behind him. Feng Yimo was gone.

“Where’s Feng Yimo?” he asked.

Ji An and Ji Le pointed in unison toward the side of the county.

A headache began to form. He can get lost even when he’s following right behind me?

Ji Yanqing wavered for a moment between going to find him and ignoring him, but ultimately decided to deal with the Corpse King first. As long as Feng Yimo hadn’t wandered too far, he could find him later.

“Can you two handle this?” he asked, looking at them.

The two little heads nodded vigorously, their cheeks flushed and eyes moist with excitement. They had promised to help him, and besides, they were incredibly strong now.

“Can you control a Corpse King?” he asked Ji Le. He had done something similar before, overwriting Lou Ye’s mental imprint to control his subordinate Awakened Zombie, even killing it directly. A subordinate with Lou Ye’s imprint should have been strong, but it was still just an Awakened Zombie.

Ji Le looked seriously at the fox-like Corpse King dozing in the street. His little mouth was set in a determined pout. After a moment, he nodded firmly. He didn’t know how to judge strength—Feng Yimo had never taught him—but he didn’t find the creature frightening.

“Then, when the time comes, control it as best you can. Keep it from moving,” Ji Yanqing said.

Ji Le nodded immediately, clenching his small fists.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji An. “You stay by your brother’s side. If that Corpse King lunges at you…” He hesitated. Even knowing Ji An was a Corpse King, it was hard to imagine how his small frame could possibly deal with a monster two stories tall.

“I’ll protect my brother,” Ji An said on his own, his voice full of excitement. He couldn’t wait to show Ji Yanqing how strong he had become.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze swept over their two small faces. Seeing no fear or anxiety in their eyes, he finally stood up. After finishing his preparations, he rested for a moment, then led the two of them down, approaching from the side of the street.

*

Outside the mountains surrounding the county.

Seeing the familiar mountain range in the distance, the badger-like Corpse King slowed its frantic run, a chill spreading through its entire body.

“Grrr?”

Is this the place?

The twenty-odd thrice-evolved, beast-form Corpse Kings following it all stopped and looked at it.

“Roooar…” it whimpered anxiously, looking at the others. Maybe… maybe we should go get more Corpse Kings?

“Grrr…”

No need.

The badger-like Corpse King wanted to argue but couldn’t. After escaping, it had immediately run toward the Devil’s City for help, but it had met this group halfway. Recognizing them as part of the same vanguard force as the snake, it had immediately told them about Feng Yimo.

Hearing that both the snake and hedgehog units had been defeated, the group, self-proclaimed ‘elite chosen by their king’, refused to believe it. The snake and hedgehog were two of the strongest in their entire force. How could they have been killed so easily? They were skeptical, but the badger-like one had been able to provide perfect details about both of them. After a brief discussion, they had decided to follow it back to see for themselves.

The badger-like one hadn’t actually seen the hedgehog die. They all thought the hedgehog had probably already killed this “Feng Yimo” and that the badger was just being paranoid.

“Grrr…”

Move.

The leader of the group led the way toward the mountains. Besides the snake and the hedgehog, the remaining three units of their vanguard were all here. What other Corpse King could possibly stand against them?

“ROAR!” the badger-like one tried to stop them. They couldn’t just charge in like that- They would all die!

None of them listened. They simply skirted around it. Just as they were about to accelerate, a figure emerged from the mountains ahead. A man in a trench coat, carrying a longsword, was walking toward them with a black dog in tow.

They couldn’t sense any aura from the man, but the black dog beside him was clearly a thrice-evolved Corpse King. All their attention focused on the beast.

The black beast, who had been dragged along to dispose of trash, was trudging with vacant eyes when it spotted a familiar figure among the crowd of unlucky souls ahead. The badger-like one was staring right at it.

Their eyes met across the distance. In that instant, both the badger’s and the black beast’s eyes turned red.

Feng Yimo walked forward, sizing up the group, but mostly looking for suitable candidates. The first one he noticed was the badger-like Corpse King.

Being stared at, its nerves instantly tensed.

“Grrr…” the black beast couldn’t help but warn it. Run!

Feng Yimo glanced down at it. The black beast flinched.

Taking in this scene, seeing the black beast’s fear, the badger-like one’s eyes filled with tears. “Roooar…” It would not run. It would save the black beast!

“Grrr…” The black beast saw Feng Yimo nodding in satisfaction at the badger. It was on the verge of tears itself. Steeling its nerves against Feng Yimo’s killing intent, it warned it again. No, just run! If you don’t run now, it’ll be too late…

Understanding the urgency in its cry, the badger-like one was overcome with emotion. Even now, the black beast was thinking of it. It was truly a good Corpse King. It would absolutely save it!

“ROAR!” A sharp cry interrupted their silent exchange. The leader of the third vanguard unit stepped forward, glaring coldly at the approaching Feng Yimo.

“Grrr?”

You are Feng Yimo? You’re the one who killed the snake and the hedgehog?

He was quite satisfied with this batch. Nearly half of them had sharp claws, perfect for digging.

“Can you dig?” he asked.

“Grrr?”

Huh?

“It’s alright if you can’t. You can learn,” Feng Yimo said.

“ROAR!” The leader was furious. It would waste no more time on this weakling who didn’t even have the aura of a Corpse King. It lunged forward in an instant.

As it moved, the twenty-odd Corpse Kings behind it all charged. They would kill this man, then go find the hedgehog. As the chosen warriors of their king, the representatives of their city, they had a mission!

They were to conquer all the Corpse Kings in this land for their king. They had to conquer this new world for him. They had no more time to waste. The great war had already begun.

Watching the massive figures swarm toward him, Feng Yimo carefully avoided their vital points, trying only to sever their limbs. He would beat them up, then take them back.

“ROAR!”

Their forelimbs severed, the Corpse Kings grew even more enraged. They were shocked that he wasn’t as weak as they had thought, but their anger grew. By avoiding their vitals, was he looking down on them? Was he toying with them!? Enraged, they held nothing back, unleashing their full power, swarming him, trying to tear this puny two-legged creature to shreds.

Amid the chaos, the badger-like one saw the ground littered with blood and limbs, saw more and more Corpse Kings fall. It took two steps back, every cell in its body screaming at it to run. It looked at the black beast with sheer terror.

The black beast was resignedly eating the ever-increasing pile of limbs on the ground. Its stomach was getting fuller and fuller. It felt like a mobile garbage disposal. What did Feng Yimo think it was? The black beast’s eyes turned red as it glared at him. But then it saw him lop off another Corpse King’s head with a single stroke, and it resignedly went back to eating. At least it was still alive.

Witnessing this, the badger-like one’s head felt like it would explode with rage. Feng Yimo is even fattening the black beast up before he eats it! How dare he! Knowing the humiliation the black beast was suffering, a wave of heat flooded its body, banishing all fear, filling it with endless courage.

It charged toward the black beast, and before the fighting Feng Yimo could react, it clamped its jaws around it, turned, and fled. The entire sequence took less than a second. It had never moved so fast. As it ran, it felt a dazed sense of disbelief, followed by a surge of joy and excitement. Did I just rescue the black beast?

Holding its breath, it pumped its legs, running as fast as it could. It ran a great distance, not stopping until it reached another mountain range. Only then did it look back.

Half of the twenty-odd Corpse Kings it had brought were now dead. Amid the pools of blood and severed limbs, Feng Yimo was staring coldly at it.

His long trenchcoat whipped in the wind, his longsword was dripping with blood, his eyes were as cold, as black, and as and lifeless as the abyss. The badger-like one had never seen hell, but it imagined that the demons and asuras there could be no more terrifying than this.

Their eyes met, and as it stared into those eyes, it felt a chilling cold wash over it, as if something sharp and icy was being dragged across its body, leaving it bleeding and raw.

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“Urk…” The badger-like Corpse King didn’t dare look back. Heart pounding with terror, it continued its desperate sprint, trying to put as much distance as possible between them. It wasn’t running aimlessly; it was heading toward the Devil’s City. It had heard that the king of the Devil’s City was a Corpse King on the verge of breaking through its third evolution. It didn’t know if a fourth evolution was possible, but it was certain that such a being would be an extremely rare and powerful existence. Feng Yimo would surely be no match for it!

As long as it could survive, as long as it could rescue the black beast, it was willing to join the Devil’s City, even if that meant bowing its head in submission.

“Ugh…” A fierce resolve grew in its heart. It summoned every last ounce of strength, transforming into a bolt of lightning that flashed through the mountain forest. It ran through the entire forest and into the urban area beyond without stopping. Only after crossing seven or eight city districts, when it was completely exhausted, did it finally find a place to stop.

Spitting the black beast out, the badger-like one nudged its tiny form with its nose. Before it could react, the badger collapsed to the ground beside it, panting heavily.

Released from its mouth, the black beast looked at the completely unfamiliar city, listening to the heavy breathing beside it. Its heart was filled with a mix of complex emotions. It sat on the ground, looking at its exhausted friend, its eyes burning. How could it ever repay such a kindness? It had never imagined that the badger would still be thinking of saving it at a time like this.

“Huff… huff…” The badger’s body rose and fell dramatically.

The black beast lifted a paw and gently placed it on its hot nose. “Grrr…” Thank you.

“Huff… huff… roar…”

“Grrr…” Rest first.

The black beast’s trembling growl had barely faded when it sensed several unfriendly gazes. It immediately grew to its full size, transforming from a large dog into a massive monster three stories tall. It stepped forward, shielding the exhausted badger under its belly, and bared its teeth at the approaching Corpse Kings.

There were five of them, all different shapes and sizes, but all were thrice-evolved and extremely hostile.

“ROAR!” the black beast let out a threatening roar. What do you want?

Most of the Corpse Kings roaming this world were still ordinary ones. Thrice-evolved ones were extremely rare, yet this city was full of them. Corpse Kings were highly territorial and would never gather together under normal circumstances, especially not thrice-evolved ones. Where in the world had they ended up?

“Gaaah…” a bear-like Corpse King, one of the five, let out a surprisingly shrill cry, completely at odds with its massive frame. That’s what we should be asking. Do you know where you are, trespassing like this?

“Grrr?” Where?

As it asked, the black beast calculated its options. The badger was an ordinary Corpse King; it would be no help. It was on its own against five of them.

“Huff… huff… roar…” Shielded under the black beast, the badger tried to get up. The black beast pinned it back down.

No…

The badger struggled to its feet. “Roar…” I know the leader of your vanguard, the black snake. I know all five of your unit leaders.

“Gaaah?” The bear looked at it. The black snake?

“Roar.” Yes.

“Gaaah?” It sent you?

The bear exchanged a look with the others. The vanguard units were indeed tasked with recruiting other Corpse Kings to expand their army, but according to their original plan, they were supposed to rendezvous after the main army had begun its advance.

“Roar…” No.

“Gaaah?” Then what are you doing here?

“Roar…” They… they’re all dead.

“Gaaah…” The bear let out a shrill laugh. The black snake is dead? What a joke. It was the strongest among us, second only to our king. It might believe that the other unit leaders were dead, but the black snake? That was the funniest thing it had ever heard.

“Roar…” It’s true. They’re all dead. The badger was getting frantic. Why does no one from the Devil’s City ever believe me?

“Gaaah,” the bear sneered. Then tell us how they died.

The anxious look on the badger’s face froze for a moment.

“Roar…” I met the black snake in the city. It told me to join the Devil’s City. I… I asked it to help me rescue someone. But while it was helping me, it was killed by another Corpse King. It’s true! That Corpse King was incredibly strong! The black snake’s head was cut off with a single blow.

“Gaaah.” The bear and the others exchanged disdainful looks. The badger’s lie was pathetic. The source of the black snake’s power was its impenetrable scales. Any Corpse King that got close enough to be wrapped in its embrace never escaped alive.

“Roar…” I’m telling the truth.

“Gaaah?” Then what about the hedgehog, the leader of the second unit?

“…Roar.” I asked it to help me rescue someone… and it died too. After the black snake died, I went to find it. I heard where it was from the black snake and went looking. When it heard the black snake was dead, it came with me to find the person who did it.

“Gaaah?” And the third unit? Did you meet them too?

“…Roar.” I asked them to help me rescue someone… and they died too.

The five Corpse Kings fell silent. Was this badger trying to be funny? Or did it think it was fun to mess with them?

“ROAR!” It’s true!

“Croak?” another Corpse King chimed in. Then what about the fourth unit?

The badger looked at it with aggrieved eyes. “Roar…” When I met the third unit, the fourth unit was with them. After I told them about the snake and the hedgehog, they didn’t believe me and insisted on seeing for themselves… They died with the third unit.

After a pause, before they could ask, it added meekly, “Roar.” The fifth unit was with them too… They didn’t believe me either. They also wanted to see for themselves.

Seeing the five Corpse Kings fall silent, the badger, its head bowed, looked up at them with a wronged expression, then lowered its head again.

“Gaaah…” So what do you want now?

The badger looked at the bear. “Roar…” I want to join you. It remembered the black beast beside it and quickly added, “Roar.” We both want to join you.

With that, it looked at the bear with wet, expectant eyes. Meeting those shimmering, tear-filled eyes, the bear’s mind went blank for a moment. It really wanted to ask if the badger was mentally deficient. This joke wasn’t funny at all. But looking into those eyes, the words died on its lips.

The bear gave a look to the other four, and the five of them huddled together.

“Croak…” What now?

“Grrr…” Is that badger brain-damaged? Maybe it idn’t evolve properly?

“Roar…” You actually believe its nonsense?

“Wraar.” The five vanguard units are the strongest forces of our Devil’s City. If they all died so easily, what does that make us? We might as well give up on conquering the world and just disband. I refuse to believe they’re dead. Those two are definitely trouble, maybe assassins sent by another faction.

“Croak?” Assassins? A single thrice-evolved Corpse King and an ordinary one?

“Wraar.” I still don’t believe it.

“Grrr?” Then how about we go take a look?

The other four all stared at it. Under their gaze, the Corpse King shrank back and fell silent.

The bear looked back at the badger, who was still staring at it with wet, expectant eyes. It turned back to its group. “Gaaah…” What kind of Corpse King were you talking about? It still couldn’t believe there was a Corpse King in this world capable of killing the black snake.

“Grrr,” the black beast spoke up. A human-form Corpse King. I thought at first he had evolved toward intelligence, but his strength also far exceeds that of a normal intelligence-type thrice-evolved Corpse King. His name is Feng Yimo.

“Gaaah?” Human-form?

“Grrr.” Yes.

“Roar…” beside the black beast, the badger asked nervously, Can we join?

“Gaaah.” We have to ask our king about this. You wait here.

The bear looked at the others, and one of them immediately set off toward the city behind them. They were already in the core territory of the Devil’s City. Their king was in the next city.

Just as that Corpse King left, another one came running from the opposite direction. It was an ordinary Corpse King, running on all fours like a dog. “Grrr…” General, report! A human-form Corpse King has entered our territory!

Understanding the message, the bear and its group were merely stunned, but the badger and the black beast felt an icy chill, as if they had been plunged into a frozen cellar. They both shot to their feet, overcome with the urgent impulse to turn and flee.

“Gaaah?” The bear looked at the two of them, who looked as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, and continued to question the dog-like Corpse King.

“Grrr…” He’s wearing a trench coat, carrying a longsword… oh, and he’s carrying a lot of rope.

“ROAR!”

“GRRR!”

The badger and the black beast leaped into the air. In that moment, they both pictured Feng Yimo, longsword in hand, a shoulder full of rope, charging toward them. They could almost feel his cold, murderous aura.

They were on the verge of tears. Especially the black beast. It just couldn’t understand.

They had already run through several cities. How had he caught up with them from so far away? Normally, he could get lost just walking from one end of a town to the other. How was he not lost now?

The black beast wanted to cry but had no tears. Did I really dig up his ancestors’ graves in a past life?!

And what was the deal with the rope!? What was Feng Yimo planning!?

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