Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Clash with the Modified Zombie
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Hiding among the zombie corpses, I turned my head toward the sound of voices.
A helmet marked with a red cross. A short silver dagger and spear.
Finally, the golden falcon emblem engraved on the armor and shield.
Clank. Clank.
Three knights appeared.
They were the ones I had seen at the entrance to the zombie house.
Spotting the modified zombie, they lowered their upper bodies into combat stance.
Pressing their large round shields tight against their bodies, they covered both their upper and lower halves completely.
“W-what is that thing?”
“J-Jonghyeon, it’s a zombie form I’ve never seen before.”
“……It doesn’t look like a normal one.”
The one holding the spear—his name was Jonghyeon?
The knight at the very front had a single feather on his helmet, unlike the others.
I hadn’t noticed earlier since he wasn’t wearing it then, but it must signify the group leader.
He raised his shield high and chanted a holy spell that only holy knights could use.
“Holy Shield.”
[Holy energy envelops the player’s shield.]
A yellow light poured from Jonghyeon’s shield, wrapping around his body.
The two knights standing on either side of him chanted the same spell.
It was rare to see a group where everyone had the same class.
They must be players who chose holy knight for safe hunting.
That’s why they picked this place, swarming with ‘undead monsters’ weak to holy spells, as their hunting ground.
Well—
Now that they’ve run into that thing, it’s not safe anymore.
-Kuweeeek!
The modified zombie circled around them with slow steps.
It was like they were probing each other’s strength, but just from their stances, I could tell who was stronger.
At most five minutes.
That’s how long these three knights could hold out against the modified zombie.
‘What to do.’
A modified zombie was a player infected with the Z Virus, one that leveled up by hunting humans.
In other words, if it took down those three knights over there and leveled up.
It could end up even stronger than Park Gyuhwan, who was coming to rescue us.
“…….”
‘Let’s see.’
[Remaining Mana: 39]
There was plenty of mana left, even if I raised every corpse here.
But compared to the ample mana, the materials were sorely lacking.
I could use at most five corpses.
‘Haa—.’
I kept running variables through my head for summon combinations.
It was just a split second, but I decided against reviving zombies.
Combining these low-grade zombies would just be clumping trash to make new trash.
Even if I luckily got a large zombie combo, with the zombie corpses here, it’d only be 7th grade or lower.
Zombies weaker than wild animals, that is.
And summoning a skeleton capable of facing it with just five corpses would require insane luck.
With five corpses, no decent combo was possible without lottery-winning levels of luck.
‘……Stay calm.’
Yoo Sora looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Eyes full of expectation, like ‘You must have some way to escape this dire situation.’
“Whew.”
I leaned close to her face and whispered so only she could hear.
“Sora-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“Just in case, prepare a syringe. The brownish one.”
“……Brownish? Ah, got it.”
I hoped it wouldn’t come to using Yoo Sora’s syringe……
As the distance between the modified zombie and the knights closed, my heart raced faster.
They seemed about to clash any second, yet they didn’t.
If they kept buying time like this, I was grateful.
The more cautiously the modified zombie moved, the more arrogant and flashy the knights’ movements became.
‘You should never let your guard down on the battlefield.’
The knights’ spacing slowly widened.
That’s dangerous.
The moment I thought that.
The modified zombie, which had been circling the knights, did something bizarre.
Pop!
It leaped high and stuck to the ceiling. Stomach acid dripped from its mouth onto the ground.
Sizzle—
Realizing it wasn’t ordinary liquid, the knights raised their shields over their heads.
“Use your shields to block its harassment!”
The modified zombie, finishing its attack prep, fixed its gaze on one of the knights.
-Kuweeeek.
Like a bat spotting prey, it dove toward the knights at lightning speed.
Whoosh—
Thud!
The modified zombie knocked down two knights in a flash.
-Kieek!
The knight leader, luckily unscathed, bashed the modified zombie away with his holy shield.
Thwack!
“Form up! Hold the line!”
He helped the others to their feet.
The modified zombie stuck out its long tongue and licked the spot on the shield that had hit it.
Then it charged again.
Thudthudthudthud!
The knights, now in formation, swung their shields at the oncoming modified zombie.
Whoosh—
But to the modified zombie, with reflexes as fast as a wild animal, their attacks were far too slow.
It casually ducked the first shield.
Then slapped away the second with its hand.
Clang!
It didn’t dodge or block the third.
Like a rugby player, the modified zombie barreled straight into the subordinate knight with a body slam.
Boom!
The knight and modified zombie flew in opposite directions from the impact.
Thanks to the holy spell?
Fortunately, the shield just shattered, but the knight’s health bar remained full.
In contrast, the modified zombie’s health was chipped by about a tenth.
Not a huge amount, but it had landed a solid hit since the zombie lost its shield.
The modified zombie groaned as it rose, grabbed a nearby zombie corpse’s leg, and chewed it.
As it devoured the zombie corpse, its health bar slowly refilled.
This is the worst.
It wasn’t just an ordinary modified zombie player—it was one with deep game knowledge.
The shieldless knight gripped his dagger with both hands.
On either side, the group leader called Jonghyeon and the remaining knight raised their shields high.
The modified zombie tossed aside the zombie leg it was chewing.
-Puke!
It charged at them again.
-Kuweeeek!
The shieldless knight focused intently, eyes straining.
The moment the modified zombie lunged, he swung his dagger, piercing its skull.
Crunch!
“Success—.”
“Kieek!!”
The modified zombie dragged its pierced head forward and stabbed its claws into the knight’s abdomen.
Ssshhk—
Thud!
The thick steel armor was easily pierced, blood flowing from the knight’s gut.
“Keuk!”
“Kuwweeeek!!”
“T-this bastard… why won’t it die….”
Stunned by the zombie’s unexpected move, the group leader hesitated, hand trembling.
I shouted loudly at them.
“What are you doing!”
Hearing my yell, Jonghyeon snapped to and raised his holy shield high, smashing down on the modified zombie’s head.
Whoosh—
Thud!
“Die!”
The modified zombie’s health bar barely budged.
Even with a holy spell, his strength wasn’t enough for major damage.
The modified zombie kicked off the ground, leaping back, and yanked the dagger from its head.
-Kaaaak!!
It glanced around, then started devouring another rotten zombie corpse.
The large hole in its skull from the dagger began regenerating slowly.
A golden light circled above the modified zombie’s head.
One of the knights it hit must have died.
‘Damn it!’
Extreme fear?
I glanced over—the remaining two knights were frozen solid.
Their mouths agape, they just watched the zombie regenerate.
‘Fucking gods.’
Is this all the mental fortitude of royal palace knights?
Shit.
If I leave them like this, the modified zombie will take them out and grow massively.
Even if Park Gyuhwan arrives, Yoo Sora and I will die to it.
I didn’t want to step in personally.
But I had no choice.
I couldn’t let the modified zombie grow.
I took a deep breath, psyched myself up, and lifted a zombie corpse.
“Eat this!”
For a brief moment, the modified zombie’s gaze turned to me. The rotten zombie corpse arced through the air and dropped onto its head.
Thud.
I yelled to Yoo Sora.
“Sora-ssi, now!”
“Yes.”
Yoo Sora whispered to the air.
“Come forth, needle containing the blood of the subdued one.”
Light the color of well-ripened ginkgo leaves swirled in her hand, forming a yellowish-brown holographic syringe.
I reached out to her.
She jabbed the injection without hesitation, as if used to this.
Ssshh.
The brownish liquid slowly entered my veins.
A gale whipped through my body, shaking me.
It felt like my body was floating in the air.
Light as a bird, like I could soar away.
[Received a brownish blood transfusion from player ‘Yoo Sora.’]
[The power of Geum Sin Nahan (Golden Body Arhat), who served as the Jade Emperor’s guard captain, activates.]
[Activation time: 30 minutes]
“……This should do it.”
I flicked my hand side to side. The motion was too fast for my eyes to track.
As fast as a pro boxer’s jab.
An afterimage lingered where my fist swung.
I memorized the terrain around me for the fight with the modified zombie.
Twisting paths blocked by gray bricks and a cement ceiling.
The only useful feature was the tall wall.
I gripped Baby Dragon’s Fang tightly and said to Yoo Sora.
“Sora-ssi. Stay away from me.”
She nodded, crouched low, and slowly moved toward the knights’ position.
Because the modified zombie’s target had switched from the knights to me.
Its gaze was locked on me.
-Kieeek….
The modified zombie drooled green liquid from its mouth as it approached.
Seeing its face, a sigh escaped me naturally.
“Whew.”
Unlike me to fight a battle with unknown odds.
‘No choice.’
Between a rock and a hard place.
In this situation, I was the only one who could create an escape.
The slowly approaching modified zombie suddenly accelerated.
Thudthudthudthud.
-Kieek!
I waited until it was as close as possible.
Pop!
The moment it lunged, I sidestepped with quick feet.
By a hair.
Without Yoo Sora’s power, its claws would’ve severed my neck.
Even so, its nails grazed my jaw, leaving a scratch.
Boom!
The modified zombie slammed its head into the wall behind me.
Not enough to collapse it, but cracks spiderwebbed from the force.
“Kueeeek.”
It spewed green liquid from its mouth.
Seizing the opening, I swung Dragon’s Fang down hard on its head.
Thud!
I put everything into it, but its health bar only nicked like a fingernail scratch.
Does that mean my attack power can’t dent it at all?
“Damn….”
The modified zombie groaned and flailed its arms wildly.
Whoosh—
It didn’t connect, but fast enough to feel threatening.
Step.
I backed against the wall again.
Stay calm.
Stay calm, Kim Cheonjae.
Just a bit longer…
-Lightning Strike.
Huh?
Such a faint voice, I thought I misheard. Then, footsteps approached from not far away.
Quick and light.
“……You’re here.”
Thudthudthudthudthud—
Pop!
A goblin in a black suit leaped from behind the wall I was against.
The silver blade in his hand gleamed.
All eyes turned to him.
I gazed at him and whispered quietly.
“Target designated. Eliminate the enemy.”
I slowly raised my finger, pointing at the modified zombie.
[Park Gyuhwan recognizes the command from Kim Cheonjae.]
-One Stroke Two Cuts