52: Dark Thunder Ruins

Jian Wuxie was so terrified that he slumped to the ground, forgetting to dodge for a moment and ending up pinned beneath the revived corpse.

The corpse showed no mercy, opening its maw to tear into Jian Wuxie. He struggled and screamed, "Senior Sister, save me! Ah, I want to go home!"

Xiao Hongyuan heard Jian Wuxie's cry for help and tried to rush over immediately, but her path was blocked by two Zombies. Though their movements were stiff when they first rose, their attacks were now incredibly swift once they closed in!

One Zombie pounced forward with lightning speed, but the clever Xiao Hongyuan dodged with a backstep, using an Uppercut to launch it into the air.

Xiao Hongyuan jumped quickly, evading another Zombie's attack. In mid-air, she struck rapidly with her long blade, performing a beautiful Aerial Chain Slash directly against the Zombie suspended by the Uppercut.

Just as she was about to land, she quickly followed up with a Silver Light Falling Blade. The shockwave upon landing knocked back the Zombies waiting for her on the ground.

Quan Wudi cursed loudly while wildly swinging the sharp claws in his hands, attempting to stop the Zombies from approaching.

A Fei was still young after all; he was hesitant and clumsy against the Zombies, his reaction speed dropping significantly. With a pale face, he frantically dealt with the Zombies attacking him.

By this time, Jian Wuxie's cries had ceased. Xiao Hongyuan finally managed to fight her way to his side, only to see a mangled, half-eaten corpse.

Suddenly, a silver light flashed in the sky. The previously dead Jian Wuxie descended from above, the massive impact of his arrival sending the Zombies around his former corpse flying.

Clutching his chest with lingering fear, he cursed, "Damn it, being bitten to death is too terrifying. I never want to experience that a second time."

Xiao Hongyuan asked quickly, "Did you use a revival coin?"

Jian Wuxie's eyes were bloodshot as he nodded. "Damn it, that was too scary. See if I don't kill them all now!"

Having said that, he brandished his greatsword and charged straight at the Zombies that had just been gnawing on him.

Quan Wudi relied on his weapon's decent attack power and was in no immediate danger for the moment. However, as more and more Zombies surrounded him, he gradually began to feel the strain.

In contrast, A Fei, who usually performed well, now had a pale complexion. He had already been clawed and bitten several times by the Zombies, and his health was nearly depleted.

His current state was very wrong; he was firing off skills at random, but few hit their mark. For some reason, besides fear, there was something else indiscernible in his eyes.

Xiao Hongyuan quickly scanned the group's condition. She wanted to help, but she was powerless to do so, as the two Zombies she had previously repelled were closing in again.

She realized that her previous attacks hadn't even left visible marks on the Zombies.

She hurriedly unleashed a Wave Split Slash on the nearest Zombie, the blue sword shadows enveloping it along with the one slightly behind it.

After the sword shadows dissipated and the two Zombies fell, Xiao Hongyuan didn't stop. She immediately followed up with a Ground Split Wave Sword against the fallen Zombies. The massive, flaming Sword Qi surged over them, scorching their tattered skin.

The two Zombies didn't howl; they only made a raspy, wheezing sound from their throats, where bone was visible.

Jian Wuxie fared better thanks to his +12 weapon; every swing of his sword left a clear wound on the Zombies.

He delivered a Cross Slash, and as the fiery red Sword Qi swept past, the Zombie flew back like a tattered sack, finally turning into white light as it hit the ground.

A Gray Bead dropped onto the grass at his feet, but Jian Wuxie didn't care to pick it up. His bloodlust was fully ignited; he merely glanced back before immediately leaping toward the densest pack of Zombies with a Mountain Collapse Strike.

Xiao Hongyuan saw this and wanted to remind him to help A Fei first, but she sighed softly when she saw him disappear into the crowd of corpses.

Just then, a muffled groan of pain came from A Fei's direction. A Zombie was clinging to him, its bloody maw biting directly into his neck. A Fei's eyes went dull, and his body hit the ground with a thud.

Even after becoming a corpse, A Fei didn't choose to revive immediately. It was unclear if he was truly terrified or if there was some other reason.

With A Fei's death, the Zombies that had been attacking him immediately swarmed toward the nearest target, Quan Wudi.

Quan Wudi had already used his meager Nen to release his Clone skill. The three silver-white figures had barely appeared before they were torn apart by the Zombies. He tried to use Vajra Shatter to jump out of the encirclement, but just as he leaped, a Zombie grabbed his ankle and yanked him back down.

His Vajra Shatter interrupted, Quan Wudi lost his balance and crashed to the ground. He was instantly pinned beneath the horde, let out a few screams, and died.

Jian Wuxie, his eyes red with bloodlust, was not far from Quan Wudi. He was fighting with a complete disregard for his own safety, trading wound for wound, refusing to dodge as he swung his greatsword at his targets.

Soon, as the number of Zombies increased, he let out another unwilling cry of agony and was submerged by the horde.

Xiao Hongyuan's situation was even more difficult. Her weapon was currently the weakest. Although she only faced two Zombies, even after putting all her effort into killing one, she was bitten to death by the other.

Silver light appeared again as Jian Wuxie and Quan Wudi used revival coins to reappear on the ground.

Taking advantage of the shockwave from the revival that knocked down all nearby Zombies, Quan Wudi immediately ran to Jian Wuxie's side and said, "We can't fight like this. Being surrounded is a death sentence!"

Two more flashes of silver light followed as A Fei and Xiao Hongyuan also used revival coins. The four finally regrouped.

Hearing Quan Wudi's words, Xiao Hongyuan immediately gave a decisive command: "Run outward! Break out of the encirclement first!"

With that, she took the lead, using Three-Stage Slash to slide toward the edge of the forest.

Having calmed down, Jian Wuxie and A Fei immediately followed suit with Three-Stage Slash!

Quan Wudi shouted in frustration as he ran along, "What about me? What do I do? I haven't gotten on the bus yet!"

Left with no choice, he first used Vajra Shatter toward the distance, knocking down the Zombies that were about to stand up, then leaped forward with all his might.

In mid-air, he felt he still wouldn't clear the encirclement, so he immediately used his Eagle Step skill, his foot glowing with white light as he stomped heavily onto a Zombie's head.

Gaining a second boost of aerial momentum, he continued forward, barely landing at the very edge of the encirclement.

"Jian Wuxie, help me!" Quan Wudi shouted immediately.

Jian Wuxie was indeed quick-witted. Seeing that Quan Wudi was just a bit short of getting out, he immediately used Ground Split Wave Sword to knock the Zombies at the edge back toward the center.

Quan Wudi hit the ground and immediately performed a lazy donkey roll, tumbling out of the reach of the horde.