Doomsday Awakening GL - Chapter 26
The dark shadow was very fast. Using the moonlight, An Yimu finally saw clearly what it was.
It was a zombie, an unusually structured zombie, and it was at the four-tier level.
This zombie was entirely made of stark white bone, a complete skeleton, with only its head retaining some human semblance. Its white bones shone with a layer of silver light, yet it didn’t look fragile at all.
An Yimu did not underestimate this zombie. Being able to reach four-tier strength meant this zombie was not to be taken lightly.
A Four-Tier Skeletal Zombie (Gu Hua Zang Shi, or Bone-Mutated Zombie). An Yimu speculated this was an upgraded version of the Hardened Zombie.
This zombie was faster than her, so running away was impossible. Only by defeating it could they be safe.
In the blink of an eye, the Skeletal Zombie was in front of An Yimu, bringing a bone-blade down in a mid-air strike. The bone-blade looked like a great saber but was actually a piece of bone from the zombie’s body.
An Yimu was already on guard. After telling Lan Shang to stay far away, she raised her Spider Spear to block.
The sheer force of the Skeletal Zombie’s blow sent An Yimu flying backward.
An Yimu jumped up in shock, clutching her chest. The Spider Spear in her hand even showed faint cracks.
The Skeletal Zombie’s dark eyes looked at An Yimu with arrogance, its eyes full of disdain, as if it didn’t consider An Yimu a worthy opponent at all.
This was a one-sided crushing. The difference between three-tier and four-tier was more than just one level; the strength, speed, and stamina of a four-tier awakener were incomparable to a three-tier awakener. In just one exchange, An Yimu was suppressed.
The Skeletal Zombie didn’t give An Yimu a chance to rest, gripping its bone-blade and rushing forward again.
An Yimu rolled on the ground, passing directly under the Skeletal Zombie’s blade, and appeared behind the skeleton.
“Idiot!” A zombie was a zombie. Even with intelligence, it couldn’t be compared to a human.
An Yimu planted one hand on the ground and leaped up, thrusting the Spider Spear into the Skeletal Zombie’s back. Leaving one’s back exposed to an enemy was a huge mistake.
Suddenly, An Yimu glimpsed a hint of a smile flash in the Skeletal Zombie’s eyes, immediately triggering a loud alarm in her mind.
The Spider Spear struck the Skeletal Zombie’s back, but it failed to injure the zombie in the slightest. The bones on this Skeletal Zombie’s body were extremely hard, like armor, and they repelled An Yimu’s force.
The Skeletal Zombie swung its bone-blade backward in a reverse chop.
This zombie was actually calculating An Yimu, intentionally leaving its back exposed because it knew An Yimu couldn’t harm it, and it could use this opportunity to finish An Yimu with a single strike.
An Yimu couldn’t withdraw her force in time. She watched the bone-blade swing toward her and could only release the Spider Spear, falling straight to the ground to avoid the zombie’s attack.
The Skeletal Zombie seized the advantage and stepped onto An Yimu’s chest.
Pfft.
An Yimu’s chest tightened, and she spat out a mouthful of fresh bl00d.
Enduring the sharp pain, she used all her strength to kick her leg up, sending the Skeletal Zombie stumbling back a few steps. She then executed a swift back-flip to stand up, quickly retreating tens of meters to put distance between herself and the Skeletal Zombie.
The Skeletal Zombie watched An Yimu mockingly, its eyes full of ridicule. It let out a long howl and rapidly pounced forward.
An Yimu’s expression changed. Her Spider Spear was lying over there, and she had no weapon in her hand. This zombie was clearly superior to her in all aspects. What could she do now?
It wasn’t until the zombie rushed right up to An Yimu that she executed a sideways somersault, kicking up a cloud of dust. The Skeletal Zombie’s footsteps paused for a moment but were unaffected as it continued to swing the bone-blade at An Yimu.
An Yimu constantly changed direction, preventing the Skeletal Zombie from closing in on her.
Finally, her eyes lit up as she spotted the Spider Spear she had abandoned earlier.
The Skeletal Zombie was enraged by An Yimu’s trickery and attacked viciously, aiming to kill An Yimu.
An Yimu dodged with great agility, but the Skeletal Zombie’s superior level was a fact. Even with An Yimu’s speed, she wasn’t as fast as the Skeletal Zombie’s attacks. They wrestled for a long time without a clear victor, but An Yimu had accumulated many more wounds, although she was trying to avoid vital areas.
Lan Shang stood further away, silently observing the fight. She could tell that An Yimu was at a disadvantage.
She suddenly dropped to her knees, one hand braced on the ground, the other clutching her chest. Her brown pupils began to dilate, gradually turning light purple. She gasped heavily, like a drowning person, appearing to be in great pain. A thin layer of sweat quickly beaded on her forehead.
“Ngh… En…”
An Yimu had no solution against the Skeletal Zombie and was being closely pursued, unable to break away. In this moment, she felt how truly weak she was. Facing the four-tier Skeletal Zombie, she was at a loss. And this was with the ‘cheat’ of her gear-shaped birthmark granting her double energy and having leveled up to three-tier after killing the Snow Silkworm in the crevice. What if she hadn’t had these? How ordinary would she have been then? Facing this powerful four-tier zombie, she would probably be sacrificed in a single exchange.
At this moment, the sand and stones around them suddenly began to tremble.
An Yimu and the Skeletal Zombie were both stunned.
Another earthquake?
The sand and stones suddenly lifted up. Countless grains of sand and stones rose into the air, suddenly starting to spin, forming a vortex, like a sandstorm.
The entire open space was covered by sand and stones. The power unleashed at this moment was astonishing.
A tornado formed in the air, stirring up the surrounding sand and stones with a roaring sound. The whole world became a world of sand and stones.
The Skeletal Zombie and An Yimu both lost the will to fight, staring at the sudden appearance of the tornado in shock, their eyes revealing terror.
No one could resist the power of nature.
The tornado began to move rapidly, heading towards the Skeletal Zombie.
An Yimu seized the opportunity and bolted, using her superhuman speed to get away from the area.
The Skeletal Zombie originally wanted to catch up to An Yimu and drag her down with it, but it couldn’t match the speed of the tornado. It was immediately sucked in and tossed into the air. In the sky, the sand and stones carved countless marks into its bones. Before it even had time to utter a sound, it was torn apart, its body scattered into small pieces of bone that fell to the ground.
The tornado also seemed to lose its vitality, instantly subsiding with a rushing sound, and all the sand and stones fell back to the ground.
An Yimu broke out in a cold sweat watching this. The powerful four-tier Skeletal Zombie was completely unable to resist the tornado. She then turned around to look for Lan Shang, only to see Lan Shang curled up on the ground, as if she had been pulled out of water, her clothes soaked with sweat. Lan Shang was clutching her chest, looking pained, and letting out soft moans.
An Yimu recalled the situation when they drove away the white cat last time and instantly realized that Lan Shang had probably saved her again. Lan Shang could manipulate a tornado. What kind of ability was this, to be so powerful? More importantly, every time Lan Shang used her ability, she suffered greatly.
An Yimu couldn’t bear to watch. She took Lan Shang into her arms and took off her jacket to cover Lan Shang.
If Lan Shang had truly killed that four-tier Skeletal Zombie just now, why didn’t Lan Shang gain the zombie’s energy?
Footsteps approached from a distance, and An Yimu looked in the direction of the sound.
Xu Zhili, Qin Yumo, and others had escaped. An Yimu guessed that the group of zombies and the mutated spiders must be fighting now.
Four people had escaped this time.
Xu Zhili, Qin Yumo, the quiet, gloomy-faced man, and the slightly plump uncle. The fierce-faced man had not made it out.
An Yimu felt a chill in her heart. How were humans supposed to survive? A few hours ago, there were over 80 of them; now only four remained. With herself and Lan Shang, there were only six.
After Xu Zhili discovered that An Yimu was a three-tier awakener, his attitude immediately became respectful. Although he didn’t know why that high-tier zombie hadn’t appeared, they had at least escaped and were closer to Chongming City. His heart was instantly filled with hope.
The four people ran to An Yimu’s side, then collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Lan Shang seemed to have fainted. An Yimu was very annoyed. When Lan Shang woke up, she definitely needed to remind her not to use her ability casually again; the side effects of this ability were too severe.
She thought for a moment and spoke first: “Everyone understands the current situation. Let’s stick together and travel.”
Xu Zhili intended the same. With a three-tier awakener leading them, it would be much safer. At the same time, he felt a bit envious. He had been stuck at the second tier for a long time, and too much energy was needed to advance to the third tier. “Yes, yes, I agree. Let’s reintroduce ourselves now. My name is Xu Zhili, a second-tier awakener.”
Qin Yumo said, “Qin Yumo, second-tier awakener.” Her eyes, however, were on An Yimu as she spoke.
The quiet, gloomy-faced man said in a low voice, “Gao Xiaolu, second-tier awakener.”
The slightly plump uncle smiled, “Wang Heng, second-tier awakener.”
Then everyone’s eyes fell on An Yimu.
An Yimu knew her strength had been exposed during the fight just now, so she didn’t hide it. “An Yimu, three-tier awakener.” Seeing Xu Zhili look at Lan Shang, she continued, “She is my friend, and she is an ordinary person.” Of course, she wouldn’t tell these people about Lan Shang’s origin or ability.
Xu Zhili looked doubtful. It was very easy to reach the first tier now; one could awaken by killing twenty zombies. Even without one’s own ability, others could help achieve it quickly. This blonde girl was still an ordinary person? However, seeing that An Yimu didn’t intend to say more, he stopped asking, secretly guessing that the girl was probably concealing her strength.
Wang Heng smiled, “We narrowly escaped this time. I suggest everyone rests here.”
An Yimu nodded in agreement. Resting was necessary. Lan Shang hadn’t woken up yet, and her own wounds needed time to heal. After awakening to the third tier, her wounds could heal on their own, although the speed was somewhat slow.
Gao Xiaolu was distant from everyone. He sat down a little ways away and lay down to rest.
Xu Zhili looked at the direction they had run from, still feeling a lingering fear, but then thought that they would soon reach Chongming City, and his heart was filled with joy.