Another pleasant surprise at the last minute was Rony. Terry was in the superblock, from where he was sending instructions from his computer to the new version of the drone, which was firing its weapons again and again at the nearest Stalkers.
The drone had taken a lot of damage in its last raid, so its appearance had lost the immaculate look it had. Terry had managed to repair it with appliance parts, so he wasn't sure how long it would last.
Adam was getting distracted by his thoughts so he continued backing down the bridge. He was worried about Miguel and the fact that the Breeder might repeat the deadly attack.
Indeed, before entering the building, Menil issued another alert through Leonard. Adam, who was at that moment almost at the entrance, did not hesitate for a second and jumped over the bridge railing onto the slope just below.
A second later a spear exploded in his previous position. A chunk of concrete from the bridge hit him in the shoulder, but Adam managed to jump successfully.
The fall down the slope was uncomfortable, but it was nothing to worry about.
"Are you all right, Adam?" Leonard asked from the first floor.
"Yes, but we have to find a way to protect ourselves from that attack. Ask Menil if he has any idea how the Breeder might know where we are."
Meanwhile, in block 3, the Breeder was not satisfied with his results, for even with his new, faster launch, he could not kill them.
"I think Menil is warning them of the attack, that's why they can dodge it."
The Breeder fixed his gaze on Arnold. Thehuman zombie had been somewhat curious. He was a Windwalker, but at the same time not, which the Breeder found even more curious. Especially that strange spell. Now he seemed to know the reason why the humans were able to evade him.
"How could you know?"
"I heard something just as you raised your spear, I think Menil is watching us."
Arnold was watching his surroundings carefully, trying to find Menil, but Menil had realized how vulnerable his position was and decided to descend the roof stairs into the building and watch from one of the apartaments.
"In that case, go and kill him. It's your first mission. Shadow!"
Arnold was confused by this last call, but all was soon clear. The Breeder's shadow moved strangely and a zombie materialized out of nowhere.
"Can you feel it? Tell the human zombie where to go."
"I can. It's in that building, on the third floor." Arnold looked at the spot Shadow had pointed out and sharpened his gaze.
"Human zombie, go kill him."
"Okay, but I'd like you to call me Arnold, that's my name."
"Arnold? What does that mean?"
"Nothing special, it's just my name. My parents gave it to me."
"Well, Arnold, go now."
Arnold fell silent and then took flight. The Breeder watched him go and then looked at Sombra.
"There is a human who looks like the leader, go and kill him."
"As you command."
Shadow disappeared and left the Breeder alone. He looked up at the moon.
"A name eh? I think I should pick one. Luna will do it."
Moments before, Menil was talking to Leonard on the Walkie Talkie.
"I have no idea how he can detect them. But maybe…"
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe I'm wrong, but if the Breeder can use a mental connection to communicate with other zombies, then it could use something similar to see through the eyes of other zombies."
"Are you saying it can use the Stalkers to observe us?"
"I don't know, it's just speculation, but I think it's possible. Didn't it attack the flesh monstrosity when the Windwalkers were fighting it?"
Leonard was silent for a moment.
"Maybe, but I don't see how such information can be useful to us. There are too many zombies out there to kill them all."
"In that case, I'll keep watching..."
Menil, who had been watching the Breeder while talking to Leonard, was interrupted by the appearance of the tiny zombie out of nowhere, seconds later, Arnold took flight and headed towards him.
"I'm afraid I'm in trouble, Arnold is heading my way, watch out for the Breeder's attacks while I take care of him."
"All right, but make sure you kill him."
Menil swallowed, the thought of killing Arnold was unpleasant, but he could see no other way if he wanted to remain in good standing with the haven.
Menil put the Walkie Talkie away and left the apartment. Just in time, because Arnold cast a spell towards one of the nearest windows. Luckily, it wasn't the one Menil was in, but the powerful blast almost knocked him off balance.
Menil cursed, he was at a disadvantage as long as he remained locked within four walls. He had to get out immediately, so he headed for the roof.
From the outside, Arnold observed the effects of his spell. The window had shattered, along with part of the interior of the flat. From his vantage point it was the ideal place to observe the Breeder, but it seemed to have failed.
Arnold approached the building carefully, as he still didn't know what Menil's evolution was, although the fact that his Class was a [Warrior] relieved him somewhat, but he had to be careful. He just flew close to the building waiting for Menil to make the next move and recover the energy he had spent on the spell.
The sound of a grate opening caught his attention. He hadn't noticed it so far, but his hearing had become far more sensitive than usual, so he responded immediately and climbed onto the roof. Just in time to see Menil flying fast towards him.
In panic, Arnold let loose an earth bomb that missed completely and then tried to dodge. Menil's attack hit him in the wing, but the damage was far less than he expected. Still panicking, Arnold backed away as he tried to find where Menil had gone.
Menil continued to fly after the attack, he was not very satisfied with the result of the attack, as from the air he could not exert much force, so he decided to try again. Arnold was still panicking, so he didn't see Menil until the last moment, just enough time to cast another of his spells.
This caught Menil by surprise, and he was unable to dodge in time. The chunk of rock hit his chest, but luckily it took a few moments to explode, so he was propelled backwards before the blast hit him. Menil reflexively closed his wings to protect them, but he still ended up badly injured, with one arm practically immobilized and part of his face and chest encrusted with pieces of rock. Worse still, the explosion hit the Walkie Talkie in his pocket and was destroyed.
Arnold did not fare much better, as Menil had been too close to him. The blast further damaged the wing Menil had already damaged, as well as leaving a bleeding hole in his chest. Arnold fell from a height of two stories and hit the ground hard.
Menil, for his part, tried to land, but as he was wounded he missed and ended up rolling on the ground. He immediately tried to get up and his body responded, but Arnold was already aiming another spell at him. Menil jumped with all his might and managed to dodge it, but the explosion a few moments later wounded his good arm.
They had both landed in the garden of the building, so Menil moved as fast as he could to find a place to hide. Arnold, meanwhile, was having difficulty standing up. He was angry, for Menil had managed to ambush him. He cursed as he fell to the ground after almost managing to get up.
There was blood everywhere and he was beginning to panic. His last spell had barely touched Menil, so he was still in danger. Also, his left wing had been so badly damaged that he could no longer fly, which made him feel desperate.
"Why didn't you stay in the superblock? Why come here to die? You know that if the Breeder turns its attention to you, you're dead, don't you?"
Arnold shouted, in a desperate attempt to find out where Menil was, but Menil didn't fall for the trap, he just kept backing away. He soon took flight again and, after a moment's hesitation, decided that it was more important to help the haven than to deal with Arnold.
The Breeder, meanwhile, had been watching the fight with some interest. Arnold had not shown himself to be very useful, but the other Windwalker was also peculiar. He was stronger and more agile. It made him wonder why these human zombies, or whatever they were, existed.
The Breeder fixed his gaze on Menil, who was trying to escape, and for a second thought about attacking him, but at that moment something else caught his attention. In the car park, where hundreds of Stalkers had been killed by the strange trap on the ground, the survivors were trying to make their way through a carpet of corpses, but an explosion stopped them. It was the strange ball that had once stunned him. Immediately, he used his few remaining Windwalkers to locate the source of the shot.