Chapter 9- Zombie Follower (Part 2)
The Zombie Legion was attracted by Asher's scream and quickly headed toward him. The sight was as horrifying as Edward thought. However, he had resolved to not run away and he wasn't intending to break that resolve. Especially when doing that will trap Sali with no way of escaping which was basically certain death.
'I need to at least kill one Zombie. I can then use the Zombiemancer skill. Just one Zombie.'
To do that, Edward was required to somehow create a situation where he could fight one Zombie alone without getting instantly overwhelmed by the other Zombies.
Looking around him, he tried to find any place where that could be possible.
"How long would it take for you to kill that monster?!" He asked Sali as a plan started forming in his mind.
"One minute… No, 45 seconds. I can kill it in 45 seconds!!" She said as she jumped back, dodging a heavy punch that came down on her like a meteor, crushing the ground on contact.
'45 seconds? I think this will work. I'm dumb for doing this but I have no choice. So, finally knowing what to do, Edward dashed to the other side of the street where a broken truck was parked on the side.
He quickly jumped on top of it and then aimed his sword at the Zombies.
"I'm here you rotten corpses!!"
Seeing their prey not trying to run, the Zombies grew more and more eager to reach him and shred his flesh.
In a few moments, Edward was completely surrounded by the hordes of Zombies. He felt his heart almost leap out of his chest from sheer fear. But, he clenched his teeth and started the next step of his totally stupid and suicidal plan.
Since they were unable to reach him without climbing on top of the truck. Because of their sheer numbers, the Zombies closest to the truck fell down and the ones behind them stepped on top of them, gaining more height before those also fell down to the ground two, leaving room for the next row.
During that time, Edward used his leg to push away every Zombie that dared to climb on top of the truck. Although he knew they will eventually overpower him, all he needed was a few seconds of precious time.
But, the plan only gained him a handful of moments. Eventually, the first Zombie hopped on top of the truck. So, Edward used his sword, and recalling what Sali taught him yesterday, he slashed down, aiming for its head.
Luckily, the sword did hit its target, making the Zombie fall down to the ground. Taking a deep breath, Edward aimed his sword at the Zombie.
'Don't think about it… Don't think about it… Don't think about it…' Reminding himself that this was simply a monster and not a human, he delivered the hit.
The wooden sword smashed the monster's head, making it explode like a watermelon.
[You have killed a level 2 Zombie.]
[You have gained +2 Strength and Health.]
[Zombie corpse detected. Would you like to use the Zombiemancer skill to reawaken it?]
Without waiting to see what appeared, Edward yelled yes in his head as quickly as possible as Zombies were already close to reaching him.
Instantly, Edward felt a small amount of energy seep out of his body and vanish completely. After that, the Zombie that was laying dead in front of him suddenly fidgeted once and then twice before it suddenly stood up again.
[You have gained +1 Zombie follower. You can't revive any more Zombies.]
At first, Edward was frightened by the sight but then he quickly calmed down and then said.
"P-Protect me."
The moment the Zombie heard the order, it turned around and quickly attacked the first Zombie it saw. Since Edward destroyed its head completely, it can't bite at all. However, that didn't seem to pose a problem at all.
"RAAAAH!!!" The Zombie Follower grabbed the target with amazing strength and started ripping its neck off.
The latter didn't resist as it had no consciousness to try and defend itself. In a matter of few moments, the Zombie's neck was cracked.
[Your follower had killed a level 1 Zombie.]
[You have gained +1 Agility.]
[You have leveled up from level 1 to 2.]
[You have gained +2 free status points.]
"Amazing…" Edward who watched the scene was quite impressed.
"RAAAH!!!" Then, one of the Zombies who were still trying to climb on top of the truck.
"Oh, right! I forgot that I was still the target of these things!"
Kicking the monster that tried to grab his leg, Edward focused on the Zombies that his follower couldn't deal with. A few seconds passed before another notification appeared.
[Your follower had killed a level 1 Zombie.]
[The skill Zombiemancer had leveled up!]
'Great! Now I can summon another Zombie!' Feeling excited Edward kicked a Zombie away before he tried to hit it. However, at that moment, the whole truck swayed to the side and Edward lost his balance.
"WOAAAH!!"
Because of their ever-increasing numbers, the Zombies' pushing power tilted the vehicle. Luckily, he was able to grab onto the edge before sliding down. A second later, the truck was tiled back to normal before getting pushed again.
"They are going to make me fall!!" Meanwhile, Asher's follower had already been thrown down to the sea of Zombies.
In a matter of moments, he was stomped to death and a notification appeared in front of him.
[Your Zombie follower is dead.]
'Great! This makes things way better!! Woaaaah!!!'
The more the truck swayed, the more Edward lost grip on it. He was sure that in a matter of moments, he will fall.
"Ugh, I can't hold on… anymore!!"
Then, at the last moment, right before his fingers slipped, Sali's voice reached Asher.
"Hold on a second, Asher!" She said.
"Sali!" Seeing his sister run towards him, Edward beamed and his willpower returned as he used all of his power to hold on for a second more. Just one second.
Alas, things didn't seem to work that way.
*Slip*
"Ah…" Seeing his fingers let go of the edge of the truck, Asher's face froze as he fell down to the sea of Zombies.
"Asher, no!!!" Seeing her brother fall, Sali didn't care anymore and unleashed all the mana in her body.
"Sound Storm!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, the sound generated was so high that the glass around them cracked. It was on an octave that most creatures can't handle.
Blood leaked out of the Zombies' ears. After that, in a shocking sight, their heads started exploding like balloons one after the other.
In a matter of seconds, tens of Zombies faced their demise as blood and brain matter covered the whole street.
Eventually, every single Zombie in the area fell down dead.
"Asher!!" Stopping the sound attack, Sali rushed toward Edward who was now laying under a pile of dead corpses.
Pushing them away, Sali pulled him out with clear worry in her eyes. Her heart was beating so loudly that it was threatening to explode.
"Please, don't die. Please." She said as tears welled up in her eyes.
As she put Edward on her lap and checked his pulse, he was luckily still alive. Although, his ears were bleeding too from the loud sound. Before unleashing it, Sali created a rough barrier around Edward that stopped any sound from reaching him. However, since her attack was very strong, Edward was bound to get harmed by it.
"I'm sorry, Asher. I'm so sorry. Hick! Hick!!" Tears fell down Sali's face as she blamed herself for harming her brother.
Even though she knew he would've died if she didn't use that attack, she still couldn't bear to see her brother get harmed.
Wiping her tears, she checked his body around to see if he sustained any injuries. But, when she flipped his shirt up, she saw a big bite mark coming from what seemed to be a Zombie.
Edward was bitten.