"Roar!"
"What the heck is this thing… ah!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Along the embankment of the reservoir, abrupt gunshots cracked in the air, mingled with all kinds of shouts and ravings. The embankment only was, well, as wide as an embankment could be, and the size of the team made it difficult for them to disperse quickly enough. Packed closely, they were a flock of sheep to the white corpse. It was a one-sided slaughter.
"Bang!"
One of the soldiers shot it on the knee cap, but was immediately smacked away, flying into the lake in a parabolic motion.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!"
Another one pounced at it from the back, wrapping his arms and legs around it and trying to cut its throat with a dagger. However, there came a crisp noise of metal striking against metal, and the next second, the man's head was smashed into a mush.
No blade or bullet could hurt this thing. Its claws were gleaming gold and were way sharper than they used to be. With every slash, a life would be taken. Before they realized it, only a dozen members were left of the team, including Wang Ruoxu and his pupil.
"Gnash…"
Witnessing the massacre carried out by this ferocious being, the captain grit his teeth so hard that he was on the verge of breaking them. Still, being an elite soldier he was, he soon found its weak spot: every time it was hit by a bullet, it would pause and sway slightly for a second.
"Keep your distance from it and shoot at will! Bullets can affect it!"
"Move away from it and keep shooting!"
He shouted at the top of his voice. Hearing his command, the team members scattered away at once, running further into the distance while shooting.
He was on the right track. Had they been in an open terrain and with enough long-range weapons, they could probably wear this thing down by concentrating their fire. Either that, or they could use some heavy weapon which could nail the zombie with a few rounds. Unfortunately, the battlefield today was way too cramped and they needed time to distance themselves from the white corpse, which could catch up with them with a single leap.
"Roar!"
In the matter of a few seconds, another two soldiers were killed.
"Ah! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
The chubby pupil collapsed. Shouting like a maniac, he started running away. He couldn't help it—the scene had made a great impact on his mind. Despite of the lengthy description, all those took place in the matter of only a few minutes, after all.
"Mingtong, watch where you're going!"
Wang Ruoxu went pale with fear. He was about to run after his pupil, but the white corpse arrived there faster. The chubby pupil was opened up like a gift box. The yellowish grease spurted out with flesh and blood, piling up into a little mound.
"Mingtong!"
Wang Ruoxu cried in agony. His favorite pupil had just died in front him. A murderous look flashed across his face as he fumbled out a yellow talisman from his chest pocket.
It was an evil-subduing and ghost-expelling talisman given to him by his sect's seniors before he left the sect—the downgraded version, of course. At this moment of crisis, he had to abandon his selfishness and handed it out.
"Stick this onto it. It'll work!" Coming close to the captain, he shouted frantically.
"Ok!"
The captain darted him a look, took over the talisman and dashed out without any further question.
While the other team members distracted it, he threw himself onto the zombie, landing on its back. Sticking out his right hand, the talisman was smacked right onto the middle of its forehead. He then freed himself from it, rolling down its back.
"Roar!"
As soon as the talisman made contact with its skin, fizzling white smoke started rising from it, as if it had been set on fire. The white corpse was in great pain, and waved around its claws frantically, its growls vibrating in the air.
"Will it work?"
Various expressions flashed across their faces. They were starting to get hopeful when a sound rang out, "Zap!"
The talisman exploded and turned into ashes.
"Damn it! The evil energy is too powerful!"
By now, Wang Ruoxu was so startled and frightened that his face was drained of all color. It had been over a thousand years since Zhuge Liang the Military Marquise cut into this mountain and smelted iron here, yet the remaining evil influence was still strong.
The captain kept fighting on, but was growing despaired inside. This team that had been under his command for two years was going to be annihilated today!
***
Meanwhile, on another low mound less than a hundred meters away, three people had just hurriedly arrived.
Taking in the current situation, the clown smacked his lips in amazement. "That was some scene. We're late."
Li Suchun felt his head spinning and said in a quivering voice, "How, how come it, it…"
"You don't know? Then what are you gonna do down there?" The clown asked.
"I, I…"
"Stop it, enough with the saucy talk! Let's go help them!"
The painted face was forthright. She then grabbed the teenager and hopped off the mound with him. Shrugging, the clown followed suit.
On the embankment, Wang Ruoxu was crumpled into a heap on the ground when he saw three people galloping out of the woods. Among them was a teenager, who hesitated for a moment at first, then put his fingers together and made a genuine finger gesture of Mao Mountain. "Hear the edict. Stop!"
"..."
The ravaging white corpse jolted suddenly. In its chaotic and dark consciousness, a feeble strength of rule was trying to restrain the killing desire that had originated from the evil energy of Metal. That energy was characterized by its will to kill and would stop at nothing and because of no one. Naturally, it would not follow the order.
"Stop!"
Seeing that it would not obey him, Li Suchun's face darkened and he commanded again.
"Roar!"
After a brief stalemate, the white corpse spurted out a foul, bloody mist all of a sudden, as if it had broken out of some shackles. It then turned abruptly, pouncing at Li Suchun.
"Pfft…"
Spewing blood, Li Suchun opened his eyes widely. When a zombie turned against its master, the latter would also suffer from a backlash.
Right at that moment, he felt a slender palm on his shoulder, which hauled him backwards forcibly and the zombie's lunge hit empty air. Immediately after that, the hand resembling an orchid held the fingers together into a sharp point, then struck out with a finger, a palm, and a fist in succession.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
With the momentum of one strike and three attacking methods, the impact was added onto one another and the zombie was hit on the chest three times in a row.
The white corpse could not bend its knees. It was forced backwards in a bolt upright position, and slid backwards with the soles of its shoes making jarring, rough noise after it landed. It then steadied itself, yet appeared not to be wounded at all.
"It's indeed a handful!"
Seeing that her attack was to no avail, the clown fell back at once. "My attack didn't work on it. Your turn!"
"..."
The painted face was speechless. He took over the white corpse while the clown ran to the captain and asked, "Do you have ropes?"
"What?"
"Ropes!"
"Yes! Yes!"
The captain came to himself only just then and fumbled out a bundle of rope. It was military-issue, with high ductility and strength.
"Thanks! You guys spread out!"
With that, the clown ran back towards the zombie.
"..."
The captain was bewildered. 'The power of that thing is limitless, yet you two are going to play BDSM with it?' Feeling skeptical, he looked towards them again, but was immediately surprised.
Over there, the painted face had managed to pin down the white corpse all by himself.
In that narrow space, he was moving swiftly like a ghost around the zombie, smacking it with his palms every now and then. That thing was brandishing its claws wildly while roaring and snarling, but could do nothing to turn things around.
In fact, the painted face was vexed by the situation as well. This opponent had neither consciousness nor emotions and he dared not rashly attempt conjuring illusions. Hand-to-hand combat was his only choice. However, the most annoying Boss to face in close combat was an enemy good at attacking and with a lot of HP. [1]
Luckily, although it could jump very far, it was hopeless at dodging and turning in close quarters.
"Here!"
The clown arrived and tossed him the rope. The painted face caught one end while the clown held the other. Holding either end, they started to shuttle back and forth like a pair of butterflies. Soon, the rope was wrapped tightly around it.
"Roar!"
The white corpse struggled with all its strength, but could not break out of it.
"Now!"
"Clap!"
One end of the rope restrained the legs, lifted upwards, while the other end restrained the upper body and was pulled down. The white corpse smashed onto the ground, wiggling like a big fish.
It was the first time that it was struck down ever since they opened fire today.
"This, this…"
Watching them, the captain was shaking. He had experienced a lot of astonishing things today and his world view had been renewed time and again. He was not the only one with such feelings. Everyone present wanted to ask the same question with fright: 'What world did these two come from?'
[1] ED/N: "Boss" was in English in the raws, so it's prolly a gaming reference.