"Awooo~"
A howl suddenly rang out, and everyone shivered in an instant.
"What kind of beast’s cry..."
Then there came a rustling sound from the woods, and a shriveled corpse suddenly appeared in front of everyone. Surprisingly, the corpse was stumbling towards them.
Hu Yixiang saw Yan Rufeng and the others following from afar and mocked, "What a bunch of cowards, they’re this scared of just one zombie."
"Ha ha..."
The instructor of the Fourth Base laughed, "By the time they get here, this zombie will have been taken down."
The instructor of the Second Base added, "Sigh, Fifth Base just shares the credit with us like this. Really shameless."
Hu Yixiang continued, "Three months from now, there’s a competition. We can give them a good beating then."
The instructor of the Second Base continued, "Then we can put on a real show, and make sure the Fifth Base disappears for good."
...
"Hmph."
"Just you, that’s too arrogant." Ji Yun said disdainfully.
"Brother Ji, why are you boosting their morale?"
Ji Yun looked at Hu Yixiang and sneered, "Instructor Hu, let’s deal with the matter at hand first."
The slow-moving zombie’s face was severely decayed and distorted. With each step, maggot-ridden flesh fell off, emitting a strong stench that could be smelled from afar.
The zombie got closer, extending its hands with long, hardened black nails. Suddenly, it opened its fanged mouth and lunged at the crowd.
"Rat-tat-tat~"
Everyone kept shooting at the zombie.
Hou Tao sneered, "You are really ignorant. Bullets don’t do much to a zombie. They only provoke its desire to attack. Watch this."
Hou Tao pointed with his hand, and the longsword at his waist instantly unsheathed, making a sharp sound as it shot rapidly towards the zombie.
The next moment, the zombie’s limbs were severed and fell to the ground.
Hou Tao turned around triumphantly and smiled at everyone, "See, this is how you deal with a zombie."
But at that moment, a mass of zombies covered the area behind Hou Tao, and the stench filled the entire valley.
"Senior Hou, behind you..." Hu Yixiang stammered.
Hou Tao laughed, "Behind me what? Just one zombie making trouble, it’s already taken care of. Let’s all go back and report."
Yan Rufeng shook her head helplessly, "It seems the Shushan Sword Palace is no longer what it used to be."
Facing the hordes of zombies, only the soldiers led by Yan Rufeng and Ji Yun stood their ground without retreating. The people from the other bases quickly withdrew.
Hou Tao shouted angrily, "The zombie is dealt with, what are you still standing around for?"
Yan Rufeng then turned to the noncommissioned officers behind her and said, "Infuse spiritual energy into the bullets and shoot at the zombie’s head."
"Rat-tat-tat..."
After another round of gunfire, there were several muffled explosion sounds.
Hou Tao turned around and saw a nearby zombie’s exploding brain matter splatter on his face. He wiped it off, and the stench instantly made him nauseous, causing him to vomit.
Seeing this, Wen Tong laughed, "Which senior just said bullets couldn’t hurt zombies?"
Hou Tao, humiliated in front of everyone, was furious and roared, "Damn it, who fired that shot?"
"It was me, any problem?" Yan Rufeng stepped forward.
"Look at my face! You fired the shot. Are you tired of living?" Hou Tao shouted menacingly.
"Smack!"
Yan Rufeng slapped Hou Tao across the face from a distance.
"Saved your life, and instead of gratitude, you curse? Get out of my sight now!" Yan Rufeng roared.
"Oh, oh!"
"Kid, you’re quite bold to hit me. No matter who you are, you’ve offended the Shushan Sword Palace. Today, you’re dead."
Enraged, Hou Tao instantly channeled spiritual energy to control his flying sword, pointing its tip straight at Yan Rufeng.
"Now I’m going to show you that the Shushan Sword Palace cannot be insulted, and its people are beyond your reach."
Hou Tao laughed wildly, "Die now..."
The next moment, Hou Tao’s flying sword spun like a bullet in the air, thrusting rapidly towards Yan Rufeng.
"Hmph, overestimating yourself."
Yan Rufeng snorted coldly and flicked her sleeve, producing a crisp sound.
"Clang!"
Hou Tao’s flying sword fell to the ground. He couldn’t believe that his full-force attack was nullified and was unwilling to accept that Yan Rufeng had such strength.
But the fact was, Hou Tao had lost. Lost to someone from the mortal world he considered an ant. From the despair in his eyes, it was clear he awaited Yan Rufeng to end his life with a single sword stroke.
"Slap."
A crisp slap sounded by Hou Tao’s ear.
"Pfft."
Hou Tao felt a sweetness in his heart and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Shushan Sword Palace, huh? Unassailable, huh? The people of Shushan Sword Palace can’t be bullied, huh?"
"Slap!"
Hou Tao received another slap.
"Hou Tao, if it weren’t for the fact that you were invited to help, you wouldn’t escape death today." Yan Rufeng said coldly.
"Have mercy, senior."
Hou Tao knelt down.
"Get lost!"
Hou Tao got up and left hurriedly, disappearing from sight in an instant.
As Hu Yixiang and others neared Qingshui Town, they quickened their retreat when they heard the gunfire.
In the valley, a noncommissioned officer reported to Yan Rufeng, "Instructor Yan, we eliminated a total of 1,858 zombies. Please instruct us on the next task."
Yan Rufeng stood with her hands behind her back, "Burn the bodies and continue to advance with me."
"Yes, Instructor."
A blazing fire erupted, and a column of dark brown smoke spiraled upwards, growing higher until it disappeared into the sky.
Yan Rufeng led everyone to a densely vegetated place and stopped, asking Ji Yun beside her, "Brother Ji, we have arrived."
Ji Yun released his divine sense to investigate.
"Heh heh."
Ji Yun laughed, "Instructor Yan, let me handle this monster and practice a bit."
"Very well, we’ll await your good news here."
"Just watch."
Ji Yun leaped to the entrance of the cave.
"Wait!"
Yan Rufeng waved her hand, and a longsword appeared in it.
"This flying sword was crafted during my Foundation Establishment Stage. It’s quite suitable for you now."
Ji Yun was overjoyed and instantly wrapped his divine sense around the floating sword. After imprinting his divine sense on it, he leaped onto the flying sword.
Ji Yun’s sword flight outside the cave traced a perfect arc before flying inside.
Envious Wen Tong, filled with jealousy, said, "Show-off! Just some sword flight; what’s there to flaunt in front of us?"
Yan Rufeng laughed, "Police Officer Wen, after this mission, you should focus on your cultivation."
"Instructor Yan, I will work hard in my cultivation and surpass that Ji Yun." Wen Tong said earnestly.
"Such determination. If you surpass Ji Yun, I’ll give you an even better flying sword."
"It’s a deal."
"A gentleman’s word is his bond."
"Boom!"
A loud explosion sounded from the cave, making Yan Rufeng instantly tense.