As soon as Leon finished speaking, the zombies stirred. They turned towards the source of the shout, then rushed forward when they sensed the presence of humans—food.
"Charge!"
Little Tiger yelled, rushing forward alongside Leon and the others. They were the ones who had chosen to attack. Why would they let the zombies force them into defensive?
"Stay close and cut through."
Leon's calm voice made the evolveds cool-headed. They didn't rush forward like uncivilized people but took a 'n' shaped formation with Leon and Anna at the forefront.
Zombies fell left and right to their weapons, proving how formidable both were. After all, they were the only people at the second level here.
Daddy Ye and Old Pipe worked in sync, each swing of their weapons claiming the lives of zombies. Whenever a zombie slipped through their guard, Daddy Ye was there to use his shied to block any attack. Ice worked with Shadow and Little Tiger, covering for each other while their swords flashed. Amelia had also received a sword from Leon, the brand depicting the wings of a red dragon.
On the other side of the formation, Bob smashed his gauntlet into the head of a zombie, knocking it off balance and allowing Scarface's greatsword to cleave it into two.
"Nice teamwork, Bobby!"
Johnson laughed, carrying a large shield as he protected his friends. Beside them, Cassie fought like a maniac. Anywhere her axes passed, zombies dropped dead. The white axes turned dark red from blood, claiming lives for their wielder.
At the front, Leon's eyes brightened when he finally saw a second level zombie. According to Shadow's report, he had seen several second level zombies in the horde, however he couldn't get close to confirm their numbers.
Leon didn't mind. With that little information, he could already guess what was happening over there. The possibility of a third level zombie controlling the horde was very high.
And if there was one, Leon would gladly welcome it.
"Anna, you take care of it." He said, delegating the death of that zombie to her.
The blonde girl nodded, then attacked the zombie with her whipsword. The zombie was larger than the regular zombies, and thus, its presence was easily noticable.
Seeing as it was being attacked, it also slashed at her with its claws.
Shiing!
The blade screeched against the claws, sending red sparks of friction in the air. Because it wasn't a two-star weapon, the whipsword couldn't really damage the claws. However, Anna didn't intend to break the claws.
The weapon wrapped around the zombie's wrist, then yanked it forward. It stumbled, clearly not expecting that. In that brief lapse, Anna unsheathed the sword Leon had gave her and sliced at its neck. It sensed the danger and tried to dodge, but Anna pulled the whipsword again. Staggering, the zombie failed to dodge and had its head severed cleanly.
Immediately after, the formation moved, cutting deeper into the zombie horde. Like this, the humans moved closer to the lone skyscraper, keeping a tight formation.
Anytime a second level zombie appeared, Leon would signal for Anna to take care of it. Gradually, she got used to their strength and speed after killing the fifth one.
"Hey! Is it just me or there are too many second level zombies?"
Bob shouted, his voice almost drowned out by the snarls and growls of the zombies.
Johnson replied with a snort. "What do you expect? A picnic with first level zombies?"
Bob scowled but didn't reply, returning his focus to the zombies.
Finally, the ground arrived at the wide doors of the building. Surprisingly, there weren't many first level zombies inside. Just a few which Cassie took down in a minute.
"Stop." Leon suddenly said. "You guys stop the horde from entering this place. With the limited access, it should be easier to do that. You wouldn't be overwhelmed."
Without turning, he said to the two girls beside him.
"Cassie, Anna. Both of you should stay on alert. There are second level zombies in the building. Daddy Ye, you join them. You guys will be responsible for protecting the group from internal zombie attacks."
The three nodded, then stood behind the others who were killing the zombies at the door, facing the interior of the building in caution. After seeing them take position, Leon took to the stairs.
Cassie turned to her friend. "How about a friendly bet?"
"A bet?"
"Yes. The one who kills highest number of second level zombies gets a hug from my brother."
Anna's expression turned weird. Why would she need a hug from Leon...? Before her confusion deepened, Cassie continued.
"And half of the other's food for the next three days."
Anna's expression changed subtly. As cold as she acted, she was actually a foodie. Such a bet completely had her attention.
"However, that would be unfair. You're still a first level evolved while I'm already in the second level. So if you can kill more than half of what I killed, it's your win."
"Alright. Anyway you put it."
"Tch, you're quite shameless. You should have refused."
"Haha, why would I?"
"Tch, you're annoying."
Daddy Ye listened to their bickering with a blank expression. Recently, both girls had been quite competitive to the point they almost competed on everything. The others were already used to the sight.
Growl~
The sound of a growl made them stop bickering and look forward. From several angles in the reception hall, zombie dogs crawled out, their expressions vicious and threatening. Yellow crystals glowed on their heads, confirming Leon's claim about several second level zombies being in the building.
"No kill stealing."
Anna warned, prompting Cassie to laugh mysteriously.
The zombie dogs attacked, pouncing at the three humans. A whipsword, a pair of white axes, and another large black axe met them mid-air.
....
Meanwhile, Leon stopped on the sixth floor. Beside him, the corpse of a second level zombie lay, its head severed. He had encountered quite a few zombies of the second level on his way to this floor. Being able to gather this many high level zombies, he suspected that the real leader must be at the level of a Zombie King.
[T/N: A Zombie King is known as the top zombie in each city.]
Calmly, he opened the door to a conference room and was met by the leader(s) of the horde.
It was a very familiar duo he had crossed in the past. Surprise flickered in his purple eyes as a grin spread across his face.
"Finally... Round Two."