"Curse it! Can't these zombies just drop dead, they're too many!"
Bob's constant complain was the only human sound being heard amidst the snarls and growls of the zombies that threatened to overwhelm them.
Thankfully, because the doors weren't that wide, the zombies had to be tightly packed, giving them chance to kill many in a single move.
"Just shut it and fight. You're already wasting energy shouting." Shadow couldn't help but retort, feeling like this red haired delinquent was useless.
Bob snorted but didn't reply, focusing on killing the zombies as fast as possible. Still, whenever he got the chance, he always glanced inside the building where another battle was raging.
Cassie, Daddy Ye, and Anna, were engaged in a fierce battle against the pack of second level zombie dogs. Two zombies had been killed, each dispatched by Anna and Cassie respectively. Meanwhile, Daddy Ye was responsible for protecting them while they fought.
His shield had suffered several large scratches after being assaulted by the mad dogs repeatedly.
Bang! Crack!
Cassie's axe struck the head of one of the zombies, cracking its skull, then the other axe came down. The head dropped, body collapsing to the side.
Anna spared her a glance of surprise, then got serious too. She used her whipsword and sword in sync. The whipsword restricted the enemy's movements, while the sword was used to deliver the killing blow. Her kills skyrocketed, taking the lives of four zombies in a few minutes. They simply couldn't match her.
Suddenly, Cassie disappeared. Anna tried to look for her but failed. Worried that something might have happened to the girl, she directed half of her focus into searching for her. She only dealt attacks to the zombies, not killing them.
She was starting to grow more worried when she suddenly noticed that the zombies she had injured were falling to the ground—dead.
Her eyes widened.
"Cassie! You cheat!"
Scowling in anger, she unleashed her frustration onto the remaining zombies, killing them in just a few minutes. Panting, she looked at the zombie corpses, then at Daddy Ye who looked exhausted.
Finally, Cassie reappeared with a sly grin, her weapons dripping with blood.
"You..." Anna almost choked on her words when she saw the triumphant grin on Cassie's face.
"Sorry friend, I just remembered mid-battle that I'm an assassin. I'm supposed to be discreet, y'know?"
Anna's expression darkened, but she decided to let it go. Even though she had warned her beforehand, Cassie still stole her kill. In the end, Anna killed seven zombies while Cassie killed four and Daddy Ye killed one.
"I can't wait to collect my prize."
The black haired girl giggled foolishly, appearing like a girl in love.
Anna rolled her eyes.
"Tch, you're insufferable."
This only made Cassie laugh more. After cooling, she nudged Anna with her elbow.
"Thanks for looking out for me anyway. I could tell you were worried when I disappeared."
Anna smiled meaningfully, making her think she might have made a wrong decision speaking.
"Of course, of course. You can thank this big sister for a whole week and it wouldn't be enough. After all, I can't leave my mischievous , irresponsible, cheating little sister to herself, can I?"
Cassie's face turned ugly from the veiled insult but she chose to swallow her words.
Turning to Daddy Ye, she said in a cold voice. "Let's start digging the crystals."
....
Meanwhile, Leon rested his spine on the backrest of a chair at the head of the table, looking at the duo at the other end of the conference table.
As one might have expected, it was the Old Granny and her cat.
They both had blue crystals on their foreheads, signifying their evolution levels. They had crossed paths in the past, and fought a battle that ended in a draw. At that time, they were second level while he was at the first level.
Now however, both sides had grown. The zombie granny and her mutated cat had become third level while Leon had become a second level.
"Long time no see, no?"
Leon's smile was pleasant, but his eyes were cold and glaring. He could still remember the pain and suffering those two had made him go through.
'I'll kill you. Slowly, but surely...'
The Old Granny didn't respond to him, after all, she couldn't talk. Even if she had regained some intelligence, it wasn't to the point of talking.
The cat climbed onto the table, its fur raised while it bared its fangs at him.
Leon's cold eyes shifted to the small lifeform, causing it to flinch despite its higher evolution level. He still remembered the mental attack he'd suffered from this particular demonic cat.
'Let's see how far you both can push me.'
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, then he attacked. Using the chair to propell himself, he flew towards the two.
Shiing! Clang!
The Old Granny blocked his blades with her claws just in time. The two pushed against each other, entering a surprising stalemate in strength. The cat growled from the side, then attacked him.
Already expecting its mental attack, Leon struck as soon as he saw the cat prepare to move.
The sudden attack disrupted its skill as it hurriedly retreated. The chair it was standing on got cut into two. Seeing her cat I'm danger, Old Granny punched at his head.
Whoosh!
Leon smiled as he dodged the punch, then kneed the zombie in her stomach. If anyone had seen this scene before the apocalypse, they'd have thought he was a wicked, ruthless and heartless person for laying a hand on an old woman.
Unfortunately, what he was fighting wasn't a mundane old woman.
The zombie folded from the attack, her back arching.
Leon seized her head and slammed it into the table.
The table shattered from the impact while the zombie fell to the ground.
Just as Leon was about to stab her with his swords, he felt a stinging headache assault him. The cat had attacked again after distancing itself from him.
Unexpectedly, Leon's lips curled into a grin as he lunged at the cat who was shocked. It didn't expect him to be able to resist the mental attack, much less ignore it.
With its ascension into the third level, its power had grown, enabling it to enslave several second level zombies.
However, Leon was no normal human too. He had become a second level creature, growing in strength and in mental fortitude. The pain of being assaulted by the cat's power was nothing compared to when he was evolving.
Arriving before the stunned cat, he seized it by the throat.