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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Forty-Six: Wild Battle
The starlight was dim, and the night wind blew in gusts. The expressions on everyone's faces were grim, and they instinctively began to retreat.
Jiang He tightened his grip, looking down to see Song Yao holding his hand, giving him an encouraging glance.
"Don't be nervous. There aren't too many of them. We have knives and guns; we don't need to run!" Jiang He took a rare step forward, pulling a crowbar from his belt and standing tall at the front of the group.
Ming Junwei and Chao Yifan exchanged amused glances before stepping to the sides of the group, shielding the women and children behind them.
A pillar stepped forward, reminding them, "We can't fire our weapons. If there are Pursuers, won't that expose our location?"
"Easy enough," Chao Yifan boldly walked over to a nearby thicket, leaping high to grab two suitably thick branches. After twisting and pulling for a while, he stripped off some smaller twigs with his feet and tossed one to Ming Junwei, a youthful grin plastered on his face. "It's not like it's our first time."
Pan Luo pulled out her dagger, wanting to join him, but Song Yao held her back, positioning her behind him. "Let them handle it."
The young girl nodded and stood beside Song Yao, flanking An Zheng, who was cradling a child.
The three warriors realized that close combat was inevitable. They intended to swap places with the three in front, but Ming Junwei cheerfully insisted it wasn't necessary, believing their vigilance and alertness were more needed at the back.
The graduate student had initially shrunk back behind An Zheng but was yanked out by Song Yao by her ear. "Are you not a woman too?"
The graduate student trembled slightly, reluctantly accepting the branch tossed by Chao Yifan. Swallowing hard, she stood next to Ming Junwei.
The Zombies soon revealed their full form; under the moonlight, they appeared even more terrifying than during the day.
Pale or dark, gaunt skin, deep-set eye sockets, and wounds covered in blood; even from a distance, the breeze carried their stench towards them.
The foul odor was sharp and familiar.
These Zombies did not seem to be the slaughtered villagers. It was evident that most of them had been young adults in life, both men and women. Many wore clothing that, if stripped of dirt and blood, would still be considered fashionable. They likely wandered in from the nearby highway.
Though the Zombies stumbled as they walked, their target was clear. Even from over a hundred meters away, they had already extended their arms, and the previously muffled sounds of their moans gradually became clearer—there were dozens of them.
Jiang He swallowed hard, his palms slick around the crowbar. Although this was not his first encounter with these creatures, an undeniable tension lingered in his heart. In contrast, Chao Yifan appeared calm and unbothered. Though he held nothing more than a tree branch, his disdainful expression made that ordinary stick seem like some kind of Divine Weapon.
“Hero, should we charge in screaming or what?” Jiang He asked Ming Junwei, who was on high alert. Since his injury, this hero had taken a step back; it had been a long time since he had displayed the impressive sight of riding a motorcycle and piercing an ambulance with a harpoon.
“Charge? No way. We’ll fight while retreating; try not to let them get too close,” Ming Junwei instructed Song Yao and the others before urging the three women and the little boy to back away a bit. “Quickly resolve this; Zhuzi said there’s movement behind us.”
Jiang He glanced at the dark mountain road. Xiaomi and Xiao Wei were stationed on either side of it, using the raised earth as cover. Zhuzi was uneasy about both fronts and kept his gun ready while staying close to the women for support.
After a long silence, Chao Yifan looked at the two and asked, “Do you think Old Bai and the others can come down?”
“They can!” Jiang He gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.
“Doubtful,” Chao Yifan shrugged dismissively and said casually, “I wonder when it will be our turn to go out in glory.”
Ming Junwei spat out the burnt cigarette butt with a laugh and scolded him, “Definitely not today.” Before he finished speaking, he stepped forward swiftly, raising the two-meter-long tree branch in a standard thrusting motion. With a ‘thud,’ he accurately pierced through the first female Zombie that lunged at them.
The Female Zombie must have died in summer; she wore short sleeves and shorts. Her wounds were few, but a large chunk of flesh had been torn from her face, exposing blackened muscle tissue beneath. The branch thick as a forearm penetrated her mouth and exited through the back of her skull with relentless force.
Ming Junwei gripped the tree branch tightly and twisted it with all his might, pulling it back while kicking over the female corpse. With a sweeping motion, he swung the branch like a crescent moon, knocking down two approaching Zombies with force. The branch danced through the air, taking down three Zombies in the blink of an eye, exuding an impressive aura.
"Good job!" Jiang He and Chao Yifan cheered from the sidelines, clapping for Ming Junwei.
"What the hell!" Ming Junwei spat out a mouthful of blood, pointing at the two slackers and cursing, "Are you just going to stand there and wait to die?"
The two laughed mischievously and quickly grabbed their crowbars and tree branches, rushing forward to form a three-person battle line with Ming Junwei. They launched an attack on the Zombies that had entered their range!
It must be said that these half-baked fighters had developed some coordination after days of continuous life-and-death struggles. The dirt road was narrow but could accommodate two carts side by side. The Zombies' assault wasn't particularly fierce, but they charged forward fearlessly, undeterred by pain. At first, the trio managed to hold their ground, swinging their weapons to shatter one Zombie's skull after another. In just two minutes, they had taken down a swarm of Zombies.
However, living humans ultimately couldn't match the endurance of Zombies. As Ming Junwei's arms began to tire, their speed slowed. Jiang He's weapon had a short attack range, and in a moment of distraction, a Zombie ambushed him from the side. In a panic, he tried to dodge backward but ended up creating a gap in their line.
Ming Junwei couldn't afford to take precise shots anymore; he swung his wooden stick like a windmill, knocking down several Zombies that were chasing after Jiang He. It was impossible to stabilize their formation now; he immediately pulled Chao Yifan back while using the branch to block several roaring Zombies reaching for them, pushing them away with all his strength.
Seeing that their side was weakening, Zhuzi rushed over eagerly. He knocked one Zombie down with his rifle butt and didn't forget to kick the graduate student hiding nearby.
"Fall back! Don't get entangled!" Ming Junwei was stretched thin as he saw Jiang He being cornered against the mountainside by several Zombies. The night made visibility poor; as he swung his branch, he nearly struck Zhuzi who had come to assist.
Song Yao snatched the dagger from Pan Luo's hand and charged toward Jiang He. With nowhere left to retreat against the mountainside, Jiang He found himself surrounded by three or four Zombies whose mouths dripped with thick saliva as they closed in.
"Come on!" Jiang He cursed under his breath at his bad luck and waved his crowbar defiantly. Taking advantage of not being completely surrounded yet, he lunged at the nearest male Zombie with all his strength, smashing its skull with a single blow. Just as he prepared to leap forward, however, the other Zombies reacted quickly; almost as soon as he jumped up, they turned around and grabbed his clothes, opening their mouths wide to bite down on him.
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