Chapter Forty-Nine: The Corpse King Takes Action

In the mind of the Queen of Corpses, as long as she could conquer this base, she would be able to replenish her forces, and the remaining subordinates would see their power rise to another level. She cared little for the current casualties, even though more than half had fallen.

“Everyone, retreat! Fall back into the city!” The commander atop the city wall began shouting orders. The defenders outside received the command and started gradually withdrawing toward the base’s main gate, with the units closest to the gate turning around and entering the city directly. Two machine gun emplacements stood guard on either side of the gate, ready to open fire at any moment.

A few S3 zombies mingled with the ordinary horde, slowly approaching. The agile S3s, following the Queen’s directive, did their best to avoid the line of fire from the high-speed machine guns, easily slipping into the isolated area that had been cordoned off.

“It’s a high-level Phantom!” Someone caught sight of a dark shadow flashing by—four or five companions dropped dead around him. Terrified, his bladder tightened, nearly wetting himself as he shouted out a warning to alert the other teams.

But even as the shout left his lips, he felt a sudden heat at his neck, a jet of blood burst a meter out of his throat, and he collapsed, twitching uncontrollably.

“Quick, high-level Phantom!” The defenders kept spotting the S3 zombies, but S3s were simply too fast—far beyond what these ordinary humans could contend with.

Several evolved fighters leaped down from the forty-meter-high city walls, charging toward the S3s’ location. Yet, as they ran, two heads flew from their bodies before they could even engage.

“Retreat—there’s more than one!” The evolved ones’ eyes widened with fear as two more S3s appeared. If a fourth-level evolved could kill a J3 zombie, an S3 required a fully armed fifth-level evolved to take down. The reason was simple: S3s were far too swift and their attacks razor-sharp—one careless move, and a wound meant infection.

“Team Tianfu, Team Tianliang, Team Tianji—move out! The other three teams, observe and support as needed.” The commander regarded the squads behind him—these were the famed Southern Dipper Six Star squads, elites of the city defense army, every member a fifth-level evolved.

“Yes, sir.” Each team consisted of six members, their titles matching the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper. Eighteen fifth-level evolved soldiers leaped from the walls. Unlike the earlier fourth-levels who landed like cannonballs, these eighteen seemed as light as feathers.

“Fifth-level evolved?” Ma Yi watched the dozen leap from the wall. Compared to the ones who'd jumped before, he sensed these were much stronger—probably fifth-level. On the wall, new faces appeared—young, middle-aged, even two elderly figures. Ma Yi felt these were even more powerful than the ones who had just jumped down.

Are these sixth-level evolved? No wonder this is a major base; there seem to be quite a few of them. After sensing their strength, Ma Yi glanced across the wall and realized there were at least twenty sixth-level evolved present, and over a hundred fifth-levels. With this reference, Ma Yi realized even Xu Qiang, the big brother, was a fifth-level evolved. It seemed the Southern Base had cultivated many talents since the apocalypse began, and likely in a short period. Otherwise, with Xu Qiang's strength, when he went to the Changfeng Base, he would have simply killed the three leaders instead of negotiating. Assigning a fifth-level evolved to oversee a small base was far superior to a fourth-level.

They must have been cultivated in the two or three months since returning from Changfeng Base—Ma Yi hadn’t expected evolveds could forcibly increase their power.

Six formed a group and surrounded the S3 zombie. The main attacker, Seven Kill, closed the distance under his teammates’ cover, his long sword repeatedly unleashing slashing strikes directly at the S3’s head.

The S3 wasn’t stupid, but now it couldn’t use its speed; its path was sealed by the barrage of slashes, forcing it to face Seven Kill head-on. Its claws scattered the slashes, but before it could advance, another strike flew in. It dared not leap, lest it be caught by multiple slashes—so it hugged the ground, narrowly sliding under the attacks, its claws constantly waving to break the strikes.

Inside the ring of slashes, the sword and claws collided nonstop, the clangs echoing. The remaining five teammates moved in, fully trapping S3 and Seven Kill inside the circle, their weapons weaving together in floral patterns as they attacked S3 from all sides.

Blades and swords carved bone-deep wounds across the S3’s body. Wounded, the S3 became more frenzied, focusing its attacks on Seven Kill, occasionally lashing out at others. High-level zombies had heightened senses, unlike ordinary ones; they felt pain, and pain only fueled their bloodlust.

The three squads worked seamlessly. After several rounds, the S3 was gravely injured and finally decapitated by Seven Kill.

If the S3 had been a J3, Ma Yi estimated that a J3 would hold out longer under the combined assault of fifth-level evolved, thanks to its superior defense. But human ingenuity is formidable—they would likely find ways to trap a J3, slowly attack its weak points or fragile parts, and wear it down.

That’s precisely what happened; Ma Yi saw with his own eyes a J3 surrounded by fourth-level evolved, who relentlessly targeted its eyes, armpits, and groin—striking its vulnerabilities until they finally broke through its defenses and killed it.

As for J4s, they were outright monsters in battle; even fifth-level evolved couldn’t cut their skin. Still, these evolved used ropes to bind the J4 tightly—its great defense and brute strength were wasted, unable to move. Zombies were powerful, and among the same ranks—whether zombies, evolved beasts, or insects—humans were the weakest. But humans used their brains, their intelligence, to eliminate their foes.

Ma Yi watched as more third and fourth-level zombies joined the fray, while the base kept deploying squads of fifth-level evolved—the battle had reached a fever pitch. Though only three hours had passed since the siege began, both sides had thrown their full strength into the conflict. Perhaps they each had something held in reserve for the endgame.

Beyond the gates, elsewhere, zombies led by S4s kept assaulting the walls. S4s could always escape bullets and slashes, but even they couldn’t climb up. The zombies below started forming a human ladder, but each time it was cut down. The bodies piled up, raising the height. Gallons of gasoline were poured down, soaking the zombies, and torches were thrown. S4s managed to smash a few, but there were too many torches—they couldn’t destroy them all in time, so they retreated quickly. As soon as the torches touched the gasoline, a roaring inferno engulfed the wall, forming a powerful wall of flame.

Instantly, both dead and living ordinary zombies were ignited in the blaze. Zombies had a helpless weakness: they were not immune to fire, like plastic—once ignited, they burned relentlessly. Ma Yi saw that even the swift S4s, and J4s too, if caught in the flames, burned as if drenched in gasoline. Of course, J4s’ defense was strong; unless they stayed in the fire, they wouldn’t ignite.

Fires raged beneath the walls, billowing black smoke and stench spreading through the air.

When the Queen of Corpses realized what was happening, all zombies within forty meters of the wall had been set ablaze. Fortunately, she noticed in time and halted the assault, or else she’d only be feeding the flames. The burning corpses oozed black grease, which only intensified the fire. Perhaps her millions-strong zombie army would have been wiped out in a single inferno.

The flames leapt over ten meters high, roasting the evolved and warriors atop the walls until they were drenched in sweat, forcing them to retreat inside. Many were too slow—hair singed, eyebrows burned away, all curled up atop their heads.

The fighting all around slowed, except at the gate, where high-level evolved kept joining, and high-level zombies kept charging. The anti-air machine gun bullets drove the J3s back, leaving bullet scars on their skin; relentless fire would eventually wear them down—these large-caliber rounds could pierce armor.

But against J4 zombies, the machine guns were nearly useless; bullets bounced off their bodies or slid away, unable to penetrate their skin.

“They’re coming…wait, huh?” Ma Yi watched as the battle escalated and finally saw sixth-level evolved join the fight. Just as he was about to marvel, he noticed the Queen of Corpses suddenly unleash her aura, swiftly running above the zombie horde. Each landing crushed a sturdy ordinary zombie into pulp, showing the immense force of her every step.

Her goal was clear—the sixth-level evolved, constantly moving in mid-air.

The sixth-level evolved walked from the wall into the sky, like a mysterious magician, pacing above the gate, his weapon unleashing massive slashes that drove J4s back. When he struck ordinary zombies, each blow cleaved dozens of them in half, showing that high-level evolved could deal immense damage to ordinary zombies—like mobile artillery, constantly swinging out slashes.

The Queen of Corpses charged, emitting a piercing scream that shook every zombie. Ordinary zombies recoiled, while high-level zombies surged forward, sprinting to the front lines. In the midst of the horde, a J5 zombie—her mount—roared and followed her. Its six-meter-tall frame stood out starkly, its powerful body a testament to its unmatched strength.