Chapter Sixty-One: Submit or Die!

"Probably?" Ma Yi replied uncertainly, for as soon as some of the zombies heard the noise, they came charging and howling straight at him. That was a slap in the face, wasn’t it? Had he remembered wrong?

“What’s going on?” Ma Yi wondered as he watched the rushing zombies. It was clear they weren’t coming to welcome him.

“Something’s off. Don’t get out of the car.” Ma Yi opened the car door and stepped out. The zombies that lunged at him were sent flying one by one with his kicks—some soared several dozen meters away—though he didn’t kill them. With a step, Ma Yi soared into the air, rising higher and higher. By now, he had mastered every martial art technique and wielded them with ease.

From this vantage, Ma Yi could clearly see, with his keen vision, the small mountain several miles away. Midway up the slope, a fierce battle was taking place. Zombies at the base tried to climb, but high-level zombies above barred their way. Both sides were slaughtering each other relentlessly, and corpse beasts darted through the horde, killing any zombies that dared to charge upward.

“A mutiny?” flashed through Ma Yi’s mind. Was his own side in turmoil? But upon closer thought, that couldn’t be right. Ruhua was far stronger than the others. Even if there was a mutiny, it shouldn’t happen this way. Besides, as a Corpse King, Ruhua could control zombies at will—if either side betrayed the other, they wouldn’t be fighting at all; at most she’d just leave with her subordinates.

“Tiezhu is also a Corpse King, right? Impossible. Given our friendship, he’d never betray me. If neither Ruhua nor Tiezhu have turned, then it must be that another Corpse King is attacking the villa.” The realization struck Ma Yi—an outside Corpse King was invading.

“Damn, looks like I’ve arrived just in time. A few days later and the villa might have been overrun.” Ma Yi shivered at the thought, grateful that ever since regaining his memory, he’d been bent on coming home.

Landing, Ma Yi walked to the car and said to Li Li, “Come out. These are enemies. We’ll fly over.” With that, Ma Yi transformed at once.

He grew over ten meters tall, his appearance dark and monstrous. Crimson eyes swept the scene, and all the zombies cowered on the ground in terror. Black skin was traced with red, magma-like patterns flowing across his body. Two thick, curved horns jutted from his forehead, and a powerful tail lashed the pavement, cracking the asphalt.

Li Li sat on Ma Yi’s shoulder, clutching one of his horns. It was her first time flying, and though excited, she was also tense. Below, the ground was crawling with zombies. If she fell, maybe she’d die from the impact; if not, the zombies would tear her apart—who knew if there’d be anything left of her.

As Ma Yi drew nearer, roars echoed from beyond the mountain.

Ruhua spat out blood, glaring at the hideous two-headed Corpse King. This monster’s strength dwarfed even Tiezhu’s—it was at least half again as strong. Its obese body didn’t hinder its speed; it reacted with alarming swiftness. It seemed her end was near; she needed to get Tiezhu and the Liu family out of the villa at once.

Tiezhu, battered and wounded, wrestled with a J5 zombie. Their strength and size were evenly matched. Now deep in enemy lines, Tiezhu and his side were outnumbered; the enemy’s J5 zombies attacked relentlessly, S5s striking from the shadows. Pursuer was nearly done for, both arms hanging limp and a leg twisted grotesquely. Hammer, like Tiezhu, was bloody and barely fending off two J5 attackers. Without their martial arts, they’d have been subdued long ago. All advantage was slipping to the two-headed Corpse King.

The villa’s elite fighters, deep in the horde, were on the defensive. The enemy had hidden five more purple-gold level warriors—this two-headed Corpse King was ruthlessly cunning.

Fatty lay sprawled on the ground, two S5 zombies gnawing at his arms. Earlier he’d been ambushed by more than three S5s, and a head-on assault by a J5. Already badly wounded, his body was now ruined.

“Are we finished?” Ruhua thought helplessly. Only a miracle could save them now; otherwise, everyone would perish here today.

“If you submit to me, I’ll spare them.” “Yes, we’ll spare them.” The two-headed Corpse King grinned at Ruhua, hiding his impending breakthrough. He’d waited for Ruhua’s high-level zombies to risk themselves in attacking, then unleashed his power. He was on the verge of breaking into the next level, far beyond Tiezhu’s late purple-gold rank. Even Ruhua at her peak was fragile before him, insignificant.

“Dream on! We’ll never yield, even if we die!” Tiezhu roared, fighting with renewed fury. But now, he was encircled by three J5s—three of his equals—and S5 zombies waited to strike a fatal blow.

“I—” Ruhua glanced back at the fallen purple-gold warriors. She was about to agree when, suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted in the distance. The chaotic battlefield fell silent at once. All low-level zombies dropped to the ground, even the J5s stared fearfully southward. Tiezhu’s face showed shock and fear.

The two-headed Corpse King’s fat belly quivered as he barely managed to stay upright, his gaze locked on the sky above the corpse horde. A pitch-black humanoid monster strode through the air—seemingly slow, but arriving in an instant before the zombies. A crushing pressure filled the Corpse King, making him tremble with dread.

Those crimson eyes burned with a lust for slaughter. His massive body was streaked with magma-like red veins, muscles clearly defined, and diamond-shaped scales like snake armor covered his skin. A tattered pair of underpants bulged at his waist, a powerful tail lashed behind him, and—strangest of all—a human woman sat on his shoulder.

“Ma Yi?” “Boss?” As the monster drew closer, Ruhua and Tiezhu instantly recognized the familiar aura and cried out in unison.

“It’s me.” The black-faced monster spoke, his cold lips curling into a faint smile.

He descended slowly from the sky, landing opposite the two-headed Corpse King. Ruhua hurried over, staring at Ma Yi in astonishment.

Tiezhu, clutching his wounded arm, moved toward Ma Yi as well. None of the two-headed Corpse King’s subordinates dared move—a wave of bloodline oppression from Ma Yi paralyzed them. Even the Corpse King himself, poised on the brink of a breakthrough, didn’t dare twitch.

Now, faced with the towering Ma Yi, the two-headed Corpse King’s legs shook uncontrollably. This black figure’s pressure was overwhelming; in all his time since awakening, he had never encountered such might.

“Terrifying.” “Truly terrifying,” both his heads muttered.

“Are you all right?” Ma Yi glanced at Ruhua, then lifted her gently and set her in the crook of his arm. In truth, he wasn’t certain this female Corpse King was Ruhua, but a quick scan of the field revealed only one.

“I’m all right, it’s nothing. But the others…” Ruhua looked, tearfully, at the fallen Pursuer, Fatty, and the rest. Tears welled in her eyes. For months, she had borne the burden of longing for Ma Yi, repelling attacks from mutant beasts and insects, enduring everything in silence. In front of Liu Wen, Liu Xue, and their family, she had pretended nothing was wrong, that she was strong and in control. Yet she’d only been awake a short while, thrust into this heavy role.

Suddenly, Ruhua felt overwhelmed by grief. The more she thought of it, the more wronged she felt, and she broke down, burying her face in Ma Yi’s arms and sobbing.

“It’s all right. You’ll all live. Don’t be sad, I’m back now.” Ma Yi comforted Ruhua, then glanced at the two-headed Corpse King, who flinched beneath his gaze. Ma Yi strode over to Fatty, bent down, and examined his wounds.

“Boss…” Fatty opened his eyes with difficulty, looking at this unfamiliar but unmistakably familiar leader. The boss was so strong now, so terrifying. He was glad he’d chosen the right person to follow, though it was a pity he was dying and could no longer keep up.

“It’s all right. With me here, you’ll soon recover. Open your mouth.” Ma Yi used his thumb’s nail to pierce his fingertip, letting a drop of black blood well up. As Fatty slowly opened his mouth, Ma Yi let the blood fall onto his tongue.

Fatty trusted Ma Yi completely. He could compete with Tiezhu, but before Ma Yi he had no will to resist.

Ma Yi repeated this for Copperhead and the other elite zombies. Pursuer was the worst off—unconscious—so Tiezhu stepped up to pry open his mouth.

“You. Submit, or die!” Ma Yi had barely spoken when the two-headed Corpse King collapsed to his knees with a thud. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to resist—Ma Yi’s pressure was simply too much, especially when directed solely at him. The Corpse King, already quaking, was instantly crushed.

“I submit.” “I submit,” both heads declared. The rest of the purple-gold zombies, barely able to stand, dropped to their knees as well, bowing their heads. Faced with such overwhelming power, they couldn’t resist.

“We submit as well,” all the purple-gold zombies echoed.

“Wise choice.” Ma Yi nodded. “Open your mouths.”

The two-headed Corpse King and the other purple-gold zombies lifted their heads and opened their mouths wide, a comical sight.