LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 427: The Butcher
As Shane got closer with his Phantasm Rush, a skill that came from fusing Phantom Dash, Parkour, and Climb, he immediately struck the nearest Zombie.
Whoosh~
He used his Vertical Slash directed at the creature's neck! He wanted to end this as quickly as possible before the Zombies could even gain their momentum.
Unfortunately, the surprise attack didn't work well at all. The Zombie's massive arm deflected the blow, throwing him back with a strength that was almost unbelievable.
"What?" Shane was shocked since he had just leveled up to 46 a while ago! He also had enough strength to even contend against a Giant Zombie!
This was truly unexpected!
These things were too resilient.
Seeing how Shane's attack was repelled by a swing of its arm, Shane's subordinates didn't waste any more time and got into action. Arrows from the elves rained down on the zombies while a few riflemen fired accurate shots at the creatures' heads.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The attacks hit their marks, yet the creatures shrugged off these attacks, and they continued forward, completely undeterred by their weak projectiles. It appears that the Zombies only felt threatened by Shane's strike just now, and everything else was too weak in their perception...
"We're doomed…"
"That arrow was imbued with my Force of Nature, but it's still ineffective."
"They're tougher than the Juggernaut Zombies a while ago."
"Indeed… This perhaps only Legendary Grade weapons could kill these three."
"Why would such a strong Zombie appear here."
The ones who were the most surprised were actually Minerva and Tieria. The two of them had been to two Zombie Waves already, and the strongest horde they'd ever faced had one High-Tier Leader Zombie in the finally horde.
However, in Shane's case, it seemed all hordes had High-Tier Zombies backing them up and several High-Tier Leader Zombies being involved in most hordes!
From their estimate just now, the three Zombies in front of them were definitely three High-Tier Leader Zombies. If that wasn't the case, then they must be even stronger than that and not weaker at all.
Shane triggered Momentum Shift, driving his strength into his legs as he leaped high, activating Five-Meter Jump to evade one Zombie's lashing tongue.
'Tsk…' Shane noticed another attack coming at him, so he immediately shifted his balance.
Mid-air, he twisted his body while bringing down a powerful Double Thrust at the closest Zombie's eye. This time, his blade punctured through, and the Zombie roared in rage before staggering back!
His Legendary-Grade Light Flameblade was indeed capable of piercing through the Zombie's tough skin.
However, Shane also felt strong resistance from that strike, so it probably would have been difficult to do the same thing to other parts of its body.
Nonetheless, after one of them was momentarily incapacitated, the other two creatures retaliated. One snapped its stomach mouth wide, letting out a horrifying screech as it charged toward Shane.
Shane barely managed to dodge as the fangs of the stomach mouth grazed his shoulder. Thankfully, he had his Survivor Jacket on, and it was able to protect him.
Indeed, Shane had already changed his Set for the third time as the other sets lost their durability during this whole Zombie Wave.
It was then that Shane caught sight of the slime-like poison dripping from the creature's stomach mouth.
Shane was worried that his team, which was closing in, would get hit by these, so he immediately warned them.
"Don't let them grab you! There's poison in their second mouths!" he shouted.
Relying on Trap Mastery, which could help him assess the terrain in one look, and Shadow Hunt, which helped him move really fast, Shane darted around, using the shadows in the surroundings as cover.
With his speed, he even had the time to use his trap-making ability as he set up makeshift traps with whatever scrap he could find.
Soon, the Zombies chasing him plowed right through the spikes and snares… They were oblivious to pain, but as he had expected, they slowed just enough for his team to concentrate their attacks on one target.
Although his teammates would have a hard time injuring these Zombies, with them working together, it shouldn't be impossible for them to find their weaknesses.
Seeing an opportunity, Shane let out his Titan's Roar.
"Kill them!"
This roar amplified his comrades' strength and briefly stunning the zombies.
Then, with a fierce shout, he activated Brawler's Fury while sheating his sword.
He just needed to strike 9 times uninterrupted, and if he could do so, his last strike could have a 500% damage boost!
With his current strength, the damage he could release was already strong. So, with the amplification of the Brawler's Fury, he would basically have a sure-kill punch!
Soon, Shane's strikes gained speed as he hammered the nearest Zombie with his punches.
In the blink of an eye, he was able to strike the head of the Zombie with his sneaky ninth punch!
Bam!
The head of the Zombie exploded with that amplification!
[ You have eliminated a Butcher Master Zombie ]
[ Congratulations! You are the first to eliminate a Butcher Master Zombie, a special-tier zombie! ]
[ Hint: Only the first elimination of each Mid-Tier and above can provide special rewards! ]
[ You have obtained the following rewards: Spirit Breakthrough Potion x5, Instant Experience Boost Potions x5, Zombie Cores x500 ]
"Whoa… So there's another tier… Wait, the reward isn't even a 'select one of them' option… I actually got all of them at the same time. Incredible…" Shane mused after seeing the rewards.
What he liked the most among the rewards was the five Instant Exp Boost… After all, he felt that he was getting closer and closer to the advancement that would happen once he reached Level 50.
It was incredible. He didn't expect that he would get so close to level 50, and not even a year had passed. It was completely different from the other Apocalypses he cleared.
'I guess that's the benefit of starting with three Legendary Talents.' Shane thought to himself.
Anyway, he watched the one-eyed Butcher Master Zombie get surrounded by his companions.
The elves poured their remaining arrows against it. These arrows were no longer as sharp as before since they had been recycled more than 3 or 5 times already. It was already quite amazing that they were still usable at this point, considering they were hitting the tough hide of the Zombies during all this time.
Shane smiled at this as he decided to assist his team…
After all the arrows of the Elves were shot, the melee fighters braved close-quarters combat with the Zombies… They worked together as they exploited every gap Shane created.
After about 15 more minutes of intense combat against the two-mouthed Zombies, everyone saw how they started losing their strength, and their bulky forms soon collapsed under their assault.
Thud!
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The last Zombie couldn't even let out a shriek with a sword in its upper mouth before it fell.
However, it was still not easy after they all worked together.
Many of them were injured as the tongue of Zombie's massive stomach mouth lashed wildly, catching some of them fighter's legs.
Thankfully, Shane was alert as he sprinted forward, channeling Armored Dash as he plowed into the beast, severing its tongue with a swift Horizontal Slash.
The worst-case scenario of being dragged into the Zombie's mouth was avoided. However, the legs of the Survivors were still injured, of course, they were worried that they would soon turn into zombies.
Anyway, after taking a deep breath, Shane looked around at his exhausted, battle-worn team.
Then, he looked at the time…
There were only 14 minutes left before the end of the Zombie Wave.
They would soon hear the announcement of the system about the end of the Zombie Wave.
"Everyone… We've done it… There shouldn't be any more Zombie Wave coming at us. Those injured must use the Healing Tokens immediately. Save the Spirit Stones since you won't be needing your Spiritual Force now." Shane reminded his team.
Almost everyone cheered, even if they were exhausted after hearing their Clan Leader's words. In the end, none of them had died even though the shelter was in a terrible condition.
As for those who were silent, they were the ones who could still see injuries in their bodies even after using the Healing Tokens. Their hearts were beating faster as they were worried that the Virus had already affected them.
After all, it was a known fact that Healing Abilities doesn't cure the Zombie Infection!
However, instead of announcing, they remained silent, hoping that they were just thinking too much and that they would get healed soon.
Anyway, before the system announcement came, Shane looted two of the Butcher Master Zombie.
Furthermore, he first activated his Loot Keeper's Timepiece to get a five times reward.
[ Do you want to retrieve the loot? ]
"Yes."
[ You have earned 150 Experience Points. ]
[ You have earned 3 Reputation Points. ]
[ Loots obtained: Item Upgrade Crystal x10, Zombie Cores x10, Unknown Meat ( Safe ) x20, Unknown Meat ( Unsafe ) x10, 100mL Butcher Master Zombie Blood, Spirit Enhancement Bottle x1, Vitality Enhancement Bottle x1, Agility Enhancement Bottle x1, Vial of Butcher's Rage x1, Stitched Leather Armor x1, Butcher's Apron of Resilience x1, Butcher's Cleaver x1 ] x5
"Mhmm…" Shane's eyebrow was raised as he saw the unexpected items he looted from that terrifying Zombie.