Chapter Twenty-Four: The Appearance of the Divine Race

On the street, the bald, burly man watched as six savage purple-furred zombies lunged at him. A bitter smile flickered across his face, and a wave of helplessness and despair surged in his heart.

“It's over.”

He could handle a single purple-furred zombie; with two, escape was his only option. But now, with six appearing at once, he was powerless to resist.

A deafening roar exploded in his ears. The bald man glanced at his teammates, still desperately struggling, and tears of regret streamed down his tiger-like eyes.

“It’s my fault, all my fault. If I hadn’t brought you to Wushan City, none of this would have happened today…”

“My brothers, if there’s another life, I, Liu Quan, will repay you a thousandfold!”

The bald man squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t bear to watch his brothers torn apart by zombies.

“Bastards, die!”

Just as the bald man closed his eyes and gave up struggling, an enraged roar rang out!

The Starlight Squad had arrived!

Captain Gu Kun let out a furious shout, his gloved fist slamming into the back of a purple-furred zombie.

With his roar as a signal, seven figures dashed forward in unison.

“Die!” Zhao Hai gripped his crescent blade, growling, and slashed fiercely at a purple-furred zombie!

“Baldy, what the hell are you waiting for!” Zhang Wu seized the opening, charged to the bald man’s side, and raised his thick shield just in time to block a zombie’s attack.

Hearing Zhang Wu’s roar, the bald man’s eyes snapped open.

“Save my brothers first!” he bellowed, leaping up and charging madly toward the teammates besieged by a horde of green-furred zombies.

“Take care of yourself!”

“I’ll handle the rescue!” Suddenly, Ke Bei appeared, blocking the bald man’s path. Noticing the deep wounds gouged into his body, Ke Bei frowned, then stamped hard on the ground and leaped into the green-furred zombie pack.

“Out of my way!” With a kick, Ke Bei sent a red-furred zombie flying, then swept his broadsword in a shining arc, cleaving into the green-furred zombies.

With a thunderous crash, three green-furred zombies were hurled aside by Ke Bei’s mighty blow.

Wild howls filled the air, and soon Ke Bei, too, was surrounded.

“Damn you, get lost!” Seeing the warriors from the Free Martial Alliance about to be torn apart, Ke Bei’s fury erupted. At that moment, he finally understood what Gu Kun had meant: humans might kill each other, but to stand by and watch these beasts rip their own kind to shreds was utterly intolerable!

“You’re seeking death!”

Ke Bei’s eyes grew icy. He drew his broadsword to his chest, lightly slashed his right palm, and let his blood drip onto the hilt.

A silvery stream flowed down the blade as Ke Bei, gripping his blood-stained sword, strode forward. The brilliant silver edge flashed, slicing through the green-furred zombies.

Ke Bei felt almost no resistance. Six or seven green-furred zombies in his path were cleanly split in two!

“Beasts, all of you, die!” Ke Bei surged forward, his blade cleaving every zombie—red-furred or green-furred—in half.

“Hurry!” In just a breath, Ke Bei had reached the members of the Free Martial Alliance. With a single slash, he severed a green-furred zombie’s arm and shouted.

He looked like a demon god, his face and body splattered with zombie blood. His strength now rivaled that of a third-rank enhancer, and with the blood-soaked blade in his hand, he was unstoppable—no zombie could hinder his advance!

Ke Bei had kept the secret of his blood-forged blade well hidden; he understood the danger of flaunting such a treasure. But now, he had no choice but to reveal it. He simply couldn’t harden his heart enough to watch his own kind devoured.

“Captain, you all go ahead—I’ll hold these beasts back!” Ke Bei rushed to Gu Kun’s side, glanced at the purple-furred zombies, and tightened his grip on the broadsword.

The Starlight Squad was strong, but couldn't afford to be bogged down. If more zombies appeared, escape would be impossible.

Gu Kun glanced at the scattered remains littering the ground, then fixed his gaze on Ke Bei’s blade. After a long moment, he sighed inwardly.

Just how many secrets does this Ke Bei have? A martial technique that unleashes all his power in an instant, a blade sharp enough to terrify…

“Fine. Be careful!” Gu Kun hesitated only a moment before snapping back to action. This was no time for wonder—what mattered was escaping alive.

“Wang Shan, clear the way! We’re retreating!”

Gu Kun roared, smashing his fist into a red-furred zombie’s skull.

“On it!” Wang Shan replied, his deep voice rumbling. Swinging a thick, bowl-sized iron staff, he swept aside a cluster of red-furred zombies blocking the street.

“Retreat, brothers—fall back!” Gu Kun shouted, sprinting toward the end of the street.

The members of the Starlight Squad and the Free Martial Alliance gave Ke Bei a lingering look, then bolted for the exit.

The horde of zombies were unwilling to let their prey escape. With a wild howl, they charged.

“Come on, you beasts—your granddaddy’s right here!” Ke Bei stared coldly at the mass of zombies surging from the far end of the street, blade at the ready. A drop of blood trickled down the hilt.

“Kill!”

As the purple-furred zombies rushed at him, Ke Bei launched himself sideways, dodging a meter, his blade flashing in a deadly arc toward a zombie’s throat. The zombie jerked its head back, the blade grazing its cheek—it had dodged Ke Bei’s strike!

“These purple-furred ones are fast!”

Ke Bei barely steadied himself when a stench-laden gust swept over him—another zombie lunged, jaws wide, fangs snapping at his neck!

He retreated, thrusting his sword into its chest, then withdrew and stepped back.

Greenish blood spurted. The zombie howled, lunged, and its purple-furred arm crashed into Ke Bei’s abdomen with a dull thud, knocking him back several paces.

“Run!”

“If it were just one purple-furred zombie, I could handle it. Two would be tough, but with the sword’s sharpness I could hold out. But six—there’s no way!”

Ke Bei dared not linger. Glancing back to see the others had already escaped the street, he mustered his strength and sprinted away.

“Ke Bei, over here!”

“Hurry, move!” Gu Kun waved, shouting.

“Coming!”

Even purple-furred zombies, despite their speed, couldn’t catch up to a second-rank enhancer in a straight sprint. As long as they didn’t get surrounded, there was little danger.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” A squad member asked, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine,” Ke Bei replied with a smile.

“Liu Quan thanks you all for saving our lives!” The bald man dropped to his knees, knocking his head to the ground three times before the squad.

“Brothers, I’m a rough man, not much for words. When we get back to Lingfeng City, I’ll host you at the Gathering Stars Pavilion for a proper feast. You must all promise to come!”

“Let’s go, we can talk later,” Gu Kun smiled, helping Liu Quan up.

“Right, let’s get out of this cursed place!” Liu Quan straightened up, not bothering with formalities.

“Move!”

Just as the group was making their way along the broken road, a thunderous crash erupted.

A dilapidated three-story building collapsed in a roar, and a strange, striking figure appeared atop the ruins, looking down coldly at Ke Bei and the others.

The newcomer was extremely handsome, with sharp features, flowing hair, and eyes shining like rubies.

“A Celestial!” Gu Kun’s face changed in an instant. Staring at the figure on the ruins, he drew a sharp breath, then screamed in desperation:

“Run! Everyone, run!”

The name pounded in everyone’s minds. The Celestials were the pinnacle of zombie evolution. They looked human in all but their blood-red eyes, but their power was beyond compare.

Even the weakest Celestial was far stronger than a third-rank enhancer—a being of another order entirely.

“Run!”

“Run!”

“Run!”

Everyone scattered in a frenzy; faced with the terror of a Celestial, escape was their only hope.