Leo headed straight toward the eastern side of Rendell City. From the intelligence he had purchased from Rex’s subordinate, he knew this area was considered a medium-danger zone with a large number of zombies roaming around.

​After walking for nearly half an hour, he finally arrived. The distant sound of gunfire echoed through the cracked streets every now and then.

​’The military must be operating somewhere nearby,’ Leo thought.

​He stopped for a moment and quietly listened to his surroundings. Soon, faint groans drifted out from a nearby building. Without hesitation, he headed toward it.

​The building stood four stories tall, its concrete walls stained and weathered. Leo silently stepped inside. The first floor appeared to be a parking lot. Damaged cars were scattered everywhere, many of them covered in a thick layer of dust and dried blood. The dim lighting made the entire place feel gloomy.

​The moment he entered, a faint scraping sound reached his ears. Leo instantly turned toward the source. A Crawler Zombie was slowly dragging itself across the floor between the abandoned vehicles. Without making a sound, Leo slipped behind a damaged sedan and carefully observed the surroundings.

​A few meters farther back stood two Mutant Zombies. Neither of them moved. They simply stood there, swaying slightly as if waiting for prey to wander into their territory.

​’Three targets.’

​A thoughtful expression appeared beneath Leo’s hood. This was the perfect chance to get familiar with the Reaper’s Gauntlet and the Kusarigama. He slowly unstrapped the chain and sickle from his belt. His footsteps were light. Not even the slightest sound echoed from his boots.

​Soon, he was directly behind the crawler. He slowly raised his right fist. The moment it was about to strike

​Click!

​The hidden blade shot out from beneath the gauntlet.

​Shing!

​The thirty-centimeter blade pierced straight through the crawler’s brain. The zombie didn’t even have the chance to scream. Its body immediately collapsed onto the concrete floor.

​Thud.

​The heavy sound echoed loudly through the parking lot. The two Mutant Zombies instantly snapped their heads toward Leo.

​"Raaaagh!"

​With ear-piercing screeches, they charged straight at him.

​Leo calmly loosened his grip. The weighted sickle attached to the chain dropped onto the floor.

​Clang!

​Holding the handle firmly in one hand, he grabbed the middle of the chain with the other. With a quick, practiced motion, he began spinning it. The heavy sickle whistled through the air, gathering more and more momentum.

​The first mutant closed the distance in the blink of an eye. It suddenly leaped toward Leo, claws outstretched. Leo calmly sidestepped. The mutant flew past him, missing by inches. At the same moment, Leo released the chain. The sickle shot forward like a black streak.

​The mutant landed and immediately twisted around for another attack. But it was already too late.

​Slash!

​The razor-sharp sickle carved cleanly through its head. The skull split apart as though it were made of paper. Its body collapsed heavily onto the ground.

​Almost at the same time, the second mutant lunged toward Leo. This time... he didn’t dodge. Instead, he stepped forward and threw a heavy punch.

​Bang!

​The steel gauntlet slammed into the mutant’s face with brutal force. Compared to the first time he had fought a Mutant Zombie, Leo’s strength had increased tremendously. The punch shattered the creature’s jaw and staggered it backward.

​That brief opening was all he needed. Leo stepped in.

​Click.

​The hidden blade extended once more. Without hesitation, he drove it straight between the mutant’s eyebrows. The blade pierced deep into its skull. But Leo didn’t stop there. With a sharp upward motion, he dragged the blade through the creature’s head.

​Rip!

​The skull split open from the forehead upward. The mutant’s body stiffened before crashing lifelessly onto the ground.

​Leo flicked his wrist. The blood staining the hidden blade scattered across the floor before the blade silently retracted back into the gauntlet.

​Just then... more growls echoed throughout the parking lot. The sound of hurried footsteps rapidly approached from deeper inside the building.

​Leo pulled the chain back. The sickle slid across the floor before returning to his hand. Gripping the Kusarigama once again, a dangerous smile appeared beneath the shadow of his hood.

​"Let the party begin."

The first mutant entered Leo’s sight.

Without any hesitation, he swung his arm and threw the sickle.

Psstth!

The curved blade shot through the air and buried itself deep into the mutant’s neck.

Leo yanked the chain.

The sickle sliced cleanly through the flesh, and the mutant’s head separated from its body.

A spray of black blood burst into the air, but before it could even hit the ground, the corpse, severed head, and blood dissolved into countless particles of light.

The lights condensed together and formed a single card that dropped onto the floor.

At the same time, two more mutants rushed toward him.

The moment they spotted Leo, both of them let out feral shrieks and suddenly accelerated.

Leo grabbed the chain with both hands and swung his arm.

The sickle immediately flew into the air.

With a sharp pull of his wrist, he redirected it toward the first mutant.

Ziiikh!

The blade flashed past.

A diagonal slash ran from the mutant’s shoulder down to its waist, splitting its body into two.

Without stopping, Leo twisted his wrist again and gave the chain a hard sideways pull.

The sickle instantly changed direction and shot toward the second mutant.

His arms moved continuously.

Pull.

Twist.

Flick.

The chain danced through the air like a living snake.

The sickle zigzagged around the mutant from every direction.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Within a single second, dozens of cuts appeared across the mutant’s body.

The next moment, its body broke apart into countless tiny pieces before collapsing onto the ground.

Meanwhile, the mutant that had been split in half was still twitching, its upper body dragging itself across the floor.

Leo stepped forward and performed a front flip.

Using the momentum of the rotation, he swung the chain downward.

The sickle dropped like a guillotine.

Shing!

The blade split the mutant’s skull straight down the middle.

Its struggling body instantly went limp before dissolving into particles of light, leaving another card behind.

By the time Leo dealt with those two mutants, four more mutants and two Crawlers had already rushed into the parking lot.

Leo loosened his grip.

Clang!

The chain fell onto the concrete floor.

He slowly crossed both arms in front of his chest.

Shing!

The hidden blades inside the Reaper’s Gauntlets slid out silently.

Looking at the six incoming zombies, the corners of Leo’s lips curled upward.

The next moment, he kicked off the ground and charged straight toward them.