Chapter 58: Chapter 47: 13 Special Forces Soldiers

A barricade had been set up at the entrance to Oakhaven Village. Although there were no longer any living guards, five zombies were currently ramming themselves against the checkpoint.

Lex Cross and his team stopped their vehicle in front of the barricade. They silently dispatched the five zombies with their knives, checked their heads, and dug out two Crystal Cores.

"Not bad. We got two."

Five was in charge of collecting Crystal Cores from the zombies they killed along the way, but he couldn’t stop muttering to himself.

"The only good thing is that these zombie Crystal Cores are somewhat useful. This world just isn’t fit for human life."

They were about to move the barricade and drive on, but Lex Cross stopped them.

He motioned for everyone to be quiet, then tilted his head to listen for a moment. Suddenly, his expression grew grim.

"Everyone out. We’re walking from here. There’s something ahead."

"Boss, do you really think Professor Lawson is here? I’m afraid he might have already..."

"Can you not jinx us? If Professor Lawson has turned into a zombie, then this whole trip was for nothing."

Just then, Lex Cross’s slender frame leaped straight up. Before anyone could even register the explosive power behind the move, he had already landed steadily in the fork of a tree branch.

"This village is strange. All the houses are dark, except for one household upstream that has some light."

"Five, get up here and take a look. What is that over there?"

The moment Lex Cross finished speaking, two vortexes of wind appeared at Five’s feet, lifting him up to Lex’s side.

If Flora Bloom had been there to see it, she would have noticed that Five’s wind vortexes looked very much like the ones from Vert’s Wind Ability.

Something seemed different about Oakhaven Village. On their way from Sinia City, they had encountered very few zombies and seen almost no signs of fighting. This couldn’t help but put the battle-hardened soldiers on high alert.

"Boss, there are a lot of zombies over there. They’re surrounding a group of people."

"Is Micah in that group?"

Five continued to watch.

"Yeah, that’s Professor Lawson. He and his group are being mobbed by zombies."

Suddenly, a tremor ran through the ground, much like an aftershock following an earthquake.

At that moment, Five, who was still looking upstream from his perch in the tree, cried out in alarm.

"Boss, something’s not right over there."

"It’s a cow. That cow is behind the horde, and it looks like... it looks like it’s controlling them."

"What?"

It wasn’t just Lex Cross; the other special forces soldiers were stunned by Five’s words. A cow controlling a horde of zombies?

But then Five’s voice came again.

"There’s a huge mantis, monkeys with superpowers, and—and a little tiger."

"Impossible. How could a low-level world like this have these creatures? Boss, achieving cultivation is incredibly difficult for anyone. For animals, it’s even harder than for humans. How could things like this possibly appear on such a backwater planet?"

Lex Cross frowned and leaped down from the tree.

"High-level creatures from the extradimensional battlefields... are here?"

Lex Cross’s words made the twelve men break out in goosebumps. The phrase "extradimensional battlefields" was a nightmare for all life across countless planets. Those battlefields were home to intelligent life that was not of flesh and blood, as well as all sorts of powerful, sentient creatures—just like the zombies and superpower-wielding animals before them.

If these things were allowed to mature, wouldn’t they all be doomed?

"Everyone, follow me. We’ll circle around from the side. There are too many zombies, and there might be creatures we know nothing about. Our own powers are suppressed right now, so be careful. If you’re outmatched, prioritize your own life. Understood?"

Each of the twelve men carried an M6 rifle and a refined melee combat weapon, which they had specially prepared back in Phoenix City. Firearms were useful, but ammunition was a consumable resource that would eventually run out.

For veterans like them, seasoned in interstellar warfare, melee weapons felt more reliable.

The thirteen special forces soldiers, weapons in hand, quickly melted into the darkness and advanced upstream.

The chaotic roars of the zombies grew louder, and the palpable aura of danger closed in.

By now, Flora Bloom and her group had been forced back to their own doorway. Vert and the little white tiger were desperately trying to harass the zombie cow, preventing it from attacking at the same time as the horde; otherwise, Flora wouldn’t have been able to hold them off.

Monkey Two and Monkey Three were already exhausted from fending off the zombie horde. The Golden Cicada’s sonic attacks had some effect, but every time the zombies paused, the zombie cow would let out a timely roar, instantly snapping them back to their senses to resume the assault.

The effect of the sonic waves was negligible, serving only as a minor delay tactic.

Neal Wallace’s Fire Ability could only hit a maximum of five zombies at once; any more would weaken the flames’ power. Besides, his level was still low, so his fire couldn’t kill the zombies outright. It could only trap them, forcing him to finish them off with an axe or a knife.

Just as Flora Bloom was about to summon her Juggernaut, a swath of zombies at the rear of the horde was struck down by a powerful Thunder Ability.

After the charred zombies fell, very few were able to get back up and continue their charge. The sheer power of this Thunder Ability was evident—it had to be at least Second Level.

A Thunder Ability this strong was far more powerful than the combined superpowers of everyone in their group who had awakened.

Flora Bloom was wondering who could have passed by and saved them in the nick of time when a series of gunshots erupted from behind the zombie horde. Mixed in with the gunfire, she could clearly hear several people talking.

"Five, you’re so dead! Didn’t the boss say no guns? You’ll give away our position!"

"Come on, look at this mob of zombies! What’s the point of staying quiet? The ’snake’ is already here!"

"The Crown Prince, Tanuki, go rescue them."

"Yes, Boss."

The gunfire tied up over a hundred zombies, and the ones attacking Flora Bloom’s group were no longer a threat. Only the zombie cow remained, still held at bay by Vert and the little white tiger.

However, Vert and the little white tiger were already injured. Furthermore, the zombie cow’s fire attacks directly countered Vert. The little white tiger, on its own, could only produce faint sparks of lightning that barely paralyzed the cow for a second or two, dealing negligible damage.

Although the battle was turning in their favor, Flora Bloom became wary of the source of the gunshots.

After their experience with Seth and his man, Golden Hair, Flora Bloom and Neal Wallace’s group had developed an aversion to the sound of gunfire. On the surface, these newcomers had saved them, but who knew what kind of people they were? If they turned out to be like Seth and his crew, judging by that Thunder Ability attack alone, Flora’s group stood no chance.

’In the apocalypse, it isn’t just zombies you have to guard against,’ Flora thought. ’Sometimes, humans are more terrifying than zombies.’

By this point, more than half of the hundred-plus zombies were down, and the rest no longer posed a threat.

Suddenly, two men in combat vests appeared out of thin air before Flora Bloom and her group. Sensing a distinct superpower fluctuation, Flora grew vigilant and was about to raise her defenses.

Seeing the wary expressions on their faces, the two men quickly explained, "We don’t mean any harm."

The two were Tanuki and The Crown Prince from Lex Cross’s team. Though they were currently the weakest members of the squad, they were the only two with an invisibility skill.

They then looked at someone behind Flora Bloom and asked, "Are you Micah? Professor Lawson?"

Micah looked at the men in combat vests and quickly stepped forward. "Yes, yes, that’s me! Were you sent by the higher-ups to rescue me?"

The two men nodded and were about to step forward to retrieve Micah when the situation suddenly took a turn.

"Watch out!"

Flora Bloom suddenly conjured two thick water shields behind the men, protecting their heads and upper bodies. However, two balls of black, smoky flame crashed into the shields, instantly evaporating the water. The flames scattered on impact, splashing onto the men’s legs and immediately setting them ablaze.

Flora Bloom had been using her water shield superpower nonstop throughout the fight to protect everyone, and her power reserves were now nearly empty.

’First-level superpowers really don’t last long!’

She watched as the two men’s legs were horrifically burned by the flames spat from the zombie cow, yet neither of them uttered a sound. They simply used their arms to drag themselves along the ground, moving closer to Flora and the others.

Flora couldn’t help but admire their fortitude. Their legs were nearly burned away, yet they could remain silent without even frowning, a testament to their incredible willpower.

But only they knew the truth: on the battlefield, crying out for help was the ultimate taboo. They could see their boss locked in an even fight with the zombie cow. Any noise they made now could distract the others and jeopardize the entire battle.