Corpse Calamity

The headquarters of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, Cease War City, once a sacred place of martial arts in the hearts of martial arts heroes in the Barbarian Continent, has now become a battlefield filled with the clash of swords and the sight of corpses.

Inside the city, the martial arts practitioners walking the streets no longer discussed martial arts and missions with great enthusiasm. They all frowned, some were numb and silent, others sighed, and a gloomy atmosphere enveloped them.

Outside the city, a group of people were carefully collecting corpses. They were divided into two groups. One group was armed with machetes, and every time they saw an intact corpse, they would step forward and chop off its head with one blow. Because doing so would easily dull the machetes, they usually carried five or six spare machetes on their waists. The other group carried straw bags and threw the headless corpses into them. Although the stench was foul and pungent, they were already used to it, and no one showed any disgust.

At a glance, the city walls and moat were littered with corpses, a scene of piled-up bodies, flowing blood, mud-covered heads and feet, barely recognizable as human, with severed arms and legs, knife wounds all over their bodies, and bloodstains everywhere.

"Be on your guard, everyone. Don't let your guard down just because they're not moving. These guys aren't as stupid as you think. They can fake their death and then suddenly jump up and attack when you get close. In the past few months, enough unlucky people have been injured or even killed because of carelessness. If you don't want to be the next one, keep your eyes peeled. Unless the body is dismembered or torn to pieces, if you see a corpse, chop off its head first. Don't think about respecting the dead. The living are more important than the dead."

An overseer kept reminding everyone to be careful, his face full of helplessness. After all, he hadn't come voluntarily; he had been chosen by lottery. Although he had grown accustomed to fighting and even seen many dead people these days, he still felt a chill when he saw those corpses with their bloody intestines exposed.

Furthermore, compared to the piles of corpses in the corners, the corpses in the moat were even more unbearable to look at, because after being soaked in the river water, these corpses had green skin like drums, flesh and blood rotting inside, and a stench that was overwhelming.

Suddenly, a scream rang out as a corpse leaped up from the ground and pounced on the person picking up the body like a wolf.

However, just as it pounced on the corpse collector, a Sword Qi flew over and slashed across its neck, sending a head flying high into the air with its eyes wide open in death. It was the supervisor who had made the move.

The man who had been tackled and was still in shock pushed the corpse off him, wiped the foul-smelling blood from his face, and frantically tried to get up to run away, but his legs gave way and he fell to the ground.

No one around him helped him up, because this kind of thing had happened too many times in the past. Once you get used to it, it's nothing special. You'll develop courage with practice.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, a gong sounded, and everyone's expression changed drastically. The supervisor cursed, "Damn it, we just beat them yesterday, and they're here again today. Are these guys maggots in a cesspool? We can't seem to get rid of them no matter how many we kill!"

Despite his cursing, he urged everyone to enter the city, ignoring the corpses they had salvaged. Once everyone had hurriedly entered the city, the heavy gate was lowered and the massive city gate was slammed shut.

In a short while, a dark army appeared in sight, numbering nearly 50,000. The army advanced very slowly, as its soldiers walked with a stumbling or hopping gait, appearing stiff and clumsy.

This is an army of zombies.

Zombies are not zombies. They do not drink blood or eat human flesh. Although the Essence Blood of living people are helpful to them, the yang energy in the Essence Blood will harm them. Therefore, they prefer to absorb Yin Qi, especially for low-level zombies. Only high-level zombies can be fearless of yang energy and purify the Jing Essence in flesh and blood.

Under normal circumstances, low-level zombies are afraid of sunlight and therefore only move at night. They are solitary, have no group consciousness, and have a strong sense of territory. They usually move around the burial site as the center of their activity in the surrounding area.

They attack living people not because they hate people or want to eat them, but simply because their territory has been invaded. As long as you keep a certain distance, zombies will not attack people on their own initiative—provided that you are not the murderer of them.

Therefore, this army of zombies moving in the sunlight is extremely abnormal. It is obvious that they are driven by external forces. The Yin Qi emanating from them rises into the air and forms a thick black cloud that is almost dripping with ink, blocking out the sunlight.

The defenders on the city wall busied themselves preparing various defensive weapons, but no one prepared crossbows, because they knew that arrows posed little threat to zombies. Unless an arrow could pierce a zombie's head, it would not cause any effective damage to the rest of its body. Moreover, zombies were known for their tough skin, and at a distance, arrows might not even be able to penetrate their skin.

Large cauldrons were set up on the city wall, and the defenders frantically added firewood to the bottom of the cauldrons to bring the water to a boil. This water was not just plain boiling water, but yang water infused with Pure Yang Pill.

Ordinary boiling water has little effect on zombies; it might cause burns, but zombies don't feel pain. Even if they are scalded and their skin is ulcerated, they can still move normally. However, after adding Pure Yang Pill, it can have a purifying effect on zombies. Boiling is to accelerate the diffusion of the medicine and activate its properties.

A commander clad in armor stood on the observation platform, estimating the distance while issuing commands to stabilize the morale of the troops. He kept chanting numbers, using his internal energy to transmit the Internal Cultivation to the ears of every soldier on the city wall.

"Fifty zhang... thirty zhang... twenty zhang, hold on! Don't rush... ten zhang, now's the time, throw!"

Upon hearing the command, hundreds of throwers immediately hurled their clay pots with all their might. The pots shattered upon hitting the zombies' heads, spilling thick, fiery oil. A group of crossbowmen, who had been waiting in ambush, immediately fired their pre-loaded rockets, and flames instantly burst into flames.

Zombies are not afraid of fire and do not even feel the pain of burning, but that does not mean that fire cannot harm them. After all, they are also made of flesh and blood, and fire can also ignite their bodies.

Within a ten-zhang radius of the city wall, the area instantly turned into a sea of fire. Many zombies charged forward against the flames, seemingly unafraid of the scorching heat, but after advancing a certain distance, they all collapsed, emitting the stench of burnt meat.

However, the sea of fire did not last long. After all, the two sides had been fighting for more than a month, and the defenders' supplies were almost depleted. They could not afford to waste resources. Soon, the zombie army broke through to the city wall and began to climb it with their hands raised.

They have no siege ladders, nor any siege engines such as siege towers or assault rams, but they have sharp and strong hands, their ten fingers can dig into the wall like claws, forcibly climbing upwards.

On the city walls, the defenders threw down wooden, brick, and mud shovels to knock the climbing zombies back. They also used enhanced siege weapons such as wolf-tooth shovels and yaksha shovels.

The wolf-tooth sledgehammer is made of a wooden board studded with iron nails, with a blade on each of the four sides. It is controlled by two sets of ropes. First, the sledgehammer is raised vertically to the city wall. When the enemy climbs to the bottom of the sledgehammer, it is immediately lowered and smashed down. The yaksha sledgehammer works on the same principle, except that one is a wooden board studded with blades, and the other is a horizontal beam studded with reverse-fiber nails. The blades and reverse-fiber nails are engraved with runes that are specifically designed to ward off evil spirits, and some even have talismans for warding off evil directly attached.

Half an hour later, the defenders still held firm on the defensive line, preventing a single zombie from breaking through. Occasionally, one or two zombies would manage to climb onto the wall, but they would be quickly knocked away.

Despite possessing superior physical abilities, lacking the sense of pain and fear, zombies are at a significant disadvantage in siege warfare. This proves that before individual strength undergoes a qualitative leap, discipline, machinery, and tactics are far more effective.

However, none of the defenders on the city wall showed any signs of relief or joy, because they knew very well that these low-level zombies were just an appetizer; the real challenge was the high-level zombies that followed.

That's why the martial arts masters and Technique Method experts didn't make a move. Otherwise, a single fire Technique Method would have been far more effective than pouring hot oil on them. But they had to conserve their energy and power to prepare for the upcoming powerful enemies.

Before long, figures descended from the dark clouds formed by Yin Qi in mid-air and flew towards the city wall.

Upon seeing this, the commander's expression changed drastically. "Flying Zombie! Strange, weren't the Hairy Zombie always the first ones we'd send out?"

Low-level zombies are just cannon fodder, slow-moving, afraid of sunlight, and lack intelligence, so they are not a threat. However, when they advance to the Hairy Zombie level, they undergo a qualitative change. They become agile, leaping over houses and trees, and jumping like the wind. They are also impervious to water and fire, and even have some resistance to yang energy, no longer afraid of sunlight.

Although the city wall was of little use against the Hairy Zombie, who could easily leap onto the top, it still served as a slight obstacle. However, it was still far inferior to the Flying Zombie that could use Technique Method.

"Put on your amulets, raise your shields, don't be afraid, someone will deal with them, just do your job!"

The defenders skillfully donned talismans to ward off evil spirits and raised their shields high to prevent the Flying Zombie from spitting venom at them. These seemingly simple defensive measures were all valuable experiences gained at the cost of countless lives.

Sure enough, as soon as the Flying Zombie approached the city wall, they immediately spewed out venom and gas, but it was all blocked by the talisman shield. The few unlucky ones who were hit would immediately take antidote pills.

Once the Flying Zombie's offensive slowed down, a large number of Technique Method experts rushed out of the hidden cave and launched a counterattack.

"Five Thunderbolts Strike the Crown!"

"Samadhi True Fire!"

Various Technique Method and fire Technique Method were unleashed, which were most effective against evil spirits. After exploding in the air, Flying Zombie fell from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Not far from the city wall, on a Bagua altar that had been set up in advance, Duan Jinsu held the Pure Yang Sword, performed the steps of the Big Dipper, and made hand Method Formula. The precious pearls placed at the eight corners of the Bagua suddenly resonated.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, wind and thunder obey their mandate!"