Suppression

Crackling sounds~

The alcohol-fueled flames continued to burn on the corpse's surface.

Strangely, the jiangshi showed no reaction to being burned, such as using the nearby pond or rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames.

All four of them realized this. Perhaps because the ritual was interrupted, the jiangshi before them lacked even the most basic biological instincts.

However, the pus flowing from under the jiangshi's skin effectively suppressed the flames. It was impossible to burn it completely using only the alcohol-induced fire, but it would have some effect.

Currently, the jiangshi's most important sense of smell was affected by the thick smoke rising from the burning flesh, making it temporarily unable to pinpoint their exact location. It was looking around left and right.

The class monitor gave Anna, who had thrown the Molotov cocktail, a thumbs-up and a knowing glance, signaling the two at the main entrance to cooperate with her in a pincer attack on the jiangshi.

The class monitor and Anna arrived at the jiangshi's left and right sides almost simultaneously, forming a pincer formation.

One sword, one axe.

The physical training from twelve years of compulsory education and combat skills acquired from after-school tutoring naturally led them to aim for the neck, the most vulnerable spot in theory.

Because of their proximity, the jiangshi once again smelled living humans, and its seemingly stiff body immediately reacted.

Clang!

A loud metallic collision echoed across the summit.

[Front]: The jiangshi proactively lunged, biting down on the axe Anna swung from the front.

Even though the axe blade had cut into the jiangshi's cheeks to some extent, it was still firmly bitten, making it difficult to pull out.

[Rear]: The class monitor, positioned behind, successfully swung her sharp sword into the opponent's unguarded nape.

However, the blade only cut through the skin, penetrating less than two centimeters deep.

Between the skin split by the blade, the dark cervical bone was clearly visible. It seemed to possess some kind of hardening property, and the metallic sound earlier was produced by the blade striking this bone.

The class monitor's thoughts raced in her mind, concluding:

As expected, this jiangshi can achieve "partial hardening." It was the same situation when Luo Di and I fought it together. Once its attention was diverted, Luo Di could more easily saw off its arm.

Fighting it alone is almost impossible to win.

A multi-person attack makes things simpler.

Fortunately, this jiangshi didn't complete the ritual. Otherwise, it might have gained full-body hardening and various superhuman abilities.

The jiangshi wasn't just waiting to die. Using the opportunity of biting the axe, it immediately swung its remaining arm, attempting to tear apart the woman in front of it.

Anna's biceps strained, snap! She pulled the axe out of the jiangshi's mouth, along with three of its teeth.

She quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding being pierced by its dark claws. Seeing the black claws flash past her, Anna broke out in a cold sweat.

It was during the jiangshi's attack on Anna that Gao Yuxuan arrived.

With practiced ease, he extracted a silver needle with two fingers and swiftly and precisely stabbed it towards the back of the jiangshi's head.

An inch and a half above the hairline, in the depression between the trapezius muscles on both sides.

Clang! Another metallic sound echoed. The jiangshi's nape and the entire back of its head had completely hardened, making it impossible for even the sharp needle tip to penetrate.

But Gao Yuxuan's eyes held absolute confidence.

He held the silver needle steady with his right thumb and index finger, and his left arm assumed a posture of charging a palm strike.

With a sudden burst of power, he struck the tail of the silver needle with his palm, similar to hammering a nail.

Frankly speaking, given the thickness of the silver needle and the hardness of the jiangshi's nape, if he had struck with full force, Gao Yuxuan's palm would have been pierced by the needle in return.

But when his palm touched the base of the needle, it produced an even crisper sound, like striking metal.

Clang!

The precise and heavy palm strike drove the silver needle another two centimeters deeper, making it seem close to breaking through the hardened layer.

Moreover, this pure silver object seemed to have a restraining effect on malevolent spirits. The silver needle embedded in the skin vibrated and emitted thick black mist outwards.

The jiangshi itself felt this 'pain' and was about to turn when...

The second palm strike was delivered, with even greater force.

Crack! The entire silver needle seemed to break through some kind of limit, penetrating nearly three inches deep.

[Fengfu]

In Gao Yuxuan's view, the essence of a jiangshi was still a human body, and its internal meridians still functioned accordingly.

This needle pierced the Fengfu acupoint, reaching the medulla oblongata.

The jiangshi's body convulsed violently, almost collapsing.

Seizing the opportunity, the class monitor quickly adjusted her position and swung her sword! The blade grazed Gao Yuxuan's face and landed on the jiangshi's neck again.

Swish!

As expected, the strike no longer produced a metallic clang.

The sharp sword edge smoothly cut into the neck, inflicting substantial damage.

However, the zombie's inherent toughness remained, and the blade's penetration into the cervical spine stopped after about half its depth. Completely decapitating it wouldn't be easy.

Gao Yuxuan, on his end, took out a second silver needle, preparing to administer it to the temple.

Suddenly, The zombie's faint instinct, activated by the proximity of death, caused its internal Yin energy to surge rapidly, accumulating at the spot where the silver needle was about to be inserted!

The silver needle, deeply lodged in the Fengfu acupoint, was forcefully ejected by a surge of black energy. It moved so fast that fortunately, Gao Yuxuan had already shifted his position, otherwise, the needle would have pierced his face.

With the acupoint no longer restricted, the frenzied zombie abruptly turned, its dark, shadowy fingers carving terrifying black lines through the air.

The class monitor reacted swiftly, immediately executing agile footwork to evade.

Gao Yuxuan, who was almost directly behind the zombie, didn't have as much room to dodge. He could only step back and raise his arm to block, narrowly avoiding having his arm torn apart by the claws.

Clang!

Gao Yuxuan was sent flying heavily, landing two meters away.

Scattered on the ground were fragments of clothing torn from his arm by the zombie's claws, along with pieces of skin structure devoid of any bloodstains.

Beneath Gao Yuxuan's torn sleeve, what was revealed wasn't human flesh and blood, but a gleaming metallic structure.

His entire left arm appeared to have been modified, or perhaps even completely replaced. This seemed to be the primary reason for his half-month leave of absence from school.

The class monitor stared at Gao Yuxuan on the ground. "That prosthetic arm is surprisingly effective, and your attack was exceptionally potent too, Xiao Gao. If we try that acupuncture again, we might be able to lop off its head~ Anna, you take the next swing; my strength is still a bit lacking."

There was no time to rest. The flames on the zombie had mostly died down, and half its body was scorched black.

There was no room for hesitation; danger was imminent.

However, the first to attack wasn't the zombie, but Anna, positioned on the other side.

She wasn't holding an axe. Instead, she adopted a wrestling stance, lowering her center of gravity, and with a step, charged towards her target.

The zombie immediately sensed the approach of a living person and quickly swung its remaining arm, intending to tear the opponent to shreds.

Swish~

Five black lines drew a blank in front of her.

Anna, who should have been hit, instantly ducked, evading the strike.

Thwack! Her strong arms wrapped around the zombie's body.

After these few direct confrontations, Anna had gathered enough combat information. She was 100% confident she could dodge its simplistic arm attacks.

And most importantly, no matter how hardened the zombie's body became, its weight wouldn't exceed that of a normal person by too much.

[Body Slam]

With a perfect spinning body slam, the zombie was lifted entirely and slammed heavily onto the ground, its face buried in the dirt.

Anna simultaneously pinned the zombie down tightly, restricting its movements as much as possible.

However, even Anna, who stood at 187cm and weighed 90kg, showed a strained expression as she held it down. She could clearly feel an invisible force surging within the zombie, and she suspected she couldn't maintain the hold for much longer.

Almost simultaneously, A silver needle was inserted from above into the same acupoint. This time, it only took one palm strike to drive the needle in.

Seeing this, Anna immediately shouted:

"Wenwen! Cut quickly... I can't hold it much longer!"

The class monitor, having experienced the previous chopping, wasn't confident she could sever the zombie's head in a short time. It would take at least four to five attempts, and each strike would need to be precise.

However, her peripheral vision seemed to catch something, her lips twitched slightly, and the blade, which was initially aimed at the neck, changed its path, inserting vertically into another location.

Shing!

The vertical blade pierced the zombie's palm, embedding itself into the ground, further immobilizing it.

"Wenwen, what are you doing!?"

Just as Anna felt bewildered, someone approached her from the front.

Because she was bent over, pinning the zombie, she was in a lower position. Looking up, the person before her appeared exceptionally large.

Perhaps it was the perspective, Perhaps it was the newcomer's physique and the way they held their blade, Or perhaps it was some unique aura, At that moment, Anna seemed to recall a slasher movie she had watched with friends one weekend.