Soul of the Black Armored Army

The dense horde of undead completely surrounded the Black Armored Army squad. The eerie glow in the eyes of the charging skeletons and the rotting flesh clinging to the zombies, as if about to fall off yet stubbornly attached, all assaulted their nerves.

"Kill!" the burly man roared, his muscular arms bulging. The broad saber in his hand flashed, cleaving the two closest zombies in half.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The other nine Black Armored Soldiers echoed the fierce shouts, hacking down the attacking undead one by one.

Marrow splattered from the dismembered skeletons, and rotten flesh and corpse fluid from the zombies coated the ten Black Armored Soldiers from head to toe.

Even though the Black Armored Soldiers were fully armored, their faces and hands were exposed. These disgusting, highly toxic substances not only made their armor sizzle and corrode but also instantly melted their exposed flesh, leaving them with gaping wounds.

However, not a single Black Armored Soldier cried out in pain. Their only response was to hack and slash even more ferociously.

But humans were not machines. Over time, fatigue set in, and fatigue led to mistakes.

At this moment, one of the Black Armored Soldiers' sword strokes slowed by a fraction, and his arm was grabbed by a zombie in front of him and yanked hard.

The soldier screamed as his arm was ripped clean from his body. Yet, he didn't collapse. Instead, he lunged forward, kicking the zombie's head into mush. Then, with a Bone Spear piercing his chest from a skeleton, he plunged his remaining hand directly into the skeleton's eye sockets.

The red glow in the skeleton's eyes faded. The soldier, however, was torn to shreds by the swarming undead.

"Xiao Fei!" the other nine Black Armored Soldiers cried out in grief.

"Everyone, hold your ground! Fight these damned undead to the death!" the burly man, the captain, roared. He knew Xiao Fei could have retreated into their protective circle, but he chose to fight to the death because he knew a disabled him would only drag the entire team down. Now, he knew they likely wouldn't make it back, surrounded by the undead horde, and reinforcements were still fifty miles away.

"Die!" Tie Tou swung his saber at a zombie's neck, but the neck was as hard as steel. The blade only sank halfway in before getting stuck.

A green mark on the zombie's forehead indicated it was an intermediate undead. It let out a few guttural roars, its iron claws flashing towards Tie Tou's heart with lightning speed.

Tie Tou's pupils constricted. He couldn't retreat; doing so would break their formation, dooming the entire team instantly.

Just then, a soldier next to Tie Tou stepped forward, blocking him. The moment the zombie's claws tore into his heart, he delivered a heavy punch to the back of the saber stuck in the zombie's neck.

The zombie's head rolled off, but the Black Armored Soldier slumped against its headless corpse, as if locked in an embrace.

"Barbarian, ah..." Tie Tou completely lost it. Ignoring a skeleton's bone blade slashing towards his head, he smashed its skull into pieces.

With a clang, Tie Tou's helmet was split in two, but the skeleton's bone blade left only a shallow mark on his bare scalp.

Tie Tou fought like a madman, only focused on killing, completely disregarding the undead's attacks.

"Tie Tou, snap out of it!" The burly man pulled Tie Tou back from the attacks of several undead, sustaining several wounds himself.

"Captain, I want revenge! I'll annihilate these damned undead!" Tie Tou roared.

"Shut up! We, the Black Armored Army, maintain our formation even if only two of us are left. Only by killing more undead will it be worthwhile. Dying like this won't get you revenge. Fill the gap!" the burly man bellowed.

Tie Tou sobered up, falling silent, his eyes wide with fury as he silently wielded his saber.

Tie Tou had only joined the Black Armored Army a month ago and had been with this battalion in the Undead Mountain Range for ten days, replacing another battalion. He had previously been an elite soldier in another legion, selected through rigorous trials to join the Black Armored Army.

He had always believed the Black Armored Army's dominance stemmed from their superior individual strength. But now, he realized how wrong he had been. The Black Armored Army's fame wasn't just from individual prowess; it was more importantly about their team spirit and the resolve to die for their comrades fighting alongside them.

The teammate named Barbarian, with whom he usually didn't get along, had just bravely stood in front of him and died for him.

Of the ten Black Armored Soldiers, half had fallen. Only five remained, like tiny reefs in a surging tide, refusing to retreat even knowing they would be shattered.

These remaining five Black Armored Soldiers were all wounded, the corpse poison already spreading throughout their bodies. Even if they weren't torn apart by the undead, they would die from the poison.

"Flame Slash!" The captain roared, his saber erupting in flames as he bisected five undead in front of him. He seemed unable to catch his breath and stood frozen. Several more undead immediately lunged at him.

"Captain!" Tie Tou charged forward, blocking the captain. He, too, was about to die gloriously for his comrade.

Just then, a flash of golden light streaked past, and the heads of over a dozen undead in front of Tie Tou separated from their bodies.

A youth dressed in a flowing female robe appeared like a phantom. The Black Sword in his hand unleashed waves of golden Battle Qi, carving a path through the undead horde.

"What are you waiting for? Run!" Qi Bei shouted loudly.

The surviving five Black Armored Soldiers came to their senses, helped each other up, and rushed out of the undead encirclement. Qi Bei stayed behind to cover their retreat.

The five Black Armored Soldiers stumbled for two or three miles before stopping. They began to take out the antidotes they had prepared. As long as they could temporarily suppress the corpse poison, they could survive once they returned to camp.

"Captain, who was that expert?" one soldier asked the captain, who was deep in thought.

"I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but he looked a lot like the Commander's younger brother, Qi Bei. Nord," the captain said, shaking his head as he himself found it hard to believe.

"That's impossible. The Commander's younger brother was weak as a chicken. How could he be so powerful?" Tie Tou said.

"Then I must have been mistaken," the captain said, no longer speaking.

"Pity our five brothers. We can't even find their bodies now..." Tie Tou said in a low voice, tears welling up in his eyes.

The others fell silent. After a long pause, the captain spoke, "Since we joined the army, we've all been prepared to die. To be wrapped in horsehide and return home is our honor."

"Captain, the expert who saved us is here."

The captain looked over and saw Qi Bei running towards them, carrying a large bundle tied with bark rope, moving at incredible speed.

As he got closer, they realized Qi Bei was dragging five sets of armor and the dismembered remains of the fallen soldiers.

"This is all I could find. They were all brave men, and I respect them. This is all I can do," Qi Bei sighed, gently placing the items down.