Fighting the Corpse Swarm

As I got closer, the smell grew even stronger.

It was like a dumpster full of dead cats and dogs on the hottest day of summer, so strong it made my eyes water.

I glanced down. My fist was sticky and covered in colorful goo.

I immediately threw up, then knelt on the ground and vomited my guts out.

While I was puking, I tried to rub the back of my fist against the grass. Just as I was wiping the filth off my fist, two hands grabbed my neck from behind.

I couldn't breathe. I was panicked, disgusted, and suffocating.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Martial Uncle standing there with his arms crossed, watching. He had no intention of coming to help.

I knew he wanted to see the results of my training, which was why he wasn't stepping in.

What made me even angrier was that he was watching with a smile, all while offering commentary.

"Hmm, that punch is good, and that move is decent..." His attitude almost made me black out.

I can't count on Martial Uncle, I thought. An idea struck me, and I fell backward.

I pushed the corpse behind me and repeatedly slammed my elbow backward, breaking free in no time.

I stood up and channeled Spiritual Energy into my right leg. The corpse hadn't gotten up yet.

I kicked it straight towards its head. I heard a squelch...

It was like a watermelon being smashed on the ground. The next moment, its skull spun through the air.

The red and white gore splattered on my feet, and I felt sick again.

After dealing with two of them, I scanned my surroundings. Five or six more corpses were roaring and lunging at me.

I was panicked and scared, but also a little excited. What's going on?

After assessing the situation, I knew I couldn't fight them one by one.

Not only was I unsure if I could win, but I'd also be completely exhausted even if I did.

Just taking down those two had worn me out, and the nausea was another factor.

The colorful juice from that punch, the smell... I really couldn't stomach it.

Making up my mind, I decided not to engage in close combat. I reached into my bag.

I grabbed a talisman and, without a second thought, hurled it at the corpses.

The moment the talisman left my hand, I mentally connected with it, controlling it like an arrow.

As I flew into the group of corpses, I yelled, "Explode!" and with a BOOM.

Instantly, the foul-smelling ichor sprayed out, leaving dismembered limbs scattered everywhere.

If you had seen the scene from a distance, you would have seen a talisman I threw, drifting down towards the ground.

Suddenly, the talisman stopped in mid-air, trembled, and then shot out with incredible speed.

Then came the explosion, followed by the scene on the ground.

After finishing off the corpses, I lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Martial Uncle walked over and clicked his tongue. "Not bad. You can already make some low-level offensive talismans."

Slightly annoyed, I asked him why he hadn't saved me earlier.

Martial Uncle said he wanted to see my skills, but he hadn't expected me to create offensive talismans so quickly.

He then asked if I was okay. I said yes.

He then said, "If you're okay, why do you have that expression like you just ate shit?"

I was speechless...

After lying on the ground for a while, I got up and brushed off the dirt that had stuck to me during the fight.

Then I asked, "Martial Uncle, what do we do now?"

Martial Uncle said not to rush and asked me to tell him if I had anything else besides the Explosion Talismans.

I replied that I had Fire Talismans and could probably try Water Talismans too, but I didn't have time.

Martial Uncle stroked his chin. "You're a good seed, kid. I'm even considering taking you as my Final Disciple."

He then answered his own question. "On second thought, forget it. Someone like you is bound to cause trouble in the future, and I don't want the hassle."

"I..."

Martial Uncle looked around and told me to come with him. I asked where we were going.

He said he had sensed that the area beneath this Graveyard was hollow.

I was stunned. I grew up here, how can it be hollow underneath? I followed Martial Uncle toward a certain spot.

After a few minutes of walking, Martial Uncle stopped and pointed ahead. "We're here."

I ran forward to look. Underneath my feet was just a patch of grass, nothing else.

Looking at the bare patch of grass under my feet, I said, "There's nothing here?"

Martial Uncle said, "Don't rush, step back."

Although I was a little confused, I still took a few steps back. Martial Uncle said to retreat further if it wasn't enough.

I retreated a bit more, then looked at Martial Uncle, asking with my eyes if he was okay. Martial Uncle nodded.

Then he channeled Spiritual Energy and struck the lawn with his palm. A loud BOOM was heard.

Sand, rocks, and dirt flew everywhere. I quickly covered my head, afraid small stones would fall and hit me.

When the commotion stopped, I hurried over to see, and found a hole.

Inside the hole were stone steps leading down, covered in moss. They seemed to go down endlessly.

Martial Uncle frowned and said, "The root of everything should be down here. Let's go take a look."

I quickly said, "No, it just opened up. There might not be any oxygen inside. Let's go down later."

As soon as I finished speaking, Martial Uncle looked at me like I was an idiot and asked, "Did you see those holes on the graves just now?" I said I did, "What about it?"

Martial Uncle pointed to a hole on the ground and said, "I took a look at those holes just now and found that some of them lead up from underground. That means there's oxygen down there."

I felt a little awkward and couldn't answer for a moment, then I prepared to walk into the hole.

When I reached the entrance, I stopped and looked at Martial Uncle, saying, "Why don't you go first?"

Martial Uncle looked at me with disdain, "You coward, your grandfather's reputation is impeccable." Then he muttered for a long time.

I touched my nose and thought, I'm not my grandfather, and besides, I'm just a fragile college student.

I think I'm already very brave for coming here.

After a while, Martial Uncle seemed to have run out of things to say, then he turned and strode in.

As he left, he glared at me and told me to follow him.

I sheepishly agreed and followed Martial Uncle all the way down. The stone steps were quite long.

The further down we went, the more I noticed the steps were a bit damp. Martial Uncle told me to be careful not to slip. I replied, "Okay."

After walking for a long time, we reached a relatively flat area. I shone my flashlight around.

I discovered the space was very large, with small holes in the ceiling.

Light shone down from those holes. Although it wasn't very bright, I could still see the surrounding environment clearly.

In a corner, there was a rectangular stone table with some broken pottery jars on it.

To our right front was a stone door, the upper half of which had already collapsed inward.

On either side of the stone door stood a soldier, their hands resting on a sword planted in the ground.

Their expressions and postures were lifelike, and the armor they wore was intricately carved, appearing very realistic.