The Decisive Battle Approaches

The stairwell between the twelfth and thirteenth floors was packed with various types of zombies, including common living corpses, mutated ones, and even female zombies with distended, pregnant bellies.

They did not continue their downward assault to surround the mercenary team, but instead remained on this floor as if they had a specific purpose, clogging the entire staircase leading to the thirteenth floor.

This further proved that there was definitely something on the thirteenth floor that they were protecting: the Living Corpse King that had never yet appeared.

Seeing Xia Leng approaching alone, they seemed somewhat startled; how could this human be so reckless? They immediately let out roars that reeked of a foul, bloody stench.

Facing the horde of corpses crowding the narrow stairwell, Xia Leng's expression remained unmoved. Although their numbers were significant, compared to the Street of the Living Dead or the dense sea of corpses in the plaza, this was merely a puddle at the edge of the ocean.

Thus, he stepped forward, walking toward the staircase leading to the thirteenth floor that was jammed with living corpses.

At this moment, Xia Leng's eyes underwent another transformation, once again being eroded by darkness until not a sliver of white remained.

The violent hidden personality reclaimed his body, causing a long-absent, sinister grin to spread across his face as he stepped closer to the "delicacies" that continued to roar before him.

Finally, seeing this human continuing to approach, the group of zombies grew restless and launched a collective attack!

Awoo!!

Several common living corpses capable of crawling along the walls lunged directly at Xia Leng, their sharp claws emitting a cold, icy glint in the dim light.

Just as they were about to clash, Xia Leng gripped his Titanium Dual Blades and executed a horizontal slash with lightning speed!

Swoosh!

The two living corpses charging at the very front instantly collapsed to the ground, the upper halves of their skulls flying away to reveal smooth, slick severed edges.

As the other few ferocious living corpses following close behind were about to reach him, Xia Leng tilted his body with an seemingly effortless motion, easily dodging their claw strikes.

Xia Leng's pupils, now completely occupied by darkness, were like a precision high-speed camera; the zombies' rapid movements seemed to slow down several times over in his eyes.

While dodging the enemy's attacks, he simultaneously launched his counterattack!

The Titanium Dual Blades in his hands danced in a dazzling array of blade flowers, a violent aesthetic that combined power and speed.

These few living corpses were instantly sliced into fragments within the chaotic yet rhythmic blade dance, collapsing into a pile of minced meat at Xia Leng's feet with a wet thud.

As for the Blacklight Virus, it had long since grown impatient and transformed into tentacles, beginning to frantically devour the corpses and flesh on the ground.

And as he devoured more, Xia Leng's pupils grew even darker, his entire mental state becoming incredibly exhilarated.

Now, with a sinister grin plastered on his face, he actively charged into the zombie horde!

For a time, the sound of Xia Leng's silent slashes mingled with the roars of the zombies, while severed limbs and broken arms flew everywhere.

Even when he was wounded by the sharp claws of the living corpses or bitten by the fangs of the Zombie Fetus, he could rapidly heal his wounds by devouring them.

Every living corpse he consumed granted the berserk Xia Leng a sense of inexplicable pleasure, bestowing upon him tireless energy and stamina.

If anyone were to witness this scene, they would see a human displaying an offensive far more insane than the zombies themselves, fighting them in close quarters without losing the upper hand.

Xia Leng's body was like a bottomless black hole, devouring living corpse after living corpse until nothing remained, leaving only thick, dark green bloodstains on the ground...

BOOM!!!

At the same time, a massive explosion erupted on the floor above, the flames and shockwave instantly spreading across the entire eleventh floor, swallowing everything in fire along with the shrill, miserable screams of both zombies and humans.

A few seconds later, several figures still wreathed in flames rushed out of the sea of fire, frantically rolling on the ground to extinguish the blaze.

Following the demolition order previously issued by Gilbert, two demolitionists had sacrificed their lives, rushing into the zombie horde to trigger high-yield explosives. They had blown the numerous female zombies and the eleventh-floor staircase to pieces, including those mercenary team members who were too severely injured to escape the inferno...

Now, including the two captains, only seven or eight mercenaries capable of combat remained, following behind them as they rushed out of the fire with dejected expressions.

But if this order, which had nearly cut off their own retreat, had not been given, everyone would have died in the mouths of the Zombie Fetus on the eleventh floor...

"Where is that guy?! Was he blown to bits?"

Captain Philip roared in a hoarse voice, gasping for air. His burly frame was now covered in wounds, with not a single patch of skin left intact, and even his right hand, gripping his heavy Titanium Dual Blades, began to tremble slightly.

Gilbert was in no better shape; a large chunk of muscle on his right arm had been torn away by a Zombie Fetus, blood flowing like a river, his face deathly pale from excessive blood loss.

The surviving medic hurried over to administer painkillers and bandage the captain's wounds. For injuries this severe, where the white bone was nearly exposed, the Komodo headquarters would arrange for Baptized Ones with healing abilities to treat them once they returned safely to the Fortress.

"He went upstairs alone, which is why I had to follow..."

Gilbert said with pale lips. He lacked the formidable physical constitution of an Apocalypse Warrior, so he barely had the strength to speak at this moment.

"That bastard really did have some kind of conspiracy!"

Philip was immediately incensed, swearing that once he saw him, no matter what happened, he would slaughter that cold man first!

"Why have the zombie roars from upstairs stopped?"

At this moment, Captain Gilbert noticed this detail. He clearly remembered the zombie roars from above being deeply etched in his memory during the battle on the eleventh floor, but now, they had completely vanished!

Thus, he pushed aside the medic supporting him, readjusted his stamina, and walked upstairs, with the others following closely behind.

As they neared the thirteenth floor, the group caught the scent of an extremely intense, bloody stench and saw the dark green, viscous bloodstains on the ground becoming increasingly thick!

It seemed that a fierce battle had just taken place here; bits of minced meat were stuck everywhere—on the walls, the railings, and the stairs!

Yet, strangely, not a single complete corpse could be seen!

Moreover, Gilbert's danger-sensing ability as an Apocalypse Hunter detected an unprecedented aura of danger emanating from the floor above!

Stepping through the viscous gore with their hearts pounding, they continued upward. Just as they were about to reach the thirteenth floor, the two captains saw a figure leaning against the wall at the corner!

The two mercenaries still carrying the searchlights aimed their beams at that position, and the figure was indeed Xia Leng, leaning against the wall and watching the group with a cold expression!

"The bloodstains on the stairs just now... were they all caused by you?"

Gilbert asked in disbelief. From start to finish, he had barely seen this mysterious man make a move with his own eyes.

Xia Leng glanced at him and did not answer Gilbert's question, instead frowning deeply as he said, "The Living Corpse King you want to see is on this floor. Also, you can turn off those useless searchlights..."