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 encircle 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 once appeared.

Seeing that only Xia Leng had walked up, they seemed somewhat stunned; 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, heading toward the staircase leading to the thirteenth floor, which 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 took control of his body once more, causing a long-absent, sinister grin to spread across his face as he stepped closer to the "delicacies" that were continuously roaring ahead.

Finally, seeing that this human was still approaching, the restless group of zombies 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 unleashed a horizontal slash with lightning speed!

Slash!

The two living corpses charging at the very front instantly collapsed to the ground, their upper skulls sheared clean off, revealing smooth, slick stumps.

As for the other fierce living corpses following close behind, just as they were about to close in on him, Xia Leng tilted his body with an almost casual grace, easily dodging their claw strikes.

Xia Leng's pupils, now completely consumed 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 a counterattack.

The Titanium Dual Blades in his hands danced in a dazzling array of blade-flowers—a violent aesthetic combining power and speed.

These few living corpses were instantly sliced into fragments within the chaotic yet precise blade-work, 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, transforming into tentacles to begin ravenously devouring the remains 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 midst of the zombie horde!

For a time, the sound of Xia Leng's silent slaughters 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 frenzied than the zombies themselves, locked in a brutal struggle with them without losing the upper hand.

Xia Leng's body was like a bottomless black hole, devouring living corpse after living corpse until only thick, dark green blood remained on the ground...

BOOM!!!

At the same time, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted on the floor above. Firelight, accompanied by a shockwave, instantly spread across the entire eleventh floor, swallowing everything in flames along with the shrill, miserable screams of both zombies and humans.

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

Following the demolition order previously issued by Gilbert, two demolitionists had sacrificed their lives, rushing into the horde to trigger high-yield explosives. They had blown the numerous female zombies and the staircase of the 11th floor to smithereens, including those mercenary team members who were too severely injured to escape the inferno.

Now, including the two captains, only seven or eight combat-capable mercenaries remained, following behind them as they emerged from the fire in a disheveled state.

But had this order, which nearly cut off their own retreat, not been given, everyone would have died in the jaws 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 already covered in wounds, with not a single intact patch of skin, 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 gushing out. The excessive blood loss had left his face deathly pale.

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, they would be treated by Baptized Ones with healing abilities once they safely returned to the Fortress and the Komodo headquarters.

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

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! I knew he had some kind of scheme!"

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?"

Just then, Captain Gilbert noticed this detail. He clearly remembered that when they were fighting the zombies on the 11th floor, the roars from above had left a deep impression on him, but now they had vanished entirely!

Thus, he pushed away the medic supporting him, readjusted his stamina, and walked toward the stairs, 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 growing thicker and thicker!

It seemed a brutal 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.

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

They stepped through the sticky gore, their hearts pounding, and continued upward. 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 spot. The figure was indeed Xia Leng, leaning against the wall, watching the group with a cold expression!

"The bloodstains on the stairs just now... were they all your doing?"

Gilbert asked in disbelief. From beginning to end, he had barely seen this mysterious man make a move.

Xia Leng glanced at him but did not answer Gilbert's question. Instead, his brows suddenly furrowed as he said, "The Living Corpse King you want to see is on this floor. Also, you can turn off those useless searchlights..."