Elite Zombie

Jiang Nannan stared in despair at the zombies charging toward her and the others.

As she whispered, she was consumed by guilt, unable to help her gravely ill mother.

And now she would make her suffer the pain of parting all over again.

All she could do was hope her mother stayed healthy.

She composed a farewell letter in her heart, full of sorrow and self-pity.

"Why are you standing there?! You fool! Run!"

Though Douluo Continent had its share of fools, it also had plenty of sensible people.

The lead Soul Master grabbed Jiang Nannan and one of the children, one in each hand, and took off running.

The other guard Soul Master did the same behind him.

What were they thinking? Did they really think reminiscing about the past would let them turn the tables at the last moment?

When you knew you couldn't win, any sensible person would run for it!

Stand there like a fool? Were they hoping the protagonist would show up and save them?

As for fighting, that was an even bigger joke.

The other side had already revealed a higher level than their own.

Fight?

Fight my ass!

Did they really think everyone here was a genius who could fight above their level?

And who knew whether this freak had some powerful daddy controlling it from behind?

So the best solution was to run.

Run for it!

Run to human territory! Even if it couldn't guarantee complete safety, there'd at least be plenty more Hidden Weapons to send their way.

He didn't particularly agree with Grandmaster.

But one thing he'd said made a lot of sense.

More rings, more bones, more skills—go all in. Fewer rings, fewer bones—run for it.

If you couldn't win, run.

That was the wisest rule for surviving in this world of the survival of the fittest.

The two Soul Masters in the clearing were, at worst, a Soul Ancestor and a powerhouse close to becoming a Soul King.

Escaping with a few children was a piece of cake.

Besides, they knew ordinary puppets were all short-legged things that couldn't run fast.

As long as they could put some distance between themselves and the enemy, it would be easy to lose it in this complex forest terrain.

But they could never have imagined that what they were facing was something that had no business existing in this world.

It didn't play by the rules at all.

Once it had chosen its target!

A zombie would use every means at its disposal to attack.

And everyone knew that little monsters didn't have a damn mana bar.

So...

Soul Skills! All of them, activate! Activate! Activate!

And this one!

Fifth Soul Skill! Blazing Lion Corpse Claw!!!

As the Soul Rings on the zombie's body flashed in turn,

its speed grew faster, its strength greater, its defense stronger! It even put up a shield.

It had evolved completely into a mobile turret that could fire flaming claw strikes.

That thing was like a machine fitted with a double-speed engine. In an instant, it caught up with Jiang Nannan and the others as they fled.

At the same time, the flaming claw strike unleashed by its Soul Skill hit the slower of the two Soul Masters.

It sent him flying straight ahead of the lead Soul Master's escape route.

"This...! Gulp!"

The lead Soul Master, who was carrying Jiang Nannan, was shocked to see his companion sent flying. He couldn't help swallowing.

Though he froze for a moment, the zombie's attacks didn't stop.

It raised its arm and threw a punch!

He barely dodged it.

"Whew! Looks like we can't escape! Kid, get out of here and save yourself! Da Biaozi! Can you get up?

If you can, come help! If we don't deal with this thing, we're not making it out of this forest today!"

The lead Soul Master hurled Jiang Nannan and the child in his arms in opposite directions.

He turned around and punched the oncoming zombie, knocking it back.

Four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—appeared above his head, then slowly settled over him.

His appearance changed drastically. His muscles swelled, stretching his originally loose clothes tight.

His black hair took on flecks of orange.

Then scales matching his hair color covered his body, and his palms transformed into sharp claws with foot-long nails.

Clearly, this Soul Master was a Power Attack System Soul Master with a scale-armored Beast Martial Soul.

"I'm fine! It didn't get a good grip on me. It'll take more than that to kill me!"

The Soul Master called Biaozi also had four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—around him. He raised his shield Martial Soul, which glinted with silver light.

He sent the zombie, which had been attacking the Beast Martial Soul Soul Master nonstop, flying.

Then he gritted his teeth and spoke.

But the wound on his back was deep enough to show bone. Clearly, things weren't as easy as he made them sound.

"As long as you can fight! Then today, we brothers will be geniuses for once! We'll take down a Soul King despite the difference in rank!"

"Sure! After coming all the way to the Soul Beast Forest, we've gotten our ticket's worth!"

"Kill!" X2

"Ah!" X2

Their declaration was cool. They hit the ground just as fast.

The two of them were completely outmatched by the zombie.

That thing on the other side—

It kept its buffs active all the time, and shield after shield rolled over its body.

Their attacks had no effect on it whatsoever.

It didn't lose a single drop of health.

Even more disgusting was its fifth Soul Skill.

That wasn't a basic attack. It was a pure skill attack, and the damage was insanely high.

A normal Soul King would be nearly out of Soul Power after using it a few times.

But this bastard on the other side seemed to have no cost at all. It could use a skill ten times in a minute.

There was no way to fight it.

"Uncle Liu, are you all right?!"

Just as the two men decided to face death with dignity,

a tender girl's voice suddenly rang in their ears.

When they looked, it was Jiang Nannan, leading the other two children who should have run away. They'd come back!

"Damn it! I risked my life to send you away, you little—why the hell did you come back?!"

"Are your brains full of—? You're all Soul Master seedlings! Couldn't you look after my family for me when you grow up? What the hell did you come back for?!"

The two Soul Masters instantly exploded like barrels of gunpowder!

They swore up a storm.

Then they forced their exhausted bodies upright and moved to block the zombie.

If they couldn't escape, then they'd meet their end like heroes!

(They really couldn't escape! The kind where even abandoning your teammates wouldn't get you away.)

"Ugh!"

"Damn! What the hell is that monster?!"

They still couldn't beat it.

While taking a beating, they stole a glance at the three brats standing nearby, watching blankly.

For a moment, the two men felt like giving up. They were tired. That was that.

So stupid!

If anyone ever said children on Douluo Continent were mature beyond their years again, he'd take their surname.

But the world had a way of turning into a farce.

Just as the two Soul Masters had fallen into despair,

"I was wondering why TV dramas always had those stupid plots where someone could escape but stayed behind to serve as a punching bag.

Honestly, it makes sense. Inspiration really does come from life.

Uncle Long, hold things down! And help fish those two Soul Masters out while you're at it. They're about to cough up milk!"

A clear, youthful voice came from within the dense forest, accompanied by a powerful pressure.

The pressure's ability to control the battlefield was pretty useful.

There was just one tiny flaw.

The two Soul Masters, who were already down to their last half of their lives, had now lost half of what remained.

But at least a quarter of their lives had bought them a chance to survive. It should've been a worthwhile trade.

As for cheating death with a counterattack?

That was Lu Mingfei's business. It had nothing to do with them.

Besides, the real protagonist had already arrived.

"Hey, hey, hey! The way you two uncles are bravely meeting your end looks pretty cool!

Don't worry, I'll take over from here!

But I suggest you keep your hands busy, too! Go teach those three blockheads a lesson! They can't even run when they're getting beaten up? Do they hide at home when it rains?

Let them get a taste of how cruel the world can be!"