Humiliation

The endless horde of zombies, like a black tsunami, repeatedly crushed the underground cavity.

Without pause, without gap.

The Blood Taisui completely abandoned energy consumption calculations, and the entire horde of corpses, Mycelium, and fungal power in the nest went berserk, all in an effort to annihilate the human before it.

Lu Heng fought desperately in the center of the zombie horde, his blade never ceasing its rise and fall.

Rows of mummified corpses were chopped up, dismembered, and collapsed, with rotten fragments mixed with silt flying everywhere. But the fallen bodies were always only a minority; the number of dark figures surging in from all directions only increased.

They can't kill them all, they can't eradicate them all.

Human strength has its limits.

The prolonged, high-intensity fighting had repeatedly exhausted his mental strength, and his physical injuries were piling up. Lu Heng's sword swings became increasingly heavy, his arm muscles stiff and sore, and each time he raised the blade felt like it was filled with lead.

The Bone Demon beside him, his only help, was now completely useless.

The massive horde of corpses piled up and pressed down, countless tiny Mycelium entwining and binding the skeletons. The frequency of the Bone Demon's bone blade slashes plummeted, its body was constantly rammed and restrained by the horde of corpses, and many parts of its skeleton were firmly fixed by the Mycelium. It could no longer carve out a safe area over a large area, and it could barely maintain its own defense. It could no longer share even a fraction of the offensive burden with Lu Heng.

Their only reliance was thus rendered useless.

There was no panic in Lu Heng's eyes, only a cold, clear-headed expression.

He was well aware of the current situation.

The entire underground area is the absolute home ground of the Blood Taisui, with an endless reserve of corpses and a continuous stream of Mycelium generating combat power.

Trapped here, no matter how steady your moves or how fast your strikes, you'll eventually be worn down and killed.

A stubborn thought overcame the relentless fatigue.

Either way, it's a dead end.

Rather than holding your ground and being slowly surrounded and crushed by the horde of zombies, it's better to fight with your last remaining strength for one last, ultimate counterattack.

Even if it means death, we must charge to the front of this underground overlord.

Even if we lose, we must make it remember who abruptly cut off its advancement at the crucial moment.

Having made up his mind, Lu Heng held nothing back.

He forcibly squeezed out all the remaining Mental Energy in his body, ignoring the excruciating pain of physical exhaustion.

He pushed his High-Temperature Talent to its limit once again, and a scorching wave of air exploded outwards from him.

A wave of intense heat swept over him, instantly scorching the surface of the rotting flesh from the horde of corpses that lunged at him, and charring the tiny Mycelium that clung to him.

The heatwave pushed back the ring of mummies clinging to him, creating a fleeting, narrow gap in the impenetrable horde of corpses.

This is the only chance to catch one's breath in this desperate situation.

Taking advantage of the brief opening created by the high temperature, Lu Heng exerted force with his feet and forcibly broke out of the encirclement of the horde of corpses that was being squeezed in layers. The horde of corpses continued to press in from all directions, constantly scratching and hitting his body, but they were held back by the heat wave and could not instantly crush him to the ground.

Lu Heng raised his hand and tapped the Storage Space on the Wristband, his movements swift and decisive.

The two supplies that sustained their combat power immediately entered their mouths. The Soul Crystal and Starwater instantly dissolved in their mouths, and the pure energy flowed down their throats into their meridians, briefly replenishing their depleted Mental Channels and suppressing the dizziness and vertigo in their heads.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gritted his teeth and swallowed a high-concentration Energy Core that had never been used before.

He had always been wary of unknown side effects and never rashly overdrawn his potential.

But now that they are trapped in an inescapable predicament, all concerns are rendered meaningless.

Whether there is risk or not is no longer important.

He only sought a force, a force that would allow him to reach the core of the Fungal Nest.

A massive amount of violent energy exploded within the body, washing over the limbs, bones, meridians, and muscles.

It's not a gradual recovery; it's a last gasp after extreme overexertion.

The accumulated fatigue, aches and pains, and dull ache from internal organ tremors were forcibly suppressed and blocked.

The body, on the verge of exhaustion, suddenly gained a brief and violent burst of energy.

My mind was clearer than ever before, and my senses were amplified to an unprecedented degree. The killing patterns of the surrounding zombie horde and the frequency of the Mycelium's movement were all clearly reflected in my perception.

Right now.

Despite the relentless attacks and bites, and the ever-approaching horde of corpses, Lu Heng charged straight towards the core of the main nest, the deepest part of the earth where the microbial community pulsated most violently.

One after another, mummified corpses rushed towards them, the sounds of bones clashing and limbs tearing filled the air.

The flesh was torn by decaying claws, the Combat Suit was repeatedly rubbed and deformed, and it endured wave after wave of impact.

The wounds kept piling up, and the pain spread all over his body, Lu Heng ignored it all.

He didn't make any unnecessary defensive maneuvers; all his focus was locked on the single target ahead.

They fought their way through, their blood gushing everywhere.

The short distance of a few dozen meters felt like an endless barrier between life and death.

After a few minutes of desperate sprinting, Lu Heng staggered out of the main force of the zombie horde and finally reached the edge of the Blood Taisui's main lair. The zombie horde was still chasing him, but it couldn't catch up with him in a short time.

A massive microbial colony occupies the core of the earth, with countless intertwined Mycelium constantly pulsating, churning, and wriggling.

The dark red bacterial fluid flowed slowly along the veins, and the entire nest was filled with the oppressive life force of a tyrant.

The moment they reached the finish line, the force they had been holding up completely collapsed.

The effect of a final burst of energy vanished abruptly, and extreme fatigue instantly overwhelmed him.

With limbs exhausted and muscles completely stiff, the overexerted body could no longer support its standing posture.

Lu Heng swayed and collapsed heavily into the sticky, foul-smelling mud.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing was heavy and disordered, and his body was covered in blood and decaying debris. His physical and mental strength was completely exhausted.

The entire process was a brutal struggle, a relentless assault, and an exhausting ordeal.

All they gained was the right to confront the dominant power at close range.

Lu Heng raised his eyelids and stared at the vast, boundless body of fungi before him.

There were no shouts, no curses.

He lowered his head slightly, strained his chest, and spat out a mouthful of phlegm, which landed precisely on the surface of the pulsating Fungal Nest.

Their movements were rudimentary and clumsy, yet they carried the most biting stubbornness and contempt of survivors in the apocalypse.

I can't defeat your horde of zombies, I can't outlast you on your home turf, and I can't escape your lair.

But I can still stand in front of you.

They can still look down on you to your face.

This one bite is the confidence to interrupt a promotion.

This bite embodies the indomitable spirit that survives even in dire straits.

The invisible primordial consciousness instantly locked onto Lu Heng.

The Blood Taisui, dwelling deep underground, senses all the actions and thoughts of these tiny humans.

It lay dormant for countless years, devouring countless living beings, ruling over the entire underground microbial community, and controlling endless hordes of corpses.

It has always been the one that crushes living beings, parasitizes all things, and looks down upon everything.

Never before has anyone, trapped in a desperate situation and unable to fight any longer, dared to rush up to its main body and make such a brazen provocation.

The extreme humiliation completely ignited his rampaging rage.

All previous energy consumption calculations, survival instincts, and tactical considerations were torn apart by the rage.

Blood Taisui completely abandoned the endless horde of zombies surrounding the area.

The massive horde of zombies that was chasing Lu Heng suddenly stopped moving and ceased its advance.

The tactics used to wear down, restrain, and whittle down the enemy's troops have become meaningless at this moment.

It doesn't need Puppet, it doesn't need a sea of corpses, it doesn't need roundabout tactics.

A human being on the verge of exhaustion, collapsed on the ground, utterly powerless to resist, is not worth the effort of deploying thousands of troops.

It wants to do it itself.

Countless main Mycelium buried deep underground surged, wriggled, and converged wildly.

Thick, black Mycelium veins broke through the muddy ground, like countless giant, stretching tentacles, slowly spreading and approaching Lu Heng.

A cold, sticky, and bone-chilling unfamiliar sensation seeped into Lu Heng's body through the pores of his skin and the cracks in his wounds.

There was no severe pain.

There is only a slow, eerie, and cold sense of being peeled away.

He could clearly sense that his neural perception and control over his body were being gradually eroded, invaded, and stripped away by the external microbial consciousness.

Flesh and blood, bones, nerves, consciousness.

Everything is slowly slipping out of my control.

Death has never been so close.