Chapter 302 - 156: Fierce Battle

Chapter 302: Chapter 156: Fierce Battle

Looking back, Xu Mo noticed that Luo Li’s face had grown even paler. Beads of sweat on her forehead had gathered into a small stream, trickling down her cheek. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and though her eyes remained closed, her brow was furrowed deeply.

She was using all her strength to maintain control over the zombies. Xu Mo wanted to ask, "Do you need my help?" but swallowed the words before they could escape.

In her current state, Luo Li obviously couldn’t afford any distractions. All of her energy was focused on this invisible mental battle. The slightest lapse in concentration could cause the entire front line to collapse.

Xu Mo closed his mouth, returned to her side, and resumed his guard.

A few more minutes passed, and the situation on the battlefield began to change.

The zombies trying to flank them became more numerous and frequent. Although Luo Li could still intercept them, the distance at which she did so was shrinking. It had gone from two hundred meters, to one hundred and fifty, and now to less than a hundred.

Her range of control was shrinking.

Xu Mo tightened his grip on his Triangular Spike, his gaze fixed on the approaching figures of the zombies.

Just as Xu Mo was about to make his move, a massive figure suddenly burst out from the side, charging straight for Luo Li!

It was a Strength Zombie. Its body was burly, with bulging muscles, and its skin had an unnatural blue-black hue. It looked a full size larger than an ordinary Strength Type.

The zombie’s target was crystal clear: Luo Li, who was standing at the very front.

The moment it charged within fifty meters, its body suddenly froze for an instant.

Luo Li had sensed it. She was fighting for control of the zombie.

But the zombie only faltered for a moment.

In less than half a second, it resumed its charge, its speed undiminished.

"Ngh!"

Luo Li let out another muffled groan; her attempt to seize control had failed.

Xu Mo glanced back and saw Luo Li’s face turn deathly pale. Her tightly pressed lips parted slightly, and a trickle of blood escaped. Her body swayed, and she almost lost her footing. It was only because Tiantian was desperately clutching the corner of her clothes that she managed to stay upright.

This was the backlash from failing in a mental confrontation.

"I’ll handle it!"

Without hesitation, Xu Mo shot forward like an arrow, Triangular Spike in hand, to meet the charging Strength Zombie.

With his Triangular Spike in hand and his Iron Bone Realm at full power, Xu Mo was confident. Facing a Level 2 Strength Zombie, even if he couldn’t kill it in one blow, he could finish it within a few exchanges.

But the instant Xu Mo lunged forward, the Strength Zombie’s form suddenly changed.

Its speed abruptly skyrocketed. It wasn’t the heavy, slow gait of a Strength Type, but the characteristic rapid sprint of an Agility Type! Its body suddenly lowered, and like a flash of grey-black lightning, it shot straight at Xu Mo!

Its target was never Luo Li. It was Xu Mo.

From the very beginning, it had been waiting for Xu Mo to make a move.

"Holy shit!"

Xu Mo’s pupils contracted. ’This is an Agile Zombie! And it’s a Level 3 Agile Zombie, far faster than a normal one!’

Xu Mo realized he’d made a mistake born of experience. He had seen its burly frame and subconsciously classified it as a Strength Type. But in this world, mutation was never one-dimensional. A brawny physique could still possess terrifying speed.

He’d been tricked, but it was too late to retreat.

Behind him were Luo Li and Tiantian. If he dodged, this Level 3 Agile Zombie would be upon them within a few breaths. In her current state, Luo Li stood no chance of defending herself. Once she was dead, the entire zombie army on the battlefield would instantly go out of control. The controlled zombies would turn into beasts attacking indiscriminately, and as the only living human, he would be their primary target.

Not only that, but the thousand-plus survivors in the settlement behind them would lose their only shield.

’I can’t retreat!’

Gritting his teeth, Xu Mo advanced instead of retreating, his Triangular Spike carving a cold arc through the air as he thrust it straight at the zombie’s head!

CLANG!

The Triangular Spike clashed with its sharp claws, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

The Level 3 Agile Zombie’s claws were like curved daggers, clashing head-on with the Triangular Spike without being severed. Its strength was less than that of a Scale Beast, but it was faster and had sharper reflexes. Every attack was cunning and vicious.

Xu Mo thrust and parried, simultaneously taking a half-step back to adjust his center of gravity.

The zombie gave Xu Mo no chance to breathe, pressing in close as its claws slashed at him from all angles. Its attacks had no form, but every strike aimed for Xu Mo’s vital points—his eyes, throat, and heart. Xu Mo could only rely on the superior reflexes granted by his Iron Bone Realm to block, dodge, and counterattack again and again.

The Triangular Spike stabbed into the creature’s shoulder, and black blood spurted out.

But the zombie didn’t retreat in the slightest. It didn’t even glance at its wound. Instead, it used the opening created by Xu Mo’s thrust to swipe a claw at his face. Xu Mo ducked his head to the side, and the tips of its claws grazed his cheek, carrying a foul stench.

’It’s trading injury for injury!’

The Level 3 Agile Zombie’s entire strategy was to trade injury for injury. It didn’t care how badly it was wounded, as long as it could inflict any kind of injury on Xu Mo. Even the shallowest scratch could be enough to infect him and turn him into a zombie.

Xu Mo cursed inwardly.

His Triangular Spike could certainly harm it, but to a zombie, such wounds meant nothing. They felt no pain, no fear, and would not retreat because of injury. On the contrary, blood only made them more frenzied, more bloodthirsty.

But he couldn’t do the same.

He couldn’t get injured. Any wound, no matter how small, could lead to infection. The Iron Bone Realm could defend against pistol bullets, but against the claws of a Level 3 mutated creature like this, Xu Mo didn’t dare take the risk.