Chapter 22: Encounter on a Narrow Path
The Ancient Melodic Soul Tree did not respond.
Or perhaps, Xu Le's increasingly calm heart was already the best response.
Weighing the standard long sword in his hand, Xu Le had never used a sword as a weapon before.
But it didn't matter, he pondered.
"If I had this thing when I was young, ten miles of cabbage flowers would all be headless."
Xu Le took a deep breath, looking at the zombie's claws just inches away, and suddenly drew his sword!
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing appeared on the blade's edge. The sharp edge cut through muscle and joints, and Xu Le sliced off the zombie's claw with one stroke.
But the zombie in front of him didn't hesitate at all. Losing a hand seemed to be an insignificant matter to it.
Its other sharp claw swept towards Xu Le again, but Xu Le's right hand holding the sword could barely lift it now.
His entire arm was going numb.
Even with the enhancement of the Old Soldier's Soul, his untrained body was no match for the zombie.
A single collision had temporarily paralyzed Xu Le's arm.
He probably needed quite a while to regain feeling in his arm.
However, Xu Le's mind was very calm. That indifferent expression was as if he had this battle in the bag.
Several nearby classmates, including the girl Xu Le had saved, were stunned when they saw Xu Le cut off the zombie's hand with one stroke.
"Damn, this guy is fierce!"
"Brother, keep it up!"
"There's a monster, come help quickly!"
Some people had already stopped in their tracks, silently cheering for Xu Le.
Others were shouting loudly, wanting to rush up and help Xu Le.
They were all just ordinary college students, but despite their panic, they didn't back down. Their words and shouts also fell on Xu Le's ears.
These words gave Xu Le an indescribable feeling.
In Xu Le's previous life, because of certain things and certain people, the world had become incredibly cold.
Even elderly people who fell on the ground had reached the point where no one cared.
That kind of coldness made Xu Le very uncomfortable, but he was powerless to change anything.
But here, there was no such situation.
The people here, even the noble uptown university students, flowed with a passion unique to the dark ages.
Even though these people had no supernatural powers, they still dared to face the darkness of this world, to face those things that terrified people.
Perhaps they were weak, but they were bright.
For the first time, Xu Le felt that this dark world before him was quite good.
"Everyone back off, I'm about to... start killing enemies.
Ahem, don't come and interfere with me."
Xu Le calmly took out the phosphorus fire, mentally counting his steps, judging the distance, and then threw the phosphorus fire.
Bang!
A burst of flames erupted, and a large amount of debris and sand exploded on the zombie's face.
Although the explosive force wasn't strong, at such a close range, it was enough to blow up the zombie's eyeballs.
The zombie, which had been charging straight ahead until now, finally let out a miserable cry.
Its footsteps also began to stagger, retreating backward.
Without eyes, its ability to capture information was obviously limited, and it began to sweep its surroundings with its claws and teeth.
Xu Le stepped back a few paces, avoiding its attack range.
But at this moment, the zombie suddenly turned its head towards the girl.
Its eyes couldn't see, naturally unable to catch Xu Le, but its perception of fear had nothing to do with its eyes.
Xu Le looked at the dazed girl, sizing her up before muttering:
"Calling me 'Brother Xu Le' sounds quite intimate, don't know what relationship she has with me. If she's my girlfriend, then this... is barely worth it."
Shaking his head, he shouted loudly:
"Run quickly!"
Hearing Xu Le's call again, the girl's eyes seemed to clear up a bit.
And Xu Le's shout also attracted the zombie's attention.
Although it couldn't see anything now, its ears weren't deaf.
The monster's instinct made it decide to prioritize dealing with Xu Le, this threat, so it charged towards Xu Le again.
"Such fast speed!"
Xu Le slightly shook his stiff right arm, which hadn't fully recovered.
He slowly took a deep breath.
"Old Soldier's Soul, though dead yet living."
Zhou Ke's military sword technique seemed to fully enhance his body at this moment.
Gripping the sword with both hands, the Ancient Melodic Soul Tree instantly absorbed all of Xu Le's panic and fear.
The unripe fear fruit on the tree also matured at this moment.
The energy dispersed after the fruit matured made Xu Le feel an unprecedented emptiness.
The zombie's possible next moves, attack trajectories, he seemed to be able to guess them all clearly.
"It will use its left claw to pierce my heart, then use its mouth to bite off my neck.
This process will be completed in about 4.3 seconds, that's enough time."
Xu Le thought of many countermeasures, and thinking about these responses only took a brief moment.
The zombie was still quite a distance away from him, and in the coming time, Xu Le could even think about the best way to kill the zombie.
Slightly closing his eyes, he began to think.
"What should I do? I've got it."
Xu Le pondered for a long time, but in others' eyes, he just blinked for a slightly longer time.
He also charged towards the zombie, thrusting the iron sword straight ahead.
Compared to the zombie, his strength was very small. Even with the enhancement of the Old Soldier's Soul, it was almost impossible to kill the zombie relying on his own strength.
So, he needed to borrow force.
Where would the force come from?
Of course, from the zombie itself.
The zombie's speed was extremely fast, and extremely fast speed brought extremely large kinetic energy.
Xu Le's own charging force, the direct thrust of the sword's edge, plus the zombie's own impact force.
This kind of collision was enough.
Because the battle happened too quickly, many people hadn't yet reacted.
As the two got closer and closer, until Xu Le charged towards death and life, rushing towards the zombie, they finally came to their senses.
What kind of courage did it take for an ordinary person to charge towards a monster?
Swish!
The iron sword entered the skull.
The zombie's hard skull almost bent and ruined the iron sword.
But the impact force of the two was still enough, and the bent iron sword finally pierced through the zombie's head.
And Xu Le himself was also sent flying at this moment.
Bang!
Falling heavily to the ground, Xu Le felt like all the bones in his body were about to shatter.
The zombie's strength was really too outrageous.
This was just a level 1 monster. If it were a stronger level, even if it was only level 2.
Such a monster charging into a crowd, Xu Le could imagine, would definitely be a slaughter.
He pondered that if he had a fire gun, it would be good.
Thinking about how easy it was to kill the zombie last time, this time, he had almost pushed all conditions to the extreme, barely managing to kill a single zombie.
The difference between the two was self-evident.
The power of firearms, no matter which world, is equally powerful!
"Phew, seems like I won."
The fall of the zombie stunned many people.
They were shocked not only by the death of the zombie but even more by the fact that Xu Le hadn't displayed any supernatural powers.
"That person, he really did it!"
"Yes, he did it, he killed the zombie."
"Did an ordinary person kill a monster without firearms?"
"Too strong."
Although being surrounded and praised wildly by a group of people felt good, Xu Le still thought they should be doing something else at this moment.
After all, he was a bit thin-skinned, and being surrounded and praised like this was actually quite embarrassing.
"It's actually not that great..."
"Brother Xu Le." The girl squatted down in front of Xu Le.
Xu Le looked from this angle.
Goodness!
Starting tomorrow, there will be 2 updates around 5 PM.
(End of chapter)