Chapter 80: Attacking The Zombie

Noticing a strange zombie peeking from inside the cave’s entrance, for a moment, even the Envoy’s attention had completely shifted away from the battle.

Every monster that had appeared after the apocalypse had a very distinctive appearance. The stronger the monster became, the more obvious that distinction usually was.

For example, the Ironfeather Eagle was not only huge, but its light-brown feathers also shone brilliantly under the crimson sky, making its enormous body easy to distinguish from the other creatures roaming the wilderness.

As it flew across the sky, it could easily sense the wind currents around its body through its natural abilities, allowing it to move majestically through the air as if the wind were an extension of itself.

The same rule applied to zombies as well.

Zombies were created due to the zombie virus essentially taking over their bodies. Once the virus began spreading throughout the victim, it constantly ate away at their brain and body, resulting in the victim slowly losing their memories, senses, and eventually even their ability to reason.

Their flesh constantly rotted away, while their bones continuously melted under the foul grip of the virus, leaving behind a body that was almost completely different from the human it once belonged to.

Whoever was infected had their skin pigments turned completely green. The figure hiding around the cave’s entrance was the same.

Except... The Envoy hadn’t seen him before.

Although the zombie seemed human, his appearance didn’t match that of any member of the Radiant Stars.

Even though the members of the Radiant Stars had constantly kept their faces hidden under masks whenever they operated publicly, the Envoy had seen their faces long ago.

He knew the appearance of every single member of the team. And this zombie wasn’t one of them.

’Then who is he?’ The thought flashed through the Envoy’s mind as his eyes remained fixed upon Ethan.

He couldn’t understand it.

There was simply no reason for such a strange zombie to appear inside the Blood Ant nest, especially one that seemed capable of commanding the Blood Ants around him.

But before he could think any further—

Bam!

Taking advantage of the situation, the zombie Ironfeather Eagle rammed straight into the Envoy.

The Envoy could very well perceive the wind currents around him and everything that happened through them. Meaning that even if his eyes couldn’t see an attack, the surrounding wind should have warned him.

However, in that moment, he was so lost within his own thoughts that he completely forgot about the battle.

Unable to detect or dodge the attack, the Envoy took the hit head-on as the eagle’s massive head bashed straight into his chest, breaking several bones at once.

The impact was so powerful that the sound of bones cracking could clearly be heard even from a considerable distance.

Instantly, the long silken veil covering his entire face rippled violently as a large crimson stain spread through its center, with blood flowing down from the impact.

Blood erupted from his mouth and nostrils as his body was sent flying several hundred meters away.

For a moment, the Envoy couldn’t even understand what had happened—he had been distracted.

That single mistake had allowed the eagle to land a direct attack on him.

Feeling the overwhelming impact throughout his body, the Envoy was jolted awake from his thoughts, and he immediately tried to manipulate the surrounding wind currents to stop his fall.

But the further he flew, the fewer chaotic wind currents surrounded his body.

The battle had already distorted the surrounding atmosphere. The currents he had previously relied upon were no longer positioned in a way that could easily support his body.

By the time he had even begun trying to manipulate them, he was already far enough from the battlefield to realize that his efforts wouldn’t make much difference.

Nevertheless, he refused to simply accept the impact.

His Nox surged through his body as he desperately tried to force the surrounding currents towards himself, but his damaged body could no longer respond with the same precision as before.

With a loud crash, the Envoy slammed directly into the ground.

His body bounced once against the earth before being dragged across the floor, leaving a long trail behind him as dust and broken pieces of stone were thrown into the air.

Ethan saw everything happen with his eyes wide as he noticed an opening.

The human who had been fighting the zombie Ironfeather Eagle had suddenly been sent flying far away, leaving the path around the cave considerably safer than before.

’Now.’ Ethan immediately made his decision. "Let’s move out."

His voice wasn’t loud, but every Blood Ant behind him immediately understood his command.

At once, the massive army began moving and poured out of the cave entrance one after another, their enormous bodies quickly spreading across the devastated land while Ethan remained at the front.

Eris followed closely behind him, carrying one of the large bloodstones alongside another powerful Blood Ant.

Ethan didn’t bother looking back, since with the Envoy gone, this was their best chance at escaping.

If they remained inside the nest any longer, another attack could arrive at any moment, and Ethan had no intention of allowing his remaining subordinates to be slaughtered one after another.

At the same time, several hundred meters away, the Envoy coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

His long silken white robes had been torn apart in several places, completely destroying the pristine demeanor he had maintained throughout the battle.

His body was in a ragged state, with several minor injuries visible across the surface of his skin, while the pain spreading through his chest made every breath feel heavier than before.

Veins bulged out from his forehead as he slowly clenched his fists.

To think that he had become the victim of such an easy attack was simply unthinkable. And...

Insulting.

He had been fighting a C-rank monster, yet he had allowed himself to become distracted by some unknown zombie and had been struck directly in the chest.

The humiliation was far worse than the pain.

"That bastard..." The Envoy’s voice was extremely low as he slowly raised his head.

His eyes immediately locked onto the jade-green figure that had only now emerged from the cave.

The zombie was standing among countless Blood Ants, calmly leading them away from the nest as if the battle happening around them wasn’t enough to concern him.

’So it really is him.’

There was something fundamentally different about that zombie.

It wasn’t simply the fact that he could command the Blood Ants.

It was the feeling coming from his body.

The Envoy had encountered countless zombies throughout his career, and every single one of them possessed a similar rotten aura, but this particular zombie felt strangely different.

His body was green, but unlike ordinary zombies, it didn’t look as though it was continuously falling apart.

The Envoy’s eyes narrowed at his figure. ’Who exactly are you?’

Swoosh.

At once, his figure disappeared from his original position.

The surrounding wind currents instantly gathered around his body, accelerating his movement as his eyes remained firmly locked onto the jade-green zombie.