Chapter Nineteen: Bloody Battle!

The ghoul struck by the bullet let out a shriek and collapsed halfway across the road, its limbs twitching and struggling uncontrollably.

Tang Zhen was secretly delighted. It seemed that the pistol was just as lethal against second-level monsters, which put his mind considerably at ease.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind: how to acquire large quantities of firearms, how to slaughter second-level monsters on a massive scale, and how much a second-level brain orb might be worth.

As these thoughts flickered through his mind, he fired a second shot without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the bullet merely struck another ghoul in the chest without killing it on the spot. After being wounded, the ghoul became terrifyingly violent, its charging speed suddenly increasing.

Just as the monster surged into the lead, Qian Long’s arrow pierced straight through its head, killing it instantly.

The ghouls were moving with astonishing speed. After only two monsters had been killed, the three men and the horde finally collided!

“Damn it, let’s do this!”

Tang Zhen cursed angrily, swiftly storing the pistol away in his spatial storage before raising his saber and hacking at the ghoul lunging toward him with bared teeth. His eyes were filled with madness.

His blade descended with all his strength, striking the ghoul brutally and splitting its body in two.

The ghoul’s foul-smelling blood splattered everywhere. When it touched Tang Zhen’s skin, it caused a burning, itching sensation that made him deeply uncomfortable.

There was no time to consider whether the blood was poisonous. The situation before him left no room for distraction. Anything unrelated would have to wait.

After killing the monster, Tang Zhen had not yet withdrawn his saber when the foreclaws of another ghoul slammed into the center of his back. He felt his body jolt violently. His vision went black, and then he was sent flying, a bloody sweetness surging into his mouth.

“Thud!”

Tang Zhen crashed heavily onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Oh! Big Bear’s gonna beat you all to death…!”

A furious roar mixed with a simple, honest tone rang out. Seeing Tang Zhen injured, Big Bear instantly flew into a rage.

His eyes bulged with fury as he swung his enormous shield and spiked club with all his might. He charged directly into the ranks of the ghouls, smashing them until blood and flesh flew in every direction.

The man truly lived up to his horrifying, human-meat-grinder appearance. Even after plunging into a swarm of second-level ghouls, he moved through them as if no one stood in his way, slaughtering monsters until their shrieks rang out without end. In the blink of an eye, the ghouls around him were sent flying, some torn into pieces the instant they were struck.

Chunks of flesh filled the air, accompanied by one roar after another!

Even when the ghouls managed to bite Big Bear, their sharp claws and teeth still failed to inflict any serious damage. No one could understand why his seemingly soft, pale flesh was so extraordinarily tough.

The ghouls that attacked him were instead smashed into pulp by a single backhanded swing of his club.

However, his fighting style had one major flaw: he fought like a demon gone mad, to the point that he could scarcely distinguish friend from foe. Even Qian Long, who had just cut down a ghoul beside him, nearly took a blow from the spiked club and was forced to draw a sharp breath before retreating to the outskirts of the battle.

Tang Zhen was still dizzy from his fall, but he nevertheless saw Big Bear’s performance. He silently cheered the man on, then angrily drew his pistol and repeatedly pulled the trigger at an isolated ghoul.

Shrieks, slaughter, blood and flesh flying through the air—the spectacle of life and death being decided in mere moments left Tang Zhen dumbfounded, yet also filled his blood with excitement.

The battle had begun abruptly, and it ended just as quickly.

When the last ghoul was finally killed, the three participants were already drenched in blood. Even the thick-skinned Big Bear was covered in scraps of flesh and filthy blood. He sat among the corpses, panting heavily, looking utterly wretched.

It was obvious that he was completely exhausted. He did not even smash open the monsters’ heads and swallow their brain orbs with his usual excitement.

Not far away, Qian Long leaned on his blade and slowly dropped to one knee, panting heavily. He, too, was covered in blood. A savage wound more than a foot long ran across his chest.

The flesh had been torn open, blood pouring from it. A ghoul’s claws had ripped it open during a sneak attack.

Seeing this, Tang Zhen could not help giving a bitter laugh. He struggled to get up, only to discover that he was completely unable to do so.

“Big Bear, dig out the brain orbs from these ghouls and put them away. Then we’ll go home.”

Tang Zhen spoke weakly. Upon hearing him, Big Bear shifted himself along with his backside, his face filled with anger, and began smashing his fists viciously into the monsters’ heads.

Big Bear had extracted two second-level ghoul brain orbs in succession. Just as he was about to smash open the third monster’s skull, Qian Long’s expression suddenly changed. His previous exhaustion vanished, and he sprang to his feet, nocking an arrow and aiming toward the distance.

“Who’s there? Come out!”

Tang Zhen’s heart tightened. What had happened now?

At the same time, he gripped his pistol tightly and forced himself upright with all his strength. Staggering, he managed to stand.

Bang!

Tang Zhen cautiously fired a shot. The bullet pierced the darkness and struck the marble floor, sending a string of sparks flying.

After the gunshot, several faint cries of alarm came from the darkness, followed by silence once more.

Tang Zhen and the others’ expressions changed. Their probing shot had already produced a very clear answer: someone was watching them from the darkness.

A chill crept into Tang Zhen’s heart. Under ordinary circumstances, he would not have been afraid, but all three of them had exhausted their strength and suffered serious injuries. If the newcomers harbored evil intentions, their lives would be in danger.

Tang Zhen was deeply troubled, and his expression grew colder by the second.

He could leave at any moment, but what would happen to Qian Long and Big Bear? Was he supposed to abandon them?

Tang Zhen knew he could not do that. All he could do was brace himself, grit his teeth, and wait for the situation to develop.

Clap, clap, clap…

A series of footsteps approached, each one striking Tang Zhen’s chest like a heavy hammer. From the direction of his gaze, a group of people slowly emerged from the darkness.

Every one of them held a weapon. Their faces were gloomy, and they stared toward Tang Zhen with unmistakable hostility. When he saw the man at their head, Tang Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was the bearded man he had encountered earlier.

The burly bearded man glanced at the monster corpses on the ground, greed flickering in his eyes. Then his gaze shifted back to Tang Zhen and the other two.

After coldly studying them for a moment, his eyes drifted meaningfully toward Tang Zhen’s pistol. The bearded man pointed toward the exit of the ruins.

“Leave the brain orbs behind, and you can get lost.”

Tang Zhen froze, then sneered coldly. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you. You want the brain orbs? Fine. Come and take them if you’ve got the strength.”

He could tell that the bearded man was wary of the three of them, especially the pistol in Tang Zhen’s hand. The man wanted to obtain the brain orbs without fighting. But Tang Zhen would never allow himself to be led around by the nose. He knew that if he showed weakness now, the bearded man might truly attack.

“Hmph. You don’t know what’s good for you! All three of you are seriously injured. Do you really think you can still resist?”

A hint of killing intent colored the bearded man’s voice. The three archers in his group also shook the arrows nocked on their bowstrings, making their threat perfectly clear.

Tang Zhen clenched his teeth hard, his face full of unwillingness. After a moment’s hesitation, he waved to Qian Long and Big Bear, signaling them to retreat, while raising his pistol and aiming it at the bearded man and his companions.

The bearded man was no ignorant fool. He knew that the weapon in Tang Zhen’s hand was some kind of firearm, and he did not dare act recklessly.

Although he wanted to keep the three men there, if he could obtain more than a dozen second-level brain orbs without suffering any casualties, why would he refuse?

The three men pressed close together and slowly retreated. Before long, they had reached the entrance to the ruins.

Once they stepped onto the plaza, Tang Zhen could no longer suppress his injuries. With a wet puff, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

“Your external injuries don’t look too serious. It seems you’ve suffered internal injuries. How do you feel?”

Qian Long examined Tang Zhen’s wounds and asked the question when he saw how much pain he was in.

“I’m fine. I probably won’t die.”

Tang Zhen spat onto the ground and slowly pulled out his canteen. He took a swallow, only to choke and cough several times. Furious, he hurled the canteen onto the ground and cursed, “Bastard. This is really pissing me off.”

Seeing the anger on Tang Zhen’s face, Qian Long narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a low voice, “Are we really just going to let this go?”

Tang Zhen revealed a cruel smile. He glanced back at the buildings behind them and spoke in a deep voice.

“Since they chose to take advantage of us while we were weakened, they can’t blame me for using whatever means necessary. Just wait and see. These second-level brain orbs may be valuable, but those men still need to be alive to spend them.”

His words were vicious, but the anger in his heart was difficult to suppress. All the way back, Tang Zhen’s face remained dark and sullen.

Today’s incident had taught him a lesson and made him realize that no matter which world one lived in, some truths never changed.

The strong prey upon the weak. When one lacked strength, being bullied and killed by others meant swallowing one’s anger along with one’s blood.

Tang Zhen swore silently that this would happen only once—and that the other side would pay a devastating price for it.

Because all three of them were injured, the journey back was long and arduous. Fortunately, they encountered no monsters along the way. Given their current condition, another encounter might well have cost them their lives.

When they returned to the cave where they lived, Murong Ziyan was startled by their blood-soaked, battered appearance and hurried over to support them. After anxiously asking a few questions, she immediately ran to a corner and rummaged through it. She then brought back a clump of black material, dissolved it in water, and reached for Tang Zhen’s wounds.

Tang Zhen was startled and quickly pushed her hand away.

“Wait, Ziyan. What is that?”

Murong Ziyan looked at the black “mud” in her hand and explained, “It’s ointment made from dried evergreen-vine sap. It works wonders for healing wounds.”

Tang Zhen examined the ointment carefully and discovered that it was faintly translucent, while giving off a strange fragrance.

He tentatively dabbed a little onto one of his wounds. To his surprise, a cool, tingling sensation spread from the injury. Looking closer, he was shocked to find that the wound seemed to be slowly healing.

“Am I seeing things? This ointment is unbelievably effective!”

Tang Zhen stared at the wound without blinking, unable to stop marveling.