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Chapter 31

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Sprinting towards them was a naked humanoid creature, its running footsteps and inhuman fast breathing audible as it was closing the distance between itself and the men. Ugly and hideous, whatever this thing was, wasn't human to begin with because of how unnatural it appeared with its overly dark skin color and eyes, along with its overall appearance as a whole.

Screaming a high pitch squeal, the beast charged at them in full speed, not stopping nor caring anything else aside from their blood to be splattered across the soil. "F-freak!" Bruno blurted it out as he backed away fearfully from this monstrous abomination.

Fortunately for both of them, Genno is known to be rather quick-minded when confronted by dire situations, especially when he is capable of beating others with only his fists. "Do you have a weapon?" He said it casually, not too concerned about the situation.

Bruno was extremely confused by this. Can't this person see they are going to get themselves eaten by whatever this creature is? "What? Of course not!" He replied in sheer disbelief, "Why should I have one anyway?" Glancing back at the charging thing with fright.

Just as the monster lunged toward the two men, Genno caught the thing's neck before swiftly grabbing it and dropping him down with violent force, creating a loud cracking noise in the process. Its body twitched momentarily before the monster shrieked at him.

In one quick motion, he stomped the thing's head, obliterating it entirely in gory mess, painting the ground a red color, and covering his foot in bits of blood as brain matter exploded while the skull shattered apart. It seemed like that would've been the end of the fight; however, he himself knows better.

"Woah!" the poet exclaimed in awe at the display of martial prowess. "How did you do that?" Impressed by this feat, he has never seen a man defeat a monstrosity like that unarmed—an astonishing feat for anyone. However, he snapped out of the stupor when Genno raised a fist and said, "Now duck," suddenly warning him about incoming danger.

Instinctively, Bruno complied and did so, getting out of harm's way from another one of the thing's brethren, who leaped over his head, close to crashing at him, but ended up missing by inches, only to be met by its doom when Genno swung his hand in a cutting motion, horizontally separating the monster's neck from its own body.

The second monster collapsed onto the ground, dead from beheading; its dismembered head bounced a few feet away from its lifeless corpse before rolling over onto the ground, leaving a trail of crimson liquid behind. Bruno could only stare wide-eyed at these events transpiring in front of his vision as he cautiously stood up.

Walking over the head that he decapitated and grabbing it from the ground, he held it between his two hands while staring down at it in a contemplative manner. "This is not a person..." Reminding himself he is not a murderer anymore, the memory of dealing with that infamous assassin all those years ago still resonates within.

He is better than this; there was no choice in this situation; it was either them or it, grimly concluded by the monk, who proceeds to shake his head afterward with eyes closed in resignation, "let's hope those two were the only ones here," finally looking away as he drops it on the ground.

Bruno walked towards him. "I always should have brought a weapon at least, but then again, I am not a knight or warrior to begin with," he said, sighing heavily as he patted the other man's back. "That was amazing; the way you dealt with them was really incredible!" I complimented him excitedly.

But the monk didn't feel entirely good about using violence again, in fact; the thought of killing anyone made him uncomfortable. "Perhaps the only difference is how I perceive things," he internally murmured while noticing Bruno standing beside him. "We should probably get out of here as fast as we can before."

Another loud roar reverberated throughout the darkened forest, forcing them to turn around at the source to see other different types of abominations. One has rotting flesh, black eyes, pale skin covered in wounds and bruises, and is wearing no clothes while having nails like claws, whereas the others are the exact replica of the two dead monsters lying on the ground.

More came; some were crawling on the floor while others ran toward the duo at high speeds, making their way to the men; some even climbed up trees with ease and hopped from one branch to another. Nearly all of them are humanoid to the point that it clicked them.

"They are the undead!"

True to his words, the poet shared that they were accurate. Those are the undead, and it is night, which means they're the most active as they crawled from the dark depths of the shadows. He didn't realize that because of how completely not zombie-looking they are.

Then again, anything that is feral and humanoid with monstrous appearance is considered to be one. Whether they are truly zombies or something entirely different is up to debate. But what is more important is the fact that the two of them need to get as far as possible.

Frowning, Genno swiftly turned around to the direction where they came from and said, "We need to get back to Seth!" He ordered as he sprinted forward with Bruno following suit, "Stay close!" Without wasting any more time, they rushed through the forest, ducking and leaping over branches or stones that were blocking their path while being chased by the horde.

The things chased them with remarkable speed despite their slow-moving appearances; they can climb up trees and leap between while others are bellowing sickly coughs or screeches from their mouths. In numbers, they are stronger than these two men.

Even if he manages to kill some of them with his expertise in Shaolin Kung Fu, there will always be more to take their place. These things are relentless in their pursuit, never stopping or losing interest in catching them. And Genno knows very well that one bite from them can lead to some unknown disease.

The only option either of them has is to flee as far away as they can from this place and reach Seth so all three of them can continue running, which is rather pointless by itself, or let either of them be sacrificed. An outcome that has little chance of being the case since neither wants that to happen.

No matter how far they can run, these things will keep chasing them in the hope of devouring their flesh. Genno knew that, but nonetheless, they can't give up trying their best to escape alive. But eventually, all of them will catch them one way or another.

Those monsters are undead after all, for fatigue is simply nonexistent for them. They won't stop as long as they're on sight, and their stamina is endless while both of them aren't. Genno and Bruno are only humans, something the both of them knew in the first place.

"Do something!" Bruno cowardly asked, sweat pouring all over his body and face, "Aren't you supposed to be super strong or something?!" Trying to convince him to use his power to protect them in vain, he says, "Come on! Use your martial arts!" I am hoping for an alternative result.

"You're asking the impossible!" He replied back with a yell, "There's too many of them!" Reasonable excuse given the situation. Besides, Genno wasn't keen on using so much violence; it would be a bloodbath and one that he wished to avoid at all costs, even if those creatures weren't people.

Because it reminds him of his past self and unpleasant experiences that he wanted to forget but couldn't because the guilt lingered in his heart throughout the years of growing up. Nothing good will come out of it, but even so, there is also a choice that he can't continue running away from.

"Go then! Get back to Seth and leave this place as far as you can! I'll hold them!" Genno ordered loudly, startling Bruno upon hearing this proposal, "hurry!" Not wanting to waste anymore time, he swiftly turned around and upper-punched a lunging undead to oblivion, hitting the chin before smashing its jaw bone apart in a swift motion of single movement.

Caught off guard by this unexpected gesture, the poet's pace slowed down considerably but then returned to normal within a few seconds afterward as he kept on running. "Good luck to you too, my friend!" I wish him high spirits for what's to come.

Silently, Genno sighed in relief at that. At least the other person can manage on their own, as he glanced at the screeching horde closing upon him. He wonders how it will turn out and whether or not he will die; those are his only thoughts right now.

Being swarmed by these foul monstrosities, he can only think now at this moment, fighting to preserve his own life and those around him, "Even if I'm going to use it, it still feels wrong." Thinking as he landed a blow at the nearest opponent, sending it flying meters away into the ground.

Jumping back in, avoiding their claw strikes, and following them through every movement they made, he continued on the offensive while defending at the same time. Pushing back some of the things that jumped at him with scratches before punching another one in the head.

Rounding the first creature with a single step, he swung his elbow across and bashed the second monster's forehead, blasting it on impact as its limp body collapsed backward onto the third. Landing gracefully on his feet, the monk wasted no time in performing a low sweep kick and knocking more undead onto the ground.

Moving rapidly from left to right while avoiding several attempted grabs from these things before striking back at them, he countered with his elbows or roundhouse kicks that sent them to the air. The attacks caused a tremendous amount of damage, sending them a few meters away, with a few of them tumbling across the grass and dirt.

Dropping to the ground, he rolled backward and delivered a sweeping kick before standing back on his feet, swinging another uppercut across a single opponent's chin as it flew a couple feet upwards in response, crashing onto a nearby tree with enough force to splatter its cranium against a wooden surface.

Surrounded by more undead that appeared, he elbowed a nearby person's gut, followed by a backhanded swing across the face. The strike struck its chin and neck in devastating fashion, blowing apart its head upon contact before the rest of its body slammed onto the ground in front of him.

Approaching the closest creature, Genno grabbed its arm before using momentum to lift its entire weight from the ground and throw it at its comrades, smacking the incoming group against trunks and stones before they landed on each other. However, more came as they clamored around him and charged.

Having no choice, he lowered himself and placed a palm on the grass as he channeled his inner Chi to transfer them into the ground underneath, using his other available hand to punch the said ground, causing those close to him within a few meters of being violently thrown away by a invisible shockwave.

They flew in different directions from the force produced as a result of his actions, breaking apart into pieces of bone and flesh upon landing on hard surfaces around him, such as rocks or tree stumps. However, more still came out of the distance and were hiding; the things screeched aggressively at him for what he had done.

Standing up with lowered shoulders, he pant heavily but is focused on what lies ahead of him: "Too many." He can't kill them all; that's impossible. More and more will come, and when he's beyond exhausted, that's when they will devour him alive.

Looking around, there was nothing that could help him out of this mess aside from trees, branches, and rocks. Using more Chi than necessary would cause heavy strain on his mind in addition to the physical body itself. "No use." He revealed a resigned expression as he clenched his tightly bloody fists.

Baring his teeth in anger, he scanned around the surrounding undead who was still persisted as always, "I need to keep them busy..." Knowing fully well what's coming for him. He never like to resort to such thing but desperate times called for desperate measures and now is one of them.

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 22:14, Nov 4 2024