Monarch of the Dark Nights - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Playing Dead

Delight and frustration sometimes changed in just an instant moment. It was a situation Yun Tu was in at the moment. They just had a great hunt, but the unexpected happened as the Purple Zombie suddenly turned back, and thus forced them to fight a desperate battle before they finally beat a formidable adversary and earned their reward.  They previously thought that the story would unfold with a perfect ending, and yet came a rocket shell bombarding them all of a sudden, nearly annihilating the team completely. However, the same predicament also held true for captain Zhang Chu of Heavenly Seal Guild, who was now leading his men toward them.

Hunting around the periphery of a zombie tide was an endeavor with a well-paid reward. Although it was inevitable that lives were at risk, everything was still under control. More so that the order from Guild Master Zhao Yinwen was basically sending a big gift to him. It looked like everything was under their calculations, unaware that Yun Tu's group of seven were putting their ears on the bridge floor, waiting for them to walk into their deaths step by step.

For Yun Tu and his team, however, the imminent battle was definitely not a good time to fight!

For seven wounded people being forced to fight against twenty men, it could be imagined how huge the risk they must take was.  However, since the other party had already schemed them, Yun Tu had made up his mind to send the pain back to the Heavenly Seal Guild, regardless of the danger it would bring.

Shortly after, the other party quickly arrived at the spot where Yun Tu's team fell to the ground. The slowest among them was only a dozen meters away. At this time, all the members of Dark Night Guild were playing dead on the ground as per Yun Tu's order.

"It seems all of them are dead. How come that punk Sun Nantong was able to shoot accurately?!"

"Damn. A rocket launcher is so damn great. It’s able to kill so many people all at once. It didn't even give a chance for them to take a breath at all. Awesome!"

"Huh? These guys were really greedy! To think they also skinned this Purple Zombie!"

"Man, there's such a beautiful chick Awakened among them. It's really a pity…"

The first few who had arrived kick Yun Tu and his men who were playing dead on the ground to confirm whether they were still alive while laughing and expressing their thoughts.

"Less talking rubbish! Stab them with your blade whether they are alive or not, lest they suffer more!"

Captain Zhang Chu kept talking as though they were doing some good deeds. As he and his core members arrived in front of Yun Tu, they then slowly pulled out a cold sparkling army knife.

"KILL!!!"

Yun Tu shouted as his body bounced up from the ground like rubber while holding a dagger in his hand and stabbed the throat of one of them.

What kind of skill possessed by Awakened with a profession that could be more powerful than sneak attack? Right as Yun Tu launched a sudden strike, all members of Dark Night Guild regardless of being injured or not also opened their eyes at once, and attacked as hard and lightning fast as they could.

This hunting squad of Heavenly Seal Squad might be named as the First Hunting Squad of the guild, yet they were rather ignored and not trusted by their own guild. Of the 20 people in the team, only its squad leader, Zhang Chu, who was a second level expert while the rest were still regular first-level Awakened, and only armed with an ordinary army knife.

The surprise sneak attacks planned for a long time by second-level experts quickly claimed the lives of the first seven people.

As shrill screams sounded, only then did the rest who came rushing and yet were slower a few steps behind realize that, the enemy was just playing dead as Feng Ling then threw out an anti-tank grenade to their team.

Since the other party dared to use a rocket launcher to bombard them, this grenade was just equal respect to payback their goodwill.

Another explosion sounded as the grenade blast created a mushroom flower in the center of the enemy crowd. The members of Dark Night Guild themselves had long been prepared to prevent being injured by the splash and shrapnel. They laid down on the ground and escaped unharmed, whereas some of the enemies who were directly hit from the explosion turned into pulps of mincemeat and blood.

After these two rounds of attacks, Zhang Chu who was the last arrived, finally saw the situation and shouted, "KILL THEM ALL!" At the same time, he also accelerated to rush over to the fray.

At this time, only 13 men left from the originally 20 strong teams, including himself, and only four of them who could quickly stand up and join the fight.

Upon seeing that Zhang Chu was rushing over, Pock Face Zhang Feng was the first to move to face him. His body was now covered by a red halo created by armor made of flame.

This Company Commander Zhang might be his superior when he deserted the army, but since he now turned into an enemy,  how could Pock Face Zhang Feng would let him go?

"How the hell are you here?"

Zhang Feng was a close combat champion in the regiment and also shared the same surname as him, so Zhang Chu naturally knew who he was. He previously thought that Pock Face Zhang Feng had already died. Back when the army abandoned the Eastern District and had yet to be disbanded, he received a report from his subordinate that there was a Secret Area inside the Heaven Care Orphanage. Following that, that officer under him decided to take the initiative to go there and snatch the treasure along with Pock Face Zhang Feng in his squad. News then came to him that his subordinate's squad was ultimately annihilated. He secretly felt a bit of pity for what happened to Zhang Feng back then, but never did he expect that he would meet him here today. Even they were now no longer allies but enemies.

"JUST DIE AND GO TO HELL!"

A hurl of curses was the reply he got from Pock Face along with the slash of a long blade toward his former company commander!

Zhang Feng joined Yun Tu's group alongside a few orphan teenagers because the orphanage caretaker, Grandma Yang Suyan, entrusted the safety of these children to him. The sense of belonging he had toward the team was actually weak at first. But after experiencing the fight these days, he now really admired Yun Tu and truly believe that they would be able to survive in the Apocalypse with Yun Tu's ideas of survival.

Since Zhang Feng had engaged the only second-level powerhouse of the enemy, Captain Zhang Chu, although the other six team members had been injured, they were still second-level Awakened nevertheless, and therefore was able to dominate the fight. In just three or four exchange of blows, several men under Zhang Chu had already fallen.

In just a short minute, only ten men were left alive. They keenly realized that the situation was not to their favor. Some of them who were smart enough began to turn around to flee, worsening the balance of an already contrast strength between both parties.

After slashing his dagger and sent a soldier to his demise, Yun Tu activated his professional skill while enduring the pain. His body suddenly disappeared and appeared behind Zhang Chu a couple of seconds after.

The fight between two-second level Awakeneds with a profession without being altered by another special variable to change situation would need Zhang Feng to spend quite the energy, and yet, it still would not guarantee a victory. After all, the current him was not at the peak of his physical fitness, to begin with.

However, right after Yun Tu suddenly appeared behind Zhang Chu's back, the latter could sense the whooshing sound of the wind behind his back and startled him. He hurriedly turned around and activated his professional skill as a menacing blade spinning to attack Yun Tu.

Being wounded and yet forcing himself to activate his stealth technique, Yun Tu's stamina and physical strength were practically on the verge of exhaustion. He himself did not entertain the thought that his sneak attack would be able to kill the leader of the enemy who was also a second-level expert. He just wanted to use his sudden appearance to disrupt the enemy's focus.

Hence, his sneak attack was nothing but a feint move, so Yun Tu swiftly retreated backward for a few steps when Zhang Chu turned around and launched his ferocious attack.

His goal had been achieved. The previously even and nearly unchanged bout was now heavily altered all of a sudden. Pock Face Zhang Feng immediately seized such a rare opportunity and launched his professional skill, "Mountain Slasher" and fiercely slashed from the back.

Squeezed between a life and death situation, Zhang Chu was forced to turn around again. However, he had yet to gather enough force as slash after slash delivered by Zhang Feng finally cut his shoulder. Even though he also wore protective gears, "Berserker Swordsman" was, after all, the strongest profession in the early period of Apocalypse. More so that Pock Face Zhang Feng's technique was augmented with his second-grade strengthened blade, enough to destroy his first-grade leather armor.

In an instant, blood burst out like a spring as half of Zhang Chu's arm was wasted!

With his men died, injured, and ran away, while Zhang Chu himself was now seriously injured, he then launched a storming strike with his remaining hand and turned around to escape.

"Don't chase him! I'll get him!"

In the case where both parties possessed comparable strength, the one who escaped was always faster than the one who chased. Hence, Yun Tu put away his dagger and took out his sniper again. The gunshot then sounded as Zhang Chu, who was just running away for less than 50 meters, was shot in the back of his head. He staggered for a few steps before falling down to the ground.

The other party in the distance must have a telescope to see the situation in this place. It was evident that they would not fire when they fought their members a moment ago since all parties were crowded in one place. However, their people had died now whereas the injured enemies had yet to run away from this spot. It would be highly likely that the enemy would launch another strike with a rocket launcher.

"HIDE UNDER THE BRIDGE!"

Yun Tu shouted again and swiftly turned around to jump over the guard rail of the bridge, and then hid under the bridge floor on the suspension cable like last time.

Pulling one's body on the suspension wire surely was not an easy task had it been for an ordinary person. But everyone here was second-level experts. They might be injured but it was still an easy task for all of them.

Right after the seven people followed Yun Tu's action and jumped under the bridge, another whistling sound of rocket launcher shell sounded once again.

What followed was a loud explosion, sending tremor, shaking the cables and pipeline under the bridge along with the seven people who were crawling on it. Even the seriously injured Feng Ling was shaken and nearly fell.

Having wasted a valuable rocket shell and also had his hunting squad nearly annihilated, Zhao Yinwen's face was ashen as he stood on the roof of his guild HQ. He had seen the whole process through the telescope, and yet, no matter how vexed he was, he could only swallow the bitterness without being able to utter anything.

Following this incident, the guild would surely convene a summary meeting after all members of the hunting squads came back. Even though he was the one who created this guild single-handedly, he must still take the responsibility and report it to several board directors.

"What's your take on today's incident, Sun Nantong?" Zhao Yinwen took back his ashen complexion and asked calmly.

"I'm the one at fault for missing the target, Chief! It was because I took the decision independently and ignored your order, so I'll take the responsibility and make a full report about it in the meeting with the guild's board of directors. Also, Captain Zhang Chu cannot escape from his responsibility on this matter for his arbitrary decision either; because you've already emphasized in your message to him to just look at the situation, and not to get engaged in battle!"

For Sun Nantong to be able to be Zhao Yinwen's aide meant that he was extraordinary astute. He knew that Zhao Yinwen asked his opinion on this issue, meaning that he must take responsibility for the incident. He was not the top dog here, hence exchanged his superior’s mistake with a favor would be better than going against him. He thought that as long as the Guild Master was freed from this case, he would perhaps only be unjustly treated for some time, but Zhao Yinwen would remember this favor in the end.

"Good! You did make a mistake. But it’s alright since you have such a good attitude! I will be sure to explain it in the meeting with the board of directors and I’ll try to protect you!" Zhao Yinwen smiled and then turned around.

However, never did Sun Nantong think that today, his smart heard would turn into a blunder and harm him instead. As long as he really took the initiative to take full responsibility in the Guild meeting, Zhao Yinwen would immediately extend his dark, evil hand to forge some accidents to silence him and all the evidence at once.

Now was midday. The zombie tide had lost its Purple Zombie leader and ultimately scattered into a dozen small hordes. After several hours of rampage and having bitten tens of thousands of people in the Northern District, and yet still being harassed by the cunning Awakened people from the outside, eventually, most of the zombies turned into a harvest of Blood Crystals in the Awakened's hand, leaving only a small number of zombies that escaped from the city toward the suburb, the area of Demon Beasts.

In the afternoon, all the hunting squads of the Heavenly Seal Guild had finally come back. Although the casualties were more than 20 people, their overall harvest was also significant. Of course, the first hunting squad led by Zhang Chu did not come back since the three remaining members who had been gravely injured then died after returning to the headquarter.

Naturally, these matters were internal issues of the Heavenly Seal Guild and had nothing to do with Yu Tu and his men whatsoever. The team was now on the pipeline under the East Bridge. After recuperating for more than 10 minutes, Yun Tu sent out Zhang Feng to the bridge floor to clean up the battle scene, from where he obtained some bullets, protective gears, and weapons inside Zhang Chu's interspatial ring.