Chapter 38: Escaping the Horde!

The sharpness of the Violet Lightning was truly extraordinary. The corpse-fiend’s tough, rubbery flesh could not withstand its edge, and the blade pierced deep into the creature's body with effortless ease.

Relying on this sharp weapon, Tang Zhen, a Level 2 cultivator, had already dispatched four Level 2 blade-and-shield ghouls. Unlike his previous reliance on strategy, this was a true, brutal close-quarters engagement. The heart-pounding thrill of life-and-death combat set his blood racing.

With hundreds of corpse-fiends swarming around him, the four he had killed were a mere drop in the bucket. No sooner had he felled one than the next rushed forward with insatiable hunger.

"Dammit, what kind of hell have I gotten myself into?" Tang Zhen tasted the copper tang of blood in his mouth.

In the mere minutes he had been surrounded, he had endured countless heavy blows, any one of which would have crushed a fit adult man to death. These monsters possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary humans. It was only the protection of his black cloak that prevented him from being reduced to pulp, though he was far from unscathed. The cloak was highly effective against cutting and piercing, but it struggled to absorb blunt force. The impact of the blows resonated through the fabric, and although the force was dampened, Tang Zhen was still being shaken to the point of vomiting blood.

*I must find a way to escape immediately. If I exhaust my strength, my only option will be to teleport, but teleporting into the middle of a horde is a terrible idea.*

While dodging, Tang Zhen desperately sought a way out. His previous escape from the corpse king’s avatar—teleporting nearly a hundred meters away—had only been possible because he had downloaded and activated a plugin costing 500,000 gold coins at the critical moment of attack: [Primary Map Instant Teleportation Plugin: Allows teleportation to any location within the map. Usable once per hour. Download cost: 500,000 gold coins.]

The 500,000 gold coins he had just acquired in the blood pool were gone in an instant. Though it was a steep price, gaining a life-saving skill after destroying the blood pool felt worth it. Unfortunately, the cooldown had not yet expired, so he could not rely on it and had to find another way.

He had stuffed his storage space with various survival items just in case. Now, he began pulling out grenades, igniting them while dodging, and hurling them into the densest clusters of corpse-fiends.

Simultaneously, he activated his infrasonic wave attack, unleashing it in a three-hundred-sixty-degree radius. Successive explosions rocked the horde, sending countless creatures flying into the sky only to crash back down. Wherever Tang Zhen moved, the grenades cleared a path. The ground was littered with severed limbs and gore. Several Level 2 fiends were killed, but killing them no longer helped him level up; only Level 3 monsters could provide the necessary experience for advancement. Some Level 3 fiends were caught in the shockwaves, but none died; their resilient bodies significantly mitigated the lethality of the explosives.

However, the infrasonic attack was beginning to show results. The fiends that had been aggressively attacking him started to move sluggishly, stumbling and swaying. Some began to vomit and suffer from diarrhea, coating the ground in foul-smelling black liquid. A few even collapsed, leaving it unclear whether they were dead or alive.

Noticing the gap in the encirclement, Tang Zhen seized the opportunity, frantically wielding the Violet Lightning short sword to carve a bloody path through the confusion.

Just as he thought he was about to break free, a beast-like warhorse blocked his path. It was tall and robust, its muscles coiled and knotted, covered in heavy barding. Its blood-red eyes glowed with the cruel, predatory malice of a beast. A heavily armored knight sat atop it, brandishing a three-meter-long iron spear with a wide, blood-stained blade that shimmered with a cold, lethal light.

[Corpse-Clan Warhorse: Level 3 monster. Temperamental and possessing incredible stamina. Attacks by biting and trampling. Weakness: Fear of bright light and loud explosions.]

[Corpse-Clan Heavy Cavalryman: Level 4 monster. Clad in heavy armor with formidable defense. Possesses immense strength and basic combat skills. Weakness: Lack of agility; combat effectiveness is severely diminished once dismounted, leaving it barely able to move.]

As this information flashed before his eyes, the cavalryman swung its spear toward him with heavy, overwhelming force. A direct hit would surely leave him decapitated.

Facing a Level 4 monster, Tang Zhen dared not be careless. With no time to dodge, he snatched a heavy shield from his storage space to meet the spear. This shield was unique—more of a massive metal defensive wall than a standard shield. Two meters tall and one and a half meters wide, with a small observation slit, he had specially welded it from high-quality steel. Weighing two hundred and thirty pounds and equipped with a reinforced support frame at the base, it could withstand the impact of a motorcycle.

The shield stood before him, completely obscuring his body. Without the aid of his storage space, he could never have wielded such an impossibly heavy defensive weapon.

In an instant, the heavy cavalryman’s attack arrived.

*Clang!*

With a thunderous crash, the metal shield shuddered, leaving a deep dent on its surface. The strength of the heavy cavalryman was terrifying. Tang Zhen felt as though his arms were about to shatter; the vibration almost forced blood from his throat, but he had successfully blocked the lethal strike.

Swiftly retracting the shield, Tang Zhen activated his app’s magnesium flash grenade. An blindingly intense light erupted. The warhorse let out a shrill neigh, struggling and rearing up on its hind legs.

Seizing the moment, Tang Zhen lunged beneath the horse's belly, slashing twice with the Violet Lightning at its rear legs. The warhorse shrieked again as the razor-sharp blade severed its legs, causing it to collapse in a heap.

"ROAR!"

The dismounted heavy cavalryman let out a roar, lunging at Tang Zhen with a piercing strike. Expecting this, Tang Zhen blocked with his shield, but the creature’s sheer power drove the spear straight through the steel.

Horrified by the monster's overwhelming strength, Tang Zhen didn't hesitate for a second, turning and sprinting for his life into the tall, overgrown grass.