Chapter 97

"Amon, you jerk, you think you can hide forever?"

"Bullhead! Quit yapping and just kill him already!"

"Dognose, remember our mission! Killing him isn't the main goal!"

"Why are you all bickering? We need to stick together!"

Four followers of different Lords had cornered Amon on the school playground.

After chasing him for so long, Dognose was clearly losing his cool. He wanted nothing more than to kill Amon and get back to the Battlefield World for some rest.

Earth, once peaceful, had turned into a nightmare with the arrival of doomsday. It was no longer fit for humans.

The stench of rotting bodies was unbearable, especially for someone like Dognose, with his super-sensitive nose. This mission was pure hell for him!

"You think you can kill me with just the four of you?" Amon sneered.

Honestly, even without the Red Cloak Zombies, Amon was confident he could find a way to take out these four idiots. He just needed the right moment.

But now, it seemed like he didn't even need to wait.

"Killing you isn't our goal, Amon. Just tell us what task Lord Dragon gave you and if the Dragon Clan really showed up, and we'll let you go."

Bullhead, though hot-headed, was more rational than Dognose. He knew what he wanted.

"And if I tell you, will that be enough? Will you even believe me? Won't you still want to capture me and torture me to verify my story? And if I go back alive and Lord Dragon finds out you intercepted me, won't he come after you? Even though I'm just a subordinate, it seems I hold quite a bit of importance, don't I?"

Amon's barrage of questions left Bullhead and the others speechless.

"Enough talk. Let's just do this!" The guy with the horse face mask couldn't stand Amon's questioning any longer and made the first move.

Lambleg quickly followed, attacking Amon from different angles.

"Die!"

Seeing their comrades already in action, Bullhead and Dognose joined the fray.

The four of them launched another attack on Amon!

But this time, Amon wasn't alone.

A scream echoed across the playground.

The Red Cloak Zombie saw the four attacking and appeared instantly.

It was fast—too fast!

Almost as soon as the sound reached their ears, the Red Cloak Zombie's attack landed!

"You should be the ones dying!" The appearance of the Red Cloak Zombie boosted Amon's confidence!

Facing Bullhead's knife, Amon punched him right in the chest!

The Red Cloak Zombie moved like a ghost, not attacking the horse-faced mask follower closest to it, but circling around.

It came up behind Bullhead and drove its claws straight through his heart!

"Oh no!" Despite always clashing with Bullhead, Dognose rushed desperately to the Red Cloak Zombie's side.

But no matter how frantically Dognose attacked, the Red Cloak Zombie showed no signs of dodging or letting go. The Red Cloak Zombie had zeroed in on the strongest member of the group to take out first!

"Help me!" Bullhead yelled, feeling death creeping up on him.

But the horse-faced mask guy and Lambleg were too far away to help. All they could do was keep attacking Amon!

Explosions, screams, the clash of weapons, and the sound of flesh being torn apart filled the air.

Bullhead stared at his chest in shock.

Where his heart should've been, there was just a gaping, bloody hole.

The Red Cloak Zombie had ripped his heart out.

A chilling laugh echoed through the school.

The Red Cloak Zombie crushed Bullhead's heart with its teeth!

Even as Dognose attacked it like a madman, the Red Cloak Zombie didn't dodge or let go.

"Good riddance!" Amon shouted, then spun around and kicked the horse-faced mask guy and Lambleg away!

Hovering in mid-air, he smirked coldly.

With Bullhead dead, the rest of the team didn't stand a chance against him.

They were done for.

"Bullhead!" Lambleg yelled as he was kicked away, wanting to grab Bullhead's body.

But the horse-faced mask guy held him back. Now wasn't the time to retrieve a fallen comrade; they needed to figure out how to survive!

Bullhead was gone. What now?

"Retreat!" Dognose shouted, realizing his attacks on the Red Cloak Zombie were useless. He didn't hesitate to call for a retreat.

With Bullhead, their Sixth Order Sorcerer, dead, the three of them couldn't take on Amon alone.

Better to run and live to fight another day.

After devouring Bullhead's heart, the Red Cloak Zombie let out an excited roar.

But it wasn't satisfied. It set its sights on Dognose, who was trying to escape.

The heart of a strong human was too delicious; one wasn't enough!

As it chased Dognose, the Red Cloak Zombie grew impatient with Amon's slow pace, urging him to leave the horse-faced mask guy and Lambleg behind.

But Amon had other plans.

He approached the Red Cloak Zombie casually.

"Trying to teach me a lesson? You fool, even if you have some brains, you're still just a zombie. Prepare to die!" Amon didn't stick to their agreement. He kept attacking the believers, aiming to kill them all.

Suddenly, he threw a punch at the Red Cloak Zombie!

The Red Cloak Zombie, sensing danger, twisted its body to dodge Amon's attack almost instantly.

It turned back, looking puzzled at Amon.

Its newly developed intelligence couldn't understand why Amon would betray it.

"Stop thinking about it. We've always been enemies! Our cooperation was just a temporary convenience for me. Now, go join Bullhead in death!" Amon betrayed the Red Cloak Zombie.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the commercial building, Richardson had no idea such an intense showdown was happening during his evolution.In the world where time had stopped, Richardson was still being tormented by excruciating pain, almost to the point of death.

No matter how unbearable it was, he had to keep pushing through.

Genetic evolution, unlike magic, had the incredible ability to rapidly boost one's strength.

As long as zombies were killed, genetic energy could be harvested to fuel evolution.

And Richardson had a cheat: his pocket watch, which let him endure a hundred times the pain, but also gain abilities with a hundred times the enhancement.

Harvesting power came with sacrifice.

Richardson knew that if he wanted to get stronger, he had to endure the pain in front of him.

In the world where time had stopped, Richardson had no idea how long he had been enduring this.

The pain was so intense that it felt worse than the aftermath of entering the Flow State, making him feel like he was being skinned alive!

But as long as Richardson didn't stop the pocket watch, it meant he could still hold on!

"It's over." Karen stood up, looking at Monroe and Richardson beside her. She had just gone through the intense pain of evolution herself, and her steps were a bit unsteady, sweat dripping from her body.

Monroe and Richardson were still writhing in pain. Karen bent down, helping Richardson wipe the sweat off his face and giving him a light kiss on the forehead.

"Hang in there."

Hearing Karen's voice, Richardson, back from the world where time had stopped, managed a grim smile.

"No problem."

Having endured the long-lasting pain, and with the evolution nearing its end, Richardson knew he could persevere.

But Monroe wasn't doing as well.

Evolving twice in one day.

The intense pain was making her almost faint, her nerves at their breaking point.

"Iris, I'll switch with you, come check on Monroe!" Karen, after adjusting to her evolved body, quickly called out to Iris when she noticed Monroe was in bad shape.

"What's wrong?" Iris didn't hesitate upon hearing Karen's voice.

She quickly withdrew from the battle with the zombies and returned to the central safe area.

"Monroe? Can you hear me?"

Karen took over Iris's position, letting her take care of Monroe.

"What's wrong?" Richardson gritted his teeth as his evolution finally came to an end. Seeing Iris's anxious expression and Monroe slipping into unconsciousness, he, though exhausted, managed to prop himself up and ask.

"I don't know, she's unconscious, her vital signs are fading!" Iris was frantic.

In fact, not only her, but the whole team was unaware that evolution could be dangerous!

Especially evolving twice in one day... it could cause a mental breakdown, leading to brain death.

Richardson bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay alert.

Seeing Monroe's vital signs fading, he quickly said, "Anna, come treat her! Iris, step aside! Let me try to save her!"

In his fourth evolution, Richardson had gained the ability to convert energy.

This ability seemed useless at first, and Richardson had rarely used it.

But now, it was time to show its power.

"I'm here." Anna released a healing light, enveloping Monroe's forehead. Richardson extended his hands, mimicking Anna's healing energy and converting his genetic energy into healing energy to release.

As Monroe basked in the combined healing powers of Anna and Richardson, she seemed to feel a comforting warmth and let out a subconscious sigh.

"It's working!" Iris exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

Not wanting to disturb Richardson and Anna, she quickly covered her mouth, watching Monroe intently.

"As long as it's working, that's all that matters. Anna, increase the intensity, let's save her!" Richardson, though exhausted, perked up at the sight of Monroe regaining consciousness and continued to channel energy.

With their combined efforts, Monroe's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"I... I survived?" she murmured, looking at the sweat-drenched Richardson and Anna with wide, shocked eyes.

"Yes, you survived. This time, no deals with the devil," Richardson replied, collapsing onto the ground from exhaustion.

"No deals with the devil this time. We saved you ourselves."

"Thank goodness!" Iris sighed in relief, stepping forward to hug Monroe. She then gently wiped the sweat from Richardson's face.

"Helen, make a plan to evacuate the building. If we keep pushing, we might all collapse," Richardson said, understanding that if he was this exhausted, his teammates were likely in a similar state.

Some might have already reached their limits but were silently enduring.

"Alright, Master! Leave it to me!"

Helen gently wiped the sweat from Anna's face with her claws, then began organizing the team for evacuation according to their pre-planned retreat strategy.

By the time they returned to the Golden Karen Hotel, the sky had darkened completely.

There was little conversation among the team members. They climbed the stairs, quickly returned to their rooms, took showers, and went straight to bed.

Everyone's mental strength was nearly depleted.

Even Lily, who rarely engaged in combat, couldn't maintain her stealth until the end and had to reveal herself during the battle.

As for the special abilities Richardson had gained, that would have to wait until breakfast the next morning to be revealed.

Back at Avery High School.

Amon had failed.

He sat at the entrance of the cafeteria, sighing in defeat.

After killing Bullhead, Amon had turned on the Red Cloak Zombie, attacking it suddenly.

His plan had seemed perfect.

But Amon had overlooked one crucial detail: the Red Cloak Zombie had mutated six times!

It had always relied on its powerful body and incredible speed, never showing any special abilities.

Amon, unfamiliar with this world, had naturally overlooked the possibility of special abilities.

This led to the Red Cloak Zombie, in its anger, using its special ability after Amon's betrayal.

Mind control!

The Red Cloak Zombie had directly controlled Dognose, the horse-faced mask follower, and Lambleg, the three Lord followers!

The situation had flipped in an instant!

Even if Amon didn't want to believe it, the sight of his controlled comrades made it clear: he had lost.

He had been outsmarted by a zombie.