Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

"Get ready to set the fire!"

With Zang Pengfei's loud order, the nearby professionists immediately lit the only defensive measure at the camp entrance—a deep ditch filled with gasoline, straw, and similar flammable materials.

As the flames danced, thick smoke and a roaring blaze obscured the survivors' view.

With the immediate threat of zombies no longer visible, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, a furious roar suddenly erupted from the other side of the flames.

Two humanoid creatures flew directly over the inferno, their agile bodies constantly adjusting in mid-air. They landed feet-first on the ground, carving out a large crater.

Two Level 2 zombies.

Without a word, Sun Aotian shot a punch directly at one of them, while Zang Pengfei also unleashed a skill against the other.

Fierce Strike (F-Level Active Skill): Enhances the damage of the next strike. This is a basic warrior skill.

Zang Pengfei was merely an ordinary warrior, but his physical prowess had reached the pinnacle of a Level 1 professionist, and he clearly possessed strong combat skills.

Therefore, if it came to a life-or-death struggle, Zang Pengfei believed he was not inferior to Sun Aotian!

As the Level 2 zombies engaged the two men, the Zombie King on the other side of the fire wasn't idle. Heaps of Level 1 zombies were thrown over by the Corpse King, one after another, raining down on the humans like dumplings. Some zombies, thrown with excessive force by the Corpse King, suffered broken bones upon landing. They lay on the ground, unable to rise, and were quickly beheaded by nearby professionists.

Other zombies were tossed directly onto professionists, the impact breaking bones. Ignoring the pain, both humans and zombies began to brawl fiercely on the ground.

Most, however, landed in open spaces. Before the professionists could deliver a finishing blow, these zombies had already scrambled to their feet and were attacking the humans!

In close combat, the damage from Sun Aotian's Ripple Punch was far from sufficient, only managing to push the zombie back a single, small step.

Seeing Zang Pengfei struggling nearby, Sun Aotian grew increasingly anxious.

Things are looking grim! Should we run first?

This thought solidified Sun Aotian's realization: the situation was far from optimistic for the human side. The zombies outnumbered the humans by dozens, if not hundreds, to one!

In a battle where death seemed almost certain, only a rare few were willing to face it so gallantly!

As Sun Aotian hesitated, a massive gray shadow suddenly shot out from the direction of the camp. It opened its large mouth and bit fiercely into the Level 2 zombie fighting Sun Aotian.

It was none other than Cyclops.

The Level 2 zombie saw Cyclops's sharp teeth and blood-red maw and dodged its bite by shifting its body. Nevertheless, a powerful backhand swat from Cyclops sent it flying.

The zombie twirled multiple times in the air. Just as it landed, Cyclops charged once more, biting into the zombie's neck.

This time, the zombie could not evade.

CRACK! With a sharp snap, the zombie's head was severed from its body. It was dead!

Sun Aotian stared in stunned silence at the sudden appearance of Cyclops. The creature had easily dispatched an opponent against whom he himself could only barely hold an advantage!

So, this is Wen Yu's summoned creature? He's already so strong, and he has such an awesome dog too, this is...

Sun Aotian had heard about this massive dog that had appeared in the camp during the day.

A flash of jealousy in his eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared.

For someone with a protagonist complex like him, encountering someone stronger would invariably trigger an even greater sense of jealousy!

Cyclops paid no heed to Sun Aotian's complex emotional turmoil nearby and opened its massive mouth to begin eating. Level 2 zombies were quite delicious to the Level 2 Cyclops.

The few Level 2 zombies from that morning had significantly improved Cyclops's physical attributes.

"Sun Aotian, what are you looking at? Come and help me, now!"

Seeing Cyclops suddenly appear and dispatch Sun Aotian's opponent, and then noticing Sun Aotian still standing there dazed, the injured Zang Pengfei immediately yelled at him.

"Oh? Oh!"

Only then did Sun Aotian snap back to reality. This wasn't just a skirmish; it was a war between humans and zombies! Defeating his own opponent meant winning a battle, but not the war!

He threw a punch within the optimal attack range of his Ripple Punch. The remaining Level 2 zombie couldn't withstand the immense force and was sent flying by Sun Aotian. Zang Pengfei immediately followed, joining Sun Aotian to corner it.

After dispatching Sun Aotian's opponent, Cyclops did not attack again. While tearing at the corpse of the Level 2 zombie on the ground, it cautiously eyed the massive, indistinct figure flickering behind the flames.

The Zombie King exuded immense pressure on Cyclops!

Once Zang Pengfei decapitated the second Level 2 zombie with a Fierce Strike, Sun Aotian and Zang Pengfei, the two strongest human combatants present, were finally free. They then led the other professionists in swiftly overwhelming the zombies on the ground. The Zombie King also noticed that its two most powerful subordinates on the other side were now dead and stopped this pointless exercise of flinging zombies toward the camp.

"Brother Fei, what do we do now?"

Li Dalong, covered in blood, walked up to Zang Pengfei and asked.

Zang Pengfei looked at the vaguely visible swarm of zombies on the other side and made up his mind.

"Let's go. We need to retreat."

If not for the barrier of flames, they would have already been overrun by the zombie horde. However, the wall of fire would not burn forever.

More importantly, the width of the ditch might not be able to stop the Corpse King!

Hence, retreating was currently the wisest decision for the survivors.

As the professionists slowly began to withdraw, the Zombie King on the other side of the flames finally made its move.

Fear of fire is a primal instinct in all animals. Although the Zombie King had gained some intelligence, it still hadn't overcome the limitations of its low intellect.

The Zombie King had been waiting for the flames to die out. But how could it have known that this defensive line had been meticulously prepared by Zang Pengfei, with materials inside sufficient to burn for several hours?

When it saw the humans on the other side attempting to retreat, the Zombie King could finally hold back no longer!

"ROAR."

The deafening roar reached the ears of every zombie behind it.

A simple, direct command: Charge!

Low-level zombies, lacking any intellect, unhesitatingly obeyed the Corpse King's command, flinging themselves into the fiery pit one after another.

Zang Pengfei had dug the fire pit to be both deep and wide. A simple log bridge, once placed over it, had long since been consumed by the flames. Vast numbers of zombies hurled themselves into the large pit. At this rate, the seemingly sizable ditch would be filled in less than a minute.

The Zombie King, observing from the rear, nodded in satisfaction. For the first time, a question formed in its not-so-bright mind:

Why didn't I think of this sooner?