BXBX NOVEL Chapter 5 - A Closed Battle
The distance between the male dormitory and the gymnasium was only about four hundred meters, but because all the roads were plagued with dangers in the form of zombies, evolved insects, and animals that seemed to have turned into beasts, crossing that distance had become a challenging feat.
Bai Zemin dashed relentlessly and slashed with his sword again and again.
Along the way he had saved the lives of five others, increasing the number of survivors at his side to nearly twenty-four.
A man with gold-rimmed glasses and a rather handsome appearance was chatting with a female student who was looking at him with an obvious crush. This man\'s name was Lian Xuan and he was the vice president of the university\'s student association.
Before the apocalypse, Lian Xuan was a model student with excellent grades and in addition to his good looks he had many female suitors; even now that the world had changed there were some surviving girls who looked at him with strange glints in their eyes.
Lian Xuan had also dared to fight since at that time he had no other options if he wanted to survive. He was currently level 3 and could handle two or three zombies by himself. When he encountered Bai Zemin\'s group he was about to be surrounded by six zombies, which meant death for him.
After he killed two zombies and Bai Zemin killed the other four, Lian Xuan joined the group and helped kill straggling zombies; after all, even for someone like Bai Zemin, who had been fighting and killing creatures of a higher level than him constantly, it was not 100% safe to protect such a large group of people without one or two zombies slipping in.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a green shadow appeared in the distance charging towards the group of over twenty people at astonishing speeds.
Bai Zemin had just killed a mosquito that was almost twenty centimeters long and before he could react, that green shadow had already passed beyond his defense perimeter, appearing in front of Lian Xuan.
Lian Xuan\'s face turned pale and he took a step back.
If he faced a few zombies he was still fine, but if a big bee or a mutated dog with above average speeds appeared, then there was no way he could even react!
Because Lian Xuan had only killed zombies so far, he only obtained extra attributes during the first four or five zombies and only gained stamina. Lian Xuan had also used the six status points he had gained from leveling up in strength, so his speed was merely average.
Lian Xuan grabbed the girl who was chatting with him and didn\'t even hesitate when he threw her in front of that strange shadow, taking cover in the process.
The green shadow suddenly flashed and in the next instant, the girl\'s body was split in two. Her blood splattered everywhere and a look of shock and incredulity shone in her eyes before she died. Even in her wildest dreams, she would never have expected that the normally cultured, polite, and gentlemanly Lian Xuan would actually not hesitate to make such a cruel move.
The survivors panicked and a few began to flee in all directions in a disorderly manner. Others did not move due to fear, and some smarter ones just walked away while trying to get closer to Bai Zemin as he was the only hope they had of survival.
As for Lian Xuan\'s selfish act, no one noticed... No one except the beautiful and seductive but at the same time innocent Lilith. Though such a move was impossible to be missed by someone like her, there was no disdain or disgust in her gaze; she had seen people do worse things than what she had just seen just to survive one more day.
The green shadow was so fast that no one could react to its speed. This strange creature suddenly seemed to realize something as it shot off at terrifying speeds toward Bai Zemin.
Clearly, the creature had realized that he was the best tonic for it to evolve.
Bai Zemin felt his scalp go numb and unconsciously raised his sword horizontally.
Clang!!!
The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed loudly. The green shadow was forced to stop its movements as its strength and Bai Zemin\'s were quite similar.
Only now could Bai Zemin distinguish the appearance of the monster that was attacking him.
The green shadow was actually a huge mantis that was almost two meters tall. Its terrifying eyes stared at him with killing intent flickering inside. Its two large scythe-like forelegs were pressing hard on the Xuanyuan Sword, trying to force Bai Zemin back.
If it was Bai Zemin before obtaining the Xuanyuan Sword, he could have been seen to retreat. However, thanks to the twenty strength points the sword granted him, he could barely stand on equal footing.
"Be careful! That mantis doesn\'t specialize in strength at all! Its current speed must be almost twice as fast as yours!" Lilith\'s voice rang in his ear, giving him vital information.
In fact, even without her telling him, Bai Zemin knew that his current speed was far below this mantis. Before, if not for his reflexes and luck, his head would have already separated from his body without even knowing how he had died.
Bai Zemin grunted as he pushed forward with all his might, pushing the mantis back. Then, without even a second\'s hesitation, he added all his saved status points into agility.
In just a split second, he felt his muscles become stronger but at the same time softer. Bai Zemin felt as if lightning flashed in his body, giving him a slight itch that soon disappeared.
Swoosh!
The nearly two-meter mantis disappeared and in the next instant appeared before Bai Zemin again, slashing downward with its scythe-like legs.
However, the current Bai Zemin could finally see its movements clearly.
Clang!
Bai Zemin and the mantis engaged in close combat with the intention of slaying the other. To survive, to evolve, to become stronger.
From the other people\'s point of view, they could only see two silhouettes flickering constantly and hear the constant sound of metal clashing against metal. For them, it was hard to think that a human being could actually fight in such a way against such a terrifying creature without losing ground. It was only then that they realized Bai Zemin\'s strength.
Although Bai Zemin\'s combat experience was average and his sword skill deficient, the Xuanyuan Sword was a rare grade treasure capable of piercing through the defenses of almost any creature below level 40. The mantis obviously had not yet reached that level as its scythes had small cracks that slowly spread with each collision.
However, the mantis was a natural hunter who made use of its scythes from birth, so it was naturally more skilled than he was in combat.
Each had their own advantages and for an instant, the battle was deadlocked in what appeared to be a stalemate.
Several zombies, apparently attracted by the sound of battle as well as the strong smell of life, began to stagger over.
Bai Zemin quickly spotted them and knew that at this rate not only would all the survivors die, but even he would also fall when they surrounded him. After all, the mantis might not be afraid of infection, but he was.
Strengthening his determination, Bai Zemin surveyed the battlefield and slowly backed away, luring the mantis to a specific spot. Upon reaching that spot, Bai Zemin spent sixty points of mana and created six bloody chains using the blood of the dead zombies.
The mantis was clearly taken by surprise and the chains wrapped tightly around its body. Its movements were stalled and its two scythes were stopped in mid-air by two bloody chains. The beast struggled fiercely trying to free itself and the chains restraining its scythes began to stretch taut as if they would break at any moment.
Bai Zemin\'s face changed slightly when he saw this and he quickly rushed forward and slashed towards the creature\'s head with all his strength.
After a flash of sharp light, the mantis\' movements stopped for a moment before its head fell to the ground followed by a fountain of blood shooting out of its neck.
[You have obtained the soul power of Great Fast Mantis level 25. Agility +14, Strength +10, Magic +10, Mana +10].
[You have leveled up and reached level 10. You get 2 attribute points to distribute freely].
[You have leveled up and reached level 11...].
[You have leveled up and reached level 12...].
[You have leveled up and reached level 13. You get 2 attribute points to distribute freely].
A huge orb of soul power came out of the Great Fast Mantis\' body and entered Bai Zemin\'s body, nourishing him and taking his power to higher levels. In addition, he also directly gained four levels as a result.
Besides, the mantis had dropped other things after its death. Next to its corpse was 1 red orb, 1 orange orb, and 1 scroll.