Chapter Seventy-Seven: Kill! Kill! Kill!

Yue Qi had gone mad—completely mad. Before his eyes stood four mutated zombies, and lying on the ground were his second brother, third brother, fourth sister, and Li Yuan...

Yue Qi stared blankly at the scene, while the four mutated zombies had clearly noticed him as well. Their blood-red eyes glinted with an unusual light!

If it were one-on-one, these mutated zombies might have hesitated; but four against one—Yue Qi, with only early Foundation Establishment strength, could not possibly last a quarter of an hour!

Yet as the zombies moved, Yue Qi sprang into action as well! Spiritual energy surged from his dantian, and the power in his mind burst forth in full!

"Die for me!" Yue Qi roared in fury, both palms launching a Thunder Array and a Wind Blade toward the four zombies! Two Tier-2 spells unleashed at once—in this state of mental tension, they were cast instantly!

The cellar was cramped. The four zombies tried to dodge, but chaos erupted. Countless blue and purple lights illuminated the entire cellar, instantly engulfing the zombies—and Yue Qi's loved ones on the ground as well...

The zombies did not die. The power of the mutated zombies surpassed all expectations. Yue Qi had anticipated this, but even so, all four had suffered serious injuries.

For a moment, their gazes flickered with fear, and their bodies retreated again and again, as if hunter and prey had swapped roles.

But how could Yue Qi relent? If two Tier-2 spells were not enough, what about three? Or four?

No sooner had the thought arisen than Yue Qi raised his palms again—this time, one yellow, one red—Stone Spike and Fire Dance, two more Tier-2 spells, unleashed instantly from his hands!

Now the zombies looked more animated than ever. Seeing the spells, their faces twisted in terror, and they scrambled backward frantically, only to find a thick wall behind them. No matter how they pounded at it, the steel-like wall did not crack in the slightest.

"Die, all of you!" Yue Qi's rage flared as he saw the ruined faces of his family. Though he had tried to keep his spells from landing on their corpses, his spiritual power was not strong enough, and controlling two Tier-2 spells at once made some collateral damage inevitable.

All the anger from his own mistakes crashed down on the mutated zombies. Yue Qi summoned his spiritual power again, binding it to the two spells, preparing to strike the zombies with a fatal blow!

But just then, Yue Qi suddenly felt dizzy. The spells in his hands vanished instantly!

Backlash—magic backlash! Yue Qi had not expected this at such a moment. Usually, this only happened when casting spells beyond one’s level. Yet now, casting two Tier-2 spells instantly had brought the same result.

Yue Qi suddenly felt his body become heavy, and he staggered, nearly collapsing!

"No—I can't fall!" Yue Qi bit his tongue, regaining some clarity, but his mind still spun with waves of dizziness.

He could not cast spells anymore. Without the focus of his spiritual power, the zombies could dodge with ease!

"Should I just use my sword?" Gritting his teeth, Yue Qi drew his treasured sword—the one that had been with him for countless years. At that moment, as if infused with his spirit, the sword glowed with an uncanny light!

"Die!" If spells were useless, he'd simply cut them down one by one with his sword!

With this thought, Yue Qi wasted no time. Though he could not cast Tier-2 spells, the little spiritual power left in his mind allowed him to freely use Tier-1 spells!

He cast Windstride on his legs, instantly boosting his speed! He charged at the four zombies, sword in his right hand, while his left conjured a scroll and a mid-grade spirit stone. This was a Tier-2 spell scroll—don’t forget, Yue Qi still had his storage ring and the scrolls he’d seized from Li Yuan!

But even so, this was his last Tier-2 scroll. He had given all the others to his loved ones or to Bai Lian; he kept only one for himself. His reasoning: if he couldn't handle it himself, what could a single Tier-2 scroll change?

Yue Qi charged madly at the zombies, who immediately realized he could no longer use spells or oppress them with spiritual force. Did he think he could kill four mutated zombies with just a sword? If zombies had thoughts, they would have sneered at this.

But Yue Qi’s next move shocked them again. Just as the zombies braced for a sword fight, Yue Qi hurled his sword like a javelin!

How strong was a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Yue Qi didn’t know, but the sword he threw streaked like a meteor toward the foremost zombie...

But if it were that easy to kill them, they wouldn't be called mutated zombies. The zombie, though injured, ducked nimbly; the sword embedded itself in the wall—one that hadn’t cracked under their fiercest blows—leaving a small hole!

Seeing his attack miss, Yue Qi remained calm and instantly produced a scimitar—one of the finest weapons in his storage ring. Though not used to it, he chose it without hesitation.

The first zombie had just ducked and hadn't yet risen when Yue Qi reached it. Zombies had no instinct to protect each other; the other three merely retreated a few steps, watching as Yue Qi cleaved their comrade's skull in two!

"So hard!" This was the first mutated zombie he had killed, and he felt its terrifying resilience—especially the defenses of its vital points. The scimitar bit into the zombie’s skull, but its blade was chipped. For a mortal-made weapon of such quality, Yue Qi estimated it could kill no more than ten mutated zombies before breaking.

With the first kill, Yue Qi’s confidence soared—until he glanced down and saw his third brother staring up at him in terror!

"Ah!" Yue Qi cried out, retreating in shock as he looked again—his second brother had died with that same expression.

"It was me who doomed you all..." A tear traced down Yue Qi’s cheek. Gazing at his loved ones, he suddenly dropped to his knees.

"Roar!" But the other three zombies would not wait. They had expected Yue Qi to press his advantage, but he had suddenly retreated. Though smarter than ordinary zombies, they were still beasts driven only by slaughter. Seeing Yue Qi pose no immediate threat, they charged at him again!

Yue Qi saw their movement, but what could he do? In that moment of distraction, his advantage was lost...

Yet he would not wait for death. Flames flickered in his right palm—he could muster at most five fireballs now, but they could at least hinder the zombies.

Sure enough, seeing the fireballs, the three zombies recoiled in shock, fearing a repeat of that devastating Tier-2 spell. They froze, crouched down, and covered their heads, looking utterly ridiculous.

But soon they realized that these spells had nowhere near the same power and posed no real threat!

But that was not Yue Qi’s true aim. He had only bought himself the time to use his final scroll—a Tier-2 spell that, even with a mid-grade spirit stone, required a moment to activate.

The scroll was already glowing in Yue Qi’s hand as the zombies finally realized and charged at him!

But how could Yue Qi let them succeed? He hurled the scroll out with all his strength!

"Fire Dance!" Sparks appeared out of thin air, fireballs flying straight at the three zombies.

The zombies, of course, responded—but they assumed these would only scratch at them as before, with no real threat...

But the next moment, the three were stunned. The leading zombie was struck by half the fireballs!

With a bang, one fireball pierced the zombie’s skull, and it collapsed on the spot!

The second! This was the second mutated zombie Yue Qi had killed. But it was not over—two remained, though the power of the Tier-2 spell was waning.

Sweat beaded Yue Qi’s brow. If this spell couldn’t finish them all, he would be doomed...

But then Yue Qi relaxed—a fireball shattered the second zombie’s leg, sending it sprawling, and the third fell with it...

"Is it over?" Yue Qi was not sure what he felt—some hope, some anxiety.

The cellar was wrecked, smoke swirling everywhere. As the haze cleared, Yue Qi saw clearly that the final two zombies also lay fallen on the ground.