Chapter 174: Annihilating the Reinforcements

The lance detonated between them.

Both zombies disappeared inside the explosion as burning fragments and compressed Solar energy blasted across the surrounding formation.

Several nearby soldiers were forced away from the impact.

The two commanders immediately understood that the human standing before them was far more dangerous than they had expected.

The two commanders immediately understood how dangerous the human standing before them was.

Cain had no intention of giving them time to recover from that realization.

Twelve of the remaining lances shifted in the air.

Half locked onto the commander who had deflected his first throw, while the rest turned toward the second 3rd Echelon.

Cain lowered his palm.

"Go."

Golden-white light tore through the air.

The first commander roared as Mana erupted from his body. His weapon swept forward with everything he could gather, knocking one of the incoming lances away from its original path.

Another descended from above before he could reposition himself.

BOOM!

The explosion broke his stance and forced his weapon downward.

That single opening was enough as the remaining lances reached him almost together.

One tore through his side as another pierced directly into his chest, and the following explosion swallowed what remained of his upper body beneath surging Solar flames.

The second commander reacted faster.

He immediately retreated into the formation, forcing the incoming attacks to pass between the soldiers surrounding him.

His weapon struck one lance aside.

Another exploded against the Mana protecting his body.

The barrier shattered.

A golden-white lance pierced through his thigh and detonated, destroying the leg beneath him. Another attack struck his shoulder before he could fall, ripping away most of his arm.

However, the commander was still alive.

Cain watched him struggle to remain upright despite the terrible condition of his body.

"Not bad."

Then two more lances rotated toward him.

The commander’s expression changed, he tried to move but there was nowhere left to go.

BOOOOM!

Golden-white flames consumed the section of road where he stood.

Cain had already stopped watching.

"Let’s go!"

He immediately rushed forward.

The others followed without hesitation.

Everything had happened so quickly that many of the 2nd Echelon soldiers were still staring at the places where their commanders had died.

Both leaders of the reinforcement force had been killed before their troops could properly join the battle.

Several zombies immediately turned toward the northern road.

The rest realized what was happening a moment later.

Cain reached them before either group could get far.

His transformed right arm swept toward the left side of the formation.

The True Ruin Energy erupted from his claws and expanded into a wide attack that passed through the lower bodies of the soldiers ahead.

More than a dozen 2nd Echelons collapsed at once.

Several lost their legs outright, while the others suffered enough damage around their knees and lower bodies that standing became impossible.

Cain had deliberately held back from killing them as Professor Irina and Cole still needed more experience, as well as the others who had advanced to the 2nd Echelons.

He moved through the fallen soldiers and immediately noticed one of the zombies farther behind reaching toward his waist.

A rectangular communication device appeared in the soldier’s hand.

The zombie raised the device toward his mouth.

A green streak crossed the battlefield.

Thuk!

The arrow entered through the side of the zombie’s head, Wind Mana erupted inside its skull and destroyed everything above the neck.

The communication device dropped onto the road.

Cain glanced toward Nathan and saw that he had already placed another arrow against his bowstring.

"Good shot."

Nathan released it without bothering to respond.

Another fleeing zombie dropped several meters away.

Cain turned his head, intending to call Professor Irina and Cole over.

Lightning suddenly flashed past him.

Ron rushed through the battlefield with his spear in hand.

"Leave some for us!"

Cain watched him disappear after the retreating soldiers.

"That bastard."

He shook his head helplessly before looking behind him.

"Professor Irina. Cole."

Both immediately approached.

Cain pointed toward the 2nd Echelons struggling across the ground.

"Finish them."

Cole’s eyes brightened the moment he understood what Cain intended.

Professor Irina moved first.

They were both already close to Level 50, and enemies at this level provided far more Experience than the weaker soldiers they had been killing earlier.

Cain stepped aside.

"You two need to reach the Level limit. Don’t waste these."

They immediately headed toward the disabled enemies.

The rest of the group had already caught up with the retreating force.

A layer of frost spread across the road as Elara intercepted one of the fleeing soldiers. Her sword passed through its body before the zombie crashed onto the frozen ground.

Jack caught another from the side and sent it tumbling across the street with a heavy punch.

Farther ahead, flames surged between the damaged buildings as Sonya blocked another escape route.

Cain remained where he was as there was nothing left for him to do.

Without the two 3rd Echelons, the remaining soldiers had no chance of breaking away from his group.

The fighting continued for barely another two minutes.

Then the final Zombie Race soldier fell.

The northern road gradually became quiet again.

Cain dispersed the Origin Sun.

The intense heat surrounding the ruined town slowly faded as he withdrew the True Ruin circulating through his body.

The black scales covering his right arm receded beneath his skin.

Only then did the notifications begin appearing in front of him.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 90 3rd Echelon Zombie Race Commander.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +10, Agility +7, Physique +8, and Sense +8]

[Ding! You have killed a Level 92 3rd Echelon Zombie Race Commander.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +7, Agility +9, Physique +6, and Sense +7]

Cain smiled in satisfaction when he saw the bonus stats he had gotten from killing these 3rd Echelons.

Another pair of notifications immediately followed.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 75 2nd Echelon Zombie Race Soldier.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +2, Agility +2, Physique +2]

[Ding! You have killed a Level 75 2nd Echelon Zombie Race Soldier.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +2, Agility +1, Physique +2]

Cain could no longer gain Levels while his Advancement Mission remained incomplete.

The additional Stats were another matter.

Power flowed through his body as the rewards settled into him, strengthening his already ridiculous physical attributes even further.

Cain had barely finished feeling the changes when the notifications he cared about most appeared.

[World-Class Mission Zone Bonus applied.]

[Ding! You have obtained 1,500,000 System Points.]

[Ding! You have obtained 1,600,000 System Points.]

[Ding! You have obtained 500,000 System Points.]

[Ding! You have obtained 500,000 System Points.]

Cain stared at the numbers.

4,100,000 System Points.

His lips slowly curved upward.

"I really like this place."

Ron returned from the road with blood covering part of his spear.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

Cain looked toward the corpses scattered across the area.

"Quickly harvest the Cores."

Nobody needed further instructions as they had already repeated the process enough times since entering the Corridor that everyone knew what to do.

Several immediately moved toward the nearest corpses and began extracting the Cores.

Cain returned to the center of the ruined town.

With a thought, the boxes he had stored earlier reappeared across the plaza.