Chapter 24: The Power of Shura

Lingyun's gaze swept over the people present; besides the seven in Komuro Takashi's group who were the main characters, there were twelve others—seven men and five women—making a total of twenty-one people including the two of them.

After pondering for a while, Lingyun spoke: "There are quite a few of us, and on the way to Nanlixiang's house, we will definitely attract the dead."

As soon as he said this, pessimistic expressions appeared on the faces of everyone present.

"Let's do this: School Infirmary Marikawa, you lead the way in front, and I will be responsible for protecting you while also clearing the path. Ye Xi, you are responsible for the rear guard, and Busujima Saeko, you move around to provide support. The three of us will form a loose triangle to protect the people in the middle. As for the rest, men on the outside, women on the inside; men with weapons are responsible for killing any dead that slip through, and the rest will carry the collected supplies. We must reach our destination at the fastest speed possible!"

Lingyun's words seemed to carry some kind of unknown magic; the people present quickly began to act, as if the gloom that had just been weighing on everyone's hearts had dissipated in this instant. Among the group, only Busujima Saeko gave Lingyun a deep look, but she didn't say anything more, just quietly followed the others to act.

Seeming to know that these were extraordinary times, Marikawa Shizuka was no longer confused, leading the group to take the shortest route toward Nanlixiang's house.

With over twenty people moving together, the commotion caused was naturally not small, and the zombies in the surroundings gathered toward their direction one after another. The Long sword in Lingyun's hand traced arcs of cold light; no dead could break through his defensive line in front of him.

In the rear, a faint red glow flickered on the Long sword in Luo Yexi's hand, though that sliver of light was very weak and hard to detect under the sunset's glow. Any dead that was struck by her Long sword, no matter where it was hit, would instantly fall to the ground. This was Luo Yexi using her own Nine Yang Internal Energy to directly shatter the brains of the dead.

Busujima Saeko's support was also quite on point; relying on her superb sword skills, she blew the heads off the dead that surrounded them from both sides one by one. Every strike was clean and without hesitation, revealing a unique aesthetic beauty amidst the splashing filthy blood.

As for the men protected in the triangular formation, the one with the strongest combat power was not the former protagonist Komuro Takashi, nor the quite excellent Igou Hisashi, but that inconspicuous military otaku, Hirano Kouta. What he held in his hand was a Nail Gun he had modified himself, and every shot accurately hit the dead rushing over from afar. In terms of the number of kills, he even surpassed Busujima Saeko.

With the fire support of the military otaku Hirano, the group arrived at the house of Nanlixiang mentioned by Marikawa Shizuka with no danger.

Lingyun vaulted directly over the perimeter wall and opened the gate from the inside. Although breaking the door by force was also possible, this door could serve as an important fortification to defend against the impact of the dead in the future, so it was best not to destroy it if possible.

After entering the courtyard, Komuro Takashi quickly closed the gate, locked it several times, and only then collapsed onto the ground. The others also sat down one after another, gasping for air; after all, the journey here was truly too dangerous. If it weren't for the existence of powerful combatants like Lingyun and the others, it is feared that no more than five people in their group would have been able to reach this place.

"Alright, you all rest here for a while, and after you organize the supplies, we will spend the night here," Ling Tian said. "Ye Xi, come out with me for a trip to clear out the zombies in the surroundings. Do not turn on the lights, and do not make too much noise; we will be back soon."

Seeing the people around nod, Lingyun and Luo Yexi picked up the Long swords in their hands, preparing to climb over the wall to go out.

At this moment, Busujima Saeko on the side suddenly spoke: "Um, I'm also very interested in this matter; could you add me to the group?"

Lingyun swept a glance at her and then nodded: "That's fine, but watch your safety!"

Climbing over the wall, Lingyun saw quite a few dead gathering in this direction, presumably drawn by the commotion they had just made.

"Quick battle, quick decision!" Lingyun said.

The speed of Lingyun and the other completely exceeded the imagination of ordinary people, and the dead were nothing more than a side dish in their hands. In just a while, more than half of the dead that had gathered around had fallen under their swords.

Busujima Saeko watched the two's actions, a glimmer of interest flashing in her eyes. From the very beginning when she first met Lingyun and the other, she had vaguely felt that these two were definitely not ordinary people. Now, seeing the two using speed that exceeded human limits to harvest these gathered dead, she was even more certain of her guess.

After knocking down all the dead in the vicinity, the three walked together toward Nanlixiang's house.

Suddenly, Busujima Saeko stopped her steps, looked at the two in front, and spoke: "If I'm not mistaken, you two shouldn't be ordinary people, right!"

Lingyun turned around and smiled: "You, didn't you have this guess from the very beginning?"

"Then I am curious, what exactly is the purpose of you two appearing here?" Busujima Saeko asked with a look that was not quite a smile.

"Ye Xi is an exchange student who came here from the Celestial Empire; you should have heard of this, right!" Lingyun shrugged; the identity arranged for them by the World Consciousness was absolutely seamless. "As for me, I am Ye Xi's guardian. After all, Ye Xi is still young now, so following her to Japan doesn't seem to be anything wrong, right."

"You don't need to hide it; on the way to Nanlixiang's place earlier, I saw it—there was a red light flashing on your sword. Although it was very weak under the illumination of the sunset, it didn't escape my eyes!" Busujima Saeko's gaze landed on Luo Yexi.

Luo Yexi's eyes narrowed slightly, her right hand gripping the Long sword tightly; as long as Busujima Saeko made any unusual move, she was confident she could take her life in an instant.

Lingyun shook his head at Luo Yexi and then looked at Busujima Saeko: "Telling us so much, what exactly is your purpose? Hmm, no, it's because of that power on your body, right!"

"Ara ara, as expected of people from that mysterious place in the Celestial Empire; you actually saw the strange thing about me!" Busujima Saeko revealed a strange smile, the scarlet light in her pupils expanding, causing her eyes to completely turn scarlet, and wisps of blood-red air currents spread out from her body.

"Hmm?" Luo Yexi's brows were tightly locked, and a golden-red light began to rise from her body. The aura emanating from Busujima Saeko actually made her feel a hint of wariness. One must know that she had now cultivated the Nine Suns Heavenly Art to the Second Layer and was an existence of a top-tier expert.

"Shura Power, huh? Although it is not strong, it is the purest Shura Power? So that's how it is; the World Consciousness actually converted the Fate belonging to Komuro Takashi into power and injected it into Busujima Saeko's body, allowing her to possess the capital to survive in this apocalypse while becoming a protagonist?" Lingyun said in his heart.

"You should know what this power on my body is now, right!" Looking at Lingyun's thoughtful appearance and the light rising from Luo Yexi's body, Busujima Saeko's tone carried a hint of confusion and expectation. "To tell the truth, after this apocalypse arrived, there wasn't a single trace of fear in my heart; instead, there was a faint excitement. Especially after this inexplicable power appeared, this feeling became even more severe..."

"This, it should be the aftereffect of your killing; you don't need to be so afraid. It is already the apocalypse now, and killing those monsters is a normal thing. Moreover, now that social order has collapsed, we might even have to eliminate some humans who endanger our survival." Lingyun's tone was very calm. "As for that power on your body, that is a gift from the world, a thing that many people beg for but cannot get. If you have any doubts about this power in the future, you can come and ask me; I can still give you some guidance in this aspect."

"This..." Busujima Saeko was a bit stunned; she completely did not expect Lingyun to give her such an answer, and for a moment, she actually did not know what to say.

"Alright, Student Busujima, don't be afraid of the aftereffects of your own killing. After all, in this apocalypse, if you don't eliminate these dead, then the dead will definitely eliminate you; this is a dead knot that cannot be untied." Seeing the usually shrewd and capable Busujima Saeko rarely reveal a dazed and cute look, Lingyun stepped forward and rubbed her head. "We haven't been out for a short time; it's time to go back, otherwise the others will be worried."

"Oh, oh..." Busujima Saeko only then came back to her senses, feeling the palm on the top of her head, and a trace of imperceptible red cloud appeared on her face. The scarlet in her pupils had faded, and the blood-colored air currents around her body also vanished into nothingness.

The three walked together toward Nanlixiang's house.