Chapter 75: Slaughter, Fear, Crushing

Red, all red.

There was the red of fire, and there was the red of blood.

Zhuang Xiangming's breathing was like a bellows, and sweat slid down from his forehead in a continuous stream.

He stared with bloodshot eyes, his chest full of anger with nowhere to vent it.

Ahead, the Fire-Winged Men were slaughtering on a massive scale.

The sounds of kicking doors, explosions, screams, and blades chopping down rose continuously.

Blood flowed out from the door, dismembered limbs were thrown out from inside, and even the wild laughter of the Fire-Winged Men could be heard.

This made Zhuang Xiangming even more furious.

"Company Commander! Let's go, I really can't stand it!"

A young man spoke, his expression grotesque and terrifying.

Ugly, mottled scars occupied most of his face; one eye was half-blind, and he had no hair.

These were burn marks, from battles with the Fire-Winged Men.

Such grievous injuries would have required surgery before the apocalypse.

Let alone after the apocalypse.

If the Priest hadn't treated him early, the young man would have long since returned his soul to the West.

Yet even so, severe scars remained.

"No!" Zhuang Xiangming said decisively, "We must endure and wait for reinforcements."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. Hao Wei, look behind you."

Hao Wei was speechless; he truly lacked the courage to look back.

In the room behind them were a large number of residents and wounded.

Their faces were filled with numbness and fear.

From the initial rescue, to the subsequent escape, to being hunted down.

They had witnessed the deaths of countless humans, including soldiers who came to rescue them.

From hell to heaven, and then from heaven back to hell.

Now they were trapped inside the building, unable to leave.

With matters come to this, everyone understood how slim the hope of rescue was.

This building was like hell, and everyone was waiting for the arrival of judgment.

No one cried out, and no one struggled.

Those with the strength to do so had mostly died halfway.

Those left were all physically and mentally exhausted, having lost their minds.

The reason they had not yet found release was mostly because they clung to the hope of the reinforcements Zhuang Xiangming had spoken of.

That was their only light.

But was there truly reinforcement?

If there truly was, why had the screams and laughter in their ears never ceased?

It was merely self-deception.

"Captain, is there truly reinforcement?" a soldier nearby could not help but ask.

Although the voice was small, it caught everyone's attention.

"Yes, yes, there certainly is!" Zhuang Xiangming's voice grew louder and louder, as if he was trying to strengthen his own heart.

"As long as we hold out, and once the culling below is finished, the Regiment Commander will certainly come to support us."

"Just think, why are these monsters not attacking immediately?"

"Isn't it because they are afraid? Their main force is being blocked below, so they are plotting an escape."

"Otherwise, once our reinforcements arrive, they won't be able to fly away even with wings."

"If we just continue to hold on, we will surely achieve victory."

Zhuang Xiangming didn't know why he had spun such a string of nonsense.

Everyone would understand if they thought about it for just a moment.

The monsters not attacking—where was the fear in that?

They were clearly just dealing with soft persimmons.

Zhuang Xiangming and his group were numerous and still had the strength to fight.

The monsters, certain of victory, also feared losing their own lives.

First, they would kill all the humans hiding away, then concentrate their forces to break through them in one blow.

Yet oddly enough, no one refuted him, as if they all believed it.

Because this was everyone's only solace.

But by sheer coincidence, less than a minute had passed since Zhuang Xiangming finished speaking.

A series of clicking footsteps sounded.

Zhuang Xiangming's eyes narrowed.

What is this? Such dense footsteps?

At some point, a squad of Fire-Winged Men appeared from the corner ahead in the corridor, walking toward Zhuang Xiangming and his group.

Their expressions were grotesque, and the curved-blade greatswords in their hands were still dripping blood.

Along the way, more Fire-Winged Men emerged from rooms to join them.

This instant shattered everyone's sweet dreams.

"Mage, resist the energy damage, cast a spell quickly!"

"Spell slots are gone, all of them are gone!"

"You damn fool, can't you squeeze a bit!"

"If I could squeeze a bit and have room, I would have fought my way out long ago!"

Then came a clamor of noise, but regardless, most dared not launch an attack on their own.

Despair had spread; some residents in the room simply closed their eyes.

What does it matter? Stretching out the neck gets one chop, shrinking it back gets one chop.

The apocalypse, the apocalypse; friends and family have all already passed away.

Struggling for a month myself has already been a huge gain.

Why continue to scrape by?

The enemy has not yet arrived, yet the formation is already in chaos.

They say there is still a chance to fight, but in reality, this battle is one-sided.

Should I blame them? Zhuang Xiangming smiled at himself in self-mockery.

Before the apocalypse, everyone was just honest, ordinary commoners.

Holding out until now is already quite good.

Forget it, forget it; I should have listened to that kid sooner.

Fighting our way out earlier could have traded for the lives of a few Fire-Feathered Humans.

No, why did that kid go up!

"Monsters, come! Ruin your grandpa's face; your grandpa wants your lives today!"

Hao Wei rushed forward like a moth flying into a flame.

Zhuang Xiangming's heart hardened, and he followed forward as well.

Since we are going to die anyway, we might as well die spectacularly.

Boom!

An explosion sound came from behind the Fire-Feathered Humans, and flames shot up to the sky.

It seemed some kind of drastic change had occurred.

"What is happening?" Zhuang Xiangming wondered in his heart.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fire-Feathered Humans in front also turned their bodies and headed toward the rear.

Clang-clatter!

Accompanied by a sound of swords and blades clashing, the Fire-Feathered Humans in front fell like wheat being reaped.

A figure darted through the Fire-Feathered Humans; the three-meter-wide corridor did not hinder his movement in the slightest.

Every move and every strike was as if formed by nature, with no superfluous actions.

Like a game cleared a hundred times, not a single mistake.

Occasionally, when a Fire-Feathered Human tried to detonate, the figure killed them beforehand.

Or he turned and retreated, forcing the Fire-Feathered Human's self-detonation to only blast their own kind.

"This... this... is... the... support..."

Hao Wei swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

He had stopped moving long ago, watching the scene in shock.

"Right?" Zhuang Xiangming was also somewhat uncertain and surprised.

Is there such a person within Ancheng?

Although some big shots, like their regiment commander, could kill monsters single-handedly under the buff's enhancement.

But they still needed to exchange a few moves, and the monsters could not be too numerous.

Unlike the figure ahead, who was simply one sword, one kill, utterly relaxed and effortless.

Ten-odd Fire-Feathered Humans died instantly.

Where is this support? This is simply a one-sided massacre!

Those in the rear were also shocked; they had heard the explosion.

Instinctively, they tightened their bodies, wanting to die without as much pain.

But after waiting left and right, they felt no pain, nor did they see any flames.

Instead, they heard the screams of the Fire-Feathered Humans.

The sounds of these monsters were like bird songs; distinguishing them was not difficult at all.

A thread of long-forgotten excitement began to sprout.

"Are you the commander here?"

Zhuang Xiangming came to his senses and saw a youth holding a long sword already standing before Hao Wei.

"No..." Somehow, Hao Wei felt a bit nervous in his heart.

Clearly, the youth before him was the benefactor who had saved them.

Yet he felt a bit of fear, a kind of awe toward a life surpassing that of ordinary mortals.

"I am, I am the company commander here; I came to support here under the orders of Regiment Commander Luo."

Zhuang Xiangming interjected, easing Hao Wei's awkwardness.

"Oh." Fang Shi said indifferently, "Are there any survivors? If there are survivors, just go down; it is already safe below."

"Really?" Zhuang Xiangming was startled, boundless joy surging in his heart.

"Are we truly safe now!"

Fang Shi said: "Yes, we're safe now."

"You all do as you please—I'm leaving first. Other places are waiting for me."

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!" Zhuang Xiangming hurriedly thanked him.

He didn't know how to address the young man before him, and unconsciously borrowed the term from ancient costume dramas: "my lord."

Fang Shi didn't reply, turned, and walked away, vanishing quickly around the corner.

"Are we safe?" Hao Wei murmured.

"Yes, we're safe—thanks to that my lord."

Zhuang Xiangming at first felt awkward, but the more he said it, the more natural it became.

Looking back now, the young man's immense strength truly deserved the title "my lord."

"We're safe!" Hao Wei shouted, then burst into sobbing.

This crying instantly spread the sorrowful emotion.

The survivors, having escaped death, began to feel grief.

They had thought they would never cry again.

After the Collapse, 90% of humanity had already died.

Then many more perished to the undead and otherworldly creatures.

Those who survived had nearly all lost their human connections; those who should have cried had already cried.

But now they still wanted to cry—for themselves, for life.

This night was even bloodier and more terrifying than the first day of the Collapse.

…

Fang Shi hurried down the stairs, heading for the next floor.

The scenes along this path were far bloodier than during the Third Impact of his past life.

First, the Firefeathers had limited strength and couldn't compare to second-tier creatures.

Often, second-tier creatures killed without spilling blood, leaving not even a corpse behind.

Second, human strength was far too weak; they hadn't learned any of the miraculous spells.

Like high-mobility teleportation, flight, or wall-piercing.

Or group defense spells like Stone Wall or Turn Stone to Mud.

Or second-tier physical classes simply climbing up the outer walls.

These methods prevented humans from being easily split apart on the battlefield.

They could even block otherworldly creatures at once, keeping them outside the buildings.

But now, none of this happened—above the tenth floor, slaughter was everywhere.

The squads sent by Feng Luo Song to reinforce had achieved only partial success.

They were mostly crushed by the Firefeathers and trapped in one location.

They lacked even the ability to launch counterattacks; their retreat routes were cut off front and back.

They couldn't even send messengers to request support.

Even if someone had requested support, Luo Song couldn't send anyone.

Sending more would mean losing control of the lower floors too.

The reason was simple: there were far too few combat specialists among humans.

Though theoretically every human had an attribute panel and immense potential.

In reality, only a few could stand out.

First was personality—not everyone was fearless and bold.

Humans naturally feared powerful things and avoided them accordingly.

In short, they lacked the courage to raise their blades against the strong.

Facing undead, which had low attributes,

when outnumbering them, courage would rise, and they became everyone's prized target.

But for Firewings, with their high mobility,

even with proper hunting methods,

it was unrealistic for newcomers to avoid casualties.

Even veterans suffered accidents.

So some grew timid, preferring other work over combat.

Some were so cowardly they wouldn't even risk killing undead.

Had it not been for the authorities later offering incentives to forcibly activate attribute panels to boost productivity,

perhaps a small portion of people still wouldn't have activated theirs.

This included children and the elderly who couldn't compete for kills.

But universal adoption of combat classes was beyond the authorities' current capability.

The reason was simple: there weren't enough undead to go around.

Activating a combat class required 100 experience points—that's ten undead per person.

But the undead conversion rate on Blue Planet was only 90%, averaging nine per person.

But on Blue Star, the walking-corpse conversion rate was only 90%, with an average of nine per person.

With this arrangement, evenly distributing all the walking corpses in Ancheng still wouldn't be enough.

What's more, many of them were killed multiple times over.

Fang Shi alone had taken down nearly 1,000 of them.

Therefore, those who fell behind could only hunt Fire-Wing Birds if they wanted to unlock a combat class.

But how many people had that kind of courage?

In his past life, Fang Shi's greatest regret lay precisely in this point.

Although before his rebirth he had the physical fitness of a level-two athlete,

he feared infection from the walking corpses and never dared to make a move.

That delay meant there were no monsters left to kill, and his level naturally fell behind.

The consequence of falling behind was naturally not being able to snatch monsters, and under this vicious cycle it was very hard to break out.

Moreover, the further on it went, the more severe this phenomenon became.

In the apocalypse there was no such thing as partying up—whichever kill was yours was yours.

Even if you played support, if the kill was taken by a melee fighter, you got no experience.

Hence Zhao Wenjun, Luo Song, and the others could be said to have gained a great opportunity in this wave; as long as they survived, their levels would leap forward.

Of course, magic-class professions had other channels for leveling up, and there would be ways to advance later on.

But non-combat personnel were in for a rough time, able only to count on the periodic welfare from the Huaguo government in the future.

Still, this was their own choice.

In fact, there was another extreme approach—adopting a gu-raising strategy and paying a heavy toll in casualties.

With the existence of the attribute panel, a state of universal military service was bound to be created.

This situation was most obvious in the Affe Continent.

Regardless of gender or age, everyone had to go into battle.

Cowardly people, under bloody combat, would also become incomparably brave.

Transforming into qualified warriors.

But this was absolutely not permitted in Huaguo.

At least, as long as Huaguo's government had not completely collapsed, such a thing would not be allowed to happen.

If Fang Shi had not appeared, this second wave—

the humans of Ancheng would have suffered at least over half casualties.

In more severe cases, as many as eighty percent could have died.

However, Fang Shi's appearance would break all of this.

His base attribute points were already casually crushing the Fire Feather People.

The Fire Feather People's base Strength was 15 points, and with tier bonus it was 19 points.

Fang Shi's base Strength was 19 points, and with tier bonus it was 23 points.

Exceeding them by eighty percent in Strength, even ordinary attacks alone could crush them.

Not to mention Fang Shi also had a whole host of powerful feats.

That extraordinary swordsmanship in Zhuang Xiangming's eyes was the result of stacked feats.

In Fang Shi's eyes, the movement speed of every object was so slow.

He had ample time to think about how to apply swordsmanship to deal the most effective damage.

Thereby displaying his god-like, uncanny technique.

This was Fang Shi's current strength—a strength sufficient to crush the second wave.

This night would also be a night of bountiful harvest for Fang Shi.