Standing three and a half meters tall, the Xingtian zombie king was covered in well-developed muscle.
After transforming into a zombie, its muscles had become as sharply defined as marble, every single sinew radiating an impression of utter invulnerability.
Moreover, its right hand had undergone a grotesque mutation, fusing seamlessly with its superalloy battle-axe. Blood vessels and muscle tissue had crept out across the weapon, and the axe's cutting edge pulsed with a blistering, bloody light. Without a doubt, the axe had become a transcendent-grade weapon.
In addition, the armor on its body was the superalloy combat suit forged by the military specifically for Xingtian warriors.
Weighing a staggering ten tons, the suit possessed extraordinary defensive power, each plate astonishingly thick—armor that only a Xingtian warrior could move freely in. More terrifying still, nurtured by corpse qi over the ages, the armor had clearly undergone an uncanny metamorphosis, turning a verdant blue-green as faint spectral wisps rose from it like smoke.
"Watch out for its axe!" Xu Ao, hovering in midair, warned Gao Wei on the ground through telepathy.
Gao Wei gripped his Xuanhua axe, nodded, and pushed off with his right leg in the next instant. He materialized behind the Xingtian zombie king in a flash, cleaving his axe toward the creature's neck.
*Thud!*
A terrifying boom shook the ground.
Gao Wei's eyes snapped wide in disbelief. His full-strength basic swing—landing on a spot unprotected by armor—had failed to even break the skin.
*Fall back, fall back, fall back!*
Gao Wei instinctively retreated. Suddenly, a sharp pain flared across his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that his belly was charred black.
He snapped his head up toward the Xingtian zombie king, only to find that it hadn't moved an inch. A huge question mark flashed through his mind—how had he gotten hurt?
"Old Gao, watch out for the extreme yin shifting to yang corpse qi on its body! It burns at blistering temperatures and is formless and colorless. It's difficult to guard against!" Xu Ao warned.
Gao Wei brought out a container of healing medicine and swallowed it, snapping irritably, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
He circulated the internal arts within him, and golden light covered the burned area. A violent sizzling hissed from the wound as thick black smoke poured out. Finally, he produced a bottle of liquor and splashed it over the injury. The black smoke turned white and quickly dissipated, and in the blink of an eye, the wound had completely healed.
"Would you say it's Dragon-plus, or... God?" Xu Ao asked Gao Wei, his eyes fixed on the Xingtian zombie king.
Gao Wei stared at the creature as well and answered, "Dragon-plus, probably infinitely close to God. It's a good thing we caught it early, or the consequences would have been unthinkable."
Suddenly, the Xingtian zombie king's fingers twitched faintly in the distance.
Having slumbered for so long, its 'boot-up' was a bit sluggish, and only now did it finally show signs of reaction.
*Strike!*
Both Gao Wei and Xu Ao sensed the creature's movement. With unspoken coordination, the two erupted into motion simultaneously.
*True Taisui of Gods and Fiends, Colossal Mountain-Cleaving Axe!*
Golden light burst from Gao Wei's eyes as he let out a furious roar, his entire body ablaze with golden brilliance.
He raised the Xuanhua axe high. The shaft elongated instantly, the axehead shooting straight into the clouds. Then, he brought it down ruthlessly toward the Xingtian zombie king. As the axe plummeted, the shaft contracted at blinding speed while the head swelled without pause, ultimately crashing down like an enormous mountain.
*Rumble!*
The ground caved in, dense fractures tearing open in all directions.
By then, dark clouds blanketed the sky. The colossal dragon Xu Ao had transformed into coiled through the air. Just as Gao Wei shrank his axe and cleared the area, a bolt of thunder resembling an energy beam cannon fell from the heavens.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
Lightning drowned the Xingtian zombie king instantly, the scorching heat melting the surrounding earth into bubbling magma.
Thirty seconds later, the thunderous brilliance faded.
Xu Ao and Gao Wei wore expressions of shock, staring in disbelief at the Xingtian zombie king standing atop the molten rock.
Though it wasn't entirely unscathed, the combined attacks of both generals had merely broken its skin. Its defensive power was utterly terrifying.
"*Roaaar!*"
The Xingtian zombie king suddenly opened its eyes. One eye gazed up at Xu Ao while the other slanted toward Gao Wei. Then, it threw its head back and unleashed a beastly roar toward the sky.
*Danger!*
Gao Wei's sixth sense flared just as the crimson axe cleaved toward him.
*So fast!*
He immediately met the strike with his Xuanhua axe. The moment the two weapons collided, the Xuanhua axe shattered on impact, and Gao Wei was struck down, tumbling onto the ground.
"Old Gao!"
Xu Ao's face drained of color at the sight.
Among the Dragon-rank combatants, Gao Wei's defenses and strength were second to none. Yet against the Xingtian zombie king, he had been utterly overwhelmed.
At that moment, the Xingtian zombie king raised its axe, preparing to deliver the fatal blow.
*Tri-Origin Heavy Water, Super Shield TBM!*
Xu Ao dove straight down, swirling torrents of water wrapping around his body. The moment he drew near, four currents rotated into drill heads and slammed into the Xingtian zombie king.
Yet with a flash of red light, the water drills instantly collapsed.
After cleaving through the torrents with its axe, the zombie king drove its left fist into the dragon's head. Xu Ao's massive frame was sent hurtling to the side, rolling over and over until he flattened the cratered earth smooth.
"*Roaaar!*"
The Xingtian zombie king scanned its surroundings. Seeing that every enemy had been dealt with, it let out a long howl toward the sky.
Then, looking down at the immobilized Gao Wei, its gaze locked onto his neck. Its throat rippled as the primal instinct to feed on blood stirred within it.
Yet as it pounced toward his neck and bared its fangs to bite, its body froze for an instant—as though another instinct within it were stopping it from sinking its teeth in.
"*Roar!*"
Overcome with inexplicable fury, the Xingtian zombie king raised the axe in its hand to sever Gao Wei's head.
Just then, a beam of golden light shot down from the heavens. The zombie king raised its axe to block, but the immense impact drove the creature hundreds of meters back, leaving two deep trenches gouged into the earth by its dragging legs.
Yu Lie, Xiao Cheng, Hua Qiang, and the others descended from the sky. The vertical eye on Yu Lie's brow radiated golden light, and three merit halos shone behind him. Bathed in the radiance of those merit halos, the Xingtian zombie king's body hissed with rising white smoke.
"Little Yu, send General Gao and General Xu back to the city for medical care," Yu Lie said to Yu Xian up in the air, keeping his eyes on the Xingtian zombie king.
High above, Yu Xian sat within a bubble, hearing Yu Lie's voice through the miniature bubble by his ear. With a word of acknowledgment, he manipulated spatial bubbles to send Gao Wei and Xu Ao back to Silver City.
In this battle, his role remained purely supportive; he would not engage in direct confrontation.
Given his frail physique, a single blow from the Xingtian zombie king's axe would likely be enough to obliterate him into ashes.
Yet he also possessed an advantage: as long as an injury wasn't fatal, he could recover very rapidly. Just minutes ago, he had suffered extensive burns across his body, but now there was not the slightest trace of a burn mark left on his skin.
Of course, it still hurt. The burns had hurt enough to make him want to cry.
Looking down at the confronting sides below, Yu Xian immediately mobilized the Spatial Blood Energy within him and cast the Spatial Labyrinth Art across the surrounding area.
Once the surrounding space was folded into an enclosed realm without an exit, then unless the Xingtian zombie king possessed spatial abilities of its own, Yu Xian was confident he could keep it trapped here—even if Yu Lie and the others were defeated.
Chapter 99