Chapter 77

The zombie commander stands up from the rubble. Looking around, it seems Sam's small silhouette from afar.

The guy still remembers his objective, which is to survive. He tries not to engage in battles so that he can get out of the place. But of course, the zombified magic users on the outside will not let him. Their purpose is to bring him down, converting him into one of them.

Running across the floor, with each step he takes, the building behind Sam would be attacked by magic. Fire, then Earth, then Wind, then Water, the elements keep on bursting it down.

*Chik*

An Ice Lance the size of a car flies through the air and plunges into the wall. Sam is exactly right behind it.

*Crack* *Crumble*

The impact breaks through the brick completely, but the momentum is so powerful that the Ice Lance keeps aiming for Sam's throat.

Having paid attention to his environment, Sam slumps his body closer to the ground and slides forward.

*Whoosh*

The Ice Lance continues its trajectory, barely missing his head. Right after, Sam pushes the ground to stand up and keeps on moving. He can hear the monsters running after him on the outside. There is absolutely no room for hesitation at this point. That gigantic monster may aim for him at any moment.

Over at the rubble, the zombie commander crouches down. Its head turns in Sam's direction. Inside of its eyes is nothing but carnage and the need for destruction. On its legs, the muscles contract heavily.

*BOOM* *Whoosh*

"GUOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Sam hears a deafening roar.

Similar to a pale bullet, the body of the commander drifts through the air at an incredible speed. The shock wave created from its jump pushes the dust and even the small debris away. While in the air, it retracts its two huge arms. The muscles and the veins bulge up like snakes.

In less than three seconds, the zombie commander closes the distance between Sam and it.

The guy turns around and sees the pale giant ex-human.

Instantly, he fires the rest of the Fire Bombs towards it with the hope of slowing it down.

*Fwhum*

Fire envelops the monster, creating an orange color that illuminates the interior of the building he is in. Sam can feel the heat blast from his magic even if he is still not that close to the commander.

But as he expected, the fire does nothing to the monster as it keeps moving forward. The guy can see his attack clearly did some damage to the monster's face and upper body. Its skins and bones are being charred to black by the high temperature exhausted by his spell. After the blast, the already hideous appearance of the zombie commander turns even worse.

If this was another normal person, the blast could have sent them backward or destroyed them completely.

Sadly, the zombie commander feels nothing. Pain has been eliminated from its brain. Also, thanks to its muscle density, it did not suffer much damage.

In Sam's palms, Metal Chains appear. He launches the chain to the ceiling on the top of his head. The tip of which gets through the concrete with a loud crack as Sam pulls tightly on the chain, lifting his body upward.

*Crack*

But the walls of the building are suddenly cleaved open by a huge gust of wind.

"Fuck!!" Sam yells angrily.

It is because of a Wind Blade spell from the zombies outside. Not stopping at breaking the bricks, the Wind Blade hits Sam's Metal Chains, effectively cutting it in half with sparks of metal flashing in the air.

His body falls down. By that time, the big zombie has gone through the explosion of Fire Bombs, arms ready for a killing blow.

*Whoosh* *Whoosh*

With fists twice the size of Sam's head, the zombie punches its target.

"Shit!!!" Sam can not do anything but raise his arms as a shield.

"SAM!!!!" Nycta yells out his name in desperation.

*BAM!!*

The meat and bone knuckles hit the metal of Sam's gauntlets. An intense explosion of sound follows right after. From the place of the impact, an invisible wave spreads through the air and shakes the whole building. The shock actually cracks the floor and walls around the two.

"GUAGH!!!!"

"NOOOO!! SAAAAAAAM!!!!"

*BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM*

A relatively small body compared to the zombie commander is flung away. On its way, it breaks everything with its back, smashing through the walls, windows, and anything in between. All the zombies accidentally appear behind it are destroyed beyond comprehension.

Sam flies without control through three buildings, finally collapses on the fourth.

"Gugh! Hack hack!"

He coughs up blood. His armor is worn out about 50 percent, especially on the back. As it has blood coming out, his shirt is drenched both inside and out. And the spine of his feels as if it has been hammered constantly by a wrecking ball. The only place that is not affected by the attack is, strangely, his arms.

Thanks to the gauntlets, Sam is not suffering the fate of amputation. If not, that previous attack could not only break them but also eviscerate his bones and skins. It certainly looks like Rhan, who made the gauntlets, is a much bigger figure than anyone has thought.

Although his arms are fine, Sam feels like he was hit by a meteor. Trying to stand up and move, across his body, there is no place without pain.

Fast! This fucker is too fast! He thinks.

"Sam! Are you okay?!! Please hold on! Please!!" Nycta wails. He feels guilty for making her worried.

Don't worry, Nycta. Looks like it's going to take a while until I can see you girls again. He talks to her calmly in his head.

"Don't say things like that!!! I beg you!" Nycta is still on the run towards this place. She picks up the pace, spending all the energy inside of her body. And both of her cheeks have been bathed in tears since Sam started running away.

I mean it though. Literally. It's going to take me a while to at least incapacitate this beast.

"Just...run whenever you can, okay?" She pleads for his safety.

Of course! I want to go back home with you all. It has been a few hours, but I already miss the meals we share together. Ahahah.

Outside of his body, a transparent layer of armor forms. It wraps around every part of him except for the gauntlets, nose, and eyes. An icy protection layer, on top of Defensive Aura and Physical Enhancement.

This is what Yui helped him create.

Water and Ice combination.

Water Creation magic: Ice Armor.

But his preparation is not done yet. Sam clenches his fists tightly, and the top of his knuckles start to gather both Wind and Fire magic particles. They condense into 2 small orbs the size of a ping pong ball, one on each arm.

Fire and Wind combination.

Fire Creation magic: Explosive Fists.

"Sam! Be careful!" Nycta reads his thoughts. She is both terrified and anxious.

He is not going to run anymore. Sam is going to be serious.

*KABOOM!*

"GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

The commander once again launches its body towards Sam. Through the smoke and dust created by his impact on this building, Sam can hardly make out anything. Without the visual, he puts his concentration to the fullest, focusing on every single change in the environment.

"!!!"

Sam jumps up. An invisible Wind Blade cuts through the walls, right where the previous location of his lower legs was.

He has to somehow bring this battle outside. The magic-user zombie should die first if he wants to focus on winning. He has 3 layers of defense, namely Ice Armor, Defensive Armor, and his half-fractured Manafused armor. It should be fine if he was to be bitten.

*WHOOSH!*

The pale enormous body of the commander appears. Just like before, its two arms are retracted, ready for punching.

In mid-air, there is no way for Sam to dodge this, so they would like to finish him with this attack.

However, Sam has better plans. The fire on his left fist explodes slightly upward, pushing his body down like a propeller that L'ren used when he first came into the battlefield. Because of that, his body ever so little falls down, but that tiny tilt is already good enough.

With two whooshes, the monster jabs its arms but misses Sam by a mere centimeter. As for Sam, taking the golden opportunity, ...

*BOOM!!*

He makes a sideways punch in the monster's chest. It immediately explodes in flame and sends the commander flying outside the brick walls.