Chapter 32: Scarlet Death
Chapter 32: Scarlet Death
In a dense forest blanketed by snow, Lin Sai sprinted with all his might.
Behind him, the relentless zombie relentlessly pursued, never letting up on its prey. It constantly closed the distance between them.
The direction of their mad dash led straight to the frontier town.
But Lin Sai had never ventured there before, and without knowing where the hunter had set up traps, he couldn't possibly find external support to aid him now.
Run, run faster!
This was the first element crucial to Lin Sai's survival.
Ironically, in this most critical attribute, he was still slightly slower than the adult zombie behind him. If things continued like this, the outcome was inevitable—the zombie would exhaust its stamina, catch up, and then kill him.
While he still had a bit of stamina left...
No matter how small the chance, no matter how implausible it seemed, he had to give it a try!
"Tsk—"
To fight for his life.
Lin Sai clenched his teeth and turned back, shooting an arrow at the corpse.
His archery skills, now at the Mastery level, were indeed much better than when he had just started. This arrow not only hit the target precisely but even struck the zombie's head.
But the result was the same as before.
The zombie's tough body gave it an incredibly strong defense. Its impenetrable skin, which couldn't be pierced by a dagger in close combat, also deflected the arrow.
The arrow merely grazed its skin, then weakly bounced off and fell to the ground, as if mocking Lin Sai's futile struggle.
The arrow had no effect!
Lin Sai's eyes darkened.
He didn't complain but instead threw his bow and the arrows on his back directly at the zombie. This was an attempt to slow the zombie down and reduce his own burden.
"Roar!"
The zombie reacted swiftly, waving its hand to swat away the bow and arrows.
Then—slap!
Lin Sai's thick coat, which he had taken off, flew towards the zombie and covered its face, as if a large bag had enveloped it.
Rip!
The zombie's reaction to this was identical to when it had swatted away the bow and arrows. It frantically waved its hands, quickly tearing Lin Sai's coat into shreds, which then hung on its chest.
It was during this brief resistance that Lin Sai bought himself a few more seconds.
He and the zombie behind him once again created some distance, and Lin Sai used this precious opportunity to reflect on everything that had just happened.
The zombie was faster, stronger, and couldn't be defeated in close combat. Climbing trees wasn't an option to escape either.
Was there any other way to escape this relentless pursuit?
As he ran, Lin Sai kept turning back to observe the zombie's condition.
At this moment, the tattered clothes that had just belonged to Lin Sai and were now hanging on the zombie's chest gave him a hint.
Lin Sai suddenly remembered the zombie's movements when it had swatted away the bow and arrows.
And the process of the zombie repeatedly shifting its attacks between Ju and Lin Sai.
Most importantly, Lin Sai and the zombie had locked eyes twice.
He clearly saw the state of the zombie's eyes, which were definitely not those of a living person.
A bold idea began to brew in Lin Sai's mind.
The next moment, he abruptly stopped running.
This didn't mean Lin Sai was giving up.
As he stopped, he also drew his small dagger, his only weapon, and threw it with all his might at an oak tree several dozen meters away.
Bang! The dagger struck the tree trunk, making a loud noise.
Lin Sai stood still, even holding his breath to minimize any sound.
The result was just as he had expected.
The zombie, instead of ignoring Lin Sai who was standing still, turned and charged towards the tree that the dagger had struck!
"Roar!"
The zombie slammed into the tree, frantically clawing and scratching at it.
As the tree was thoroughly scratched by the creature, it finally confirmed that there were no living animals ahead. Thus, the zombie turned around, its movements somewhat slower as it approached Lin Sai.
Having lost its target, it prepared to inspect the previous target location.
However, its attitude upon approaching was not as certain as when it first began the chase.
"As expected, this monster attacks based on the direction of sound..."
Lin Sai finally understood the pattern of its attacks.
But he did not relax.
Because as soon as he moved, the zombie would catch up.
At that speed, he would still die.
If only... some wild animal would appear.
Even if another beast came, as long as it could lure the zombie away, Lin Sai would rather be shot by ice arrows. After all, that was at least something he could handle!
Unfortunately, this was not realistic.
Lin Sai had no choice but to repeat the chase and escape once more before his stamina depleted.
He threw his oak flask, repeating the previous tactic.
As expected, it worked again.
Lin Sai once again distanced himself from the monster, and at the same time, he gained an opportunity to recover his stamina.
Repeating this several times, the plan remained effective.
But after a few repetitions, Lin Sai inevitably found himself in a predicament again.
The reason was simple—he had nothing left to throw.
If it were another season, he could easily pick up a stone in the forest to obstruct the zombie's pursuit.
However, on this snow-covered ground, even if he dug through the snow to find a stone, this zombie could catch up and pounce on him.
"..."
Lin Sai's gaze was intense, focusing on the front, through the snowy forest, he could vaguely discern the silhouette of the taller buildings in town.
He was just one step away from rescue!
This was the northern forest of the town.
Moving forward, he would reach the manor of Lord An Rui, as well as the guards and awakened practitioners training on the forest's edge.
If he could make it there, he would be saved immediately!
Lin Sai continued his mad dash, biting his lip.
Trees passed by him, sliding towards his back, the sound of trampling snow merged into one, his speed was almost at its limit.
But behind Lin Sai, the zombie's pursuit grew closer.
Life in front, death behind.
Caught between these emotions, Lin Sai couldn't think of anything else.
He glanced at his attribute panel, his stamina rapidly depleting as he ran, about to reach its limit!
"I've got it!"
Lin Sai had a sudden idea, jumping with one foot while removing the shoe from the other, planning to use this to buy himself some time.
A red light flashed before him.
Lin Sai, who had just removed his shoe, had no time to react.
But this red light wasn't targeting him, instead, it seemed to have intelligence, avoiding Lin Sai's body.
It passed through the dense forest, leaping over towering trees, crossing the snow-laden branches, parting the gentle forest breeze.
As if it had arrived in an instant, yet as if it had always been here, just a blink of an eye, flashing through the quiet winter day.
Watching the red light disappear.
Lin Sai inexplicably thought of a word—death.
(End of Chapter)
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