Chapter 362 - Cat's Eyes
When Nangong Lingxin arrived at the Beginning Village together with her older brother and her injured father, she decided to join without hesitation after hearing that apart from losing part of her freedom there were only benefits. Of course, all this downplaying the matter of a possible betrayal; but the her of that moment never thought of betrayal since no matter how powerful she or her brother were, they definitely could not survive alone for a long time and even less so with their father, who was just a normal man without any power.
After Kang Lan healed her father, she and her brother Nangong Yi met Shangguan Bing Xue and shared their skills with her. Immediately after that, they both officially joined the faction that a young man named Bai Zemin was leading and began to team up with other soul evolvers and armed troops to gather supplies and expand the controlled area while searching for survivors.
A week later, Nangong Lingxin met Bai Zemin. Since she was new into the faction and it was the first time she had met him, she naturally had to talk about her skills as well; it was just that Bai Zemin's attention had mainly focused on her Energy Barrier, ignoring the skill that was then one of her two.
As time passed, Nangong Lingxin acquired the skill Lightning Movement after consuming the Lightning Fruit that Bai Zemin bestowed to her not long ago and the skill Reflect after killing a First Order beast so her active skill pool was 4 and would be only one away from the limit set by her power scale were it not for the fact that one of these skills had been obtained through the consumption of a natural treasure.
Lightning Movement, Energy Barrier, Reflect... and her 4th active skill was a not too flashy one but still useful in certain circumstances.
For example, this skill was very useful in the current situation.
Seeing the giant zombie fall, Nangong Lingxin didn't even hesitate for an instant as she hurriedly sent out a mental thought along with a Mana wave to stimulate the rune that had a strange drawing engraved on the surface.
"Cat's Eyes." She muttered and immediately felt a slight stinging in her eyes that for an instant forced her to blink.
When her eyes opened a moment later, the world before her did not seem to have changed at all and for an instant, she even went so far as to think that the skill had not been properly activated. However, when Nangong Lingxin looked at the giant zombie that was struggling to stand up with some difficulty due to its size and weight, she noticed that there were several fluorescent green dots marked on the giant zombie's body; dots that previously she could not see with her honey-colored eyes but with her current light green eyes she could.
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[Cat's Eyes (First Order active skill) level 2: Consumes 20 Mana points to activate and 1 point every 3 seconds to keep the skill active. Effect: Increases the user's vision range by 50% and increases perception by 15%. When fighting against enemies whose size is at least three times that of the user and whose Strength exceeds the user's, the user will be able to see the weak points of an enemy that does not exceed the user's level by more than 30, thus pointing out places where the defense is especially low. After deactivation, Cat's Eyes goes into cooldown for 3 hours.]
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The sword in Nangong Lingxin's hands flashed under her sharp and swift movements.
Rays of sunlight reflected off the blade of the sword constantly and with each swing of her wrist it was as if countless sword slashes were sent towards different parts of the giant zombie's body.
The giant zombie roared in pain as it received several attacks in sync on areas that were not only its weak points but were also in poor condition due to the injuries it had suffered earlier.
Nangong Lingxin's attacks were fierce and precise. She not only attacked the giant zombie's arms but also attacked its eyes, throat, legs, etc. It was only a few seconds but in that brief moment, the giant beast's body was bathed in its own blood.
Nangong Lingxin's sword, which previously could barely break through the giant zombie's defense, now seemed to have been transformed into a legendary sword as it easily pierced through the skin and flesh of the mutant creature.
Swoosh!
As she focused on attacking, a breeze of wind from one of her sides snapped her out of her murderous frenzy and without even looking hurriedly moved the defensive barrier to that side.
Bang!
The giant zombie had swung one of its legs like a whip and the blow had been so strong that Nangong Lingxin was forced back a dozen meters even though her body had not been hit directly.
A thick crack appeared on the magic barrier and even though Nangong Lingxin was constantly supplying Mana, that crack was only slightly repaired but did not disappear completely. This was proof that she was running out of Mana and draining fast.
"Ugh..." A small whimper escaped from her lips as she used her sword to stop her body.
Maintaining 3 active skills was by no means a simple task for an Unclassified existence like her. Even less so when all of these skills were of First Order.
Realizing that she had to end this quickly, Nangong Lingxin did not give the giant zombie a chance to stand up and ignoring the pain she felt in her chest charged forward like a fearless and brave tigress.
The giant zombie evidently could not move with complete freedom due to its exaggerated muscles obstructing its own movements. However, its power was undeniable.
Seeing that the hateful human was coming back for more, the giant zombie's red eyes glowed viciously and with a ferocious roar, it smashed its hand up and down.
The air pulsed and the atmosphere seemed to freeze as a result of the beast's Strength. What was worse was that with the magic barrier damaged, Nangong Lingxin knew instinctively that it would not be able to withstand this attack!
All or nothing! Nangong Lingxin gritted her teeth and deactivated her defensive skill, completely giving up on defense since it was of no use at this point. However, even though she deactivated one active skill, she used her remaining Mana to activate the only active skill in her arsenal that had not been used by her in this day so far.
[Lightning Movement!]
Lightning crackled over her leather armor, illuminating her flawless skin and sending chills up and down her body. Only a few inches from being struck, her limber waist swayed tantalizingly and an instant later she seemed to disappear from her previous position.
Boom!
The zombie's giant hand struck the bridge, causing it to shudder and under everyone's startled eyes, the part that had just taken the impact broke away from the rest.
The bridge was about a hundred meters wide, but now, a large amount of concrete flew straight down and hit the waters below hard.
A huge wave rose high in the sky and as the river water swirled fiercely, several creatures appeared near the surface, baring their sharp teeth menacingly. There was even a small goldfish that had mutated and was now comparable in size to a shark before the apocalypse; it was clearly a powerful First Order beast.
Seeing approximately 10 meters of the initial part of the bridge being ripped away by the giant zombie's ferocious swipe, Bai Zemin did not panic at all. As long as there was room for the caravan to pass it was enough even if they had to pass that part of the bridge one by one.
Swoosh!
Nangong Lingxin appeared right above the chest of the huge beast. Her size was completely disproportionate compared to the creature beneath her feet, similar to an ant next to the walls of a house.
When her now green eyes due to her Cat Eyes skill met the beast's red eyes, all Nangong Lingxin saw in that gaze was murderous intent without the slightest sign of intelligence. But even if there was, the creature before her eyes had long since stopped being human and the condition of its body was proof of that.
A tiny fluorescent dot that would normally be impossible to reach due to the size difference entered Nangong Lingxin's eyes as she stared right at the center of the monster's forehead. With barely a couple of seconds remaining before her Mana was completely consumed, she stepped forward and stabbed ahead with her sword.
Puchi!
The tip of the sword's blade easily pierced the creature's forehead, burying itself beyond the skull as if it were a hot knife cutting through butter. Nangong Lingxin's body bowed and she made use of her own weight to plunge the entire blade of her sword all the way to the hilt into the monster's head.
The giant zombie shuddered for a moment before its mouth let out a strange sound and its movements froze completely.
Nangong Lingxin put a foot on the beast's face and then pulled her sword back.
Blood slowly flowed from the small hole along with small fragments of what appeared to be brain matter, giving the already hideous creature an even more horrifying appearance.
[You have absorbed the Soul Power of First Order Brutal Zombie level 42. You have obtained Strength +67, Agility +7, Health +42, Stamina +64, Mana +19, Magic +18.]
Nangong Lingxin gasped heavily and needed to make use of her sword to steady herself without falling. Her body was bathed in sweat, some strands of her lustrous dark hair had stuck to her lovely pale face while her chest rose and fell repeatedly as proof of how desperately her lungs were searching for air.
"Not bad."
A slightly lazy but with a hint of praise voice came from somewhere, attracting her attention.
Nangong Lingxin raised her head and used her tired eyes to look up at the top of one of the columns supporting several decorative bars on the bridge. There, sitting on the edge of the column, the shadow of a person was vaguely distinguishable under the bright sun behind its back.
Although she could not see him, she knew that this person was Bai Zemin as his voice was unmistakable. That self-confidence was clear as day and as big as the sun.
A happy smile automatically appeared on her face, causing many men in the distance who saw this to feel their throats go dry.
Nangong Lingxin was happy, how could she not be? Even though she was only a level 25 Unclassified existence, she had just defeated and killed a First Order existence higher than level 40 with her own hands!
Even if all the conditions had been set before her to win, a victory was a victory!
However, the exhaustion of not only Stamina but also Mana made Nangong Lingxin finally unable to take it anymore. Unable to help herself, her eyes closed and her body weakened, slowly losing her grip on her sword.
Swoosh!
A large glowing red hand caught her body before she fell while another smaller hand grabbed the sword and returned it to its sheath.
Bai Zemin waved his hand casually and the red hand flew into the distance.
As Nangong Lingxin was slowly lowered by the giant blood hand under everyone's surprised eyes, Bai Zemin's voice rang out:
"Nangong Yi, you take care of her. The rest of you, prepare to move. We are leaving immediately."
Bai Zemin confirmed that there was no Soul Stone in the giant zombie's head, and by the time everyone raised their heads, he was nowhere to be seen; he had disappeared like a ghost, as quickly as he had appeared.
Nangong Yi hurriedly took his sister's body in his arms and retreated from the front, entering a vehicle and personally taking care of her until the moment she woke up.
Nangong Lingxin's heroic bravery along with her strength and fighting ability had been demonstrated before all. Many men felt ashamed of themselves and those who had previously had the idea of wooing her could not help but feel unworthy.
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