Chapter Thirty-Six: The Formation of the Zombie Army

Looking out, the piles of zombies had already formed small hills. Even though Gu Lang’s strength was now approaching the Gold rank, he was powerless before such numbers. There were simply too many of them!

"Lord Gu Lang! This way, quickly! There are no zombies at the supermarket’s back door for now!" Li Muwan grabbed Gu Lang’s wrist, intending to shield him as they made their escape.

But just then, the dogged voice of the system sounded once more.

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve discovered the use of Charisma Points. Charisma is a double-edged sword; it makes you more attractive, but that charm only works on zombies—and it doesn’t distinguish between male or female! But Charisma Points can be controlled. With a single thought, you can suppress them, so you won’t attract zombies all the time! This time, your mission within this zombie tide is to strengthen your undead army—capture at least five more Silver zombies!]

[Mission Reward: Zombie Command Skill!]

Gu Lang’s spirit lifted; he had been about to curse at the system, but he hadn’t expected that Charisma could be turned off. In that case, this zombie tide was actually a blessing. The undead were delivering themselves to his doorstep, saving him the trouble of hunting them down.

And this reward was a skill—judging by the name, could it be a replica of the Sovereign’s Authority? No matter; Gu Lang had no time to ponder. Completing the mission took precedence.

First, he kicked two Bronze zombies to pieces. Then, targeting the Silver zombies before him, he unleashed the Emperor’s Presence. Since the horde was still at a distance, these two were the only wild Silver zombies nearby. The skill succeeded in one go; he instantly captured two more Silvers!

Now, only three remained.

Li Muwan no longer tried to flee; instead, she kept conjuring icicles to fend off the undead. Nearby, the little girl exerted herself, using her Sovereign’s Authority to force waves of zombies back. Julie seized the opportunity to cast a mass buff, increasing Gu Lang’s speed and strength.

Gu Lang himself stood atop the building, scanning the surging tide below. At first, they had wanted to run because they feared being trapped, not knowing when the horde would dissipate. The building, however, was a natural fortress; unless the zombies could fly, it would take time to break through.

Now that Charisma could be suppressed, the zombie tide could be dispersed at will. Gu Lang had seized the initiative.

His gaze swept back and forth, summoning icicles whenever zombies approached. Soon, corpses littered the ground, piling into small hills.

Just then, a zombie in the distance caught his eye—a hulking brute, all bulging muscle, looking like a mountain of flesh. There was no doubt: this oddity was a Silver zombie. But it was far away, deep within the undead horde. The Emperor’s Presence was an area skill, not suited for precision. He would need to draw it out.

"You all hold the line here! I’ll be right back!" Gu Lang leapt into the air. A winged zombie, bearing fleshy wings, shot from his back and soared into the surging horde. Gu Lang aimed, loosing two icicles at the zombie. Enraged, the creature let out a roar and sprang from the ground with terrifying speed—even faster than the flying winged zombie.

"Damn! Is this zombie part toad?" Gu Lang was elated, darting up to a nearby rooftop. The zombie arrived swiftly, reaching the top in an instant. Without hesitation, Gu Lang unleashed his skill again. This time, it failed; two Bronze zombies nearby were captured instead.

Undeterred, Gu Lang dispatched the Bronzes and tried again. While Li Xiaoxiao distracted the brute, Gu Lang’s skill succeeded at last.

Only one left to go.

Amid the zombie tide, Silver zombies were no longer rare. After about five more minutes, another Silver zombie burst from the horde. This time it was a woman, though her body was rotten—a withered old crone. The zombie’s frame was lithe and nimble, like a gaunt monkey. By the time Gu Lang noticed her, she had already scaled the building, her body bristling with black barbs like some alien creature. More alarmingly, she moved faster and more agilely than a bullet.

Gu Lang’s eyes lit up. Without a word, he unleashed four icicles in rapid succession.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

With zombies of such speed, they had to be crippled before they could be captured. Fortunately, the icicles were potent—at least at Silver rank—packing the punch of a mortar round. Even the old crone couldn’t evade; she was struck and sent crashing to the ground.

“Now’s the time!”

Gu Lang used Emperor’s Presence again. This time, he succeeded. The old woman’s expression turned calm as she prostrated herself on the ground.

[Congratulations, Host! Mission complete. You have captured five Silver zombies from the horde—such courage and prowess are rare indeed!]

[Mission Reward: Zombie Command!]

[Zombie Command: Used in conjunction with Emperor’s Presence, you can precisely direct every zombie’s movement and attack in battle, even grant them intelligence. A single order is enough for autonomous action!]

So that’s how it is! Thankfully, it wasn’t a duplicate skill. Gu Lang realized this new ability was highly practical. As the number of zombies under his control grew, especially with Silvers among them, managing them became ever more difficult. Sometimes, it was impossible to juggle the actions of hundreds of undead at once—especially the powerful Silver zombies, each with unique abilities. He couldn’t possibly get familiar with each one; it would be a waste of precious time.

But with this skill, it was as if all his zombies gained intelligence and could act on their own. One command, and they would carry it out—this was a true revolution!

This time, Gu Lang had reaped a substantial harvest: counting the earlier winged zombie, he now had six Silver zombies under his command—not to mention himself and his group of wives. Even if a Gold-tier enemy arrived, they would have a fighting chance!

…

While Gu Lang was capturing zombies, the Zhang and Wang clans were in shock. They were hurrying toward the Zhao family’s fortress when they encountered the zombie riot. There were many among them, and plenty of experts; they had only managed to escape unscathed by hiding in a supermarket.

"Damn! What’s gotten into the zombies today? Why the sudden riot?" Wang Qiushui looked terrified; such a tide was a disaster.

"Heh, it’s the apocalypse. Anything can happen. Maybe there’s a Gold zombie stirring things up," said a young man coldly—Zhang Fugui, head of the Zhang clan.

"Zhang Fugui! We agreed, six-four on the military district!" Wang Qiushui composed himself, excitement returning to his face.

"Heh, fine! But we want half of the Gold zombie’s corpse if there is one!" Zhang Fugui refused to yield.

"Gold? Don’t even dream. As far as I know, you can’t reach Gold rank with just a hundred attribute points!" Wang Qiushui took a deep breath, knowing Gold was out of reach for now.

The group stopped quibbling and pressed on, their goal the military district within the Zhao family fortress.