Chapter 8: One Strike to Kill

Downton did not heed his words, drawing out his dagger and staring coldly at the approaching ghoul. At this moment, if he were to flee, the time taken to turn around would undoubtedly expose his back to the ghoul, which would be enough for it to kill him three times over. It was better to fight desperately.

In less than a minute, a distance had already opened up between the seven individuals

Tony sadly realized that everyone did not even have a direction to escape, as the entire field of vision was filled with monsters

Downton stumbled a few steps, and upon turning back, he saw Will entangled with the ghoul. Following that, several others lunged at him, pressing down on him, and there was even one that leaped over them, charging towards him.

"Downton, be reasonable!" Duren wanted to run back, but his legs simply would not obey him. He knew that it was his own cowardice that prevented him from daring to save them

Impressive! Robinson glanced around and identified the crux of the problem. Downton consistently maintained a safe distance from the ghouls; once they pursued him, he would immediately accelerate. After ensuring his safety, he would slow down, regulate his breathing, and rest to conserve the physical strength needed for the next sprint

Pire secretly cursed; after becoming an undead creature, ghouls possess an instinctive aversion and extreme hatred towards all living beings, yearning to tear apart and devour their flesh and blood, thus they will relentlessly pursue them without rest or end

Don't leave me behind!" Kiel wailed

I hope there won't be too many ghouls in the town! Robinson prayed in his heart, believing that only by staying out of their sight could he possibly survive

Will's left calf was fractured, bent at a sixty-degree angle, merely connected by skin and flesh, with blood flowing from the wound caused by the stone, soaking his pants

A broken soul will gradually heal in this process, thereby initially awakening wisdom. Upon reaching this stage, a ghoul is considered to have officially become a mid-level undead creature, which is equivalent to completing the process of human development from birth to adulthood.

The high-level ghoul has already acquired the ability to think independently, and its combat power is formidable, roughly equivalent to that of a fifth-tier war mage.

The four spellcasters charged to the front, with Tang Dun relying on the physical stamina developed from years of delivering messages on foot, placing him third from the last. Wei Er lagged ten meters behind, while Ji Er had already fallen too far behind.

A shout from Duren sent everyone into a frenzy, and after running for more than three minutes, the town finally came into view

Among the seven individuals, Robinson is a fifth-tier mage with the strongest abilities, yet he still faced a swift defeat in this encounter

Run

Robinson let out a low growl. If there were only a dozen mindless ghouls, he and Pire could handle them, but with a 'lord' commanding, the combat effectiveness of these undead creatures would double exponentially

"Why are you still chasing?" Will felt exhausted like a dead dog, and more importantly, the constant sense of impending death was driving him to the brink of collapse

No one explains, everyone is conserving their energy

No problem, it's not far, I can hold on! Downton is aware of his physical condition; since he can run, he must plan ahead for the subsequent actions.

"Robinson, think of a way quickly. This is flat terrain, if we keep running like this, we will be caught sooner or later!" Pire shouted, and to lighten his load, he threw away everything he didn't need at the moment.

The silence of the cemetery has been broken

"What is wrong with my leg?" Will's face turned pale with pain, his body convulsed, and he lacked the strength even to look down.

"Is this kid out of his mind? Carrying Will, both of them will die!" Tony nearly dropped his jaw.

Run fast! Robinson's original intention was to use them as cannon fodder. Although Downton's actions were unexpected, he would not be swayed by them

The approaching ghoul emitted a hoarse roar from its damaged vocal cords, akin to the horn of impending death

"How far is it?" Downton was originally prepared to discard his backpack, but upon hearing this, he paused his actions.

The crows, which were digging through the foul-smelling mud with their claws and picking out maggots to eat, were startled and flapped their wings, fluttering up into the sky

With a thud, a ghoul sprinted too quickly, rupturing its right Achilles tendon and falling to the ground, its head buried in the dirt. However, it quickly got back up, and despite the irregular twist of its right foot, it felt no pain and continued the pursuit

Put in more effort! The ghoul has already chased to a distance of 70 meters, and they will soon encounter it. Tang Dun dragged Will a few meters, and when he looked down, he was completely stunned.

Will was overwhelmed with shame; he thought of the care Downton had provided him over the years, and suddenly pushed hard, jumping off his back

"Downton, leave him! Otherwise, you will die too!" Duren's eyes were red with anxiety. "Will, you coward, are you willing to betray a friend you have known for three years just to save your own life?"

The ghoul pursued relentlessly, lunging forward with a heavy stench enveloping it.

"Why hasn't this guy fallen behind yet?" Tony was astonished, as Downton clung to the back of the group like a piece of chewing gum, and the ghoul simply could not catch up.

Do not worry about him, he is beyond saving! Robinson brought Keel along precisely to use him as cannon fodder to deal with such unexpected situations

The three fastest ghouls arrived, one lunged fiercely, overwhelming Keel, like a hound that had caught its prey, viciously tearing and shredding flesh and blood.

After the death of humans and subhumans, if their souls are not appeased, there is a certain probability that they will transform into ghouls. However, by that time, they have long lost their appearance from life, becoming exceedingly grotesque, with decaying flesh, retaining only the instinct to feed

Uncle Gil has fallen behind! Downton reminded, already having a bad premonition

With a thrust, the dagger was plunged into the eye socket of the ghoul, and then, with a vigorous twist, Tang Dun completely killed it

Downton turned around and saw a ghoul pouncing on him, its decayed teeth sinking deeply into his neck, and then it violently shook its head, tearing away a large chunk of flesh along with his clothing

More than 2,000 meters! Robinson took out the map and glanced at it. At this moment, he could only pray that the person who sold him the map had not marked the wrong location

"Hurry up!" Downton caught up, grabbing Will's arm and pulling him forcefully.

Will lay on Downton's back, overwhelmed with emotion, tears gushing out like a fountain, uncontrollably. He knew he shouldn't be this way, otherwise both of them would perish, but he still harbored a glimmer of hope, unwilling to give up that slight chance of survival

I see it, the small town

"Haha, that kid is going to fall behind." Tony said with glee

Downton tightly pressed his lips together, rationality telling him that Robinson's judgment was correct. Keel was already in middle age, over 40 years old, and his physical condition had significantly declined, making it impossible for him to sustain such a long-distance sprint. Rescuing him would only slow everyone down, turning them all into the lunch of the ghouls.

Impressive! Pire was left dumbfounded; he did not expect this young man's performance to be so astonishing, achieving a one-hit kill. Just a moment ago, he was worried that if Tang Dun listened to Tony's words, he would be doomed.

"Do not speak, it will increase the burden on the heart and lungs!" Downton adjusted his breathing, turned around, and saw that the ghoul had pulled away a distance while gnawing on Keel. He immediately slowed his pace to conserve energy

The tall ghoul behind me is clearly capable of setting an ambush, at the very least indicating a high level of skill

However, due to the inertia of the sprint, the corpse still collided towards him. The weight of nearly 100 jin caused Tang Dun to involuntarily take a few steps back, and even some wriggling maggots were flung onto his body

No, that is not the case!" Weir cried out in anguish, unable to maintain his grip around Downton's neck.

My leg! Will ran a dozen steps, then screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

Help ... ... ah! The cry for help from Jier abruptly ceased, transforming into a piercing scream

"Run!" Tony shouted

From a high vantage point, as the ghouls ran, a large semicircular formation became clearly visible. If it were not for the insufficient numbers, the seven unfortunate souls would have been directly surrounded.

The distance was gradually closing in, less than one hundred meters now. Downton turned around and even saw some maggots crawling on them, dragging out disgusting patches of green slime.

"Do not discard the backpack yet, it is too wasteful of energy," Duren urged. Even Robinson had discarded his backpack, yet Tang Dun still carried his, and he had not forgotten that his friend had brought the most items.

"It's broken, my leg is broken!" Will still saw his fractured left leg and broke down in tears, knowing that he was doomed. Then, he caught sight of Downton out of the corner of his eye, as if it were a lifeline, and grasped onto him, "Don't leave me, please, don't leave me!"

Robinson is not an incompetent person; knowing that the task carries risks, he naturally made detailed preparations. He purchased a rough map from those adventurers who had visited Crow Ridge Cemetery.

Run towards the 11 o'clock direction; there should be a small town over there where we can take shelter

Downton held his breath, his eyes wide open, staring at it. At the moment when the claw swung towards him, he summoned all his strength in his left arm and swung it out fiercely, pushing its arm aside. Then, with his right hand gripping the dagger tightly, he thrust it violently towards its head.

"Downton, you must leave quickly!" Will leaped with all his might, raising his hands high, and grabbed the right leg of the ghoul, pulling it down.

Robinson seemed not to have heard, not even turning his head, while Pirre and Tony were even less inclined to pay him any attention

"Quick, look at Downton, that kid has gone mad!" Upon hearing Will's shout, Pire turned around and exclaimed in shock.

I actually still do not have a calm demeanor like a youth! Pirey chuckled bitterly, at least in terms of mentality, he had lost to him, and he believed that once the ghoul caught up, it would be Will who would die

"Hurry up, they have entered within a hundred meters!" Pire's warning made Will's face drain of color, and he did not dare to look back, using all his strength to run frantically

This decision will bring everyone closer to the left-side ghoul, but there is no choice; seeing Robinson change direction, everyone followed suit

There is hope! Will was extremely saddened, and after a long run, he failed to manage his energy expenditure properly. When he jumped over a pit, his calf gave way, and he couldn't exert any strength, resulting in a hard fall into the pit, striking a sharp rock.

"It's nothing, just twisted my ankle!" Downton comforted Will, glancing at the increasingly distant Robinson and his group, then turning back to look at the approaching ghoul, suddenly raising his arm to wipe the sweat from his face.

As time passes, some well-qualified ghouls will develop a soul seal in their skulls, which can absorb magical energy from the surrounding space, continuously transforming their bodies and making them increasingly powerful

The ghouls bit and killed Keel, consuming him entirely in less than a minute, and then resumed their pursuit. This group of monsters, driven solely by the instinct to feed, was completely unaware of fatigue

I will not abandon you. " Downton moved the backpack to his chest, crouched down, and pulled at Will's arm, intending to carry him up.