Absolute Craft-Chapter 65: An Abandoned Village (5)

Chapter 65: An Abandoned Village (5)

Once both parties had fully recovered their health, mana, and stamina, the four challengers regrouped, facing one another.

Wolfang tilted his head. "Why are you crying, Joel?"

"I’m just happy, man," Joel said, sniffing and rubbing his nose.

He had been silently jealous of Wolfang—who was not only skilled in swordsmanship but also a handsome man in his early thirties, capable of sweeping countless ladies off their feet. But now, Joel couldn’t be bothered. He vowed to overcome every obstacle for Blake’s sake!

Kyria ignored the tears of a grown man and glanced at the clock visible in the corner of his eye—an overlay from the game system.

In a minute, their brief competition would begin. It would last an hour, granting a huge advantage to whoever won. Having Anonymous House or Superbia on one’s side was a big deal.

3... 2... 1... 9 p.m. flashed on the clock!

The competition officially began!

Thunder clapped, and both Kyria and Wolfang raced straight toward the village’s center. Their speed was boosted by Kyria’s healer-class lightning, which had both supportive and offensive aspects. He called it a class, and Blake didn’t mind.

"Looks like they want to grab the center where the most zombies are!" Joel exclaimed. "If they secure it, they’ll have a huge lead!"

Indeed, those two had come prepared with a solid plan. By contrast, Blake and Joel had no formal strategy—just a freewheeling, family-like approach. Blake had never excelled at elaborate planning; he was best at on-the-spot tactics to defeat enemies, but strategizing for a competition like this wasn’t his forte.

"Follow them," Blake said.

"Yeah!" Joel shouted.

They dashed after their competitors. In less than thirty seconds, four players and a horde of zombies converged on the main plaza. Kyria and Wolfang had taken the center, turning it into a makeshift base where they were already stacking various zombie parts.

This underscored Blake’s disadvantage. He couldn’t simply go on a killing spree and let Joel dissect as many zombies as possible. He needed clear evidence of their haul; otherwise, Kyria might dispute his kills or even claim victory himself, armed with proof.

He had to match Kyria’s tactic, then add his own twist.

"Joel, we’ll split the main plaza for now and claim one of the houses," Blake said as inspiration struck. "Then we’ll force them to stop."

Hearing the mischievous tone in Blake’s voice, Joel’s eyes gleamed. Together, they charged into the wave of zombies drawn by Kyria and Wolfang’s ruckus. Blake deftly slashed at the monsters, drawing them in. Once they clustered neatly, Joel stepped in on Blake’s cue, executing a sweep that cut across multiple necks at once.

’Thrust, cut, slash!’ he repeated silently.

Moving in perfect sync with Blake’s commands, Joel hardly noticed that Blake was deliberately leaving certain limbs intact, prompting him to sweep faster and faster. Eventually, Joel’s spear spun like a vortex. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Enough," Blake said.

Joel blinked, lowering his spear. Following Blake’s gaze, he realized just how many zombies they had downed.

His heart leapt into his throat.

Kyria and Wolfang’s pile of parts was much larger. Meanwhile, Blake and Joel weren’t even stacking their own gleaned parts. The only bright side was that most severed pieces lay near the house they had chosen as storage.

At that moment, Joel spotted a crowd of headless, armless zombies staggering toward Kyria and Wolfang.

"Big bro!" Joel yelped. "Aren’t we basically giving them more parts?!"

These were clearly zombies they had already defeated. Their injuries were so severe that they toppled repeatedly yet still crawled upright. It was practically handing free points to the enemy.

Blake smirked and turned away. "Time to lure in bigger fish."

Joel had no idea what Blake meant but followed him anyway. Soon, they reached a large house with heavy footsteps echoing from inside. Oddly enough, it was less damaged than the others. Blood trickled down its windows, creating an even more horrific scene despite its relatively intact exterior—like something straight out of a horror movie.

"Isn’t that... a mini boss spawn point?" Joel whispered.

Blake nodded. "I think so. I can sense a strong presence here."

"You can sense it too? Awesome! Me too! I think I might have a hidden passive skill! What if I really am The Chosen One?" Joel beamed.

Blake chuckled. "You might be right about the passive skill, not the Chosen One part. Anyway, open every door and window. Don’t fight the mini-boss inside."

"Yeah!" Joel agreed.

He didn’t question why Blake wanted that during a competition; he trusted him that much. Opening the front door was straightforward, but prying open every window was trickier—after all, a mini boss lived here. A grotesque, bloated zombie with a cleaver, its swollen belly and rancid odor indicating advanced decay, roamed inside. Fresh blood coated the walls, intensifying the gruesome atmosphere.

"The Butcher Zombie, huh," Blake said with a calm smile.

Meanwhile, Joel scurried around like a panicked hen, fumbling with windows and ducking whenever the cleaver whooshed past his head. He yelped each time the blade nearly nicked him, then darted out of reach.

Eventually, every window stood wide open.

A wave of foul odor drifted out.

Then a breeze carried the scent of battle and numerous severed zombie parts from the main plaza into the house.

"I’ve heard death doesn’t discriminate," Blake whispered. "Zombies sense the approaching death of their kin and march over to devour the nearly dead—restoring themselves. Even headless zombies shuffle toward the smell, despite being unable to eat. It’s just part of their instincts."

And the butcher?

BANG!

The rare zombie variant—the butcher—responded to the fresh scent of carnage. He slammed through the wall and door of his makeshift slaughterhouse, sending debris flying past Blake and Joel. Lurching forward like the embodiment of death, he sniffed the air, then stomped toward Kyria and Wolfang.

Behind him, Blake sneered, and Joel soon chuckled, realizing what a massive hurdle they had just unleashed on their opponents.