Global Evolution: I Became A Zombie!-Chapter 212 - 208: The Bleeding Forest (3)

As the two were about to leave, they heard something. Bron snapped his head towards the source of the noise, only to see someone with unbalanced proportions heading towards them.

He was limping, and one of his shoulders had swollen to the point of giving him a hunched back. But most importantly, he didn’t look like any other Sadarlan they had encountered before.

Bron stepped in front of Timo, carefully shielding him. Since the person wasn’t one of the twelve Pagonans, he was an enemy and would be treated as such.

"Timo, run as soon as I tell you. The ship isn’t far away from here," he said, handing the little man a dagger. "Keep it just in case you need it."

Timo looked at Bron’s dependable back and shook his head.

It had always been the case with them. Due to his importance, Timo would get assigned the strongest individuals in Pagona for protection.

Whenever there would be a situation like the one unfolding before them, the guards would readily sacrifice their lives to protect Pagona’s ace. Timo had grown accustomed to the temporary figures around him.

However, Bron was different.

He was the only one who didn’t treat Timo with reverence. For him, Timo was just another kid burdened with immeasurable responsibility. As such, the only kindness Bron could show him was to treat Pagona’s ace like any other kid.

Yet, the kindness he had shown to the kid was now coming to bite him in the ass. While Bron appreciated Timo’s gesture of unrequited friendship, it wasn’t the time or the place for all that drama.

"I said... Go!" Bron shoved Timo away before charging at the strange man in the distance.

Timo wanted to scream, to yell, but he couldn’t. Not because he didn’t have the strength, but because doing so could attract more of those strange monsters.

If that happened, Bron would be put in a worse position than he was already in. In the end, Timo could only follow the protocols and rush towards the ship.

Meanwhile, as Bron got closer to the person, he realized something was off. His eyes were vacant, like a corpse’s, yet he kept moving forward. A chill ran through Bron, and he tightened his grip on his war hammer.

He swung at the creature, but strange tentacles shot out of the sack on the creature’s back. A few broke the hammer’s momentum, while the others pulled the creature sideways, saving it.

As soon as the creature was safe, the tentacles headed straight towards Bron, who swapped the hammer for a shield to block the strike. Still, the flimsy-looking tentacles managed to throw him far back.

"What’s with this monstrous strength?"

Bron was in disbelief. It wasn’t an ordinary thing for someone of his stature to get thrown away like a sack of vegetables. Yet such a weakling hurled him away with twig-like protrusions?

He looked down and saw that the tentacles had snapped open after hitting him. The shield was truly impenetrable and hence broke the tentacles upon impact.

"Ha, at least those tentacles broke—what sorcery is this!?"

Before Bron could rejoice, the tentacles that had been snapped rejoined as if they weren’t broken ever. He was still stunned when the recently broken tentacles lashed at him again.

Not panicking, Bron raised the shield again, thinking things would go the same way as before. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

The moment the tentacle struck the shield, there was a sickening crack, but it wasn’t the tentacle that broke... it was the arm holding it.

"ARGH!" Bron hissed in pain as the shield slipped from his numb arm.

Even then, his mind was analyzing his enemy. At first, it seemed the creature wasn’t intelligent, but that was made up for by its rapid learning.

The first time it struck the shield, it didn’t know how much strength it would take to break it, so it put in the least amount. But once the tentacles broke, the creature understood it wasn’t enough and struck back with more strength.

"Why is such a creature here?" Bron wondered while fixing his broken arm with a strange potion. "It won’t mend the bones, but it’ll numb any pain. I’d have to make-do with this for now."

However, he did wonder what such a strong creature was doing so far away from the temple. Logically, it would make sense for Blaze to keep such creatures close to the temple to defend it.

Yet, the creature was roaming around the outskirts, as if it were waiting for someone to show up.

"What was the point of sending everyone else away as a distraction?" Bron scoffed, kicking away the bent shield. "I should have kept attacking you instead of defending."

As he said that, another wave of tentacles rushed at him. Since the creature had adjusted its strength, Bron didn’t dare take it on directly. Instead, he turned and ran, wondering if Timo had made it back to the ship.

Bron ran behind the cover of thick trees and the ruined buildings, hoping the tentacles would snap again and give him some reprieve. Unfortunately, the tentacles didn’t slow down.

The trees in the way were ripped away, and the ruins shattered upon impact.

"Of course," Bron clicked his tongue in frustration. "If you bend the Athe Shield out of shape, then these things are like parchment for you. Good thing I don’t plan on dying tonight."

Bron’s goal had never been to confront the creature. He had just hoped that he could catch up to Timo after defeating the monster. However, it wasn’t important. His ultimate goal was to just buy time for Timo’s departure.

"As for me... my family would be taken care of even if I died here."

A person would only willingly sacrifice their life for one of three reasons.

Either in serving their country, for someone they love, or for the promise of glory.

But the last option didn’t hold true for people who had others to support and worry about. Hence, any protectors of the ’ace’ would be taken care of, in life and death. It was for that reason that Bron was prepared to die.

However, just as he was running around, he saw something that froze him in place.

"Timo!?"