Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Huo Shaobai glanced back, his brows deeply furrowed. “Tell the people in the rear to start retreating to Qingshan Camp. We’ll hold the line a bit longer to buy them time.”

“Captain Huo, I think it’s better if everyone scatters and retreats on their own!”

Mu Ying and her group emerged from the woods, with Li Wei interrupting Huo Shaobai.

“Mu Ying, that’s the leader of the Binhai Safe Zone,” Liu Luoluo whispered to Mu Ying. “His surname is Huo. He’s probably the one ranked tenth on the level board and first on the battle record board—Huo Shaobai.”

Mu Ying nodded. This man, like the advance squad that had visited their camp before, had a clear military bearing.

“What do you mean by this?” someone next to Huo Shaobai said angrily.

“Go take a look up the mountain and you’ll see. There are even more zombies approaching. Even if everyone from our camp comes over, we won’t last long. The only way is to lure the zombies toward the camp and use the camp’s defenses to kill them. That way, those who can’t afford to enter the camp might have a slim chance to escape,” Li Wei explained.

Huo Shaobai nodded at the man beside him. “Old Five, go check it out.”

Old Five quickly returned and confirmed what they’d said.

The two sides finally reached an agreement. Huo Shaobai’s group sent people to disperse the crowd, while the rest split into teams to hold off the zombies. In an hour, they would retreat to the camp.

Mu Ying was skilled in combat, defense, and healing, but she wanted to test her new equipment, so she volunteered for the front-line combat group.

The combat teams were split into four: two from the camp, two from the Binhai Safe Zone, each side arranging their own rotations.

Mu Ying was grouped with Nie Ying and Zheng Jing, mostly with members from their own team.

They got ready, and as the front line fell back, they immediately stepped up to hold the position.

Mu Ying raised her hand and cast an Entangling Spell. Instantly, thick vines shot out from the grass ahead, quickly growing thicker and wrapping around the zombies’ limbs.

“Go!”

She charged forward with her spear, sweeping a stumbling zombie off its feet with a sideways strike, then thrusting the spear hard into another zombie’s skull.

Zheng Jing quietly edged to the side. The first Tier 1 spell she’d learned was also Entangling Spell, and she could now cast it reliably, though she wasn’t as good with the Club Spell yet.

Her main job this time was to stand in the back and use Entangling Spell to trip up zombies.

Yes, trip up—because the branches she summoned were thinner and could only slow down the zombies, barely managing to restrain a single one if she focused all her effort.

But Mu Ying, in an instant, had bound most of the zombies at the front of their battle zone, and tightly too—the zombies couldn’t break free at all.

Zheng Jing could only target the stragglers, the zombies Mu Ying hadn’t covered.

It was Mu Ying’s first time killing with a spear, but she’d spent the past few days getting used to its attack style. With the Entangling Spell controlling the field, things went smoothly.

The Piercing Spear really lived up to its +10 penetration stat—stabbing zombie heads was much easier than using a hoe, and once she got used to it, her attack rate was higher than before. And she hadn’t even used the Club Spell on the spear yet.

With her level up, Mu Ying’s Entangling Spell now lasted around three minutes.

With help from the others, all the zombies caught by the vines were taken out before the spell wore off.

They even had time to have the vines roll the copper coins over to their side, so the support team in the back could collect them.

Thanks to Mu Ying’s Entangling Spell, their section of the battlefield was much safer than the others. After half an hour, when it was time to rotate, only a few melee fighters had suffered minor scratches—no one was seriously hurt.

Actually, Mu Ying still had 40 mana points left, but she didn’t keep fighting. They were still some distance from the camp, and it wasn’t safe.

They fell back and divided up the zombie loot, each person’s pouch growing heavier.

“Huh? Why haven’t they left yet?” Zheng Jing said in surprise, looking toward the woods.

There were still plenty of furtive figures hiding there, peeking out—it was the people they’d been protecting earlier.

“Maybe they think we won’t just leave them to die,” Nie Ying said irritably.

“We’d better be careful. Anyone in bad shape, fall back to the middle. Stay alert—don’t let those people target us,” Mu Ying said. With her high perception, her eyesight was better than most, and she clearly saw some people hiding weapons up their sleeves.

Nie Ying and the others exchanged glances, instantly understanding.

“No way—they don’t even dare fight zombies, but they’d try something against us?” Zheng Jing was shocked, but she obediently moved into the crowd. Her mana was empty now, so she was no different from an ordinary person.

“You never know,” Nie Ying said. As a Wanderer, she was good at close combat. She flashed her dagger at the woods, scaring off the unfriendly stares.

Half an hour later, all four groups retreated toward the camp at the same time.

There were too many zombies—there wasn’t even time to pick up all the loot. Fortunately, zombies were as slow as ever, so escaping wasn’t a problem.

But unexpectedly, there were still obstacles on the retreat.

“Hand over your copper coins, or we’re not moving! Either way, we can’t get into the camp, so we’re dead no matter what!”

“Yeah, you’re the ones who abandoned us first!”

Those who hadn’t left now blocked their way, threatening the very people who had protected them.

“No way!”

“If you want copper coins, go kill zombies yourself! Trying to rob us? Dream on!”

The camp’s people were furious, itching for a fight.

But the spellcasters were all exhausted, and the other side had numbers. Even so, they could still win.

The real problem was that, to lure the zombies, they’d slowed their pace, so the zombies were close behind.

If a fight broke out, the zombies might catch up, and then they’d all be in real danger.

These people had probably counted on that, which was why they chose this moment to act.

Huo Shaobai looked at them, his faith in humanity wavering. Was human nature really so fragile?

His heart hardened. He told his teammates, “These people are a hidden danger we brought with us. We’ll handle it ourselves—let them go first…”

He was cut off by a crisp, mocking voice.

“Heh, you people are really something. You didn’t dare fight zombies with us, but now you’ve got the guts to block our way? Do we look easier to deal with than zombies?”

Mu Ying laughed in exasperation. Good thing she’d saved some strength—she cast several Entangling Spells in quick succession.

The Ophiopogon in the woods went wild, binding the hands and feet of the troublemakers.

“I think you’d be more useful staying here to hold off the zombies for us!”

Mu Ying led the camp’s people around them.

“Don’t go! We were wrong!”