Akhil's eyes went wide with shock as the Zombie King jumped right over him.

'Shit, that means it can actually think, unlike the rest!' Akhil quickly noticed that this Zombie was fundamentally different. It wasn't just superior in terms of raw strength; it possessed intelligence.

And right after the Zombie King took the lead, all the other infected immediately started jumping to follow along. They completely ignored the scattered humans who were still desperately trying to find a way out of the administrative block area.

'It can also control the others,' Akhil frowned at the chilling thought.

Things were taking a far more dangerous turn than what he had expected. If the zombies managed to break out of this localized area and breach the city proper, it would be much more than just a manageable scenario they would have to deal with. It could lead to a catastrophic, city-wide epidemic.

"Don't let them pass the walls!" Akhil yelled at the top of his lungs as he lunged forward, pushing against the earth with a powerful momentum that allowed him to cut the distance between him and the Zombie King in a flash.

Akhil pushed his speed to the absolute limit, his momentum blurring him across the concrete. The Level 80 Zombie King was terrifyingly fast, but Akhil's own enhanced speed, amplified by his essence allowed him to intercept the beast just as it reached the base of the administrative wall.

With a grunt, the Zombie King planted its oversized claws on the wall, preparing to scale it. Akhil seized the fleeting moment. He slashed out with his Blood Sword, targeting the Zombie King's exposed leg joint.

Slaasssh!

The red blade cut through the dense, mutated muscle, but instead of the expected deep gash, it only managed to score a shallow, burning line.

"Chiiwwiik!" The King roared, a sound like tearing metal, and twisted its massive body around. Its cavernous maw gaped open, and instead of a simple bite, it spat a thick, emerald-green projectile.

Tch!

Akhil felt an immediate spike of alarm. This was the acidic venom. He ducked low, and the corrosive spittle slammed into the concrete where his head had been a second ago. The ground instantly hissed, smoking violently, and a patch of stone began to disintegrate into bubbling paste.

'I can't get hit by that!' Akhil knew getting infected by a high-level poison or corrupting venom could lead to a quick death, or worse, a forced mutation.

The Zombie King didn't wait. Seeing its close-range attack fail, it raised its claws, now glowing faintly red, and swiped horizontally.

Akhil met the blow with his Blood Sword, the impact sending a jarring shockwave up his arm. The two forces locked for a moment—raw, mutated strength versus system-enhanced skill.

While Akhil held the King in a brutal melee, the diversion had allowed the other infected to catch up.

Ben, who was rushing in to support Akhil, shouted a warning. "Akhil, they're heading for the back entrance! A few just slipped past!"

Akhil couldn't afford to split his focus. He launched three Blood Bullets into the King's chest to force distance, then executed a swift Air Walk jump backward, creating space to assess the situation.

"Larry, where are the adventurers?" Akhil yelled, his chest heaving slightly.

Larry, though still sweating profusely, was directing the last of the civilians to relative safety near the less-damaged front entrance. "They're mobilizing now, Sir Nexus! They'll be here in minutes!"

"We don't have minutes!" Akhil snapped, his eyes darting between the furiously roaring King and the growing group of lesser zombies trying to peel away toward the less-guarded areas. "Ben! Keep the King busy! Do not let it spit that venom at the crowd!"

Ben nodded, gripping his large sword. Though clearly outmatched by the Level 80 beast, his confidence hadn't fully broken after witnessing Aria's power. "Got it! But these others are getting through!"

Indeed, three Level 50 zombies, following the mental command of the King, had successfully vaulted the low back wall and disappeared towards the residential sectors.

"Damn it!" Akhil cursed. He knew if those three started biting civilians, the situation would rapidly spiral out of control.

"I'll take the runners!" Akhil yelled, turning to dash.

But the Zombie King was smarter than that. It roared again, not in challenge, but as a warning to its master, and then lunged with terrifying speed, forcing Akhil back into a defensive posture.

"Chiiwwiik! ROOAR!" The King slammed its entire weight forward, claws raking the air where Akhil had been a moment before.

Akhil leaped back just at the right moment, he glanced back at the zombies that had almost made their way past the wall, 'I have to deal with them.... I guess I have no choice'

Akhil understood he had to find a way to manage both threats simultaneously. He needed to eliminate the King, but he couldn't let the others escape. A risky, high-cost solution was his only choice.

"Ben, hold the line! Just distract him!" Akhil yelled, his voice strained as he parried a furious bite from the King.

Akhil quickly brought his hands together, ignoring the frantic warning bell ringing in his mind about the massive cost. This wasn't about efficiency; it was about stopping an apocalypse.

"Blood Synthesis!"

{-8,000 Blood Essence}

'What the fuck!' Akhil cursed.

Akhil felt the sudden, brutal drain on his reserves, staggering him momentarily. The immediate feeling was like being submerged in ice water—an overwhelming wave of weakness and dizziness.

But the reaction was instantaneous. Two figures, identical to Akhil in every way, erupted from the concrete floor, formed entirely from coagulated, shifting blood and shadow. Their black coats and red markings were perfect replicas, and they were instantly armed with Blood Swords.

Akhil bit back the groan of exhaustion. The cost was astronomical, and seeing the clones filled him with doubt, 'I spent that much blood essence for only two clones... Tch' he glanced back at the Zombie King.

The Zombie King paused its attack, its bulging eyes focusing on the sudden appearance of the three identical warriors, without a second thought, it spat straight at the three of them, several acidic bullets sizzled through the air.

'Damn' Akhil thought, wondering how he was going to block the attack.

But just then, a large blood wall was erected in front of him, and several blood bullets were shot at the Zombie King.

Akhil's eyes widened with surprise as he stared at the two clones.

The real Akhil immediately felt weak, but the clones stood tall and completely unbothered.

They showed no sign of fatigue, pain, or struggle.

'They don't get exhausted?!' The realization hit Akhil with a jolt of mixed relief and horror. If that was the case, they were pure fighting machines, capable of sustaining intense combat indefinitely, unlike his own body which required rest, mana, and blood replenishment. This made the high cost of the ability slightly less bad—it was an investment in unlimited stamina.

"You," Akhil commanded Clone One, pointing toward the breached wall where the infected had escaped. "Chase the runners! Kill them before they spread the plague."

"You," he ordered Clone Two, pointing to the remaining seven zombies still milling around the main administrative area. "Support Ben and the soldiers. Keep this area secure."

Both clones nodded silently, their movements fluid and immediate. Clone One shot off in the direction of the city, moving faster than the escaping infected. Clone Two seamlessly joined Ben, instantly engaging two of the larger Level 70 zombies.

Now, only the original Akhil faced the enraged Zombie King.

"It's just you and me," Akhil muttered, feeling the immense pressure lift slightly now that the containment strategy was active. The Zombie King roared, recognizing Akhil as the primary threat, and charged with renewed, terrifying ferocity.

Akhil danced around the King's brutal, sweeping attacks, dodging the corrosive green venom that sizzled and ate away at the concrete floor.

He knew he couldn't afford a prolonged fight; the Blood Synthesis had left his own reserves dangerously low. Every parry and strike felt heavy, and the lingering dizziness from the massive Blood Essence cost threatened to make his movements sloppy.

'I need power, now!'

He focused his will, pushing past the pain and exhaustion. His ability, the Blood absorption, reached out to the surrounding area. There were still patches of dark, coagulated blood staining the ground from the initial confrontation with the soldiers—and from Ronald's own punch.

"Absorb!"

Akhil drew the residual Blood Essence from the battlefield. The dried blood instantly vaporized, rushing back to him in dark, crimson tendrils. It wasn't a perfect recovery, but the sudden influx of energy—even if only enough to stabilize his reserves slightly—was enough to clear the fog of weakness.

The Zombie King, sensing the change, lunged with a massive, overhead claw strike intended to flatten Akhil.

This was his chance.

Akhil shifted his stance, channeling all the available power into a single, decisive attack. He let his Blood Sword flare crimson, condensing the absorbed essence until the blade throbbed with deadly, focused energy.

He didn't dodge the final strike; he moved into it.

Akhil dropped low, letting the King's massive claw overshoot his head by a hair, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. As the King's body was fully committed to the downward momentum, Akhil drove his enhanced Blood Sword up with devastating force.

The blade tore through the Zombie King's torso. The sound was a horrifying combination of muscle ripping and bone shattering. The attack was targeted at the core where Akhil suspected the Beast Core—or the corrupted crystal Mask had inserted—was located.

The Zombie King froze mid-roar, its eyes bulging wider than before. A dark, necrotic energy erupted from the wound, followed by a thick plume of black smoke. The beast let out a final, agonizing, gurgling shriek that abruptly cut off.

With a heavy crash, the Level 80 Zombie King, formerly Ronald, slumped forward and collapsed onto the concrete, completely lifeless.

Akhil stood over the smoking corpse, his chest heaving, the Blood Sword slowly dimming.

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