Chapter 29 GO Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Powerhouses Gather

The aura pressing down on them was suffocating—an invisible weight that made it hard to breathe.

Even Chen Ning, now a double second-rank warrior, could instantly tell that whoever was approaching… possessed terrifying strength.

Chen Ning’s face turned pale. “Instructor… could it be the Zombie Tyrant?”

Jiang Qing was visibly shaken as well, but she quickly shook her head.

“Unlikely. The Tyrant is a level eleven zombie—if it were really the Tyrant, the aura would feel far stronger… and far more horrifying. But whoever’s coming isn’t simple either. Their power is definitely at Battle commander—at least a level seven powerhouse. Whether friend or foe, we need to be on alert.”

A sharp whistle pierced the night sky.

Shi Yu jolted awake from sleep. The sound was a red alert whistle—meaning a powerful enemy might be approaching.

He scrambled to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs:

“Up! Everyone up! Assemble at once—prepare for enemy engagement!”

Across the camp, Bai Yuhao, Su Luo, the Luo brothers, and Xiao Zihao—the elite squad—had already leapt up the moment they heard the whistle.

They had been sleeping in uniform, rifles still in their arms.

Within minutes, over two hundred soldiers at the base managed to assemble in formation.

From afar, down the deserted highway leading into the ruined town, a single beam of light grew brighter and closer.

Chen Ning, Jian Qing, and the others finally got a clear look. It was a military-green sidecar motorcycle, ridden by a man in his thirties. The man had an erect posture and was wearing the uniform of the Empire’s Black Shark Corps. What shocked Chen Ning even more were the insignias on his shoulders—they featured golden ears of wheat and a single general’s star!

A major general!

The motorcycle came to a stop in front of Jian Qing, Shi Yu, and the assembled troops.

The tall man narrowed his eyes slightly as he stepped off the bike.

Shi Yu hurried forward, almost tripping over himself, snapping to attention with a crisp salute. His face was flushed with excitement as he bellowed,

“Major Shi Yu of the Phoenix Legion’s Azurebird Division reporting! Salute to Major General Xiao Feng!”

Jian Qing recovered from her shock and saluted as well.

“Major General Xiao!”

The hundreds of soldiers behind them all followed in unison, voices thunderous:

“Good evening, Major General!”

So this was Xiao Feng—commander of the entire Black Shark Legion.

Even Major Rahu, whom Chen Ning had met before, served under him.

But one thing baffled Chen Ning:

A man of Xiao Feng’s rank and stature… Why would he ride alone on an old sidecar motorcycle, showing up in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night?

Xiao Feng’s gaze swept briefly across Chen Ning, Bai Yuhao, and the others. Then he said in a calm, unhurried tone:

“Not bad. The Phoenix Legion rookies have some spine.”

Chen Ning and Bai Yuhao exchanged confused looks. They couldn’t tell if that was praise or mockery.

But Jian Qing’s eyes lit up with relief. She knew Xiao Feng’s words—coming from someone of his standards—were already high praise.

Xiao Feng wasn’t just the top officer of the Black Shark Legion.

Despite being only thirty-seven, he had already attained the rank of Major General, and his personal combat strength had reached the terrifying level of a level nine Battle Commander.

At that age, to have advanced so far… It meant he had real potential to one day break through the bottleneck and step into the Grand General realm.

In the Empire’s hierarchy of power, there were four great stages:

War Soldier, War Officer, Battle Commander, and Grand General.

The leap from War Soldier to War Officer is manageable, but the divides separating the Battle Commander and Great General stages are virtually insurmountable chasms.

This “chasm” refers not only to the extreme difficulty in breaking through the bottlenecks to advance one’s cultivation and power, but also to the vast, qualitative difference in strength between each major stage. Meaning there’s a massive difference in strength between each major rank.

Under normal circumstances: A few third-level Soldiers cannot defeat a single level four Officer; ten sixth-level Officers are no match for one level seven Commander; and ten ninth-level Commander cannot stand against a single level ten General.

This is the chasm!

Consequently, countless individuals strive to break through from War Soldier to War Officer, and from War Officer to Battle Commander. Even more formidable experts spend their entire lives yearning to shatter the bottlenecks and step into the realm of Great Generals. But most never did.

Although Xiao Feng had achieved success at a young age, he was also mature beyond his years. Now, with twenty years of military service behind him and a reputation for being exceptionally demanding of his soldiers, his comment that greenhorns like Chen Ning and the others, “these rookies have some spine” was considered high praise indeed.

Shi Yu and Jian Qing hurried to offer him quarters and rest, but Xiao Feng simply waved them off.

“All I need is water and food,” he said curtly.

They tried to assign an escort, but Xiao Feng just smiled faintly, a wry glint in his eye, and said nothing.

That alone left the two officers awkward and red-faced.

After all, a level nine powerhouse hardly needed protection from the likes of them.

Even if the Zombie Tyrant himself appeared, they’d only be in the way.

Once he’d refueled and eaten, Xiao Feng swung back onto his sidecar and left.

Before departing, though, he shared a grim update:

Army scouts had confirmed sightings of the Zombie Tyrant. Now, elite forces from all across the Empire were racing here, preparing for a coordinated strike— a total annihilation of the so-called Crimson Tyrant.

After Xiao Feng’s departure, the troops dispersed. Big Luo came to relieve Chen Ning on guard duty, and Chen Ning followed Bai Yuhao and the others back to the temporary camp.

As they walked, Bai Yuhao murmured in disbelief,

“My god… the zombie terrorizing the southern provinces—the one everyone’s been whispering about—it’s that Crimson Tyrant.”

Chen Ning frowned. “The Crimson Tyrant? Is it famous?”

Bai Yuhao gave a helpless chuckle.

“You’ve never heard of it?”

Chen Ning shook his head. “I grew up in the slums. I don’t really know much about these things.”

“The Crimson Tyrant,” Bai Yuhao explained, “is infamous— not just among humans, but even in the zombie world.”

Chen Ning blinked. “What do you mean, the zombie world has a reputation system?”

Bai Yuhao rolled his eyes.

“Of course. You think all zombies are like those low-grade ones we’ve seen? The truth is, zombies evolve. The higher they evolve, the smarter they become. The top ones—well, they’re as intelligent as us. Maybe more.

The elite zombies have already formed alliances. They’ve built entire nations of their own.

Their goal is simple— to exterminate humanity, unify the globe, and establish a world ruled by the undead.”

Chen Ning was stunned. He’d always known zombies attacked humans—but this was the first time he’d heard that they’d already built their own civilization.

Bai Yuhao went on, his tone grave.

“The top-tier zombies understand strategy, coordination, and war. They’re organized, intelligent, and physically superior to us. That’s why humanity can’t wipe them out completely. If not for our advanced tech—guns, genetic serums, biotech weapons—our species might have already gone extinct.”

Chen Ning fell silent. The sheer scale of the threat chilled him.

Bai Yuhao continued, “The Crimson Tyrant is one of those elite ones—a level eleven monstrosity. Greedy, cunning, sadistic, and cruel. It doesn’t just massacre humans; it tortures other zombies for fun. Both humans and zombies despise it. But it’s too strong—and it never stays in one place long enough to catch.”

Chen Ning couldn’t help but laugh dryly. “So it’s hated by both sides? That’s… impressive in a twisted way.”

When they returned to camp, both men lay down to rest.

After all, the Crimson Tyrant was far beyond anything they could handle.

There was no point worrying.

They slept for two or three hours.

At dawn, the sharp whistle blared again.

Everyone scrambled to their feet, assembling in confusion—only to realize that this time, it wasn’t an alarm.

A massive convoy was rolling through the town— rows of armored troop carriers bearing the insignia of one of the Empire’s elite corps: the Azure Dragon Legion.

There were at least a thousand soldiers, every one of them battle-hardened.

And standing atop the command vehicle was a middle-aged man in his forties, his rank insignia identical to Xiao Feng’s—one wheat cluster, one star. Another Major General.

The Azure Dragon Legion rumbled through Stone Town without stopping—headed straight in the same direction Xiao Feng had taken the night before.

Bai Yuhao watched the armored convoy vanish into the distance, then murmured,

“Major General Duan CangLong himself… looks like the Empire’s going all-in this time. They really mean to kill the Crimson Tyrant once and for all.”