Chapter 208 - Toppling Mountains, Parting Seas
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
So there are a lot of rumors lately. I guess I should declare my stance. In chinese there is a saying "饮水思源", simply it means when you drink from the river, know the source. The meaning behind it is to remember where you came from. I started at GravityTales, I'm going to with stay. I will only state facts. GGP treats everyone with respect, like a true gentlemen for the past two years I've known him. Thank you for staying.
The sound wasn’t on the hillside. It buzzed farther up ahead.
With the flashlight in his hand, Liu Gan lighted the way while he led Yin He, Wang DeCheng, and Han GuangMing on the muddy path. With the downpour, rain water mixed into the soft ground, making it hard to tread through. As Liu Gan and his small group reached the top of the hill, it seemed like a plateau. On this plateau, there appeared to be some structures standing upright in various sizes.
Walking closer with the flashlight, it shone on the structures. Liu Gan’s small group then discovered they were gravestones. This place was evidently a cemetery.
Han GuangMing felt chills run down his spine. Wang DeCheng also got nervous, but Liu Gan and Yin He didn’t let it bother them. Meanwhile, Liu Gan was analyzing the possibility of where the sound might be coming from as he strolled towards the cemetery. Wang DeCheng and Han GuangMing were hesitating as they staggered behind after slowing their pace. Only when they saw that Liu Gan and Yin He had gone quite far did Wang DeCheng and Han GuangMing run to catch up.
Suddenly, a zombie that had only its upper body remaining grabbed onto Han GuangMing’s leg from a hidden corner. Before this moment, Han GuangMing was very worried about the presence of ghosts, but this ambush caused him to slip and fall onto the ground. Immediately, he covered his own mouth so that he wouldn’t scream.
Yin He ran back and, with her sleeve blade, she was able to finish off the regular zombie. Wang DeCheng helped lift Han GuangMing off the ground.
“It was only a half-dead regular zombie. There’s nothing to be scared of,” Liu Gan said to Han GuangMing.
“No… I … I … I really thought it was… a ghost that crawled up from underground,” Han GuangMing embarrassingly admitted. The thought of zombies appearing from underground was scary enough, let alone that this was a cemetery.
“Brother Han, it seems like you must be trained to be more courageous.” Liu Gan shook his head. In Liu Gan’s line of thinking, this location being a cemetery didn’t make it any more scary than other places. Perhaps he was different from other people?
“Ah, Elder Liu is right! I must train to become more courageous!” Han GuangMing exclaimed. Han GuangMing was embarrassed about his performance, especially when he slipped and fell. Nearby, regular zombies started rushing over after hearing noises, but in a few quick slashes, they were exterminated.
Since this area was relatively isolated, aside from the zombies that Yin He had killed and the half-dead zombie that had grabbed onto Han GuangMing, there were no zombies left. As such, Han GuangMing had no chance to redeem his honor.
After walking past the cemetery, a small mountain appeared. Measuring from the peak of the mountain to the ground, it was at least several hundred meters high. The discontinuous whistle was coming from this location. It became even clearer as Liu Gan’s group walked closer to the mountaintop.
There was no source of lighting on the mountain. Overgrown shrubs and forests surrounded the location. It was harder to scale the steep mountainside with muddy footing. After Yin He went forward to scout the area, she found a mountain route that was passable. It was a stone pathway constructed by the locals to reach the summit.
“I sense danger. Should I go up ahead and scout?” Yin He inquired, after she had gone a dozen steps ahead.
“Is the feeling of danger strong?” Liu Gan hesitated. After coming so far, Liu Gan didn’t want to give up halfway, but he didn’t want Yin He to take on the risk alone.
If there was any real danger, even if Yin He unexpectedly got ambushed, Liu Gan could immediately react to it and provide support if he was nearby.
“It’s hard to tell.” Yin He shook her head. She could only sense the danger, feeling a fuzzy perception.
“Let’s go up together. Even if there is danger we can at least face it together.” Liu Gan decided. He doesn’t want Yin He to face the danger alone.
Yin He looked at Liu Gan. She acknowledged Liu Gan’s feeling so she didn’t say any more, but she still walked to front of the pack. Liu Gan, Wang DeCheng, and Han GuangMing followed closely behind her.
The small mountain wasn’t too high, only several hundred meters high. With the combined strength of the four players, they were progressing fast on their journey. As they reached the peak of the mountain, Liu Gan and the others used their flashlights to shine the way. What they saw near the peak of the mountain shocked them.
At the very top of the small mountain, bundled and crowded near the top of the stone steps, were dozens of zombies all facing the peak of the mountain. The environment at the top of the mountain was a plateau surrounded by forests, but it was completely packed with zombies. These zombies stood stockstill. They hadn’t moved at all, and as such no noise was made. All routes that led up to the mountain would eventually meet up with these zombies.
Naturally, all nearby zombies that were scattered around the area were lured in by the strange noise. This was the only valid explanation for why there were so few zombies along the way. The total number of the zombies was close to one thousand.
Liu Gan’s pack alerted the closest portion of zombies by the stone pathway. This caused the zombies to turn around and start charging over. Aside from the zombies at the top of the stone pathway, the nearby zombies started pouring down from the mountainside down toward Liu Gan’s group.
It was like a domino effect, as even more zombies were alerted. Piles and piles of zombies were being disturbed. It seemed like there were enough zombies to topple over the mountains and part the seas. All this to charge at the four players standing on the stone pathway. Soon, Liu Gan, Wang DeCheng, Han GuangMing, and Yin He would be overrun by the zombies piling one on top of another.
“Don’t look back! EVERYONE RUN BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!” Liu Gan shouted after he saw the zombies start rampaging. Quickly, Liu Gan turned back and ran down the stone pathway.
With numerous zombies on the higher ground, Liu Gan had no choice but flee desperately. This situation was very tricky and peculiar. Almost all the zombies were concentrated at the mountain top. Now, these same zombies were rushing down the mountain toward Liu Gan. Even if the three players were very capable at close combat, these zombies pouring down like an avalanche would bury everyone alive.
If by chance Liu Gan were surrounded, even equipped with [Carapace Breastplate] and [Mist Armor], he wouldn’t be able to fend them off. So right now, the strategy was to run back down the mountain to avoid getting surrounded by the avalanche of zombies.
Luckily, Liu Gan was able to issue the command immediately, as Wang DeCheng and Han GuangMing were able to react to it. In the dark, they took large leap of faith in their steps down the mountain. Han GuangMing was able to reflect on his incident earlier, and brought out his courageous self. He didn’t stumble behind.
After numerous jumps and wide steps, the four players were able to escape from the zombie avalanche. Liu Gan and his group ran and took up locations and hid. After the zombie avalanche reached the foot of the mountain, the zombies couldn’t find the targets. So like flies attracted to light, the zombies were once again mesmerized by the strange sound and walked toward to the top of the mountain.