Chapter 267 Another Level 4 Magic Crystal
A sudden screeching sound, like metal being scraped, pierced the air. Then, Michelle, Candice, and Natalie vanished, and the scene returned to its original state.
William had eradicated all the Abyssal Ghost Nests on the floor. The level-two Blood Swallows lay dead everywhere, posing no threat to him.
The only thing still alive was a massive Abyssal Ghost Nest mother, occupying an entire room. William had slashed open its sac, spilling green mucus. Within the mucus, an unformed Blood Swallow struggled to get out, but its incomplete body made all its efforts in vain.
On a half-split thick tree trunk, there was a green Magic Crystal.
Everything that had just happened now made sense.
The mother plant of the Abyssal Ghost Nest had evolved after consuming Randal, jumping from level three to level-four. Its abilities had also improved; the hallucinogenic gases could now affect humans through skin contact, not just inhalation. William had fallen for it.
Fortunately, he snapped out of it in time.
Its eagerness to kill William led to its downfall. When it controlled William's mind and created an illusion based on his memories, it included all those women. While Michelle and Natalie might act as they did in the illusion, Candice never would. That was why William broke free.
Although it only took him half a minute from arriving to killing the Abyssal Ghost Nest, and he was in the illusion for just a few seconds, William was still shaken.
He wasn't afraid of powerful enemies like Throat Seizer. As a three-star Evolving person, he was confident he would win against a level-four mutated creature. However, he feared these insidious tricks. If he hadn't woken up quickly, he would have been torn to pieces by the Blood Swallows that had lunged at him.
However, the gains were worthwhile.
William knew the mother plant had summoned those Blood Swallows to attack the Burning Fury Squad before it died, so he quickly collected all the Magic Crystals, dug out the level-four Magic Crystal from the mother plant, and took a small piece of white substance from its roots. It was the essence of the mother plant with special uses.
By this time, the Blood Swallows had flown back. Seeing their breeding tree killed, they angrily attacked William, unleashing sonic attacks.
Prepared, William activated the Sprint ability of his Bloodstride Boots, rushing to the stairwell. Although affected by some sonic waves, he managed to escape without major harm.
The Blood Swallows weren't about to let William go. They charged in with red eyes, only to be met with Avant-Garde Mechanic's ray attacks.
In the narrow stairwell, such attacks were devastating.
Downstairs, Basil was shaken. These flying monsters were terrifying, not only in number but also in speed. They swooped down so fast that even he could barely react. In just a short while, he had lost ten subordinates, including two Evolving persons.
Terrified, Basil was ready to flee.
But suddenly, all the monsters became extremely agitated and flew back into the Office Building.
When Darryl arrived, he saw Basil. Just then, William's signal came through. As the group entered the Office Building, Basil was stunned by the scene before him. The strange plants from his nightmares were all dead, and the corpses of the flying monsters that had just devastated his team now covered the ground.
Darryl wasn't surprised at all. William had killed a four-star zombie when he was a two-star. Now that he was a three-star, killing these same-level monsters was no big deal.
Basil suddenly became agitated. He ran to the dead mother plant, raised his long-handled battleaxe, and hacked at it madly. His son had died here; how could he not be resentful?
William signaled Darryl to collect the Magic Crystals from the Blood Swallows. After Basil finished venting, William handed him a can of coffee.
Basil wiped away his tears, took a big gulp of the coffee, and remained silent.
"Captain Wright, three hundred and thirty level-one, eighteen level-two," Darryl reported, handing the Magic Crystals to William.
"Give all the level one Magic Crystals to Basil," William ordered.
Hearing this, Basil was stunned. Avenging Randal today, even at the cost of ten lives, was worth it. Today's casualties were minimal compared to the losses they faced while hunting level-three mutated creatures. They had even used humans to lure level-three zombies into traps, burned entire buildings, or forced one-star Evolving persons to jump into acid pools with level-three monsters.
All these things were inhumane. But almost all forces did this; otherwise, how could they kill level-three creatures?
Today, he had been coerced by William to come here. He hadn't expected any reward and was even prepared to flee with Doug if William turned on them.
Looking at the Magic Crystals Darryl handed over, Basil hesitated for a long time, wondering if taking them would prompt William to kill him.
"Your invitation card was taken by the Kiel Knights. I wonder if you're interested in accompanying me to retrieve it," William said, flashing his own invitation card in front of Basil.
The commercial pedestrian street had once been one of the bustling areas in downtown Accraville City. In peacetime, even in the middle of the night, it had pulsed with life, a testament to the city's vibrant spirit.
But after the apocalypse, the busier the place, the more dangerous it became, with zombies crushing any hope of survival.
It was only two months into the apocalypse, and the area was teeming with zombies. They slowly wandered around, just like the people who once frequented this bustling place.
The Mercy Vanguard warband's meeting point was on the rooftop of a department store on the side of the commercial pedestrian street.
Without sufficient strength, one couldn't even get close to this place, let alone reach it.
Right now, almost all the leaders of the most powerful forces in Accraville City were gathering here!
