The faint glow of the moon descended upon the chaos brewing around the encampment.
The soldiers could be seen spread out in a defensive formation in front of the encampment. Geared in steel armor and clutching their swords, they were prepared for battle.
Further away from them, emerging from the woods, were corrupted humans numbering up to almost a hundred, letting out low and horrifying bestial growls as they approached the frightened soldiers.
The sheer appearance of these creatures caught the attention of Alister, sending thrills of horror drifting through his body as he observed them more closely.
The corrupted humans had the same height and body structure as normal humans. But they differed in many horrifying ways.
They had very pale green skin, reminding Alister of zombies in movies. However, unlike slow, staggering zombies, these corrupted humans were pretty fast.
They also had glowing red eyes that shone with evil and bloodlust. Alister could not help but shiver upon meeting their evil gaze.
Their mouths had elongated fangs resembling those of vampires but a few centimeters longer. Their hands ended in long, razor‑sharp claws.
They were nothing short of terrifying, especially for Alister, who had just witnessed them for the first time.
"Attack!!"
Unfortunately, he was not given enough time to keep his emotions under control as the soldiers sounded a battle cry and clashed with the corrupted humans.
GROWL!
GROWL!
The low, bestial growls of the corrupted humans intensified as they clashed with the humans.
They moved really fast, swinging their claws against the soldiers' weapons. Each opportunity they got, they lunged their fangs at the soldiers' necks to try and feed on their flesh, killing them in the process.
Alister stood behind for a few seconds to observe the strength and attack pattern of the corrupted humans.
He witnessed two soldiers being bitten and stabbed to death by the menacing corrupted humans.
A minute passed, Alister bravely brandished his sword and rushed into the battlefield, having observed the attack pattern of the corrupted humans.
He rushed to the area with a lower number of corrupted humans.
SWING!
He swung his sword at the neck of the closest one.
CLANG!
The corrupted human easily blocked the attack utilizing its right claw and sent its left claw stabbing towards Alister's stomach.
"Shit!"
Alister cursed as he rapidly moved his body sideways to evade the incoming stab.
TEAR!
He was able to avoid being stabbed, but his uniform was torn in the process.
Alister retrieved his sword and moved back a little to create a small distance between his foe.
The corrupted human, on the other hand, refused to let him go and closed the distance right away before he could even settle down and prepare for another attack.
Its hands were outstretched in a clutching pose, and its mouth was wide open, revealing its sharp fangs and rotten mouth. It was trying to have a bite of his flesh.
Alister gritted his teeth and clutched his sword even tighter before stabbing towards the chest.
Fortunately, he was able to deal a neat, precise stab on his foe. The sound and sensation of his blade stabbing through the rotten flesh was a confirmation of his action.
"Huh?"
Unfortunately, he forgot something really crucial—the corrupted humans are just like zombies, and zombies do not feel pain or die unless their heads are bashed into meat paste or detached from their bodies!
The corrupted human remained standing perfectly fine seconds after the stab.
The only good side was that it halted its attack a little bit and gazed at the blade stabbing through its body.
It didn't even give off a single reaction of pain.
It looked back up and met the bewildered gaze of the hero, and a dark glint sparked in its eyes as it let out a furious growl, making a move with its claw.
Alister took the blade out as fast as he could and took several quick steps back, losing balance in the process and falling to the ground.
He cussed at his shitty luck and crawled back as fast as he could before getting back on his feet and aiming another attack at his foe, who had its head a few inches away from him.
Luckily, he landed a precise cut this time, the corrupted human's head landed on the ground with a thump, followed by its headless body.
[ You've slayed X1 corrupted human, EXP +12 ]
[ You've successfully slayed your first foe, EXP +10 ]
Two system prompts appeared before his retina.
Alister gasped for breath after his tedious fight was concluded.
GROWL!
Another corrupted human approached him, stepping over the corpse of its dead colleague.
Alister cussed his predicament and swung into attack once more.
With the lesson he learnt from fighting the first one, he knew exactly what to do with his second foe.
The battle around him was getting even more intense by the second.
Cries of pain and victory mixed with bestial growls and constant clashes of metal and claws resounded across the battlefield.
Each minute, more soldiers died, compared to the corrupted humans who easily overpowered the battlefield with their inability to feel pain, rendering them unstoppable.
Alister noticed that the soldiers were making the same mistake as him, stabbing and slashing at the foes, not considering their inability to feel pain.
He quickly warned.
"Decapitate them, forget other useless attacks!"
There were several questions amongst the soldiers but none of them dared question him.
They switched their attacks to only aiming for the neck of their opponent and it worked wonders.
[ You've contributed to the knowledge of the soldiers and improved their survival rate, EXP +28 ]
[ Level up! ]
[ Level 0 ----> Level 1 ]
[ First level up achieved, 23 EXP ]