Chapter Forty-Three: A Righteous Beating

“All right, everything’s ready. Don’t act alone!”

Shaking off the clingy Zhang Lingyun, Mo Fangyuan quietly patted his hands.

Zhang Lingyun had become increasingly strange lately; her behavior was hard to describe—peculiar in every way.

“No way!”

Though Zhang Lingyun was beautiful and carried herself well… the mere thought of Zhang Lingyun—formerly known as Zhang San, a man—made Mo Fangyuan’s skin crawl.

“Too terrifying… It seems I haven’t given Zhang Lingyun enough tasks. I must assign her more work!”

Such were Mo Fangyuan’s thoughts.

As the population of the Cube Kingdom grew, more and more monsters appeared in the kingdom’s shadowy corners.

Fortunately, Cube folk who chose combat professions could gain experience and strength in battle; otherwise, dealing with the ever-increasing horde would quickly become overwhelming.

“Just a little more…”

Mo Fangyuan’s experience bar was about one-fifth away from leveling up. He was currently at level eight; after leveling up, he’d reach level nine.

“Let’s stay together, archers provide cover from a distance.”

Mo Fangyuan’s tactical sense was now taking shape—steady as can be.

Among the five archers, one squad leader had advanced to apprentice archer. However, he hadn’t obtained any active skills, only a passive talent called “Keen Eye,” which helped him hit targets further away.

With melee fighters providing a tight defense, the archers unleashed their full power. Just five archers felled a swath of monsters.

Mo Fangyuan purposely had the warriors make noise.

On the grass, monster corpses piled up like little hills.

“Your Majesty, why won’t you let me attack?”

Zhang Lingyun tried to approach Mo Fangyuan.

“Let you attack? Are you joking? If you set fire to the place, what will the villagers of Cube Kingdom eat?”

After several potato fields were accidentally set ablaze, Mo Fangyuan never dared let Zhang Lingyun play with fire again—it was a case of hurting the enemy eight hundred, but hurting themselves a thousand.

If she kept on like this, Cube Kingdom would never develop.

Stepping back without a hint of emotion, Mo Fangyuan sternly refused Zhang Lingyun’s dreadful request.

“Train yourself first. Improve your control over fire!”

“If you can manage fire better, maybe I’ll let you join in on wild skirmishes…”

If Zhang Lingyun was still the crude fellow she once was, Mo Fangyuan would have refused outright and ordered her to work overtime.

But now… that figure, that face, those legs…

“I truly am a beast!”

“Your Majesty, it’s coming!”

Yali whispered, gripping her iron sword even tighter.

The mere intelligence reports couldn’t compare to the oppressive presence of seeing the zombie monster in person.

Dozens of zombie creatures, as if commanded by the giant zombie, followed closely at its side.

The giant zombie at the center was like their king, radiating an aura of dominance.

“Those muscles, and that green head fit to grow grass…”

Staring at the distant giant zombie, Hulk-like in appearance, Mo Fangyuan, though mentally prepared, was still startled—this really was the Giant Zombie from “Mutant Creatures.”

“Good heavens… Night Watchers, ready your weapons!”

Drawing his trusty national treasure diamond axe, Mo Fangyuan continued,

“I’ll handle the frontal assault! You all focus on dealing damage!”

Based on his knowledge of Giant Zombies in “Mutant Creatures,” their ground smash could inflict up to 12 points of damage to players.

With his current level bonus, Mo Fangyuan had 31 health blocks, enough to withstand two critical hits from the zombie giant.

He then took a pure iron shield from his inventory and equipped it in his off-hand.

“Stay alert; it may summon zombie minions.”

The Giant Zombie’s only special skill was summoning underlings.

“Roar, roar, roar! Roar, roar, roar!”

As the Night Watchers approached within thirty blocks, the giant zombie sensed them and let out a thunderous roar.

“My goodness, is this the pressure of an elite monster? Its roar is deafening…”

A member of the Night Watcher squad joked.

As if insulted, the zombie giant charged at them.

“Scatter! Form a guerrilla line!”

Yali was prepared. At her command, the group split up.

Some went to clear out the zombie giant’s minions; others joined forces to attack the monstrous foe.

“Brothers! Let’s shoot it down!”

The archer squad leader shouted to his team.

The archers worked in perfect harmony, firing arrows from every direction. No matter how the giant zombie dodged, it was struck again and again.

Mo Fangyuan hurled two iron axes and led the charge.

Other melee fighters pulled out fishing rods.

Enraged after taking arrows and Mo Fangyuan’s axes, the giant zombie swung its fists at the approaching warriors, intent on teaching these insolent ants a lesson.

But before the punch landed, it felt a powerful force pulling at its arms, preventing it from attacking.

It was the warriors’ hooks.

They cast their fishing rods, latching onto the giant zombie and binding it.

Soon, the zombie giant felt tugging forces on its feet, body, and even head.

Its body was bound by countless white lines.

“Fishing rods are truly divine tools!”

The crowd praised, then unleashed another barrage of attacks.

“Take my axe, old Mo!”

The zombie was quite tall, and Mo Fangyuan’s leap wasn’t great—his strike hit only the giant zombie’s neck.

If he could have reached higher and hit its head, the giant zombie might have collapsed then and there.

“Roar, roar! Roar, roar!”

Sensing a threat to its life, the giant zombie roared and summoned its minions.

Several green-skinned zombies emerged from the earth.

One, two, three, four… exactly six, just like the giant zombie’s skill in “Mutant Creatures.”

Three warriors broke off to handle the minions, while the rest continued their righteous assault on the giant zombie.

“Roar, roar, roar! Roar, roar, roar!”

Seeing its minions fail and suffering the humiliation of being mobbed, the zombie giant grew furious.

Without hesitation, it unleashed its ultimate skill.

With a powerful force, it shook off all the hooks binding it.

Then, it charged straight at Mo Fangyuan with speed surpassing the others’ reactions.

“Protect His Majesty!”

Yali shouted, rushing to shield Mo Fangyuan.

But she was too slow—Mo Fangyuan was sent flying into the air.

Next, the giant zombie triggered the second phase of its ultimate, leaping into the sky to knock Mo Fangyuan down.

“Ha, just as I expected!”

Who was Mo Fangyuan? He had played “Mutant Creatures” for over a year, slaughtered countless giant zombies, and knew their skills and traits inside out. How could he not anticipate the giant zombie’s ultimate?

He countered by hurling seven prepared iron axes at the giant zombie.

Then, he used a fishing rod to pull himself forcefully toward the ground.

As he was about to hit the earth, he swiftly took out a bucket and poured water onto the ground beneath him.

Thanks to the world’s special properties, the landing water absorbed all fall damage.

The entire process was orderly and precise.

Except for the six points of damage from being launched skyward, Mo Fangyuan suffered no other harm.

Instead, the giant zombie took seven iron axes—one struck directly at its head.

Combined with earlier scattered attacks and the 49 points of damage from these seven axes, the giant zombie returned to the embrace of the sun.

Nearby, everyone was stunned—utterly dumbfounded. Some Cube folk even dropped their weapons.

“Your Majesty… this, this…”

Even Yali, usually the voice of reason, could not contain the turmoil in her heart.