Chapter 158 Are You All So Poor?
Ming brimmed with delight as his skill cooldowns diminished by nearly half, strikingly contrasting to others who witnessed reduced ability durations. For him, this delightful transformation signified a veritable bounty of wealth.
As he sprinted across the battlefield, Ming took note of the day's combat situation. Though it wasn't entirely one-sided, it was close enough, and at least the chaos from the previous skirmish was absent.
At that moment, he spotted several individuals retreating under the relentless pressure of a lord-tier zombie. Ming dashed toward them, hollering, "Fear not, I have arrived!"
"Gutmann is here!"
"Excellent, he has a wide-ranging attack and is swift..."
"..."
"Leave this to me," Ming said, brandishing his chainsaw. Turning to the group, he continued, "You all go assist the others. Let's bring this battle to a swift conclusion."
"Understood!"
"Gutmann, stay safe."
"Let's move."
The group promptly turned toward other skirmishes, grasping Gutmann's intent. By challenging the Lord alone, he would free up more hands for other battles, bolstering their overall strength and minimizing casualties.
Ming presented a prescription to the Zombie after his psychic eagle caught the Zombie before him: [Skill activated, 599 gold coins collected from the enemy]
Ding! Gold coins received: 100.
"100?"
Could this Lord be so needy?
[Zombie is out of funds; automatically repaying debt with personal items]
Subsequently, the Zombie was left with nothing but its underpants.
Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle! Wielding his chainsaw, Ming sliced off arms and legs, addressing the recently arrived Nick and his female companion: "This one is all yours!" With that, he charged toward the next target.
"..."
Nick and his two companions stared at the stripped-down Zombie, then unanimously turned their gaze to the retreating figure of the good man.
"You saw that, right?"
Pointing at the Zombie on the ground, Nick told his female companions, "I admit, this guy here is indeed powerful, but some of his... hobbies are rather... perverse."
"Silence! He's just trying to protect us from harm."
"You couldn't defeat it alone, yet you still talk like that."
Meanwhile, Ming continued his sprint across the battlefield, discovering that David and the fire sorceress Hecate were working together to subdue a zombie.
David trapped a zombie with his [Sand Shackles] and said to Hecate, "Alright, unleash your damage."
"Fireball!"
Hecate lifted her narrow sword, traced a circle of fire before her, and aimed at the Zombie. A rapid-fire torrent of explosive fireballs shot out, striking the Zombie. Her psychic energy depleted, Hecate wobbled, nearly collapsing. David gentlemanly caught her gracefully and offered a bottle of spiritual elixir, "Drink up."
"..."
Ming glanced at them, thinking that David was not only a cunning merchant but also quite the: little Casanova.
David noticed Ming passing by and shot him a look, pleading not to interrupt their moment; thank you very much~
Ming drew his shotgun, aimed it at the Zombie, and returned a knowing glance. You get my drift.
"..."
David tossed over a piece of refined gold ore, his gaze asking, are you satisfied now?
Ming pocketed the gold ore and dashed toward the next battle. As he ran, he surveyed the entire field. Numerous skirmishes of varying sizes took place, with influential individuals leading weaker fighters to defeat zombies. Groups of average strength ganged up on single targets.
As time went on, the tide turned in their favor. Each time a lord-tier zombie fell, more combatants became available to take on the next one. Ming's efforts in eliminating several zombies quickly dispersed dozens of fighters.
Everything seemed to go smoothly, and Ming spotted a group of women struggling against a five-star lord. The Zombie not only remained unscathed but also appeared relatively wealthy.
Ming rushed over, and the women's trepidation vanished at seeing him.
"Gutmann has arrived!"
"Our chances just improved significantly."
"Gutmann, how should we proceed?"
"..."
Ming summoned his giant eagle, lifting the Zombie into midair. Brandishing his chainsaw, he addressed the women, "Turn away; it's going to get rather gruesome."
"..."
Considering the buzzing chainsaw in his hand and the tales they'd heard from the battlefield, the women all turned away.
Only then did Ming unleash his [Personal Prescription] skill on the Zombie: [Skill activated, 930 gold coins collected from the enemy]
Ding! Gold coins received: 300.
"Only 300? Are all these zombies really so poor?"
Ming was somewhat disappointed. He proceeded to hack off the Zombie's limbs before turning back to the women, "Alright, you can continue your battle now."
"Didn't you say it would be Blood and gore?"
"We're afraid to look."
The women still faced away.
"It's not so bad now that I've dealt with it. It's not that gruesome anymore."
With that, Ming charged toward the next skirmish, chainsaw in hand. The women turned around to see the dismembered scene, exchanging glances. Isn't this scary?
Throughout the battlefield, many witnessed 'Gutmann' weaving in and out of various fights and how every Zombie that encountered him ended up stripped bare, ultimately dismembered. Some thought this formidable figure was, at times, more terrifying than the zombies themselves.
"See? I wasn't wrong earlier. Gutmann stripped the zombies of their clothes."
"Well, it isn't anything special. I've taken clothes off zombies before; they're just ordinary garments."
"Maybe this is just a powerful person's peculiar hobby. You know, the stronger they are, the more unique their tastes."
"Is it possible that Gutmann is a rare Puppeteer?"
"No way. Every Puppeteer I've known only survived past the second chapter. They're too weak."
"Stop talking, and he's heading our way."
"..."
"..."
Everyone stopped discussing as Gutmann approached, and they naturally dispersed to other fights. With him there, there was no need for so many people; one man could handle the Zombie.
Looking at the charging Zombie, Ming felt deeply touched and said, "Hold on, my skill is still on cooldown."
Zombie: ...
People around were stunned by his words. This was the epitome of strength, casually taunting a zombie, something even the top fighters wouldn't dare to do.
...
Alan and Mike took turns using binoculars, watching the battlefield across the Great Rift.
"See that? All the zombies they can't handle are left to Big Brother."
"he even stripped the zombies of their clothes."
"That's nothing."
Alan put down the binoculars, pointing to the dozens of sandbags behind him, "These are what he asked me to bring back. He said he would sell them to someone who needs sand."
Mike nodded, "A good idea, huh? Next time, I'll bring some too."