NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: You Have a Brain, But Not Much of It
"Roar!" The Wolf King bellowed, and the surrounding dozen giant wolves surged forward aggressively.
Chu Xuan stood motionless, casually ordering, "Keep the stronger wolves alive; kill the rest."
Long, Hu, and the six corpse puppets received their commands in an instant. A fierce gleam flashed in their eyes as they fiercely lunged forward. In just a moment, the pack was routed. After all, most of them were not supernatural beings.
But the corpse puppets crafted by Chu Xuan possessed innate magical abilities and were not of low standing. The weakest among them, whose innate magic was self-detonation, also possessed the prowess of a third-level corpse soldier.
Together with Long and Hu, these ferocious corpses made light work of the wolf pack.
In the blink of an eye, the mournful whines of the giant wolves were heard.
Chu Xuan glanced over casually. He noted that the weaker wolves had all been slain.
The four that were first-level supernatural beings had their limbs broken and were thrown to the ground.
Long and Hu swiftly moved behind the Wolf King, trapping it in a pincer movement.
The Wolf King was taken aback. The shift in the situation was too swift; it had thought the advantage lay with it.
Yet, in an instant, it had gone from being the encircler to the encircled.
"Roar!" The Wolf King roared furiously, stomping the ground and charging directly at Chu Xuan.
It had encountered superhumans in Two Dragons City who excelled in controlling supernatural creatures, but each one was physically weak. So, it ignored Long, Hu, and the other corpse puppets, focusing its attack on Chu Xuan.
In its view, killing this human quickly was the key to breaking free. With its speed, the corpses would surely be unable to keep up—after all, how could two legs compare with its four?
"You have a brain, but not much of it," Chu Xuan said with a light smile.
This Wolf King had obviously realized that he controlled the corpse puppets. Eliminate him, and the corpses would fall apart.
Regrettably, he was no frail summoner like those often depicted in novels—mighty summoned beasts paired with a weak summoner.
If he did not possess substantial strength, how could he possibly control the likes of Long and Hu?
Chu Xuan remained where he was, utterly still. He could already see the Wolf King's sharp fangs, the drool flowing, and the foul stench of its breath as it bore down upon him.
Swoosh!
A line of blood flashed by. In that moment, it seemed as though a giant club had fiercely struck the Wolf King's head. They say wolves have a skull of copper and a backbone of tofu—their most vulnerable part is the waist, and the hardest, the head. But with sufficient force, even a blow to the head could stun a wolf.
Thump.
In an instant, the Wolf King was knocked unconscious, collapsing senseless to the ground. The battle had ended before it even began.
Long observed everything, promptly shelving any mischievous thoughts and daring not to entertain any disrespect.
"Carry them up, take them all back," Chu Xuan said casually.
Roar!
The corpse puppets bellowed in unison. They hoisted the wolf corpses and the unconscious giant wolves onto their shoulders, following behind Chu Xuan. Occasionally, they sneakily licked the wolf corpses, much like children stealthily tasting sweets behind their parents' backs.
On the way back to Haotai Hotel, Chu Xuan didn't ride his flying sword. After all, with so many corpse puppets to manage, it indeed wasn't feasible to use the flying sword to transport them.
"This time returning to Mystic Azure Realm, if there's a chance, I must exchange for a new flying magic tool," he mused. "Preferably a high-quality one."
Chu Xuan noted this task in his mind as he strode back. With his party's strength, they could freely stroll through the city without fear of zombie attacks.
Indeed, perhaps it was the zombies that should be worried. After all, in Chu Xuan's eyes, each zombie was a potential source of blood pearls. Should any enthusiastic zombies come their way, Chu Xuan would surely thank them tearfully for their gifts.
...
At three in the afternoon that day, at the border between East Lake City and Two Dragons City.
A van approached from afar and stopped where the pickup had broken down. Wang Gangjian, Wang Yong, Song Dayi, and Zhuang Qiang alighted from the vehicle. Zhuang Qiang, injured, was protectively encircled by the others. All four were extremely vigilant.
Zhuang Qiang gazed at the pickup truck with a sorrowful expression.
"My five comrades died right here. I watched helplessly as they were dragged away by the wolves. I must personally skin those beasts!"
Wang Gangjian sighed softly. Before the zombie crisis erupted, he had served several years as a soldier in the Linjiang army, achieving the rank of sergeant, and commanding ten soldiers under him. He could empathize with Zhuang Qiang's seething rage—the pain of watching his cheerful, playful comrades fall in battle was more than most could bear.
"Take me to the edge of the forest; I can detect if any of those creatures are around," Zhuang Qiang said, taking a deep breath, his voice serious.
The three men nodded and escorted him to the forest's edge. Zhuang Qiang placed his hand on the surface of a tree and closed his eyes. He could communicate with only one tree at a time. Branches, leaves, and roots became his eyes and ears. He could sense the memories of this tree.
In places where the soil was fertile and the climate moist, the relationship between a tree's roots and its crown was almost one-to-one. That is to say, the roots spread as wide as the crown above. Thus, he could perceive everything within the reach of the roots clearly through the tree.
"I hear heavy breathing, lots of it! It's those wolves! But not now, it was a few hours ago, around noon. I also heard zombie roars, and intense fighting sounds, the battle ended quickly... I heard the death whimpers of giant wolves! And, human voices!"
Zhuang Qiang's use of his talent lasted only three minutes, yet he was drenched in sweat, his front and back soaked.
Wang Gangjian and the others were astounded, "You mean, there was a battle here a few hours ago?"
Wang Yong added, "A battle between humans and the wolf pack?"
Zhuang Qiang nodded, "I'm certain it was a fight between humans and wolves, with zombies involved as well. The wolves likely suffered heavy losses."
The three men exchanged surprised glances. Someone had actually taken on this wolf pack head-on and won!
"The leading Wolf King, it's a second-level supernatural being, right? There's a second-level Superhuman in East Lake City who could match the Wolf King?" Wang Gangjian scratched his buzzcut, his face a picture of confusion. "I've been in East Lake City for so many years, how did I not know this?"
"The wolves, having suffered heavy losses, probably won't come out to hunt. We should search around here; we'll definitely find the site of the battle," Wang Yong said earnestly.
"Alright, let's split up to search, but don't go too far from each other. If you encounter danger, shout loudly," Wang Gangjian nodded.
The four split into three groups. Wang Gangjian and Wang Yong each went solo, while Song Dayi stayed with Zhuang Qiang.
They began their search and before long, they found the site of the battle.
"My God…"
The scene before them left them all stunned.