Chapter 34: Hunting the War God

"Who killed her?" Derek retorted."How would I know who did?" came the puzzled response from the man in black."Young Master, I've already investigated this deceased woman. She was completely ordinary—an average beauty from an average family," the black‑clad man explained coolly."Normally, someone so ordinary wouldn't provoke someone with such immense power. The only special thing about her was her connection with you. I suspect her misfortune might very well be linked to you," he continued. 

"Yeah, Carrie was just a typical campus beauty. If it weren't for her connection with that loser, I wouldn't have given her a second thought," Derek agreed, his tone laced with disdain."Could it be… that loser?" Derek mused, hinting at Alexander."No way, absolutely not—he's merely an orphan with no family. How could he possibly possess the kind of power you speak of?" Derek quickly dismissed the notion.

"And besides, the amazing surprise I prepared for him hasn't been delivered yet—he couldn't possibly know that Carrie betrayed him," Derek added."Young Master, who exactly are you referring to?" the black‑clad man inquired, frowning."Just that Alexander—the one who nearly died," Derek explained."Is he Lance's son?" the man asked, as if a memory had been triggered."Exactly," Derek confirmed.

"Logically, it shouldn't be him. He supposedly has no real ability, and a killing method like this would be impossible without thousands of kills or decades of training," the man reasoned further."Yet it might be that this kid, by sheer chance, enlisted a special expert to help him," he continued."No, Young Master—regardless of whose he is, killing Carrie solely to spite her is unlikely; it's more probable he's coming after you," Derek argued."Facing such a top‑tier killer, even with a hundred men, might not suffice—we'd need additional security," the man suggested.

"What? Ron, you're not enough. You're one of Dragon Kingdom's top ten fighters, and you lead a full mercenary team!" Derek exclaimed in shock, finally realizing the potential threat."Young Master, as I've said, even the world's best assassin couldn't pull off what he did. This enemy is terrifying beyond measure," Ron stated solemnly."Alright, then, hurry up and fetch more bodyguards from the back mountain—even if they're not fully trained. I can't die! I absolutely must not die!" Derek pleaded."Very well, Young Master. Rest assured, with me by your side, I'll protect you even at the cost of my life," Ron replied.

Meanwhile, a system notification flashed on Alexander's interface:  "Ding—Congratulations, player 'Yazī' for killing a Level‑3 zombie, +3 XP, +5 coins."  "Ding—Congratulations, you have reached Level 8 and gained 1 free attribute point."

Alexander sheathed his Tang Blade. Before him lay three recently decapitated zombies. "Phew, finally Level 8—but that came much faster than I expected. I thought I'd only hit Level 8 by the fourth night of the apocalypse," he muttered."On the bright side, with my level spiking so quickly, I won't have to join dungeon raids anymore," Alexander sighed in relief.

At that moment, he was racing nonstop toward the Li Estate. Along the way, he grabbed some bread and pancakes for a quick lunch, but otherwise he kept moving and scavenging supplies. Because he had deliberately chosen secluded routes, he encountered only a few zombies—and when he did, he never let them slip by, for he still needed a few more XP points to level up.Finally, near the mountain's base where the Li Estate was situated, after accumulating enough zombie kills, Alexander reached Level 8.

"Add Strength," he decided, and his Strength increased to 24.

With his attributes boosted, he gazed up at Drum Mountain in the distance. In this land where every inch is precious, it was almost unimaginable that the Li family had transformed an entire drum‑shaped mountain into their private estate.

Originally, several checkpoints had been established at the mountain's base, but with the apocalypse, these had been abandoned. Moreover, after Carrie's corpse was discovered, all of the Li family's security forces had been deployed outside the estate, making their defenses even more formidable.

Alexander did not rush up the mountain. A competent assassin must first thoroughly study his surroundings before planning his move. He circled the main road around Drum Mountain for a while. By appearance, only one road led directly into the estate. As for any secret passages, after some exploration he discovered an exit hidden in a dense grove.

Alexander decided not to seal off the Li family's secret passage immediately. "If you leave not even a single gap, how can you catch them all?" This was one of Dragon Kingdom's famous strategies—"when surrounding the enemy, leave a gap." Only by giving them a sliver of an escape route will they not commit themselves fully to the fight, allowing Alexander to gradually wear them down.However, the layout of the Li Estate forced a change in his plan. Originally, Alexander had planned to use [Raw Meat Infected with the Zombie Virus] to lure a massive horde of zombies to deplete the Li family's security. But within a one‑kilometer radius, zombies were extremely scarce—apparently, the Li family had already cleared them out. This made his plan unworkable.

Every plan has its pros and cons. Although he couldn't lure a huge horde, this did prevent his nighttime actions from being disrupted by zombies. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat zombies empowered by night's bonuses—if he spent all his energy on clearing them, how would he make Derek suffer?Alexander then moved toward a secluded spot in a forest near the mountain top outside the Li Estate and used his binoculars to observe the estate's security. He saw that every passage leading into the estate was heavily guarded by numerous battle-hardened personnel.

"Hunter Mercenary Team!"In that moment, Alexander recognized his old enemy. During his flight, he had been repeatedly ambushed by members of the Hunter Mercenary Team—Derek's true, brainwashed loyalists, raised from childhood to be unwavering death-soldiers. Their strength was formidable, and their loyalty, unyielding. Alexander knew every detail of their faces, movements, tactics, and habits. To outsiders, they might seem like an impenetrable wall, but to Alexander, there were still exploitable gaps.

Yet Alexander would not let familiarity inflate his ego. His cautious nature drove him to observe the Hunter Mercenary Team's movements and defensive layout over and over. Finally, at around 6:00 PM, as dusk was about to fall, Alexander saw a very familiar face emerge from the estate—someone who began directing a change in the defensive tactics.That familiar face was Ron, one of Dragon Kingdom's top ten War Gods—the "Hunter War God."