(1) I, the Zombie Overlord... Come and Cut Me If You Dare (1)

It used to be that a man with money could stand tall.

But now, it is strength that allows one to rise up.

Through his relentless efforts in consuming crystals, Lao Chung had truly risen.

He had become the very first fifth-stage Awakened.

"Lam Pham, punch me. I want to see where my limit is," Lao Chung made a rather unexpected request.

Lam Pham shook his head, saying, "I think it's best if I don't."

He knew that letting Lao Chung feel his own limits was indeed a good thing, but for him to throw a punch, he didn't see it as a wise choice.

After all, with his strength, if by some one-in-a-million chance... just say, if he couldn't hold back his power, Lao Chung's situation would be absolutely tragic. It would be hard to say if even a single complete piece of flesh and blood could be found.

"That's true."

Lao Chung thought of Lam Pham's strength and dismissed his previous idea. Even if he wanted to find someone to test against, it would have to be someone else.

Chuc Thanh had been about to advise Lao Chung not to be impulsive.

Seeing Lao Chung come to his senses and realize the seriousness of the matter, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go outside the city. I'll go find a mature-stage hybrid zombie and bring it back for you to test," Lam Pham suggested, not considering the task of finding a hybrid zombie to be troublesome at all.

The outskirts of Hoang City.

They had confronted a hybrid zombie once before, but this time, Lao Chung was facing it alone. Dong Giai and the others waited on the side, watching.

They all wanted to know how it would turn out.

Could the fifth-stage Lao Chung easily hunt a hybrid zombie?

"Lao Chung, are you ready?"

Lam Pham was also eager to see what would happen.

Lao Chung's fifth stage was the real deal, with no fluff; it was an absolute, genuine enhancement. Each stage of his ability corresponded to a crystal of a specific color.

It was nothing like what Bang Vien could compare to.

"Ready." Lao Chung nodded, gripping his shield and straight blade as he watched the roaring hybrid zombie in the distance.

The captured hybrid zombie let out low roars. Upon seeing humans, its primitive ferocity completely erupted, and it let out wave after wave of howls.

In an instant.

The hybrid zombie charged towards them.

"Your opponent is me."

Lao Chung took a step forward, raising his shield for a frontal assault. What he wanted was to go head-to-head with the hybrid zombie.

Their previous clash had put him at a disadvantage. He had been unable to contend with the hybrid zombie.

But now...

He was extremely confident, a confidence that came from a trust in his own strength.

"Lao Chung's aura is so strong," Chuc Thanh exclaimed.

Dong Giai said, "The old Lao Chung and the current Lao Chung are different. He has become an Awakened who can stand on his own, possessing the ability to defend himself against, and even hunt, any type of zombie."

Just as they were marveling...

With a loud bang.

A violent, deafening explosion rang out.

It was like two high-speed cars colliding; the intensity of the impact was truly terrifying.

"The enhancement of the fifth stage is beyond imagination."

Lao Chung held the shield with one hand. In the past, he needed two hands to barely block it, but now, not only could he block it with one hand, he had even sent the hybrid zombie flying.

Lam Pham watched the scene unfold and nodded. Lao Chung's performance had exceeded his expectations; he was truly powerful.

"The hybrid zombie's strength cannot contend with Lao Chung's."

This was something that could be seen at a glance.

Lao Chung looked at the hybrid zombie that had been knocked far away, his confidence instantly soaring. He had also had his doubts about his own strength. Even after advancing to the fifth stage, he still wondered if he could deal with a hybrid zombie.

But now, after that first collision, Lao Chung discovered that the hybrid zombie's strength was apparently just so-so.

"Come on, mature-stage hybrid zombie, let's see what else you've got."

Lao Chung stood like a god of war, shield in one hand, straight blade in the other.

He hadn't budged an inch from the impact, not taking a single step back.

"Roar!"

The mature-stage hybrid zombie roared and charged at Lao Chung again. Facing the situation, Lao Chung raised his shield, readied his blade, and stared ahead with an imposing aura.

As the hybrid zombie drew near...

Lao Chung attacked again. The moment the shield collided with the hybrid zombie's body, he swung the straight blade in his hand fiercely towards the zombie.

Splurt!

The hybrid zombie's arm was severed directly.

In their previous clashes, they were evenly matched, but now, Lao Chung's strength had skyrocketed. The power of that single slash was unimaginably terrifying.

The hybrid zombie quickly retreated, sticky blood flowing from the stump of its severed arm.

Possessing the trait of severed limb regeneration, the hybrid zombie ignored this kind of damage. Flesh and blood shifted, and the limb began to grow back.

Thud!

Thud!

Lao Chung threw his shield and straight blade to the ground, cracking his knuckles as if he intended to fight bare-fisted.

"Lao Chung, don't get careless," Chuc Thanh reminded him.

Lao Chung laughed and said, "They're too restrictive. Right now, I'm stronger than the hybrid zombie. Weapons can't unleash my true strength; they're even a limitation. I'm strongest when I'm bare-fisted."

This was his confidence in himself.

Hearing Lao Chung's words, Chuc Thanh just wanted to give him a thumbs-up. People nowadays were so domineering; even the simple and honest Lao Chung was starting to change.

Lam Pham rather agreed with what Lao Chung said.

It was true.

Take his use of Frostmourne, for example. It wasn't because Frostmourne was so powerful, but because using a sword allowed him to control the scope of the destruction. If he used his fists, he was truly afraid that one punch would unleash a terrifying torrent of force, annihilating everything in front of him.

Could his current strength be described as killing ten oxen and ten horses with one punch?

Definitely not.

To put it another way, he could beat ten tigresses until they cried out in submission.

He had fantasized before: could the impact of one of his punches destroy an entire city?

It was probably possible.

A punch from him should be equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb in the city.

At this moment.

The bare-fisted Lao Chung took the initiative to charge towards the hybrid zombie. The moment they met, he suddenly threw a punch, and the hybrid zombie did the same.

The moment their two fists collided, the air between them was compressed.

A deep, muffled sound rang out.

It was accompanied by an explosive impact.

Boom!

Thick smoke appeared, and when it dissipated, half of the hybrid zombie's body had been blasted away by Lao Chung's punch. Although its flesh was shifting, wanting to regenerate...

This was enough to prove that Lao Chung had the strength to crush his opponent.

"Grr... grr..."

The hybrid zombie let out a ferocious growl, as if it couldn't believe it had been wounded to this extent by a human.

"You're just a beast that can only grunt. When we humans have absolute strength, you're nothing more than this."

Lao Chung clenched his fists, feeling the power in his body boiling. He suddenly dashed forward, appeared in front of the hybrid zombie, grabbed its arms, and with a roar and a tearing sound, ripped one of its arms off and flung it into the distance.

The hybrid zombie, feeling no pain, kicked at Lao Chung's chest. Lao Chung, wearing his armor, felt no discomfort at all, and he didn't even take a single step back.