Thuong Sinh continued to wander around, killing mostly low-tier zombies that were loitering; he walked a bit further.
The space gradually opened up, the sparse residential area transitioning into plots of land interspersed with warehouses with half-collapsed roofs. Here, the metallic stench was no longer scattered but concentrated.
He stopped.
Three zombies stepped out from behind a collapsed wall.
Completely different from before, their bodies were taller, muscles bulging hard, skin deep gray mixed with black, and their joints moved smoothly, almost as if they possessed consciousness. In one of them, the claws had deformed into curved horns, scratching against the concrete floor and creating a distinct grinding sound.
Mid-tier zombies.
Thuong Sinh did not draw his sword; he let out a breath. The "Vile Blood Heart-Corroding Art" circulated one layer deeper. Blood essence was no longer just clinging beneath the skin but ate down into the muscles, tightening every fiber of tendon.
The first one roared and lunged.
Thuong Sinh stepped diagonally to the left, avoiding the direct pounce, and lightly slapped the opponent's flank. With just a touch, the blood poison immediately infiltrated, but this time it did not disintegrate instantly.
The mid-tier zombie roared, turning to counterattack.
"Mhm."
Thuong Sinh gave a slight nod.
He rotated his wrist, and the blood essence suddenly reversed—shifting from infiltration to a violent tug. The zombie's internal organs felt as if they were being squeezed backward from the inside; the sound of breaking bones rang out with a series of cracks, and its body faltered for half a beat.
That was enough.
A single palm pressed straight into its chest.
This time it wasn't a gradual corrosion, but an eruption. The chest cavity exploded from the inside out; the zombie collapsed, no longer moving.
The remaining two did not retreat.
They lunged at the same time, coordinating clumsily but ferociously. Thuong Sinh lowered his center of gravity, his figure gliding between the two attacks, blood essence tightly enveloping both his forearms.
He locked the neck of one from behind.
He didn't snap it; he throttled it.
Blood poison followed the carotid artery straight into the brain. This time it took nearly three seconds—longer than a low-tier zombie—but the outcome was the same. The zombie went limp in his hands.
The last one shrieked and leaped forward.
Thuong Sinh turned and caught the impact with his shoulder; the force caused him to slide back half a step, his feet screeching against the cement. He did not counterattack immediately, but let the blood essence gradually corrode through the point of contact.
The mid-tier zombie trembled, its body convulsed, and then it fell face down.
Silence returned.
On a collapsed roof not far away, a person hidden behind a rusted tin sheet held their breath from beginning to end. He had been watching since Thuong Sinh entered this area.
No gun used, no Ability used at all. Only a type of force... very sinister. His eyes darkened as he looked at the scattered mid-tier zombie corpses.
Then, the ground beneath his feet vibrated slightly—not strongly, but steadily.
The hidden observer immediately raised his head.
From deep within the empty plot of land, a white shadow stepped out—it was a dog. But it was no longer an ordinary dog. Its gray-white fur was matted with blood; its body was nearly as tall as a small ox, muscles bulging clearly beneath the skin. Its spine protruded in a deformed manner, eyes a deep crimson, and a long tail swept lightly against the ground, leaving a deep indentation.
Mid-tier mutated zombie.
He clenched his teeth; that was it. The monster that had killed more than ten people from his association. Six Ability users. Only two survivors had fled back to report the news.
The hound raised its head, its eyes locking onto Thuong Sinh, yet it did not lunge to attack immediately. It lowered its body, as if evaluating the prey.
Thuong Sinh faltered for the first time; he sensed it.
This thing... was different.
"Troublesome."
He reached back to draw the sword from his hip, the white bandages slowly sliding down. In that exact moment, the white hound lunged—fast, quite fast.
Thuong Sinh had just enough time to lean away when the steel-whip tail lashed out.
Boom—!
His body was knocked flying; his back slammed hard into a concrete wall, dust billowing up.
Blood essence was circulating automatically.
"Blood-Condensing Mace" manifested a blood shield in front of him, condensing into a thick defensive layer. The second lashing strike hit; the aura layer shattered into pieces but managed to block the fatal force.
Thuong Sinh planted his feet and stood firm.
His eyes darkened.
He moved, his figure blurring like a phantom.
"Phantom Steps"
In the white hound's eyes, Thuong Sinh turned into two, then three shadows. Sword light flashed—not a straight slash, but a diagonal cut carrying corrosive blood essence. The hound roared, its claws sweeping across, dispersing two illusions, but the third shadow was already high above.
"Blade Wind"
A single slash fell, the sword-wind whistling sharply, blood essence clinging along the blade like a venomous snake. The white fur was torn open; the flesh was scorched.
But it wasn't enough.
The mutated hound howled, springing back, muscles bulging once more.
Thuong Sinh gave it no chance; he released his grip.
The sword flew up.
"Sword Kinesis: Gale Transformation"
"Go!"
The sword shot away, changing direction continuously in mid-air; every time it turned, it left behind a thin, razor-sharp gale. The hound was forced back, its body struck by three consecutive slashes, black blood spraying out.
The person hiding afar widened his eyes.
Sword Kinesis...
What kind of monster is he?!
The sword returned to Thuong Sinh's hand as he stepped forward.
The white hound did not fall; it slid backward several meters, its four paws digging deep into the earth, claws tearing through the cement. Black blood dripped from the slashes, but its body did not collapse; on the contrary, its muscles shriveled and then bulged again, as if it were sewing itself back together.
A low howl vibrated from its throat.
Thuong Sinh felt it clearly: the blood essence in his body was being pulled out.
"It knows how to resist blood essence..."
He narrowed his eyes.
The mutated hound lunged again, no longer in a straight line. It changed direction mid-way, its body twisting; the tail swept low while the claws slashed high—a brutal but effective coordinated attack.
Thuong Sinh had just leaned away to avoid the claws when the tail arrived.
"Blood-Condensing Mace" was used again.
The force was too strong.
Thuong Sinh was knocked flying, rolling across the debris-strewn ground; blood welled up in his throat, but he forced it back down. The blood poison in him reacted violently, biting back at his meridians as if wanting to escape.
It was painful, but his eyes brightened. He braced himself with his sword and stood up, not wiping the blood.
"Vile Blood Heart-Corroding Art" was pushed up once more.
Holding back no longer, the veins on his body surfaced in black; the whites of his eyes turned red, with a black center. Blood essence rose around his body like a thin mist, not spreading far but pressing the surrounding air cold. With every step he took, the ground beneath his feet cracked slightly.
The white hound faltered, its instinct screaming a warning.
But it was too late.
Thuong Sinh disappeared.
This time it wasn't an afterimage, but true speed.
"Phantom Steps" was used at extreme speed; from the outside, he seemed to teleport. He appeared at the hound's flank, sword slashing across—not aiming for the flesh, but straight for the joint.
"Blade Wind" carrying corrosive blood essence exploded right within the bone gap.
Crack!
One front leg snapped.
The hound howled, its body losing balance, but its tail lashed back in a counter-strike.
Thuong Sinh did not dodge; he blocked.
Both hands gripped the sword tightly, blood essence clinging to the blade like thick resin; the steel tail slammed straight into it.
Boom—!
He was forced back, his heels plowing long furrows into the ground. At that exact moment, he rotated his wrist. The blood essence clung to the hound's tail, corroding it.
Not fast, but deep.
The hound jerked violently, intending to retract its tail, but Thuong Sinh closed the distance. An elbow smashed straight into its neck, pure force combined with blood poison exploding within the muscle tissue.
Thud!
The massive frame was knocked down.
But the monster was not dead.
It rolled once and snapped its jaws, white teeth closing just inches from Thuong Sinh's neck. He twisted away; his shoulder was torn by the teeth, blood spurting out.
Burning pain; the blood poison reacted immediately.
Thuong Sinh's gaze turned icy.
The sword left his hand again.
Not one strike, but many in rapid succession, stabbing in and pulling out.
The sword soared high, spinning, blood essence wrapping around to form a deep crimson vortex. The sword plunged like a cyclone, slashing along the hound's spine; every strike changed angles in mid-air, cutting deep into the same axis. Black blood splattered everywhere; the sound of bone shattering rang out repeatedly.
The hound howled in a frenzy, its body struggling, smashing the ground to bits.
Thuong Sinh did not stop.
He stepped forward, hands forming seals, exhausting the blood essence in his body in one go.
"Vile."
The space around him seemed to sag.
"Blood."
Blood essence compressed into a single point.
"Corrode."
His palm pressed straight down onto the monster's head. From the point of contact, the white hound's head disintegrated from the inside out, as if its life force were being drained hollow. The howling faded into rapid gasps and then went silent.
The massive body convulsed a few times, then became motionless.
Silence.
Only the sound of the wind blowing across the empty plot.
In the distance, the observer broke into a cold sweat.
He watched Thuong Sinh standing amidst the monster's remains, the blood essence gradually retracting, his face slightly pale but his back still straight.
The blood essence retracted, but the sensation of being stared at did not disappear.
Thuong Sinh did not turn around immediately. He had sensed that gaze very early on, right when he stepped past the perimeter fence of the factory area. No clear malice, but it carried the investigative habit of one accustomed to tracking others.
He simply pretended not to know until the white hound collapsed, the wind blew, and the dust drifted lightly. Thuong Sinh slightly raised his hand; the sword that was hovering to retract blood essence suddenly disappeared from his hand.
At a ruined corner over thirty meters away—
Swish—!
The sword thudded into the ground, less than a span away from a person's throat.
"Ah—!"
A terrified scream rang out. A man rolled out from behind the collapsed wall, his face pale, limbs trembling, his whole body collapsing to the ground, not daring to move.
"Don't... don't kill me!"
He raised both hands high, his voice cracking in terror.
"I have no malice!"
Thuong Sinh walked slowly toward him, every step making the other cower. The blood essence around him had mostly retracted, but the lingering residue was enough to make a normal person feel suffocated.
"How long have you been following?"
His voice was short and deep.
"...Since you entered this area."
The man swallowed hard.
"I... I only saw you fighting the zombies, truly it was just a coincidence!"
The sword vibrated slightly.
The man immediately spoke faster, nearly crying: "I am from the Azure Line Alliance! Just an outer-rim scout! I haven't reported back, haven't reported anything, really!"
Thuong Sinh looked at him, asking no further questions.
Only silence.
That silence made the man even more terrified than being questioned. Cold sweat ran down his spine; his mind went blank, leaving only one thought: I'm about to die.
"What did you see?" Thuong Sinh asked.
"The... mutated hound."
"What else."
"Do you think I believe you?"
The man was speechless; he knew that with the person before him, a single lie was enough to result in death.
"I swear... I only wanted to confirm."
"The Alliance recently lost people in this area... I saw that thing... so..."
Thuong Sinh raised his hand.
The man immediately shut his mouth.
"I won't kill you."
"Not because you are innocent."
The man looked up, his gaze bewildered.
"But because if you die here, it will be a nuisance."
He pulled the sword up, the tip pointing straight at the opponent's forehead, less than a finger's width from the skin.
"But listen closely."
Thuong Sinh's gaze turned completely cold.
"Next time, if the Alliance dares to spy on me again."
"The words 'by coincidence' you spoke will save no one."
The man nodded frantically, his voice trembling: "I understand! I understand! I swear I won't track you anymore!"
"Get lost."
Just one word.
The man dared say no more; he scrambled up and stumbled away, nearly falling several times but not daring to look back even once.
Thuong Sinh watched until the figure disappeared completely; he turned back to look at the white hound's corpse one last time.
"Alliance..."
He muttered; the trouble had begun, but he was used to it.
Thuong Sinh sighed, turned to begin picking up the crystal and collecting the blood of the mid-tier mutated zombie hound, then walked toward Luc Thuy City as the sun had fully leaned to the west; he still had to return before dark.