Chapter Seventeen: Persuading the Kobold Shaman

The corridor was silent. Kong Zhe knew there were still other survivors in the building, but all of them were hiding quietly in their apartments. Pressing himself against the wall by the stairs, Kong Zhe moved downward, his steps so light that he made almost no sound as he descended.

When Kong Zhe, knife in hand, reached the fifth floor, a heavy stench of blood assaulted his senses. The security doors to both apartments on this floor had been smashed open. From one of the units came intermittent sounds of flesh being torn and bones cracking, mixed with the yelping barks of the dog-headed men.

Cautiously approaching the doorway, Kong Zhe peered inside. The living room floor was covered in blood, the entire room in disarray. Near the bedroom, five dog-headed men were gnawing on a corpse that had been dismembered beyond recognition—chunks of flesh, organs, and splintered bones scattered everywhere.

An ordinary person would have probably vomited at such a gruesome scene, but Kong Zhe, with three years of experience in the apocalypse, was no longer fazed by such horrors.

After carefully observing the room’s layout for a while, Kong Zhe decided to attack directly. Right now, the dog-headed men were engrossed in their feast and hadn’t noticed him.

Taking a deep breath, Kong Zhe gripped his knife and charged into the room.

At the noise, several of the dog-headed men turned toward the door, but Kong Zhe was already upon the nearest one, slashing at its neck with his blade.

With a sickening squelch, the knife sank into flesh, slicing halfway through the creature’s throat. The dog-headed man let out a miserable howl and collapsed, never to rise again.

But Kong Zhe frowned slightly. The creature’s skin was incredibly tough. Even with his twelve points of strength behind a full-force swing, he hadn’t managed to behead it.

There was no time for hesitation. The remaining dog-headed men, seeing their companion attacked, raised their weapons and charged at Kong Zhe with furious howls.

Kong Zhe dodged aside, avoiding the swing of one enemy, but surrounded as he was, he couldn’t defend every angle. In an instant, his shoulder and back were struck twice by their shovels.

Gritting his teeth against the searing pain in his back, Kong Zhe kicked away the dog-headed man before him and, mustering all his strength, dashed toward the dog-headed shaman at the back.

With a heavy thud, Kong Zhe rammed into the shaman, wrapping his arms around its waist. The momentum sent both of them rolling across the floor several times, but it also put some distance between them and the other dog-headed men.

“Divine Persuasion!”

As they tumbled, Kong Zhe activated his skill. Since Divine Persuasion had a limited range, he had to get close to use it.

He finished the incantation and waited for the spell to take effect, but the next moment, a sharp pain stabbed through his head. The shaman thrashed violently in his grip.

Kong Zhe felt his spiritual energy being pulled from his body. If this continued, not only would persuasion fail—he might be left a drooling idiot. Sensing that the shaman was about to break free, Kong Zhe forced himself to concentrate. After about two seconds, the dog-headed shaman finally gave up resisting and submitted.

Kong Zhe immediately felt the spiritual link establish between them.

The three other dog-headed men, seeing Kong Zhe attack their leader, flew into a rage and charged. But as the first leapt at him, it was struck hard on the head and sent flying—the blow came from the shaman himself.

The remaining two paused, staring in confusion at their leader. Why was he attacking his own kind?

Their leader ignored them entirely, swinging his shovel wildly at his former allies. At that moment, Kong Zhe joined the fray.

He rushed at the stunned dog-headed man and drove his blade into its belly. Beside him, the shaman lent a hand, smacking the creature’s head mercilessly with his shovel.

In two seconds, that dog-headed man was dead beyond all doubt.

The other dog-headed men now understood—their leader had betrayed them. Wailing wildly, they charged in.

A few minutes later, all four dog-headed men lay dead.

Kong Zhe let out a long breath and collapsed to the floor. During the fight, he’d scarcely noticed the pain, but now that it was over, agony surged through his whole body. His shoulders and limbs were already covered in bruises, and a ghastly wound on his back was bleeding profusely, dyeing his clothes crimson.

Fortunately, he had already converted the dog-headed shaman. With the shaman’s healing magic, these wounds were no longer a problem.

The dog-headed shaman hopped about, waving his shovel as beams of white light descended, and Kong Zhe’s wounds began to heal rapidly. Before long, he was as good as new.