Chapter 29: A Festering Wound (1)

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Festering Wound (1) The undead encyclopedia didn’t register the frog-like creature, confirming Blaze’s thoughts. The creature before him was alive and well. The human-size frog wasn’t undead, but a mutant of sorts. Do all creatures have chosen individuals among them? It was the only explanation Blaze could think of from the top of his head. The mutated frog had a jet-black skin and four smaller eyes on top of the two natural ones. But perhaps the most bizarre feature, other than its size, was the two horns on top of its head. While Blaze was busy staring at it, the frog opened its mouth. A large and fast tongue shot past him, wrapping around one of the bloaters. The frog wanted to eat the zombie. Don’t bite more than you can chew. The frog was massive, but the bloater was even bigger. Their gigantic size was the one redeeming feature they had. There was no way the frog can eat it. But then... the bloater moved. No, it was more apt to say it was dragged. Its feet skidded across the ground as it resisted the frog’s strength. Big mistake. The frog lost all interest in the struggling undead and casually lifted the bloater off the ground. Blaze stood there in silence. A bloater, roughly the size of a minivan, was flung into the air like it weighed nothing. The undead flipped in the sky twice before crashing on the ground. A loud crash echoed through the zoo, followed by a rain of rotten flesh as the bloater exploded into bits. Blaze didn’t move from his spot. Neither did his horde. The bloaters were supposed to be the immovable wall standing between him and the enemy. He hadn’t even imagined a scenario where they’d get uprooted with such ease. It also made one thing crystal clear. The frog didn’t want to eat them. It was just clearing the threat. However, instead of feeling scared, Blaze smiled. He wanted the frog for himself. Forget about Raven, Crawler, or even Breaker. The frog in front was the best defender he could have for his lair. This is going to be tricky. Recreating the frog through corpse unification would be a pain. The only choice he had was to use Necroseed to tame it. But for that, he’d have to kill the creature without extensive damage. Which, given the creature’s size and strength, seemed impossible. If only I had a ranged unit, like a sniper, taking it down would’ve been a piece of cake. The frog’s only weakness was that it was alive. A single bullet or arrow to the head was enough to kill it. Unfortunately, Blaze didn’t have such a unit. He could only make a mental note of it and focus on the fight. The frog opened its mouth again. This time, Blaze and his horde were ready for it. They scattered the moment its tongue shot out. Unfortunately, one bloater still got caught. However, it was just what Blaze wanted. Raven, Breaker, now! The Raven charged at the frog, while Breaker let out a loud screech. The frog’s eyes turned red as it turned its head toward Breaker. With the frog’s aggro on Breaker, Raven struck the frog right in the stomach, followed by a series of bone-cracking sounds. The frog took the full brunt of Raven’s [Hyper-Charge] ability. Its insides were probably a mess. The frog groaned as blood drizzled out of its mouth. It let go of the bloater, trying to recoil its tongue. Like I’d let you do that. Blaze lunged and grabbed the tongue. The claws popped out from his feet, burying into the ground for leverage. Simultaneously, the remaining bloaters joined him. The frog wouldn’t be retracting its tongue anytime soon. Raven, again! Raven jumped back before charging right back in. The charge pushed the frog back, but Blaze and the bloaters acted as an anchor, holding the creature in place. Blaze looked at Crawler, and it jumped on top of the frog. It was weak in a head-on confrontation, but with the frog immobilized, there was nothing the latter could do to protect itself. The crawler dug its claws into the frog’s back before digging into its flesh. At the same time, Raven kept charging and hitting the frog’s stomach. With nothing better to do, Breaker joined the bloaters to hold the tongue. Blaze looked at the frog and knew it would die soon enough. But that wasn’t his intention. He didn’t want to butcher the frog. How would he resurrect it, then? The corpse had to be preserved, not feasted upon. Oi, Raven, stop! Raven, after using [Hyper-charge] extensively, was overwhelmed with hunger. So much so, it disobeyed a direct order and tore into the frog’s stomach. Oh, fuck this! Breaker, come with me! Blaze let go of the tongue and rushed towards Raven. He thought the bloaters could handle the pressure for a while, but he was mistaken. While Raven was pushed to the ground by them, the frog jumped into the air. Breaker’s and Blaze’s additional weight had held it down until now. With them gone, the frog used what little strength it had to jump away, dragging the bloaters along with it. Before they knew it, the bloaters came crashing on top of them. Breaker sprang to its feet, crossing its arms to protect Blaze. However, the next moment, the bloaters were chopped in half, their remains scattering around them. Like a cat, Crawler landed on its feet after disposing of the bloaters in mid-air. However, in the mess, the frog disappeared somewhere. Well, that went well. Blaze thought, getting back to his feet and kicked Raven’s ass, though the latter was too busy feasting on the bloater’s remains to notice. Breaker looked at Blaze’s smile and tilted its head. Their prey had escaped, and he expected the master to be angry. Instead, he was smiling. Its two brain cells couldn’t comprehend the reason. Only Blaze knew the truth. The frog might have escaped, but they had won. Isn’t that correct, Fester? Blaze’s smile widened as a stream of notifications popped up before him. [Fester’s Evolution potential increased to 71.5%] [Fester’s Evolution potential increased to 77.5%] [Fester’s Evolution potential increased to 82%]