The sound of approaching footsteps became louder and louder. Jack's heart hammered in his chest like a wardrum.
He glanced at the sword... then at the gate... then back at the sword.
"Haa, dammit"
He made his way over to the sword. It was lodged pretty deep into the ground. He pulled. The sword didn't budge.
The footsteps became louder. The stench of blood was now even thicker and covered the whole forest in a iron smell.
He pulled again. Still no sign of movement.
Then came a bang on the gate. It shook, but still stood. Low growls came from the other side.
Jack pulled again. "Move, dammit!!" The sword didn't budge.
Then another bang. This time louder.
The gate started forming cracks. Like an intricate spiderweb.
"Ah crap!"
Jack spun around. Eyes scanning for something, anything that could help him defend himself.
Then his eyes landed on a mounted sword on the wall of the inner building, the gates burst open. Jack turned, and froze.
Through the gates came creatures that might once have been alive.
The beings were draped in blue and black uniforms, tied with black belts. On their hips were swords, some rusted others broken in half. Their skin rotten and pale blue, the stench of blood clung to them. Their eyes glowed pale blue with white pupils that seemed to stare into his soul.
In a fit of panic Jack ran for the sword on the wall. It was in a pitch black sheath. It's blade was propably as long as his legs. The creatures started to move. Jack turned to looked. For a second his breathing stopped.
Fast!
The zombies zipped into the manor. Jack ran as fast as he could. Tears formed in his eyes. His breathing ragged. Heart pounding. The sword slowly coming closer and closer. And just when he touched the hilt, he felt a sharp sting in his leg.
He let out a piercing scream. His mind became fuzzy. His heartbeat quickened. So did his breathing.
He felt a sharp pain. It burnt. It felt hot, like a hot iron rod was being stabbed into his leg. Blood leaked from the wound. He glanced down. An arrow pierced into his calf. His eyes landed on the one responsible for the shot.
A zombie smirked with an arrow in his hand. The smirk was twisted and unnatural... almost mocking.
So these things knew how to use weapons too?
Jack stood frozen. The pain in his leg turned to numbness. The zombies approached. He turned and limped toward the sword.
Grabbing it he tried to unsheath the blade. He put in too much force and accidentally lodged the blade into the skull of a lunging enemy.
The zombie fell down lifelessly. It's body becoming limp.
[Jiangshi swordsman slain]
[Gained 10 Star Stream]
'What? What is Star Stream? And what's with this floating screen?'
Jack stood looking at the notification infront of him, before an arrow zipped past him. It grazed his hair. A narrow miss.
"Crap. I forgot about these guys for a second."
Jack looked at the enemies. Clearly this time. His hands shaking. He tightened his grip on the sword. He glanced down at his leg and reached for the arrow stuck in his leg.
Deep breaths... One... Two..
"Aaaaaaarrrrghhh!!!" he ripped the arrow out from his leg. Blood sprayed onto the gound. He tore a piece of cloth from his already torn pants, and bandaged up the wound with great efficiency.
It burnt but he ignored. He looked up.
Ten enemies.
Three to the side near the training dummies. Four at the gate. The one with the bow stood near the sword lodged into the center of the manor. Two stood a few steps away from him, already approaching.
He was cornered. Fighting was the only option.
He let out a shaky breath and lifted the sword. His eyes flickered between enemies.
Another arrow left the zombie's bow. Jack rolled to the side and started running. His one leg limped behind him.
He was hoping to flank the zombies.
I have to take out that damn Archer first. He is starting to get on my nerves. Jack started to map out the shortest and most effective route to take.
He passed two zombies. Rolled underneath an arrow and closed the gap as the Archer loaded another one. Then like lightning another zombie slammed into him. He was completely blindsided.
His ribs hurt. The pain was blinding. Then quickly he rolled to the side. An arrow lodged into the ground where he had just layed.
"This is starting to get dangerous"
The other zombies started moving.
Dammit!
Jack got up. The sword slowed him down. He started running toward the Archer again, limping with all his might. The other zombies trailing behind him. He dodged to the side running in an out of rhythm zigzag. The launching arrows missing him by tiny margins, some even grazed him. His body burnt.
My throat hurts
He kept running. Wheezing. His throat burnt. He was bleeding.
He finally arrived infront of the Archer. It looked visibly shocked.
"Finally! Now die, you damn Insect!" He lunged, blade facing forward, then tripped on a stone. "Crap!"
The blade plunged into the body of the Archer as he tumbled down.
[Jiangshi Archer slain]
[Gained 57 Star Stream]
"Heck yeah! The pest is dead!"
A growl snapped him back to reality. Nine more enemies remained. He jumped up and grabbed the blade from the dead Archer's body. It didn't budge at first but eventually gave in.
He turned to the rest of the enemies. His eyes landed on a lone zombie who looked particularly frail.
He lunged at it before the other zombies reacted. He brought the sword down and met a lot of resistance from the zombie's rotten flesh. The sword stuck into its neck. Refusing to move any further.
Jack poured strength into his already burning muscles.
"Aaaaaaarrrrghhh!!!! JUST DIE ALREADY!!"
With one final push he brought the sword down fully. It cut through the rest of the zombie's skin like a knife through butter. Separating it's top from it's bottom.
Eight more to go
He looked at the zombies infront of him. His breathing was uneven. His stamina was running dangerously low. His muscles burnt and ached in protest. Countless wounds bleeded on his body from all of that damn Archer's arrows.
His eyes burnt from the sweat that invaded them. His dark skin glistened. Tears still sat in the corners of his eyes.
"Haa...haa... I'm...not going to...die...just yet"
His chest heaved up and down. The zombies started moving again.
He lifted the blade and waited for the zombies.