[ Hermes: I saw your listing. Price is decent. But you shouldâve used Trade instead of a direct sale. That way, people without cores can still barter. ]
[ Shane: Trade tax is too high. Iâd rather keep it simple. If someone messages me directly, Iâll consider private trades. ]
[ Jun: I only have one Exceptional-grade dagger and a few barrier fragments. Can I trade those for a Spirit Stone? ]
[ Shane: Message me. Iâll check your items. If theyâre usable, Iâll send one over. ]
[ Leo: I just bought thirty of them... Our barrier is running out of energy, but this should stabilize it. Shane, youâre officially my favorite person today. Your Spirit Stones are all high quality! ]
[ Jamina: Same here. Bought ten of them... I hope this will last long. ]
Natalie watched the chat shift again. Shaneâs announcement had triggered a wave of purchases and private messages. Shelters that were on the brink were now scrambling to secure just a few more minutes of defense.
[ Travis: We just had a brute-type explode after death. Anyone else seeing that? It took out half our front line. Do not let those fatty Zombies die near your soldiers. They explode like hell... Lesson learned, so be careful. ]
[ Joy: Yes. Detonation trait. Itâs spreading. If youâre using melee squads, pull them back after the kill. There are more and more of them. Most of them came from Infested Type Zombies but there are also some from others. ]
[ Serra: Legit. We lost two Knights to post-mortem bursts. If you donât have ranged finishers, youâre going to bleed. ]
[ Caius: Use suppression fields. If you donât have them, isolate the corpse and wait. Donât rush the loot. ]
Natalieâs eyes lit up after seeing the names appearing on the chat.
Travis, the leader of the Drakeheart Vanguard... There was Serra, the leader of the Wraith Walkers Clan that was Rank 6, and Caius, the Rank 4 Survivor, though his Shadowbinders Clan was Rank 19...
[ Kris: Suppression fields? We barely have working barriers. ]
[ Travis: Then donât loot so quickly... Let the ones who needed to explode, explode... Just survive first. You canât trade if youâre dead. ]
[ Jamina: We just had a crawler wave. No, Lords, but theyâre faster than usual. Our traps barely slowed them. Theyâre not crippled but more like Spider Zombies or something. ]
[ Jun: Same here. Theyâre adapting. I swear our traps barely caught anyone. This had never happened before. Even pitfalls are being avoided! These guys are getting smart for real! ]
[ Elric: Thatâs not adaptation. Thatâs targeting. Theyâre learning our layouts. ]
[ Joy: If you havenât changed your formation since the first wave, youâre already compromised. Rotate your defense strategy or something. ]
[ Tasha: We collapsed our tunnel earlier. Still sealed in. No Earth-types yet, but weâre hearing movement above. Pray for us. ]
[ Serra: If you hear movement under you, itâs already too late. Prep fallback points. Donât wait for confirmation. ]
[ Rami: We just bought Spirit Stones from Shane. Got twenty. Enough for one more cycle. If anyoneâs hoarding, please reconsider. Weâre not asking for charity. Just a chance. ]
[ Kris: Saw a new seller... Cinder Vault. Prices are high, but theyâre not scamming... ]
[ Joy: Thatâs one of ours... If you need Stones, grab them fast. We put them at a higher price since the quality of the Spirit Stones we have is better. ]
[ Kris: Still debatable. Shane or Shadow Strider might have better ones. ]
The Chat continued as always, since everyone could now find a way to open their chat to at least find some comfort or advice from others.
Soon, the topic shifted to the possible way to defend against the Earth-Type Zombies, and it was answered by multiple people...
***
In the meantime, a shadow passed over the Eclipse Domain and it was swiftly reported to Shane...
There was something above them and it was high... too high. The turrets didnât rotate. The ballista crews didnât fire. Even the long-range cannons remained silent.
The zombie was flying alone, circling like a scout hawk, its wings stretched wide, and its body was lean and armored with bone plates.
If not for Cloud, no one would notice it at all.
Shane frowned as he got the complete report from Cloud.
It wasnât attacking. Not yet. But it was scanning. And if it detected the Floating Fortress, even in stealth mode, numerous flying Zombies might suddenly attack the fortress...
He couldnât allow that.
Although the next wave of zombies was already rushing towards them, Shane needed to deal with the lone winged Zombies.
He tapped his system interface and checked the flight skill he obtained after getting the Skyâs Strongest Title...
The Flight Skill was only one minute.
That meant no drawn-out battle. No evasive maneuvers. No waiting for backup.
He had to strike fast and either kill it or cripple its wings, so he immediately got into a position and left the command center...
Soon, Shane felt ready and triggered his bio-armorâs full output.
The suit hissed as its internal reactor surged...
[ Bio-Armor: Overdrive Mode Activated ]
Soon, Shane launched upward in a burst of compressed air, the armorâs propulsion nodes flaring as he broke through the upper cloud layer.
The Armorâs assist and the Flight Skill worked together!
The zombie turned mid-air, as it was sensing the sudden presence.
Shane didnât hesitate as soon as he got closer...
First, he triggered his Adrenaline Surge... Thanks to that, his reflexes sharpened, blood flow accelerated, and he felt more focused...
Then, he triggered Armored Dash, propelling him forward like a missile.
The zombie shrieked and banked hard, trying to climb higher and avoid Shane!
âWhat? Itâs not aiming to kill or eat me? What kind of Zombie is this?â Shane was confused, as it was not a Zombie Behavior at all.
Nonetheless, he continued to close in...
He activated Quick Draw, unsheathing his blade in a blur, followed by Double Thrust!
He had two rapid stabs aimed at the joint of its left wing!
"I need you to go down!" Shane shouted as he didnât want to use up all the 60 seconds of his Flight Skill!