"A fireball?" Zoe was awestruck.
Eric merely smiled. "Yes, but it almost wasted all my energy."
Of course, in a single breath, he already filled his energy core. His breathing technique was able to instantly assimilate the energy around the world on his energy core. It was no exaggeration only he could do it around the world.
Simply put, energy consumption was not a problem to him, as he could launch a fireball every breath.
Due to the commotion, all the zombies in a hundred radius turned their head to the direction where the fireball exploded. On the west side, the zombies' eyes eventually landed on Eric and Zoe, falling into a frenzy.
Eric was hesitant at first but when he realized the amount of grey crystals that the myriads of zombies possessed, his eyes sparkled in excitement.
Not to mention, there might be a third mortal stage, or even a second mortal stage mingling in the horde of mindless zombies…
Before he fought, he swept his eyes first, checking if there were more Marrow Zombies like, who could attack in a distance, jeopardizing there were at least more, who already extracted their bone and threw it at them.
They were on the three, five, and ten o clock. Since they simultaneously threw it, Eric was not able to simultaneously cast a fireball three times. In addition, the nearest was ten meters and the farthest was fifteen meters.
Despite the distance, their precision remained, showcasing their strength. Eric threw the fireball at the farthest while catching with both of his hands the two bones that might landed on Zoe. He used the momentum to hurl it back to the other two, piercing their head.
The energy controlled the brain, so as long as the brain was completely damaged, the Evolution Crystal would fail to control the zombies anymore.
Now that three of the Marrow Zombies were killed, Eric focused on the horde of zombies getting closer to them. They were running in a frenzy, so they instantly closed their distance in a meter. The nearest were at nine o clock, in the west, who discovered their presence first.
He grinned and took a battle stance.
"Third Axiom: Dragon's Roar in the Divine Void." He mumbled.
After upgrading all of his physical attribute points, he was now able to execute the third axiom and could perform as many axioms—below the third axiom— as he wanted with the aid of his breathing technique. After all, after his evolution, the efficiency of his breathing technique increased manifold. That was because he finally formed an energy core on his dantian and energy network.
Hence, Eric was now a killing machine. Perhaps, the only existence that could wear him out was the first mortal stage, or even beyond that.
As the first zombie arrived closer to him, Eric executed the Third Axiom imbued with pyromancy. His fist raged with fire, burning all of his energy from the energy core into a simple, straight, piercing punch.
Although the Third Axiom might not appear different from a simple jab imbued with pyromancy, what set it apart was… it was infused with Qi, the spiritual essence within him.
In other words, the energy of the world—not the energy from the Evolution Crystal, but Qi—the lifeblood of existence itself. An energy capable of slightly bending the laws of reality.
Hence, the attack extended beyond damaging the physical body of the opponent, reaching into their very spiritual essence.
It damaged the soul of the enemy.
In addition…
Once the straight piercing jab collided with the chest of the zombie—Eric did not fancy damaging the grey crystal—and the fire exploded. However, the spiritual essence infused on the fist did not allow the fire to spread, but rather continued to penetrate on the zombie's body, going further to five meters, swallowing the other zombies behind him.
A sonic boom reverberated, like a clap of thunder and was followed by the fire, seemingly alive. It did not stop at five meters as Eric continued to imbue it with energy, causing the fire to continue slithering and devouring the other zombies.
Zoe, on the other hand, barely retained her composure. The sight of the Emperor's fist exploding like a grenade shook her. Early in the morning, they were discussing their abilities and were in awe of its effects, but compared to the Emperor's abilities?
She felt like her impression of the abilities of others dropped significantly.
However, she then recalled that the Emperor, not only decided to teach them breathing technique but also martial arts… she could not help but look forward to how her abilities would bring her in the future if it was amplified with breathing technique and martial arts.
Zoe remained silent and kept her thoughts on herself. She simply admired the view in front of him—the Emperor's devilish smile as he fought to his unbridled delight.
Not even the third mortal stage zombie, who joined in the fun, escaped.
She noticed there were third mortal stage zombies since they appeared more conspicuous with their speed, strangely faster than the mindless zombie.
She was right. Eric caught the wall of text beside fifteen third mortal stage zombies, charging in front of him. However, Zoe only caught five zombies with adrenaline surge zombies, while not noticing the other zombies with bladed fingers, one with extended sinewy tendrils—perhaps used to latch on the enemy, and the one with expanded jaws.
Eric kept their information on his mind as he would include them on his Zombie Compendium later on for them to study.
…
{Name: Frenzied Zombie
Stage: Third Mortal Stage
Abilities: Adrenaline Surge
Strength: D+
Agility: C
Durability: D+
Stamina: C-
Intelligence: D-
Remarks: Stronger and faster than normal zombies once its adrenaline spike.}
{Name: Carver Zombie
Stage: Third Mortal Stage
Abilities: Bladed Fingers
Strength: C-
Agility: C-
Durability: D+
Stamina: D+
Intelligence: D+
Remarks: Not that differed from the Ravager Zombie, but it is obviously much smarter}
{Name: Snare Zombie
Stage: Third Mortal Stage
Abilities: Tendon Grasp
Strength: C
Agility: C
Durability: D+
Stamina: D+
Intelligence: D
Remarks: Once it hugs you, just reciprocate, like you're trying to embrace death.}
{Name: Warmed Maw Zombie
Stage: Third Mortal Stage
Abilities: Expanding Jaws
Strength: C
Agility: D+
Durability: C
Stamina: C-
Intelligence: D
Remarks: One bite and you're severely injured. Two bites and you died. Three bites and…}