My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 297

They had witnessed Kisha’s fighting skills when she first arrived at their base, but her performance now was notably different. She fought with a newfound ease and fluidity, a stark contrast to her previous displays of strength. Although she was always strong, it was clear that something had changed, and her current prowess reflected a significant improvement.

Kisha effortlessly dominated the zombies that had been lured by their shouting, ultimately dispatching more than two dozen on her own. Thankfully, she was wearing an apron, so only a small amount of the black, coagulated blood splattered onto it. Despite this, the stench of the blood clung to her, and the zombies’ bodies lay in a chaotic mess around her.

Kisha didn’t seem bothered by the mess. Instead, she signaled for the soldier on top of the wall to come down. At first, they didn’t understand her intent, but after she repeated the gesture silently, it became clear that she wanted them to stop shouting. The gatekeeper, unsure of Kisha’s exact request but making a bold assumption, decided to act on the implicit instructions.

He instructed the soldiers standing beside the gate to open a small gap and step outside to speak with their City Lord. The soldiers exchanged horrified glances as if they were staring at someone who had just suggested an absurdly dangerous idea.

Despite their reluctance, the soldiers had no choice but to follow orders. Since the gatekeeper hadn’t specified how many should go outside, the two soldiers standing by the gate decided to settle the matter with a game of rock-paper-scissors. The loser, clearly distressed, squeezed through the small gap in the gate and made his way to Kisha with a pained expression.

Kisha continued to methodically eliminate zombies that emerged from the streets ahead while waiting for someone to approach.

When the unfortunate soldier, who had lost the game, nervously stood beside her, she glanced at him before stating calmly, "Dig their brains out." Her indifferent and cold expression made her words sound chillingly stern, leaving the soldier with the impression that he was being reprimanded.

"—A-Again, please?!" he stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief and tears welling at the corners. Despite having witnessed numerous gruesome scenes in his life, the sight of the zombie carcasses sprawled around him, coupled with Kisha’s cold demeanor, left him unsure if he was being punished or merely following orders. The macabre scene before him only intensified his unease.

"Dig into their brains, and you’ll find a crystal core. Gather it," Kisha clarified, offering a bit more guidance before returning her attention to the street. The soldier, now understanding his task, stopped questioning and nervously crouched beside the nearest zombie carcass.

He drew his dagger from his side, plunged it into the zombie’s head, and twisted it to create a larger hole, searching for the crystal core within.

The overpowering stench hit his nose like a punch, making him gag repeatedly. Desperately, he pulled his shirt over his nose to mitigate the nauseating smell that was making his head spin. After the initial stab and twist of his dagger, he still couldn’t find the crystal core, so he tried again in a different spot.

When his dagger struck something solid that wasn’t bone, he pushed aside the brains and tissue to get a better look through the hole he had made.

There, embedded deep within the zombie’s head, he spotted a crystal-like object that resembled a shard of glass. Carefully, he maneuvered his dagger to twist and extract the crystal, inching it closer to the opening he had created so he could grasp it with his fingers more easily.

However, since the tip of his dagger was too narrow to maneuver the crystal closer to the opening, he had no choice but to insert his index and middle fingers into the hole. His face contorted with disgust, but he persevered and successfully extracted the crystal core from the first zombie carcass.