The straw-hat zombie used its arm as a way to stop the incoming Katana.

The Katana lodge itself until it got stuck on the straw-hat zombie's arm. Dark blood is gushing out like a faucet.

From the start, the Straw-Hat Zombie's constitution is already higher than Nile. But the Katana is a peak Level One° weapon. It was not a surprise that the Katana could wound the hard physique of the powerful straw-hat zombie. Cutting through the zombie's arm directly might even be possible if and only Nile's strength is on par or even more potent than the zombie itself.

With the Katana still embedded deeply in the zombie's arm, the zombie uses the opportunity to land a blow on Nile's stomach. Nile felt like puking his guts out when that powerful uppercut hit him.

Nile thought that if not for the protections coming from the Level One° clothes, he might have already been on the ground right now, clutching his stomach in pain. Few of his ribs might even be broken if not cracked.

Nile could feel his foot rising in the air because of that blow.

After doing an uppercut, the zombie pushes the embedded Katana away from its arm. Dark blood flowed out from the wound which the Katana had made. The arm is dangling beside the zombie's body. The tendons are severed, probably.

Although Nile got hit by that uppercut, he thought it was worth it as the zombie's arm is now hanging limply on its side. At least, Nile managed to reduce the zombie's fighting capabilities.

Nile retreated a few steps back to put a distance between himself and the zombie, Nile's stomach is aching, but he chooses to ignore it. Maximo, who already recovered from the punch earlier, uses the sharp horn on its head to pierce the zombie's ribcage.

Maximo could only pierce the ribcage for a little before the zombie took hold of Maximo's horn. The zombie forcefully pulled the embedded horns out from its ribs. A leakage of dark blood could be seen flowing out from the wound made by Maximo's horn.

With its usable arm, the zombie made a pose and prepared to land a blow on the area below Maximo's ear.

The zombie stared down at Maximo like a predator eyeing its prey.

Maximo felt the stare and cold shivers instantly run down his spine.

Maximo did his best to retreat, but his legs were wobbling like noodles because of fear.

Fortunately, Nile, who had already recovered from the attack, appeared at the right moment. Nile did not hesitate and slash the zombie's stomach that is left wide open.

An enormous cut appeared on the zombie's belly. Intestines almost escape from the gap made by the sharp Katana.

The punch the zombie prepared for Maximo got interrupted. Sensing the opportunity, Maximo retreated hastily. Its legs are trembling like noodles. Maximo knew that if it were hit by that punch, getting groggy would be the last thing that could happen to him.

Fortunately, Nile arrived at the right time. He even successfully made a deep gushing wound on the zombie's stomach. Though not lethal for the zombie, it somehow manages to slow the zombie a bit.

While the zombie is still dazed, Nile rotated his Katana and slashed it upwards. The zombie recovered and leaned his body back, but still, the attack managed to cut the zombie's chin to its forehead.

The wound was deep, but the zombie leaned back at the last minute and was able to avoid the lethal strike that might slice its head in half.

As the zombies know no pain, it doesn't matter how many wounds you could deliver, as long as the Apocalypse Virus inside the head remains intact, the zombie body will not die.

Although restricted and overwhelmed by fighting two opponents at the same time, the zombie still manages to deal a blow on each of them.

The Katana is now over the zombie's head. Nile rotated his Katana again; this time the sharp edge of the Katana was facing down.

Using all the strength he could muster, Nile slashed downwards, aiming for the straw-hat zombie's head.

The zombie realizes that it will probably vanish soon. Still, the zombie did its best to struggle free.

The zombie duck at this moment, trying to lessen the area where the Katana might land. While doing that, the zombie raised its usable hand and aimed for Nile's cheek.

It was a do or die for the straw-hat zombie.

Although Nile anticipated for the zombie to dodge, he did not expect that it will use that moment to counterattack.

Nile felt suffocated as he stared at the incoming fist. He knew that it contained a terrifying strength.

That fist contains the zombie's last struggle after all.

Nile realized this fact, but he could not dodge. It will be futile. The fist is already looming over his cheek with only a few inches separating them. Not to mention that the speed of the fist is quite fast as well.

If Nile decided to dodge during this time, he would still be hit, his attack on the zombie's head will also get interrupted.

Nile prepared himself and decided to take the fist head-on. Just like the zombie, it was a do or die for Nile. Although, in his case, he knew that he would not die.

Nile put all his trust in the defensive property of his level one clothes and his base constitution.

The Katana was only half-way through its destination, the Apocalypse Virus inside the zombie's head.

But the fist was faster, it already arrived on Nile's cheek, hitting it squarely. As it landed, Nile felt himself getting struck by a fast-moving train.

Boom!

It was also at this moment that the sharp edge of the Katana of Liberation sliced through the Apocalypse Virus, thus killing it directly.

Along with the painful hit he took head-on in his cheek is the System's prompt of the Apocalypse Virus being killed successfully.

But unfortunately for Nile, he did not expect that the last punch of the zombie would be on another level.

The zombie already died, but the inertia of the punch is still there, making Nile's head getting pushed further to the back.

Nile's head twisted to the side as his body flew like a rocket towards the wall along with his Katana.

As Nile's body flew back, he saw Maximo ramming its horn on the zombie's armpit.

He thanked Maximo inside his head. If it was not for Maximo who suddenly arrived and rammed the zombie's armpit with his horn, thus lowering the inertia of that fist, he did not doubt that he would instantly pass out.

Nile's body crashed on the wooden Barangay Hall's wall. His body slid down, and could no longer move. Nile's mind spun around as he stared at the sky and did not know what to do any longer. He hallucinated about fireflies and stars flying around his head.

Maximo, who mustered all the courage it had to ram its horn in the zombie's armpit earlier, approached Nile worriedly and nudged its muzzle on Nile's head, in an attempt to wake him up.

It was only a while later did Nile regain his senses. Nile sat up from the ground and leaned his back slowly on the wooden wall of the Barangay Hall.

Nile tasted metal inside his mouth. He took off his mask and coughed a mouthful of blood to the ground. The metallic taste of blood still lingered inside his mouth, even though he already spits them out many times. His nose is also bleeding profusely. Nile even thought that his eardrums were the same, with blood flowing out of it.

Nile took off his hoodie and touched both of his ears. Indeed, crimson blood covered his fingers.

The zombie's last punch was too strong for Nile's current constitution. The force he received already has its strength cut by almost a half because of Maximo and the defensive capability of the clothes. Maximo lessens the fist strength by attacking the zombie's armpit. The clothes worked as his armour, two of them even. The hoodie and the face mask.

But still, that punch packed quite a lot. Without the three interferences, Nile might have already fainted directly.

Fortunately, at the cost of him almost fainting or dying, he managed to kill the powerful Level One° straw-hat zombie. Using the System's scale, the zombie's constitution might have already broken to above 8.0.

If Nile fought the zombie one on one and without an excellent weapon, Nile doubted if he could even last for more than ten seconds.

Fortunately, he has Maximo and the Katana of Liberation. One of the two missing might be a result of his death.

Nile stared at Maximo, who sat beside him, who kept on looking with him in worry.

Nile saw the zombie's body lying face down a few meters ahead of him. Its head was split in half until just above the nape.

The System prompt earlier already notified him of the zombie's death, but Nile could still not help himself to sigh in relief after seeing the zombie's body lying there without moving.

Nile stared at the cloudy sky. He put his right hand on the head of Maximo.

"It was a hard fight, but we somehow did it, Max," Nile said while stroking the carabao's head.

Nile added, with a mix of a contented and bitter laugh.

"Well, we almost died, damn it. Haha."