68 A Small Sacrifice

"A few things before I descend any further." Captain Hei took out two black talismans with red inked symbols on it and passed it to the squad leaders, Bin Yong and Bu Dong.

"Use them if you are in deep trouble. They might be a lifesaver for you." The panda captain continued to bite its straw of wheat.

"Your call signs and symbols are based on the type of cultivation you have when you check your map on the Pandamonium app. Oh and do not worry, your phones are protected by the dungeon instance and the battery consumption is low. If you need to recharge your phone after the instance, ask Boss Jin." Captain Hei explained.

The Pandamonium app immediately showed the party list and assigned a well-designed symbol for each and every member.

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SQUAD A

Bin Yong - Beetle

Shi Zuo - Monkey

Luo Bo - Rabbit

Jia Le - Bellflower

SQUAD B

Bu Dong - Ape

Yue Han - Bat

Kong Xian - Tortoise

Xiong Da - Hippo

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"The call signs are used to facilitate communication in case you forget their names and it's easier to recognise symbols on a map than names." Captain Hei tapped the brown falcon once more and it swooped down even further.

"Last thing! An open voice transmission channel had been set up for the whole group. Concentrate on who you will like to speak with and you will connect with them." Captain Hei spoke and snapped his fingers.

All eight cultivators were energised with overflowing chi and Captain Hei ordered them to jump off the brown falcon. "Let me create a landing area for all of you!" Xiong Da the Hippo was the first to dive down to a forested area.

"War Club Art, Hippo Ground Pounding Smash!"

He lifted his War Club while he was flying and aimed his weapon at the ground. The chi which Captain Hei gave, allowed him to create a sonic boom in a second. The War Club decimates the branches blocking its way and when it reaches the ground, the impact was immense enough to uproot the trees and instantly kill the human-looking zombies within the radius of the War Club skill.

Foul blood and organs splattered throughout the landing area. Thus, Hippo created a safe landing area for the seven other cultivators to arrive at which they used the chi they received from Captain Hei to land safely.

As Xiong Da took out his phone to check the area map in the Pandamonium app, he saw a counter blinking at the top of his screen.

"Zombies killed: 17"

"Oh? So the app keeps track of the number of zombies we are killing. Perhaps a reward for doing so." Hippo thought to himself. The squads managed to locate one of their objectives from afar at the landing area. The smoking watchtower on the Great Wall.

"It will take roughly 10 minutes to reach there by foot and the forest is brimming with zombies." Bin Yong the Beetle stated as he studied the map.

"Then we better hurry because this landing area seems to have a "COME GET ME, I'M FOOD" sign to attract them." Yue Han the Bat commented as the nearby zombies started to sense the delicious chi energy from the cultivators.

"Kong Xian..ehh I mean Tortoise and I will lead the vanguard through the forest. Squad A should conserve your strength to take over the watchtower from the zombies. Maybe save any footsoldiers if possible since Captain Hei mentioned about them." Bu Dong the Ape spoke out the battle plan for both squads.

"We should be okay with that, but who will be protecting our rear?" Beetle took out his weapons, a sword and buckler.

"Leave it to Big Brother Hippo," Bat replied and hurried them to get going before the zombies came for them. Meanwhile, Hippo felt elated that the team decided to rely on him. Looks like the training in those goblin dungeons might prove worthy soon.

"Tortoise, get your armour projections up and I will lead the way." Ape gathered his chi once more and infused it with his sword.

"Understood, Tortoise Style! Wide Armour Projection of the Tortoise!" Kong Xian said it out and chi energy started to swivel around his body, giving him a projection of a greenish medium armour silhouette. The Armour Projection acts similar to chi armour but a stronger and more specialised version of it.

"Let's go!" Squad B leader Ape shouted and they were running through the forest to reach the Great Wall. The skill, Wide Armour Projection of the Tortoise, which Kong Xian the Tortoise generates was a large but fairly weak chi barrier surrounding him and the group.

Obstacles like trees would be ignored by the barrier but when the zombies came into contact with it, it would gently push the undead to the side of the barrier where Ape would take over and kill them with his sword. Most of the zombies in the vicinity were not too much of a threat mainly because the two squads were behind them and they could not respond in time. Those who responded were the zombies who caught a glimpse of them moving forward.

The situation, however, was not the same when they approached the Great Wall. The zombies were everywhere as if trying to tear the Great Wall down with their overwhelming numbers. The squads were close enough to notice some arrows flying past them.

"Hey! Looks like Captain Hei did send us reinforcements!" A Panda with a coned straw hat shouted as it saw the eight modern looking cultivators dashing into the battlefield slaughtering the zombies.

"Clear a path for them if possible!" Another Panda foot soldier shouted and threw a brown small packet with an ignited fuse over the Great Wall where a horde of zombies was creating a body pile to climb up the wall.

"BOOM!"

Black smoke and dust filled the air as parts and pieces of zombies flown in disarray. The only damage being done to the Great Wall was an incoherent artwork of zombie blood. "Beetle! Bring your squad up to the Great Wall, Squad A will bring peace to these undead." Ape shouted.

"Rabbit, Bellflower! I will give you a lift, step on my hand and jump!"Tortoise lowered his knees and intercrossed his fingers to provide a cusp for Luo Bo the Rabbit to jump. However, Rabbit inserted chi into her leg muscles and jumped onto Tortoise's shoulder before performing a high jump to grab onto the edge of the Great Wall.

"Thanks, Tortoise but I think I can handle myself!" Rabbit teased back as a Panda foot soldier grabbed onto her hand to pull her up. Tortoise was a little annoyed but returned to focus on Bellflower.

"I think I do need the lift! " Jia Le the Bellflower stepped onto Tortoise's hand and he used his chi to throw her up to the Great Wall. Bellflower managed to coordinate and sync with Tortoise's movement with her jump and she barely managed to grab on to the edge of the Great Wall.

"I got you little Bellflower!" Rabbit held onto Bellflower's wrist and pull her up. However, one of the zombies suddenly emerged from the pile of dead flesh after the explosion and ran up the pile to grab on Bellflower's ankle.

"Ahh!" Bellflower cried and Rabbit nearly toppled over from the zombie's grab. Although the zombies were weak in dexterity, constitution and intelligence but their strength despite their size compensated for all of it. Thankfully, a nearby panda foot soldier immediately dropped his weapon and rushed to hold onto Rabbit before she fell over the edge.

"Jia Le!" Beetle noticed the commotion when he was guarding Tortoise and immediately threw his shield. "Shield Art! Shield Boomerang of the Beetle!" The shield was immediately charged with Beetle's chi and flew into the elbow of the zombie grabbing Bellflower.

The Zombie's hand snapped into half and Rabbit tried to pull her up quickly. If not for the Panda foot soldier's help, both Bellflower and Rabbit would have fallen into the pile of zombies. "No! Panda!" Bellflower was in shock when Rabbit pulled her over to the inner body of the Great Wall. Rabbit turned back and she noticed that the panda who was holding onto her was already bitten by numerous zombies.

"Panda!" Both Bellflower and Rabbit's rage went through the roof. The Panda smiled at them for the last time and his expression changed to one with fury as he turned his body to slam the zombies. It even bit one of the zombie's head off before it fell to the ground.

Bellflower and Rabbit knelt and tried to check its breathing. "It's a small sacrifice..bring us victory..." The honourable panda puffed out its last breath and Rabbit closed its eyes out of respect.

At this point, a small number of Panda foot soldiers reinforced the area and surrounded the two cultivators. "Protect the cultivators as they climb up the wall! We will win the watch tower back!" A higher ranking panda foot soldier commanded.

"Those zombies are going to pay!!" Rabbit shouted and even Jia Le who seemed fairly demure had anger in her eyes.