For the next two days, Qin Shilei remained in Gaston disguised as Robert.
Despite his inquiries, he couldn't uncover the identity of the divine child or locate the remaining three divine statues that could enable Shiva's descent.
During these two days, four more Golden Masters arrived in Gaston.
Through continuous persuasion, Liel had now garnered the allegiance of twenty-three Golden Masters.
He had been in high spirits for the past two days, already preparing to declare himself king.
As he was brimming with ambition, a piece of bad news suddenly arrived.
A massive horde of zombies was encircling Gaston from all directions. Conservative estimates placed their numbers at least at thirty to forty million.
This news quickly spread throughout Gaston, plunging the entire city into panic.
In the City Lord's mansion, the conference room.
Over forty Golden Masters were gathered once again, each with a grim expression.
No, Qin Shilei's expression was impassive.
"City Lord, do you have a plan to deal with this zombie tide?"
"There is no foolproof plan yet, which is why I've convened everyone to discuss a viable strategy."
"I believe the optimal response is to locate the Zombie Emperor. Only by slaying the Zombie Emperor can we eliminate or drive away this zombie tide."
"How can we find the Zombie Emperor hidden within this vast sea of zombies? I believe we should rely on the strength of the city walls and eliminate the zombie tide gradually."
"We are protected by tall city walls, and the zombies cannot reach us. However, we can attack from above and easily kill the zombies. These zombies are not a scourge; instead, they represent an immense source of crystal cores and treasure chests."
"You're right. This must be a generous gift sent by the heavens. Everyone can rest assured."
After much discussion, the group ultimately decided to defend the city.
Although thirty to forty million zombies were a large number, if each person killed a hundred or so, the horde would soon be annihilated.
However, when the zombie tide truly reached the city gates, everyone was stunned by the endless expanse of the undead.
As the zombies began their assault, they realized they had underestimated the challenge of a zombie siege.
While Gaston's walls were fifty meters high, in the early days of the apocalypse, zombie hordes would have been utterly helpless against such defenses.
But now, after three to four months of evolution, the zombies included not only climbers but also flying zombies with developed wings.
What troubled them even more was that among the zombie horde were at least ten or more zombie kings at the Golden realm.
In less than half a day, five zombie kings, working together, broke into the city and opened the gates.
Fortunately, Liel arrived swiftly with his forces, repelling the zombie horde and re-securing the city gates.
Yes, those zombie kings had retreated a step ahead of their arrival.
Back in the same conference room.
"City Lord, I believe we should launch a proactive offensive. Prolonged defense will lead to defeat. Once the zombie horde breaches Gaston, aside from us Golden Masters, everyone else will likely perish," someone suggested.
Liel frowned, finding it difficult to make a decision.
Qin Shilei suddenly spoke, "City Lord Liel, we only have over forty Golden Masters. To ensure the city's safety, at least half our forces must remain on guard.
With only twenty-something masters venturing out to search for the Zombie Emperor, it is highly unlikely to find it without splitting up, yet splitting up risks ambushes from the hidden Zombie Emperor.
As it stands, I believe we should implore Shiva to descend upon the divine child to ensure our safety."
His words resonated with many present.
Their initial reluctance to venture out and search for the Zombie Emperor stemmed from the fear of unforeseen dangers.
At this point, they also voiced their suggestions for Liel to request Shiva's intervention to resolve this dilemma.
Liel's brow furrowed, and he gritted his teeth in frustration, "We will set out of the city immediately. As soon as we find any trace of the Zombie Emperor, Lord Shiva will surely appear and tear this damned creature to shreds!"
He quickly selected twenty individuals to accompany him in searching for the Zombie Emperor.
Qin Shilei was tasked with remaining in the city to defend it.
Not long after they departed, Qin Shilei immediately concealed himself and summoned his phantom to follow them.
Liel and his contingent randomly chose a direction, flying above the zombie horde, their eyes constantly scanning the undead below, hoping to spot any anomalies.
Unbeknownst to them, a spectral figure was following them from a distance.
Liel and his party had flown for tens of kilometers. The zombie population below had become sparse, yet there was no sign of the Zombie Emperor or any zombie kings.
"City Lord, perhaps we should split into four groups. Each group separated by five to ten kilometers. This way, we can provide mutual support while also having a better chance of finding the Zombie Emperor."
As they hadn't encountered any danger, someone proposed this idea.
His suggestion was quickly approved by everyone.
Five people per group, they soon dispersed.
Flying on the far right were four men and one woman.
One of the lecherous young men casually glanced at the zombies below before turning to the seductive woman beside him and jesting, "Eileen, how about you accompany me for a couple of drinks tonight?"
Eileen batted her eyelashes at the young man, "I'm on city watch tonight, so I'm afraid I won't have time to drink with you."
The young man lewdly chuckled, "How about I accompany you flying in mid-air on watch? We can drink and do some 'things' while we're at it. I'm sure it would be quite thrilling."
"Heh heh," Eileen giggled, "You rascal, you want to do such things in broad daylight? I won't entertain you."
Though her words conveyed refusal, her expression clearly suggested a desire to try it.
Another middle-aged man in his thirties was about to interject and join their conversation when he noticed a streak of electricity rapidly heading their way.
"Careful!"
Before his voice had even faded, the streak of electricity had materialized into a phantom, wielding a long sword and ferociously slashing at Eileen.
Bang, bang, bang!
Various multi-colored protective items on Eileen's person lit up, only to be quickly extinguished.
Then, with growing horror, she realized that with a flash of cold steel, her lower body was plummeting towards the ground.
Qin Shilei immediately controlled the phantom to pursue the young man who was now fleeing.
These ordinary first-tier Golden evolutionary beings could not withstand more than a few moves from the phantom.
Within two seconds, the young man was killed again.
"Enemy attack!"
The remaining three, shouting for help, fled into the distance.
Teleportation!
One-Punch Man!
The phantom, with its increased strength, killed with even greater speed.
In just three seconds, two more Golden Masters were split in half.
Just then, a powerful aura erupted from a distance.
The phantom glanced towards the distant source of power before continuing its pursuit of the last person in this group.
After dispatching the remaining individual, a pink figure was rapidly flying towards him, less than a thousand meters away.
"Huh!"
Far away in Gaston, Qin Shilei let out an involuntary sigh.
He hadn't expected the first to arrive to be the alluring beauty named Jiem'a by Liel's side.
The divine child Liel mentioned was, in fact, a woman.
The phantom raised its hand and waved at Jiem'a, no, at Shiva's avatar, and then abruptly vanished into thin air.
"Ah!"
Shiva roared in fury, "Damn Qin An Wang, you will not escape!"
He turned his head, scanning his surroundings, but found no trace of Qin Shilei.
Infuriated, he flew directly into the zombie horde below and began a frenzied slaughter of the lower-tier zombies.
After venting his rage for nearly ten minutes, he returned to the divine realm.
Jiem'a's body went weak, almost collapsing to the ground.
The descent of Shiva's avatar into the divine child's body placed an immense burden on the host, making it impossible for him to remain on Blue Star for an extended period.