NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 470
Thud!
A tree, seemingly twice the size of an average adult man, was completely crushed and toppled by the relentless attack of a zombie polar bear, whose assault had already happened so many times that it was impossible to keep count.
Mari, barely managing to roll away from the zombie bear’s follow-up attack, finally escaped its range of attack.
The surrounding area was a complete mess.
The relentless attacks of the zombie bear had turned the area near the old tree into what could only be described as an open space.
The remnants of numerous trees, claw marks gouged into the ground, and cracked or shattered rocks—all these traces were the work of a single zombie bear.
Despite its mascot-like white appearance, the zombie polar bear was ferocious and savage, as if it were the embodiment of malice and hatred toward humans.
“Haa… Haa…!”
Mari’s condition was no better.
Though she hadn’t been directly hit by the zombie bear’s attacks, the mere grazes had left her body aching as if her bones were cracked. Rolling countless times had left her skin covered in scratches and wounds from tree splinters and rocks.
In stark contrast, the zombie bear remained completely unharmed, just as it had been when it first attacked Mari.
But that didn’t mean Mari hadn’t fought back at all.
Groooar!!
“An opening…! Now!!”
Mari, having escaped the zombie bear’s attack range, quickly nocked an arrow and shot it straight at the bear’s chest.
Thunk
The arrow, drawing a faint blue line, embedded itself into the zombie bear’s chest.
But then, something strange happened—something that had occurred several times during the fight.
As if time were reversing, the arrow was pushed back out of the bear’s chest, and the wound disappeared.
Reverse playback? No, regeneration.
The real reason the zombie bear was called a zombie.
The zombie bear wasn’t truly undead; it was just a living creature. But it was called a zombie bear because of its unique trait.
No matter how much damage it took, it wouldn’t die, and its wounds would regenerate. Its appearance, as if it were mimicking a zombie that had died long ago but continued to live solely out of hatred for humans, earned it the name.
“Tch! Even aiming for the heart…!”
Mari bit her lip as she watched the zombie bear regenerate.
This wasn’t the first time she had seen it regenerate. In fact, it was a sight she had witnessed repeatedly.
She had taken every opportunity to shoot arrows at the bear, but each time, its abnormal regeneration made it as if the attacks had never happened.
She had thought that a well-placed shot to a vital point might deal some damage, but even that was blocked by the bear’s thick muscles and hide, regenerating before it could cause any fatal damage.
It was too despairing.
The compatibility was just too bad.
If it were Karina or Serena, they might have been able to deal damage beyond the zombie bear’s regeneration, but Mari alone lacked the decisive power to deliver a fatal blow.
No, even before compatibility, the gap between the zombie bear and Mari was just too vast.
Faced with that overwhelming gap, Mari began to lose strength in her hands, and the light of hope faded from her eyes.
She couldn’t even think of a way to defeat the zombie bear.
She wanted to leave that place and run toward the village where Kurt and the others were.
“Big sister!!”
But Mari couldn’t even run away.
Because Pepper, whom she had brought into the forest with her, was still there.
Fortunately, Pepper had climbed up an old tree and was safe from the zombie bear’s attacks, but because of that, Mari couldn’t run away.
“…Haha. Don’t worry. Big sister’s fine.”
Mari forced a smile.
The idea of leaving Pepper behind and running away alone was unimaginable.
“…If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gotten mad at Kurt.”
Mari regretted getting annoyed at Kurt before leaving the inn.
If she hadn’t gotten mad at Kurt and fought with him, she wouldn’t have gone outside the village alone with Pepper in the first place—she would have gone with Kurt.
But it was too late for regrets.
If she ran away now, Pepper would immediately become the target.
But even if she didn’t run, it was only a matter of time before she was defeated.
Groooar!!
The zombie bear roared again and charged at Mari, who desperately threw herself aside to dodge the attack.
Barely avoiding the attack, Mari muttered as she gauged the distance between the zombie bear and Pepper.
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have said those things before leaving the inn…”
Even though she had only been grazed by the zombie bear’s attack, the area felt numb, as if it had been hit by a hammer.
If she could lure the zombie bear as far away from the village as possible, maybe Pepper would have a slightly higher chance of escaping.
As Mari prepared to face death to protect Pepper, something oddly familiar caught her eye.
It had been hidden by the surrounding trees and bushes until the zombie bear destroyed them, revealing it.
“Huh…?”
At that moment, the zombie bear, furious at Mari for repeatedly escaping its attacks, roared and charged again. Before her brain could even process it, Mari’s body reacted, grabbing onto something that looked like a vine she had seen somewhere before.
Boom!!
Groooar!!
Cough, cough!
A small explosion echoed, and a spicy, pungent powder scattered into the air. The zombie bear, having taken the powder head-on, let out a pained roar and twisted its body.
Mari, coughing in the painfully stimulating aroma, realized what she had just pulled.
Of course it looked familiar.
That trap was one of the basic hunting traps Kurt had taught her about long ago.
It was one of the traps Kurt had set up while exploring the forest over the past few days.
Just as the zombie bear had set traps to hunt humans, Kurt had prepared traps for the zombie bear.
Of course, traps like that wouldn’t be enough to take down the zombie bear.
Kurt’s skills alone would have been enough to hunt the zombie bear without any traps.
He had set up those traps in case someone was attacked by the zombie bear in the forest, hoping to create even a small opening for them to escape.
And perhaps, in case the group was ambushed by the zombie bear like now, he had hoped it would help them.
“I thought it was taking a long time to search for the zombie bear, but I never expected Kurt to set up traps like this…”
Even though Kurt wasn’t here, Mari felt as if he were by her side, and a spark of vitality returned to her eyes.
But this time, what filled her eyes wasn’t hope—it was determination.
Mari quickly scanned her surroundings.
Before, she hadn’t noticed, but once she became aware of the traps, she began to spot several artificial traps scattered around.
Especially since the zombie bear’s rampage had turned the forest into an open space, the traps were even more visible.
In an instant, all the knowledge and techniques Kurt had taught her about traps flooded her mind, and the information about the traps began to combine and intertwine chaotically.
“A hunter only sets out to hunt when all preparations are complete. So, since I’ve started the hunt, I need to make the most of the environment I’ve been given.”
Groooowl
By then, the zombie bear, having recovered from the painful tear gas trap, glared at Mari with bloodshot eyes. Mari, steeling her resolve, placed her hand on her bow.
“Alright, Mr. Zombie Bear. Let’s see who’s better prepared for the hunt.”
…
…
…
By the time they had rushed out of the village, Kurt and the group were already in a full sprint.
“Tch! I never thought it would create fake traces! We wasted too much time falling for its tricks!”
It was unexpected.
They knew the zombie bear was a cunning monster, but they never expected it to fake Mari’s traces.
“It’s already more cunning than an average hunter. No, maybe it’s not just cunning—it might be recreating methods it had been subjected to before…”
It was a cruel and malicious tactic.
But now wasn’t the time to calmly discuss the zombie bear’s intelligence.
“Damn it! If the zombie bear erased Mari’s traces, that means it’s definitely targeting her!”
“I just hope we’re not too late…”
They had already wasted a considerable amount of time falling for its tricks.
And if this much time had passed, Mari might have already…
Kurt pushed away the ominous thought and desperately sharpened his senses to follow Mari’s trail.
Groooar
Then, the faint roar of a beast.
It was unmistakably the roar of a bear.
The others must have heard it too, as their expressions instantly hardened.
“That’s the zombie bear’s roar!”
“Kurt! We’ll follow the trail, so hurry and go save Mari…!”
At the sound, Serena urged Kurt to go ahead, but before she could finish, Kurt had already grabbed both Karina and Serena and started running at full speed.