Apocalypse Chapter 43: Wounded

Chapter 43: Wounded

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Wild boars are omnivorous animals. Before the Great Crisis, adult wild boars could grow to over 400 pounds, far exceeding the size and weight of humans. These creatures are also temperamental and can actively attack people. When encountering them, ordinary people can only run away quickly.

The Lingshan Reservoir was a famous natural scenic area, with a considerable number of wild boars inside. After experiencing the Great Crisis, many wild boars mutated. Their bodies became more robust than before, and their weight increased exponentially.

The group of wild boars charging towards River’s Bridge was just a small group with only a dozen pigs a few months ago, but now it has become a large group with over a hundred pigs. The leading wild boars are larger than SUVs, with ferocious faces and blood-red eyes. When they charged down from the mountain, all the buildings in their path were flattened.

The houses on River’s Bridge were mainly fancy guesthouses, and many of them sacrifice structure for aesthetics. The massive herd of wild boars, like dozens of large vehicles, in just a few minutes, turned half of River’s Bridge into ruins. This was a wild boar’s feast. They knock down houses, searching for people trapped under the rubble to eat. Villagers who escaped were chased by the crazed wild boars, and screams and cries echo throughout the village.

Faced with disaster, most people can only flee helplessly. But there were always those who would stand up. Dozens of strong young villagers spontaneously organize themselves. They counterattacked using terrain advantages and weapons like hunting rifles, guns, bows, and crossbows.

Jiang Zixuan was a member of the self-defense team. He held his family’s ancestral rifle and crouched on the balcony of his home’s second floor. The lights in the village were gradually extinguished one by one. By the faint light, he locked onto a wild boar that was about the size of a person.

The wild boar walked along the village road, sniffing as it went, chasing the scent left by survivors. Its fur was lighter than the lead boars’, indicating it was a young pig.

After aiming at the wild boar’s head, Jiang Zixuan gently pulled the trigger. A flash of fire erupted from the muzzle, and the wild boar staggered, its front legs buckling. Just as Jiang Zixuan thought the boar would fall, it shook its head, struggled to get up, then, with a bloody wound on its back, quickly rushed towards an alley.

Jiang Zixuan pounded the wall beside him in frustration. The mutated wild boar was tough, even his ancestral rifle couldn’t do much to it. What should he do now?

As the sound of collapsing houses reached his ears, he looked toward the source and saw houses collapsing one after another at the end of the alley. It seemed like the two leading wild boars had arrived. He needed to pack up and leave quickly, or he’d be trapped in the building, risking his life.

But before he could put away his rifle, a black shadow burst out from the dust cloud caused by the collapsed building. The solar-powered streetlights at the alley flicker, illuminating the shape of the black shadow.

It was a fierce wild boar, nearly two meters tall and as long as a sedan. At the sight of it, Jiang Zixuan’s legs trembled uncontrollably.

The stench became stronger. It dawned on him that the strange smell everyone detected earlier came from the wild boar. These beasts lurked around the village under the cover of night, launching attacks when least expected.

The wild boar snorted, its eyes bloodshot, scanning the surroundings as if searching for something. Behind it followed a wild boar with its head bleeding, whimpering with lowered head, resembling a child seeking parental intervention after being wronged.

Never did Jiang Zixuan expect a wild boar to seek intervention, much less did he expect the support it brought to be such terrifying creatures. Jiang Zixuan regretted firing that shot just now.

He tried to shrink back, but as soon as he moved, the boar abruptly lifted its head, staring directly at his hiding spot. Through the scope, the boar’s eyes resembled two bright bulbs, devoid of any mercy.

Their eyes met, and Jiang Zixuan felt sweat trickling down his spine, soaking his shirt. Trembling, he loaded another bullet into the chamber, then aimed his rifle at the mutated wild boar’s eyes.

Every living being had weaknesses, and the eyes lack the thick fur and fat to shield them. If he could hurt the boar’s eyes, maybe he’d have a chance to escape.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel. Jiang Zixuan’s hands shook violently, unable to aim at the boar’s eyes. His heart pounded wildly, cursing the boar’s ancestors in his mind.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally aimed at the boar’s left eye and pulled the trigger. But instead of a shot, his rifle exploded with a bang. Jiang Zixuan felt his hands go numb, blood trickling from his palms. Looking closely, he saw the barrel of the gun had twisted into a spiral.

Fortunately, it exploded at the barrel, not at the chamber. Otherwise, his hands would be useless. Just as he started to celebrate this stroke of luck, Jiang Zixuan suddenly remembered something even more terrifying.

This rifle has been used since his grandfather’s time. Although it’s old, the craftsmanship was excellent. His grandfather used it for many years without ever experiencing such an explosion. How could it suddenly explode?

A dreadful thought crosses Jiang Zixuan’s mind: this boar, not only has it mutated in size, but it also possesses some kind of extraordinary ability!

Oh no. These two words echo in Jiang Zixuan’s mind, as he envisioned his body being devoured by the wild boar.

The boar lowered its head, its front hooves dug into the ground, and its tusks were aimed at the building where Jiang Zixuan was hiding. With a low grunt, the boar charged forward with all its might. Because of the speed, Jiang Zixuan only saw a black blur flash by. He closed his eyes, instinctively protecting his head, waiting for death to come.

But the expected pain didn’t come, nor did the walls collapse. He wasn’t buried under debris. Instead, he heard the wild boar’s agonized screams.

Jiang Zixuan opened his eyes, puzzled and uncertain about what just happened. What’s going on? With just one glance, he was utterly stunned.

The once arrogant wild boar was now covered by a massive red “net,” losing its sense of direction, stumbling around under the streetlights. It howled in agony, rubbing against the nearby courtyard wall, trying to shake off the “net” on its body. But the more it struggled, the tighter the “net” constricted. Every “rope” on the “net” seemed to glow under the streetlights. The black of the boar and the red of the “net” formed a stark contrast.

Jiang Zixuan heard a sucking sound, as if a dozen people were simultaneously drinking through straws. Upon closer listening, he realized the sound was coming from the direction of the wild boar.

The wild boar couldn’t make a sound anymore, its body convulsing. Along with the convulsions, a blood-stained hoof emerged from the entanglement of vines. The sturdy hoof was full of bloody holes, and fresh red blood slowly dripped down its fur.

At this moment, a vine as thick as a thumb wrapped around the hoof. It first caught the dripping blood and then once again covered the boar’s hoof. It was then that Jiang Zixuan noticed that the vine was covered with thorns, and the blood holes on the boar’s hoof were caused by these thorns piercing through. The wild boar, larger than a car, was wrapped into a red ball and quickly lost its life.

Watching the vine, which was now sucking the blood and flesh of the wild boar through small tendrils, Jiang Zixuan’s legs went weak, and he couldn’t stand. His teeth were chattering, and overwhelming fear almost engulfed him. What kind of monster was this? Such a terrifying wild boar couldn’t last five minutes in its grasp. After devouring the wild boar, would it come after him next? A familiar voice came from downstairs, “Don’t just stand there, hurry toward the direction of the brigade headquarters.”

Jiang Zixuan shook his body stiffly and turned his head to look. Two people had appeared at the end of the road at some point. One was carrying a gun and walking briskly ahead, while the other held a bow and crossbow tightly, following closely behind. The two of them coordinated seamlessly, a stark contrast to the panicked villagers who were only concerned with fleeing for their lives.

As the two approached, Jiang Zixuan finally saw their faces clearly. His pupils suddenly contracted, his face full of disbelief, “Jiang, Jiang Rong? Chu Qiang? How is it you guys?”

Chu Qiang sneered and didn’t respond, while Jiang Rong quickly glanced at him and added, “Go, the others are at the brigade headquarters.”

Jiang Zixuan’s wildly beating heart calmed down a bit, and he forced a smile, asking, “How did you guys get here?”

Jiang Rong frowned, “We’ll talk later. If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to help you when things escalate.”

Jiang Zixuan understood it wasn’t the time for pleasantries. At a critical moment like this, saving his life was paramount. He didn’t even look back as he left the balcony.

Seeing Jiang Zixuan’s desperate figure fleeing, Chu Qiang clicked his tongue, “This guy hasn’t changed at all, just as cowardly as before. Let me tell you, Xiaoheng, you and him should stay away from each other.” Jiang Rong glanced lightly at Chu Qiang, who realized he had spoken out of turn, “I’m just reminding you, don’t take it to heart.”

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, then lowered his voice and pushed forward about ten meters. Soon, they arrived beside the bloodthirsty vine. Little Guaiguai was deeply engrossed in sucking the blood and flesh of the mutated wild boar. Since following Jiang Rong, it hadn’t eaten for several days.

The taste of flesh and blood was still so delicious. Little Guaiguai rhythmically swayed the thorns on the vine, deeply piercing into the mutated wild boar’s fur. The red vines soaked in blood looked even more beautiful than usual.

Chu Qiang murmured, “My god… Is this the true appearance of the bloodthirsty vine?”

He had only seen Little Guaiguai, who seemed like a bullied kid before. It was the first time he discovered how terrifying it could be.

Chu Qiang’s back was sweating, “Bro, you’re really amazing.”

It was one thing to subdue a Little Fairy, but to be able to subdue such a monstrous mutated plant for one’s own use was incredible. If it were him, not to mention subduing it, he might have just exchanged glances and ended up like the dried-up corpse of the wild boar.

The wild boar visibly slimmed down at a rapid rate. Just when Jiang Rong thought Little Guaiguai would continue feeding, it released the boar and curled up into a ball, “Protect~”

Before setting off, Jiang Rong had told it to kill more mutated wild boars to protect the members of the esper team. This wild boar was taken care of; it was time to chase down the next one.

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “Go ahead.”

Little Guaiguai quickly disappeared into the dark alley, with Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang following closely behind. Chu Qiang heaved a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness this thing is our companion; I don’t want to go against it at all.”

River’s Bridge was not small in scale, with several hundred households built along the mountain. Over a hundred pigs were scattered throughout the village. Just relying on Jiang Rong and the others, even if they fought for days and nights, they wouldn’t be able to wipe them all out.

However, Jiang Rong and his team didn’t fight unprepared battles. They had already planned their tactics before setting off. Before entering the village, they would use all their abilities to seal off all the exits of River’s Bridge, cutting off the mutated wild boars’ chances of escaping and forming an encirclement.

Once the encirclement was formed, the bloodthirsty vine would take the opportunity to sneak in and kill the fleeing wild boars.

Apart from Wang Chunlan and her daughter, everyone else needed to enter the encirclement. It was ideal if they could kill the wild boars, but if they couldn’t, they had to cooperate with other teammates to drive the wild boar herd to the artificial pond in the east of the village.

The weather was dry, and the pond had long since dried up, so once the wild boars entered the pond, they’d get stuck in the thick mud. Then the battlefield would shrink, and they’d occupy advantageous positions, making it less difficult to deal with the wild boars.

The plan was good, but the wild boars weren’t pushovers. As more and more villagers successfully escaped, the pressure on Jiang Rong and his team inside the encirclement increased. After consecutively killing several wild boars, Jiang Rong’s face turned pale. He had expended too much of his ability, and his speed was no longer as fast as before.

Chu Qiang shielded Jiang Rong and asked with concern, “Xiao Jiang, are you okay?”

Jiang Rong responded with a weary tone in his voice that even he hadn’t noticed, “I’m fine, but I don’t know about the others.”

The five people who came in were divided into two teams, he and Chu Qiang formed one team, while Guan Shao led Ruan Hanyu and Pan Pan in another. Although Guan Shao had extensive combat experience, Ruan Hanyu and Pan Pan had no combat experience, which worried him.

Jiang Rong really wanted to use the walkie-talkie to ask Guan Shao about their situation, but he was afraid of diverting their attention.

Chu Qiang reassured him, “Don’t worry, Guan Shao is an expert among experts; he’s very capable. Besides, Pan Pan and Hanyu may lack experience, but that doesn’t mean they’re dumb. With a little guidance in crucial moments, they’ll understand. Relax!”

The rustling sound came from the walkie-talkie, and Guan Shao’s voice came through from the walkie-talkie on Jiang Rong’s chest, “Jiang Rong, a relatively large mutated wild boar is heading in your direction. It will probably pass through the main road to your left in about a minute. Can you take the side path to lead it toward the bell tower?”

Jiang Rong promptly responded, “Got it.” 

There was a small square in the middle of River’s Bridge with a small bell tower built on it. He had remembered the location of the bell tower when he looked at the map before.

Guan Shao added, “Don’t take the main road; you can’t match the wild boar’s speed. Try to take the alleyways and watch out for safety.”

Jiang Rong chuckled lightly, “Okay.”

After hanging up the walkie-talkie, Chu Qiang was puzzled, “Huh? How does Guan Shao know where we are?”

Jiang Rong tightened his grip on the object in his hand and leaned against the wall behind him, “I don’t know.” 

In terms of combat, Guan Shao had a terrifying intuition. Jiang Rong prided himself on his memory, but while he and Guan Shao were looking at the map of River’s Bridge at the same time, Guan Shao had already begun formulating a plan, while he hadn’t finished reading it all. When he silently counted to sixty, heavy breathing could be heard from the main road to the left. 

Chu Qiang quickly peeked out and froze in place. When he retracted his head, his eyes widened, “Does Guan Shao call that relatively large?”

The wild boar that Little Guaiguai had tangled with before was already quite large, but the one in front of them was even larger by a large margin. It strolled leisurely through the village at night, like a king inspecting its territory. With each step it took, the ground under their feet trembled.

Despite the difficulty of the task, they had to act. Jiang Rong took a deep breath, “Let’s go.”

He and Chu Qiang both pulled the triggers in the direction of the wild boar. The crossbow bolts and bullets accurately pinned the wild boar. The wild boar’s body suddenly stopped, and it turned its head to look at the additional wounds on its body, seeming somewhat puzzled. But it quickly realized it had been ambushed, and in an instant, it looked towards the alley where Jiang Rong and the others were, its eyes crazed and angry.

At the moment the triggers were pulled, Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang ran for their lives. The mutated wild boar was very fast, and its strength was terrifying. If they accidentally got caught by it, today would be their death anniversary next year.

The two of them ran desperately in the alleyways, Chu Qiang’s voice changing as he shouted, “Why is River’s Bridge so big? Ah, Xiao Jiang, which way do we go?”

Jiang Rong ran ahead and dared not look back, “Just follow me closely.”

A huge noise came from behind them, and a huge dust cloud rose in the alley they had just passed through, indicating that the wild boar was closely chasing them. The wild boar was huge, and if they took the main road, they would easily be caught up. At this moment, they could only rely on Jiang Rong’s memory to find the fastest route through the side paths.

The alleys between the guesthouses were full of steps, and one could easily step into the void if not careful. Under Jiang Rong’s leadership, they managed to pass through several alleys without incident.

Chu Qiang felt relieved, “Jiang Rong, you’re really amazing.” 

Xiao Jiang had been clever since he was a child. Now, he couldn’t even find his way, but Xiao Jiang could lead him to the fastest alley.

Just as they were about to turn and rush into the last alley, Jiang Rong’s footsteps suddenly stopped. A mutated wild boar was stuck in the alley, blocking their path.

Seeing this pig, Chu Qiang couldn’t help but curse. The bell tower was right in front of them, but if they changed their route now, it would be suicidal, “Xiao Jiang, what should we do?”

Jiang Rong made up his mind, “Charge!” 

With that, he rushed toward the wild boar. Under Chu Qiang’s shocked gaze, Jiang Rong stepped on the wild boar’s head with one foot and stepped on its back with the other.

Jiang Rong flew over the wild boar like this, and Chu Qiang’s eyes lit up, “Awesome!”

However, after Jiang Rong landed, he groaned, and Chu Qiang’s heart skipped a beat, “Are you okay?”

Jiang Rong’s suppressed voice came, “I’m fine, come over here!”

Following Jiang Rong’s lead, Chu Qiang also jumped over. As a reinforcement-type esper, he was tough-skinned, so even if he fell, it wouldn’t be a problem. After rolling on the ground a few times, Chu Qiang managed to get up successfully.

The bell tower was right in front of them, and Chu Qiang was overjoyed, “Xiao Jiang! We made it! Huh? Where’s Master Guan?”

Jiang Rong struggled to get up from the ground, staggering towards the bell tower. “We have to leave here quickly,” he said. Blood trickled down his forehead, and his left arm twisted at a strange angle. The fall had been brutal, and now he was seeing stars.

Chu Qiang’s voice came in a worried tone, “Xiao Jiang, Xiao Jiang, you’re bleeding. Don’t move, I’m coming!”

In the next moment, Jiang Rong’s body suddenly lifted into the air, as Chu Qiang picked him up and ran towards the bell tower. “Xiao Jiang’s hand is broken! Where’s Sister Chunlan?”

Jiang Rong hadn’t felt the pain before, but with Chu Qiang’s jolt, he almost passed out. He lowered his voice, “Shut up! Sister Chunlan is outside.”

No matter how loud Chu Qiang’s voice was, it couldn’t match the commotion caused by the wild boars. He had barely taken a few steps forward when a whistling wind suddenly came from behind.

Guan Shao’s voice rang out, “Get down!”

Chu Qiang quickly crouched down, holding Jiang Rong, and just as he did, a wild boar grazed his hair and crashed heavily in front of them from above. The wild boar grunted a few times, twitched a few times, and then stopped breathing. Judging from its size, it was probably the pig that had been stuck in the alley just now.

Chu Qiang’s hair stood on end. Why did the pig fly? It must have been hit and thrown by a stronger wild boar blocking its path. Other than that, he couldn’t think of a better reason. A heavy breathing came from behind, and Chu Qiang couldn’t help but hold Jiang Rong tighter. He swallowed hard, trembling, and turned his head, only to see a pair of blood-red eyes behind them.

The furious wild boar lowered its head, its front legs scraping the ground, and its tail thrashing wildly. With a roar, it suddenly exerted force and charged towards the two of them.

Bang! The gunshot rang out.

It was hard for the human eye to see the trajectory of a bullet, but Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang clearly saw the path of this bullet. It carried a faint purple electric light, drawing a beautiful straight line in the air. The bullet pierced through the wild boar’s long and sharp tusks, deeply embedding itself in the middle of its eye.

With a crisp sound, the wild boar’s head exploded. In the flickering of the electric light, the giant wild boar collapsed to the ground.

***

The village headquarters of River’s Bridge was located directly in front of the village. The villagers were wealthy, and the village headquarters was also built luxuriously. It had an auditorium and a gym, where villagers used to relax and entertain themselves.

When the village headquarters was built, the villagers never imagined that one day it would become their refuge. The surviving villagers, dirty and trembling, sat or lay around with blank stares, some sobbing softly, others lying on the ground with blood-soaked clothes, their fates unknown.

This was the longest night they had ever experienced in their lives, and every person present was contemplating the great questions of life and death: could they really survive with their abilities?

The long night finally passed, and at dawn, good news came from outside the auditorium. “The espers have wiped out the mutated wild boars!”

The people inside the auditorium helped each other walk outside, looking at the rising sun. They couldn’t help but smile, but as they smiled, tears flowed. Many of them had previously had the idea that if they were to live without dignity and with nothing, it would be better to find a place to die. However, after experiencing this bloody and long night, they would never say that again.

Death truly meant having nothing, while being alive offered hope. But it was too difficult for ordinary people to survive. Just a group of mutated wild boars had easily destroyed their homes. Without the protection of espers, how much longer could they hold on? In the face of survival, they were willing to give everything.

 

 

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