Chapter 59: The Roman Curia

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Holding the little blonde girl in his arms, Ye Yang apologized desperately, letting her kick and beat his body, letting her tear and bite his arms. The girl was on the verge of madness, for her heart had already been utterly shattered.

Her father ultimately could not be saved. Just one minute after Ye Yang injected the serum, the mutation was complete. The burly man had roared fiercely and sunk his teeth into Ye Yang's shoulder.

In the end, it was Ye Yang who ended him with his own hands, smashing his skull to pieces with a single punch. The moment blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, Ye Yang had almost wept. This was the first mutated human he had ever laid eyes on—just a moment ago a living person, yet in an instant...

At that moment, he truly felt as though he had killed a human being, especially when the middle-aged woman charged at him like a madwoman and the young girl battered him in a frenzy.

"Sorry..." Apart from this single word, Ye Yang could say nothing more. He held the girl tightly, his teeth clenching so hard they rattled, yet he failed to notice a pair of emerald eyes staring intently at him from behind, filled with profound astonishment.

Walking to the cave entrance with a face full of sorrow and indignation, he unleashed a fierce burst of spear energy, shredding an incoming mutant into pieces. Only then did Ye Yang's mind settle slightly, though the lingering agony remained hard to bear.

"Am I being a complete idiot? That man just now... was basically already dead, right?" Ye Yang smiled bitterly.

Lin Muyang stared at him for a long time before finally shaking his head. "No. Actually, you did the right thing. It was me who was wrong. Life shouldn't be measured by its utility, just like you said—it was merely a dose of serum."

"And the fact that you were able to finish him yourself in the end, and then face the madness of that mother and daughter with such composure—it was brilliant!" Lin Muyang smiled gently.

"Thank you." Ye Yang smiled slightly as well, though the smile carried a bitter edge.

"Charge out! Teacher Ling called, telling us to break through!" Gao Ting's sudden, piercing scream dragged Ye Yang back from his thoughts. He was instantly stunned. Break through? What did that mean?

Gao Ting and Lin Xiaotian had already darted out of the cave ahead of the others. Ye Yang exchanged a meaningful glance with Lin Muyang and closely followed them out.

"Roar!" A thunderous roar stunned Ye Yang, and he finally understood why they had to break out. That roar did not come from zombies, nor was there only one—it was the convergence of hundreds, thousands of roars.

Ahead, countless bullets were firing in a frantic barrage. Countless zombies and mutants were being blown to smithereens. Most of the monsters had turned their heads and lunged in another direction, baring their fangs, claws outstretched, roaring madly.

Yet their sharp claws could no longer inflict any damage; their roars were entirely drowned out. Before them stood countless valiant, golden-haired, green-eyed warriors equipped with extreme simplicity: an assault rifle paired with a mercury spear, or an assault rifle paired with a massive, spike-covered mercury shield.

Operating in pairs or fours of four, they were locked in a desperate, life-or-death battle with the monsters infesting the airport. Ye Yang discovered that none of them possessed particularly formidable strength; some were merely at Level 1. Yet their seamless cooperation was nothing short of breathtaking.

The coordination between teammates, and even between squads, was exceptionally precise and flawlessly timed.

"The hunters of the Roman Curia are the present-day guardians of Milan in the European Continent, much like the capital of Yanhuang within the Chinese Alliance. They are one of the three major cities of the continent. Their numbers are fewer than ours, and they lack an abundance of top-tier powerhouses, but their team combat capability can be called the greatest in the world!" Su Yi explained with a glowing face.

"Bringing you to Milan this time is precisely so you can study their team combat tactics. By comparison, those so-called coordinations of yours are simply... Hehe, see for yourselves."

With that, Su Yi pointed a finger toward a battlefield near the aircraft. Ye Yang immediately turned his head and saw a small squad fighting frantically amidst a horde of zombies.

That was a four-person team. None of the four appeared overwhelmingly powerful except for the lead warrior, whose strength seemed decent. Yet their coordination was utterly flawless: a strength-type warrior charged at the vanguard, two speed-type warriors guarded the flanks, and at the rear was a hunter capable of wielding light-shield abilities.

Observing closely, apart from the first person, the rest were at most Level 3, and the last person was roughly on par with Chen Zeng—at best Level 2. Yet they moved unhindered through the battle formation of predators and mutants.

The giant mercury axe wielded by the lead man descended with devastating force, instantly turning a mutant into a puddle of flesh. Simultaneously, three other mutants lunged forward, but the burly man completely ignored them, simply raising his massive axe to strike down a predator.

This was because on his flanks, two longswords had already whistled through the air while two assault rifles spat tongues of fire simultaneously. The three mutants were shredded to pieces before they could even brush against him. When the giant axe was raised once more, the predator ahead roared and launched a counterattack, moving twice as fast as the burly man, but...!!

The giant axe smashed the predator's skull to smithereens, while its retaliatory claws were firmly blocked by two barriers of light.

"So strong!" Ye Yang praised. Once these four coordinated, their combat prowess was terrifyingly formidable.

The giant axe wielder ignored everything else, focusing entirely on exerting his overwhelming strength, while the two flankers cleared the path for him with all their might and guarded the weakest member at the rear—the Level 2 combatant. Although undoubtedly the weakest, protected completely by the flankers, he could unleash the defensive capabilities of his light shield without a single distraction or worry. As a result, even the predators failed to breach his barrier of light.

After watching for just a short while, Ye Yang felt deeply ashamed. By comparison, what on earth had he, Sang Shi, and Chen Zeng been doing during their practical combat exercises? Even his coordination with Sang Shi atop the cabin roof earlier was absolute garbage among garbage.

"Oh, by the way, the hunters of the Roman Curia are now also known as Crusaders. These guys even call hunters above Level 3 Holy Knights. Tsk tsk, the glory of the European Crusaders of yesteryear has been reenacted!" Su Yi said, his voice full of admiration.

This battle began swiftly and ended just as quickly. In a matter of mere minutes, the entire airport was completely cleared. The speed left Ye Yang speechless. Even if Wang Feng came, he couldn't possibly be this fast; even if the Five Tigers of China united, they probably wouldn't achieve such speed. If tanks and aircraft were used for the cleanup, it could never be this thorough.

This was the sheer efficacy of coordinated combat.

The burly man holding the giant axe let out a hearty laugh, flicked the blood and brains off the blade of his battleaxe, issued a brief order to clear the battlefield, and walked smilingly toward the warehouse area.

"Chinese friends, welcome your arrival, and thank you for your help!" the giant axe wielder laughed heartily. Naturally... he was speaking English, and naturally... Ye Yang couldn't understand a word, so he had to rely on a translator.

Ling Fengyan also walked over at that moment, dragging along the flight attendant and pilot whose arms and legs had gone completely limp. His English turned out to be quite good, and he was actually able to converse and laugh with the burly giant.

Ling Fengyan was already considered quite tall and sturdy, standing a full one meter ninety, but compared to this blond giant, he was still a head shorter. The giant had a full beard and a physique so massive he resembled a mutant. His muscles and veins bulged so prominently that he would not look out of place even next to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After chatting casually for a moment—though Ye Yang had no idea what they were talking about—the giant smiled, nodded, and turned to leave. Ling Fengyan then turned back and announced, "We will enter Milan City immediately, but it is already getting late today. We will go meet the Pope tomorrow."

"The Pope?" Ye Yang was stunned. What era was this, and there was still a Pope? Was this Saint Seiya?

Ling Fengyan smiled. "Milan is currently protected by the Roman Curia, and its supreme commander is naturally the Pope. Our next stop, the United Kingdom, will be quite similar, save for different titles."

Present-day Milan City was similar to northern Beijing, enclosed by massive, towering walls. The difference was that water did not seem scarce here, so a moat had been dug as well. However, the moat emitted a foul stench—who knew how many zombie corpses were buried within it. The stench was palpable even from the helicopter, making Ye Yang feel nauseous.

Milan's city walls were slightly lower than Beijing's, with fewer machine guns and missile launchers mounted upon them. However, Ye Yang noticed that every interval of this European-style wall featured a circular tower. The windows of those towers were exceptionally large and pitch-black, likely concealing a formidable array of terrifying weaponry.

"For today, please stay at the hotel temporarily. The Curia will arrange everything else for you all tomorrow morning, so please rest assured," said a fluent voice in Standard Mandarin. The speaker was none other than the blond, green-eyed woman from the airport, who seemed to be serving as their receptionist this time.

Upon entering Milan City, Ye Yang sighed. Although he did not know whether modern Beijing or Western nations possessed more advanced technology, judging purely by the grandeur of these high-rise buildings, Milan was definitely a step ahead of Beijing. At the same time, it highlighted Milan's limited space; even residential buildings stood twenty or thirty stories high, and the streets were far more congested than Beijing's.

Along the way, the blonde woman briefly introduced herself. Her name was Greielle, and she had been assigned by the Roman Curia as the group's translator and guide. She would be in charge of all matters, and any dissatisfaction could be reported directly to her.

"She's in charge of *everything*?" Lin Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, exchanging a pair of weird grins with Tang Xiaobao. Ye Yang shook his head speechlessly; these two idiots were letting their imaginations run wild again. Truly models of the loser class.

The group had set out in the morning, endured an eight-hour journey, and then fought a grueling series of battles at the airport. By now, it was already evening by Beijing time, and combined with the jet lag, everyone was exhausted. Ling Fengyan and Su Yi made no further arrangements, simply instructing everyone to rest well so that everything could begin tomorrow.

Ye Yang finally got to experience the thrill of being a foreign VIP: a super-luxury presidential suite. The room was as large as a college basketball même, and even the bathroom was larger than Ye Yang's pathetic two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, boasting a bathtub of over twenty square meters.

"So extravagant," Ye Yang muttered in awe. Compared to Beijing, these foreigners seemed to prefer enjoying life; they lacked any spirit of bitter struggle and plain living.

Of course, enjoying life was far from his mind, and Ye Yang wasn't here on vacation. The so-called training didn't require waiting for Ling Fengyan's arrangements. Lying on the bed, his mind was filled with the movements and figures of Gao Ting and Lin Muyang from earlier today, as well as the formidable prowess of the Roman Curia's hunters.

Coordination! That was the defining trait of the Roman Curia's hunters. Each of them focused entirely on a single task—attacking, defending, or supporting—leaving everything else entirely to their teammates, even their very lives! This kind of focus and resolve was truly worthy of study.

However, Ye Yang's problem was that he hadn't yet fully formed a permanent squad, so cooperation wasn't something he could consider just yet. Instead, individual strength remained paramount.

Since the room was spacious enough, he decided to simulate Gao Ting's and Lin Muyang's movements step by step, particularly Gao Ting's techniques, which he lacked the most.

The door creaked open. Ye Yang, currently in the middle of exercising, paused in surprise. Who would come looking for him at this hour? Sang Shi? A mischievous thought flashed through his mind. Ye Yang chuckled softly, mimicking Gao Ting's rapid stealth. He circled the sofa and closed in on the door silently.

The moment the door swung fully open was also the moment Ye Yang pushed his speed amplification to its absolute limit, darting forward like a blur.

A cascade of long golden hair entered his vision, leaving Ye Yang stunned. A foreigner? A woman? It was entirely too late for him to stop, and moreover, the newcomer immediately shut the door behind her upon entering.

With a heavy thud, Ye Yang collided solidly with the woman, pinning her firmly against the door.

"Uh... apologies. Wait? Are you Greielle?" Ye Yang asked in bewilderment. Greielle had already fainted from the impact and could hardly answer, her entire body going limp. Ye Yang had no choice but to reach out and catch her, a bitter smile rising on his face.

This was going to be troublesome... Why on earth would this girl sneak into his room in the middle of the night? Could this possibly be some special room service?