Chapter Sixty-Nine: A New Skill—Howling Gale? Combination Technique!

The old man was arrogant, and he had indeed come to attack the Princess's tomb. Yet, as a person of the Gold temperament, he was extremely cautious—almost to the point of being obsessed with self-preservation. Seeing that the Princess's tomb was teeming with survivors, some of whom were Gold, and that a Platinum master was present as well, he immediately beat a retreat.

He had expected to leave empty-handed, but then he spotted Iron City. Built halfway up the mountain, surrounded by snow and ice, with cliffs on each side, it was a natural fortress. Moreover, the city housed over three thousand residents. In the apocalypse, to the strong, residents were simply resources—labor to be exploited, pleasures to be enjoyed. So, without hesitation, the old man decided to seize the place.

He watched himself kill dozens with a single gust of wind and chuckled, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “No one will come to save you today. Give up hope. Wait... what’s this?”

The old man suddenly noticed three figures in the city: Julie, the little girl, and Lisa. When Gu Lang left, he had arranged for his three wives to stay in Iron City, lurking in the shadows, overseeing the city’s operations. They could communicate with him through telepathy. Now, the three women emerged, faces mocking. The old man's gaze froze.

“My goodness! How beautiful! Since when have there been so many lovely women in this apocalypse?” He stared at them as if witnessing goddesses descend to earth. Girls were already scarce resources in the apocalypse, and those of breathtaking beauty were rarer still.

“Come, come! Little beauties, let uncle give you a kiss. Perhaps I’ll spare your lives,” the old man muttered, itching to storm Iron City.

“Is that so?” A cold voice suddenly echoed from the sky. Gu Lang’s figure approached step by step, followed by Yu Qiuchi, Li Muwan, and Luo Xue. Their auras spread, each carrying the weight of Gold.

The old man's words died on his lips as he stared blankly at Gu Lang. “Wait, it’s you! You’re a family elder of Liu Wenhao! What are you doing here?” He glanced at Iron City and quickly realized the Sun brothers hadn’t lied—there really was a Gold master stationed here.

The old man, protective of his life, immediately retreated, shaking his head vigorously. “It’s all a misunderstanding! I thought this place was abandoned, so I wanted to occupy it. Didn’t expect it belonged to you, friend. My apologies.” He backed away, surveying the terrain for an escape route.

Gu Lang merely smiled and pointed to Luo Xue behind him. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Wasn’t your goal to go to the Snow Mountain tomb to search for Princess Qianqian?” Gu Lang’s calm tone caught the old man off guard, prompting him to answer instinctively.

“That’s right. I wanted to try my luck in the Snow Mountain dungeon. If I could find the legendary Millennium Princess, I’d kill her.”

Gu Lang chuckled, gesturing at Luo Xue. “The real deal is right here. Come on, didn’t you say you wanted to kill her?”

“This...” The old man’s eyes widened as he stared at the ancient beauty before him. He quickly realized: this was the Platinum zombie, the Millennium Princess herself! Damn! He’d just declared his intention to kill her right in front of her!

In an instant, his soul seemed to leave his body, his teeth chattering in terror.

“Well then, you can die now.” Luo Xue didn’t waste words. With a flick of her finger, an ice spike shot out—hundreds of times faster than Gu Lang’s—and pierced the old man’s forehead, killing him instantly.

Gu Lang naturally caught a green light in his hand, surprised to find it was a skill!

[Gale: Summons fierce winds to strike enemies or lift them into the air. The stronger the wind, the more stamina consumed. Basic use expends little stamina, but can summon a level-eight tornado!]

Damn! What an incredible skill—starting off with a level-eight tornado? If used with full force, wouldn’t it unleash a typhoon?

Gu Lang’s heart trembled as he suddenly thought of a possibility. “Wait… can skills be combined? What if Gale is paired with Blizzard?”

Without hesitation, Gu Lang tried it in the air. Blizzard and Gale merged. On a nearby hillside, a raging icy gale swept up, howling through the mountain, reshaping the peak into an ice sculpture. Everything atop it turned into ice spikes and blocks.

“Impressive. The synergy of these two skills even surpasses the combat power of high-level Golds. Skills that can be combined like this are rare,” Luo Xue commented, giving high praise.

Gu Lang’s heart surged—so skills truly could be combined.

That meant, with more skills in the future, any random combination might yield a new ultimate attack. With this realization, Gu Lang glanced at the Sun brothers of Iron City.

“So, how’s the city been running lately?”

A short while later, in the core castle of Iron City, Gu Lang was surrounded by the group, with Luo Xue seated as his equal.

“Brother Gu Lang! I missed you so much!” The little girl leaped into Gu Lang’s arms, rubbing her head affectionately.

“Ahem! Enough. So, you heard that recently there are SPC people in the neighboring city, Withered City?”

Gu Lang glanced at Luo Xue, quickly steering the conversation.

“Yes, most survivors have gone to the Millennium Princess’s territory lately, neglecting other cities. But Withered City remains extremely dangerous. The entire city is shrouded in yellow mist, visibility is low, zombies abound, and it’s far more perilous than the Princess’s dungeon,” explained Sun Tian, producing a map.

“It’s about a three-day journey to Withered City. Though dangerous, it holds many resources. Rumor has it lots of modern facilities remain. And there’s a major pharmaceutical factory with many SPC people,” he continued.

Gu Lang nodded. It seemed this was his target, though there was no rush.

“All right. Luo Xue, Li Muwan, don’t leave my side. It’s dangerous lately—SPC people might come to capture zombies at any time. We should stay in the same room.”

Confronted with Gu Lang’s invitation, Luo Xue hesitated. Being from ancient times, she wasn’t as open-minded as modern people. But Gu Lang didn’t give her a choice, pulling the women into the bedroom.

“Wait…” Luo Xue looked at Gu Lang, hesitating. “Men and women should keep their distance. How about I sleep on the sofa?”

Gu Lang thought it over. As long as she didn’t leave his side, it was only a matter of time before he won her over. He nodded. “Fine.”

Having arranged everything, Gu Lang finally had a chance to check his status panel.

[Name: Gu Lang]
[Rank: Gold (Rising Fame)]
[Charm: 500]
[Speed: 500]
[Strength: 500]
[Intelligence: 200]
[Skills: Emperor’s Aura, Savage Charge, Ice Spike Art, Blade and Sword Shadow, Group Buff, Firearms Mastery, Fearsome Healing, Telepathic Communication, Corpse Transformation, Blizzard, Gale]
[Remaining Points: 780]