Chapter 124: The People of the Fallen Kingdom (1)

[Kigik…]

[Kiiit…]

[Kiiiik~!]

Thousands of zoms began hesitating all at once.

A hint of fear was even visible in their unfocused, pitch-black eyes.

An existence that could not be defied.

An existence that must not be resisted.

An existence that reigned over countless soldiers.

The general zom had revealed itself.

Robust horns and a silver exoskeleton covering its entire body.

Four arms consisting of a pair of blades and a pair of shields.

A dignified appearance reminiscent of a white knight clad in silver plate armor.

The cordyceps on its head branched out splendidly, resembling a platinum crown.

Soon, the general zom’s voice was heard.

[My lord… Please… Give your command.]

A thick, low tone as if rising from the deep sea.

Its previously crude speech had changed considerably to something more archaic.

Probably Jeanne’s influence.

I pointed at the zom legion and commanded.

“Take care of them all.”

[ …As you command.]

The general zom lowered its stance.

At the same time.

-Bang!

The ground flipped over, and the general zom’s figure vanished.

A fierce whirlwind spread out in all directions shortly after.

Swoosh—

The only sound reaching my ears was the wind being sliced.

Slash slash slash slash slash slash slash!

The sound of something being cut began to echo.

The spores that had been thickly spread everywhere started splitting belatedly.

Soon.

Plop— Plop plop— Plop plop plop plop—

The heads of the zoms standing in front all fell to the ground at once.

In a fleeting moment that didn’t even last a second.

The necks of over twenty zoms had been severed simultaneously.

I’d faced countless fast and agile monsters before.

But.

…Fast.

The general zom’s speed was burdensome even to track its afterimage with my eyes.

In terms of speed, it far surpassed A+ rank.

Slash slash slash slash slash slash~!

The sharp wind sound echoed endlessly.

Each time, the zoms’ heads fell like autumn leaves.

Not a single rough edge on the clean cut surfaces.

Green blood spurted up only after the heads hit the ground.

One second.

Slash slash slash slash—!

Two seconds.

Slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash~!

Three seconds.

Slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash~!

Like stepping on the accelerator, the speed of the slashes gradually increased as time passed.

Sliced, pierced, severed, minced.

In just three seconds, dozens of zom corpses were rolling on the ground.

Even so.

[Kigit…]

[Kiiiik…]

[Kieee…]

The zoms took no action.

They merely jerked their jaws as if in cognitive dissonance.

It was natural that grunts like workers and soldiers couldn’t keep up with the general zom’s speed.

But separately from that, they weren’t showing even a hint of resistance.

The zom, a legion organism that moved firmly according to the commands of higher entities.

That’s why they couldn’t resist the unjust and one-sided massacre by a ‘general’ rank entity.

But at that moment.

[Kyaaaaak—!]

One zom began letting out a roar.

A body several times larger than ordinary zoms.

One eye covered in an ugly scar, and its entire body dotted with all sorts of wounds.

…Is that their leader?

Two arms sprouting like bamboo shoots from its side were visible.

It wasn’t a general entity, but neither was it a top elite soldier entity.

It seemed like a transitional entity caught in the middle of evolution.

Meanwhile.

[Kieeeek!]

[Kagak! Kaaak!]

[Kigigigigi—gik!]

The zoms’ eyes changed at the roar from their leader.

They seemed to have branded the general zom as a traitor.

Soon, thousands of zoms charged toward the general zom.

The zom legion swarming in, forming a vortex encirclement.

The general zom sliced the charging zoms into dozens of pieces.

Slash slash slash slash slash slash slash slash~!

But.

Buzz— Buuuuuzz—

Rustle rustle rustle rustle!

Ground and air, not a single spot was left unfilled as it began to swarm with zoms.

An encircling net closing in like a massive dome stadium.

The speed at which the encirclement narrowed didn’t decrease even as the general zom slashed, cut, and tore the zoms apart.

Splash—!

Even if it cut through the zoms forming the wall, new zoms quickly filled the spot in an instant.

It felt like being trapped in the maw of a gigantic monster.

But at that moment.

…!

The general zom crossed its two blades.

Soon, the shape of the blades began to change.

Grind— Grind— Griiiind~!

Thousands of sharp thorns sprouted on the blades.

They began rotating at high speed.

Kiiiiing—!

Two blades spinning fiercely like chainsaws.

The airflow reversed, and the hazy spores whirled around.

Soon, the general zom swung the blades forward.

Drrrrrrrr—!

With the sharp sound, the zoms’ bodies began to be pulverized.

Sharp, dense thorns like shark teeth chunked off the hard exoskeletons like butter.

That wasn’t all.

Swoosh— Swoosh— Swooooosh!

The general zom swinging the blades at near-sonic speeds.

The afterimages followed like whipping a lash.

Each time.

Whiiiing— Kwa-drrrrrrrr—!

Exoskeletons, flesh, blood, and guts splattered everywhere.

Regardless, the general zom’s blade work showed no sign of stopping.

Kwa-drrrrrrrr!

The general zom, covered in the zoms’ bodily fluids, continued the slaughter.

Its appearance reminiscent of a yaksha.

How many minutes passed like that?

…

The spinning blades slowly came to a stop.

Mushed innards, shredded flesh.

Heads, arms, legs, torsos ground beyond recognition.

The zoms’ blood mixed with mushroom spores, covering the ground in a green muck.

The general zom stood tall atop it.

Soon, the zom legion’s leader let out another roar.

[Kyaaaaak—!]

Blades rushing toward the general zom.

But.

Clang—!

The general zom easily deflected the attack with its shield exoskeleton.

The zom legion’s leader attacked with another arm, but.

Clang!!

The general zom blocked that too with its blade.

Soon, the general zom and the zom legion leader’s blades began clashing.

Clang! Clang! Clang clang! Clang! Clang!

Meanwhile.

-Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Genetic Skin Oil’ activates!>

<Skill ‘Lingering Flames’ activates!>

Kwa-kwa-bang!

In one corner away from the general zom, pillars of fire were soaring up.

[Kieeek—]

[Kigik! Kik!]

[Kyaaaaak—]

The zoms burned black turned to ash and oxidized.

It was clearly felt.

The skills’ power has risen much higher than before.

The skill proficiency was rising rapidly with each use.

I’d never heard of such a case.

I’d heard of senses or techniques for utilizing skills improving through numerous experiences, but never of the skill’s power itself enhancing.

…Is this also the warehouse’s influence?

Anyway.

I looked at the zoms swarming around.

Soon, hundreds of zoms charged in, clacking their jaws.

If it had been me a few months ago, I’d have died the moment I was placed in this situation.

But.

“Not anymore.”

Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Super Strength’ activates!>

The hypertrophied right arm rushed toward the zoms.

Kwa-jijik!

A zom’s head was crushed, and its upper body was torn off.

Soon after, the shockwave ripped the following zoms to shreds.

[Kieeeek!]

[Kagagak!]

[Kigit!]

Even so, the zom legion charged ferociously.

“How about testing this one this time.”

Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art’ activates!>

Black mana gathered at my feet.

A Gluttony Slash aura swirling as if to devour the surroundings.

I took a deep breath and controlled the mana.

Then, I extended my hand toward the zoms in front.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa~!

A black wave surging forward.

But the mana amount and destructive power were reduced compared to the time at Maslow’s Tower.

Ding-dong!

<Current output of 『Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art』 … 1%>

Because I had adjusted the skill’s power myself.

This skill received from the Death Lord, Binsfeld, had been a double-edged sword until now.

All or nothing.

A one-time all-in skill that depleted all mana in exchange for immense power.

But perhaps thanks to steadily accumulating experience over the past few months.

Now I can adjust the output of the Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art.

The soldier zoms’ limbs were torn apart like being ground in a blender.

Even at 1% output, it had power equivalent to an average Awakener’s A-rank skill.

Moreover, with reduced mana consumption, multiple shots were now possible.

-Ding-dong!

<Skill ‘Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art’ activates!>

<Current output of 『Gluttony Slash Esoteric Art』 … 1%>

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!

Zoms being swallowed by the Gluttony Slash aura like being swept by waves.

At that moment.

Slash!

A sound of something being cut came from behind.

Soon, the zom legion leader’s head fell to the ground.

The general zom standing in front had not a single scratch on its body.

Soon after, the general zom crossed its arms.

In the blink of an eye, an X-shaped sword qi surged forward.

Like the Red Sea parting, the zoms standing in front of the general zom all fell at once.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The leading zoms, the ones blocking the rear, the rear, the rear of the rear…

Soon, the zom legion that lost its leader began scattering and fleeing in all directions.

“Friends, where are you running off to.”

I lightly snapped my fingers.

Snap—

Soon, the system window popped up.

Ding-dong!

<Would you like to summon the shadow knights? …

(Y/N)>

***

The general zom and shadow knights began pursuing the remnants.

In the meantime, I approached the fallen Jeanne.

Jeanne bit her lip and bowed her head.

“I’m ashamed to show such a disgraceful sight, Master.”

Her damaged body had already been cleanly restored.

“It’s fine as long as you’re safe. But why were you facing so many zoms alone?”

Jeanne possessed cold and excellent judgment.

Normally, she wouldn’t have attempted to break through thousands of zoms solo.

Even if her position was discovered by the zom legion, she could have escaped without difficulty.

A few top elite soldier zoms might have followed, but with Jeanne’s skill, she could have overwhelmed them easily.

Soon, Jeanne opened her mouth.

“I had to defend this place no matter what.”

The place she was guarding was a crevice between massive mushrooms.

I looked there and said,

“Did you discover something beyond there?”

“Yes.”

Jeanne nodded, her eyes sparkling.

Then.

“Master, this way for a moment…!”

She grabbed my hand and started heading toward the mushroom crevice.

A strange mix of joy and hope was visible on her face.

I’d never seen Jeanne this excited before.

Soon, the landscape began to appear between the thick mushroom stems.

“That’s…”

A flat basin where mushrooms didn’t grow.

A fortress carved from stone stood tall in its center.

And.

[Kieeeek—!]

[Kyaaak!]

[Kigit!]

Hundreds of zoms were surrounding the fortress.

At that moment.

Swoosh! Swoosh— Pabababak!

Arrows and javelins rained down from atop the walls.

At the same time, a resounding shout erupted from the fortress.

Waaaaah—!

Unidentified soldiers were waging a siege battle against the zoms from atop the fortress.

At that moment, Jeanne’s voice was heard.

“I’ve finally found them.”

A civilization existing within the otherworldly demonic realm, Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

The people of a fallen kingdom that no longer existed.

“The survivors of Ravianglily!”