Chapter 129: Messiah (1)

The war horns blared powerfully.

Bwooooooo~! Bwooooooo~!

Fully armed soldiers had gathered atop the castle walls.

Soon, the sentry on the watchtower shouted.

“Zombie legion approaching from the front!”

The zombie legion swarmed through the gaps between the giant mushrooms like a swarm of hornets.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble—

A tremor like an earthquake rolled across the ground.

Tension and fear were visible on the soldiers’ faces.

Hecate Citadel had barely over a hundred troops.

The zombie legion, however, numbered more than five hundred.

Each soldier would have to take down at least five zombies.

At that moment, a deep, resonant voice rang out.

“Raise your weapons high and form ranks! Shield soldiers to the front, archers behind them! Do not turn your heads—stare the enemy straight in the eyes! If we fail to hold this place, nothing but death awaits us!”

An old veteran with graying hair and beard urged the soldiers on. 

Despite his gentle, warm appearance, his eyes burned with sharp focus and fighting spirit. 

He was the vice-captain who had defended Hecate Citadel since the time of the previous guard captain.

Then, Guard Captain Hyal climbed onto the wall.

“Vice-captain! Report the situation.”

“More than five hundred zombies are approaching the citadel. The numbers of soldier zombies and elite soldier zombies are overwhelmingly high.”

The stronger the legion’s composition, the more powerful the entity commanding them.

Guard Captain Hyal’s expression darkened.

“That means… there’s a high chance this legion is led by a supreme elite soldier zombie.”

The supreme elite soldier zombie was an entity they had never once defeated.

Since the founding of Hecate Citadel, they now faced an unprecedented crisis.

Sure enough, soldiers everywhere swallowed dryly.

Thick despair spread rapidly.

At that moment, Guard Captain Hyal shouted loudly.

“Everyone, listen! Anyone who fears the enemy, anyone who fears death—if such a person exists, you may lay down your weapon and flee right now!”

The soldiers blinked at the captain’s shocking words.

Hyal continued.

“You all know this! We prepared an escape route in case the citadel falls!”

Hyal pulled a transparent orb from her pocket.

“The entrance to the escape route is sealed with a mana stone. Press this mana resonance stone against it to destroy the seal and escape! This is the guard captain’s command! I will impose no responsibility, punishment, or harm on anyone who lays down their weapon and flees!”

The soldiers began to stir noisily.

Then.

“…However, remember this one thing!”

Guard Captain Hyal stared at the soldiers with blazing eyes.

“If you retreat from this place! The fear, terror, and despair you feel right now—your families down below will experience all of it too! If you can bear the thought of your loved ones enduring those feelings… then you may leave this spot right now!”

A heavy silence fell over the wall.

One by one, resolve settled on the soldiers’ faces.

“No way. Not for my daughter…!”

“For my mother…!”

“Let’s win! Let’s survive! We must!”

“Protect Hecate!”

Fighting spirit boiled hot throughout the citadel.

Soon, Hyal turned to her vice-captain.

“Vice-captain, I have a request.”

“Speak, Captain.”

Hyal held out the mana resonance stone.

“If the battle situation becomes uncontrollably unfavorable… immediately lead the villagers out through the escape route.”

But the vice-captain shook his head.

“How could this old body lead the villagers? Such a task should fall to young blood. Hey, Bender.”

“Yes, Vice-captain!”

A burly soldier saluted.

The vice-captain pointed at the mana resonance stone.

“In the worst case, you lead the villagers to safety.”

“Hahaha! Vice-captain, come on! How could I leave you behind? Whether we live or die, we do it together!”

“I see. Then…”

The vice-captain called out to the soldiers one by one.

Camille, Peppermint, Lubos, Hibiscus. Stevie, Jess, Rosely.

But not a single one readily accepted the mana resonance stone.

Guard Captain Hyal shouted at the soldiers.

“There’s no time for jokes! The zombies are right in front of us! If it becomes an emergency, take the villagers and…”

At that moment, someone raised a hand high.

“C-Captain! I dare to speak—!”

It was the new recruit.

“If we defend the citadel! If we defeat the zombies! If we survive! If we all win together! Wouldn’t that mean we don’t have to run away? May I offer this opinion?!”

The new recruit’s voice shook the citadel.

Laughter erupted everywhere.

“That kid’s voice sure carries!”

“Damn, I almost went deaf!”

“He ate that much fried chicken, after all.”

“His squad leader trained him well. That’s exactly the mindset a Hecate soldier should have!”

Soon the vice-captain spoke.

“All the soldiers of Hecate trust you, Captain. They believe you will lead this battle to victory as well.”

Then Guard Captain Hyal drew her sword.

“You have made your choice! From now on, I will accept no complaints! Understood?!”

“Yes!”

A thunderous roar burst from the soldiers.

Staring at the zombie legion surging from the front, Hyal shouted loudly.

“Guard Captain’s order! Survive, everyone!”

***

Hundreds of wooden barricades densely packed the area around Hecate Citadel.

The barricades were far sturdier and more tightly arranged than in previous battles.

The zigzag layout hindered the zombies’ advance.

Soon, several zombies began climbing over the wooden barricades.

At that moment.

Splat— splat splat—

The moment they touched the barricades, the zombies’ hands and feet stuck fast.

The surface had been thickly coated with highly adhesive mucus.

When the cap of a clown-sticky mushroom was sliced open, powerful adhesive slime flowed out. 

Once something stuck to it, the adhesion would not weaken for about three hours no matter what.

The immobilized zombies began to squirm.

Then.

“Archers, fire!”

At the captain’s command, dozens of arrows rained down.

Thud— thud thud thud!

The arrows pierced the zombies’ vital points with perfect accuracy.

Hecate’s archers began systematically sniping every zombie stuck to the barricades.

[Kieeeeeek—]

[Krrgh]

[Keuk!]

The zombies let out short death cries and fell.

But the legion’s advance did not stop.

The zombies stepped on their fallen comrades and began climbing over the barricades.

When zombies stuck to the next barricade, others used them as stepping stones and leaped forward.

The legion advanced by trampling and vaulting over corpses.

Soon, Hyal’s second command rang out.

“Archers, fire!”

Swooooosh—!

Burning fire arrows soared into the sky.

This time the targets were not the zombies.

Thud— thud thud!

Large wooden barrels embedded along the muddy path.

The moment the fire arrows struck them—

Boom! Kaboom! KABOOOOOM!

A violent explosion erupted, and crimson flames swallowed the zombies.

The barrels had been packed with sulfur powder from horse-dung sulfur mushrooms and oil from oil-pouch honeycomb mushrooms.

KABOOM! KABOOOOOM!

Zombies that had crossed the barricades burned away in an instant.

Then.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thick, fat zombies covered in heavy exoskeletons stepped forward.

They looked like moving giant shields.

Another volley of fire arrows struck the barrels.

KABOOOOOM!

The shield zombies were engulfed by raging flames.

Yet.

Step step step step—

The shield zombies walked straight through the fire.

Only the surface of their armor was slightly singed.

They seemed resistant to flames.

Guard Captain Hyal issued the next order immediately.

“Catapults ready!”

Small wheeled catapults appeared.

Clatter clatter clatter—

The catapults were loaded with shells made of sharp minerals.

The shells had been crafted by gluing together ores mined from the tunnels with clown-sticky mucus.

The minerals were dozens of times harder and sharper than ordinary steel.

“Fire—!”

The soldiers pulled the levers in unison.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Krrrrrr— KABOOOOOM!

The mineral shells swept across the ground.

Boom! Crunch—

The shield zombies were crushed flat beneath the mineral shells.

Even so, the zombie legion pressed all the way to the base of Hecate Citadel’s walls.

[Kieeeeeek~!]

[Krrk! Krrk!]

[Kyaaaaak!]

The zombies charged the walls with monstrous howls.

But.

Sliiiide— slrrrrrr—

Unlike the wooden barricades, the zombies could not stick to the walls at all.

The wall surface had been thickly coated with a pale yellow, glossy liquid.

The mucus from baby-poop trumpet mushrooms had turned the wall into a perfectly slippery ice rink.

At that moment, green liquid poured down onto the zombies’ heads.

Splash—!

Soldiers were dumping the contents of large pots.

At the same time.

Hiiiiiss—!

The zombies drenched in green liquid began to melt.

The pots contained acidic solution created by fusing zombie bodily fluids with white-crow mushroom spores.

The “anti-coagulant” component in the white-crow mushrooms kept the zombie fluids from clumping or hardening.

Hiiiiiss— Hiiiiiiiiiss!

Acidic solutions rained down around the walls like a downpour.

[Krr, krrrk—]

[Keuk— keeeeeuk~]

[Gyaaaaaaaaaak!]

The acidic bodily fluids harvested from dead zombies were killing the living ones.

Poison countered with poison.

Adhesive barricades, flame explosion barrels, mineral catapult shells, zombie-fluid acid solution, and more.

Thanks to the diverse array of traps and weapons, the number of zombies was rapidly dwindling.

The creativity to craft traps and weapons from surrounding materials.

The insight to deploy them in the perfect places.

The decisive action to carry it all out.

Ever since Sen Hyal had been appointed guard captain of Hecate Citadel, the soldiers’ casualty rate had dropped below one percent.

Thoroughly annihilate the enemy while minimizing allied losses.

That was the perfect and absolute victory Guard Captain Hyal pursued.

And that was precisely why the soldiers of Hecate Citadel showed her such unwavering loyalty.

Hyal shouted loudly.

“Archers, rotate! First line fall back and reload arrows!”

The second line of archers stepped forward and opened fire.

Supply soldiers rushed in to refill the empty quivers.

Elsewhere, hearth fires for fire arrows were rekindled and mineral shells were loaded into the catapults.

Not a single hesitation or wasted movement could be seen in the soldiers’ actions.

They moved as one, perfectly synchronized.

It was the result of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of repeated drills under Guard Captain Hyal’s command.

Before long, the zombie legion’s numbers had been cut nearly in half.

They were defeating the enemy without shedding a single drop of allied blood.

It was a complete victory.

But another contributor had made this flawless triumph possible.

All of this had only been feasible because the soldiers had enjoyed high-quality rest and sufficient nutrition.

Thanks to the outsiders.

If we survive this… I must thank them properly!

Guard Captain Hyal made a firm vow.

A moment later.

Mountains of zombie corpses piled up around the walls.

Not a single one still moved.

The new recruit shouted in an emotional voice.

“D-did we… get them all? All those zombies…!?”

At that moment.

Craaaaaack— RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The mushrooms shook as if they would blot out the sky.

Thud! Boom! Thud!

The giant mushrooms surrounding Hecate Citadel began toppling one after another.

The defensive line that had blocked the enemy’s invasion had been breached.

Soon, hundreds of zombies leaped over the fallen giant mushrooms and charged forward.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble—

Guard Captain Hyal quickly issued the next order.

“Stay calm! The situation hasn’t changed drastically! Everyone, just keep doing what we’ve—”

Then something caught Hyal’s eye.

A familiar silhouette standing tall atop one of the giant mushrooms.

“That’s…!”

The very thing they had desperately prayed would never appear.

The supreme elite soldier zombie was looking down at Hecate Citadel.