Chapter 126: Citizens of the Fallen Kingdom (3)

A citadel surrounded on all four sides by giant mushrooms.

Soon, the clear sound of hammers rang out.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Broken bricks, corroded iron door seams, damaged iron grate barricades, and more.

The repair work on the damaged citadel was proceeding at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, soldiers were replenishing arrows, spears, stones, traps, and the like.

Loose preparation and momentary lapses in vigilance.

The soldiers of the citadel knew all too well what terrible consequences those could bring.

Morning, lunch, dinner, dawn…

Even during mealtimes and rest periods.

The zombie legions would strike without any warning.

That was why the sentries on the watchtowers strained their eyes, veins popping, as they stared intently at the front lines.

The swaying of spores, faint ground tremors, the hazy smell of earth, and so on.

They had to report even the smallest change.

Then.

Creak— creak— creak—

Soldiers with haggard faces climbed up to the watchtower.

“Hey, I’m here. No abnormalities, right?”

It was the relief sentries coming for the shift change.

While the new sentries kept watch on the front, the off-duty sentries began the handover.

“Two hours ago, four or five mushrooms to the northwest collapsed. Looks like the zombies headed that way.”

“Good work, guys. Go down, eat, and get some shut-eye.”

“Is it mushroom soup for dinner again tonight?”

“Yeah, what else? We’re still better off than most. At least we have something to eat, even if it’s just mushrooms. The citadels in the salt plains across the way… they’re probably eating nothing but salt soup by now.”

Recently, the zombies’ movements had become ominous.

The attack intervals had shortened. Their numbers had increased exponentially.

Ever since the trade routes were seized by the zombies some time ago, supplies had been rapidly depleting.

The number of citadels that had fallen to the zombie legions’ assaults was countless.

However, their situation wasn’t good enough to take in the residents of other citadels.

Survivors who’d lost their homes frequently sneaked into the citadel to steal food.

“…Come to think of it, those two from last time haven’t shown up again, have they?”

The man and woman pair who had approached the citadel two days ago.

They had suddenly issued a declaration of war, so the soldiers had shot arrows to drive them away.

“They haven’t come near since then. Speaking of which, suddenly waving a white flag. Are they declaring war or something?”

At that moment.

“Maybe they’re better than the ones who sneak in to steal.”

“Abnormality report! Approaching giants from the front! It’s those two from two days ago!”

The new sentry shouted loudly.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

The man and woman from two days ago were approaching the citadel.

“Uh… They’re holding something in their hands!”

“Persistent bastards. Are they going to wave the white flag again?”

“No, sir! It looks like some kind of trumpet!”

The man was carrying a large brass instrument resembling a tuba on his shoulder.

The pair stopped on a hill about a hundred paces away from the citadel.

The man set the instrument down on the ground and brought a black box-like object to its mouthpiece.

Then.

J…… …… ♬……

A melody began flowing from the trumpet.

Even from far away, it sounded as clear as if it were playing right beside them.

However.

The sentries found themselves unconsciously tilting their heads to listen.

It felt like being wrapped in a warm cotton blanket.

The happiness of sitting before a bonfire eating warm stew.

The heavy fatigue weighing down their bodies melted away like snow.

J…… ……. ♬……

A heavenly melody unlike anything they had ever heard before.

“Wh-what in the world is this…?”

The sentries’ shoulders slowly rose and fell in rhythm.

***

Flap—

<Earworm Trumpet>

– Storage Number: MRG-914

– Storage Grade: Safe

A trumpet crafted from the shed skins of earworms.

Shaped like a large snail shell, it absorbed surrounding music through small holes and released it through larger ones.

Sound passing through the Earworm Trumpet felt as soft as silk, as sweet as honey, and as fragrant as the scent of flowers. 

Moreover, it produced a powerful imprinting effect, making the listener instantly memorize the music.

Earworm.

The phenomenon where a song’s melody and lyrics keep looping endlessly in one’s head.

And this trumpet was made from the shed skins of the earworms that actually existed on the Lokpia Continent.

The effect was extremely simple.

Music that passed through the Earworm Trumpet sounded dozens of times more captivating and sweet than the original.

But the true effect was something else entirely.

I pressed the portable radio against the Earworm Trumpet.

Then.

[Amoongirl Amoongirl~ Dear~]

The tune flowed out along the conical opening.

[Ttarattata~ Tomorrow too~ Tomorrow too, I only think of you~ √ Amoongirl Amoongirl~]

An addictive melody.

Lyrics that burrowed straight into the brain.

A devilish song that would have you humming it for days after hearing it just once.

The infamous ‘CSAT banned songs’ that tormented students preparing for the college entrance exam every year.

The soldiers on the citadel walls stared in our direction with dazed expressions.

The sentries reacted like people hearing music for the very first time in their lives.

Since I was already at it, I decided to play a few more songs.

– [Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry, it’s yours yours yours]

– [Fill me fill me fill me up- √ Fill me fill me fill me up-J]

– [Ding daeng dong ding daeng dong ding digi-ding digi-ding ding ding- ♬]

– [No brain- It’s no brain- Jjajjara jjara jjara jjan jjan jjan♬]

– [Just let today be better than yesterday- I don’t care party]

The medley of CSAT banned songs flowed from the Earworm Trumpet.

Highly addictive tunes that had once dominated an era thundered across the citadel.

At that moment.

“……! ……! ……! ……!”

The female knight with short blue hair covered her ears and screamed.

She was the fortress commander who had personally led the battles against the zombie legions.

Soon, arrows began flying from atop the castle walls.

Swoosh— swooooosh—

However.

Thud— thud thud— thud—

The arrows flew off in the wrong directions.

They couldn’t even reach our vicinity and simply fell to the ground.

The archers had half their souls missing from their faces.

I handed the Earworm Trumpet and portable radio to Jeanne.

“Use your miniaturization skill, carry these, and circle around the citadel. You can do it without getting caught, right?”

“Yes, Master!”

Jeanne, with the radio on her left shoulder and the Earworm Trumpet on her right.

In the blink of an eye, she vanished.

Even so.

-[From head to toe it’s all aluminum~ Aluminum~ ♬]

The melody remained crystal clear.

The singing voice began to echo as it encircled the citadel.

***

-Ding dong!

<You have entered the ‘Unrest’ zone of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

I climbed the hill that offered a clear view down at the citadel.

Today marked the third day since beginning the operation.

During that time, Jeanne had been circling the citadel while hiding her body with miniaturization.

Spreading the music from the Earworm Trumpet evenly all around.

At that moment.

Hop~!

A tiny object the size of a bean jumped onto my shoulder.

“Have you arrived, Master?”

It was Jeanne.

“As you instructed, Master, I have paused the music playback for now, taking their sleep schedule into consideration.”

“Well done. We should at least observe the minimum courtesy.”

9 to 5.

The Earworm Trumpet operation was only executed from 9 AM to 5 PM.

The current time was 2 AM.

Playing songs even during sleeping hours would only breed resentment.

“Shall we check on the progress then?”

-Ding!

Activating skill ‘Ink Stealth’!

My body turned transparent as it was enveloped in jet-black ink.

I stealthily crept toward the citadel in my concealed state.

Soon, I spotted the soldier standing on the watchtower.

He maintained an ironclad guard with an utterly expressionless face.

There was not a single flaw in his posture or even the blink of an eye.

I waited patiently.

At that moment.

“Ah…… nol….. mo…”

The soldier with the stern expression slowly began moving his lips.

“Today just needs to be…… better than yesterday…… I don’t care party…….”

The soldier hummed quietly to himself.

For a brief moment.

“……!”

The soldier jolted in surprise and scanned his surroundings.

It seemed a line from the song had slipped out unconsciously.

Seeing no one around, however, he began humming again.

“Ding daeng dong— Ding daeng dong— Ding digi ding ding ding—♪ Fill me fill me fill me up— Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry— From head to toe it’s all so human-like—”

His shoulders swayed subtly even beneath his armor.

Now he was openly adding rhythm and vibe as he sang.

“Crossing the troposphere, crossing the stratosphere, crossing even the solar system, it’s invincible right, invincible right—”

At that moment.

“Hey! What the hell did you just do!?”

Someone approached, scolding him loudly.

It appeared to be the senior sentry.

“What did you just say? Invincible right?”

“Sorry, sir!”

The senior continued with a fierce expression.

“It’s not ‘invincible right,’ you idiot! It’s ‘no brain’! No brain, no brain— This is how it goes!”

“I’ll correct myself.”

“Well, anyway. I really can’t stop myself from singing along. Where is that song even coming from? And damn, the song’s good. You remember it after hearing it once. Before you know it, you’re singing it out loud?”

“Same here. And when I sing along, it feels like I get energized.”

The soldiers chuckled among themselves.

“Still, be careful, kid. If the watch captain had heard that, everyone from you up to the captain would’ve been called in for assembly.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Yeah.”

The guards sighed.

But only for a moment.

“Hmm hmm hmm hmm—.”

“Ummreupteu~.”

The guards started humming again.

A devilish addictiveness impossible to resist with human willpower.

…Of course.

Melodies that lodged themselves in the brain after a single listen.

They were CSAT banned songs, complete with official KC certification marks.

Add in the artifact effect of the Earworm Trumpet, and it was inevitable.

At that moment, Jeanne whispered from my shoulder.

……’A hard rock can block a sharp spear, but soft water droplets will pierce through it.’ As expected of you, Master.

Your plan was to undermine the enemy’s military discipline before infiltrating.

“Not yet. We’re moving on to stage two now.”

“There was a stage two? May I ask what the next operation entails?”

“Since we’ve taken control of their hearing, the next step is……..”

I pulled a large cauldron out of my inventory.

White steam rose in thick curls from within it.

The savory scent of oil and the sweet aroma of seasoning spread in all directions.

Sure enough.

“Uh…!? D-doesn’t it smell like something delicious?”

“What is that? Where’s it coming from?”

Drool dripped steadily from the corners of the sentries’ mouths.

The soul food beloved by all ages and genders in South Korea.

The cauldron was filled to the brim with crispy fried chicken.

Half seasoned, half plain.

“..Now it’s time to conquer their sense of taste.”