731. [Free Exploration] Welcome to Zombieland (3)
Lake Kingdom Area 10. Abandoned cathedral.
It was built by the indigenous religion of this country that was destroyed 500 years ago, and although the site was large, it was not occupied by any monster army.
This is because it was a place where an unpleasant energy flowed from the monsters. So, while various monsters occupied various parts of the Lake Kingdom over the years, this place remained in ruins.
However, the current demon species survivors had no choice but to flee here.
The zombification plague spread among the monsters, and the infected monsters killed and killed each other, spreading the plague.
Basically, it’s a common thing like self-reflection. It wasn’t something I cared about whether they killed each other or not… but
in the current situation where the demonic guardians were annihilated and they were even at the forefront of being turned into zombies, it couldn’t be ignored.
The zombified demon guardians attacked the demon colony without even recognizing their own compatriots, and the demon colony suffered fatal damage in the first attack.
Those who managed to survive were trapped in an abandoned cathedral after running away, and were now facing the end.
thud! Quad deuk! Okay!
The barricade reinforced with magical power bent and broke like a piece of corn.
The stained glass of the abandoned cathedral shattered and the arms of zombie monsters came inside.
Wow….
Wow!
The jaws of the zombies were biting the air as they tried to bite anything alive, regardless of whether the opponent was a monster. Thick saliva dripped onto the floor.
《Ah…!》
《It’s the end. We’re the end…!》
The boys and girls of the devil species gathered in the center of the abandoned cathedral hugged each other and trembled.
The demonic elders standing around them were trembling with anger and prepared to make themselves ‘sacrifices’.
Soon the last barricade would break and zombie monsters would come in, and they would have to sacrifice their lives to protect the children.
《Where is His Excellency Cromwell?!》
《Who on earth caused this plague in the first place…!》
《Why doesn’t the Devil save us?! We are his direct subordinates!》
Listening to the screams of fear from his compatriots, the oldest demon among the survivors – the old demon known as ‘Elder’ within the corps – fell silent.
Cromwell died and the devil turned her into a zombie to raise her from the dead. And to the devil, they are nothing more than chess pieces to be used once and discarded. This was because everyone knew it.
‘Is this the end?’
Now, zombie monsters were squeezing themselves into the gap between the completely collapsed entrance barricade.
Sensing the end, the elder slowly lowered his arms and let out a long breath.
It has been a very long time since I left my hometown following Cromwell, the commander of the corps, and arrived here.
And during that long time….
‘What on earth did you do?’
I didn’t know what I had achieved.
In the end, does this meaningless end mean the end of a life that has continued so well?
‘If my life was to disappear in vain like this anyway…’
Rather…?
What would you rather?
The moment the elder blinked, puzzled by his own thoughts,
“Huh?”,
something was seen falling through the crack in the collapsed ceiling of the abandoned cathedral.
I thought it was a zombie monster infiltrating through the roof, but it wasn’t.
Taaa-!
It was a much more dangerous entity.
Waving a flag made of magical power, Ash ‘Bonhater’ Everblack, the supreme commander of the human side and the most dangerous enemy among the monsters, lightly came down and landed.
《…!》
The elder’s back stiffened in surprise and shock as he saw Ash straightening his posture right in front of him.
And the rest of the demons, unable to properly understand who the opponent was, shouted.
《What are you, human?!》
《How are you here…!》
《Woo, you’re trying to kill us!》
Everyone in the demon race was confused as they saw the human who suddenly fell into the center of the group.
Moreover, humans were not alone.
fault! Crack!
One after another, a blond male knight, a platinum-blond female knight, a green-haired assassin, and even a white-haired wizard came down and surrounded Ash.
There are zombie monsters outside. Human inside.
The demon race survivors, who had enemies both inside and outside, were panicking.
A long smile appeared on Ash’s lips as he glanced at the demons.
“Hello, Invader candidates and retired Invaders.”
The elder thought while looking at that smile.
“Do you want to live?”
For some reason, the smile on the face of the person in front of me…
“If you say so, I will help you.”
…They say they look more vicious than they are.
“Come on!”
With his arms wide open and his golden eyes flashing,
the savior who suddenly came down from the sky said this.
“Say you want to live!”
***
I grinned as I looked at the confused demon species.
Most of the monsters that cover the Lake Kingdom are shadows from the memories that the Demon King extracted from his nightmares.
These red-skinned demon species are different.
As explained earlier, these are invaders from another dimension who have invaded this world to make it theirs… To put it somewhat roughly, they are an alien race.
‘So, unlike monsters resurrected from nightmares, they can reproduce.’
So, in other words…
they do not have an instinctive and blind hatred for humans like monsters brought back from nightmares.
In short, there is quite a bit of room for negotiation.
‘It’s better to show it once than to tell it a hundred times.’
I lightly hit the floor with the tip of the flagpole. Then,
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
A magical wall rose and began to quickly fill in the area around the abandoned cathedral.
Above the broken stained-glass window, over the barricade at the main entrance that was on the verge of collapsing…
Gray magical power formed a castle wall and fortified the abandoned cathedral at once.
“This will buy us some time right now.”
The roaring cries of zombie monsters that could clearly be heard outside suddenly became quiet.
“I’m not bragging, but my castle walls aren’t usually that strong… I’m bragging, right?”
《….》
The demon survivors seemed unsure whether to be happy that they were now safe from the threat of zombie monsters or to be wary of the humans who appeared before their eyes.
“It’s nothing to think about.”
I crossed my arms and gestured outward.
“Those zombies are my enemies. And those zombies are your enemies too. “This is where we have room to cooperate.”
《…!》
“I’ll help you until all those zombies disappear. I will help you fortify this place and bring you any supplies you need so that you can remain safe here. how is it?”
Among the clamoring demon species, the one who appeared to be the oldest stepped forward.
He silenced his people and politely treated me with courtesy.
《Thank you for the suggestion… Can you just give us a moment to discuss it?》
“As you wish. “Not too long.”
It must be a bit weird to accept a proposal from this side that was my enemy until just now.
I nodded, and the survivors of the demon species, of which there were at most a few hundred, gathered together and began a meeting.
And when I turned around, my men who were waiting also urgently asked me.
“Ash! Are you saying you want to help the monsters now?”
Verdandi asked. I nodded.
“It’s okay as an alliance to reduce the number of zombies.”
“but…!”
“The benefit to us is quite large.”
I spoke honestly.
“To put it harshly, we could use them as discards that will fight and destroy zombies instead of us.”
“…!”
“To put it mildly, we can say that our interests are aligned. “They want to live and we need to reduce the number of zombies.”
If there were one force that could attract zombies, withstand attacks, and reduce their numbers in this place, the birthplace of zombie monsters.
In the ensuing defense battle, the number of zombies that will pour out as royalties can be greatly reduced.
“In short, they fulfill the role of a forward base.”
The forward base in front of the Black Lake that we originally used was completely destroyed by the Night Bringer, and realistically, it is impossible to recover until the final battle.
The remaining time is too short. There is currently no way to restore the southern wall of Crossroads, so how can we restore the forward base?
In this situation, if we can place our allies in Area 10 of the Lake Kingdom.
It may be useful not only for this stage but possibly even the final battle.
“In addition, we will be able to find out the weaknesses of the demon species and information about Cromwell.”
“…!”
Although the zombie outbreak overlapped and the situation became dizzy.
In the end, the boss monster you have to face this time is Cromwell, the leader of the Demon Guardians.
Since they were part of the same corps as Cromwell, they would be able to obtain information.
“And above all…”
I added.
“I have something to personally test.”
Everyone looked puzzled by my words.
“A test?”
“okay.”
I laughed bitterly.
“A necessary test to get to the ending I want.”
***
The demon race survivors accepted my offer.
There was no way for them to refuse in the first place. You could either join hands with me or become a zombie here. Because it looks like he doesn’t want to die.
“good! So first of all, who is the representative here now?”
Then, as they looked at each other, an old man among the survivors came forward. It was the devil I had a conversation with earlier.
“It’s me. Please call me ‘Elder.’ 》
“Good quick self-introduction. “You are perceptive, elder.”
I took over the position of ‘representative’ of these survivors from the elder.
The elder hesitated, but he was already on the tiger’s back. As I requested, he quietly declared that he would delegate the position of representative to me.
“I will hand over the role of representative of the survivors of Cromwell’s Legion to you, Ash.”
“Okay.”
I nodded and adjusted the [Jade Seal Ring].
[Jade Ring (EX)]
– You can gather the will of the members of the organization you represent and manifest it as power.
Because of this, he went through the trouble of asking me to give him the position of representative.
“I wish to represent the will of the survivors of Cromwell’s Legion as a temporary ally.”
The ring, which had no design engraved on it, was engraved with the symbol of a red deer horn. This appears to be the symbol of Cromwell’s legion.
“I hope this abandoned cathedral doesn’t fall to that group of monsters…!”
Flash!
The [Seal Ring] was activated, and red energy surged from the survivors’ chests, entangled like long thorny vines, and surrounded the abandoned cathedral.
“It embodies your will to survive.”
This magic… no, it’s magic.
I explained to the survivors who opened their mouths in surprise at my magic.
“As long as your will is strong, zombies will not be able to enter this area easily. “The wall I left behind will last for a while.”
《….》
“But in the end, it is up to you to fight and survive.”
There are two weeks left until Stage 45 begins.
It can be a long time, like eons, and it can also be a short time that will pass by in the blink of an eye.
Will this abandoned cathedral be able to survive until then, or will it be swept away by zombies before then? I don’t know that either.
However, if they stubbornly try to survive. And if it helps my world too.
I will continue to support them.
It’s such a simple partnership.
“This abandoned cathedral will be converted into a fortification and forward base.”
I told my subordinates.
“We will bring water-based equipment and provide support if necessary supplies are available.”
“Are you really going to build a small fortress inside a dungeon? Also, a monster stops a monster…?”
“Think of it as a special operation suited to a special situation. Now, check the necessary supplies!”
Although the subordinates were not very apprehensive, they still looked around the abandoned cathedral, checking the materials and equipment needed to fortify the place.
“Hold on tight, Elder.”
I grinned at the elder, who was still making a complicated expression, as if he was surprised that he had joined hands with humans in order to survive.
“I’ll come help again!”
In this way.
We established a forward base in the middle of enemy lines and acquired troops to fight on our behalf.
It remains to be seen what kind of results this impulsive small investment of mine will have in the future.
Either I will fail miserably without even being able to get my money’s worth, or…
‘Do you know?’
Will you look back and say it was a godsend?
