Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Zombie Parade
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It was early morning the next day.
Cloudy and I were waiting for Kobson.
"Where the hell is this guy?"
"Maybe he couldn't get in last night?"
Cloudy said it like she didn't care either way.
No, you were the one who said let's just go yesterday.
"Maybe."
I doubted Kobson had fallen asleep on the street overnight and gotten dragged off by murderers, who stripped him of everything and turned his guts into a party... Nah, that probably wouldn't happen. With the festival going on, even the church was putting extra effort into security, so holy knights were patrolling even at dawn.
Given the merciless nature of this world's zealots, they wouldn't just hand criminals over to the city guard—no way. Kobson would be lucky if they didn't kill him outright. Holy knights viewed wicked humans as no different from monsters and hated them just as much.
Those lunatics thought beating a bandit to death would send them straight to heaven. I didn't know about heaven, but the bandit was definitely headed to hell.
"H-hey... barbarian..."
As I mulled it over, a terribly hoarse voice called out. I turned to see Kobson approaching, his hair all frizzy. He looked utterly exhausted, probably from the hangover.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's get going..."
"Yeah, good morning. But can you even walk in that state?"
What kind of farmer's kid was he?
"No problem... They're just undead, after all."
"Right now, you're basically an undead yourself, you madman."
"Heh heh... This'll work itself out once I get moving."
From the looks of him, he'd at least made it home last night. So, the three of us could head out as a party again today. Shame Elise wasn't with us—she was starting her religious stall today, so she couldn't join.
"Anyway, let's head out."
With that, our trio set off. Kobson looked beat, but he was an E-rank adventurer who could solo zombies and skeletons no problem. No need to worry. With Cloudy here too, the three of us should pull in about the same earnings as yesterday.
"Katt, wanna try a different route this time?"
"Different route?"
"Sticking to the usual path won't yield much. Let's blaze a new trail."
"Hm, good idea. Sure, let's do it."
As Cloudy suggested, we veered off in a slightly different direction from our usual route. Come to think of it, we'd run into ghosts yesterday too. No point hunting those bastards—they offered zero upside.
We needed to steer clear of ghost territory as much as possible.
"Same story around here."
"Flies are buzzing... I hate bugs."
This new path didn't seem all that special either.
Headless zombie corpses and rotten skeleton bones littered the ground. Adventurers had turned this place into a wasteland long ago, like a swarm of starving locusts. The undead that once teemed with unlife and joyfully sang of death had been wiped clean.
Wasn't talant farming starting to get risky?
Undead didn't respawn infinitely—they had a finite number, and they were getting harder to find. We'd been slaughtering them nonstop, so their population had tanked. Now it was a matter of actually locating them.
Orororong.
Ororong.
Still, after searching a while, we spotted two huddled together.
"Two of them, huh."
Kobson drew his sword and advanced. The zombies shuffled toward us lazily, posing no threat. He swung expertly, decapitating one. Zombies were weaker than a drunk in terms of level.
Degurr, thud.
I sliced through the other's neck just as easily. I picked up the head and tossed it into the sack. Kobson stretched as he said,
"Blood's finally starting to flow."
"Good to hear."
"In this condition, even a ghoul wouldn't be an issue."
"Ghoul, huh."
Ghouls were rare monsters like treasure goblins, worth 5 talants per head.
Unlike frail, rotting undead, ghouls had living muscle. They healed their decaying flesh by chewing and swallowing human meat—cannibals in the truest sense. If they didn't eat people, their bodies rotted away, so they obsessed over it.
Rumor had it humans turned into ghouls if they died under a curse, but I didn't know the details. All I knew was they were nimbler than expected and stronger than humans. Their heads probably held nothing but murder and cannibalism.
They sounded dangerous—I had no desire to meet one. Even if they dropped five talants, fighting one ghoul was a hundred times worse than killing five zombies.
"Cloudy, ever seen a ghoul?"
"Heard stories, but never in person. Zombies are new to me too—this is my first time here. Back in Shurdik, the only undead were skeletons and mummies."
"Makes sense. With the sun blazing like that, not exactly undead paradise. Zombies would just dry up and wither."
"Yeah, probably."
Anyway, the undead that were plentiful yesterday had dried up. The ecosystem was collapsing. Once the wraiths vanished, the festival would end. Seemed like it was close. We needed to squeeze out every last bit before then.
"Shall we push deeper? There must be isolated undead in less-traveled spots. Head somewhere people wouldn't normally go."
"Sounds solid."
We went with Kobson's plan and left navigation to him. Didn't matter who did it anyway. He confidently hacked through the brush, his steps sure—a good sign for what lay ahead.
We pressed on for quite a while, reaching a mountainside with zero human presence.
Surprisingly, no undead in sight.
"Hey, Kobson. Undead chase the living, right?"
I asked him something that just occurred to me.
"That's right."
"So they wouldn't hang out where there are no people."
"..."
He had no reply.
I glanced at Cloudy.
"Idiot."
Damn it all.
We'd found undead yesterday because those spots weren't totally deserted—they were somewhat traveled paths. Cloudy made a weird face and spoke up again.
"Still, worth checking around here. We've never been this way. Let's find a path people use. Follow me—better than you two fumbling for it."
"Yeah..."
"Sorry about this..."
We'd come pretty far, but it was still near the city, so paths should exist.
We activated our wilderness senses to the max and searched. But Cloudy wasn't used to mountains from her desert background, Kobson was useless, and I couldn't find squat either.
"Fuck, where the hell are we?"
"Beats me..."
"No idea."
Incredibly, we'd gotten lost. Cloudy, leading the way, had led us to ruin. Looking closer, her ears drooped inside her hood.
I had a rough idea of the way back, so it was fine... but today's haul was toast.
"Cloudy, what the hell?"
"...L-look over there!"
Her face flushed beet red as she pointed. Leading confidently only to get lost had embarrassed her big time. I checked where she indicated.
Kuheok, kururuk.
It was a mummy. Not some fancy wrapped relic—just a shriveled undead monster bound in bandages. A walking corpse, nothing more.
Zombies wore ragged clothes; these were wrapped in bandages. That was the only difference.
"A mummy."
"Found one."
"But just the one, Miss Cloudy."
"..."
The mummy's bandages were snagged on a branch, leaving it stuck. Pathetic, but we had to kill it anyway. The three of us approached.
Ku, heok! Kuheok!
It screeched violently at us and reached out, but the tangled bandages kept it rooted in place.
"What a loser."
I swung casually and lopped off its head. Tossed it in the sack. Probably got isolated when its bandages caught while moving.
"No people or even undead around here, that's for sure."
Kobson said, running a hand through his hair. It was past noon now, but the dense trees kept it from getting too hot.
"Let's head down. Nothing more to see here."
"The undead have dried up completely."
This hunting ground was a bust. Better to descend quick and recoup losses.
We decided to head down and moved fast. The terrain here meant once we descended, we'd exit the mountains.
Cloudy, walking beside me, muttered defensively,
"...If this were the desert, this wouldn't have happened."
"It's fine. Everyone sucks at directions equally."
But this wasn't the desert.
Shit happens. No point blaming her.
We'd descended quite a bit when it felt like cresting one more ridge would show the city.
Maybe take a quick break? Then Cloudy grabbed my shoulder.
"Katt, hold up. Tell him to stop too."
"Huh? Hey, Kobson, halt."
"What's up?"
Figured she had something to say, so I called him over. As he approached, Cloudy scanned slowly around us.
"I sense people nearby."
"People?"
Other adventurers maybe?
Shring.
I drew my sword without a second thought. Cloudy nodded at the sight. In the field, anything could happen—better to prep for combat if someone's around. This world crawled with murderers and bandits.
Kobson drew his too and scanned.
"One, two, three... six. Hm, manageable..."
Cloudy muttered something. Please let them be normal adventurers.
I didn't want bloodshed during the festival. Huddled back-to-back behind a tree, we heard footsteps.
Step, step.
Step step.
Swish swish.
Finally, six burly men emerged. They looked like adventurers—armed, hooded, utterly ordinary. E-rank maybe. Here to purge undead...
Then I noticed their gear.
"Fuck. Those bastards have no sacks."
"What does that mean?"
"They're not here for undead."
None of the six carried sacks or bags.
What else could that mean?
They're here for people.
Please, no.
"Heh heh, good eye."
"That funny to you..."
Cloudy seemed to think the same.
This was a remote spot. Six guys gathering here wasn't good. No sacks meant not undead hunters, no luggage meant not travelers. Not campers either.
Two possibilities: adventurers on some other quest, or criminals lying in wait to rob in this out-of-way place. Personally, I'd take the former.
But looking closer, their faces looked vicious.
Adventurers could look rough, but these took it to another level—two, three times worse.
Just by their looks, they screamed murderers.
If those weren't killers, something was seriously wrong with this world.
"They've spotted us too."
"..."
The six closed in. Not far now.
"Cloudy, any ambushers?"
"Nah, just the six."
"Got it..."
No archers or slingers. Just ordinary folk armed with swords and axes. Up close, I could see more.
Shorter than me, arms not that thick.
Six? Whatever.
"Hey, you punks behind the tree! We know you're there—come out nice and slow!"
The green-hooded leader barked in a cocky tone.
"Hey, bosses, nice to meet ya."
No point hiding if they knew.
I stepped out, sword already drawn.