Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: 49. Dead Tree Forest (3)
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6.
Dead Tree Forest.
There were two reasons why the place stretching toward the abandoned mine was called Dead Tree Forest.
One was that all the trees were dead.
Uuuugh!
The other was that Coolie Zombies filled the Dead Tree Forest.
The appearance of those Coolie Zombies was similar to the typical zombies one might see—adventurers turned into zombies by Zombie Mushmom.
Dead adventurers moving while alive—it was a sight that sent chills down the spine of anyone who saw it.
That was it, in other words.
There was nothing particularly more threatening about their appearance compared to regular zombie adventurers.
So the adventurers who saw Coolie Zombies for the first time thought:
“Just zombies, nothing special, right?”
They figured Coolie Zombies wouldn’t be that scary.
Of course, that was a huge mistake.
Coolie Zombies didn’t turn the abandoned mine into hell just because of their eerie looks.
Uuuugh!
For one thing, unlike regular zombies, Coolie Zombies were incredibly fast.
As fast as they had been when alive.
In other words, some Coolie Zombies were even faster, depending on the abilities of the adventurers they used to be.
That wasn’t all.
Their physical strength was on a level that refused comparison with regular zombies.
They shrugged off skills from 3rd Circle adventurers with ease!
But the most headache-inducing part was that very fact.
Kruuuu!
It was that they spewed poison from their entire bodies!
That poison was tremendously potent.
The moment you were poisoned, it wasn’t just coughing or losing consciousness.
It was a deadly toxin that melted your skin!
On top of that, some of these Coolie Zombies had worn incredibly powerful items in life.
From every angle, they were the worst kind of monsters for adventurers.
Yet, surprisingly, the number of adventurers killed by Coolie Zombies wasn’t that high.
The reason was simple.
Adventurers clueless about the terror of Coolie Zombies met their end before even reaching the Dead Tree Forest where they lurked.
In other words, any adventurer who made it far enough to face Coolie Zombies already knew.
What kind of monsters they were.
The adventurers and outlaws gathered in the Dead Tree Forest right now were no exception.
“Everyone, be careful! Coolie Zombies are stronger than you can imagine!”
They knew all about Coolie Zombies.
Uuuugh!
“But if we fight them as prepared, there’s no reason we can’t take them down!”
Knowing them meant they had solid countermeasures.
Above all, they were resolved.
“El Pam, we hold out somehow until you take him down!”
Resolved to do anything to avoid death.
That was why the adventurers and outlaws who had come to the Dead Tree Forest to catch El Pam were all putting up better fights than expected against the Coolie Zombies.
Of course, that “better fight” just meant they weren’t dying to the Coolie Zombies.
“Damn it, cease combat! We’re retreating!”
Rather than overwhelming the Coolie Zombies, they fled without hesitation when the situation turned sour.
Even 5th Circle adventurers were no exception.
“If more than ten Coolie Zombies show up, you run without fail.”
That was common sense.
It certainly was.
“Hey, wait—there’s a party over there handling thirty Coolie Zombies?”
“What are you talking about? Ten at once is already tough!”
“Look!”
But there’s always an exception to every rule.
“My god! They’re just sweeping through thirty Coolie Zombies?”
That was them.
“Wait a sec, isn’t that...?”
7.
“You hired the Wolf King?”
Ebob knew one thing for sure the moment he heard that name from Hote’s mouth.
“You’ve hired the best card available.”
At this point, there was no better card Hote could play to catch El Pam.
It had to be that way.
“The Wolf King, huh.”
Wolf King Pao.
The leader of the Wolf Mercenary Corps, and the corps itself already had a massive presence in the Maple World.
Mercenary corps weren’t all that common in the Maple World to begin with.
The reason was simple.
Mercenaries were people paid to carry out requests, but adventurers could handle that just fine.
In other words, to get proper mercenary treatment, they had to perform requests far better than adventurers of similar caliber.
In that sense, the Wolf Mercenary Corps was fully recognized.
If you could hire them, there were plenty willing to pay extra over comparable Circle adventurers.
And what made the Wolf Mercenary Corps most famous was their leader, the Wolf King.
“I didn’t expect you to hire a 6th Circle.”
6th Circle!
No need to explain.
In the Maple World, being 6th Circle was a powerful title and aura in itself.
“For him to move.”
In other words, it was incredibly hard to get a 6th Circle powerhouse to budge with money.
Once you reached 6th Circle, you could amass wealth and fame beyond anyone’s reckoning.
No way they’d move for a few mesos.
Even for a mercenary corps, it was the same.
“How much did you offer?”
To move the Wolf King, you’d need to offer an absurd amount.
Hote smiled and replied.
“Money isn’t necessary.”
That was it.
Hote offered no further details.
Nor was it needed.
Ebob understood instantly.
‘The Wolf King serves the Lion King!’
That the Wolf King—one of the top mercenaries in the Maple World—was none other than the Lion King’s finger.
‘Terrifying.’
It wasn’t just that the powerhouse known as the Wolf King was the Lion King’s loyal servant.
In fact, even without the Wolf King, the Lion King had no shortage of 6th Circle knights under him.
Not as numerous as the Cygnus Knights, but equal in quality—that was the Lion King’s knight order.
But the Wolf King wasn’t just any 6th Circle powerhouse.
He was a mercenary who took premium pay from powerhouses across the Maple World to fulfill their requests.
Meaning his connections were beyond imagination.
“This should be enough.”
In any case, Ebob was convinced.
“With this, we can kill El Pam.”
8.
“The Wolf King Pao? Isn’t this insane? Why the hell is that guy coming here?”
Dibo looked dumbfounded at the arrival of the Wolf King and his subordinates.
Nor was he the only one.
Kirri and Minar’s expressions had hardened too.
Even Ralph looked grim this time.
“This is the worst.”
“Right? Ralph, you think it’s the worst too, don’t you?”
“Indeed. Wolf King Pao is a mercenary who’ll do anything for the right price.”
“Yeah, exactly!”
“But that Wolf King Pao is going to steal my payday.”
“Uh, yeah...”
Of course, his reason differed a bit from his comrades’, but no one was happy.
“More troublesome than expected.”
And now even El Pam wasn’t smiling.
He couldn’t.
“To think the Wolf King would come.”
For starters, a 6th Circle powerhouse was no easy opponent for El Pam.
And among them, the Wolf King was particularly strong.
One who stood out even among 6th Circle powerhouses.
An unexpected foe for El Pam.
And a headache.
Even using Plastic Surgery Potions to hide their identities only changed appearances.
Sure, against average adventurers, El Pam’s party could conceal their skills.
They had no intention of clashing head-on anyway.
Escaping? That was fully doable.
‘But if we clash, we can’t hide our skills.’
Against a powerhouse like the Wolf King, concealing power and fleeing became practically impossible the moment they engaged.
Meaning everyone, El Pam included, would have to go all out.
‘We can’t hold back either.’
Plus, there could be no hesitation in that moment.
The opponent was the Wolf King—any hesitation against a 6th Circle powerhouse meant death.
What’s more, the Wolf King wasn’t alone.
“Looks like he brought over a hundred seasoned mercenaries?”
Veterans hardened by countless requests, over a hundred strong.
“And they’re not even hiding it—just marching in a big group.”
They made no effort to conceal it.
That was beyond common sense.
“Coolie Zombies or not.”
Coolie Zombies harbored intense rage toward the living and swarmed places with crowds first.
Marching openly in a noisy group was like baiting them.
Normally, that would be madness.
But the Wolf King was different.
“Overconfidence.”
To him, this was a show of supreme self-assurance.
“Boss, what’s the plan?”
In any case, it was a dangerous situation.
‘Press on.’
But El Pam didn’t choose to retreat here.
He couldn’t.
‘Retreating won’t solve anything.’
There’d be no next time.
Not an empty metaphor.
‘The Wolf King wouldn’t come just for money.’
El Pam had realized it.
‘The Wolf King is on the Lion King’s side. Nothing else explains his presence.’
What it meant for the Wolf King to be here.
‘From now on, he’ll set up base here. So there is no “next time.”’
The reasons piled up.
But El Pam didn’t explain them one by one to his comrades.
“We stick to the plan.”
That short phrase was all he said.
And it was enough.
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
“Yeah, after all the hardship getting here, if we back off now, Master’ll put a hole in my head?”
At El Pam’s words, his comrades ignited their battle spirit, their adventuring spirit, as if they’d been waiting.
“Of course!”
Ralph burned the brightest among them.
“There are overflowing items right there—retreat? As if!”
To him, Coolie Zombies were just walking treasure chests decked in pricey gear.
His eyes couldn’t help but gleam.
“Then let’s begin.”
And so El Pam’s party moved out exactly as planned.
Gulp gulp!
First, they downed Plastic Surgery Potions to change their looks.
After that, El Pam’s party moved cautiously through the Dead Tree Forest.
Their goal was singular.
To retrieve Dark Contracts from the Coolie Zombies slain by adventurers and outlaws.
“Smoother than expected.”
It wasn’t that tough a job.
“No adventurer wants to rummage through poison-soaked Coolie Zombie corpses on purpose.”
Coolie Zombies after being killed—and stripped of items—held no appeal for adventurers or outlaws.
In truth, it was that hazardous a task.
The Coolie Zombie poison was extremely dangerous.
But still, it wasn’t a difficult job, plainly.
“Better than fighting those bastards.”
Compared to battling Coolie Zombies or the adventurers and outlaws fighting them, it was easy.
Of course, it wasn’t a walk in the park.
“No luck this time either?”
There was no telling when it’d pay off.
No, it was worse than that.
El Pam had said it.
Dark Contracts might require killing around ten thousand Coolie Zombies—maybe.
It could take not days, but months—impossible to gauge.
“Getting one right away would be the weird part.”
They’d only dissected about a hundred so far—no way results would come yet, El Pam was certain.
That’s why.
“Boss.”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t this what you described?”
“Hm?”
“This. The black thing. This.”
The first time El Pam showed surprise.
“...Yes.”
It was the first time his certainty shattered.