Chapter 52
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: War Breaks Out
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Kim Hee-jin was once an ordinary office worker at a small to medium-sized company.
Around the time she was living a life much like everyone else's, disaster struck out of nowhere.
The Earth's population has reached a certain threshold.
As the conditions are met, trials will be imposed.
With those sentences appearing before her eyes, her awakening occurred.
1/10th of the Earth's population, proportional to the number of zombies, will awaken.
However, a slightly different message appeared for Kim Hee-jin.
You are one of Korea's 6 Zombie Queens.
As the Zombie Queen, you will acquire special abilities over time.
To use the Zombie Queen's abilities, you must become infected as a zombie.
At that moment, Kim Hee-jin was dealt a massive shock.
To end the zombie outbreak, all 6 Zombie Queens had to be killed.
'Me... I have to die?'
However, as the Zombie Queen, you will not lose your reason even as a zombie.
For now, Kim Hee-jin had luckily awakened an ability as well.
She obtained the C-Grade 'Rock Shackles', but she simply hid away.
She was also the Zombie Queen, so she feared that the moment people discovered her, they would kill her on the spot.
Bang!
"Oh, there's a hot chick hiding here."
However, she couldn't hide for long.
The looters had ripped open the door and spotted her, dragging her back to their hideout.
"We'll keep you fed for life from now on."
After that, Kim Hee-jin endured every humiliation and atrocity imaginable at the looters' hideout.
Moreover, whether fortunate or not, once her awakener status was revealed, she was dragged out for zombie hunts as well.
"Slave, bind them."
"Y-Yes."
Not only that, but the looters, realizing the utility of Rock Shackles, even fed her bloodstones to strengthen her ability.
And so, those hellish days dragged on day by day.
Stab!
"Crazy! It's an Assassin!"
A 3rd-stage entity with no sound, no smell, no presence.
As soon as the Assassin appeared, the looters unhesitatingly abandoned Kim Hee-jin.
"Go block it!"
"B-Block it?"
"What are you waiting for?!"
In the end, Kim Hee-jin was forced to use Rock Shackles on the Assassin.
But...
Stab!
In an instant, she was impaled by the Assassin's elongated claw.
And Assassins could infect with their claws as well.
"Gah."
With that...
You have been infected.
Zombie Queen awakening begins.
'Ah.'
Kim Hee-jin felt a new sensation unlike anything she'd experienced before.
Her remaining humanity slowly dispersed, and the daily physical pain she'd felt vanished as if washed away.
'Aah...'
Kim Hee-jin thought of this as liberation from humanity.
The sensation of complete freedom from the mental and physical bonds of being human dominated her entire body.
'To think it felt this good.'
Liberated from everything, all that remained was murderous hatred toward humans.
You have become the Zombie Queen.
As a non-awakener, you can no longer level up abilities with bloodstones.
Power of the Zombie Queen is granted proportional to accumulated time.
C-Grade 'Rock Shackles' ability has changed to B-Grade 'Corruption Shackles'.
Ability level is fixed at the previous 20.
'Looks like I can still use the ability.'
She just couldn't level it up anymore.
The ability itself was still usable.
You can dominate all zombies within a 24km radius.
You can evolve one 4th-stage entity into a 5th-stage entity.
You can summon 153 zombies of random grades once per day.
Having become the Zombie Queen, Kim Hee-jin looked at the Assassin obediently waiting before her.
It wasn't just the Assassin in front of her; she could sense every zombie in the area individually.
"First... let's deal with those bastards."
After eliminating the looters, she would gather forces to create a 5th-stage entity.
Once she had the 5th-stage entity, she planned to march straight on the Incheon Union where Kang Mu-hyun was located.
'Kang Mu-hyun, who killed a Zombie Queen before me... better take him out first.'
Without anyone teaching her, Kim Hee-jin instinctively carried out her duties as the Zombie Queen.
First, she killed or zombified all the looters and remaining survivors in Daejeon, then headed for the Incheon Union.
Bang!
On the way, an awakener with flight capabilities tried to interfere, but she dealt with them easily.
Upon arriving at the Incheon Union's defensive line, even without her humanity, Kim Hee-jin felt dazed.
'What is that?'
A 100-meter-tall monster made entirely of water stood like a gatekeeper before the defensive line.
"Zombie horde incoming. A Zombie Queen-led horde has arrived!"
I was sharing the gallery window like yesterday, watching the Hero Party and Channel 3 broadcast.
On the screen, an enormous Aqua Fiend faced off against an uncountable zombie horde beyond it.
'Is the Zombie Queen wary of the Aqua Fiend too?'
Otherwise, there's no way the zombie horde would halt their advance.
"Did that Aqua Fiend monster grow that big?"
"I didn't know it could get that huge either."
Channel 7's Yu Hyun-min probably knew.
'Not recommended for nothing.'
Anyway, the chat window was in absolute chaos with the Aqua Fiend's appearance.
What the hell is that?
Secret weapon from Incheon Union?
Whoa, the size is insane. How many meters is that?
5th-stage mutant gigas looks like a baby lol
Looks like a summon. Did we have one like that?
Something that big would've been famous.
Could be an illusion. Anyway, zombies stopped.
If the horde just retreats now, it's a win.
Zombie Queen has intelligence confirmed.
What if they just charge?
'Ah. It's moving.'
"Zombies are moving! But only a portion is charging. Still, that's probably 6-7 thousand."
The zombies had halted due to the Aqua Fiend, but soon a large wave charged forward.
However, perhaps to test the Aqua Fiend's nature, no oddly shaped zombies rushed in.
Zombie Queen testing the waters.
Checking if the summon really moves.
If it's an illusion after that, it'd be hilarious.
Incheon Union isn't stupid enough for illusions.
As the chat filled up again...
The Ice Queen must have given a command, because the Aqua Fiend began to move.
'Probably an attack order.'
Watching closely, the Aqua Fiend extended its right arm out long to the side.
At the same time, water from its left arm and back lumps rapidly decreased, making the right arm even longer.
And then...
Kwaaaang!!
The Aqua Fiend swung its elongated right arm like a whip, sweeping the ground.
'Whoa.'
The charging zombies were mostly burst apart and scattered upon hitting the water whip.
Despite its skyscraper-sized bulk, its swing speed was faster than expected, belying its size.
Holy shit, insane.
This is Incheon Union's secret weapon!
Zombie Queen must be cursing inside.
Is that even a summon? Looks beyond S-Grade.
Finally, an EX-Grade awakener?
EX-Grade awakener appeared?
As if. EX-Grade my ass.
Then explain that summon.
"Did you see that? The charging zombies were obliterated in an instant. Incredible power wiping out thousands with one strike!"
Of course, since the zombies charged at varying speeds, not all were felled.
Still, with over half swept away by the Aqua Fiend's right arm, cheers erupted from the surroundings.
Waaaaah!!
'Makes sense. From Incheon Union's perspective, it's reassuring.'
As I thought that, Rubyel spoke up with an intrigued expression.
"If the Aqua Fiend is that effective, it could be super helpful on the ground too?"
"On the ground?"
"Yeah. It's huge, but its attack speed is fast, so it'd be useful."
If the Aqua Fiend was that helpful, using it when heading to the surface later wouldn't be bad.
'Wonder how Yu Hyun-min from Channel 7 caught that thing.'
There wasn't a drop of water near the Aqua Fiend on screen.
It seemed to inhabit rivers or lakes originally, which would make capturing it even trickier.
Kwaaaang!!
Anyway, to finish off the remaining zombies, the Aqua Fiend raised its arm high and slammed it down.
The impact shook the earth, and even the screen trembled slightly.
'Now, how will the Zombie Queen respond?'
The Zombie Queen must have realized she couldn't take the Aqua Fiend head-on.
Plus, since it wasn't a living being, she couldn't turn it into a zombie or anything.
'I'd retreat.'
Or send all the zombies ahead and escape alone.
Kieeeek!
In response, the Zombie Queen chose the latter, spreading all zombies to charge the walls.
Unable to handle the Aqua Fiend, she seemed intent on ignoring it and targeting the awakeners on the walls.
'She'll take heavy losses, but... zombies don't care.'
The moment I thought that, a 5th-stage Gigas charged straight at the Aqua Fiend.
The Gigas was huge too, but tiny compared to the Aqua Fiend—like a child.
"Zombies charging en masse! Ignoring the summon to attack the awakeners!"
"All units to positions!"
"Battle stations!"
The broadcast now mixed the host's voice with other loud commands.
Kwaaaang!!
The Aqua Fiend swung its long arm sideways like before, attacking the Gigas.
The Ice Queen probably aimed to take out as many zombies as possible, including the 5th-stage Gigas.
But...
'Huh?'
Surprisingly, the Gigas grabbed the swung arm with both hands and held firm.
Since the Aqua Fiend had thinned its arm to extend it, that seemed the reason.
'Still, grabbing that...'
The Gigas being around 20 meters tall probably helped too.
Kraaaah!
The Gigas, intent on severing the arm, strained with all its might and even bit down with its teeth.
Splash!
In response, the Aqua Fiend concentrated water into its opposite arm.
The captured arm rapidly shrank and slipped free.
On top of that, the Aqua Fiend raised its other extended arm high and smashed down.
Kwaaaang!!
Each Aqua Fiend attack shook the ground, killing at least hundreds of zombies.
Yet the crucial Gigas dodged sideways in response to the attack somehow.
'Is the Zombie Queen controlling the Gigas directly?'
Other zombies mindlessly charged the walls, but the Gigas fought like a human against the Aqua Fiend.
'Ignoring the Gigas to fight other zombies would be tough too.'
If the Gigas reached the walls, the Aqua Fiend might struggle to attack like now.
Its attacks were wide-area due to its size, risking damage to the walls if mishandled.
'What will the Ice Queen do?'
As I pondered...
The Ice Queen issued another command, and the Aqua Fiend's movements changed.