Chapter 314: The Jungle Inside the Mansion
Noon.
“So, that’s how things ended up like this?” [Glen]
Glen ca back for lunch and found himself watching as the Mimic Sli rushed through the grass with a horde of undead chasing after it.
“I’d only be a hindrance if I rode it. The Mimic Sli originally lived in this forest too, so it’s better for it to just run on its own while in the Takeostrich form. The undead prefer that too anyway. The humanoid undead get to act like they’re hunting, while the beast zombies like the Raptors chased after it because of its skill.
“Well, I’m grateful since I can get a proper lunch thanks to it.” [Glen]
“Both the traps and the gathering of the undead ended up being automated by the slis.” [Ryouma]
With more ti to spare, I was able to put a bit more effort into preparing lunch. I figured that sothing like yesterday’s fried snake with lots of seasoning would be good, so I went with the “Tatsutaage Sandwich,” using freshly made soft bread, adding plenty of garlic and fresh leafy vegetables with fries on the side.
Having fried food for two days in a row might be unpleasant, though, so I also prepared egg sandwiches and potato salad sandwiches, but Glen-san didn’t mind at all. As usual, he enjoyed his al, and he quickly emptied his plates. As we finished eating…
“Oh.” [Ryouma]
“What’s wrong?” [Glen]
“The Mimic Sli is being chased by a living Raptor. It seems to have accidentally lured it while attracting the undead. It’s running towards us now.” [Ryouma]
“Sounds good, let’s go have so fun to relieve the tension then.” [Glen]
In an instant, the plan was set, and we prepared to intercept.
“I see it now.” [Glen]
“I’ve confird it too. Let’s separate the undead and the living with ‘Holy Fla Carpet.’” [Ryouma]
As the Mimic Sli rushed past us, the spell was cast. Flas, mixed with light attribute magic, spread thinly and widely, forming a red and golden carpet.
The excited group of enemies, that were attracted by the pheromones of the Takeostrich, rushed through the flas without retreat. I’d focused on covering enough area, so the fire wasn’t too intense.
The living raptors didn’t suffer much damage, but the zombified Raptors mixed among them suffered lethal damage to the legs due to the light attribute magic, and they stumbled and fell, before finally being engulfed in flas to burn out without a trace. As a result, only the living Raptors erged from the fire.
After that, it was just a matter of defeating them normally.
“Let’s do this!” [Glen]
The raptors charging straight at us in an excited state might have been dangerous for an ordinary person, but for Glen-san, they were easy pickings. He swung his adamantite hamr, and the Raptors rushing towards him were blown away altogether.
I took care of those that managed to slip past the flas with my magic and sword. In less than a minute, all the raptors were dealt with.
“And done. Hey, you sure it’s fine leaving the fire as is?” [Glen]
“It should be fine. This area is quite humid, and the rapid spread was due to my magic, so it shouldn’t spread any further. Even if it does, the heavy rain we get every day should put it out eventually.” [Ryouma]
I was originally supposed to co here alone, so naturally I’d already considered the use of wide-range magic. Any damage left behind should be minor at worst.
“Still, the nearby undead were cleared a lot faster than I expected.” [Ryouma]
“Huh? Now that you ntion it… When I ca here, the village had been full of undead, but there’s a lot less of them now. Oh, so that’s why the living Raptors approached.” [Glen]
“I’d instructed the Mimic Sli to ‘run close to the village’s outer wall,’ so that’s probably the reason. I thought it would take at least a day to clear the surrounding undead, but at this rate, we might be able to deal with the central mansion sooner.” [Ryouma]
“All the better if we can conclude things here quicker.” [Glen]
Like that, we decided to attack the central mansion in the afternoon. When we finally headed for the mansion, only small crowds of undead bothered us along the way.
“I guess we weren’t able to clear them all out completely, after all.” [Glen]
“Yes, but the Beast Zombies seem to be gone, and the humanoids left all appear to be forr village residents. They were probably all non-combatants who didn’t go out to hunt.” [Ryouma]]
I pointed to one of the many collapsed buildings around the mansion. There, a skeleton could be seen diligently swinging his hamr, so it was probably a blacksmith’s residence or workshop. In another building, was a zombie using what seed to be a broken weaving machine. It continued to move as though it were weaving even though the machine didn’t work anymore. They were likely continuing the daily activities they had when they were still alive.
“They’re non-combatants by nature, so they don’t attack, but they do recognize us and the slis as enemies, as they ran for the mansion as soon as we approached.” [Ryouma]
Rather than the undead, the condition of the road was a bigger problem. The forr villagers seem to have done so maintenance, but it was a aningless endeavor. At most, they succeeded in building obstacles with sandbags and tal fences.
Moreover, so undead got caught in those and failed to catch up with the rest of the undead, so I got the Grave Slis to store them away as we advanced.
“You know, the way they move kind of give the impression that they see us as a pair of kidnappers invading a village.” [Glen]
“I was thinking the sa thing actually. In fact, it probably is just like that for them. Assuming they haven’t realized they’re dead, then the way they see it, a pair of strangers ca to the village, so they ran away, but the strangers gave chase, and those that were caught were devoured by slis to end up in a prison-like place.” [Ryouma]
Saying it out loud like that kind of makes feel guilty, but whether it’s monster subjugation or hunting, it’s not really all that different. Besides, this is also for their morial. Before long, we reached the front gate of the mansion. It was surrounded by tal fences to prevent intruders and monsters, as well as a double door.
“Hit anywhere as hard as you can.” [Ryouma]
“Just leave it to !” [Glen]
Glen already raised his hamr high, then with a clang, the ear-piercing tallic sound echoed throughout the area.
“Damn, it’s one of those, huh.” [Glen]
Amidst the tallic sounds, Glen’s grumbling voice reached my ears. Despite receiving a blow that could create a crater on the massive heat-dissipating tree trunk, the gate only slightly warped before returning to its undamaged state.
“Waoooo!” [Undead]
“Finally, a reaction.” [Ryouma]
“I swung intending to break through, though.” [Glen]
Countless voices of the undead rise from within the mansion, while the sound of intense banging echoed from every window. It was as if the entire mansion was screaming and trembling. After so dozen seconds, ard undead poured out in droves from inside the mansion.
Most of them were clearly in the form of corpses, such as zombies or skeletons, with only rudintary equipnt like spears or bows. However, among them were also higher-ranking Ghouls or even beings that, from their appearance, were indistinguishable from humans.
“How dare you scoundrels attack the villagers and impolitely pound on the gate!” [Noble Undead]
“What did you say, you jerk!?” [Glen]
“I figured this might be the case, but I’m still surprised to see an undead talk so well.” [Ryouma]
A noble-looking undead in armor raised his voice. I’ve seen undead muttering back at the labyrinth, but this is my first ti seeing an undead speak so clearly. Moreover, it’s remarkably lifelike. But then again, if their souls are truly still lingering in this world, then I suppose it’s only natural. Though there’s no changing the fact that they’re still just undead.
“I am Baron Alus Destria! I have been entrusted with the royal command of the Forest Exploration Expedition! And this is the most crucial base! Do you understand that attacking this base is an act of rebellion against His Majesty the King?” [Alus Destria]
“How dare you invade my village! I’ll make you regret it!” [Undead 1]
“How could you do such things!? Your savage attacks bring sorrow to the gods!” [Undead 2]
The other undead could speak just like people, but there was no continuity. There were subtle strange behaviors too. But it didn’t feel like the monster was making them say those things either. Rather, it felt more like they were simply reveling in their own world. Either way, they’re definitely undead.
“They just keep running their mouths, don’t they? What’s the plan?” [Glen]
“Sa as before. We’ll keep attacking until the big one cos out. ‘Holy Fla Carpet.’” [Ryouma]
I didn’t deign to talk with the undead and just returned their words with fire. Baron Destria protected himself with a shield, while the surrounding undead suffered even though they weren’t hit directly. It seed that the spell wasn’t as effective on the more human-looking undead. anwhile, arrows and magic shot out from the mansion’s windows, so I hid behind the Emperor Scavenger.
“Hey! Don’t ignore !” [Glen]
While running along the fence, Glen tried to provoke the enemies even more by hitting on the fence. They tried to stab Glen with their spears through the gaps in the fence, but they struggled to keep up with his movents and ended up getting hit back instead.
“Flash Bomb.” [Rrouma]
“Oraoraoraoraa! Stop hiding and fight like a man! What’s the matter? You scared!?” [Glen]
Wait a mont. I’m also attacking sneakily while hiding behind my slis. Oh, well. I won’t do anything reckless until necessary and just stick to safety first and the original plan. After continuing to attack the mansion for a while, the gate eventually opened as we planned.
“Finally!” [Glen]
Undead poured out from inside the gate, but once outside, they were ours. Glen continued to swing his hamr, mowing down enemy after enemy, while the Emperor Scavenger crushed the enemies with its massive body, and the Grave Slis captured the temporarily immobilized undead.
About 10 minutes later.
“Hey, Ryouma, looks like your monster is inviting us.” [Glen]
Glen said as he approached and knocked out so undead. Just as he said, the mansion’s gate had swung wide open, but no more undead ca out. It was a chance for us to enter, but it was being so obvious about it, it felt suspicious.
“Well, I was planning to go in anyway, so I’ll be off. If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to co out before the sun sets. If I don’t co out by tomorrow noon at the latest, consider it a failure.” [Ryouma]
“It does seem like the real problem inside the mansion needs to be dealt with. In that case, just leave the outside to .” [Glen]
Well, that was the plan, so I left the outside to Glenn and the slis, while I passed through the open gate, walking through the mansion’s entrance, to step into the entrance hall, whereupon the door that had been open suddenly closed, and the latch clicked. It was straight out of a horror movie. I briefly glanced at the door before turning around.
“Huh… Is this so kind of illusion?” [Ryouma]
That genuinely surprised .
I had stepped into the mansion, which despite its age, should be a robust and simple building. The grand staircase connecting the first floor to the upper floors and the corridors extending to the left and right should have also been visible in the open entrance. However, not a trace of those things remained. What t my eyes was instead a murky sky, a well-paved asphalt road lined with towering buildings, people in suits with exhausted expressions could be seen bustling about , and signs and billboards written in Japanese were everywhere.
It felt both nostalgic and heartwarming, yet at the sa ti, it was a sight I never wanted to see again. Yes, that was none other than the cityscape of Japan, the world that I, Ryouma Takebayashi, once lived in.
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