Pick Me Up!

A human soldier with his lower body missing dragged his upper half using his two arms desperately.

A goblin with twisted bones staggered to his feet.

An ogre turned into a hedgehog with arrows, wriggling as it rolled in a puddle.

“Aaargh!”

One of the soldiers on the plain screamed in terror and ran away.

However, hands emerged from the ground beneath and grabbed him. The corpses began to devour the soldier’s entrails.

“Crunch, aargh, gulp….”

The soldiers among the corpses became prey without being able to resist.

Thousands of gory corpses lying on the plain rose together.

Their limbs dangled, guts sprawled, emitting unpleasant moans.

Eolka’s complexion turned pale as she watched them.

Before the message of terror came up.

Thwack!

I struck the nearby rock loudly with my shield.

“Regroup for now and return to the city for reassembly.”

“Hyung-nim, what the heck are those?”

“Parasite nymphs carrying udon noodles instead of brains.”

I smashed the head of an approaching human corpse with my shield.

The creature fell face down into the puddle, silent.

“Don’t aim for their arms or legs. Crush their heads.”

None of them replied.

Fear was evident on their faces.

I grabbed Aaron by the collar and lifted him up, then shook him forcefully.

“Will you come back alive with me, or become those bastards’ prey?”

“Those monsters….”

“Aaron!”

Startled, Aaron came to his senses and tightly gripped his spear.

“I’ll go back with you.”

“Good. I’ll carry Eolka. Run for the city gate!”

“Understood!”

After lifting Eolka, I ran straight ahead.

Aaron, holding a spear, followed on the left, while Jenna, with a dagger, stuck to the right.

“They are slow. Don’t engage them one by one. Stick to the city wall!”

Aaron impaled the head of a whimpering goblin corpse in front of the wall with his spear.

Thousands of gory corpses slowly approached the city wall.

Living corpses.

Monsters resurrected from the dead under specific conditions.

Though they lose much of their pre-death skills and physical abilities, their appetite for flesh increases abnormally. They will continue to act as long as their heads remain intact.

The monsters that could appear on the 10th floor of the tower were by no means ordinary.

The difficulty was abnormal.

“Ugh! Close the door! Shut it!”

At the urging of the officer inside the gate, the soldiers turned the lever, sweating profusely. The gate gradually narrowed.

“Jenna!”

Jenna pulled out an arrow and aimed it at the lever.

The arrow pierced the soldier’s forearm who was turning the lever, and he clutched his arm in pain.

The officer, who was screaming in agony, took over the lever.

“Aaron!”

Aaron rushed to the gate and wedged the iron bars into the gap.

He braced himself against the bending bars.

“Why won’t it lock! What’s going on?!”

The officer screamed, letting go of the lever and kicking the corridor.

I pushed Eolka through the gap in the gate. The two followed inside. Aaron, holding the lever inside the gate, said:

“Come in!”

“I’m not going. Close the door.”

“What?”

“Go inside the inner city. Join Edis and protect the statue of the goddess. If you lock the gate, you can hold out.”

“Oppa, why aren’t you coming in!”

The corpses were closing in from behind.

There was no time to explain.

“Do I look like an easy prey?”

“But outside…”

“Trust me.”

Jenna said firmly.

“…You’ll come back, right?”

I smiled and said:

“Are words not enough?”

“I understand. I’ll close it!”

“Hyung-nim is still outside!”

“He must have a plan! Trust him, like always.”

Aaron’s spear was retrieved, and the gate began to close.

Just before the gate closed, Eolka whispered:

“Don’t die, please.”

“Same to you.”

“Uooooh.”

I stepped back from the gate.

Thud!

The ogre’s iron mace struck the gate forcefully.

The gate shook briefly but didn’t collapse.

Thump, thump, thump!

The ogre continued to pound the gate with the iron mace. Wood splinters fell to the ground. They lacked the intelligence to use ladders, so we might be able to hold them off for a while with the gate.

“Uuugh.”

A soldier’s corpse pierced the gate. After blocking it with a shield, I beheaded it.

Next to it was a goblin. As the beheadings continued three times, the severed necks of the corpses poured out putrid blood as they fell.

I pressed my shoulder against the city wall and jumped sideways.

These creatures move according to two main principles: the first being the destruction of the goddess statue, and the second being their appetite for the living. Therefore, among the thousands of corpses, only a few dozen followed me, while the majority clung to the gate.

Suddenly I heard a scream.

“Aaargh!”

A soldier who was climbing the ladder must have slipped and fell down.

“Poor guy, luck wasn’t on his side.”

It’s easier to deal with those standing still than the ones running around; therefore, the chasing corpses headed for the screaming soldier with their limbs twisted.

Crunch. Chomp.

As I kept running, I heard the sound of flesh being chewed and bones being crushed.

But I couldn’t do anything to him. After all, he was already as good as dead.

I moved to a position where I wouldn’t get surrounded and smashed the heads of the approaching creatures.

I gazed at the burning forest.

My target was inside it.

“The Black Priest.”

They mostly appear on the middle floors.

Their level isn’t high, and their combat power isn’t exceptional, but they have one special ability that makes them a pain in the neck for masters. It’s the Resurrection of Lions. They can raise the corpses around them and turn them into zombies.

The stronger they were in their previous life, and the more corpses around, the more troublesome they become.

In missions like this, they can be quite a hassle.

But there’s also a strategy to deal with them.

If I had to face thousands of corpses one by one, I’d be buried in bones here.

“I’ll go down if I deal with the spellcaster.”

I considered bringing Jenna along but ultimately decided to go alone.

There are also corpses inside the city.

I looked up at the city wall. Edis was piercing the forehead of one of them with her dagger. Two parties were lined up next to her, sweeping away the corpses one by one.

My eyes met with Dica’s.

“Hyung-nim…”

“Stay strong!”

Dica nodded firmly.

‘There’s no sign of fear.’

No one had died.

Even in this situation, they were showing their combat prowess.

Edis’s leadership seemed to be better than I had expected. With the other three joining her, they would do well even without me.

I knocked down the creatures blocking my path and continued forward. The target was not far away.

“Hee-heeng!”

A lost horse. Corpses were swarming around it. I leaped and shattered the back of one of them. As I swung my sword in a semicircle, five upper and lower bodies were sliced diagonally.

Once the encirclement was broken, the horse immediately tried to turn its head and run away.

I swiftly approached, grabbed the reins, and mounted it. The horse bucked, trying to throw me off. I patted its neck and said:

“Don’t worry. You’re safe with me.”

After a while, the horse became quiet.

I kicked its flank, and the walking horse started to accelerate.

To get to the forest, I had to break through thousands of corpses. I needed the ability to break through.

Fortunately, the cavalry’s horses were well-bred warhorses, large in size, and well-trained. The essential requirement for warhorses is not feeling fear even in front of spear blades.

The horse, gaining enough acceleration, smashed through the corpses as it moved forward.

Of course, there were obstacles to avoid as well.

I quickly turned the reins to the left, and the horse’s head turned. Ogre’s iron mace just missed us. From behind, corpse wolves that had risen belatedly rushed towards us.

One of the wolves, about to bite the horse’s rump, took an arrow in the head and fell over.

Looking back, I saw Jenna aiming her bow from far atop the city wall. Every time she pulled the bowstring, a wolf rolled over.

‘That crazy girl…’