Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Wave of the Living Dead, Louis Makes a Grand Entrance!
[Location: Dragonbone Prairie Border]
One of the adventurer group "Dove"’s stealth members chugged down a pot of water, scratched his head, and said:
"Leader, should we keep looking?"
They were one of the teams that had taken on the guild mission to secretly investigate Dragonbone Prairie.
This is an adventurer group mainly composed of stealth operatives focused on intelligence exploration.
As for why it’s "mainly"?
Well, because the leader of this adventurer group is a Radiant Gold-level adventurer, a barbarian who mastered "no survivors" level stealth techniques.
All the stealth operatives greatly admired him.
—After all, if someone snatches you out by the scruff like a chick while you’re hiding in the shadows, you too would "praise" the leader’s anti-stealth skills.
At this moment, the middle-aged man known as "Colossus" in the adventurer world was throwing a huge tantrum:
"Trust me, there’s definitely big prey in Dragonbone Prairie! If we land this deal, maybe we can all go back home and get married!"
Beside Colossus, a Mithril-level stealth operative said with a blank expression:
"Stop boasting, Leader. Three years and three years over again, we’ve been together for nine years, and you haven’t married yourself."
Colossus said nothing, just kicked out, and the stealth operative toppled over.
With eyes faintly red, he quietly said:
"A team member went down into the sewer for an investigation mission and disappeared, his body was nowhere to be found. Shouldn’t we check it out?"
"Alice, that madwoman, said giant prairie rats appeared in the sewers, but the guild didn’t see them during their clearing mission, something’s fishy."
"Now the guild leader and others are offering big money, sending people to investigate the prairie. I feel I must come and take a look."
"At least find out how our brother died, give his parents an explanation."
"If you don’t want to stay, you can go back. I’ll stay for the investigation."
The stealth operative lying on the ground mumbled:
"I never disagreed, it’s just..."
He hadn’t finished his sentence when he lay down, frowning, ear tightly pressed against the ground, a strange expression on his face.
"Leader, there’s something strange underground."
He looked up at Colossus, only to find their usually composed leader was now trembling slightly.
The normally stable, mountain-like voice that instilled confidence had already begun to change.
"Why, why are there living dead here?"
"It’s impossible, the Book of the Dead was destroyed by us back then!"
Colossus’s title originated from that battle years ago against the remnants of the Mad King.
The original New Book of the Dead of the Mad King was set aflame by his own hands.
They exchanged glances.
Since the leader formed the adventurer group, it was the first time they saw their title-bearer show this expression of panic.
He had always been their most reliable support.
But he was now filled with fear, as if impending doom was upon him.
They couldn’t imagine why he would show such an expression.
"It’s just like the rumors, the Mad King’s subordinates are undying."
"Now they’re back!"
"They’ve come for revenge against me!"
The terror in his voice deepened, suddenly he roared furiously.
The blood energy in him surged to the peak, his body elevating as muscles swelled, veins bulging as if tiny rats were wriggling beneath.
In an instant, the nearby grassland withered and died.
Accompanied by an eerie sound of emerging from the soil, adventurers’ outfits with pallor on their faces, even decayed bodies, emerged as living dead.
They wore identical eerie smiles and marched toward the group in unison.
The group’s faces changed.
"Five years missing, the title-holder adventurer ’War Banner’..."
"Seven years ago supposedly left Louis, the A-rank adventurer group ’Dragon’s Horn’..."
"And several Mithril adventurers that vanished in recent years..."
"Damn, over a hundred of them!"
Suddenly, Colossus raised his head.
His body had turned lead-gray, sweat dropping like beans, his face flushed as he shouted at his companions behind him:
"You idiots, run!"
The stealth operatives fled into the shadows without hesitation, scattered, in the blink of an eye reaching hundreds of meters away.
Colossus did not retreat, taking a step forward instead, launching a punch.
The rolling blood aura surged like waves, sweeping the hundreds of living dead in the shockwave.
Yet, for some reason, he only restrained, not killed.
Those living dead, twisted into bizarre shapes, still crawled on all fours, moving towards Colossus.
The "battle flag" converted into living dead surged towards the giant in an instant.
"Captain, let me help you!"
A dagger, like a black lightning bolt, fiercely sliced through the armor of the "battle flag".
In the next moment, several black lightning bolts formed a net, ripping apart the "battle flag" with unstoppable shadow power.
One by one, the escaping stealth warriors swiftly disengaged from the fight and gathered beside the giant.
"Ridiculous, still need our help?!"
"Boss, hurry up, we’ll suppress it for you."
However, the expression on the giant’s face was both touched and immensely pained:
"I told you to run!"
The stealth warrior knocked down by the giant let out a grunt.
He was the other gold-tier adventurer in the group besides the giant, impossible for him to retreat.
"My shadow assassination skills are perfect, and I’m more adept at strikes compared to ordinary stealth warriors. I only need a moment to save the captain, then activate shadow stealth to escape..."
The flashing blade suddenly froze in mid-air.
A malevolent force clear enough to affect the present engulfed him like icy seawater.
The stealth warrior’s face twitched slightly, his mouth opened, staring in sheer terror at this absurd scene.
Above the prairie, a huge, emaciated figure wearing a clown mask had appeared unknown when.
Its body was withered like decayed branches, and there were strings swaying on the clown mask.
On those strings, struggling spiritual bodies were hung.
The wailing sounds they emitted seemed to directly pour into their minds.
Then, they saw the eyes writhing in the holes of the clown mask.
What kind of eyes were those...
Vague and lifeless, they carried a chilling silence and stillness when gazing at everyone.
Their breathing grew rapid, and moments later, a pressure like drowning caused them to painfully grasp their throats, unable to breathe.
It was then they realized.
Centered around them, the entire sky had already been enveloped by a black domain unknown when.
The clown mask’s bizarre hand was clutching a huge cross.
The black strings hanging from the cross connected to the living dead like threads.
No... it wasn’t a domain at all!
That was the clown’s stomach!
They... had always been inside that clown’s stomach!
The clown lightly shook the cross, and those living dead torn apart by the stealth warriors reassembled as if time had rewound.
The living dead who stood up again twisted their necks in unison, donned eerie smiles on their pale, lifeless faces, and stared stubbornly at everyone.
The gold-tier stealth warrior’s attack instantly crumbled, standing motionless with a terrified expression:
"Oh my god!"
Suddenly, he heard his captain’s desperate shout:
"Spread the news, the King of the Living Dead beneath the Mad King has returned from the Netherworld!"
With a booming sound!
A full-powered strike from the giant opened a breach in the spiritual body of the King of the Living Dead.
The oppressive malevolence suppressing everyone also momentarily diminished.
"Run! Don’t look back!"
The stealth warriors hesitated no longer, vanished into shadows and scattered.
Watching his teammates flee, the giant halted for a moment.
His legs felt a bit weak.
"I messed up, why did I try to look cool staying behind, I haven’t even married yet..."
"Xiaoyou, we’re going to live or die together as husband and wife... what the hell is that?"
He hadn’t had time to mourn before hearing a sudden rush of wind.
A blood-red meteor suddenly descended from the sky.
The wave of living dead was instantly shattered.
The world seemed to slow down at this moment, splattering slime drifted along an arc trajectory.
The sunlight pouring from the sky turned each droplet into amber, reflecting the prairie below.
Withered lawns, dissolving undead, craters formed by impacts...
And the awestruck face of the giant.
"Looks like someone needs help?"
A steady voice resounded.
At this moment, Louis, having just used a sling to airborne drop the downscaled Limuru for a rescue, came stepping into the light in heavy armor.