Chapter 129
The war had begun.
The skeleton forces, led by Magnus, once a Swordmaster of the Talhern Empire and now an Ancient Undead, were pouring into Prince’s mansion.
Prince’s zombies, who had once dominated the Deathland, were struggling. They had suffered heavy casualties in the earlier battle with Feer, but that wasn’t the biggest problem.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Magnus’s side had deployed a new type of undead to the front lines.
Javier’s masterpiece, the Meat Golem. Its legs were short, its body bulging like a roly-poly doll, and on top sat a small head.
Above all, it was completely covered in a resilient, rubbery layer of living flesh.
—Aaargh!
—Grahhhh!
And the zombies’ teeth and claws were utterly ineffective against that living shell.
No matter how hard they clawed, it only made rough scraping sounds. Meanwhile, the Meat Golems trampled the zombies underfoot, swinging their long arms. Each swing flung ten densely packed zombies like toys.
There were 16 Meat Golems in total. With that many large monsters pushing through the front, it was impossible for the zombies to hold them off.
[…Damn it!]
Prince ground his teeth, watching the scene unfold from the mansion.
Those modified Meat Golems were built with all functions stripped down except for reinforced shells. They were, in effect, undead created specifically to fight zombies.
He didn’t know who had made them, but he was furious.
—Graaaaah…
[I know already!]
Snapping back at the zombie’s groan, Prince strode over to look at his true body seated on the throne.
It was a withered corpse, and atop its head rested a crown.
Prince himself wore a crown, too, but it was a mere imitation created by his power. The one on the corpse radiated a dazzling brilliance, proving its authenticity.
“The crown must never be taken.”
Prince turned to his subordinate zombies.
[Simon will be here soon. Once he arrives, bind him tightly with chains and throw him in the underground prison. He knows that woman is being held hostage, so he won’t dare do anything reckless.]
—Graaaaahhh…
Click.
Prince opened the window.
After one last look at his true body, he leapt out of the mansion.
* * *
Sigh.
Magnus looked down upon the battlefield.
He was satisfied. They were outnumbered, but with the Meat Golems impervious to zombie attacks, the tide was clearly in their favor.
‘Still, zombies are quite aggressive. They're not to be underestimated.’
Indeed, the swarm of zombies was trying to wedge itself between the gaps in the Meat Golem lines.
Magnus slowly began walking in that direction, hand gripping the sword at his hip.
Shhhk!
As Magnus drew his blade, a single slash cut straight through the enemy ranks.
And that was all. Accompanied by a hideous splatter, blood sprayed in all directions and zombies dropped like sacks, sliced in half at the waist.
Clap, clap, clap!
“Ah, as expected! As expected!”
“Amazing, Sir Magnus!”
Two of Javier’s subordinates clapped enthusiastically behind Magnus, showering him with praise.
[The war has begun, yet where is Javier?]
“There was a minor issue!”
“But he’ll be back shortly!”
[Hmm.]
Magnus wasn’t particularly fond of Javier, but he had to admit the man’s skill.
Not only had Javier developed the Meat Golems, but he had also discovered a way to bypass Prince’s barrier. Even the timing of the assault on the mansion was perfect.
He had struck precisely when Prince was distracted.
Grab!
Speak of the devil, Javier suddenly appeared behind them, grabbing his two subordinates by the heads.
Magnus frowned.
[What is this disgraceful state, Javier?]
Javier’s body was twisted like a mummy. Quietly, he began chanting.
<Life Drain>
A magical circle lit up in his palm, and his subordinates let out horrible screams, flailing as their bodies gradually shriveled up into mummies. At the same time, Javier’s form steadily returned to normal.
“Ghh… Hah, I feel alive again.”
As Javier released them, the two desiccated corpses collapsed to the floor.
[Was it really necessary to drain all their life force? They were your subordinates.]
“I’ve been paying them for this exact reason.”
Javier struck the floor with his staff. The two corpses’ skin cracked open and skeletons sprang out from within.
As if it were natural, Javier opened his subspace and retrieved the skeletons.
[Hmm.]
Even as a fellow undead, Magnus found the sight unpleasant.
“Apologies for the delay. Got interrupted by some weirdo on the way.”
Javier brushed dust from his clothes as he spoke.
[Whatever the case, focus on the war now.]
“I intend to. How goes the battle?”
[Exactly as we predicted.]
Moving Prince’s true body would require significant time and effort.
The Zombie Prince would surely fight to the end to protect the mansion. If they could push through the zombies and reach the mansion, victory would be theirs.
“Of course, it’s unlikely the Zombie Prince will just sit back and watch.”
Narrowing his eyes, Javier scanned the battlefield.
“Heh heh, here he comes.”
* * *
Prince arrived at the battlefield.
Even before arriving, he had already decided on his target.
The Meat Golems, impervious to normal zombie attacks, victory hinged on destroying every last one of them.
[Kraaah!]
Without slowing, Prince dashed forward and drove his fist into the gut of the nearest Meat Golem.
BOOM!
The impact made its belly ripple like a pond, denting inward at the point of impact.
‘Shock absorption?’
Crack!
The Meat Golem immediately counterattacked. It didn’t hurt, but fury surged across Prince’s face.
[You soulless sack of meat!]
He instantly changed tactics. This time, he climbed the golem’s body and targeted its head. Grabbing it tightly with both legs, he twisted.
Crunch!
A loud crack sounded as its neck snapped, and the golem let out an agonized screech. Prince raised his fist high.
BAM! CRACK! SPLAT! THUD!
With a brutal flurry of blows, the golem’s face was mashed into a bloody pulp. Its enormous body swayed before collapsing to the ground.
[Now!]
Prince commanded the zombies to charge.
—Graaaaahhhh!
—Kyaaaah!
Finally breaking through the wall of Meat Golems, the horde of zombies surged forward like a breached dam, launching themselves at Magnus’ skeleton army.
At last, it felt like the tide of battle was beginning to shift.
‘Next.’
15 Meat Golems remained.
The sheer number made his head spin, but there was no choice.
Prince lunged toward the second Meat Golem. Again, he evaded its attacks and climbed toward its head.
‘I’ll end this quickly.’
Just as he raised his fist—
Shhng!
The sound of a sword being swung echoed in his ear. Suddenly, Prince felt his perspective shift high into the air.
Rolling his eyes downward, he looked below.
There was the battlefield, a chaotic clash of zombies and Meat Golems. And there, on top of a golem, was his own body.
It had no head.
[…]
The whole world turned grey as his vision inverted.
When Prince opened his eyes, he was inside the mansion once more. He had returned to his true body.
“What the hell just happened? What hit me?”
The power of the Ancient Undead Prince...
He possessed up to nine ‘lives’ that could regenerate. By focusing on rest, he could recover one roughly every week.
But just now, one of those precious lives had vanished so absurdly, so easily.
“Damn it!”
He had to return to the battlefield.
Prince stared out the window, then selected one of the zombies on the battlefield to transform into himself.
KRRAAAACK!
A pitch-black Darkness fell like a thunderbolt, enveloping the zombie’s body, which then transformed into Prince. Quickly returned to the battlefield, he looked up.
He saw the Meat Golem, and the body of the zombie, his former ‘self’, was collapsing to the ground.
And just a short distance away—
Click.
A skeleton clothed in fabric patterned with red flower motifs was sheathing its sword.
‘That was the bastard.’
[Magnus!!]
Prince, furious, charged forward. Magnus spotted him as well, gripped the hilt of his sword, and lowered his stance.
‘It’s fine.’
He can’t cut me.
Earlier, he was careless and hadn’t wrapped his body in Darkness, that’s all.
As Magnus’ sword slash came flying, Prince raised both arms in a defensive stance.
SLAAAASH!
[……!]
A deep gash opened on his arm, and a fountain of black blood gushed out.
The wound was deep. Even though he had reinforced his arm with Darkness, it had nearly been severed.
[Surprised?]
Magnus spoke, his sword lowered after the slash.
[In the battle decades ago, I couldn’t cut you. After suffering that defeat, I changed many of my ways.]
[You…!]
Magnus’s blade was now dyed completely black with Darkness.
[I stopped clinging to outdated swordsmanship, stopped trying to mimic aura with Darkness. I admitted it. That Darkness surpasses aura. I focused entirely on enhancing my sword’s cutting power using Darkness. The result is the wound you now bear.]
Magnus’s eyes gleamed.
[Now, I can cut you.]
[Don’t get cocky over taking one damn life! You trash!!]
As Magnus swung his sword again, Prince raised his arms to guard once more.
Shhhnk.
But this time, a thin line appeared on his left forearm, and it dropped off.
[KRAAAHHH!]
Even after losing an arm, Prince didn’t stop charging.
He was faster than Magnus’s next sword swing, fast enough to grab the blade with his bare hand. Blood gushed from his fingers, but Prince pulled the sword toward himself and thrust his fist forward.
But the punch never landed.
His left hand, the one he’d lost moments earlier, was gone, and due to the nature of his ability to use other bodies, it was a confusion Prince often faced.
[Your tactics haven’t changed one bit in decades.]
[You bastard!]
Prince opened his mouth wide, trying to bite Magnus with his teeth.
[Kugh!]
But this time, all the strength left his body, as if a switch had been flipped. Prince collapsed to one knee.
Behind his back was a blood-red magic circle, as if painted in crimson. A single rose had taken root and was growing from his body.
“Your body boasts strong resistance to curses.”
Prince turned to look behind him, and his pupils dilated.
“So I studied haematology techniques. Turns out, they work beautifully.”
[Javier!! You betrayed me!?]
“Betrayal? I was never on your side to begin with. We were just business partners, nothing more.”
Javier smiled slyly and extended his hand. As the rose grew larger, strength drained from Prince’s body.
[Javier!!!]
As Prince weakened, Magnus yanked his sword free. Chunks of Prince’s fingers were severed in the process.
[With this…]
Magnus’ sword slashed Prince’s neck once again.
[Seven left.]
The world blurred, and his vision inverted. Regaining consciousness, he found himself back in his true body at the mansion.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’
He needed time to think.
This time, instead of returning to the battlefield immediately, Prince descended into the body of a nearby zombie guarding his true form. Color returned to his grey world.
‘Damn it!!’
Seven left?
Truthfully, it was six.
Losing one life to those damn legion bastards still stung bitterly.
Now, what to do?
Could he destroy all the Meat Golems while avoiding those two?
Even if he used up all six remaining lives?
—Graaaaah…
Just then, a zombie approached Prince to report. Prince’s expression twisted in frustration.
[Intruder? I just finished dealing with Magnus, and now this? I’m already pissed off enough and you’re telling me—]
BOOOOM!
Before he could even finish speaking, the door to the room exploded violently.
Through the shattered door, a long human leg stretched forward.
Step. Step.
A man emerged from the dust cloud, and Prince’s eyes turned bloodshot red with fury.
“Even if life’s hard, you should try smiling a bit, Prince.”
There’s no better moment for the phrase “when it rains, it pours”.
Simon, clad in the Bone Armor of Feer, was walking into the room.
[Kgh…!]
“Prince.”
Simon gave a crooked smile and pointed his greatsword.
“How many lives you got left now?”
Superb.