NOVEL NEXT Chapter 213
Chapter 213 – Struggling (3)
“Something has entered my body, but I can’t feel it. But is it correct for me to have such thoughts?”
“Your Highness.”
“I can’t believe such heinous sorcery was being used.”
He grit his teeth, aware of the bugs’ tricks. Since the parasite embedded in him had not yet begun its full rampage, he still maintained his sanity—yet he had to question himself.
“The Emperor of the Empire, who keeps trying to wage conquest wars externally, has already fallen victim to them. The leaders of other factions trying to attack the grasslands will likely be the same. We must not fall for those monsters’ schemes.”
“There must be a way to detoxify. After all, didn’t that person directly intervene by assigning me this task?”
“It’ll take time.”
He smirked bitterly at Leo’s flustered words. Doubting oneself was no easy feat for a boy king who had only recently ascended the throne.
The fear that the parasite penetrating his body could strike at any moment was overwhelming.
“It can’t be helped. Captain, until you find a way, confine me.”
“Y-yes?!”
“I cannot allow myself to mess things up because of me. Do not listen to anything I say or any actions I take until this parasite inside me is extracted and destroyed. And make sure to monitor others thoroughly; anyone who shows abnormal reactions should be isolated like me.”
But he was the king. A leader responsible for the lives and properties of countless people. Always bearing that in mind, he was determined to bind and imprison himself to avoid falling prey to the bugs’ ploys.
‘At least for now, I know that it’s really him.’
With a resolute nod, Leo closed his eyes tight. Receiving the command he had personally written, Leo bound his own king and locked him in a room with the trusted knights of the royal guard.
“Captain, can you really find a way? Is there anything we can do?”
“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to wait.”
To the somber-faced knights, Leo could only say to trust in the skies above. At the very least, knowing that someone was watching over them from above gave hope that help would arrive in an unimaginable way.
“Many in the Empire believe him to be an evil god. However, if we overcome this incident with his help, who would still be swayed by such words? Who is the true evil here, as has already been made clear.”
“Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t believe that. Are you saying everything that’s happened so far has been a lie?”
Given the many precedents up to now, it wasn’t unreasonable to have hope. One thing was certain: If this incident was resolved with Junyoung’s help, the influence of the Kingdom of Baruk would only continue to rise.
‘We’re going to need a lot of vaccines.’
And, just as they anticipated, seeing the alarm, he quickly switched the screen to survey the Royal Castle before sending Leo into the ongoing crisis, frowning at the results.
*
‘If things are tight elsewhere, it’s going to be a real disaster if the southern Kingdom of Baruk also gets affected.’
While other enemies were on the level of petty kingdoms or tribes, the Kingdom of Baruk was a properly organized force with its own structure and scale.
Being able to form an alliance with them, bordering the south of the grasslands, was considered a tremendous achievement—if they fell victim to the bugs’ schemes and became hostile toward us, the situation would plunge into the worst-case scenario.
The bugs knew that, which is why they attempted to infect the king. They hastily manipulated those nearby to block the immediate threat, but the king needed to recover as quickly as possible.
“—!”
The method for this lay within the Zombie Survival Game he was currently immersed in. As the number of zombies increased over time, he was charging forward with Riena leading the way.
‘There are two ways to obtain a vaccine. One is to kill special zombies for a random drop, and the other is to go to a facility, perform a quest, and receive supplies.’
Although it deviated from the actual game, two main methods arose based on the information revealed in-game.
He chose the latter method. There were too many places that currently needed vaccines to rely on random drops.
“I don’t think we need to prepare for combat that intensively.”
He chuckled as he watched Riena cut through the hordes of zombies effortlessly. It didn’t seem possible for the zombies’ teeth or claws to injure her at all. The same went for special zombies boasting unique abilities.
Given the differences in this situation, there was no need to stick to the gaming strategies.
Having brought along a cheat key, he planned to make the most of it.
“This way.”
Glancing at the mini-map, he led Riena toward an abandoned car. Looking at the map, it was evident that walking to the facility would take quite a while.
‘It might take some time, but that should be okay, right?’
At the moment, his character had low proficiency in various skills, so it would take some time to repair the abandoned car and start it up.
Though risky to do alone, having someone reliable by his side made it feasible. Noticing his intent, Riena stood firmly in front of him, glaring at the dozen or so incoming zombies.
‘Why not use a gun?’
He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her sword energy sweeping away the zombies in one stroke. It was a completely different genre when she was fighting alone.
The theme of the Zombie Survival Game where one struggles to survive was contrasted against a fantasy world character, a Demon Lord whose kind had risen from hell, making her the strongest.
‘There’s an abandoned military base along the way, though.’
Players and survivors were desperately scrounging for weapons and supplies to survive. Among those, getting firearms—the most convenient, safe, and powerful weapons against zombies—was of utmost importance.
This game was set in Korea, yet firearms did appear. It was due to the nature of the ceasefire that military bases, commonly found, had guns and ammo lying around.
Seated in the vehicle and checking the map, he hesitated briefly when he spotted the military base in between.
‘It seems to be notoriously difficult.’
Looking it up online, he found that military bases had numerous zombies and special zombies, so beginners faced an insurmountable challenge. They had separate final content, but for ordinary players, it felt like main end-game content.
“But I can’t go around without any items.”
Muttering to himself, he decided to start the car.
It seemed he would need to play this game for a while, and making sure his character was armed would surely make it easier. If he could loot a military base, which overflowed with military items helpful for survival, he could swiftly level up.
‘Other places seem fine for now. Let’s just go.’
After checking other monitors, he decided to head for the military base.
The bugs were setting up strongholds within the Empire, waiting for Chieftain Balun and the residents, while the elves, gradually retreating against incursions from the imperial army, were also coming to attack us, having fallen for the bugs’ incitements.
For now, everything seemed okay. If he could find a way to counter the bugs’ schemes while playing the game with Riena, victory would once more be tipped in their favor.
Thus, there was no need to rush and mess things up. With the bugs, he must prepare thoroughly and ensure a decisive end.
*
‘What a strange cart.’
In the car, Riena, awkwardly sitting in the passenger seat, glanced over at him in the driver’s seat.
He was looking at the car from an external third-person perspective while driving, oblivious to her actions within.
‘Is this world truly that place?’
Her gaze wandered outside the window. The ruined city, fitting for a horror game, had lost its liveliness, appearing gloomy and desolate, yet Riena saw something else. The buildings she remembered from when she descended at his call resembled the ones she saw now.
All of them were made of reinforced concrete, structures her hometown rarely featured. It wasn’t entirely incorrect for Riena to assume the two worlds were the same.
“—!”
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, zombies began to increase on the road.
To conserve the car’s durability, he tried to drive as smoothly as possible, resulting in rough rides for Riena, who had to endure the discomfort amidst her sacred healing power.
‘These monsters truly resemble the infected plague victims I’ve heard rumors about. So this city is the future of the Empire that failed to contain the outbreak.’
However, avoiding them had its limits, and soon the number of zombies colliding with the car began to rise.
The sight of zombies losing their minds and perishing closely resembled that of the Empire’s citizens who had been driven mad through the bugs’ parasitic manipulation.
‘So many, so many.’
Eventually, the speeding vehicle halted completely. They stopped right next to a large military base in the urban area.
Riena followed him out as he stepped out.
The number of zombies rushing from all directions exceeded a hundred. Riena momentarily panicked at such an overwhelming count.
“Leave it to me.”
As he flashed a thumbs-up gesture, Riena, having gained countless experiences alongside him, knew what that meant and raised her sword to assure him it was okay to leave it to her.
“…”
Having lacked items to fight with, he had no choice but to rely on Riena and jumped back into the car. Thus, all the aggro shifted onto her.
“—!”
The naked hostility of countless zombies rushing at her was almost equivalent to that of the bugs.
Though she had no choice, she spread her wings and soared into the sky.
‘This can’t be helped.’
As she glanced down at the throngs of enemies converging upon her, she lifted her sword, unleashing a brilliant and intense divine power enveloping it.
Even the renowned experts of the Empire could not withstand it, nor could the gigantic bugs; so it was impossible for mere zombies to endure her blow, and they fell prostrate to her radiance, becoming motionless corpses on the ground.
“!”
Then, a crumpled car flew through the air toward her.
Riena deflected it with her wings, her eyes widening in shock as she beheld the zombie that threw the vehicle at her.
Unlike other zombies, this one was massive, roughly the size of a truck, its muscles bulging with grotesque tumors as it roared and then hurled the wrecked car once again.