Apocalypse: Mad Necromancer’s Troops

 

Chapter 51: Stealing the Corpse

 

The main task of the adventurer squads was to oversee and monitor.

 

After all, this world doesn't have surveillance cameras, so important matters require a lot of manpower for supervision.

 

Having both the adventurer squads and the guards work together essentially served as mutual oversight.

 

This also showed how much the town hall and the guild valued the corpses.

 

But it made Wu Heng feel uncomfortable.

 

It felt like he was being targeted.

 

The corpse was loaded onto the carriage, heading toward the crematorium.

 

The town had a designated cremation site; it wasn't like in the movies where people were burned in the town center in front of everyone.

 

The direction in which the First and Second Squads left with the corpse was as Wu Heng had predicted.

 

They headed to a separate cremation site, while the Third Squad's corpses were taken to a facility capable of burning multiple bodies at once.

 

Wu Heng walked along with the group, feeling a bit uneasy about his plan.

 

Yuli leaned over and asked, "I heard from my aunt that you killed all these people by yourself?"

 

"It was a team effort; I just delivered the final blow," Wu Heng replied.

 

Yuli frowned, "What do you mean?"

 

"I mean, the others had already fought them, and I finished them off."

 

"Oh, I see. That's still pretty impressive," Yuli praised, then added, "Were those snacks in the lounge brought by you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Do you have any more? I can pay for them."

 

Wu Heng glanced at her and said, "Those were for my friends; I don't have much left."

 

"I can buy them."

 

"Not for sale."

 

Yuli's eyes darted around before she said, "I can be your friend. We went out together yesterday, remember?"

 

Otterluck overheard and glanced back at the two of them.

 

Wu Heng looked at Yuli, who was giving him winks, and nodded, saying, "Being friends means helping each other out."

 

"Yes, that's fine."

 

"Alright, I'll bring you some rare and delicious treats tomorrow."

 

"Great, you're a good friend."

 

.........

 

Meanwhile,

 

The carriage transporting the corpse slowly made its way to the DC district.

 

The escorting adventurer squad and guard team guarded the sides of the carriage.

 

Second Squad Captain "Tulisa" glanced to the side and said, "The town hall and the deacon really care about this corpse."

 

The joint handling by the guild and the guards seemed a bit excessive, even for a Divine Punishment Sect elder.

 

"They're mainly worried about the necromancer involved in the Mineshaft Village incident; they have to be cautious." First Squad Captain "Arnel" rested his hand on the sword at his waist and continued, "I heard the necromancer from the Fourth Squad also wanted to convert this corpse."

 

Tulisa and the other squad members all looked over.

 

If they really converted this corpse into a skeleton, the Fourth Squad's strength would increase significantly.

 

Even though they have the fewest members, they could become a top-tier squad.

 

But obviously, they didn't succeed; otherwise, the corpse wouldn't be getting cremated.

 

"The town hall didn't approve?" Tulisa asked.

 

"The town hall didn't approve, and neither did the deacon. The necromancer profession is controversial by itself; there's no way they would hand over this corpse to him," Arnel sneered.

 

"He hasn't been in the guild for long, and he's already daring to make such demands."

 

"He probably thinks that since they killed the people, the Fourth Squad should own the corpse."

 

"Haha, young people, they're bold enough to make such demands."

 

The squad members joined in the laughter and discussion.

 

Arnel glanced at them, and they quickly fell silent.

 

"Keep your voices down, don't let the guards hear and make a joke out of it," Arnel reminded them.

 

The members chuckled softly and continued their hushed conversation.

 

Tulisa didn't join in, returning to her squad and casually chatting with her members.

 

The group moved forward and entered a small courtyard enclosed by waist-high walls.

 

In the center of the courtyard was a simple stone house, with a stack of firewood piled against one wall.

 

The group efficiently checked the courtyard, and Arnel said, "Prepare the pyre."

 

The body was pushed into the stone house, with two people standing guard at the door while the others began stacking the wood.

 

Just as they were almost done, a little girl's voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard wall, speaking in an unknown but very clear language.

 

Swish, swish, swish!

 

Several pet beasts took to the sky, and the group drew their weapons, quickly moving toward the source of the sound.

 

The group looked around.

 

Arnel ordered, "Search separately."

 

The group split up and searched the area, quickly returning.

 

"No one here!"

 

"Nothing over here either."

 

The group exchanged glances.

 

Arnel's expression changed, "Get back, quickly!"

 

They rushed into the stone house and saw the corpse, still wrapped in linen, lying there.

 

Tulisa wanted to step forward to check, but Arnel said, "No need to stack the wood. Something's off here; just burn it."

 

Two members threw the body onto the pyre, and a torch was used to ignite the bottom, causing the flames to roar to life.

 

The fire consumed the body.

 

Once everything was burned to ashes, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

 

They followed the carriage back to the guild to report.

 

.........

 

The cremation was over.

 

Wu Heng and Barson headed back to the crowded area.

 

Halfway there, Wu Heng felt the ghost "Xiaoxiao" flying back towards him, merging into his body.

 

At the same time, he saw in his mind what had happened at the other crematorium.

 

The little ghost had created a noise outside.

 

"Sword One," wearing the shroud, took the opportunity to enter the stone house and swap the body with one of similar size.

 

It turned out to be easier than expected.

 

Due to the First Squad Captain's urging, they hadn't even confirmed the body before burning it, leaving no evidence or clues behind.

 

Confirming that everything had gone smoothly, Wu Heng changed direction and headed to the crematorium.

 

In a hidden spot outside the courtyard, he found "Sword One" still wearing the shroud and the corpse.

 

After making sure no one else was around, Wu Heng entered the stone house and used the bronze key to send "Sword One" and the corpse into the zombie world.

 

He then cheerfully returned to the crowded area.

 

.........

 

Back at his residence.

 

Wu Heng used the portal to return to the zombie world.

 

The corpse of the Divine Punishment Sect elder lay in the living room, covered with a floral cloth, straight and stiff.

 

He approached the body.

 

"Uncle, why did you steal someone else's body?" Xiaoxiao floated in the air, looking from Wu Heng to the corpse.

 

She couldn't understand why he went to so much trouble just to steal a body.

 

After all, the corpses downstairs had already piled up into a small mountain.

 

"This one is different."

 

"Is it your friend?"

 

"No."

 

"Is it your grandpa or dad?"

 

"How could it be? Stop causing trouble." Wu Heng felt like she was deliberately insulting him.

 

But he had no proof.

 

"Tell me about it! I helped a lot too!" Xiaoxiao floated around, finally resting on his shoulder.

 

The mission wasn't as difficult as he had expected.

 

But Xiaoxiao had indeed played a significant role.

 

"He was a very powerful person when he was alive. Turning him into a skeleton will greatly strengthen us." Wu Heng gave a simple explanation.

 

"Oh." The little girl responded, indicating she understood.

 

Xiaoxiao remained silent, while Wu Heng instructed the nearby skeletons, "Take the body to the hallway."

 

After all, using Raise Skeleton would cause the flesh to fall off, which would be a bit messy to clean up.

 

Two skeletons bent down and carried the body outside.

 

They placed it in the hallway, and the floral cloth covering it fell to the ground.

 

Revealing the corpse underneath, the skin had already turned pale.

 

The body had been dead for at least three or four days, showing some signs of decay.

 

But Wu Heng's eyes were drawn to the chest and abdomen.

 

A long, thin, cotton-stitched wound ran across the entire chest cavity.

 

What’s going on?

 

An autopsy on a dead body?

 

"Cut the stitches," Wu Heng ordered.

 

Barson crouched down, drew a short blade from his waist, and began cutting the white cotton stitches.

 

The stitched wound slowly opened, revealing an empty chest cavity.

 

"Where are the internal organs?"

 

Wu Heng frowned.

 

The corpse's internal organs were missing.