Apocalypse: Mad Necromancer’s Troops

Chapter 85, Rotting Corpses and Necromancers

 

Whoosh!

 

Flocks of birds took to the sky, flying toward the manor first.

 

The guards and the professional squads quickly approached the wrought-iron gate of the manor.

 

The manor was dim and silent.

 

A guard commander glanced at the ranger beside him.

 

The ranger controlled the birds to circle above and said, “There's no danger in the courtyard.”

 

He gestured to the others behind him.

 

Immediately, a person wearing leather armor and carrying a short sword stepped forward and began fiddling with the lock on the gate.

 

With a crisp click.

 

The gate swung open.

 

The commander made a slight hand gesture, and the guards quickly swarmed into the manor, surrounding the central stone fortress.

 

The professional squads also moved in quickly, all ready for battle.

 

“Welcome, friends from Blackstone Town.”

 

On the balcony of the second floor of the stone fortress, the light of torches flickered.

 

A medium-built figure in a black robe appeared before them.

 

He leaned on the stone railing of the balcony, looking down at the group below, showing no signs of surprise or panic.

 

Wu Heng edged closer to Barson.

 

As expected, this necromancer had already discovered them.

 

The black-robed figure held the stone railing with both hands and continued, “I know why you’re here, but you’ve got the wrong target. I’m not the necromancer you’re looking for. I can provide you with some clues...”

 

Swoosh~!

 

Before he could finish speaking, a cold gleam sliced through the air.

 

With a thud, it struck the black-robed figure square in the chest.

 

Wu Heng was startled and quickly turned around, seeing a man in leather armor in the darkness behind them holding a longbow, the bowstring still quivering slightly.

 

He looked back at the balcony.

 

The black-robed figure had an arrow lodged in his chest, his body arching backward, but his hands still clung tightly to the stone railing, his body in a strange posture.

 

The next second, under everyone’s gaze, the black-robed figure slowly straightened up again and broke the arrow shaft from his chest.

 

Part of the arrowhead remained embedded in his body.

 

A decoy?

 

Or some special physique?

 

How is he not dead?

 

The black-robed figure’s gaze returned to the group below, his voice growing colder, “It seems you’ve decided to use a scapegoat. Very well... Then all of you will stay here and become my servants!”

 

The next moment, the ground within the manor began to tremble violently.

 

One by one, decayed, flesh-ridden hands burst out of the ground.

 

Countless, like bamboo shoots sprouting from the earth.

 

“Kill him!” Yazde ordered again.

 

Swoosh swoosh swoosh~!

 

A volley of arrows and bolts shot toward the second floor.

 

The black-robed figure retreated deeper into the fortress, saying, “Enjoy this slaughter feast!”

 

His figure disappeared into the darkness.

 

The manor was now filled with rotting corpses, their decayed flesh spotted with blood. Despite being under Blackstone Town’s nose, they had gathered so many bodies.

 

“Slater, Guard Commanders, follow me inside to kill the necromancer directly. The rest clear out the rotting corpses in the manor and secure the perimeter. Don’t let any suspicious individuals escape,” Yazde commanded.

 

“Got it!” Everyone nodded and moved according to the orders.

 

Yazde and a few others quickly charged toward the stone fortress’s gate.

 

Thud, thud, thud~!

 

Heavy footsteps echoed.

 

Four massive humanoid monsters slowly descended from the second floor of the fortress.

 

Standing nearly four meters tall, with long, thin arms that reached past their knees, razor-sharp claws, and rows of sharp teeth. Their eyes were gray-white, lacking pupils.

 

“They’re troll corpses!” Slater quietly reminded.

 

The others nodded.

 

Above the corridor, the black-robed figure followed behind the troll corpses, descending slowly.

 

“Slater, Seer of the Guild, I won’t ruin your body—at least not until you start to rot.”

 

“Attack!”

 

Yazde shouted lowly, pointing his staff forward, and a beam of energy shot out toward the enemy.

 

The troll corpse on the opposite side was hit, and a large chunk of its rotten flesh exploded, revealing even more decayed organs inside.

 

At the same time, the others attacked simultaneously.

 

The melee fighters charged up the stairs, weapons in hand.

 

The archers drew their bows and let fly arrows that whistled through the air toward their targets.

 

The two tall corpses guarding the staircase swung their massive arms, striking at the attackers.

 

The black-robed figure in the rear dodged the incoming arrows while his staff conjured magical beams that shot at the opponents.

 

For a moment, the fortress was filled with explosions.

 

Outside the fortress.

 

The guards and professional squads were engaged in battle with the emerging rotting corpses.

 

The sounds of fighting and the slicing of flesh echoed throughout the courtyard.

 

People kept falling, groaning as they hit the ground.

 

Wu Heng raised his hand and cast ‘Witchcraft Arrow,’ knocking down three rotting corpses in front of him.

 

Barson quickly ran up and drove his short blade through their eye sockets, killing them.

 

The rotting corpses here were different from zombies.

 

Though they also lacked intelligence, they could wield weapons.

 

Some of the higher-level ones might even have specific professions.

 

They were necromancer’s minions but of a different type from Wu Heng’s skeletons.

 

Though not as strong as the guards and professional squads, they still required caution.

 

Roar~!

 

The brown bear that Yuli had transformed into sent rotting corpses flying with powerful swipes.

 

Knocking over more corpses.

 

Clang~!

 

A clear sound rang out as Otruluk stepped forward, his longsword blocking a strike aimed at the brown bear from one of the corpses.

 

“Be more careful.” The brown bear nodded, then swung its paws again, sending more rotting corpses flying.

 

At this moment, Turisa from the Second Squad approached with her team.

 

She asked, “Are you alright?”

 

Otruluk responded, “We’re fine.”

 

The two squads grouped together and continued to eliminate the rotting corpses around them.

 

Meanwhile, the guards were more efficient in their kills.

 

Forming tight formations, they could fend off more corpses.

 

The battle continued, but the number of rotting corpses was steadily being wiped out by Blackstone Town’s forces.

 

.........

 

Thud, thud, thud~!

 

Just as most of the rotting corpses were being defeated.

 

A sudden change occurred.

 

The dead bodies began to explode one after another.

 

Dense yellow smoke spread quickly across the entire manor as the corpses detonated.

 

Under the yellow poisonous mist, almost simultaneously, all the guards and squad members began to cough violently.

 

Their bodies showing signs of poisoning and weakness.

 

“Careful, it’s the necromancer’s Cursed Blast spell. The gas is poisonous.”

 

This was written in the Necromancer’s Tome.

 

Necromancers could use corpses to release miasma, affecting living creatures.

 

It seemed that this necromancer had imbued the rotting corpses with such a spell, creating a lethal combination.

 

When the rotting corpses died, their bodies would explode, releasing the poisonous gas.

 

This was an additional effect compared to the skeletons, allowing for a second wave of poison release.

 

Hearing Wu Heng’s warning, the squad members began finding ways to avoid inhaling the poison.

 

Wu Heng held his breath, quickly opened his backpack, and pulled out an unopened gas mask, swiftly tearing off the packaging and putting it on.

 

As more and more rotting corpses exploded, the thick mist completely covered the manor.