Book 5: Chapter 37

Zero’s ear twitched as another blast echoed above the surface. They had received news of the undead attack a couple of hours back, and as far as he was aware, the army had yet to reach the Oasis proper.

Nonetheless, the fierce combat above rattled the tunnels.

Zero wanted to help, as much out of boredom as anything else. But his instructions had been clear. Remain in the central command room beside the world core at all costs, and keep it safe.

The built-in barrier around the world core restricted the number allowed inside. Even though they didn’t control the world core itself, they did control the territory it was on, thanks to Terry’s Desert Pythons. If they were going to be attacked here, the enemy would be forced to enter with a single party of attackers, giving them a decisive advantage.

Zero huffed as another explosion rocked the chamber. He had been stuck down here for several weeks with little to keep himself entertained. Luckily, the world core itself resonated a little experience, enough that he could still gain a few levels at D-grade while sitting around.

But it was far from ideal.

He spotted a couple of guards rushing down the tunnel. They ran straight to him and saluted. “We have word from Julius. Reinforcements are on their way.”

That was the first bit of good news.

“Any top rankers?”

“Emmy Sharp has been sent.”

Zero sighed with relief. With any luck, she could take over the world core control room, and he could smell fresh air for a change.

But his relief was short-lived as he spotted Terry stomping down the tunnel, accompanied by his new green lady friend he was always hanging off his arm.

Zero didn’t hate Terry, but he certainly didn’t trust him either. His priorities were…. Elsewhere. And his presence here could only spell problems.

“Hey, brother!” Terry shouted, picking at his teeth as he led his female friend into the chamber. “How’s things going down here?”

“Things are going perfectly fine, Terry,” Zero replied while holding in a sigh.

“Good, good,” Terry said, poking and prodding at instruments as he led his friend around the room.

“Don’t touch that!”

“Haha, he’s a real kidder,” Terry chuckled. “I know everything around here. I pretty much taught Zero and the others how to maintain this place.”

“Do yous? You so smart,” the green lady said, tracing a finger up and down Terry’s arm.

“Yep. I’m pretty much a genius. Comes with the territory. Anyway, Zero!”

“Yes?”

“Things are getting a bit rowdy topside. More of those undead fuckers. I was easily crushing them before, but you know how they are with that aura of theirs. Anyway, long story short, I need you to keep my girl safe while I deal with these assholes.”

“He looks after me.”

“I’m sure he does. But couldn’t she stay in your tent? You have plenty of guards,” Zero said.

“Bah! A woman like this? Are you fucking with me, Zero? No way! She gets the best treatment, you hear me? And the safest place is down here. Now, no more yapping. I got work to do. Remember who is in command around here,” Terry said, and pulled the green woman in close to pluck a moist kiss on her lips. “And don’t forget she’s mine. Don’t go doing anything weird, got it?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Zero rolled his eyes.

“Don’t take too long. We’s be waiting for you, big guy.”

“Haha!” Terry blushed. “Alright, time to go smash some skulls in. Don’t worry, Zero. You won’t see any action down here. Nobody is getting past Des and Troy!”

Zero was glad Terry had finally left, and without breaking anything. But he couldn’t help but feel suspicious toward the green woman. He wasn’t entirely sure why, either.

She was of low level, and he could tell she was not undead. That scent wouldn’t escape his nostrils in a million years. In fact, she didn’t appear to be a threat at all. And yet, she had an oddly familiar scent. It certainly wasn’t a scent he had smelled before; he would remember if he had. But it was almost like it was related to a scent he had previously smelled.

Through the corner of his eyes, he watched as the green woman got comfortable at the other end of the room, just in time for another blast to shake the chamber, distracting his thoughts from her.

It really is getting rowdy up there, isn’t it? And I’m stuck down here. Hopefully Emmy arrives soon. I need some sun.

Aaron

Obviously, Aaron knew that Ikran’s objectives had been just one part of a larger plan, and so the moment he had dealt with the undead thal’kesh, he raced back to Dober. Regular squads could deal with his last remaining, and very scattered, followers.

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He could see the activity from the sky even before reaching Dober. The place was on high alert, and people were running all around, and he, alongside Talia and Soonhyun, headed straight for Julius’ office.

“There you are!” Julius flung his arms out as Aaron entered. “Everything has been a bit chaotic. We’re sending squads out as we speak.”

“Hold up,” Aaron raised a hand. “What’s going on?”

“The Oasis, it’s come under attack. We’ve been scrambling to get guys out there ever since.” Julius ran his fingers through his hair. “Luckily, I already sent Emmy down there to relieve Zero.”

“Calm down. I’ll head over there.”

“Yeah, you do that. But keep in mind this is important. If undead are attacking the Oasis, that might mean Darius knows about the World Core.”

One of Julius’ men ran up and interrupted them. "Eh, sir, can I get a minute?”

“Speak! What is it?”

“There are reports of more attacks against the obelisks to the north. It seems several smaller undead armies are going for allied settlements.”

“Now? Argh! Dammit! How many undead warriors does this bastard have?”

“He’s probably been building his forces the entire time we were in the dungeon,” Talia said. “That said, attacking so many places at once can't be a coincidence. He might be going for it. Throwing everything he has left at us.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re right about that. Couldn’t have come at a better time. Fcuk. Anyway, Aaron, you take Talia and Soohyun to the Oasis. We can’t afford to lose the world core whatever happens.”

“It’s fine. I’ve taken out plenty of undead armies already. Let Soohyun and Talia help the settlements. I can handle this.”

“No, it’s too risky. We have Joseph, who can help out elsewhere. Not to mention other elites who have joined us like Lance. We’ll send them north. They should be able to handle a few small armies of undead.”

“Why risk those settlements?” Aaron said. “I got this. I’m telling you, mate.”

“Sorry, Aaron. Trust me, it’s not your skill I doubt. We just can’t take any risks with the world core. Look, there’s an entire section of the System store that’s currently unavailable to us. We have no idea what’s in there. It requires claiming the world core to unlock. Who knows what powers Darius might gain if he gets hold of the world core? You’ve already proven that a temple and a divine core is all it takes to summon a god’s avatar. Think about it, Aaron. What if there’s something else in the store? Something that could give the Death God’s avatar the ability to walk around? It might even be stronger than the one in your temple.”

Aaron groaned and nodded. He was right. “Fine, that’s a good point. Alright, let’s head out then. But if things get really bad elsewhere, let us know.”

“I will,” Julius said. “But I’ll also put the future of our entire world first. It might sound cruel, but that’s a leader’s responsibility.”

Aaron hesitantly nodded. He knew Lance and Joseph were no pushovers, but the corrupted aether could get to people. And there were still no sightings of Darius himself. What if he showed up somewhere else?

But he couldn’t argue with Julius’ logic. They needed to keep the World Core out of his hands, and it was clearly what he was aiming for.

Terry

Terry’s engines roared as he raced across the battlefield, blasting straight through dozens of undead in the process, and leaving them as piles of bony rubble.

Pressing a finger to his nose, he shot out a boogie and inhaled deeply. Unlike almost all of his Desert Pythons, the corrupted aether did little to him. It was almost like exercising at altitude. It made things a little more difficult, but hardly debilitating for a specimen like himself.

In the rear, some kilometers back, his Desert Pythons were whipping up a dusty storm. They drove their bikes around in circles, some cutting off and doing drive-bys against the undead horde, firing Skills, System-empowered guns, and all manner of other weaponry.

Some of the bikes even had musicians playing instruments that gave boosts to others, while others just drove around laughing and shooting into the air.

It was a disaster waiting to happen. Something between an army and a wild mob having a party, with booze and other intoxicants being used in high quantities, could be seen.

But the chaos, and probably his new lady friend, seemed to fire Terry up more than ever before. He was absolutely brimming as he slammed into another wave of undead, crushing them under heel.

He stopped to smile and poke a kiss at Des and Troy mid-battle, and continued on, driving into more undead.

“Last night really got me invigorated!” He roared as he ripped an undead apart in his hands. “How did she even do that? A god damn contortionist! And I can’t wait to get back to her!”

Terry’s engines burst with blue flames, and his core hummed with energy as he propelled himself faster than ever before.

“Look at you, bones!” Terry said as he crushed a skeleton. “How do you skinny little twinks think any of you stand a chance against Terry?!”

His hair stood on end even as the slaughter continued. He felt something. An icy aura gripped the land, and he turned toward it before the figure responsible even came into view.

“What is that?” Terry narrowed his gaze, and through the dust storm that had taken over the battlefield, he spotted a massive construct stomping toward him. But it wasn’t what the aura was coming from.

It was something above, and he sensed it as it jumped down from atop the construct, landing a few meters away with a thud. It was only an ordinary-sized man, though, and a bony one at that.

“Ha. More twigs to be snapped? Fucking hell,” Terry shook his head. “Alright, let’s get this over with.

As the undead man stood up, black, crow-like wings stretched out from his back, pushing the torn rags he wore as a robe back and revealing his rotted flesh.

“So, you’re the leader of this motley gang?”

“Me? I’m motherfucking Terry Cadillac! And you’re about to get a stomping,” Terry said, burying a fist into his palm.

In the blink of an eye, Terry was upon the strange undead man. If there was one thing Terry was, it was fast, and few would be able to dodge such an attack.

But the man’s black wings wrapped around his figure like a shield, and when Terry smacked into them, the undead creature skidded back unharmed across the sandy ground and smirked.

“What, was that it? Disappointing. Oh well, the master will be pleased. This should be easy.”

Death Reaver [ Level 195 ]

Titles: [ Legendary Undead ] [ Reincarnator ]

Terry bent his head at the inspection window. But it was still a puny undead with no muscles, and he was hardly going to let it intimidate him.

His engines roared with bursts of flames, and he flew back toward the undead leader, ready to crush it into bone paste, but a deathly aura flooded out, sapping at him.

Terry landed again against the feathered wings, but he didn’t feel much power from his strike. He sped around and attacked again, but felt even weaker than before.

“What is this bullshit?”

It was as if the undead creature was draining his energy… his mana.

Terry snorted and flashed back into range, delivering several quick attacks, but each one was weaker than the last, and when he broke, he could feel his core struggling to generate mana.

That thing is leeching my damn mana!

Terry’s brow crooked.

“Fuck. This isn’t good.”