It was unsettling how accustomed she was to dead bodies. She roamed the battlefield and had no qualms with killing, and her investigations as an inquisitor often lead to her examining victims of heinous crimes. However, this was different. When she was a zombie, she knew she was still somehow alive, not traditionally, and affirmed herself constantly of the fact. It was an entirely other thing to bury herself in the ground as if she dug her own grave.

Rana was in a bed of dirt surrounded by unhealthy soil. She wondered what would happen if a bug crawled inside of her. She shuddered at the thought. When she climbed out after the humans above left, she would no doubt surge her body with crimson mana and blow whatever foreign substance invading her into smithereens.

It was an odd sensation. When she was alive, she often needed to gather information on enemy forces through auditory senses rather than visual confirmation. It was a great asset for any hunter to be able to track their prey through different senses. Even now she was using her hearing to mark the position and numbers of the people above. However, there was something far better than her ears, and it was far greater than her eyes. It was her sense of smell, and despite having no sight of the ground above and the sound there muffled by the dirt, she knew everything that went on with the humans above.

There were around a hundred soldiers lurking about. She could tell that their bodies were battered and in constant battle and bloodshed. However, the blood they were soaked in was not only their own and other combatants, but she could also smell the blood of the weak on them. They were no doubt a marauding band of deserters, using their numbers to inflict violence onto others. She wondered for what reason would they have to maintain such a force as the logistics behind it did not make sense. There would be a limit to their supplies and would they could steal. The many settlements near the warzones were already destroyed, and what was left was clearly not enough. The ones with the resources were better guarded than ever now with a part of the kingdom plunging into war. However, she was thinking too hard. Humans did not need a rational reason to harm others or to satiated their lust for violence. It could simply be a despicable gang of soldiers lead by a cowardly and even more despicable captain. It was easier to commit atrocities when the blame could be pinned on others and leadership.

There was a hum in the air and mana was invoked. Rana stayed relaxed. The sound was the same as a Skill she knew of. It was something with a wide area-of-effect, no doubt a searching or detection Skill or Spell. The border of the cast mana went past her with no reaction. It must’ve been one of those that identified the living. Unfortunately for them, she was already dead. With the Skill yielding no results she could tell the humans above were beginning to leave. Would they be suspicious that a fire was started but no one was near? Of course not. She made sure she left some clues as a form of misdirection.

Rana heard someone speaking, it was most likely some marked ones. They could be discussing their next course of action. She somehow wished her zombie senses extended further in capability. However, she could not ask for more. The zombie sense was designed to find and bite off faces, not hear what came out of it. The two people only talked for a bit before she heard them barking out orders. With that done, the soldiers split into two groups. The main force rode back towards the direction they came from and a smaller group of about a dozen went towards the direction her clues falsely pointed at.

She waited and when the coast was clear, she began digging upwards. She punched one of her arm out of the dirt and pulled herself up. The fresh air outside was no different than the vacuum below.

She looked towards where the main force of the soldiers went. She had not been there before so she did not know what sort of fortification awaited her, and walking into enemy territory with no knowledge was not a smart move. She then turned towards the direction the smaller force went. They were headed towards where she wanted them to be. It was time to gather some information.

Rana trekked for hours before smelling them. There were eight of them and none of them were marked ones. That was not surprising. The more powerful the mark, the more likely a person was to survive a war, but that also meant they had more options for their future other than raiders after the end of the war. Trisha was a good example. A sword for hire was more profitable than plundering and looting. The issue was that weaker marked ones were less likely to survive the war than the average soldier. The power of a mark guaranteed a place at the toughest battlefields, and the fragility of a low level marked could lead to death with a simple unfortunate cast of Spell or Skill. There was a reason marked ones needed to become strong. It was so that they could grab hold of their own destiny and not be subjected to the cruel hands of fate.

She approached the soldiers. They were resting at a location with many covers and many places to sleep. It was why she chose this place. For the amateurs, these formations of rocks provided a decent wall to hold against an enemy, a shield against the elements of weather, and a landmark to place their location. However, the astute would realize that there was one fatal flaw. The need for a wall to be defended only existed if there was nowhere else to escape to. This location was great for a fortification, but only if a group of soldiers needed a place to make their stand. In other words, they were trapped.

Of course, that thought would’ve never crossed their minds. They were simply scouting for the reason for a fire that was started at the abandoned village. They were not tasked to find anyone or eliminate any witnesses. The main force simply wanted to get a better idea of what was going on. The report of not finding anyone or that they could be long gone was something not out of the ordinary. In fact, it should be expected. However, that did not explain what the large group of deserters was doing in the first place and she needed answers.

She pondered what her approach should be. She trapped them in the area, but it was still an area that was easily defended. Should she attack first and subdue them before questioning them? No. That would make her an enemy, a combatant, someone with a motive. Their answers would no doubt be given under the condition of defeated soldiers. Their answers would be colored by fear and the instinct of self-preservation. The truth could be realized even under those conditions, but those were conditions she could set up anytime. However, in the wild, there were always strays wandering around. Wars broke apart families and left many without homes. They wandered and sought a safe haven. She did not seek a safe haven, but she did wander.

Close enough.

Rana picked up her bag and began strolling towards the group of soldiers without a care.