Part Thirteen – Undead Horde

“Hey, are those goblins?”

That was strange. They hadn’t seen goblins for almost a week. But suddenly a large group shows up? Definitely suspicious.

“Pfft? Are these what’s been killing the other squads? Hah! I knew the Boss should’ve sent me along with them. You morons can’t do anything right.”

Most of the militiamen held their tongues. Vincent was shit, but if you talked bad about him, he’d beat the shit out of you.

There were only about fifty goblins, far less than some of the packs they’d fought off before. The men thought it would be a simple job. Those with better aim launched the first salvo, killing several goblins. Or so they thought.

“W-what the hell!? They’re getting back up.” It was worse than that.

Once they’d heard the gunshots, the goblins had screeched and ran straight at the militiamen. Two of them were killed immediately. If Cameron hadn’t cut in with his axe, the others would’ve soon joined them. His effort to stem the tide was admirable, but he wasn’t invincible. He was soon surrounded by goblins, as they tore and scratched at his armor.

It seemed like all was lost. And Cameron was sure of it. Until he heard a voice.

“Do I always have to save your ass?”

[Protag’s POV]

“Huh? Goblins? Didn’t we kill most of them?”

“Those aren’t goblins, Alicia. They’re undead.”

Undead Spawn

Rank: D

Description: Undead creatures created from corpses with necromancy. Their stitched up cadavers are far stronger than when they were alive.

“Whaaaaaat!? But how? Why are undead here? And can I stay here?” was that last remark necessary?

“Yeah, sure whatever. Just snipe them from here. Maybe try out your new arrows.”

I didn’t have time to talk. The second the militiamen had opened fire, the Spawn had charged at them. Those are definitely not goblins. That one just tore a guy in half.

I jumped off the roof, and dashed straight at them. With my current abilities, plus Beast of the Nightmare, I could easily dash a hundred yards in under a minute. But they didn’t have a minute.

By the time I’d reached them, over half the militia was dead. While many might have been scum, I didn’t think all of them were. Being able to save those I couldn’t, was a luxury I didn’t have. But I could still save at least one.

“Do I always have to save your ass?”

Cameron was startled to see me, but quickly looked relieved. He was surrounded by the Spawn, and looking to be in bad shape.

“Do you have some skill that lets you show up just in time?”

“I don’t! And that’s the shitiest skill I’ve ever heard of.” I’d like to arrive just before that, thank you very much!

With the two of us back-to-back, we were able to hold the undead off. These things are tenacious! Even if their limbs are hacked apart, or you pierce part of their brain, they just don’t stop!

“Where’s the lass?”

“Turns out she’s terrified of undead. I’m thinking she’s probably hiding right now.”

“I’M NOT AFRAID OF UNDEAD! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT!?”

Well now she’s screaming at me. And how did she hear me?

Arrows stared bursting through the heads of nearby Spawn. And I mean burst. I am so glad she’s not aiming at me. I don’t think I could dodge those, even with Skanda. She’s not aiming at me, right?

The Spawn were certainly a threat, but with our teamwork, we finished them off with no problem. Though the militiamen didn’t survive. I thought that D-Ranks were too much.

The militia were probably F-Rank. Maybe Hansen and a few others were E-Rank, but I didn’t think there were that many. If I weren’t here, Cameron and Alicia would’ve had no chance of killing these monsters. They could only fight monsters above their ranks because I was supporting them, both with equipment and in battle. I should definitely help them grow some more. If we’re separated, they might not be able to survive.

“Huh?” Somethings wrong. There were a dozen guys here, but only eleven corpses. Who’s missing?

It was possible that someone got torn to pieces, but I hadn’t seen anyone killed like that. I was puzzling over this, when Alicia ran up to me.

“Michael! That sleaze ball ran off while you were fighting. I don’t know were he went though.” Sleaze ball? Vincent!

“Eh, leave him. He’s not important.” I turned to our companion, who’d been silent since the fighting ended.

“Hey.” I figured a simple greeting would calm him down.

“Lad, lass. I figure I should apologize. I should’ve come with you when you left.”

“It was that bad?”

“Yeah. Most of the militiamen were abusing the non-combatants. They did horrible things on a routine basis.”

That made sense. The few people I’d seen walking around looked scared. Even some of the militia hadn’t been as calm as they tried to look.

“What’s your deal with them? Why would you stay there instead of coming with me and Michael?” Alicia’s question hit him hard.

What he’d told us after that was shocking. Cameron had been in an accident, and Hansen gave him a loan to pay off his medical bills. It was apparently some sort of PR stunt. Hansen had been running for mayor, and by generously helping a local hero, he’d hoped to earn more votes. This had ended in failure due to a series of scandals, but Cameron had still paid the loans off.

But even though he’d paid him back years ago, he still felt some kind of debt towards him, and couldn’t really turn him down when Hansen asked for a favor.

“But after what I saw in there, I’m done with him. If he’s not aware of what’s going on, then he doesn’t deserve to lead them. And if he does.” He didn’t finish his sentence, leaving the threat unsaid.

“Well that’s that then. I’m more concerned with what happened here. These undead aren’t natural. Something created them.”

“Undead aren’t natural in the first place! And even if they are being created, it’s none of our business. If the militia gets killed, that’s there own fault.”

Jeez! Before she was against killing anyone, but now she’s willing to throw them to the wolves. Haaaah, this is my fault, isn’t it? Either that, or she’s trying to avoid fighting more undead. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. She really hates undead.

“Lass, even if the militia doesn’t deserve our help, what about the others inside? If this is a serious threat, they’ll get massacred.” Oh thank goodness, Cameron still has his common sense.

“Rrrgh! Why!? Why must we deal with problems that aren’t ours?”

“Oh can it Alicia! You just don’t want to fight undead.”

“What’s wrong with that!? Why would I want to fight something that’s already dead? It’s disgusting!”

It’s annoying that I agree with her. Rotting corpses aren’t something I like looking at. Even the skeletons were rather disturbing.

“Fine. Stay here then, alllll by yourself.”

“Eep! Um, maybe it won’t be so bad?”

The further we went from the shelter, the worse things got. The number of undead kept increasing. Worse, I was seeing other monsters. Goblins, Kobolds, Black Wolves, and Claw Monkeys. There were even some of the elusive Trolls.

Shit! This isn’t some anomalous event. This is an army, one created to destroy the shelter. Fuck, why does everything happen to me?

“Fuck. That isn’t something we can fight. There’s at least five hundred monsters here, probably more. No matter how many guns they have, they won’t be able to hold this off for long.”

We had no chance at winning this. Maybe if they were C-Ranks like myself, we might stand a chance. Plus there was no reason to even try. While I felt bad for those who hadn’t done anything to deserve this, I had no obligation to help them. It would just get us killed. What? You thought I’d insist on fighting? I’m not suicidal! I know when I can’t win a fight.

“So, all in favor of running for our lives?”

“Aye"

“Yes please!”

We were decided. Huh? I thought they’d be more against it. Guess they’re prioritizing our lives. Good for us.

[Troll Necromancer’s POV]

It was finally finished. All the corpses they’d gathered had been converted into Undead Spawn, and a number of wild beasts had been put under a submission spell. The Goblins had even sent some of their remaining warriors, along with an army from the Kobolds.

It was time. It was done whittling away the human’s forces. Now was the time to exterminate them.

[???’s POV]

He’d run so far.

The only reason he’d even stopped was that he couldn’t run anymore. His body was screaming for rest. He still saw the blood, felt the fear that had struck him as the others were killed. It looked like it hurt. I don’t want to die like that! All I wanted was to live, not this hell!

As if in response to his protests, he heard an unfamiliar voice.

::Individual has met requirements. Individual has acquired Title: Shit-Stained Coward. Acquired Archetype: Coward. Individual has acquired Normal Skill: Survival Instinct. Individual has met requirements. Unique Skill: Rabbit Hole has awakened.::