Volume One: The Lord’s World at Hell Difficulty Chapter 14: The Horde of Walking Corpses

Chen Gu had no idea that he was already being targeted by the undead of this lordly world. At this moment, he had already drawn near the group of walking corpses.

As he had seen from the watchtower, these walking corpses were transformed from fallen human soldiers. They wore tattered armor and carried swords and axes in their hands. Chen Gu stopped about fifty meters away from them, observing the corpses from a distance.

Upon seeing this, Chen Gu couldn’t help but laugh. It was exactly what he needed, arriving just in time. These walking corpses were guarding a toppled carriage. The warhorse that once pulled the carriage had become nothing but bones, and the cargo had rotted beyond recognition. Yet, the carriage itself, wrapped in iron plating, remained relatively intact.

A carriage would suffice.

Chen Gu directed the fire spirit ravens to put down the luggage, then pointed forward, sending out ten corpse-eating vines. The fire spirit ravens circled above in the air. Having flown alongside him for so long, each fire spirit raven had accumulated ten points of fire sparks—the maximum their fire spark magic could store at their current level. If he wished to control more sparks, the ravens would need to be leveled up.

The walking corpses were too close to the carriage. If the fire spirit ravens unleashed a fire spark sweep, the blast would certainly destroy the carriage as well. So Chen Gu opted to have the corpse-eating vines lure the corpses away first. The vines had seen little combat along the way, and Chen Gu hoped they could devour some flesh to strengthen themselves, raising their power and level so he could further enhance them.

As soon as Chen Gu finished laying his ambush, the corpse-eating vines reached the feet of the walking corpses. The corpses, unaware they were being targeted, continued to wander around the carriage as usual. Those closest to the carriage even turned their heads to scan the surroundings. These few were the more intelligent ones among the group.

But today, they sensed something was amiss. They felt the number of walking corpses seemed odd. One corpse cocked its head in confusion, then pretended not to notice anything and turned away as usual.

In that moment of turning, its head twisted a full one hundred eighty degrees, its jaw resting on its back. It saw several vines burst from the ground at the edge of the corpse group, dragging three outermost walking corpses underground.

“Roar!”

Noticing this, the corpse let out a howl. Those nearest to it, also possessing some intelligence, were the first to react. The less intelligent ones followed their orders, running toward the spot where the corpses had vanished.

The walking corpses moved exceedingly slowly, barely faster than shuffling along. Once discovered, the corpse-eating vines abandoned all pretense of stealth, moving constantly beneath the corpses. Whenever the corpses were caught off guard, the vines would burst forth, dragging them below. If spotted, the vines would simply lash out, knocking the corpses back a few steps. By the time the corpses attempted to encircle them, the vines had already relocated.

Each corpse-eating vine could only devour five enemies up to level four per day. After swallowing more than forty walking corpses, the vines stopped, heeding Chen Gu’s order to save one last devouring for emergencies.

There were still over one hundred thirty walking corpses remaining. Driven by the vines’ attacks, the corpses clustered together. Whenever a vine emerged, they would surround it, protecting their companions from being dragged underground. To them, gathering together was the best solution, as no more corpses were lost once they grouped up. What they didn’t realize was that the attacks stopped because Chen Gu considered them far enough away from the carriage.

Now, with the corpses gathered as he wished, Chen Gu gave his command.

“Fire spirit ravens, prepare fire spark sweep. Be careful not to hit the carriage.”

At his order, the corpse-eating vines swiftly retreated, and the fire spirit ravens, circling in the sky, dove like bombers toward the corpses.

The intelligent corpses led the others, watching the ground for signs of the vines. They had figured out that the vines weren’t impossible to detect—while moving underground, they left clear traces on the surface. If they could follow these traces, they might strike the vines as they attacked.

But none expected the next wave of assault would come from above.

While all the corpses stared at the ground, the fire spirit ravens formed a squadron overhead, swooping down for an attack. At less than ten meters above the group, the ravens shook themselves in midair, each dropping three points of fire sparks. More than four hundred sparks flew out, rapidly expanding. By the time they reached the corpses’ heads, they had grown to the size of balloons.

The corpses never anticipated an aerial attack, and, crowded together, had no chance to dodge as the fireballs rained down.

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of massive explosions sent flesh flying in all directions. Severed limbs even landed before Chen Gu and his companions.

When the blasts subsided, Chen Gu looked back at the spot where the corpses had been. Nothing remained but a deep crater over a meter wide. Around the pit, scattered pieces of flesh still held weapons and scraps.

Sweeping his gaze across the battlefield, Chen Gu gave an immediate order.

“Corpse-eating vines, clean up the battlefield.”

Watching the vines swiftly move across the field, devouring flesh and collecting usable scraps, Chen Gu headed toward the carriage with the bloodshadow wolf. With the corpses vanquished, it was time to reap the rewards. Whether he continued on foot or by carriage depended on what he found.

As for the fire spirit ravens, they scattered at Chen Gu’s command, keeping watch over the area. In such an eerie forest, caution could never be excessive.