Chapter 42: Purgatory on Earth

The flames flew, the flags broke, the corpses were everywhere, and the blood flowed like rivers. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Village. The outskirts of Lorenti, the capital of the Jestijah Kingdom, have been reduced to an unprecedentedly miserable and bloody battlefield.

The black smoke of the flames obscured the sky, and wounded warriors staggered among the corpses, stretching from under the walls into the distance, lying strewn with corpses in various positions. Most of these corpses were naturally dead, and there were also a considerable number of corpses of war horses, as well as strange monsters whose names could not be named, plus more completely unrecognizable pieces of flesh and bones, which at first glance looked like a slaughterhouse. Flocks of crows and wild dogs flock to the flocks, undaunted by the embers that are still burning, and roam leisurely in this natural food party, competing for the delicious flesh and blood.

And what is even more terrifying is that on this battlefield full of corpses, there are still "people" standing in pools of blood and fireworks, wandering around with an unusually stiff pace. Among these "people", the vast majority of them have only Sensen's bones left. Even those who still have their flesh and skin are horrible and terrible, with no eyeballs in their sockets, a disgusting stench all over their bodies, rotten and blackened muscles, withered and necrotic skin, and all kinds of internal organs flowing out of the terrible huge wounds, no matter how you look at it, they can no longer be called human.

But these "men" who should have died long ago did not fall, but wandered around helplessly, whining and roaring from their badly broken throats, their eyes full of hatred for living beings, and mercilessly killing all living people they could see!

From time to time, Kingdom soldiers who were seriously injured and fell to the ground were pierced in the heart by skeleton soldiers, and even had their throats torn alive by zombies and bled out.

This is a desperate struggle between the living and the undead!

Although at this time, the head of the royal capital was still crowded with heavily armed soldiers, but in the face of the army of undead who "cleaned up the battlefield" and slaughtered the survivors, they only dared to stand on the city wall, looking down on the Shura field at their feet in fear, and did not dare to help their colleagues trapped outside the wall.

In addition, unlike the common war scenes between human beings, at this time, the royal capital of Lorenti, which was besieged by the undead, was shrouded in a layer of gloomy fog at some point, although it was not to the extent of exaggeration of reaching out and not seeing the five fingers, but it was enough to make the defenders unable to see the distant scene, and they could only wear **** clothes, standing in the cold and damp fog, stomping and trembling, while worrying about their fate.

-- It has been a month since the army of undead creatures from the southeastern border suddenly arrived near the royal capital.

The hastily assembled human army suffered one defeat after another in the wilderness on the outskirts. The outposts, fortresses, and manors scattered outside the walls of the royal capital have all been swept away by the undead, and even the royal capital itself, which is sheltered by the tall city walls, has endured several fierce attacks......

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“…… Whew, whew......"

In the gray mist, Clem, a soldier of the Kingdom Guard, leaned his back against the battlements of the city wall with a spear, and constantly let out a rapid wheezing sound, like a pulling bellows, trying his best to get more oxygen for his lungs.

With the fall of various strongholds in the suburbs, the walls of the royal capital have become the last line of defense against the undead.

One battle after another stretched out, leaving Clem exhausted. At present, although the enemy did not attack the city, he did not retreat, so he was forced to keep his spirits up and continue to be vigilant and ready for battle.

Just outside the moat beneath his feet, a Kingdom soldier who had fallen behind as he retreated back to the city was crying out as if he were being overturned. In fact, the soldier's current situation was indeed similar to that of Ling Chi, because several hideous-looking ghouls were lying on his body, tearing off bloody flesh from his limbs that were not protected by armor.

- Ghouls, originally made of humans, have more or less human form, and a minimum of intelligence, but are definitely much uglier - mottled and rotting skin wrapped in clearly visible bones, eyes glowing red like hot coals, and their bodies are full of strong toxins, and any creature bitten or scratched by them will be paralyzed immediately.

And, as their name suggests, ghouls are rotting undead, but they have a good stomach and desire to tear at the flesh and blood of all living things, and can maintain their shape, heal their wounds, and increase their strength by eating corpses - so this thing is quite durable, and as long as it can't kill in one hit, it will quickly recover by eating corpses, and there is always no shortage of dead corpses on the battlefield. Ghouls are also capable of transforming corpses into undead creatures, but fortunately this transformation process is quite slow, otherwise the rate of killing may not be able to keep up with proliferation.

If it were possible, Clem would have wanted to give the poor man a happy death with his bow and arrows, but this could not be done, because yesterday Clem's bowstring had broken along with the bow, and his already scarred armor had just collapsed, and he could not repair it no matter how he tried. The sword had long since been broken, and now he only had a spear in his hand that he had picked up out of nowhere, and he couldn't throw it out again.

And, even above the city walls, there was a shocking pool of blood, with broken human corpses and internal organs scattered among them, especially the head of a dead soldier. The head seemed to have been torn from its body, and the pair of terrified eyes on it happened to be facing Clem without a blind eye. Clem's already numb heart tightened suddenly, and he had to turn his head away and look no more.

At that moment, a slight noise came through the mist, and Clum looked back to see a noble officer in ornate armor, staggering over. The armor on his body, which was originally gilded and inlaid with silver, had been damaged in many places, and he was holding his abdomen tightly with his hands, and he was panting quietly, but he didn't seem to see too much blood, and it didn't seem to be too badly injured.

Clem moved slightly, but immediately sat back weakly, "I'm sorry, sir, for not being able to get up and salute!" ”

But the wounded noble officer did not say a word, but continued to stumble towards Clem, as if to ask him for a support. Seeing this, Clem had no choice but to stand up again with difficulty with his spear, ready to help the commander who could not walk steadily.

“…… Be careful! Get out of the way! Don't touch him, there's something wrong with this guy! ”

An anxious warning sounded suddenly, and before Clem's head could turn the corner, he heard a strange roar of "Uh-wow", and the noble officer suddenly bounced off the ground and roared at him! Fortunately, Clem's military career in the past few years was not in vain, and the moment the other party pounced, he raised his spear and stabbed him fiercely, and the attacker suddenly fell on his back to the sky and fell heavily next to the battlement of the city wall. The next moment, he leaned over to take a look, and was immediately frightened and gasped.

I saw that there was a big blood hole in this guy's belly, the flesh and blood in it were blurred, and at least half of the internal organs were missing, clearly exposing Bai Sensen's bones. Look up again...... Behind the helmet that had just been dropped, there was a face that had been bitten by something, and one eyeball hung under the eye socket, shaking and shaking, which was extremely terrifying.

But despite the severity of the injury, the guy was not dead, not even unconscious, and was still staring at Daniel with his other intact eye, his big mouth full of sharp fangs opening and closing, and a disgusting viscous liquid constantly flowing from between his teeth. Clem was horrified for a moment, and at that moment, a sword light suddenly passed by him, smashing the monster's head to pieces.

“…… Watch out for next time! Even on the city wall, there are many soldiers of our army who have been poisoned by corpses because of the battle, and then they are slowly transformed into undead spirits in the miasma, and it is easy to make trouble if you don't identify them carefully! A stern voice, slightly tired, rang out.

“…… Is it a warrior chief? Thank you for saving your life! ”

Turning around, he saw the kingdom warrior chief Gurdjief who was sheathing his sword? Storonov, Clem couldn't help but thank him heartily, and at the same time looked down again out of the city, and was horrified to find that the poor fellow, who had just been gnawed by the ghouls, had once again staggered to his feet, surrounded by a horde of undead, but his appearance seemed to have changed somewhat—his skin was withered, his facial features were twisted, his mouth was full of steel teeth, his saliva was dripping, and his mouth was whining and roaring from time to time. And the pair of terrifying eyes that turned blood-red stared at himself standing on the city wall......

The magician stationed at the watchtower at the head of the city immediately shot a burst fireball in this direction, and the undead who had gathered on the opposite side of the moat immediately flew flesh and bones, and a large area was knocked down. But the problem is that when the smoke clears, except for a few unlucky ghosts whose heads are smashed, the rest of the zombies and skeletons quickly crawl up, and even a guy with broken legs is struggling to move forward with both hands little by little, and the intestines, internal organs, and broken muscles are dragging behind the ground, and everyone wants to vomit.

Faced with such a terrifying scene, Clem couldn't help but feel a deep sense of despair: the evil magic chanter who manipulated the undead had been hiding behind him, never showing up, and people didn't know where to fight. And if the source of all the evils cannot be eliminated, then as long as there are enough corpses, the undead who attack the royal capital will be killed endlessly, leaving the human race tired to deal with. And those few bone dragons that can resist all magic are the nightmare of all the defenders, and they can knock out huge gaps in the city walls every time. Even with the strength of Captain Gurdjief's warriors, he could only barely expel him, not completely eliminate him.

With the current situation of the kingdom's martial arts, can it repel such a hideous and terrifying powerful enemy?

Captain Gurdjieff seemed to notice his low mood and stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder and encouraged, "...... Rest assured, we will definitely win! As long as you can get through this most difficult time......"

Clem nodded, but still couldn't pull himself together. And Gurdjieff had to sigh and continue, "...... Clem, His Majesty has just given me a dangerous but important task that requires a group of the bravest men to accomplish, and I hope you will be part of it......"

It wasn't until this moment that Clem's eyes lit up slightly, "...... What task? He asked, looking up at Captain Gurdjieff.

“…… Come out of the city with me, break through the encirclement of the undead legions, and go outside to collect reinforcements! Gurdjieff replied, "...... This time, the undead came too suddenly, not only did we not have time to gather our forces, but even the kingdom's steel-level adventurer team 'Cang Rose' happened to be out of the city, which is why we fought so badly. Now, in order to defend the royal capital, it is not enough to be trapped in the city, someone must rush out with the royal decree, gather the armed forces scattered throughout the kingdom, and form a strong reinforcement army, so that victory can be achieved......"

Speaking of this, his tone suddenly became a little hesitant, "...... Perhaps, some strong people who have just met may as well try to ask for it? ”

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If at this time, the royal capital of Lorenti was already a slaughterhouse outside the city walls, then behind the army of the undead, it became a real slaughterhouse, as well as Hell's Kitchen and human flesh restaurant, where humans are the most popular ingredients!

It is worth noting that the diners who are feasting on human flesh are not the undead.

“…… The woman's fat is soft and the meat is delicious. The fat of the little ones is thin, and the taste of the meat is great. But the most delicious thing is the muscular man's meat! It's a pity that only the flesh of a corpse is not as fresh as eating the flesh of a living person directly......"

Adom, the spider-man maid of the Pleiades Battle Maids Regiment at the Great Tomb of Nazarik, holding a human hand that had just been cut off from a corpse, muttered about her way of food while feasting on fresh human flesh, and her whole arm disappeared little by little with the sound of "popping" as her throat continued to quiver - although her expression was very cute, but in connection with the actual situation, it was enough to make any weird squirm pee his pants.

At the same time, the eight-limbed assassination insects of the Great Tomb of Nassalik, led by Edom, are also feasting on the corpses collected by the skeleton soldiers, gnawing away the internal organs, muscles, and fat, leaving only relatively intact white bones for piecing together new necromantic monsters.

“…… The old man also thinks so, whether it is a human or another animal, the fresher the meat, the more delicious it is. ”

A huge cockroach with a golden crown and a big red robe, as well as a small group of cockroaches, gnawed on another pile of dead men and dead horses with relish. However, it was obviously eaten in a much more elegant way than Edom, and even tied a napkin and grabbed a knife and fork with its forelegs. The flesh is also magically grilled to seventy percent, then coated with sauce, sprinkled with spices, and enjoyed slowly with the captured wine.

It is the most aristocratic presence in the Great Tomb of Nazarik, a terrifying duke who claims to be proficient in fencing, music, dance, and court etiquette, and even eats it as if it were a French feast, but even so, it still does not change the fact that it is a large cockroach.

“…… The old man remembers that he sent a batch of living captives just now? Dimiurgos! Can you give the old man a few living people to try it? ”

“…… No way! Absolutely not! These stupid undead creatures only know how to kill people, and no matter how strict they are to catch them alive, they have only caught more than twenty living people in total so far! These precious captives also have important uses, and you can't just eat them! ”

The commander of this army of the undead outside the royal capital of Lorenti, the demonic gentleman Dimiurgos, shook his head like a rattle while staring at Nabelal, the maid of the battle mage next to him, "...... How's it going? Nabelal, this latest batch of tanned vellum paper should work! ”

“…… Don't be noisy! I'm experimenting with it! Wait until you have the results! Nabelar only lifted herself slightly, scolded without looking back, and leaned over to the makeshift wooden table in front of her once more, concentrating on the magic scroll.

At this time, on the table in her hand, there were countless magic catalysts of all kinds scattered - ores, precious metals, stones with properties, precious stones, various powders, sun-dried animal parts, etc. There were also mountains of gold coins and bundles of vellum paper of different colors.

I saw Nabelal first chant a spell, shooting out high-temperature light from her fingertips, melting a few gold coins into a liquid form, and then under the constraints of magical power, the gold solution seemed to flow slowly on the paper as if consciously, and after the snake reached the predetermined position, it slowly spread, and finally depicted a golden magic array, the pattern is intricate and exquisite, both complex and delicate...... This is not the end of the story, and the next thing that needs to be poured into the scroll is that it can be considered a magic scroll that can be used, and this is also the most dangerous part: Nabelal made six scrolls in a row, but three of the scrolls suddenly burst into flames in the process of infusing the magic power, and in the blink of an eye, they burned clean, leaving only a small pinch of ash. The other three scrolls, though also red and hot, did not emit flames or smoke, but gradually cooled down.

“…… Call! This batch of magic scrolls has finally been successfully completed! The quality of this parchment is indeed much better than parchment! ”

Seeing that the trial and error finally came to fruition, Nabelal, who had always had a cold face, couldn't help but show a touch of joy, "...... The parchment of this world is so crude! Even the magic of the first rank is difficult to withstand. Switching to a magic scroll made from human skin would be a little better, barely able to carry third-tier spells...... But...... Dimiugos, can you guarantee the quantity of raw materials? ”

She looked back at the few human captives in a rough wooden fence not far away, and couldn't help but frown again, "...... If it is a dead man's skin, the texture is similar to the crude parchment of this world. Only by using live life can we ensure better quality. And the skin peeled from the back of each human is only enough to make one scroll in total. But you only have such a small number of living people in your hands, how can you use the skin you peel? A one-player versus one-player magic fight, not to mention the consumption of a dozen scrolls? ”

“…… This question...... There is no good way to solve it for the time being, but to use healing magic on the skinned person immediately after peeling it, so that it can be used repeatedly......" The demonic gentleman Dimiugos shrugged, "...... The rest can only continue to capture slowly......"

“…… Also, in my experience, the texture of lambskin is the most ideal for making parchment paper for scrolls. Then among human beings, the skin taken from young children should be the most precious...... But there's only one child on your side, and you're so thin......"

Nabelal pointed to the skinny little girl who was the only one in the fence and added, "...... I can't even bear to skin her......"

"......," the demonic gentleman Dimiugos didn't know what to say for a moment, "...... Uh, I'll fatten her up as soon as I can......"

“…… Speaking of which, as long as you enter the city opposite, isn't there a lot of living human beings? Next, whether it is to peel the skin to make a scroll, or to cut the meat and eat it, everyone can use it happily, where will they shrink like now? ”

The cockroach terrorist, who had eaten a feast of human flesh, wiped his mouth with a napkin and complained to Dimiugos, "...... It's boring to pretend to besiege a city like this! If the old man had been allowed to take his clan through the sewers together, we would have been sitting in the hall of the palace by now! ”

- When the army first came to the royal capital, the terrifying duke, who had the talent of "infinitely summoning the same race (cockroaches)", volunteered to fight the vanguard, preparing to pour into the royal capital from the sewers with hundreds of thousands or even millions of cockroach legions, gnawing all the humans and animals in the city to the bones...... However, he was urgently stopped by Dimiugos, and then even ordered his cockroach army to stay away from the battlefield and stuff it in the rear to be refrigerated.

At the forefront of the siege, Dimiugos just posed as some low-level undead creatures who were weak but did not have to pay any price to summon, pretending to attack the city several times a day, and retreating at the slightest loss, as if playing a game rather than fighting.

“…… I've said that several times! For the time being, it is a strategic decision made by Lord Ainz to besiege the royal capital of Lorenti without fighting, and to use the main force to sweep the surrounding area! As subordinates, we must strictly enforce it! Dimiugos, the demonic gentleman, slapped the table hard, "...... In this kingdom, there is really no power to worry about Lord Ainz, but in other realms, there seem to be powerful treasures left behind by the Supreme (the honorific title given to players by NPCs) of other organizations, which may pose a threat to Lord Ainz and our station! So we have to proceed with caution! ”

“…… However, the old man still couldn't figure it out, what does this have to do with not conquering the royal capital for the time being? The Terror Lord asked.

“…… Well, according to Lord Ainz, as long as we don't capture the royal capital for a day, then no matter how many towns and villages we sweep and destroy, in the eyes of the authorities of other countries, it is still a skirmish that is not worth intervening in, and it should be resolved by the rulers of this kingdom themselves. ”

Dimiugos replied, "...... Therefore, in order to avoid making too many enemies at one time and leading to unexpected defeats, we must be slow and patient in the strategic battle of this kingdom. First surround the royal capital, paralyze their command center, and then destroy the surrounding countryside little by little, destroying the source of the country's strength. When there is only one lonely city left in this country, what will stop us from conquering it? ”

For the above statement, all the guild NPCs who were ordered to go out were convinced, and after a little thought, they understood Lord Ainz's distress. But the problem is that the practical problem of how to obtain a large number of live skinned people as quickly as possible to make magic scrolls still needs to be solved.

“…… It seems that the only way to do this is to create a human breeding ranch after the war, and then use various aphrodisiac spells to make them mate en masse, and then give birth to a large number of human cubs that are most suitable for skinning! Dimiugos pondered for a long time before he came to this conclusion.

“…… Human-Raised Pastures? The Mage Nabelal raised an eyebrow, "...... Set up in the forest near the Great Tomb of Nasalik? ”

“…… No, it has to be set up farther away. Dimiugos shook his head, then explained, "...... In the area of Karn, which is closest to the Great Tomb of Nasalik, many humans from all over the world have recently gathered, and Lord Ainz seems to have the intention of turning them into lords or serfs. In order not to frighten them, Lord Ainz would not have agreed to our establishment of a human ranch near our home...... Hey, it's true, Lord Anz is not a philanthropist, why should he be so kind to these lowly humans? ...... "Tiny ashes." The other three scrolls, though also red and hot, did not emit flames or smoke, but gradually cooled down.

“…… Call! This batch of magic scrolls has finally been successfully completed! The quality of this parchment is indeed much better than parchment! ”

Seeing that the trial and error finally came to fruition, Nabelal, who had always had a cold face, couldn't help but show a touch of joy, "...... The parchment of this world is so crude! Even the magic of the first rank is difficult to withstand. Switching to a magic scroll made from human skin would be a little better, barely able to carry third-tier spells...... But...... Dimiugos, can you guarantee the quantity of raw materials? ”

She looked back at the few human captives in a rough wooden fence not far away, and couldn't help but frown again, "...... If it is a dead man's skin, the texture is similar to the crude parchment of this world. Only by using live life can we ensure better quality. And the skin peeled from the back of each human is only enough to make one scroll in total. But you only have such a small number of living people in your hands, how can you use the skin you peel? A one-player versus one-player magic fight, not to mention the consumption of a dozen scrolls? ”

“…… This question...... There is no good way to solve it for the time being, but to use healing magic on the skinned person immediately after peeling it, so that it can be used repeatedly......" The demonic gentleman Dimiugos shrugged, "...... The rest can only continue to capture slowly......"

“…… Also, in my experience, the texture of lambskin is the most ideal for making parchment paper for scrolls. Then among human beings, the skin taken from young children should be the most precious...... But there's only one child on your side, and you're so thin......"

Nabelal pointed to the skinny little girl who was the only one in the fence and added, "...... I can't even bear to skin her......"

"......," the demonic gentleman Dimiugos didn't know what to say for a moment, "...... Uh, I'll fatten her up as soon as I can......"

“…… Speaking of which, as long as you enter the city opposite, isn't there a lot of living human beings? Next, whether it is to peel the skin to make a scroll, or to cut the meat and eat it, everyone can use it happily, where will they shrink like now? ”

The cockroach terrorist, who had eaten a feast of human flesh, wiped his mouth with a napkin and complained to Dimiugos, "...... It's boring to pretend to besiege a city like this! If the old man had been allowed to take his clan through the sewers together, we would have been sitting in the hall of the palace by now! ”

- When the army first came to the royal capital, the terrifying duke, who had the talent of "infinitely summoning the same race (cockroaches)", volunteered to fight the vanguard, preparing to pour into the royal capital from the sewers with hundreds of thousands or even millions of cockroach legions, gnawing all the humans and animals in the city to the bones...... However, he was urgently stopped by Dimiugos, and then even ordered his cockroach army to stay away from the battlefield and stuff it in the rear to be refrigerated.

At the forefront of the siege, Dimiugos just posed as some low-level undead creatures who were weak but did not have to pay any price to summon, pretending to attack the city several times a day, and retreating at the slightest loss, as if playing a game rather than fighting.

“…… I've said that several times! For the time being, it is a strategic decision made by Lord Ainz to besiege the royal capital of Lorenti without fighting, and to use the main force to sweep the surrounding area! As subordinates, we must strictly enforce it! Dimiugos, the demonic gentleman, slapped the table hard, "...... In this kingdom, there is really no power to worry about Lord Ainz, but in other realms, there seem to be powerful treasures left behind by the Supreme (the honorific title given to players by NPCs) of other organizations, which may pose a threat to Lord Ainz and our station! So we have to proceed with caution! ”

“…… However, the old man still couldn't figure it out, what does this have to do with not conquering the royal capital for the time being? The Terror Lord asked.

“…… Well, according to Lord Ainz, as long as we don't capture the royal capital for a day, then no matter how many towns and villages we sweep and destroy, in the eyes of the authorities of other countries, it is still a skirmish that is not worth intervening in, and it should be resolved by the rulers of this kingdom themselves. ”

Dimiugos replied, "...... Therefore, in order to avoid making too many enemies at one time and leading to unexpected defeats, we must be slow and patient in the strategic battle of this kingdom. First surround the royal capital, paralyze their command center, and then destroy the surrounding countryside little by little, destroying the source of the country's strength. When there is only one lonely city left in this country, what will stop us from conquering it? ”

For the above statement, all the guild NPCs who were ordered to go out were convinced, and after a little thought, they understood Lord Ainz's distress. But the problem is that the practical problem of how to obtain a large number of live skinned people as quickly as possible to make magic scrolls still needs to be solved.

“…… It seems that the only way to do this is to create a human breeding ranch after the war, and then use various aphrodisiac spells to make them mate en masse, and then give birth to a large number of human cubs that are most suitable for skinning! Dimiugos pondered for a long time before he came to this conclusion.

“…… Human-Raised Pastures? The Mage Nabelal raised an eyebrow, "...... Set up in the forest near the Great Tomb of Nasalik? ”

“…… No, it has to be set up farther away. Dimiugos shook his head, then explained, "...... In the area of Karn, which is closest to the Great Tomb of Nasalik, many humans from all over the world have recently gathered, and Lord Ainz seems to have the intention of turning them into lords or serfs. In order not to frighten them, Lord Ainz would not have agreed to our establishment of a human ranch near our home...... Hey, it's true, Lord Anz is not a philanthropist, why should he be so kind to these lowly humans? ……”