Chapter 91 – The Ring of Desire
Clutching their rusted axes and shielding their bodies with worn-out shields, a group of dwarves stood before us. Their armor, though tattered in appearance, still looked expensive and sophisticated.
No, to be precise, these weren’t ordinary dwarves.
They were rotten beings.
Their skin was shriveled and dried, and a foul stench emanated from their decaying bodies. Zombies.
What set them apart from ordinary zombies was their unique equipnt and their ability to wield their weapons properly, unlike the usual mindless, beast-like zombies that recklessly charged.
Could it be that mana users retain so of their combat instincts even after becoming zombies?
Though I couldn't determine the exact chanism behind the curse, one thing was clear at a glance.
‘A frontal assault is not an option.’
The upgraded horde of zombies blocking our way numbered roughly 300.
Why did the movie 300 and its iconic “This is Sparta!” scene suddenly co to mind? Perhaps it was the suffocating visual and atmosphere of the mont.
Fenry seed to be thinking along the sa lines, her face slowly contorting in unease.
Ah, this is bad.
“You’re telling I got duped by the sa brat twice?”
“What did I do? If Sir Dorneth had seen this scene, he’d probably have handed over three or four more Golden dals without a second thought.”
“More? What bullshit. He’d have scrapped the whole operation and shut the mine down for good. You knew all about this, didn’t you? That’s why you dragged here with just one asly Golden dal as bait.”
“asly? A single Golden dal is a big deal.”
“All you see are those rotten shields, don’t you?”
Fenry pointed beyond the horde of shield-wielding zombies. Standing at the back were zombie dwarves wearing crown-like helts.
There were three of them in total, each gripping massive hamrs and halberds. Despite the passage of countless years, the gleam of their weapons was unmistakably different.
Was it because they carried the equipnt of previous family heads?
“Those three look like the resurrected Dorneth triplets.”
“…….”
They were likely much weaker than they were when alive, but the lords of Beneta were monsters who represented the territory. Even as zombies, they wouldn’t be ordinary opponents. Surrounding them were their 3rd Battalion knights. If Dorneth were here, he’d be yelling for us to run already.
“You scamr brat. What’s the plan now?”
“…Scamr?”
Seriously, I never thought I’d live to see the day Fenry of all people called a scamr.
I didn’t expect the lords and knights who turned into zombies to be this united and well-organized either.
When they’re scattered, it’s one thing. But seeing them band together like this? It’s overwhelming.
Especially since we’re just two people.
Still, my decision was already made.
“We have to engage them first. Only then can we decide whether to fight or retreat.”
“Engage them? Look at them—they’re impossible to take on!”
“Then are you going to just retreat after coming all this way?”
“Shut up. I make the calls here.”
“No. I do.”
“What?”
For a mont, Fenry’s eyebrows shot up in irritation, but I t her gaze with a calm, unwavering expression.
“What if the curse of this abandoned mine is related to your divine spirit?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Because I led you here. Didn’t you call your ‘guide’?”
“…….”
“You said your divine spirit led you here, right? Did you forget what Nella said?”
At the ntion of ‘guide,’ ‘divine spirit,’ and Nella, Fenry hesitated. Even her reckless nature seed to take heed of Nella’s warnings.
If I were to describe her current deanor, one phrase would sum it up perfectly:
Fenry has changed.
Granted the divine spirit of the Shadow of the World Tree, Fenry was walking a path entirely different from the one in the original novel.
Beneta was still standing strong, and in Tobaron, Fenry had many things she needed to protect.
For soone like her, ‘giving up’ didn’t suit her character. Engaging them was the only correct option.
“Damn it. We’ll talk after this is over.”
What’s there to talk about?
Fate had changed, but that rotten personality of hers hadn’t.
Still, it seed my persuasion worked. Fenry let out a low growl before turning her back to .
Summoning two pairs of crows, she got ready.
‘I’ve changed a lot too.’
Unlike before, I now had enough composure to influence Fenry’s decisions.
Even my persuasion skills had drastically improved.
I’ve been so desperate to survive, wracking my brain constantly, that even my wit seed to have evolved.
I might actually succeed as a scamr if I switched careers. Or is that just ?
‘If I’m sending the striker in, I need to set the stage.’
I aid The Ring of Blood forward.
Thanks to the continuous blood-siphoning during our movent, the bow’s surface had transford from pure white to a deep crimson.
Ever since it turned crimson, I hadn’t felt the blood-siphoning effect anymore.
This must an I could unleash the bow’s full power now.
Squeeeeak—
I pulled the red string with all my strength.
As I drew the string back, an arrow materialized in midair.
No, not an arrow.
“…Isn’t this closer to a spear?”
A sleek, crimson projectile extended from the bowstring. Its length and sharp point made it look more like a spear than an arrow.
How much blood did this thing drink?
I imbued the projectile with an enchantnt.
The effect? The basic attribute—penetration.
Twang—
Once the enchantnt was complete, I let go of the string.
Swishhhhh—
The arrow flew silently, with only a faint whisper of wind accompanying its flight.
But the result it produced was enough to make even Fenry, who was charging ahead, montarily flinch.
Thunk—!
One shield blocking the arrow was cleanly pierced through.
That was just the beginning.
The shield behind it, and the one behind that—every shield in the arrow’s path was obliterated.
Wherever the arrow passed, shields, weapons, and decayed corpses were shredded into pieces and scattered.
The penetration was insane.
Eventually, the arrow aid for one of the crown-helted lords.
BANG—!
One of the lords managed to deflect the arrow with his hamr, but the impact caused him to stagger. He couldn’t maintain his footing.
Though the arrow dissipated from the force, a single shot had disrupted the zombie formation and created a gap.
I wasn’t sure if my bow was just more powerful than expected or if the enemies were weaker than I thought, but one thing was clear: this wasn’t like 300 anymore.
This fight seed doable.
Papapapap—!
Fenry didn’t miss the opening.
Her blackened eyes glead as her divine spirit enveloped her, and her form disappeared like a mirage.
The Shadow Arts.
Her distorted figure slipped seamlessly into the shadows of the zombies.
For a brief mont, all was silent, until—
Clang! Clangclang!
From the back of the horde, the sound of clashing tal erupted. Sparks flew behind the lords.
Fenry stood above the dismbered armor of the crown-wearing dwarves, clicking her tongue.
“Dwarven-made armor really is overpowered.”
Simultaneously, her shadowy form dissolved into the ground like ink. Above her, massive hamrs and halberds swiped fiercely through the air.
It seed like she was testing the strength of the zombified lords rather than dealing with the small fry.
As the zombies turned their attention toward Fenry, I shifted my focus and drew my bowstring relentlessly to divert their attention.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The arrows exploded against their shields and bodies, creating loud detonations.
While the zombies were heavily armored, the explosions were enough to grab their attention.
The horde began charging at with their axes raised.
Their speed was far superior to that of ordinary zombies, making them far more dangerous. If I got surrounded, I’d be shredded like jerky.
The sheer pressure of the incoming horde made hastily fire dozens of arrows. My head started spinning, and the strength in my legs gave out.
My arm holding the bow looked like a mummified husk. It seed I’d overexerted myself, and my recovery speed couldn’t keep up with the blood-siphoning rate.
While my blood reservoir was vast, I clearly needed to pace myself.
As the zombies closed in, I deactivated The Ring of Blood and rolled on the ground.
Desperately, I hurled myself forward in search of an opening.
Any hesitation would lead to my being surrounded, and once that happened, I wouldn’t survive.
“The space here is way too cramped!”
I altered my direction when the path ahead was blocked, crossing my arms to shield myself.
Axes rained down like a storm.
Clenching my teeth, I charged through.
Shrrkkk—
“…Damn it.”
The rusty axes hurt more than the sharp ones. It felt like my flesh was being stripped away bit by bit. I’d successfully drawn their aggro, but at this rate, I’d die first.
The tight confines of the terrain left no choice but to head toward the exit. But as I turned, I froze in place.
From the tunnel entrance, more zombies began pouring out like an endless flood.
The freshly resurrected ones were all converging here.
Krrraaaak! Kraaaagh!
“This is ridiculous.”
The exit was sealed off.
The only things greeting when I looked around were corpses.
This might actually be dangerous.
Just as the thought of dying crossed my mind, goosebumps ran up my arms. The shadows around , including my own, began to writhe.
Papapapapapapack—!
“……!”
Black spikes erupted from the ground in every direction.
The shadowy spikes were taller than , razor-sharp, and countless in number.
They rose outward, forming a barrier around .
The zombies impaled by the spikes flailed, tangled together like vines.
The wall of shadow spikes held back the encroaching horde.
It seed Fenry had intervened, sensing I was in danger.
As I turned to locate her, a small figure floated into view before .
“Wait… is this…?”
It was a tiny, fist-sized creature.
It resembled an adorable girl draped in a black cloak.
She glared at with sharp eyes that oddly resembled Fenry’s.
It felt like looking at a miniature version of a feral cat—cute but deadly.
“A shadow fairy?”
“Human, you know of shadow fairies?”
When I turned around, Fenry was standing there, arms crossed. The fairy, now perched atop her head, mimicked her pose and glared at .
With a pipe in her mouth, she puffed out smoke, seemingly replenishing her mana through an elfstone.
“Was the fight tough?”
“I almost died. Those triplets are insane.”
She didn’t look great. The cuts on her exposed thighs and hips seed deep.
She rummaged through the bag Dorneth gave her, pulled out a potion, and applied it. Then she casually chewed on so jerky.
Eating jerky amidst a zombie horde…
She’d probably laugh her way out of an apocalypse.
“This is the first ti I’ve seen you summon a fairy.”
“That’s how bad the situation is. But even this won’t hold for long. It’s too draining on my mana.”
Though the shadow spike barrier was keeping the horde at bay, their sheer numbers were causing it to falter.
We needed to make a decision quickly.
Fenry exhaled smoke into my face and spoke.
“So, guide, what’s the plan? Go or die?”
“Go or die? That’s my choice?”
“Stay here and die, or retreat.”
“Is that how it is?”
“The lords, even rotting, are sothing else. Killing them isn’t possible.”
“Did you find the dium?”
“Yeah, I found it.”
Our goal wasn’t to fight the zombies to the death but to lift the curse on the abandoned mine.
We’d figured the dium would reveal itself during our confrontation, and it seed Fenry had found it.
“That guy in the middle.”
Fenry pointed toward the horde pushing against the shadow barrier.
A massive hamr-wielding zombie with a crown-like helt was approaching.
“One of the lords, huh.”
“I know that dwarf. His na is Bjorn. Out of those three, he’s the eldest. Look at the ring on his left hand.”
A ring?
I focused on Bjorn, who was staggering toward us from behind the mass of zombies.
The distance made it hard to see the ring, but…
“…That aura is no joke.”
The ring emitted a sinister black aura.
It was nauseatingly oppressive, as though soaked in death.
The mont my eyes locked onto the aura of death radiating from the ring, sothing stirred within .
Thump—!
“…Ugh!”
As if reacting to the ring, an unfamiliar sensation surged through my body.
A powerful pressure gripped my chest.
A strange stiffness overca , almost like excitent.
Why is my heart acting like this?
Grimacing, I clutched my chest and dropped to my knees.
[The Ring of Desire. It fills with longing. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this.]
“……!”
The long-dormant Heart of Retonicalus spoke to .
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