Chapter 20.9

Part 9

「We are facing against both, but….」

Everyone is tilting their head on hearing my vague answer.

「There are both goblins and orcs？ What does that mean？ 」

Gallios questions my reply.

「There are goblins and orcs. However… They seem to be zombies」

My eyes can clearly see the things that the other member can’t see.

I can’t feel any life force from the goblins and the orcs that are approaching us from a nearby distance.

All of them have some wounds on their bodies. Some of them even have arrows sticking out of their bodies.

I was taught by Ruugas that they’re termed moving corpses (Zombies).

The undead a.k.a. zombies hate living beings and will charge toward the direction of the sign of life.

Maybe they’re approaching us because they noticed our presence.

The other members except for me are raising a ruckus upon hearing my words. They are having a discussion with each other.

「They’re approaching with greater numbers than us. Perhaps those demons that were swept by us in the afternoon turned into zombies」

The reason why I thought so is that I saw an orc that I met in the afternoon amongst them.

I participated in the extermination of demons in the forest during the afternoon due to an invitation from Gallios.

I’m sure that orc is the one that I defeated this afternoon. I should have ended its life.

Now, I’m seeing that orc as a zombie. It’s still wearing the same tattered armor and sword that is used when it was alive. Perhaps it’s making use of the things that would be used by humans.

Even this afternoon, I felt that they were completely different from orcs and goblins living in Nargol.

Their appearances were the same, but the orc soldiers of Nargol wear splendid unified armaments; in addition, they are also well mannered.

In contrast, the orcs who I met this afternoon are just like a savage race. They were rustic and violent – by no means the kind of race that you can communicate with at all.

In fact, I, who was summoned by the demon king, should be standing on the side of the demons. Yet, from their appearances, I wanted to stand on the human side.

Moreover, the orcs I saw this afternoon readily considered me as their enemy when they saw me. They obviously charged at me as if they were looking at delicious food on the platter; some amongst them even charged at me with a completely different emotion than the desire for food. Becoming an ally with those guys is impossible.

Moreover, the demons outside of Nargol don’t serve Modes; in addition, they are also considered to have betrayed him.

The shadows approach us at high speeds. The trees in the forest, which are trifling existences under normal circumstances, become huge obstacles for them when they turn into zombies; it seems they are struggling to reach our location.

One of them arrived at our place.

I draw my short sword and kill the one that approached us.

The reason why I’m using the short sword is that I can’t afford to show my demon sword to them.

This short sword is something that I obtained from Nargol. Different from the demon sword, it’s kind of a substitute. I brought along another sword since it’s extremely troublesome to deal with every single trifling matter with my demon sword.

The shadow is struggling as it fell backward.

Everyone’s eyes focus on the collapsed shadow.

It became a figure of an orc without limbs and head. But, in spite of losing its head, its limbs are still struggling.

「Yup, it’s a zombie…」

Gallios is confirming that while being alert toward the surrounding.

「Why… the hell they became zombies… Don’t tell me it’s the Striges」

Rember muttered those words with an astonished face.

「If there are zombies around, there’ll also be the ones who created them」

Some of us nod our heads on hearing Nimri’s guess.

I learned about zombies from Ruugas that undead like zombies isn’t something that exists in nature. The matter of it being born due to Departed Soul Magic(Necromancy) is a general knowledge. In short, this zombie was created by someone.

「What shall we do？ The other zombies are coming, you know？ 」

Everyone starts shouting again when I say so.

Zombies move slowly. But it’s dangerous to be surrounded by them. Now, we still have the chance to escape.

「What shall we do, Rember？」