CH 160

Chapter 160 – Are They Zombies?

Zombies.

It is a familiar existence for survivalists. It is a very useful character that plays the role of the enemy in many survival games.

They are usually depicted as walking corpses, but recently there have been many that not only walk around but also run at speeds that would make a sprinter look like an idiot. In my opinion, the running type is evil. I believe that the fear of zombies comes down to two things: their numbers and the fact that if they bite you, you’re screwed.

The reason why we are afraid of running zombies is because we have a common sense that zombies are supposed to walk slowly, and we are surprised and scared when that common sense is broken. In other words, zombies walking slowly is the right way, and zombies running is the wrong way.

What am I talking about all of a sudden? You can imagine what I’m talking about so far, right?

“To hell with the running zombies! Dieeeee!”

With a dry bang, bang, bang, the lead bullets fired at supersonic speed shot down the moving corpses that were running towards us.

“Kosuke, those aren’t zombies. Those are ghouls.”

Isla points out my mistake as she casts a thunderbolt spell on the incoming zombies – or rather, ghouls. Even if you say so, the father will not be fooled. You think as long as you don’t use the word “zombie,” like “infected,” “runner,” “mutant,” or “ghoul,” it will be forgiven. [T/n: To be honest, I don’t know why he said father here (Otou-san)]

“Isn’t that weapon of yours really strong, Kosuke-san?”

“It’s like firing a longbow at close range. It’s a very powerful weapon.”

Bella and Ms. Zamir are slashing and stabbing the ghouls with their axes and short spears, respectively, while evaluating the suppressor submachine guns I’m firing. You guys have a lot of leeways.

“But there’s so many of them…”

“I don’t really want to think about how we got into this situation.”

Shumel and Tozume were wielding a gold shattering rod and a warhammer, respectively, reaping the rewards of the ghouls. These ghouls are said to be the result of starving people. That’s already nearly two dozen… and I don’t even want to think about what really happened to them.

“But what kind of facility was this…?”

I replaced the magazine that had been fired and prepared for another fire. The submachine gun’s box magazine holds thirty rounds, but if I keep firing, I’ll soon run out of ammunition. This submachine gun can only be fired in full-auto mode, so it is important to keep in mind that you should not keep the trigger pulled. Even if you use full-automatic fire, you’ll waste a lot of ammo.

“The underground facility is quite large. It can hold a lot of people. It’s a very unique situation to have so many people buried alive and starving to death. We can expect that this underground facility was used as an evacuation shelter or something. However, I have no idea what the remains of the building on top were.”

“I can’t believe so many people couldn’t escape. They’re too weak.”

Grande muttered in disgust as she tore apart the ghouls with her vicious claws and blasted them with her strong tail. It’s true that with this many people, they could have escaped by working together to dig up the ground.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to use earth magic to get out?”

“Maybe. But maybe something unforeseen happened while they were hiding out, keeping the Elves on guard. The truth is in the dark.”

“Maybe there’s a journal somewhere.”

The last one was taken care of by Ms. Zamir, who swung a short spear to cut the ghoul. She’s quite adept at wiping away more blood using the almost pristine rags that the ghouls wear.

“Are you injured?”

When Isla asks, everyone responds that they are fine. She said that the claws and fangs of ghouls are poisonous, and if they are not properly detoxified, their bodies can become numb and immobile. And it seems that the most common way to defeat the ghouls is to… keep them alive until they stop moving.

“These ghouls are surprisingly vicious. that I thought.”

“The physical ability of the ghouls is only slightly higher than that of ordinary people, and trained soldiers and adventurers can defeat them without difficulty. But it’s not something you can let your guard down against.”

I wonder if that paralyzing poison will work on me. If there are so many of them pouring in, it might have been better to use a submachine gun that can use the drum magazine used by the mafia. I didn’t want to use it this time because it would have been a tight space to fight in. I’ll make one next time.

“Is there any use for ghoul corpses?”

“The poison from the claws and fangs can be used. It can also be used as an anesthetic if you adjust it well. In some cases, they may have something valuable on them.”

“I see. I’ll have to collect it.”

Leaving a large number of corpses in an enclosed space is not good for many reasons. We might use this underground facility for something sooner or later, so it’s best to keep it as clean as possible.

I can’t think of any possible use for it at the moment, though. It’s a long way from the rear base.

“The interior is rough… These are the remains of a battle, aren’t they?”

I’ve been looking around the corridors for some time now, and I’ve noticed that many of the rooms have damaged furnishings, and some of them look like traces of a fight.

“I wonder if there was a conflict.”

“Since they were trapped and food and water were running low, there was a good chance that internal strife would break out.”

“It’s a picture of hell…”

In the end, they starve to death together and wander around as ghouls for hundreds of years after the death… I shudder at the tragic end.

“Kosuke.”

“Oh.”

I’m storing all the junk in the room into my inventory. What I’m doing is that I’m trying to finish the search at once by doing this. Once it’s in my inventory, I’ll know what it is, just the name of it.

This time, I decided to use it to store everything in the room in my inventory and sort it after escaping. After all, exploring a room like this is what takes the most time. If it’s just trash, I can dispose of it later, and if it’s worth repairing, I can repair it at the blacksmithing facility. As long as I make reservations for repairs, they can be done while I’m sleeping or exploring, so I don’t have to consider the number of items I need to repair or how long it will take.

If we proceed with the exploration, of course.

“GYOAAAAAA!”

And then, ghouls and other undead appear.

“Hmph!”

“Seeii!”

“Ha!”

“Seiyaaa!”

“Oryaa!”

In addition to the three, there were also Ms. Zamir and Grande, so we were almost at the end of our rope and on a course to leave this world immediately. Since the battle in the hall right after we entered this underground facility, Isla and I have had no role to play at all.

“You’re very good, Grande-sama.”

“Umu, that’s right, that’s right.”

This time, Ms. Zamir praises Grande for rushing into the room alone and making mincemeat out of four ghouls in an instant. In the eyes of Lizardman and Lizardwoman, the existence of dragons is an existence of worship, and Ms. Zamir is often concerned with Grande in any way.

“There are many rooms of similar size.”

“Hmm, it looks like a fort or something. Maybe it was a military facility.”

“An underground military facility… I wonder if the Elves would miss something like that.”

“Elves are sketchy. Especially in the generation of the elders.”

“…Yes, I suppose.”

There was no room for rebuttal. Well, it is not decided that it is a military facility, but there is a high possibility that it is a similar facility? At least, I don’t think a private individual would have operated such a vast underground facility.

“If the facility is this big, it is likely that there are books in the storeroom or in the rooms of the higher-ups, right?”

“It’s possible. The problem is that we don’t know where they are, and there’s rubble everywhere.”

“As for the rubbles, they won’t be a problem for you, Kosuke-dono.”

“I’ll take care of clearing the rubble.”

“I’ll help too.”

Grande also volunteered to clear the rubble. It is true that Grande, who has removed her protective bracelet, is strong and can work like a bit of heavy equipment.

As we continued on our way, we saw a large door in front of us that opened both ways. Tozume checked the door for traps, and Isla used her magic to check the inside.

“There’s a pretty strong magical response. There might be undead stronger than the ghouls we’ve seen so far.”

“Hmm, I see. Well then, I guess I’ll just have to get into the swing of things.”

Shumel carried the gold crushing club on her shoulder and smiled ferociously. Next to her, Ms. Zamir, holding her short spear, also lined up. It seems that the two of them are going in together. I think we will win this fight.