At its head was the former Scaled King Leo, who had become a Zombie Dragon with a head that resembled a crocodile's, and the armored Skeleton riding it, Bone Man. Leo let out a low groan.
Growling rose from the Zombies that formed the newly-reborn Black Bull Knights' Order, who were originally a part of the Mirg shield-nation's army, and the newly-established Scaled Dragon Knights' Order.
They were mounted on Demon Horses, horses that had transformed into monsters, which could travel without problems even in the marshlands due to the Rough Road Travel skill.
However, the Demon Horses' Ranks had increased and they had become something else.
The members of the Black Bull Knights' Order were riding Rank 4 Bicorns, ferocious, omnivorous horse-like monsters who possessed horns coated in deadly venom. They were monsters that were larger than horses and possessed even more strength and stamina than they appeared to; even brown bears would be prey for them.
The members of the Scaled Dragon Knights' Order were mounted on black horses with shining, crimson eyes. They were Rank 4 as well, but they were Nightmare Horses with the Air-running skill. They had the same constitution and physical strength as Demon Horses, but because they could run through the air, their mobility was greatly increased.
Both were rare, and though they were originally horses, they didn't form groups. Thus, there weren't any countries that used them as mounts for their knights.
"No abnormalities. There aren't even any traces that monsters have come in from outside..." Bone Man murmured in disappointment.
"Bone Man-dono, monsters generally do not venture into places that they are unsuited to live in unless they are greatly starving or have been chased away by an outside enemy," said a Zombie Knight of the Black Bull Knights' Order.
"But even if it is for our training, simply moving around and observing is tedious," said Bone Man. "We have not even cut anything down today."
Bone Man had accompanied Vandalieu on his expedition to the former Sauron Duchy, but after coming back, he had returned to his job of keeping watch around the swamp on Leo's back.
However, the marshlands were an embodiment of peace itself, to the point that it was questionable as to whether it was even necessary to keep watch over them. They had been ruled by the Lizardmen to begin with, so there were almost no dangerous monsters other than them. And just like the Zombie Knight had explained a moment ago, monsters rarely ventured into the marshlands from the outside.
Talosheim was far more dangerous, as one step outside the city's walls would leave one exposed to lands where monsters of Rank 3 or above roamed.
That was why Bone Man was spending his days riding a corpse Dragon. At this rate, his skills would grow blunt.
But the reason for that was beneath his own bottom.
"Bone Man-dono, how about dismounting Leo?" the Zombie Knight suggested.
"Indeed. There is no way that any monsters would willingly approach a place that is periodically visited by a high-Rank Undead such as Leo," said Bone Man.
"If Goblins were to see his enormous body, they would flee," the Zombie Knight agreed.
Other monsters would run upon seeing Leo or smelling his scent.
Leo had been a Rank 10 Great Mud Dragon when he was alive. He had become significantly weaker since becoming a Zombie, but he had ventured through the Scaled King's Nest, a B-class Dungeon, and regained enough power to be Rank 8.
Bone Man's Rank had increased, so the two were now of the same Rank, but the impressiveness of their appearances were vastly different. Bone Man simply appeared to be a Skeleton in a suit of armor, while Leo looked terrifying with his enormous body and crocodile-like appearance.
And though Vandalieu had used magic to stop Leo's decomposition, monsters with a sharp sense of smell would be able to detect the Zombie Dragon's presence through his scent.
As a result, monsters would flee from any place that Leo passed through... Rank 1 monsters such as Giant Catfish or Giant Frogs would happily loiter around in Leo's presence, but that was because they sensed that Leo would take no notice of such low-Rank monsters.
It was the same reason why Goblins would run from an Ogre, but ants wouldn't.
"Jyuuh, but dismounting Leo when he has been gifted to me by my lord..."
At the thought of dismounting Leo, Bone Man made a glum face... or rather, his face didn't change, but his sullenness was audible in his voice.
For Bone Man, Leo was the Dragon Zombie that he had always wanted, given to him by Vandalieu. He was Bone Man's beloved mount, and Bone Man always made time to polish his scales and fangs.
Leo gave another groan.
Of course, he always had a somewhat vacant look in his eyes, so it wasn't clear whether Bone Man's affection was getting through to him.
"And I cannot do something like exposing my lord's territory to danger just to stave off the boredom..." Bone Man murmured.
"Then you must endure," said the Zombie Knight. "Once we have finished our patrol, you are on leave, are you not? You may exercise your skill to your heart's content in the Dungeon."
"Jyuuh..."
Bone Man reluctantly fell silent and concentrated on his surroundings. As this loose conversation came to an end, only the breathing and hoofbeats of the Bicorn and Nightmare Horses' could be heard.
But the Bicorns suddenly began gnashing their teeth in agitation.
"This is the smell of blood!" Bone Man exclaimed.
"Did monsters fight nearby?" the Zombie Knight murmured.
Conflict between monsters was not a rare event. However, the smell of blood being left behind for a long time was unusual. The insects and weaker monsters in Devil's Nests would suck up and consume every single drop of scattered blood and every piece of flesh.
And the Undead, who could see spirits, could see the spirits of Orcs. They soon dissolved and vanished, perhaps returning to the circle of transmigration.
"Orcs, this close to the marshlands? This is a first," said the Zombie Knight.
"Jyuuh, the spirits have disappeared, but something may be left behind. Search the surroundings," Bone Man ordered.
The Undead searched the surroundings, but the Orcs' corpses had been absorbed by something; all they could find were fragments of broken swords and small pieces of what appeared to be Orc flesh. And the tracks of an enormous insect, leading south.
"Is something happening in the south? Jyuuh... I must report this to my lord."
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There was a vessel shaped like a round pool, placed in one corner of Vandalieu's workshop, which was now empty.
It was filled with a flesh-colored liquid, and organs like arms, legs and heads were chaotically extending from its surface and then collapsing back inside, over and over.
It was the mysterious, writhing mass of flesh that had been produced when Vandalieu used the incomplete resurrection device in an attempt to resurrect Darcia.
For some reason, it did possess life, but it was a mysterious object that contained no spirit or soul.
At first, Luciliano had observed it enthusiastically, saying that this could be the birth of a new life-form, but he had seen no changes other than its squirming around. Now, Vandalieu, Pauvina and the other children were simply feeding it dead flesh.
However, at this moment, a hand was extending from the mass of flesh.
『――』
The lump of flesh extended its hand outside the pool, showing a movement with intention for the first time. And then it grabbed hold of something on the floor.
A shining, silver object appeared in its hand. The lump of flesh, which had gripped this silver object... the silver nugget of an unknown magical metal that Vandalieu had created with death-attribute Mana, withdrew its arm and buried the silver nugget within itself.
It began writhing more fiercely than before, liking boiling water... and then it stopped moving.
Note from the translator:
PayPal didn't reply to me this week sadly. Fingers crossed for next week.
Yoshi
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