Chapter 83

< 83. A Mouse in a Jar (1) >

The minion, granted Eraser Exit, moved low along the ground.

This black magic to reduce noise seemed to be effective not only on humans but also on zombies, as the dozen or so zombies armed with swords, axes, and firearms only groaned lowly and did not notice at all.

The minion naturally slipped between the legs of the zombies, delved into their center, and then...

—Boom!

A threatening explosion occurred.

Keeeek—!

Kyaahah—!

Kueeeek—!

The zombies screamed in unison with the explosion.

Oliver focused his eyes.

As expected, the sound of the explosion drew the zombie hordes, and Oliver gave additional orders to the minion he had moved far away.

"Please, Minion."

With those words, a non-human scream echoed from afar.

Kaaaaaaah—!

Kaaaaaaah—!

Kaaaaaaah—!

Kaaaaaaah—!

Though the distance made the sound not very loud, its presence was unmistakable.

As the screams echoed, the zombies heading this way hesitated and then all moved toward the source of the creepy scream.

Oliver nodded, and the mercenaries, led by Joe, armed with jungle knives, axes, and shovels, began to eliminate the zombies that had barely survived the explosion, without much difficulty.

The only terrifying thing about the zombies was their overwhelming numbers.

The zombies, reduced in number by the explosion, crumbled helplessly with a *puk* *puk* sound.

Oliver picked up a few intact heads among them and spoke.

"We should move quickly. We've dispersed them with the creepy scream, but if there's nothing to distract them, they'll come back this way. These zombies seem pretty smart."

The mercenaries showed no particular reaction to his words, only nodding, but the expressions of the black mages, including Joe, were not good.

They had at least some basic knowledge.

The idea that zombies could be smart was nothing more than a nonsensical joke.

And if it wasn't a joke, it could be a terrible disaster.

In fact, it was a problem that didn't need explaining.

If the overwhelming number of zombies, who don't die easily, could use weapons and act in an organized manner, it would certainly be a disaster.

Oliver and the group, including Joe, were in the midst of that disaster.

Oliver decided to help Joe's group to confirm whether the zombies were indeed armed and organized, and gradually, it seemed that his suspicions were becoming reality.

"Alright, let's move again."

The group started walking again.

Their current destination was where another group of Joe's companions were.

According to the communication device, they were currently inside an abandoned building in the contaminated area.

They had been attacked by a horde of zombies while searching for hidden raiders and black mages in the contaminated area, and were trapped when a large number of zombies suddenly appeared around them.

It was a pretty serious situation.

Each zombie wasn't much of a threat, but the danger increased exponentially with their numbers.

They had only brought enough supplies to clean up.

If they ran out of bullets and supplies, they would have to fight the zombies with their bare hands, which was as good as a death sentence.

'This looks more like we're the ones being hunted... and it's a pretty well-organized setup.'

While Oliver was assessing the situation, Joe approached and said,

"First, let me thank you for coming along."

"No, I'm curious to see if the zombies really are armed and organized."

"Sure... but what do you think about it? Zombies forming units, using weapons, and moving in an organized manner?"

"Hmm... it's definitely not a normal situation."

Oliver used a very diplomatic expression.

Even if you could command zombies, the basic actions were limited to attacking and waiting, more like handling a beast than a human.

Of course, if you had enough numbers and enhanced them with black magic, it would be threatening, but using tools and intelligent movements was a much higher level of problem.

It required continuous and detailed control, not just simple commands, which would need a considerable number of black mages.

When asked about this, Joe, who seemed to have limited knowledge in the manipulation field, inquired,

"How many would be needed?"

"Um... according to Anthony's research books, only high-level disciples can give such detailed commands and manage them, with an average limit of 20 zombies per disciple."

"More than that, and their actions become crude and inefficient."

"Considering the number of zombies we've seen, over a hundred or two hundred... that means there are at least dozens of black mages targeting us?"

"Maybe... I don't know the details, but if we're lucky, it might end there."

"If we're lucky?"

At that moment, a mercenary called out softly,

"Everyone, stop! We've arrived."

The group, including Joe and Oliver, who had been moving quietly, stopped.

As the communication device had said, hundreds of zombies were surrounding a large building.

The problem was that they weren't just making noise and flailing in the air; they were launching proper attacks.

Unbelievably, some were bringing ladders to climb the building, while others were climbing adjacent buildings to place bridges.

Others were using axes and sledgehammers to break windows and doors.

"Damn... am I dreaming? We're at war with a horde of zombies?"

A mercenary said, clearly shaken.

It was a natural reaction, given that hundreds of zombies were moving like an army.

Oliver was also amazed and pondering how this was possible when he sensed something and turned around.

"Huh?"

Something was detected about 200 meters away on the ground.

Suddenly, a large number of zombies had awakened.

"We need to come up with a plan. Does anyone have any good ideas—"

"I don't think we have time for that."

"Look, I appreciate the help, but trying to take command subtly is a problem."

"Sorry, but the reason I said that is because the zombies have caught up to us from behind, and there are quite a few."

At that moment, a zombie moved and grabbed something, and one by one, zombies began to emerge from the ground.

It seemed they had been targeted from the beginning.

"What? What—"

"Wait a moment."

Joe calmed the flustered mercenary and, like Oliver, focused his eyes. The other black mages did the same.

"Damn... we need to move right now! The zombies have caught up to us from behind, and there are quite a few!"

"What?! You said there were none nearby."

"I don't know. They just appeared!"

Oliver interjected.

"It seems they had bodies prepared in the basement and turned them into zombies as soon as we arrived. It looks like it's all a trap. We were lured here."

The mercenaries were shaken by this.

Regardless, Oliver asked Joe's group for help.

"Can you lend me some emotion? Enough for two flasks."

The black mage named Sam was taken aback.

"What, again?"

"Sorry, I'll pay you back later. If we're not careful, we'll be surrounded by zombies from both sides. We need to clear a path first."

"Give it to him."

Joe said. Sam frowned and argued.

"What if we don't have enough?"

"Is there anyone else here who can take out that horde of zombies with the amount you have?"

Sam gritted his teeth and handed over the emotion to Oliver.

Oliver immediately extracted the emotion from the flasks.

[Targeting]

[Laser Boom]

[Black Dart]

Oliver targeted the zombies surrounding the building at regular intervals and created a large number of Laser Booms.

He then overlaid Black Darts on the Laser Booms and scattered them toward the targets.

With a sharp whistling sound, the Black Darts embedded themselves, and some zombies looked at them with a dazed expression.

Then...

Boom—! Bang—! Boom—! Boom—!

Small explosions occurred.

Oliver extracted the remaining emotion and ran forward with Joe's group.

Due to the explosions, the zombies, who had been focused on the building, suffered heavy damage and their formation was disrupted. Led by Joe, they swept away the remaining zombies and ran toward the building.

Amid the metallic cries of the zombies, dull impacts, and gunfire, Oliver reached the front of the building, and Joe shouted at the tightly closed entrance.

"It's me, Joe! Open the door!"

An eye appeared through the gap in the front door, blocked by various objects, and the sound of moving items was heard.

The door opened, and Joe's group quickly entered.

Oliver examined the fallen zombies outside the building, and Joe urgently called out to him.

"What are you doing? Come in quickly!"

***

As Oliver entered, the people inside the building quickly moved the scrap materials to block the front door again.

"Is your group usually this large?"

Oliver asked, seeing the considerable number of people.

"No."

"Joe!"

Someone came down from the upper floor.

A person in a similar defensive suit to Joe's mercenaries, with an additional shoulder guard, appeared. It was a man, and he seemed to be a modified human.

"Thank you for coming! You didn't abandon us and came to save us."

"No, we're trapped too. The zombies suddenly poured in."

As if to prove Joe's words, someone shouted.

"Damn it! Another horde of zombies has appeared between the buildings!"

The person who shouted was a woman with a unique shotgun and a silk hat. She seemed familiar.

"Hey, weren't you with Arthur?"

The woman in the silk hat looked at Oliver.

"...? ...Ah! The T-zone black mage who refused to be on our team?"

"Yes, that's me. I didn't refuse to be on the team... Anyway, it's nice to meet you."

"Well... I didn't