Chapter 22: Rare Footage of Humans Successfully Taming Zombies

The continent’s terrain was high in the north and low in the south.

Towering at the northernmost edge of the continent, the Cold Bone Mountain Range propped up a corner of this Otherworld’s sky. Meltwater from thousands of years of profound ice and snow flowed out from the bottomless rifts within the Cold Bone Mountain Range. What began as a trickling stream soon swelled into surging waves. Finally, carrying the tremendous momentum of the snowy plateau, it crashed down to form the Mother River of the Empire—a river miles wide that spanned the continent: the Lion Heart River.

If a traveler were to sail downstream from the source of the Lion Heart River, they would first visit the mysterious Dwarf Kingdom hidden deep within the Cold Bone Mountain Range. Then, they would arrive at the northernmost border of the Empire, Beiwang County, covered in snow year-round. From there, they would pass through the Wraith Pass, an unconquered millennial fortress of the Empire; the Crimson Wall, where every brick and tile was soaked in the blood and tears of their ancestors; the renowned Mage Academy City, teeming with elites; and the majestic Imperial Capital, built to the height of luxury over hundreds of generations. Riding an imperial horse across the unobstructed plains of the Southern Empire, the traveler would see wheat fields scattered like stars across the territories of the great Dukes, the iconic beech forests of the Southern Empire, and the 120 Arcane Towers that eternally guarded the southern frontier, keeping the Demon Race out of the nation for millennia.

The Undead Infected Area, which had been classified as a forbidden zone for 800 years, was situated on the western bank of the Lion Heart River. The north wind, howling down from the Cold Bone Mountain Range, swept south along the flat and open surface of the river with almost no resistance.

Therefore, when Junior Mage Victor Laurie raised his head slightly in a gentle breeze from the north and affectionately inhaled the scent of the wind, the octogenarian smelled more than just the juniper and truffles of the nearby woods. Perhaps he also caught the crisp aura of the great snowy mountains from the distant north.

At that moment, Master Laurie thought of many things. The eighty years of his colorful life flashed before his dim, aging eyes like a kaleidoscope.

He recalled his diligent studies as a youth, the bitter pain of unrequited first love, the tedious years locked away in a high tower delving deep into magic, and the warm, generous hand extended by Duke Vincent Igor when he was at the absolute end of his rope...

In a flash, Master Laurie experienced a fateful epiphany. He vaguely realized that perhaps all the hardships, struggles, and wandering of his entire life were just to allow this fantastical scene before him to appear in the world.

The sun was setting in the west, casting a golden hue over everything.

Lord Eliot Igor held a wooden stick and threw it forcefully into the distance.

"Fetch!" the Lord shouted.

Before his voice had even faded, a dry, shriveled, and exceptionally ugly zombie leapt from the edge of their vision. Scuttling on all fours like a hound, it darted over and brought the stick back in its mouth.

"Good boy!" The Lord took the stick from the zombie’s mouth, weighed it in his hand, and threw it out again with a flick of his wrist.

And so, the zombie once again embarked on the long journey to retrieve the wooden stick.

That was its run under the setting sun; that was its lost youth.

The area was crowded with onlookers watching the spectacle, but no one spoke. Only utter bafflement remained. This surreal scene of treating a zombie like a dog had completely shattered everyone’s mental defenses.

At this moment, what drew the most attention was the Lord’s right hand.

This slender, pale hand was wrapped in a thin layer of gray mist, radiating an unsettling Nether Aura into the surroundings. However, the Lord’s wrist was also adorned with a pure gold bracelet. The red agate inlaid in the bracelet shone with a blinding crimson light, tinting the gray mist into an ambiguous shade of pink.

"I think the effect of this bracelet is pretty good." The Lord raised his hand, examining it with satisfaction.

Five minutes earlier.

Under Master Laurie’s guidance, Xiahou Yan slipped the Illusory Bracelet onto his right wrist. He then raised his arm and aimed the red agate on the bracelet dead at Zombie Dave in the cage. He felt exactly like the famous detective Conan using his tranquilizer watch.

At first, nothing unusual happened, and the Lord’s patience slowly began to wear thin. But not long after, the red agate started emitting a faint glow. The light grew increasingly dazzling, finally reaching its peak brightness at the three-minute mark.

"This means the Illusory Bracelet has successfully analyzed the Magic Rhythm of the Netherworld Magic Power inside Dave!" Master Laurie transformed into a senior sales clerk, patiently explaining the function of his product. "Now, any magic you cast with the hand wearing the Illusory Bracelet will be tuned to the same frequency as Dave!"

"So, I can control Dave now?" Xiahou Yan glanced at the ugly, drooling zombie in the cage.

"Yes, please try your Corpse Control Technique again!" Master Laurie was clearly excited himself.

Half in doubt, Xiahou Yan chanted the spell for the Corpse Control Technique once more. Having done it before, the process was smooth, and his right hand was quickly wrapped in a "gray glove" of Netherworld Magic Power again.

Except, under the illumination of the Illusory Bracelet’s blood-red halo, this materialized mist of Netherworld Magic Power did indeed look a bit different.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

At the Lord’s stern command, Zombie Dave suddenly stopped writhing in the cage. It sat down quietly cross-legged in the center, motionless like an old monk in deep meditation.

Xiahou Yan told it to open its mouth, and Dave bared a mouthful of sharp yellow teeth. Xiahou Yan told it to jump, and Dave leapt high into the air inside the cage. Xiahou Yan told it to pee, and Dave lifted one of its legs...

Xiahou Yan hurriedly told it to never mind and to freeze.

"It seems this guy is actually listening to me now?" Xiahou Yan wondered, rubbing the Illusory Bracelet as he looked dubiously at the zombie in the cage.

Following the Lord’s instructions, the guards nervously opened the cage door and let Zombie Dave out.

Of course, Captain Alice stood by with her longsword drawn, and the Lord stood ready gripping a crowbar, both watching closely. They were terrified the undead creature might ignore orders and launch a sudden attack.

To everyone’s great relief, however, no danger arose. After being released, Zombie Dave crouched obediently in place without moving, staring pitifully at the Lord with its rotting eyeballs.

Aside from not being very cute, this zombie was actually quite cute.

Afterward, the Lord’s experiments grew increasingly bold. Sweeping his gray-mist-wrapped right hand through the air, he gave Zombie Dave one absurd command after another.

At the Lord’s behest, Zombie Dave first struck an imposing JoJo pose, then sang "Grandma’s Penghu Bay" in its hoarse, grating voice, and even imitated MJ by moonwalking a few steps.

Seeing the crowd’s enthusiasm soar, Xiahou Yan ultimately made Dave link arms with Guard Tom Lawrence and dance an explosive, dynamic tango!

Judging by Lawrence’s expression of grief and indignation, he probably had the urge to murder the Lord right then and there.

After a round of experiments, Xiahou Yan was almost certain he now had absolute control over Dave. As long as it was an action he could visualize in his mind and was within the physical range of Zombie Dave’s body, Dave would execute it with one hundred percent fidelity under the influence of the Corpse Control Technique!

However, when the crowd locked Dave back in the cage, and the Lord withdrew his Corpse Control Technique until the gray mist on his hand dissipated, the zombie immediately reverted to its original state. The look in its eyes as it stared at the people outside the cage was once again filled with a greedy appetite.

"If it were a zombie you resurrected yourself, it would still obey you to some extent even if you withdrew the Corpse Control Technique," Master Laurie said with a helpless shrug. "The mechanism of the Illusory Bracelet is actually just adding a layer of camouflage to your magic. It doesn’t truly change the Magic Rhythm, after all, so once you stop casting, your control dissipates along with it."

"This is enough!" Xiahou Yan said excitedly. "As long as I can control wild zombies for a certain period of time, it’ll be enough to escort the group out of the infected area!"

However, Master Laurie did not appear as joyous and ecstatic as before. Instead, after watching the results of the experiment, he seemed to grow even calmer.

He pondered for a long time before revealing a bitter smile.

"My Lord, forgive me for being blunt, but I’m afraid this... is far from enough."