Chapter 39: Asking the Vast Earth, Who Controls the Rise and Fall

A gentle breeze swept across the plains, like a goddess’s sigh.

The wind blew through the yellowing beech forest, the tiny leaves emitting a soft RUSTLE.

The wind blew past the winding streams between the rocks, the crystal-clear water flowing with a gentle SPLASH.

The wind blew over the withered, yellow weeds that blanketed the ground, making the entire plain WHIMPER and mourn in unison.

A lone wild goose cried out sharply, flying across the azure sky toward the warm south.

On the outskirts of Black Water Town, right in the heart of the infected zone, the six King Kongs of the Igor Family’s expedition team ascended the hillside against the biting north wind. Leading the six of them was the former Imperial Duke, Lord Eliot Igor.

Dressed in exquisite finery, the black-haired young man’s handsome face seemed slightly out of place in the Wilderness. Holding the reins, he sat tall and proud on the back of his Pure White steed, Meteor. He gazed down at the magnificent landscape beneath his horse’s hooves with an arrogant demeanor that could only be found in the eyes of an ancient emperor.

Forged from pure gold, the Illusory Bracelet on his wrist flashed with an alluring red light. A hard crowbar cast from raw iron dangled and swayed at his waist.

To the Lord’s left was the Igor Family’s Chief Mage, the former chair professor of Academy City, a scholar of Spirit Magic, one of the Phoenix Three Heroes, and the nightmare of countless innocent girls in the Imperial Capital: Junior Mage Victor Laurie. His eyes were indifferent.

The Master’s hair and beard were white, like the pure snow of his hometown in Beiwang County. His robe was gray, like the rocks paving the central avenue of Academy City. His heart was black, just like... no, there was nothing in the world as black as the Master’s heart.

To the Lord’s right was the Captain of the Guard of Eagle’s Rest Castle and one of the very few female Swordsmanship masters within the empire: Alice Comstock. Her gaze was resolute.

Even though her sword was broken, her Chain Armor was stained with blood, her heartbeat was completely gone, and her blond hair was disheveled, Alice Comstock looked as if she had just stepped out of the arena of Duke Igor’s Domain Swordsmanship tournament, as if she had just defeated her twenty-four elite opponents. After that Swordsmanship tournament four years ago, the empire’s Legendary Sword Saint, the "Thunder Dragon" Samuel—who had long since closed his doors to visitors—personally rode a fast horse to Eagle’s Rest Castle. He requested to take this seventeen-year-old girl to the Imperial Capital, accept her as his final disciple, and teach her everything he had learned in his life!

Today, the answer the female Swordsman could give remained exactly the same as it was four years ago: her Longsword would only ever be swung for her Lord!

Behind the three of them stood Juan Clemente. He was a Thorn Knight personally knighted by the empire’s emperor, and the Guardian Knight who had sworn absolute loyalty to Count Henry Igor from eight hundred years ago, as well as to all of his legitimate descendants!

Clad entirely in heavy armor, with gray Magic Ability overflowing from every crevice of his helmet, the Death Knight was like a massive steel warhammer. Shrouded in terrifying Netherworld Power, he stood ready to smash his master’s enemies to pieces at a moment’s notice! No one knew his origins, for his homeland was hell. No one remembered his battle records, for his duty was destruction. No one had seen his face, for his visage was death itself!

At the rear of the team were two Guards from the Igor Family’s Guard Team.

The archer, Chris Mann, came from a moderately affluent family in Eagle’s Rest Castle. His father had once owned the largest stone quarry in the Western Empire! Having spent his childhood among countless stone blocks and bricks, Chris Mann possessed a character as strong and reliable as granite, a mind as delicate and intricate as apatite, and a loyalty as eternal and unchanging as a diamond!

Senior Guard Tom Lawrence, a middle-aged Warrior born into a declining noble family, was likely the only rare creature on the continent who was still alive and kicking after dying twice. He was also the only epic-level optimist who could die pointlessly twice in a row yet still feel immensely proud and smug about it!

The group of six stood side by side at the top of the hill, looking down upon the world with disdain.

Before them, at the foot of the hill, a rolling Wave of hundreds of thousands of zombies spread across the plains, seemingly stretching on endlessly. The massive horde of corpses, standing shoulder to shoulder and pacing slowly in Brownian motion, was enough to scare any trypophobia sufferer into full recovery, and turn the protagonist of any apocalyptic survival novel into a total coward!

However, the six members of the Igor Family only had disdain in their eyes.

Yes, humans were incredibly insignificant in the face of a zombie horde. They were merely mayflies living for but a day, fragile reeds constantly at the mercy of fate! Yet, for thousands of years, humans had remained the masters of the empire and the continent! This was because humans possessed their own stubbornness, their own wisdom, and their own greatness!

In front of the zombie horde, the Wilderness, and the world that had weathered millennia of storms, Xiahou Yan rested his left hand on the end of his crowbar and raised his right hand high.

On his wrist, the Magic Agate of the Illusory Bracelet flashed with red light. Even if it crossed thousands of Planes and was translated into ten thousand languages, the color of this light could always be described in only one way: its name was domination!

The Lord parted his lips slightly and began to chant the Spell for the Corpse Control Technique. The obscure syllables of the Ancient Iolaian Demon Language echoed through every corner of the infected zone: "Myriad ravines of the Netherworld, return now, departed ones; Yin and Yang are far apart, yet the arcane connects them; shadowy creatures breed, guided by the divine; your bodies and your souls, subject only to my command..."

One zombie raised its head. Two zombies raised their heads. Ten zombies raised their heads. Hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of zombies raised their heads.

The rolling wave of corpses raised its head. The entire Wilderness looked up in anticipation. And the Lord’s head was held higher than anyone else’s.

"Hear my command," Xiahou Yan shouted sharply at the rolling horde of corpses, his voice slightly hoarse. "Submit to me!"

The Magic Rhythm left behind by the Legendary Necromancer Simon Adrian rippled out from the Illusory Bracelet, instantly spreading through the entire zombie horde. They were his creations, and he was their absolute master!

Thus, one after another, group by group, wave by wave, every single zombie in the vast horde dropped to one knee toward Xiahou Yan at the top of the hill. They lowered their rotting heads and offered their eternal loyalty!

A full one hundred thousand zombies prostrated themselves at Xiahou Yan’s feet! A single zombie could devour flesh and bone, spilling blood in all directions. One hundred zombies could charge enemy lines and slaughter at will. Ten thousand zombies could scale walls, lay waste to camps, and siege cities!

And within the infected zone, hundreds of thousands of zombies—capable of collective action and obedient to a single person’s command—would be a devastating force that no faction on the continent could afford to underestimate!

Looking at his newly acquired "grand army" of hundreds of thousands at the foot of the hill, Xiahou Yan experienced a brief moment of excitement before falling into confusion and apprehension.

"We can’t take them out of the infected zone, right?" he asked, turning his head to look at Master Laurie.

"That depends on what you wish to do." His face completely unapologetic, the Master nonchalantly shrugged. "Your control over the zombies is limited. If you want to avenge your father regardless of the consequences and ruthlessly murder the empire’s nobles, soldiers, and civilians, then I highly recommend you release this zombie horde from the infected zone. Hundreds of thousands of out-of-control Undead Creatures could easily turn a large swathe of the empire into a barren living hell! But if you aren’t quite that mad yet, and don’t wish to stain your hands with the blood of innocents—if you still want to be a responsible Lord who cares for his people... then I advise you to leave this dangerous horde right here in the infected zone."

Xiahou Yan rolled his eyes.

"Everyone, the horde is ours!" he turned to his other underlings and announced loudly. "They will escort our convoy all the way out of the infected zone! And our new home, our new life, is waiting for us right ahead!"

"Praise the Death God!" everyone said.

"Praise King Yama..." only the Lord said secretly in his heart.