Great time travel

Chapter 42 Purgatory on Earth

Flames flew, banners were broken, corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

inside.The outskirts of Laurenti City, the capital of the Kingdom of Yestij, has been reduced to an unprecedentedly miserable and bloody battlefield.

The black smoke from the burning flames covered the sky, and the wounded warriors staggered among the corpses, extending from the base of the city wall to the distance, lying all over the corpses in different poses.The vast majority of these corpses are naturally dead people, there are also a considerable number of horse corpses, and weird monsters that cannot be named, plus more completely unrecognizable broken bones and rotten flesh. At first glance, it looks like a slaughterhouse .Flocks of crows and wild dogs swarmed here, not afraid of the embers that were still smoldering, wandering leisurely in this natural gourmet party, competing for delicious flesh and blood.

What's even more horrifying is that on this battlefield full of corpses, there are still "people" standing in pools of blood and fireworks, wandering around with an unusually stiff pace.Among these "people", most of them have only bones left.Even those who still retain their flesh and blood are hideous and terrifying. There are no eyeballs in their eye sockets, and their bodies are full of disgusting stench. After coming out, no matter how you look at it, you can no longer be called a human being.

But these "people" who should have died a long time ago still did not fall, but wandered around helplessly, roaring from their severely damaged throats, their eyes filled with hatred for living beings, and killing them mercilessly Kill all living people they can see!
From time to time, soldiers of the kingdom who were seriously injured and fell to the ground were pierced through the heart by the skeleton soldiers, and even their throats were torn open by zombies to let blood.

This is a desperate fight between the living and the dead!

Although the capital city at this time was still crowded with heavily armed soldiers, they only dared to stand on the city wall in the face of the army of undead creatures who "cleaned the battlefield" and slaughtered the survivors, trembling with fear. Looking down at the Asura field below, he was completely afraid to help his colleagues trapped outside the wall.

In addition, unlike the common battle scenes between humans, the capital of Lolonti, the capital of the kingdom, was besieged by the undead at this time, and at some point it was shrouded in a gloomy mist. It was enough for the defenders not to see the scene in the distance, so they could only stand in the cold and damp fog wearing naked clothes, stamping their feet and trembling while worrying about their own fate.

——It has been a month since the army of undead creatures from the southeastern border suddenly arrived near the capital.

The hastily assembled human army suffered tragic defeats time and time again in the outskirts of the wilderness.The outposts, fortresses, and manors dotted all over the city walls of the king's capital were all wiped out by the undead. Even the king's capital itself, which was sheltered by the tall city walls, had already withstood fierce attacks several times...

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"...Hoo, hoo..."

In the gray mist, Climb, a soldier of the Royal Guards leaning on a spear, leaned his back on the crenel of the city wall, and kept breathing in bursts, like a broken bellows being pulled, trying his best to get more oxygen to the lungs.

With the successive fall of camps and strongholds in various suburbs, the city walls of the king's capital have become the last line of defense against the undead.

Climb was already exhausted from the endless battles one after another.Although the enemy didn't attack the city right now, they didn't retreat either, so he was forced to cheer up and continue to stay alert and prepare for battle.

Just outside the moat at his feet, a kingdom soldier who had fallen behind while retreating back to the city was crying terribly, as if he was being lynched.In fact, the soldier's current situation was indeed similar to that of being Ling Chi, because several hideous-looking ghouls were lying on his body, tearing off bloody flesh and blood from his unprotected limbs.

——The ghoul, originally transformed from a human, more or less retains the human body shape, and the minimum intelligence, but it is definitely much uglier—the mottled and rotten skin is wrapped with clearly visible bones, two eyes It shone red like hot coals, and was covered with strong toxins. Any creature bitten or scratched by them would be immediately paralyzed.

Moreover, just like their names, ghouls are obviously rotten undead, but they have a good stomach, eager to tear the flesh and blood of all living things, and can maintain their shape, heal wounds, and enhance their strength by eating corpses— —So this thing is quite durable, as long as it can't be killed by a single blow, it will quickly recover by eating corpses, and there is always no shortage of dead corpses on the battlefield.In addition, ghouls can also transform corpses into undead creatures. Fortunately, this transformation process is quite slow, otherwise the killing speed may not be able to keep up with the proliferation.

If possible, Climb would also like to use a bow and arrow to give this poor man a happy death, but this is impossible, because yesterday, Climb's bowstring and bow body broke together, and The already scarred armor also collapsed just now, no matter what he tried, he couldn't repair it.The long sword was broken long ago, and now he only has a spear he picked up from nowhere in his hand, and he can't throw it out again.

Moreover, even on the city wall, there is already a shocking pool of blood, with broken human corpses and internal organs scattered in it, especially the head of a dead soldier.The head seemed to have been forcibly torn off from the body, and the pair of fear-filled eyes on it happened to be facing Climb with death.Climb's already numb heart also tightened suddenly, so he turned his head away and stopped looking.

At this moment, a slight noise came through the mist. Climb looked back and found a noble officer in gorgeous armor staggering towards him.The original gold-plated and silver-inlaid armor on his body had been damaged in many places, and while holding his abdomen tightly with his hands, he was panting in a low voice, but it seemed that there were not too many bloodstains, and it seemed that the injury was not too serious.

Climb moved a little, but immediately sat back weakly, "Sorry, sir, I'm sorry I can't get up and salute!"

But the wounded noble officer didn't say anything, and just continued to stumble towards Climb, as if he wanted him to help him.Seeing this, Clem had no choice but to stand up again with difficulty leaning on a spear, ready to help the officer who couldn't even walk steadily.

"...Be careful! Get out of the way! Don't touch him, this guy has a problem!"

A panicked warning sounded suddenly, and before Climb could turn his head around, he heard a strange "uh wow" roar, and the noble officer suddenly bounced off the ground, roaring and rushing towards him!Fortunately, Climb's military career in the past few years was not in vain. When the opponent pounced on him, he raised his spear and stabbed it fiercely. The attacker immediately fell on his back and fell heavily on the ground. near the crenels of the city wall.The next moment, he leaned over to take a look, and was immediately taken aback by fright.

I saw a big blood hole in this guy's belly, the inside was bloody and bloody, and at least half of his internal organs were missing, clearly exposing his white bones.Looking up...behind the helmet that fell just now, there is a face that has been bitten by something and is riddled with holes. One eyeball is hanging below the eye socket, flickering, which is extremely terrifying.

But despite the heavy injuries, this guy is not dead, not even comatose, and is still staring at Daniel with his other good eye, his mouth full of sharp fangs is opening and closing, and there is a disgusting viscous liquid constantly Flowing from between the teeth.Climb was terrified when he saw it, and at this moment, a sword light suddenly passed by his side, chopping off the monster's head to pieces.

"...Be careful next time! Even on the city walls, many soldiers of our army were poisoned by corpses because of fighting, and then slowly transformed into undead in the miasma. If you don't carefully identify them, it is easy to cause trouble!" A slightly A tired and stern voice sounded immediately.

"...Is it the warrior commander? Thank you for saving your life!"

Turning around and seeing the kingdom's warrior commander Gazef Stronov putting his sword into its sheath, Climb couldn't help but thank him sincerely. At the same time, he lowered his head and looked out of the city again, and suddenly found in horror that the man who had just been eaten Surrounded by hordes of undead, the poor guy bitten by the ghoul staggered to his feet again, but his appearance seemed to have changed a little—withered skin, distorted facial features, steel teeth, drooling, From time to time, he roared in his mouth.And that pair of blood-red terrifying eyeballs stared at me standing on the city wall even more...

The magician stationed at the watchtower at the head of the city immediately shot a burst fireball in this direction, and the undead creatures gathered on the opposite side of the moat were immediately knocked down by flesh and blood.But the problem is, after the smoke cleared, except for a few unlucky ghosts whose heads were smashed, the rest of the zombies and skeletons quickly got up, and even a guy whose legs were broken at the root was also struggling He moved forward bit by bit with both hands, dragging intestines, internal organs and broken muscles all over the ground behind, making everyone want to vomit.

Faced with such a horrific scene, Climb couldn't help but feel deep despair: the evil magic caster who manipulates the undead has been hiding behind and never showed up, making people wonder where to fight.And if the source of all scourges cannot be eliminated, as long as there are enough corpses, the undead creatures that attack the capital will be killed endlessly, making humans tired of coping.And those few bone dragons that can resist all magic are the nightmare of all the defenders, and they can knock a huge gap in the city wall every time.Even with the strength of the warrior commander Gazef, he could only barely expel it, not completely wipe it out.

With Wang Guowen, Tian Wuxi's current status quo, can he repel such a ferocious and powerful enemy?
Captain Gazef seemed to have noticed his depression, so he stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "...don't worry, we will definitely win! As long as we can get through this most difficult time... "

Climb nodded, but still couldn't pull himself together.And Gazef could only sigh, and continued, "...Climb, His Majesty the King has just entrusted me with a dangerous and important task, which requires a group of bravest people to complete, I hope you can do the same. get involved..."

It wasn't until this moment that Climb's eyes brightened a little, "...what mission?" He looked up at the warrior commander Gazef and asked.

"...Come out of the city with me, break through the encirclement of the undead army, and go outside to gather reinforcements!" Gazef replied, "...This time the undead attack was too sudden, not only did we not have time to gather our troops, even the kingdom The team of steel-ranked adventurers 'Blue Rose' happened to be out of the city, so they fought in such a mess. Now, in order to defend the capital, it is not enough to just be trapped in the city, someone must bring the royal order Go out, gather the armed forces scattered all over the kingdom, and form a powerful reinforcement, only then can victory be possible..."

Having said this, his tone suddenly became a little hesitant, "...Maybe, some strong people I just met, might as well try to ask for help?"

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If it is said that the outside of the walls of the capital of Luo Lenti at this time is already like a slaughterhouse, then behind the army of the undead, it has become a real slaughterhouse, as well as hell's kitchen and human meat restaurants-human beings are the most popular among them. Ingredients welcome!

It is worth noting that the diners who are feasting on human flesh are not undead.

"...Woman's fat is very soft, and the meat is delicious. Children's fat is thin, and the meat tastes great. But the most delicious thing is the meat of a muscular man! It's a pity that there is only corpse meat, so it's not as good as Eating the flesh of a living person is so fresh..."

Entoma, the spider-man maid of the Pleiades Battle Maid Corps in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is holding a human hand that has just been cut off from a corpse. While feasting on the fresh human flesh, she mutters about her food, accompanied by Her throat kept trembling, and her entire arm disappeared bit by bit with the sound of "popping"—although her expression was very cute, but when compared with the actual situation, it was enough to scare any weirdos out of their mouths Pants.

At the same time, the eight-legged assassins of Nazarick's Great Tomb, led by Edoma, are also feasting on the corpses collected by the skeleton soldiers, gnawing off all the internal organs, muscles and fat, leaving only the fleshy bones. Complete bones, used to piece together new undead monsters.

"...This old man also thinks so, whether it's human or other animals, the fresher the meat, the tastier it is."

A huge cockroach wearing a golden crown and a scarlet robe also led a group of smaller cockroaches, nibbling on another pile of dead people and dead horses with relish.However, the way it ate was obviously much more elegant than Entoma's, and it even tied a napkin on it, holding the knife and fork with its forelegs.He also used magic to fry the human meat to [-]%, then spread the sauce, sprinkle with spices, and enjoy it slowly with the captured wine.

——It is the most aristocratic existence in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It is known as a terrifying prince who is proficient in fencing, music, dancing, and court etiquette. In this way, it still cannot change the fact that it is a big cockroach.

"...The old man remembers that a batch of living captives were sent just now? Demiurge! Can you give the old man a few living prisoners to try?"

"...No! Absolutely not! These stupid undead creatures only know how to kill people. No matter how strictly they are ordered to capture them alive, they have only captured more than 20 living people so far! These precious prisoners are still alive. It is important to use and cannot be eaten casually by you!"

The commander of the undead army outside the capital of Lolonti, the demon gentleman Demiurge shook his head like a rattle while staring at the battle mage maid Narberal next to him, "...how is the situation? Narberal, this latest batch of tanned human skin paper should be usable!"

"...Don't make noise! ​​I'm experimenting now! We'll talk about it when we get the results!" Narberal just raised her body slightly, scolded without looking back, and then bent over to the temporary small wooden table in front of her again Go up and concentrate on crafting the magic scroll.

At this time, on the table in front of her, there were countless kinds of magic catalysts - ores, precious metals, stones with attributes, gems, various powders, dried animal organs, etc.There were also hills of gold coins and bundles of vellum of various shades.

I saw Narberal chanting a spell silently, shooting high-temperature light from her fingertips, melting a few gold coins into a liquid, and then, under the restraint of magical power, let the gold solution flow slowly onto the paper as if consciously, and snaked to the scheduled time. After the location, it slowly spread out, and finally a golden magic circle was drawn, with intricate and exquisite patterns, complex and slender... It is not yet complete, and the magic power needs to be poured into the scroll. It is the real magic scroll that can be used, and this is also the most dangerous part: Narberal made six scrolls in a row, but three scrolls suddenly burst into flames during the process of infusing magic power, and burned in the blink of an eye. Clean, leaving only a pinch of fine ashes.Although the other three scrolls also became red and hot, they did not emit flames or smoke, but gradually cooled down.

"... Huh! This batch of magic scrolls has finally been successfully completed! The quality of this human skin paper is indeed much better than sheepskin!"

Seeing that the trial and error finally yielded results, Narberal, who had always been cold-faced, couldn't help showing a gleam of joy, "...the texture of parchment in this world is so poor! It’s hard to bear. If you use human skin to make magic scrolls, it will be a little better, and it can barely carry third-tier spells... But... Demiurge, can you guarantee the quantity of raw materials?"

She looked back at the few human captives in a rough wooden fence not far away, and couldn't help but frowned again, "...if it's the skin of a dead person, its quality is as rough as that of this world. Parchment is almost the same. The quality can only be guaranteed if it is peeled by living humans. And the skins peeled from each human’s back are only enough to make a scroll. But you only have so much work in your hand People, how can the peeled skin be enough? A one-on-one magic fight, let alone consume a dozen scrolls?"

"...This problem... There is no good solution for the time being. We can only use healing magic on the skinned person immediately after skinning, so that it can be used repeatedly..." The demon gentleman Demiurge shrugged , "...the rest can only continue to capture slowly..."

"...Moreover, according to my experience, since the texture of lamb's skin is the most ideal among the parchments used to make scrolls, then among human beings, the skin taken from young children should also be the best...But There is actually only one child on your side, and he is so thin..."

Narberal pointed to the only skinny little girl in the enclosure, and added, "...I can't bear to skin her..."

"..." The devil gentleman Demiurge didn't know what to say for a while, "...uh, I will fatten her up as soon as possible..."

"...Speaking of which, as long as they enter the city on the opposite side, don't they want as many living humans as possible? Whether it's peeling the skins to make scrolls, or cutting up the flesh and eating them, everyone can have a good time. How can you be as shy as you are now?"

The giant cockroaches who had eaten a feast of human flesh wiped their mouths with a communal napkin, and complained to Demiurge, "... such a pretentious siege is so boring! If I let the old man lead his kinsmen into the sewer together, Now we are already sitting in the hall of the palace to celebrate!"

——When he came to the capital just before, the terrifying man who possessed the talent of "Infinitely Summoning the Same Kind (Cockroaches)" volunteered to be the vanguard, preparing to lead hundreds of thousands or even millions of cockroaches from the sewers. Swarming into the capital, gnawed all the humans and animals in the city to their bones... However, Demiurge stopped them urgently, and then even ordered his cockroach army to stay away from the battlefield, stuffing them in the back to be refrigerated.

At the forefront of the siege battle, Demiurge just put out some low-level undead creatures that were extremely weak, but they didn't have to pay any price to summon them. It's like playing a game instead of fighting a war.

"...I've said it several times! It is a strategic decision made by Ainz-sama to encircle the capital of Lolonti for the time being and not to fight it, and use the main force to mop up the surrounding areas! As subordinates, we must strictly implement it!" Demon The gentleman Demiurge slammed the table, "...in this kingdom, there is indeed no power that should worry Lord Ainz, but in other countries, it seems that there are supremes (NPC's respectful title for players) of other organizations. ) might pose a threat to Lord Ainz and our residence! So we have to act cautiously!"

"...But, the old man still doesn't understand, what does this have to do with not taking down the king for the time being?" Terrorist asked.

"...Well, according to Lord Ainz, as long as we don't capture the capital for a day, no matter how many towns we sweep and destroy, in the eyes of those in power in other countries, this is still a war not worth getting involved in. Small conflicts should be resolved by the ruler of this kingdom."

Demiurge replied, "...So, in order to avoid making too many enemies at once and leading to an unexpected defeat, we must be slow and patient when we attack this kingdom. Surround the capital first and paralyze their command. Then destroy the surrounding countryside little by little, and destroy the source of power of this country. When there is only one isolated city left in this country, what can stop us from conquering it?"

Regarding the above statement, all the NPCs of the guild who were ordered to go to the battle were completely convinced, and after a little thought, they understood Ainz-sama's difficulties.But the problem is, understanding is the understanding, the practical problem of how to obtain a large number of live skins as soon as possible to make magic scrolls still needs to be solved.

"...It seems that we can only set up a human breeding ranch after the war, and then use various aphrodisiac spells to let them mate together, and then give birth to a large number of human cubs that are most suitable for skinning!" Demiurge thought hard It took a while before I finally came to this conclusion.

"...Human breeding ranch?" Battle Mage Narberal raised his eyebrows, "...opened in the forest near the Great Tomb of Nazarick?"

"...No, it has to be set farther away." Demiurge shook his head, and then explained, "...in the area of ​​Karn Village, which is the closest to the Great Tomb of Nazarick in this world. Recently, many humans from all over the world have gathered, and Ainz-sama seems to have plans to turn them into vassals or serfs. In order to avoid frightening them, Ainz-sama will definitely not agree to our setting up a human breeding ranch near our home... ...Hey, it's true to say it, Ainz-sama is not a philanthropist, why should he be so kind to these lowly humans?..."