Chapter 83 - 65: Goblins vs. Zombies
Chapter 83: Chapter 65: Goblins vs. Zombies
Lin Kong passed through the dense forest, following the tracks of the goblin army until he reached the edge of a clearing.
Though it was called a clearing, the ground was covered in small earthen mounds. The goblin army had surrounded the area, hesitating to advance.
"Gree-gah-grakka..."
Just then, an elderly goblin in the army began to speak. He uttered a stream of words Lin Kong couldn’t understand, then began to wave the wooden staff in his hand. Streaks of gray light appeared at its tip, showering down upon the entire goblin army.
The goblin army instantly let out a roar. Then, filled with newfound courage, they marched into the clearing.
’These small mounds... why do they look so familiar?’
Lin Kong, perched on a large tree, gazed at the clearing from a distance. He found the small mounds exceptionally familiar, just like... just like the burial mounds from his past life.
’If those are burial mounds, could it be skeletons again?’
Lin Kong guessed that if it really was skeletons, this place might be a Catastrophe Camp.
Still, Lin Kong couldn’t understand why the goblins had amassed an army and come here in the dead of night.
Regardless of Lin Kong’s thoughts, the goblin army officially stepped into the clearing.
The sound of churning earth erupted from the clearing as zombies clawed their way out of the ground. In addition to the standard humanoid zombies Lin Kong expected, there were also many animal zombies, and most numerous of all, goblin zombies.
As soon as they appeared, the zombies immediately attacked the surrounding goblins.
However, their limbs were stiff and their movements were slow, allowing the swarming goblins to dodge their attacks.
The goblins, with their short legs, easily dodged the zombies’ attacks. They would land a blow with their assorted weapons and then immediately turn tail and run.
They would run almost to the edge of the clearing before the sight of the larger goblins brandishing their Wolf Fang Clubs forced them to reluctantly turn back and cautiously approach the zombies once more.
The goblins fully embodied their cowardly nature. They would flee after every single attack, only turning back once they’d run a safe distance and saw the enforcers at the perimeter. Then they would slowly, cautiously, creep back toward the zombie horde, attack once, and flee all over again.
Repeating this cycle, the goblins suffered very few casualties. Only a few unlucky ones were targeted by multiple zombies at once, failed to dodge, and were scratched.
The scratched goblins wailed as if they had lost their parents, lying on the ground and kicking their legs wildly.
The nearby zombies stopped attacking them, leaving the scratched goblins to writhe on the ground.
Less than two minutes later, the goblins’ wails turned into agonized shrieks. The shrieking didn’t last long, however, before they fell silent.
Once they had completely stopped moving, once they were dead, their bodies stiffly rose to their feet, joining the ranks of the zombie army.
’Fuck! Corpse venom, contagion... What version of zombie is this?’
Lin Kong couldn’t help but curse at the sight. It was a good thing he’d let the goblins scout ahead. If he hadn’t known the zombie venom was so potent and had rashly charged in, one scratch would have been game over.
If this was one of the mythological zombie variants, the venom wouldn’t just corrupt the body—it would also affect the soul.
Lin Kong wasn’t even sure if this soul fragment of his could return to its main body. And even if it could, it was uncertain whether it would affect the main body’s soul.
’Good thing he’s here!’
Lin Kong glanced behind him. The Death Devourer was slowly approaching. Its presence was like a calming balm; facing these zombies no longer seemed so daunting.
Meanwhile, the goblins were still steadily dealing damage to the zombies.
At a glance, the smaller goblins seemed to have the upper hand. They attacked cautiously, and while each blow dealt minimal damage, the accumulated hits started to add up. Many zombies, particularly the goblin zombies, eventually buckled and fell.
Strangely, however, the other goblin unit types did not join the attack. They all watched with grim expressions. Clearly, things were not as simple as they seemed.
Sure enough, a cold mist began to seep from the bodies of the fallen zombies. Once a certain number of them had died, the mist shrouded the entire clearing. The remaining zombies on the field stopped moving, standing in place and beginning to absorb the fog.
When the small goblins saw that the zombies were no longer attacking, they were overjoyed and immediately launched a gleeful assault.
A few of the small goblins, however, ran from the field in terror.
The small goblins’ joy was short-lived. The cold mist was completely absorbed, and a frigid light erupted from the zombies, sweeping across the entire clearing in an instant.
The gleeful small goblins were wiped out in an instant. Only a few at the very edge of the clearing escaped with their lives. They fled back to the main army in a panic, and this time, the larger goblins didn’t stop them.
Upon returning to the goblin ranks, these small goblins were seized by a group of larger ones and dragged before the elderly Goblin Wizard.
The Goblin Wizards waved their Magic Staffs, casting several unknown kinds of Magic upon the small goblins. Their bodies began to expand, their frames growing burly. Soon, they had taken on the appearance of large goblins, and the weapons in their hands transformed into larger versions as well.
In the clearing, the small goblins who had fallen now rose to their feet as zombies.
Then, they and the other surviving zombies sank into the ground.
A moment later, a new group of zombies emerged from the earth. This wave was clearly much stronger than the last; their limbs were nimble, showing no signs of stiffness.
"ROAR—"
A zombie that appeared to be their leader stepped out from the horde. It let out a great roar and led the charge against the goblin army.
The goblin army had been waiting in formation for the new zombies to appear. The moment the zombies charged, the goblins launched their own attack.
The Goblin Wizard fired one Fireball after another from his Magic Staff, striking the zombies, while the large goblins swung their weapons, continuously knocking back any that got too close.
The lynxes off to one side also attacked. Though they were just cats, each possessed ranged abilities, primarily lightning and poison pools. Bolts of lightning continuously struck the zombies, and pools of venomous ooze spread out beneath their feet.
The zombies, relying on their high defense and powerful attacks, neither dodged nor evaded, charging fiercely into the goblin army. From time to time, a large goblin would be scratched, fall dead, and rise again to join the zombie ranks.
The battle between the two sides was incredibly fierce.
Just as Lin Kong thought they would fight to the bitter end, the zombie horde retreated back into the clearing.
By then, the zombies had lost about a third of their numbers, while the goblin army had lost more than half of its forces.
The ground was littered with the corpses of large goblins. Most of them had died twice in the recent clash.
The cold mist rising from the corpses on the ground was absorbed by the zombies that had retreated into the clearing. Their forms seemed to grow more substantial, their auras more ferocious.
After finishing their "level-up," they each burrowed back into their own burial mounds.
The goblins who had survived the fight had also changed. Each one of them seemed invigorated, as if they had gained some great benefit from the battle.