Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

Chapter 67: Feast of the Dead (3)

However.

"Huh?"

The moment the tip of his sword touched the zombie's flesh, a squishy feeling was transmitted to the hilt and his hand.

The soldier certainly cut the zombie. But it was shallow. The blade was hindered by muscles so strong that it was hard to believe that they were rotting beneath the skin. The blade dug in slightly, but stopped without going any further.

Instead, the foul juices corroded the metal, rapidly rusting it.

"Quick, pull back the sword! It's going to be scrap metal soon!"

"Y-yes!"

From the rebuke of the captain, he snapped back into his senses and moved away from the monster.

"A mere zombie is able to talk! Undead with the ability to talk are a higher grade species of zombie!"

The captain's shout made the soldier realise his mistake.

Zombies usually could not speak. They might groan and moan, but they were unable to speak any meaningful words. The fact that they still had enough intelligence to understand language despite their rotting brains was a characteristic of a superior species.

"Leave the wheat that we were taking, huh? These undead must be repeating what they have done as farmers before when they were still alive. .....Tch! So these guys are Revenants!"

"Re-Revenant?"

The word "Revenant" meant "one who revisits" in Arquellian. Literally, they were undead that have the habit of returning to the place where they reside before dying and repeat behaviours similar to when they were alive. A revenant was hostile to anyone who interfered with its behaviour.

Of course, such specialised knowledge about monsters was not available to a conscripted soldier. The captain spared no time in explaining to his ignorant subordinates.

"All you need to know is that it's a strong zombie!"

As soon as he shouted, he made a slash on the hand holding on the former farmers leg. Then he helped his cowering subordinate up.

"Come on, get up you fool!"

"I-I'm sorry! But, my feet are so cold"

"You've been exposed to the miasma! Remove your pants, its soaking up the decomposing liquid. If you don't hurry, your legs will rot too!"

"Ahhh!"

The middle-aged man of small stature, displayed decisiveness that belied his appearance and usual behaviour as he ordered his men.

Having escaped the dreaded zombie, the soldier put aside his usual disdain for the captain and obeyed the captains orders.

The captain shouted loudly, threatening the enemy with his sword while protecting his soldiers behind him.

"Gather! Gather together! Get into a tight formation!"

The commander's shout overpowered the moans of the zombie and the other soldiers shakened murmurs. It was a brilliant display of leadership from a small man who was thought to be only interested in looting.

Distracted by the sudden appearance of the monster, his men, who had been fighting separately, rushed to the captain's side.

"Hurry up and gather, idiots! We're going to break through the weakest point of the zombies and gather with the escort unit!"

"Y-Yes!"

The captain then turned his attention to one of the most timid-looking of the assembled soldiers.

"And that hefty one there. Give me your sword."

"W-What, why!"

The soldier who had called out to him turned his sword behind his back as if to protect it. He must be wondering if the captain was trying to extort him at a time like this.

The captain glared at the soldier.

"There are never enough spare weapons against the undead! The weapons deteriorate from their rotting juice and miasma!"

"But, but! Without the sword, I can't fight!"

The timid-looking young man resisted against the captains order. He was in a complete state of panic. He didn't feel safe without his weapon at hand, and he couldn't imagine entrusting it to anybody else. At this rate, he would join the ranks of the dead with the sword in his hand.

The soldier who had earlier tried to cut the Revenant but failed decided to speak up.

"Are you able to effectively use your sword to slay those strong zombies? They're twice or three times harder than normal zombies, you know? Can you cut them?"

"I-I dont know......."

"The captain had been able to cut it. He slashed that thing's arm and saved this guy's life."

The feeble-looking soldier finally gave up and held out his sword. The captain snorted and resumed his slashing at the zombies.

"Leave it......Garhhhh?"

One of the Revenants that had been drawing in on them was sliced in half diagonally across its shoulder and fell to the ground. To their surprise, it was still moving even though it was cut in half. The captain raised his eyebrows in annoyance and cursed at the literally dead body.

"Just stay dead! ......Hey, you don't look like you can fight either. Give it to me! With the sheath!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The former farmer also handed over his sword. The captain forced the third sword between his hands on his waist belt. After shaking it a few times to make sure it was secure, he said to the soldiers.

"Alright? These guys are a higher subspecies of zombies called revenant! As such, they are tougher, more powerful, and more poisonous than the average zombie. But thats all they are!"

As he spoke, he pointed with the sword in his right hand at the oncoming horde of monsters. The horde of the dead had begun a slow and distant encirclement on their dense formation.

"As you can see, their brains are rotten and their movements are slow, no different from the inferior species! It's even possible to chat between ourselves while they are before us."

"Y-yes......."

One of the soldiers shouted in agreement. If this was a humanoid monster like an ogre or a troll, they would have been aggressive and would have forced a bloody melee. However, the revenants were still moving sluggishly while moaning their usual nonsense. It would not be difficult to escape from them.

The soldiers, who had been agitated by their sudden appearance, regained their composure after the captain's explanation.

"It also has a weakness! They cant attack where their arms and legs cant so once weve gotten some distance, theyre as good as dead. It's also vulnerable to fire, as death-defying creatures usually are. It's easy to burn them up. And above all, they're more reluctant to leave their territory than normal zombies! They won't be able to leave their area for long!"

"So you think if we can get out of this field, we can escape?"

"Or if we make it outside of this village."

Revenants had strong attachments to the places where they once lived, due to their habit of copying the lives they had before they died. Troubling as it was, the feeling of remorse amplified their resentment and helped to strengthen their abilities with negative power. But on the flip side, it kept them tied to one place.

From the looks of it, these revenants were former village farmers. If that was the case, their range of action was probably limited to the village at best.

"That's why. If they get close to you, try to fight them off, but don't pursue them, and make it your top priority to join up with our allies. Understood?"

"Y-yes!""

Responding to the captain's orders in unison, the soldiers began their escape.

"Leave it......!"

"Hey, there! Why are you still carrying that in your hand? It's a burden and the enemy is attacking us for it! I ordered you to make escaping our top priority!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Run, you fools! If there's one thing you're better at than these rotting corpses, it's a head that can listen to orders and your rat-like ability to run! If you don't have that, then you can leave your head here!"

Ahhhhh!

It seemed that their commander, despite his usual behaviour and appearance, was a man who could be counted on in such a critical situation. He calmly gave orders, took the lead in eliminating the enemy, and led his men to regroup their allies with success.

However, it still did not come without a cost.

"Leaveeee it......!"

"Yikes! Theyre coming from here too!"

"Let go of me, you monster! ......Arggggh!!!!"

As the soldiers retreated, a new group of zombies sprang up in front of them, as if it had been waiting in ambush for them. The soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be within arm's reach were suddenly caught and brutally torn to pieces.

That's not all.

"Ooooohhhh......!"

"AARRGGG......"

As the dead fall victim to monsters, they too rose as new monsters. Some turned into zombies whose flesh decomposed at an unnaturally fast rate while others into skeletons stripped of their flesh and reduced to bones. They attacked their former comrades in an attempt to get them to join the dead.

The captain escaped the wheat field with the survivors, and as soon as he reached his allies, he shouted at the top of his voice.

"Escort unit! Are the mages here?!"