Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Huh?”

The sudden arrow stunned Morlo and Anpbi. They looked at each other, then both turned to Ron, who was watching them from across the battlefield with his bow in hand.

”So you agree?” Morlo kicked the goblin Shaman, the blow carrying a hint of personal grudge. ”If you don’t fight back, we’ll call it even—”

”Even my ass! Can you even count?” Anpbi shot a fist back into Morlo’s eye socket. ”But he’s right. Even Lord Klade has to follow his orders.”

”Fine, then we’re all fighting for the Lord here. Settled!” Morlo and Anpbi glanced at each other, then both turned toward Ron. ”Lord, watch your back!”

”Wha...t?” Ron saw the two suddenly shouting at him, just as he felt the cold bite of steel at his neck. The shock sent him instantly activating Mist Step, and in the blink of an eye, he reappeared on a nearby rooftop.

A Centaur, taller and stronger than the others—even a full size larger than Kolzim—galloped past the spot Ron had occupied just a second before, a great curved blade held wide. Having suddenly lost his target, he was unable to halt his momentum. He could only continue his charge, straight toward Aive.

CLANG—

The steel blade crashed against the cold-iron tower shield with a deafening clang. The Half-Elf Warrior dropped into a half-squat, taking a step back and angling her shield into a ramp. The Centaur had no time to react. Carried by its own momentum, its heavy body was launched into the air and over Aive’s side.

”Sera!”

”On it!”

The barbarian, who had been wrestling with a Three-headed Beastman, heard Aive’s call and shoved her opponent away. She choked up her grip on the Grip of the Vast Wave, reversing the greatsword and swinging it like a warhammer. With incredible speed, she smashed it down onto the airborne Centaur’s stomach.

At almost the same time, three arrows trailing scorching rays arced down from above, precisely striking the heads and shoulders of the Beastmen who were about to ambush Sera. Suddenly bursting into flames, how could they possibly withstand a pincer attack from Aive and Sera? In just a few exchanges, Aive’s tower shield was painted with layers of bloody, humanoid shapes.

”Sir Ron! You’ve finally returned!”

Ron looked down to see a man in a Priest Robe run out from a building, holding a Holy Emblem high. A holy, golden radiance spread out from him, rallying the nearby goblins and Kobolds.

It was Gelan. He was once a follower of a Demon Lord, but it seemed he had now completely converted to the faith of Lady Luck.

”Where’s your companion?”

”He’s treating the wounded!” Gelan tilted his head, ”luckily” dodging a stray arrow. ”Changing faiths is still a bit difficult for him. Miss Buni is still working on it!”

”We certainly have a lot of friends, don’t we!” The Vampire Mage appeared behind Gelan out of nowhere, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him into a nearby house. ”Just stay hidden. You’re not even wearing armor. Do you have a death wish?”

”Uh, thank you, Miss Silvia!” Gelan scratched his head in embarrassment. ”I saw you’d returned and wanted to help out—”

”You’ve all suffered enough. Don’t go looking for more trouble.” Silvia’s blood-red eyes swept over him, confirming the former Cultist was unharmed. ”We don’t have the spare Energy to babysit you.”

The Vampire Descendant turned away, a flicker of guilt flashing through her eyes before vanishing. ’If it weren’t for my business, these people wouldn’t have had to suffer this ordeal...’

”Do I smell a hint of regret?” A black feather drifted down in front of Silvia as the Desire Demon swept past, Magic Sword in one hand and a severed Beastman head in the other. ”Let me teach you how to avoid feeling that way—come on, let’s slaughter every last one of them!”

”This isn’t your fault at all. The fault is theirs!” Wherever the Desire Demon passed, Beastmen and Centaurs fell to both sides like fields of wheat. ”And those who make mistakes must repay them with blood, life, and soul!”

”Was she always this crazy?” Victoria noticed the commotion and, in the midst of the chaotic battle, cast a calming spell on Silvia to prevent her from being truly tempted by the demon.

”She’s a Desire Demon! She was born a lunatic!” The one fighting alongside Victoria was a Kambion. They coordinated reasonably well, but for various reasons, they maintained a considerable distance from each other. ”She got a lot better after swapping out her heart, but somehow she recently switched it back!”

The Kambion, wielding a double-bladed battle-axe, muttered a complaint, ”By the Nine Prisons, I’d better not find out who helped her!”

”She did it herself,” Victoria rolled her eyes. ”She’s incredibly powerful, isn’t she? It’s not like we had any chance to help her.”

”Dammit...” A middle-aged Beastman caught the Kambion’s battle-axe with a Double-headed Axe, locking their weapons. To prevent a sneak attack, the Kambion decided to strike first. He pummeled his opponent, his fists wreathed in Hellfire, and soon half the Beastman’s body was beaten to a blackened crisp.

”How can a Beastman be this tough?! Does he have an undying body or something?! Why won’t he go down!”

It wasn’t just happening there. From his vantage point on the rooftop, Ron surveyed the battlefield and quickly discovered that elsewhere, the Beastmen and Centaurs who had already been struck down were struggling back to their feet. This included the Centaur that Sera had smashed with her sword pommel. Moreover, the wounds on these ”risen from the dead” creatures were, without exception, healing at a rapid pace!

If this continued, they would be worn down and killed right here!

”Cut off their heads! Cleave their bodies!” Kao Jia’s shout came from the sky. She might be insane, but she was no fool. ”They’re not living people anymore, just Undead Creatures wearing the skin of the living!”

”This is a favorite trick of some demons... There must be a mastermind nearby. We have to find and completely destroy that being, or beings!”

”Lord! Lord!”

Just as everyone found themselves locked in a bitter struggle against these creatures that kept rising from the dead, a flurry of urgent hoofbeats sounded from outside the town, growing closer by the second. Zandia, the young Centaur leader, galloped in from outside New Green Swamp Town with the old Beastman Priest on his back. Since Ron’s position on the rooftop was conspicuous, they headed straight for him.

”You didn’t run?” Ron was astonished. They had completely forgotten about the two of them and hadn’t left a guard. ”How did you escape? And why did you come back here?”

”The teeth of Beastmen and Centaurs are quite suitable for chewing through coarse fibers,” the Beastman Priest said, spitting out the remnants of rope from his mouth. ”We must clear our names! Also, there is something I believe you absolutely must know!”

”What is it?”

Zandia glanced fearfully toward the town’s exterior, as if the being he spoke of might appear before them at any moment. ”The Undead! A massive army of Undead, like a tide! They’re heading this way!”

The Centaur leader stomped his four hooves nervously. ”The one leading them is huge, carrying a greatsword, and completely wrapped in black mist!”

”I suspect everything that’s happening here is related to him...” the Beastman Priest said as he slid to the ground. He hunched over, his small eyes hidden beneath drooping eyelids, filled with dread and terror.