The screen drew closer as time dragged on. The footsteps grew louder, each impact heavy, carrying roars thick with madness.
The roar belonged to neither human, beast, nor undead. It was a distorted amalgamation, something fundamentally wrong.
Roaaaaar… roaaaaeeerrrr.
Ansh's head snapped toward the sound. The skeleton rats around him froze, then immediately closed ranks, surrounding him in a tight defensive circle. Their soul-fire flickered erratically in their empty sockets.
"What is that roar? I've never heard such a sound in my entire life." He tightened his grip on the rusted sword.
The blade felt unnaturally heavy, weighed down by an unseen pressure. The forest, so peaceful mere minutes ago, had snapped into a deadly trap.
"I don't know how many are out there, so I need to be careful."
[Regional and World Chat unlocked]
[Cost: 10 UE per message]
[Current UE: 10/100]
[Note: Different troop types consume different forms of energy]
A translucent blue interface flickered at the edge of his vision. Before his brain could fully process the prompt, messages began flooding the feed.
---------
[Regional Chat - Zone 7]
Woodcutter_01: "WHAT THE HELL? The jungle is screaming. Beast roars are coming from everywhere!"
BeastTamer_Jin: "Wolves! Giant ones! They're tearing through my territory defenses. What do I do?!"
HolyKnight_Leo: "Hahaha! I rolled high-potential Holy Knights. They're already slaughtering these mutts."
DarkMage_Ruk: "Lucky bastard. I only got Zombies. F-Rank trash. We're all going to be deaaaddd..."
MechBuilder_Go: "Anyone else stuck with the Mechanical faction? My Gear Bots can't fight. They're just mining resources while we get slaughtered."
DragonBlood_Kai: "I hatched a high-potential Dragon Whelp, but it won't obey me. Anyone know the taming mechanics?"
ElfArcher_Lina: "Focus! My archers are landing shots, but the wolves are too fast. More are pouring out of the deep jungle. My scouts just confirmed it."
DemonLord_Ash: "LOL. Pathetic. My elite-potential Fire Demons are already cleaning house. Demon faction is just superior."
BeastMan_Grok: "Beast Man here, My tribe mates are actually fighting alongside me. Best faction by far."
Woodcutter_01: "Help! HELP ME! It breached my territory! It's already killed my troo—
[Lord Woodcutter_01 has been eliminated in a beast attack. Lord Heart destroyed.]
----------
The chat went completely silent for three long seconds after the system notification.
Ansh's back went cold. His hand gripped the sword so tightly his knuckles blanched, then flushed red from the strain.
"Eliminated… Not defeated. That lord just died."
Another system message appeared, tagged differently.
[System Notice: Lord Heart destruction results in immediate title revocation and permanent elimination. 237 Lords eliminated. 7 titles revoked.]
"Two hundred thirty-seven…" Ansh muttered.
"How many are even left in this zone?"
"And how many more are dying in other zones? On Earth?"
He didn't have time to pray for the dead. He didn't have time to wonder.
The bushes to his east exploded outward.
A creature burst through the foliage—a wolf-like beast, but fundamentally wrong. Its fur was matted with thick, oozing black pus. Its eyes burned a sickly, unnatural red instead of a predator's yellow. Viscous saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling faintly as it hit the damp earth.
Tip. Tip. Tip.
[Corrupted Forest Wolf]
[Rank: E-]
[HP: 1,243]
[STR: 70(E-)]
[AGI: 88(E)]
[DEF: 55(F+)]
[Trait: Corruption (Immune to fear, enhanced aggression, cognitive degradation)]
[Weakness: Holy / Fire damage]
"Oh, shit ! It's freakishly strong. I only have five Skeleton Rats. I need a strategy."
With it being E-Rank and his troops F-Rank, the power gap was undeniable. It would be brutal, but not impossible.
He ordered the rats to fan out and surround it. The beast didn't hesitate. It charged straight for him. Ansh sidestepped, swinging his rusted blade in a shallow arc. It only scored a superficial scratch along its flank.
It growled, pivoting mid-stride. Before it could strike again, one of the rats lunged from the side. The wolf's hind legs snapped out, sharp claws tearing through the rat's ribcage. Bones shattered. The skeleton collapsed into dust.
"One down. Four left. I can't trade blows with it. I need to track its movements somehow. It's too fast to keep fighting head-on."
Ansh commanded the remaining rats to harass and distract it while he bolted toward a gnarled oak. Near its roots, a narrow sinkhole had formed in the soft earth. If he could trap one of its legs, he could turn this into a clean kill.
The wolf had already shattered two more rats, but it was bleeding now.
[HP: 1,243 → 866]
"Barely a scratch," he gritted out.
It turned and lunged at Ansh again. He raised his sword, feinting high. The beast tried to dodge, but Ansh had already read its weight shift. Years of surviving on the edge of conflict had sharpened his instincts. He drove a heavy kick into its ribs.
The impact broke its balance. Its foreleg plunged into the hidden sinkhole, and its own momentum drove it down, pinning the limb in the compacted soil.
Seizing the opening, Ansh coordinated with the two remaining rats. They harried its flanks, drawing its attention while he closed in. He brought the rusted sword down in a heavy, hacking arc. The beast thrashed, its jaws snapping upward. A set of rotted teeth caught his forearm, tearing through fabric and flesh.
[Bite causes Bleeding: Target will lose HP over time. Prolonged combat increases blood loss]
The counterattack shattered another rat instantly.
[Only one Skeleton Rat remains]
A deep claw mark raked across Ansh's chest, shredding his shirt and drawing blood. "Shit! Take this, you ugly bastard!" Ignoring the burn in his arm and chest, he planted his foot, twisted his hips, and drove the blade downward with everything he had. The edge caught the base of its skull. With a sickening crunch, he severed the head from its neck.
[Corrupted Wolf has been eliminated]
[Corruption penalty -20% of UE]
[You have gained 8 Undead Energy (UE)]
[You have gained Corrupted Wolf Pelt and Corrupted Meat (E-Rank Materials)]
[Undead Empire System extracting...]
[You have gained Upgrade Shards × 1]
Ansh collapsed against the tree trunk after defeating the corrupted wolf. "Huff… huff… huff… That was the hardest fight I've ever been in."
The last skeleton rat stood motionless beside him, its soul-fire dim but vigilant.
He wiped sweat from his brow and pulled up the regional chat to see how many were still alive.
----------
[Regional Chat - Zone 7]
HolyKnight_Leo: "I did it, My Holy Knights wiped out every wolf. They were F+ Rank, pretty tough to handle. I even lost one knight... can anyone heal my undead— wait, I mean my Holy Knight."
DragonBlood_Kai: "Why? My whelp burned the E-Rank wolf alive. E-Rank fire skills are so cool and OP. Sorry if you guys got weaker troops hahahaha."
DarkMage_Ruk: "Shut up, dragon boy. Some of us are actually struggling and even dying. My zombies barely held the line. It was hell."
ElfArcher_Lina: "Did you all notice that the wolf ranks vary per lord? Mine were F-Rank. They don't even have a tier classification, which means the system isn't scaling strength uniformly."
DemonLord_Ash: "True. I was attacked by multiple F+ Rank Corrupted Wolves leaded by E- Rank leader, but my Fire Demon's innate fire skill made cleaning them up trivial."
BeastMan_Grok: "Yeah, I think it ties into our starting talent and troop potential. That's why enemy numbers and ranks are so different for each of us."
--------
[System Notice: Warning ! Unknown forces detected invading zones detached Emergency protocol activating...]
[All Lords will be granted a 7-day protection period]
[After 7 days, the Corruption will strike back]