Lord of Rot

The death toll in Date Palm Village continued to climb. Leech made no move to stop the Warg Riders. The Extraordinary Corpse Ghost held little advantage while surrounded by them. Stepping in to fight them head-on would be suicide, like a lion caught in a desperate battle against a pack of wolves.

His only consolation was that the enemy had no ranged attackers; it seemed they only had cavalry.

He decided to leave the battle to the soon-to-arrive Jonney.

’Besides, whoever organized this battle must be nearby. I should find their commander first. Even if the Corpse Ghost can’t win, it’ll save Jonney a lot of effort when he arrives.’

The Wargs had an extremely sensitive sense of smell. Leech’s Corpse Ghost hadn’t gotten far in its stealthy approach before it was discovered.

’Another classic three-man squad.’

Drawing on his experience from the earlier fight, Leech’s actions were swift and decisive. He grabbed one of the Warg Riders’ Rusted Long Spears, lunged forward with his left foot, twisted at the waist, channeled power up from the ground, and cocked his right arm back.

He hurled it—!

THUNK!

The Rusted Long Spear flew into the Warg’s wide-open mouth and burst out the back of its skull, impaling the rider on its back as well.

He moved so fast that the other two Warg Riders only reacted after their comrade had been skewered and the bodies hit the ground!

Seizing the opportunity, Leech pounced on one of the Warg Riders. The Corpse Ghost’s iron-clad body leaped up and smashed down onto the Warg’s head. The sheer weight and force of the impact drove the beast’s head downward. Its jaws, just about to open for a bite, were stomped on and forced shut by an iron boot.

The sword swept out. ’If I didn’t have to deal with these agile and ferocious Wargs, the Corpse Ghost could have easily slaughtered this whole group.’

At the same time, he reached for the rider’s Rusted Long Spear.

Stunned that the Corpse Ghost would dare to grab his spear bare-handed, the rider yanked it back, intending to use the Warg’s bucking to throw the attacker off.

But the Corpse Ghost’s Extraordinary power immediately gave him a clear understanding of the gap between them.

With a CRUNCH, the Warg, its head still pinned under the Corpse Ghost’s foot, had its jaw smashed into the ground. The sound of shattering bone was sickeningly clear.

Sensing danger, the rider knew the fight was lost. But his spear was held fast by Leech’s Corpse Ghost, not budging an inch; he was the one who was trapped. A cold glint suddenly flashed in the corner of his eye, and he let out a roar of strange syllables.

Leech had already swung his sword, and now, reflecting the torchlight, its blade came down!

And then, the rider’s head went flying.

He had put so much force into the swing that after carving a half-moon arc through the air, the sword even splattered a trail of blood on the ground.

It all happened in an instant.

The entire sequence—from Leech leaping up, to crushing the Warg’s jaw and pinning it to the ground, to grabbing the spear with one hand and lopping off the rider’s head—was over in a flash.

If it weren’t for Corpse Ghost Biqi’s incredibly flexible body, it would have been impossible to execute such a series of precise movements in the span of a few breaths.

’Of course, if I were here in my own body,’ Leech thought, ’I would have chosen a more violent approach, like sending the Warg flying with an uppercut or simply kicking its head into pulp.’

’Different levels of strength call for different tactics.’

WHOOSH—! SWISH—!

A rush of air came from behind. Leech immediately had the Corpse Ghost dive forward onto the Warg’s corpse, dodging the last Warg Rider’s charge by a hair’s breadth.

The corpse of the Warg Rider he had just decapitated wasn’t so lucky. The headless body was impaled in the chest by its comrade’s spear. The immense force of the impact sent it flying high into the air, tracing an arc across the night sky.

Leech threw another spear, pinning the last Warg and its rider to the ground. Then he walked over and put them out of their misery, one sword strike for each.

The path forward was finally clear; no more Warg Riders charged him. ’Perhaps they’re all too busy drinking ’coconut milk.’’

Outside Date Palm Village, three figures holding torches watched quietly.

It was as if they were savoring the incredibly bloody slaughter.

Leech noticed that although they were also riding Wargs, the rider in the middle holding the torch was clearly different from the other two, and from all the others the Corpse Ghost had killed.

The Warg he rode was larger and stronger, its coat glossy and unmarred by other colors.

The rider was also unusual—he was actually wearing clothes!

In the short time since the assault on the village began, Leech had seen that while the Warg Riders wore some armor, it was purely for protection, not aesthetics. Some of them even left their genitals brazenly exposed, feeling no shame whatsoever.

But that figure, who was taller than an ordinary rider, was actually wearing a long robe.

He even wore a shirt underneath, along with trousers and finely stitched deerskin boots.

Around his neck was a jeweled necklace.

Upon closer inspection, the jewels on his clothes reflected the torchlight, emitting a breathtaking radiance in the dark of night.

’He’s dressed like a total nouveau riche!’

’Even when I got that treasure worth tens of thousands of Jinri, I wasn’t this gaudy.’

This meant the enemy wasn’t merely savage; they possessed a well-developed civilization and, just like humans, knew how to enjoy life and adorn themselves.

As he slowly crept closer, he thought, ’He must be the mastermind of this operation. No need to take him alive, but I should try to keep the corpse as intact as possible.’

’The dead tell the truth, but the living lie. So, if I want information, a corpse is always the best option.’

He slipped past the low earthen wall of Date Palm Village.

Under the cover of darkness, and with the air thick with the stench of death and blood from the slaughter, the Corpse Ghost’s approach didn’t alert the Wargs.

’No, they spotted me after all!’

Leech saw that the large Warg in the middle was staring right at him with a baleful gaze.

’A direct assault, then. Judging by their auras, neither the large Warg nor the gaudy, robed rider are Transcendents.’

The rider in the middle barked something unintelligible, and Leech saw the two Warg Riders at his sides charge toward the Corpse Ghost.

One from the left and one from the right, they thrust their spears simultaneously. Leech hastily parried.

The spears scraped against the sword, kicking up a shower of sparks.

The dancing sparks illuminated the eyes of the Corpse Ghost, hidden beneath its mask.

’These two are tougher than the others!’

The spears slid past his sword and thrust toward the Corpse Ghost’s mask. Once again, the Corpse Ghost displayed its eerie, serpentine flexibility to evade the tips.

Leech had the Corpse Ghost abandon its sword and leap toward the second Warg Rider, using its weight and Extraordinary power to tackle the creature clean off its Warg.

Locked together, the two tumbled a great distance before coming to a stop.

The Corpse Ghost had the overwhelming advantage in strength. Without its Warg, a rider lost half its combat effectiveness the moment it hit the ground.

The Corpse Ghost got to its feet, planted a foot on its opponent’s head, channeled its power, and stomped down hard.

SPLAT—!

A pool of blood spread across the ground, in the center of which was a disgusting, gory mess like a smashed watermelon, still attached to a headless corpse.

The remaining Warg Rider sensed that things had gone wrong and tried to pull away, but Leech flicked a dropped spear into the air with his foot and caught it.

Another throw, and another one-hit kill, impaling both the Warg and its rider!

With his Extraordinary power combined with his throwing skill, Leech’s precision strikes were impossible for any non-Extraordinary being to withstand.

The expression on the last remaining rider—the one in the robe—changed abruptly. From its hideous, savage face, Leech couldn’t tell if it was scared, angry, or even laughing.

It spouted a stream of gibberish, but unfortunately for it, Leech didn’t understand a single word.

ROAR!

The moment Leech lunged, the Warg beneath the rider shot forward. It was swift and precise, managing to sink its teeth into the Corpse Ghost.

’This Warg is just one step away from becoming Extraordinary!’ Leech thought in surprise.

The beast’s superior size nearly closed the gap in their strength.

But Extraordinary was, by definition, stronger than non-Extraordinary.

Barring an extreme size disparity—like an Extraordinary bee versus a human—the power of an Extraordinary was undeniable.

The Corpse Ghost strained with both arms, its bones CREAKING and GROANING. Leech ignored it. He felt no pain, so there was no need to worry about limits. ’More force! Keep pouring it on!’

With a loud CRACK...

...the jaws of the Warg, which had been half a step from becoming Extraordinary, were violently pried apart and torn asunder.

The flesh at the corners of its mouth was ripped open.

Leech controlled the Corpse Ghost as it held the Warg’s upper jaw in its left hand and its lower jaw in its right.

He then made the Corpse Ghost mimic a chewing motion twice.

CLACK, CLACK.

A powerless chewing motion.

The Warg was dead. He let go, and its dislocated, broken jaws fell slack, drooping uselessly to the ground.

SCREE—!

A sharp screech came from overhead. ’It’s finally here!’