BXBX NOVEL Chapter 82: So what if you know?
"What the hell?! 5 undertakers and 25 Ds? And the defender is all alone? He didn't even hire a single person?"
[Affirmative. The Defender has already been notified of your arrival. You are now connected to the defender's network].
"Hello. I am John Smith, a mercenary responding to your dirge siren. Where are you and what is your status?"
A female mellifluous and sultry voice answered my greeting. She sounded in her early twenties and had a thick German accent.
[Ja. I welcome your assistance, Death Seeker. I am Isolde Drache, the sole protector of this zone. I have been captured and need assistance lest I be slain].
"Understood, pleased to meet you Isolde, now tell me where you are. I do not know how the Zone is structured, so any kind of signal would help."
[Sorry, they have me tied up. I cannot even open my mouth at the moment. This is why I asked for the Dirge siren. Look for the Soul Crystal. That would lead you to me.]
The undead probably had Isolde tied up near the soul crystal. I had never heard of the undead taking prisoners, so I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, I saw the new defender of the plains locate the Soul Crystal hidden on the cliff.
Basically, all the defender had to do was "ask" the zone to lead him to the crystal. Unless the crystal was already tainted, it would have a negative reaction to reaper souls.
In either case, asking would take you to the crystal if it was still alive, while the location that would drive a reaper away would be where the corrupted crystal was.
"{Show me the way to the crystal.}" I commanded.
My soulgem felt hot, and I began to feel a pull in a certain direction. I ran in the general area where I was being directed.
After a few moments I saw a sight that took my breath away. In the valley below me, a magnificent beast was tied to a large cart by the undead.
The creature was larger than an elephant and had a large horn on its nose. It also had two legs with large claws on each foot.
Enormous eyes that glowed a fierce blue, while its body shimmered softly with a bright metallic sheen. The scales that adorned the entire body of the beast gave the impression of sharp swords woven together.
Add to that the bat-like wings attached to its sides, and there was only one thing this creature could be.
"A wyvern," I said in disbelief.
[Ja. Hi Ami, I would greet you if I could, but I am a bit tied up at the moment.]
"Was that a joke?"
[Ja. I am hilarious, no?]
"..."
[I am German.]
Unable to laugh at the defenders' pathetic attempts at humor, I tried to keep the conversation going.
"Isolde, where are they taking you?"
[They want to take the soul crystal. I swallowed it, you see. They do not want to kill me, and for the first time I cannot kill them all. I think they want to turn me into a mindless beast.]
True to the no-nonsense German stereotype, Isolde described her situation as if it didn't concern her. I then tried to understand the situation. The Rank E Undertakers would keep the 150 zombies alive until they were defeated.
The Rank D Draugrs were enemies I didn't want to face. They were notorious monsters that appeared on the 11th floor. They boasted of enhanced intelligence and immortality unless killed by a blessed weapon.
This was only the ninth floor. Why were they even here? Isolde fought them but could not defeat them. There must be something deeper.
"Isolde, can your soulform kill the Draugrs? I am Formless, I can help you kill the Normies and the Undertakers, but I would be helpless against the Draugrs."
[Formless? But you are a Death Seeker. Why did you become one in the first place? And what is a Normie?]
"Tonight is my first day at work. I deliberately stayed away from the sirens beyond the 10th floor. It's not my fault they're here. Normies are what I call the normal undead."
[Hmm. That's okay, I guess. The Draugrs are all armed with magic resistance. My breath would normally melt them like paper. This army was designed to capture me.
[The Draugrs used harpoons with cables and ripped out my wings so I cannot fly. They are also protecting the Undertakers and the zombies that swarmed me.]
"The undead use tactics and items?" I asked incredulously.
[Ja. It is normal beyond the 20th floor. I do not know why they appeared, but they seem to want this zone badly].
"Hmm. Okay. I will help you escape then, we will leave the Draugrs for last."
[Thanks Ami].
"{Draw} M24. {Mage}."
The story Isolde told sounded similar to whale hunting. No matter how large the animal, once it was grounded and immobilized, it was nothing more than livestock.
The main problem probably stemmed from the fact that the Draugrs were protected by the Horde. Each component of this undead army provided the delicate balance for Isolde's loss.
"Then all I have to do is upset that balance and all hell will break loose."
I then noted the positions of all the Undertakers. They were spread out to prevent anyone from taking them all at once.
Each of them was also protected by two Draugrs, probably like bodyguards. Isolde, on the other hand, was surrounded by the remaining fifteen.
"Hmm, should I free Isolde first or kill the undertakers?"
Theoretically, Undertakers cannot resurrect each other, they are limited to resurrecting rank Fs. However, before this battle, I had assumed that all undead were stupid, but here you have Draugrs that not only used tactics but had either enchantments or magical armor.
"Let's start with Isolde. I can take the Undertakers in the chaos once she is free. Fortunately, the bonds are made of rope instead of chains."
I took aim and observed the thick ropes that bound the wyvern to the wooden cart. There were about fifteen in total, most of them on her back, legs, and neck. If the biology of a T-Rex is anything to go by, a Wyvern's strongest muscles should be its legs.
"Isolde. I will shoot the ropes off you with a sniper rifle. Do not move erratically."
[YES!]
After taking a deep breath, I shot the top rope above the German Reaper. Two of the bindings snapped. The sound alerted the undead horde and specifically the draugrs who were looking for me.
Unlike the Normies, the Draugrs wore medieval armor and had more flesh than normal zombies.
I fired quickly to free Isolde, not knowing what they would do if they found out where my attacks were coming from. The Draugrs had not yet figured out that I had their prisoner in my sights, so they did not have her under guard yet.
"Isolde, I am firing again."
[Yes! Hurry!]
My second round pierced three of the ropes that bound her legs. At this point, Isolde began to stand up forcefully, which tensed all the remaining ropes.
I took advantage of the brief period of chaos. I unloaded two more rounds which destroyed three more ropes.
A loud, violent roar soon followed the moment Isolde stood up. She used her massive strength to tear the last of the cords that bound her. Soon draugrs began jumping to hold the reaper down.
They were armed with heavy axes and more ropes. The other Normies also began to swarm around the wyvern like ants.
"I WILL MAKE YOU INSECTS REGRET CHALLENGING ME! {Dragon Breath}!"
Isolde put her wings to the ground and opened her mouth. A powerful storm of fire and air came out, incinerating about a dozen Normies. While the Draugrs were also caught in the breath, they shrugged it off and simply smashed their weapons into the wyvern's body.
Five of the Draugrs began throwing harpoon-like objects at Isolde's legs. When the Reaper diverted her attention to the stakes in her thighs, a large number of Normies began jumping on her back. In the confusion, I saw an undertaker raise his lantern as green energy swirled in the ground in front of him.
"Oh no, you don't!"
I sent a 7.62 NATO round through its temple, slamming its body sideways to the ground. At that moment, the Draugrs next to the Undertaker looked in my direction. To make matters worse, the other Undertakers were all facing me.
[Confirming the death of the Rank E Undertaker. Remaining...]
"Not now Aira! So what if you know where I am!" I challenged fiercely.
I had another Undertaker in my sights and was about to fire when two Draugrs completely shielded my target with their bodies. Before I could even complain, a Bigfoot suddenly flew like a rag doll and forcefully smacked the Undertaker's bodyguards away.
"I AM THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF, YOU MAGGOTS! {Dragon Fury}!"
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I drove a full metal jacket between the surprised Undertaker's eyes. The body holding the lantern crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
Isolde began to destroy the undead horde. She trampled them with her legs, bit them with her jaws, and smashed them with her tail.
[Confirmation of death of the E-rank undertaker].
However, it was only through the scope that I noticed the wyvern was injured all over. Its bloody red legs spasmed with every step. Even its long neck had harpoons sticking out, yet the German Reaper fought with a ferocity befitting a demon.
Green swirls appeared all over the battlefield as the Undertaker reconstructed the shattered Normies. My next shots were all blocked by the Draugr bodyguards, rendering my attacks useless.
"Shit, I need to change tactics. Isolde, I will engage the undertakers in melee!"
Instead of answering, the wyvern roared in anger and began to burn the Normies around it. Taking that as my cue, I got up and ran toward the valley. I switched to {Thief} as I descended. Unfortunately, when I reached the valley, a wall of five draugrs blocked my path.
"Heh, they say I have no way to kill you fucks. Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
Ignoring my words, the Draugrs strutted towards me, wielding large axes and hammers. It was only now that I noticed that each of these motherfuckers was even bigger than a Bigfoot. They were the same height, but the Bigfoots looked like sticks compared to these guys.
"{Reveal}! {Fighter} {Draw} 1887, MP5SD. Let's dance!"