Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62
62. Hearts Connected by Rail (4)
“I’ll release the Water Snakes to scout ahead.”
“No. Conserve your strength, Seo A-rin. I’ll leave the reconnaissance to him.”
Lee Gang-hyuk gestured toward Im Jae-beom as he spoke.
The purpose of this training was to synchronize their movements.
There was no need to expend her Core Power on interior scouting.
Seo A-rin understood and nodded, stepping back.
When Lee Gang-hyuk turned to look at Im Jae-beom, the man growled and conjured a Water Snake.
“Grrraagh!”
Splash—!
As soon as ten Water Snakes slithered into Dobongsan Station, the zombies and Skeletons began forming a formation.
Since his Awakening, the repeated combat had made him intimately familiar with how to wield the Command Domain.
And so…….
By the time the formation was complete, information about the interior situation came back through the Water Snakes on reconnaissance.
“There are quite a few zombies. We should probably kidnap the ones at the entrance and deal with them first before we push in.”
“What if we entered from the platform side instead?”
At the mention of so many zombies, Seo Hwa-rin pointed toward the railroad tracks.
If they tried to abduct zombies and drew aggro, things could get dangerous.
Lee Gang-hyuk nodded in agreement.
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll check that route too.”
He sent one of the scouting Water Snakes toward the platform, and seeing fewer zombie signs there than inside the station, he turned back to her with a satisfied expression.
“There aren’t many there. They probably heard the noise from my earlier fight and went deeper inside. Let’s enter from the platform side like you suggested.”
“Sounds good.”
With that, the three of them continued past Dobongsan Station, climbing a bit higher.
The side closer to their hideout had apartment complexes beyond the tracks, making it dangerous.
“Deploy.”
“Grrraagh!”
Click. Click.
Soon, standing on the Line 1 tracks, the three of them warmed up while watching zombies and Skeletons approaching the platform.
“Graaaagh!”
“Gragh!”
The zombies inside the platform noticed the three warming up and shrieked, charging toward them.
Where the train boarded, there were screen doors preventing the zombies from dropping to the tracks.
But where the three stood, there were only iron railings without screen doors, so the zombies easily descended to the tracks.
Even the zombies from Line 7 were drawn by the commotion and came charging.
But their numbers were fewer than those inside the station.
“Fall back! Once they’re concentrated in one place, commence attack.”
With zombies split into two groups, Lee Gang-hyuk had the incoming forces retreat and hid behind the Skeletons before ordering everyone to attack.
Bang—!
Crash!
As the zombies from the platform collided with the ones Lee Gang-hyuk had tamed, the Skeletons behind unleashed their assault.
Thunk—!
Squelch.
Crack.
“Graaaagh!”
The Skeletons’ attacks were formidable; the zombies couldn’t withstand them and fell, their necks severed or their skulls pierced.
The initial coordination produced very satisfying results.
But the zombies placed in the front ranks had poor defense, and the formation looked precarious enough to collapse at any moment.
The instant Lee Gang-hyuk realized the problem—good offense, weak defense—Seo A-rin called out to Electric and cast a skill.
“Electric! Aqua Barrier!”
“Grrraagh!”
Splash.
Crackle-crackle.
“Graaaaaaagh.”
“Grrraagh.”
As Lightning Bolt layered over the defensive shield she’d erected, the attacking zombies convulsed and collapsed.
“Hold formation! Drop weapons, link arms!”
Using this window, Lee Gang-hyuk had the front-rank zombies lower their weapons and link arms to consolidate the formation.
The Skeletons were enough for offense; what mattered was keeping the formation from breaking.
“Ughhhh…….”
Thump.
“Corpse Control!”
Whenever a tamed zombie fell, Lee Gang-hyuk quickly controlled one from the front ranks to take its place and maintain the formation.
Thanks to this, the Skeletons continued their attack without taking a single injury.
When the zombie numbers still didn’t decrease, Seo Hwa-rin cast a skill.
“Fire Wall!”
Whoosh.
The Fire Wall seemed smaller than before.
But its power was greater; zombies caught in the wall of flame shrieked and collapsed on the ground, twitching.
She’d made the flame smaller to concentrate its force.
“Excellent. We’ll continue as planned.”
He’d been ready to withdraw if they used skills too frequently in the first engagement.
But satisfied by their timely support casting, Lee Gang-hyuk decided to push into the platform itself.
“Corpse Control!”
“Grrraagh.”
Before entering the platform, Lee Gang-hyuk tamed additional zombies to fill their gaps, then entered the Line 7 platform.
The interior was empty because all the zombies inside had poured out earlier.
“Graaaah.”
“Grrraagh…….”
But relief came too soon.
As zombie snarls echoed down the stairs, Lee Gang-hyuk checked the upper level with a Water Snake and spoke.
“There are quite a few zombies upstairs, but the fire shutter is down, so the ones outside won’t be able to reinforce them. Let’s clear just the ones inside today and withdraw.”
He sent the zombies and Skeletons up the stairs first.
Before drawing aggro, the zombies wouldn’t attack, so he sent them ahead to establish a formation.
Once those sent ahead had formed up, the three ascended.
When the zombies spotted them and charged like prey, they coordinated just as they had on the tracks, dispatching them efficiently.
And then…….
The three discovered an untouched convenience store behind the fire shutter and nodded with satisfied smiles.
* * *
The next morning.
The three gathered in the lobby early and were sorting through supplies as a goodwill gift for the Jungnang-gu Alliance.
Honestly…….
They didn’t really need to give gifts.
But as gratitude for treating Electric and Im Jae-beom’s injuries, they’d decided to share the alcohol and tobacco they’d obtained from the convenience store.
“But out of all the things we found, why specifically alcohol and tobacco?”
Seo A-rin asked.
She thought food held greater value than either.
“In times like these, alcohol and tobacco are worth more than any treasure. Especially in large Shelters, they’re impossible to obtain even if you want them……. It’ll make an excellent gift.”
“Ah.”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s answer, Seo A-rin recalled the beer she’d drunk recently.
It had been the most delicious beer she’d ever tasted.
Even she, who didn’t particularly like alcohol, found it that good—what about someone who actually enjoyed it?
Understanding immediately, Seo A-rin nodded, and then Seo Hwa-rin asked a question.
“But what if receiving this makes them greedy?”
“Then the Alliance leader’s measure is exactly that limited.”
Already prepared to fight them if circumstances changed, Lee Gang-hyuk answered thus and sighed.
“We’ve never met in person, but he didn’t strike me as the type to do something so foolish. Still, to be safe, let’s head out and get everything ready as planned.”
With that, he led the zombies and Skeletons toward Dobongsan Station.
Initially, the plan was to climb Suraksan, head to Bulamsan Station, and ascend the mountain from there.
But since apartment complexes lay along the path from Bulamsan Station to Bulamsan, they judged it too risky and opted to use the Ring Expressway instead.
Shortly after…….
Passing Dobongsan Station and entering the expressway, a long tunnel appeared before them.
The sight of the dark, pitch-black tunnel made all three stiffen. Seo Hwa-rin spoke to Seo A-rin.
“A-rin, when I send a flame ahead, check the interior with your Water Snakes.”
“Got it!”
“Fire!”
Whoosh.
An orb of flame the size of an adult’s head was conjured and flew into the tunnel, while six Water Snakes Seo A-rin had created crawled swiftly after it.
“There are no zombies at the entrance. To scout deeper, we’d need to enter the tunnel. What should we do?”
Lee Gang-hyuk pondered briefly before deploying the zombies.
“It seems there are no zombies on the expressway. Let’s move directly. Hwa-rin, keep lighting the way. If zombies appear, we’ll assess the situation then.”
Before his Awakening, he would have avoided tunnels in such situations and found the safest detour. But with Seo Hwa-rin, Seo A-rin, and the zombies and Skeletons beside him, something felt different.
He decided to push through the tunnel instead of going around.
Though the tunnel was dark and murky, it was an expressway where zombies were unlikely. Moreover, securing this route would give him one more escape path from the Chungmuro Alliance. He decided to take the chance.
“Burst Burn!”
As they entered the tunnel, Seo Hwa-rin summoned various-sized flames and hung them in midair.
The tunnel brightened, and seeing no zombies as Seo A-rin had reported, they proceeded forward with relief.
Along the way, they spotted cars tangled together on the far side of the tunnel.
“It looks like there was an accident ahead.”
“Then there might be zombies. Let me check.”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s words, Seo A-rin sent the Water Snakes forward eagerly, then tilted her head as if something seemed off.
“There are none. No zombies, no bodies—just cars left sitting there.”
No zombies, no bodies?
“What about beyond?”
Doubt crossing his face, Lee Gang-hyuk asked. Seo A-rin closed her eyes in concentration and spoke.
“Hmm……. Nothing there either.”
“I see. It’s possible the accident happened when the Mutation began.”
“If that’s the case……. Then a Mutated zombie might be nearby. When the accident happened, unconscious people would’ve been easy prey……. Burst Burn!”
Whoosh.
Crackle.
Seo Hwa-rin nodded as if sharing his thoughts and, to be safe, summoned more flames and scattered them.
Since encountering a zombie with stealth abilities, she’d developed the habit of attacking empty air whenever zombies weren’t visible.
Fortunately, nothing was caught in the flames.
“It may have already moved elsewhere. Let’s go and check.”
Finding nothing in her flames, Lee Gang-hyuk advanced reassured. Soon reaching the accident site, he checked inside the mangled cars.
‘Just as I thought.’
Spotting a blood-smeared receipt inside the wreckage and checking its date, he seemed relieved and exhaled slowly.
“My theory was correct. The accident happened when the Mutation occurred. The person……. Probably fled and was chased outside by the zombies.”
The blood trails on one wall spoke to what had happened then.
The fact that no body remained meant it had been completely consumed.
“There’s a possibility it mutated into a Grizzly Bear Mutation. A creature like that doesn’t discriminate between corpses and zombies when eating.”
“Could it have been the one from our hideout’s basement parking?”
At Seo Hwa-rin’s question—recalling the Grizzly Bear Mutation they’d hunted in the hideout’s garage—Lee Gang-hyuk pointed to the wall.
“No. Looking at these blood trails, it headed toward Toegyewon.”
“It definitely doesn’t seem to be in here.”
Checking the far side of the accident site, Seo A-rin’s words made Lee Gang-hyuk think of the town at the tunnel’s end, and he exhaled once more.
“Well, if that’s the case, the problem comes after we exit……. We can only hope it’s not nearby.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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