Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 68

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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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Episode 68
68. The Zombie Horde from the West (4)
“But is it okay to send him like that? Doebong Station still hasn’t been cleared, has it?”
As they turned back toward Jangam Station, Seo Hwa-rin glanced over her shoulder, her worry evident in the question about the man they’d sent ahead on the cart.
Lee Gang-hyuk reassured her with a calm reply.
“That’s precisely why I asked someone to meet him at Doebong Station. When I mentioned we were sending an injured survivor, they understood.”
“That’s a relief.”
“SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!!”
The moment Seo Hwa-rin’s worries lifted and a smile crossed her face, the cricket shrieked again.
“It’s really fortunate that the zombies aren’t reacting to that sound.”
Perhaps it was because of what the man had told them—that a horde of zombies had appeared at Yangju City Hall.
Seo A-rin scanned their surroundings and let out a breath of relief.
Just as they’d confirmed on the highway, the zombies showed no reaction whatsoever to the cricket’s screams.
Which meant the horde that had descended on Yangju City Hall wouldn’t be disturbed either.
Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin smiled with equal relief at her words.
Soon, as they approached the Vehicle Base, they sent the zombies and skeletons ahead.
“Now it’s time to put these on.”
As they fitted themselves with the earplugs that Seo A-rin had crafted, Lee Gang-hyuk turned to the two women with a question.
“What if I hold up my left arm?”
“Stop attacking and fall back.”
“My right arm?”
“Begin the attack.”
“Both arms?”
“Retreat.”
“Cease all combat and retreat immediately.”
As the two women answered his rapid-fire questions without hesitation, Lee Gang-hyuk smiled.
“Excellent. Then let’s begin the hunt.”
“Yes!”
With that, the three of them donned their earplugs and moved forward.
Swish.
‘Seven zombies spotted. I’ll handle them.’
Nod nod.
Since no combat had begun yet, he relayed the situation through hand signals.
The two women nodded in response to his signal that he’d deal with them, and the Bone Shielder in front began tapping its shield.
It was meant to draw the zombies’ attention.
Clang! Clang!
“Graaaahhh!”
“Graahhh!!”
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”
As the aggro’d zombies snarled, the cricket shrieked again.
Thanks to the earplugs, they couldn’t hear the screech, but the vibrations traveling through their skin made all three of them shudder involuntarily, their brows furrowing with revulsion.
What would’ve happened if they’d heard that sound unfiltered?
‘No point wondering about that. Attack. When the cricket appears, go after the zombies first.’
Brushing the thought aside as quickly as it came, Lee Gang-hyuk used his Command Domain to order the zombies and skeletons forward.
In that instant, combat with seven zombies erupted.
Boom!
“Grahhhhh!”
The Bone Shielders charged first, blocking the onrushing zombies, while the ones beside them grabbed and held fast to the skeletons’ arms.
As the creatures became locked in place like bound prisoners, the Bone Swordsmen and Bone Spearmen unleashed their attacks.
Whoosh!
Crunch! Thud.
The zombies whose necks were cleaved and heads impaled by spears fell limp and tumbled across the ground.
‘Hold.’
Having dispatched the zombies in seconds, Lee Gang-hyuk didn’t advance; instead, he held the skeletons in place.
It was more advantageous to lure the cricket here and fight it where bodies already lay than to venture into an empty area.
Clang! Clang!
Soon the Bone Shielders beat their shields again, drawing any nearby cricket toward them.
But the cricket didn’t come. Only the zombies that had been inside the Vehicle Base, drawn by the noise, continued to stream forward.
‘Something’s off…….’
In that moment, sensing the oddity, Lee Gang-hyuk surveyed the area.
Every Variant Zombie he’d encountered before would charge recklessly the instant someone approached, desperate to kill.
But this cricket was different from the others—it wouldn’t come close and instead stayed hidden nearby, shrieking endlessly.
With his ears plugged, it was difficult to pinpoint where the screams were coming from.
‘Water Snakes. Reconnaissance.’
Nod nod.
So Lee Gang-hyuk signaled Seo A-rin to locate the cricket, and six Water Snakes immediately dispersed in all directions to hunt for it.
Then, that instant—
Seo A-rin, sensing something, deployed an Aqua Barrier with a gasp of surprise.
At the same time——
A hunched zombie materialized from nowhere, its attack blocked by the Aqua Barrier, and the moment it realized its strike had failed, it fled.
‘That’s it!’
Since Lee Gang-hyuk had been watching Seo A-rin right after sending the signal, the moment he saw it, he knew—that was the cricket.
It lured people with its screams and then ambushed them.
‘Im Jae-beom, scout with the Water Snakes! Bone Assassins, pursue it.’
With that, Lee Gang-hyuk reassigned reconnaissance to Im Jae-beom instead of Seo A-rin, and ordered the Bone Assassins stationed on both flanks to chase the creature.
‘One Bone Shielder, to my side.’
He then sent hand signals to Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin to approach him, and ordered a single Bone Shielder to protect the three of them.
‘Hwa-rin, Skill 3.’
Nod nod.
As the two women moved closer, Lee Gang-hyuk instructed Seo Hwa-rin to use Burst Burn, his third skill, while simultaneously conveying the sensations from the scouting Water Snakes to the pursuing Bone Assassins.
Whoosh.
Whoosh-whoosh.
Moments later, as flames bloomed in the empty air from Seo Hwa-rin’s creation, Lee Gang-hyuk pointed to one location and nodded decisively.
Without hesitation, Seo Hwa-rin sent her flames toward the spot he’d indicated.
‘Attack!’
As dozens of flames shot forward, Lee Gang-hyuk commanded the Bone Assassins to attack.
The plan was to have the Bone Assassins strike while Seo Hwa-rin’s flames restricted the cricket’s movements.
But——
Sensing the danger, the cricket hiding nearby fled backward instead.
‘Keep pursuing!’
Lee Gang-hyuk couldn’t let it escape, so he ordered the Bone Assassins to pursue—but his brow immediately furrowed in frustration.
Only one Bone Assassin could match the fleeing cricket’s speed.
The reason became clear immediately.
Agility.
Only the Bone Assassin created from the Short Dagger that Kim Tae-sik had gifted him moved at a pace matching the cricket’s escape.
‘I need to create them according to their intended roles.’
Against zombies alone, the difference in ability hadn’t been apparent. But now facing the cricket, the disparity was unmistakably clear, and Lee Gang-hyuk had to admit his own mistake.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it immediately.
The only option was to go to Kyung Hee University Shelter to acquire another metal weapon.
Even though he possessed a crafting skill, he didn’t know how to use steel to create items, so he was stuck.
‘That problem can wait. Right now, catching this thing is more important.’
It wasn’t as if all the Bone Assassins couldn’t pursue it.
Since at least one could keep up, he’d chase it to the ends of hell and sever its neck!
With that resolve burning in him, Lee Gang-hyuk poured his will into the pursuit, and the Bone Assassin, receiving that determination, moved even faster, closing the distance to the cricket relentlessly.
Right then——
Just as all the zombies that had rushed forward were dealt with and the skeletons approached, a notification appeared before Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes.
[Bone Swordsman ‘Unnamed’ has accumulated proficiency with the sword through repeated combat. The skill category ‘Basic Swordsmanship’ is now unlocked for this unit.]
[Bone Swordsman has acquired the skill ‘Powerful Slash’ from the Basic Swordsmanship category.]
[Bone Spearman ‘Unnamed’ has accumulated proficiency with the spear through repeated combat. The skill category ‘Basic Spearmanship’ is now unlocked for this unit.]
[Bone Spearman has acquired the skill ‘Powerful Thrust’ from the Basic Spearmanship category.]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Seasoned Warriors]
– You possess units with weapon proficiency and basic skill acquisition.
[Additional experience is awarded for this achievement.]
“!!”
In that instant, Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes went wide. It was similar to the notification he’d seen long ago when he’d taught farming to zombies.
And simultaneously——
Lee Gang-hyuk finally understood why the man locked on the thirtieth floor had demanded he keep the skeletons alive, no matter what.
For a moment, he called up the man’s face, then completely dismissed his earlier regret about his supposed mistake.
Yes, creating skeletons using abilities suited to their roles was important.
But using skills still required Mana.
And that meant skeletons created from bone weapons crafted with his own skills would benefit from that.
‘Combination.’
Just as one combined troop types, he needed to properly distribute abilities within each class too, Lee Gang-hyuk realized, nodding as he commanded an advance.
Then he naturally raised his right arm.
The Water Snakes scouting to find the cricket had sent him a sensation that there were no more zombies, so he began a full assault to hunt the creature.
And so——
As the full assault unfolded, Seo Hwa-rin used Fire Wall and Burst Burn to block the cricket’s escape routes, driving it into a corner.
Next, Seo A-rin maintained her Aqua Barrier while activating Aqua Field, and Electric deployed Spark to paralyze the cricket.
But the paralysis quickly wore off—a consequence of the enhanced physical abilities that came with its transformation.
Still, in those brief moments when the paralysis held and the creature froze, the Bone Assassin succeeded in closing in from behind.
“KEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”
Zzzzzt.
Cornered, the creature shrieked and struggled, but its screams inflicted no harm on the three humans wearing earplugs, nor on the zombies and skeletons.
And finally, under the combined assault of the Bone Assassin, Bone Swordsman, and Bone Spearman, the cricket’s neck was severed and its shoulder impaled, and it fell—no longer a threat, just experience points.
“Phew…….”
The moment the battle ended, all three removed their earplugs without a word.
“That was definitely easier than the others…… but I don’t want to face anything like that again.”
“Me neither…….”
“Right. Not hearing anything drove me absolutely crazy—I thought I was going to lose my mind!”
None of them had realized hunting with one sense completely blocked would be so grueling.
At least this variant had been easier to overcome than the others; if the battle had dragged on, the stress would’ve been unbearable.
Heaving a sigh, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded in agreement with their words, then approached the dead cricket.
“You two rest for a bit.”
“What are you going to make this time?”
At his suggestion to rest, Seo Hwa-rin immediately asked.
“As always, I was thinking of crafting an accessory…….”
But as he said it, Lee Gang-hyuk stopped and began to think.
The Bulldozer.
Grizzly Bear.
The Spider.
Mother Zombie and Child Zombie.
The abilities of every Variant Zombie he’d turned into an accessory so far had been combat-applicable.
By contrast, the cricket’s abilities amounted to little more than shrieking to lure people and fleeing rapidly if an ambush failed. At best, he might hope for a boost to movement speed, but——
Could he really——
Trust it would turn out as intended?
Perhaps that was why——
He felt he’d be wasting precious materials if he crafted an accessory, and his eyes drifted to the skeletons.
‘A weapon…….’
If he used a Variant Zombie’s Core to craft a weapon and create skeletons with it, wouldn’t he get even stronger units than before?
After brief deliberation, Lee Gang-hyuk committed to crafting a weapon, and the moment he activated the skill, a familiar notification appeared.
* * *
“Hurry.”
“Yes!”
Meanwhile, having received Lee Gang-hyuk’s note just before they were to assault Jangam Station, Park Mu-jin set out for Doebong Station with his subordinates.
He’d heard they’d found an injured survivor and sent him on a cart, and he wanted to see firsthand what method they’d used to move it.
And so——
Upon arriving at Doebong Station, Park Mu-jin disposed of all the zombies on the platform and was waiting for the cart carrying the injured man when——
“Here it comes.”
The moment he spotted the cart in the distance, relief washed over him—but only briefly.
The instant he noticed a zombie clinging to the cart, he turned silently toward Jung A-ram.
At the same time——
As if it were routine, Jung A-ram drew her bowstring with fluid grace, and the arrow she released pierced the zombie’s brow with perfect precision.
Thwack!
Thump.
Despite the remarkable marksmanship, Park Mu-jin treated it as expected and turned to his subordinates.
“Check the condition!”
“Yes, sir!”
At his order, his subordinates rushed forward.
“Status report?”
Following them to the cart, Park Mu-jin asked, and his subordinates, having assessed the injured man, answered with relief.
“He’s unconscious from severe blood loss.”
“Good. Treat him and send him to Kyung Hee University Shelter. Yu Gang-chul, you handle it.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Yu Gang-chul bowed and pulled the cart toward the rear, Park Mu-jin shook his head in bewilderment.
He’d just noticed the zombie hanging from the cart.
So they’d used a zombie to pull it. He’d never have thought of that.
As Park Mu-jin expressed his amazement at this novel method, Jung A-ram asked for confirmation.
“You’re saying they got a zombie to push the cart?”
“Apparently so.”
“Wow, really…… Isn’t that insane? What if it breaks free and tries to eat the guy?”
“That wouldn’t have happened.”
As Park Mu-jin spoke with certainty, Jung A-ram felt doubtful but didn’t press further—she was afraid he’d respond with another “figure it out yourself” challenge.
“Hmm.”
As she fell silent, Park Mu-jin’s gaze naturally shifted to the cart.
While it looked dangerous, they’d clearly positioned the zombie’s reach to never touch the man.
‘Using the zombie’s aggro to move the cart.’
In a situation where resources were dwindling and electricity and fuel were becoming scarce, was there any other way to move a cart without using either?
“That fellow will cause quite a stir when he hears about it.”
Park Mu-jin’s thoughts drifted to someone at Kyung Hee University Shelter, and he found himself looking forward to what would happen when that person met Lee Gang-hyuk.

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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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