CHAPTER 109: CHAPTER 109 : RUINS OF AN OLD CITY (1)

Chapter 109 : Ruins of an Old City (1)

From what Axton observed about the zombies and their abilities, one thing became clear — they were weak. Pathetically weak. Their rotting bodies moved sluggishly, their attacks predictable.

The only real danger they posed was in their sheer numbers. For most ordinary players, that would have been a nightmare.

But for Axton, their numbers were a blessing in disguise.

Even so, he wasn’t about to engage them directly. That was why his Undead General, Vorlic, was still active.

Axton had noticed one skill that made these creatures dangerous despite their weakness — [Zombie Bite]. The description alone was enough to make his skin crawl. A single bite could infect the target, turning them into one of the undead within seconds.

Losing Vorlic to such a trivial threat? That was something Axton would never allow.

He raised a hand and gave a short command, his tone calm but absolute.

"Take care of this, Vorlic."

The skeletal general nodded stiffly, his armor rattling faintly as he turned toward the horde. His crimson eyes burned brighter for a moment, the air around him thickening with oppressive mana.

Vorlic raised his right arm, pointing his sword forward as dark mist began to swirl around him. Then, he uttered a single word.

"Death Decree."

The moment the words left his mouth, the world seemed to tremble.

An invisible wave first burst forth, rippling through the battlefield. The air then crackled with dark energy as a second dark wave swept past the endless horde less than a second after the first one, almost as if they had occurred together.

Wherever it touched, life that has been marked for death, or what remained of it ceased to exist.

The zombies froze.

Then, one by one, they collapsed like puppets whose strings had been cut. The grotesque sounds of bodies hitting the ground echoed as bone clanged against bone.

Within seconds, the horde was gone.

The silence that followed was almost unsettling.

The notification chimes came one after another, filling Axton’s interface until the system itself had to compress the log into a summary.

Axton smiled from ear to ear.

Vorlic was powerful. Far more powerful than he had even imagined.

As expected of a mythical grade summon.

The Undead General had slaughtered the zombies like they were nothing more than pests. Numbers didn’t matter. Even if there had been thousands more, Axton had no doubt that the result would’ve been the same.

Once the bodies disappeared into black mist, items began to drop around the area — weapons, armor, and materials of varying quality.

Axton moved quickly, scanning through the loot until his eyes landed on two items that stood out — a dark steel armor and a jagged black sword.

Both were Grade 2. Decent for regular players, but for Axton? Far too low.

However, he didn’t hesitate to upgrade them. It would be worth a reasonable amount should he decide to sell them.

[Do you want to upgrade "Darksteel Armor" from Grade 2 to Unique Grade?]

[Do you want to upgrade "Cursed Blade" from Grade 2 to Unique Grade?]

"Yes," Axton muttered.

Light flickered briefly as the two items transformed in his inventory, their attributes and grades increased.

Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the cave’s path.

"Vorlic, return."

The Undead General bowed before dispersing into black smoke.

Although having Vorlic by his side provided an overwhelming advantage, Axton knew better than to keep him summoned indefinitely.

The mana drain was simply enormous. And in a place as unpredictable as the Realm of Shadows, it was better to conserve his strength for whatever came next.

He adjusted himself and continued forward.

The cave stretched on endlessly, twisting and turning like a serpent. The air was damp, and a faint mist hovered near the ground. The silence was thick enough to make every footstep echo eerily against the cave walls.

Axton moved cautiously, his senses sharp.

After about thirty minutes of walking, he stopped.

Right before him was a portal — a swirling mass of black, light and violet energy, suspended in the air like a living wound in reality.

There was nothing else in sight. No skeletons. No zombies. No traps.

Just him... and the portal.

He looked around one last time, but the cave was completely empty.

"Guess this is it," he whispered.

He took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing.

He had come too far to turn back now. The clues, the corpses, the strange energy that shrouded the Realm of Shadows. Everything was connected. If there was a truth hidden behind all this, then it was waiting for him beyond that portal.

"Let’s finish this."

Without another word, Axton stepped forward.

The portal swallowed him whole.

******

The moment Axton emerged on the other side, he froze. Before him stretched what looked like the remnants of a city, or what used to be one at least.

Now, it was nothing but ruins.

The sky was a dull shade of gray, filled with drifting ash.

Crumbled towers leaned precariously against one another, and the ground was cracked as if torn apart by an earthquake.

The air smelled of rust, dust, and faint traces of death.

It was a world long forgotten.

Axton’s eyes darted around, his mind racing to make sense of what he was seeing.

"What the hell happened here?" he muttered under his breath.

He stepped forward carefully, boots crunching over shattered stones and debris.

Massive stone structures lay scattered across the path, half-buried in the earth.

Some buildings looked as though they had been ripped straight from their foundations by some unknown force.

For a moment, Axton was reminded of the Ox Demon Empire. But this place in front of him... this was worse.

This city wasn’t just destroyed. It had been erased.

As he moved deeper through the ruins, he stumbled upon what remained of its citizens. They were now piles of bones.

Some were crushed under fallen structures, others lying peacefully as if death had come quietly.

"Skeletons again," he murmured. "So this is where they came from."

The realization sent a chill down his spine. These must have been the city’s inhabitants, reanimated by some dark magic to wander endlessly as undead.

Whoever had done this... was powerful.

And dangerous.

Axton’s fists tightened as he continued exploring. Along the way, several skeletons and zombies emerged from the shadows, their hollow eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

They attacked in groups, but Axton barely paid them any attention. A few quick strikes and they were gone, falling apart like brittle glass.

Each kill rewarded him with a modest amount of experience. Not much, but enough to keep him progressing.

Still, as the number of undead increased, one question kept clawing at his mind:

If these creatures were nothing more than mindless husks... then who had given them life again?

And more importantly, why?