My family runs an adventurer's guild.

However, this wishful thinking was destined to be dashed.

Because, in the next moment, he heard a faint rustling sound coming from the direction of the cemetery, as well as the smell of soil being turned over.

In modern Earth, a gravedigger's first reaction would undoubtedly be grave robbers. But in this fantastical world teeming with undead creatures, and in a city cemetery where the dead frequently roam, the old militiaman immediately understood what this meant:

Alas, tonight, the spirits of the dead will probably emerge from the cemetery again!

He took a deep breath and aimed his spear at the direction from which the sound came, but suddenly saw a figure moving deep in the cemetery. He quickly stood on tiptoe and looked closely, and saw a patrolman running towards the gate under the illumination of the magic light.

The patrolman had lost his weapon, was panting heavily, his hair was covered in sweat and stuck to his forehead, and his wide eyes were bloodshot.

Uh, I have to open the door and let him in quickly... The old guard thought to himself, and was about to take action when he was horrified to see a smooth, pink intestine shoot out from the darkness where the light did not reach, and wrap around the patrolman's neck.

Then, the foul-smelling intestine was ripped out with astonishing force, instantly knocking the struggling patrolman to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

The next moment, several hideous and grotesque undead creatures slowly appeared under the light and surrounded the patrolman whose intestines were tangled up. Then, with a few short screams, the unfortunate soldier was devoured alive.

"...These are...ghouls? Did they eat the entire patrol?"

The horrific scene before him sent chills down the spines of the old militiaman guarding the cemetery gate.

Although he had to fight undead creatures every few days here, and was no longer the cowardly rookie who would wet his pants at the sight of a skeleton soldier, watching his companion being torn apart and devoured by undead creatures still made him feel utterly terrified.

But what's even more terrifying is yet to come!

Then, he heard a sound like ten thousand horses galloping, and saw a vast, putrid ocean made up of undead creatures!

—Illuminated by torches and magical lights, countless swaying undead creatures could be vaguely seen, like dark clouds, reeking of decay, relentlessly approaching the gate from the depths of the graveyard. Their numbers were staggering! Among them were not only "regular" zombies and skeletons, but also some rare and powerful undead, such as ghouls, undead monsters, and bone worms. Any one of them could wipe out a large group of people in an instant!

As for the places where the lights don't reach, there are countless shadows, constantly lurking in the darkness!

These hideous, nauseating monsters were slowly inching towards the cemetery gate, hissing and growling. With almost every step they took, bits of rotting flesh and organs fell from their bodies, making the sight all the more horrifying.

After seeing the sheer number of these undead creatures in the cemetery, the old militiaman couldn't help but gasp in shock at the putrid smell.

"...What's with this number...? It seems there must be thousands... or even tens of thousands..."

The pungent stench and chilling roar, carried by the evening breeze, sent a chill down his spine.

Immediately following, the tremors caused by hundreds and thousands of undead creatures violently slamming against the walls and gates caused him to let out a desperate cry.

—It's over, it's all over! Even if I call for help right now, it's too late!

How to do?

Looks like we have no choice but to run!

Thinking of this, the old militiaman was finally overwhelmed by despair and no longer dared to stand guard. Instead, he picked up his rifle and ran away.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Moments later, the skeletons and zombies crammed under the wall gradually piled up into a "bone ladder" as they trampled each other. Then, several zombies stepped on the rotting flesh of their companions, staggered over the unguarded cemetery wall, and began to move towards the outside of the cemetery.

Immediately afterwards, with a loud "boom," the cemetery's steel gate was also pushed down by the massive horde of corpses.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, a massive wave of undead surged out, baring their ferocious fangs at all the living beings in the city!

It was only at this point that the soldiers stationed on the city walls and gates finally noticed the unusual activity in the direction of the cemetery.

Immediately, amidst the urgent clanging of bells, adventurers, militiamen, and mercenaries alike rushed down the city walls, spears and swords in hand, to intercept and attempt to halt the advance of this undead horde. Others also hurled stones and fired arrows at the undead from the city walls.

These courageous actions did indeed inflict some damage on the undead army. However, due to a lack of unified command and coordination, and more importantly, because there were simply too many undead, their resistance did not last long.

These boundless undead monsters, like a surging, roaring tide, were fearless against the magic, arrows, and blades of the human resistance fighters.

Even though they were riddled with arrows and looked like hedgehogs, these monsters still lunged at any living person with their fangs bared.

Unless the arrows or magic are powerful enough, or the spears and cleavers are strong enough to shatter them completely, even breaking a few bones is of little consequence to undead creatures that are not living beings.

Even as some sought refuge on rooftops and in the treetops, attempting to escape these seemingly clumsy undead creatures, venomous intestines shot forth from the darkness, delivering a fatal blow to these supposedly clever beings!

What's even more troublesome is that many undead creatures can turn the living people they kill into their own kind of undead in a very short time.

As a result, the militiamen and adventurers who were defeated by the undead soon turned into new zombies after dying in excruciating pain, rising from the ground again to carry out a bloody massacre of their former comrades.

Even the rotting flesh that flies out during the battles of certain undead creatures can poison and infect any unfortunate creatures that get caught in it...

And so, as more and more living people were defeated, eaten, torn to pieces, and transformed into new undead monsters by the undead, these militiamen and adventurers who were suddenly confronted were finally overwhelmed by despair and turned to flee in wailing cries.

"...We can't hold on any longer! We need to send in Orichalcum and Mithril-class adventurers!"

"...I don't think even having a steel-level adventurer will be of any use! Let's get to the second wall quickly!"

"...But it's the middle of the night, is it still possible to get in? The city gates should be closed and locked at night!"

“...Even at night, people still need to come and go! I know there's a small door on the west side that's still open…”

In complete darkness, fleeing adventurers and routed soldiers trampled each other in an attempt to escape the ever-expanding cannibalistic lair behind them.

However, the enemy lurking in the shadows clearly did not intend to let these prey escape easily.

—Many hideous and terrifying undead monsters quickly bypassed the slow-moving zombies and skeletons in front, leaping between houses and walls, constantly shooting out pink intestines from their abdominal cavities, knocking down and hunting down the fleeing people one by one.

Puffs of blood mist exploded under the night sky, accompanied by heart-wrenching screams that terrified all who heard them.

Meanwhile, the militiamen and adventurers guarding the city walls looked down at the killing field below with trepidation, not daring to utter a sound.

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Meanwhile, Mayor Panasore, who had just fallen asleep, was finally shaken awake by his panicked servants. He hastily put on a coat and climbed the tallest tower in the inner city of the fortress city of Ye Lantier to overlook the changes taking place in the direction of the city's cemetery.

Then, to his horror, he saw an unprecedented horde of undead erupting within the city!

— Countless pale bones gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and a pungent stench of decay wafted on the wind, making one want to vomit.

Of course, if it were just a few skeletons or zombies popping out from some corner, it wouldn't have alarmed him so much.

After all, in this fantasy world where magic and alien civilizations exist, undead creatures are not unbelievable to any ordinary person with a little knowledge.

In any human settlement of even moderate size, skeletons will occasionally crawl out of the graveyard.

The problem is that there are far too many of these undead creatures.

—It wasn't ten or twenty, or even a hundred or two hundred, but a vast, dark mass stretching as far as the eye could see, numbering at least tens of thousands!

Chapter 161, This is not my ghost!

P.S.: This book has been available for purchase for a full month. At the suggestion of editor Ms. Guiyuan, I'm releasing a free chapter of 8000 words today to thank my long-time readers for their support. Two more free chapters will be released soon, so please add them to your favorites and continue to support me.

Looking down from the tallest tower in the inner city of the fortress city of Ye Lantil, Mayor Panathore trembled as he saw that the open space between the two outer city walls was now filled with swaying, pale skeletons, as well as various rotting, maggot-infested, and incomplete moving corpses!

In addition to the common zombies and skeletons, Mayor Panathore also discovered more ferocious ghouls and ghouls, huge skeleton centipedes (bone worms), giant four-legged monsters with torn flesh, pustules and festering scars all over their bodies, and bizarre egg-shaped monsters with pink intestines wrapped around their bodies, or strange things that looked like rotting octopuses or jellyfish, slowly wriggling with slime.

Their only common feature is the almost suffocating, pungent stench of decay, and the red light that flashes in their eyes, representing the dead!

Yeah, and another thing is that it will give timid people nightmares after watching it!

Faced with such a horrific and ugly scene, despair, fear, unease, anger, and all sorts of complex and intense emotions churned within Mayor Panasonic. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something, but he simply didn't know what to say.

Ultimately, all these conflicting emotions culminated in a furious roar from Mayor Panaso:

"...That damned Sorcerer King, didn't he tell me to consider until tomorrow evening? Why did he make his move now?!"

(Ainz, the Overlord, who was innocently caught in the crossfire, shrugged and looked up at the sky, indicating that this undead frenzy was definitely not his fault.)

"...Mayor, this is not the time to complain! Please come up with a solution and tell us what to do!"

Listening to Mayor Panasonic's incoherent roars, seemingly not fully understanding the situation, an officer almost burst into tears. "...The undead outbreak in the cemetery inside the city can no longer be suppressed! The open space between the two outermost city walls can no longer be held!"

"...What else can we do at this point? Since we can't hold on, let's not hold on! Let's just consider it as the enemy breaching the outermost city wall!"

Mayor Panaso waved his hand helplessly, "...Pass on my order! Get the rest of you back inside the second layer of the city walls!"

"...Yes, Your Excellency!"

As soon as Mayor Panasonic gave the order to retreat, those who were still resisting breathed a sigh of relief and quickly fled through the city gates to the inside of the second city wall. They then closed the city gates as fast as they could and gathered sandbags, stones, and other debris in an attempt to block the city gates from the inside.

As for those who were a step too late, they could only hope that the defenders on the city walls would take pity on them and lower the baskets down.

Meanwhile, the defenders poured oil, fired rockets, and hurled fireballs from the top of the second wall at the undead army trapped between the two walls, successfully setting the houses between the two walls ablaze in an attempt to annihilate a portion of the undead with the flames.

—In general, lower-level undead creatures are either easily ignited or quite afraid of fire, just as they are afraid of sunlight.

From the defenders' perspective, although the territory between the outermost two walls of Ye Lantier was destined to fall, this area had few civilian residents to begin with, serving as a buffer zone during wartime. They believed that the second wall could still keep these undead creatures outside the main residential area, preventing them from harming ordinary civilians within the city.

In this way, as long as they can hold out until sunrise, the undead will be greatly weakened by the sunlight, and may even be completely annihilated.

At that time, the fortress city of Ye Lantier will probably be able to survive this sudden calamity.

However, the harsh reality that followed proved that their idea was nothing more than a naive hope...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Under the pitch-black night sky, the necromancer Kajit, who had unleashed this frenzy of undead creatures, stood amidst the stench-filled army of undead, clad in black robes and wielding the treasure [Orb of Death]. He gazed triumphantly at the tightly closed city gates ahead and the panicked figures on the city walls.

He had been planning this massive operation for many years, which led to its thunderous and unstoppable momentum.

Therefore, he naturally had already planned how to break through the second wall of the city of Jerantier after unleashing the undead frenzy.

According to Kajit's prior reconnaissance, the city gate in front of them was the most dilapidated and least secure part of the second layer of the city wall.

As for how to break down the door, he is now ready.

"...That's enough! We've absorbed more than enough negative energy!"

Holding the [Orb of Death] in his hands, Kajit exclaimed with delight, "...Bone Dragon! Attack!"

With his command, a colossal monster suddenly appeared from the deep night sky—it was actually a giant jigsaw puzzle made up of countless human bones, imitating a mythical beast with a long neck, wings, and four legs, the dragon!

That was a monster called a bone dragon. Although this thing, made of human bones, seemed to have absolutely no relation to a real dragon in terms of material and origin, it still possessed immense destructive power and absolute resistance to magic, making it the natural enemy of all spellcasters.

"...[Armor Enhancement], [Low-Tier Arm Strength Enhancement], [Dead Man's Flame], [Shield Wall]..."

After summoning the bone dragon, Kajit continued to chant incantations, strengthening the bone dragon he had summoned layer by layer.

This makes the bone dragon's skeleton more resilient and its strength greater. It is also enveloped in deadly negative energy black fire, and an invisible barrier acts as a shield in front of the bone dragon.

In short, it's like dressing an elephant in armor and adding horns, turning it into an even more terrifying war elephant.

"...Sigh, if the [Wise Man's Crown] were usable, I could summon two bone dragons instead of just this one..."

Seeing the bone dragon being enhanced to its limit, Kajit clicked his tongue somewhat unsatisfied, "...But there's nothing we can do about it—just crash into it!"

Next, following his instructions, the bone dragon first circled in the air, and then suddenly swooped down towards the city gate!

The defenders gathered on the city wall seemed to have realized the enhanced bone dragon's intentions and were immediately terrified. The mages who had rushed to the top of the wall quickly threw out their items and scrolls, and unleashed a barrage of lightning, fireballs, acid, and arrows at the bone dragon without restraint...

However, bone dragons have absolute resistance to these spells, meaning that these attack spells have no effect on bone dragons.

As for the arrows that are launched, not only is their range insufficient, but they also have difficulty hitting high-speed moving aerial targets from the very beginning.

Even if a few arrows hit, the damage to the enormous bone dragon would be negligible.

Therefore, the skeletal dragon eventually broke through the defenders' thin fire net and crashed into the city gate with tremendous kinetic energy!

"...Boom! Crack!"

As a result of the bone dragon's swooping attack, a small gate in the second layer of the city wall suddenly cracked and collapsed.

Immediately afterward, before the armed personnel inside the city could react, several more giant, undead monsters, known as white bone worms or skeleton centipedes, carrying a pungent stench, darted in at an astonishing speed through the open doorway.

They slammed into the adventurers who rushed to the gate to meet them, and stormed into the residential area inside the second layer of city walls!

Following behind these bone worms was a vast, boundless swarm of undead creatures!

—The fortress city of Ye Lantier, protected by triple walls, is on the verge of being completely swallowed up by the tide of the undead!

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"...There's no way out! Everyone, fight these filthy undead!"

"...Since we're all going to die anyway, at least we shouldn't die like cowards!"

"...Hold on! Hold on! We absolutely cannot let these undead monsters break into the city!"

"...Only by blocking this city gate can any of us live! Otherwise, we will all die!"

"...Charge! Quick! Throw torches at me! Rip—"

Numerous facts have shown that when humans are pushed to the brink, they often miraculously perform beyond their usual level and unleash astonishing fighting power.

For example, at this very moment, when the second wall of the fortress city of Ye Lantier was breached and the undead horde was about to engulf the entire city, the militia and mercenaries who had been fleeing in a disheveled and disheartened manner were instead forced to muster some courage and fighting spirit.

The reason is simple: according to legend, most cities that are conquered by an army of the undead are destined to be massacred.

Because, to the dead, vibrant life is of no use whatsoever, while corpses and bones are the greatest treasure in the eyes of the undead.

Since they were destined to die anyway, they had nothing to fear.