Chapter 151

Fwoooosh!

An ominous sound rang out.

At first, it was faint and small.

But gradually, it grew loud enough for everyone to hear.

“What’s that?”

The combat engineers who had been watching Bibeong’s excavation tilted their heads.

Already, hundreds of neatly buried mastodon corpses had been unearthed from underground.

It was completely unexpected.

Enough to arouse the curiosity of nearby workers.

Around the pit, White Spear Knights and refugee laborers gathered. Murmurs and whispers spread.

“What’s that sound?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the stench escaping?”

“Stench?”

“You know, when cows or pigs die and are left too long, gas builds up inside the corpse.”

“Ah, I’ve seen that before. The belly swells like a balloon and then—pop!”

“Exactly. It’s probably something like that.”

“Could it be that the corpses were buried under pressure, and now that we’ve cleared the dirt, they’re bursting?”

“Maybe?”

“Hah. Well, looks like we’ve got some entertainment for once.”

The engineers, White Spear Knights, and workers all brightened with interest.

When the corpse of a cow or pig bursts, it makes a loud popping noise.

If one of those massive mastodon bellies burst, how loud would it be?

The thought of witnessing such a sight only heightened everyone’s curiosity and excitement.

Except for one person.

‘Something’s off.’

Lloyd felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Hundreds of mastodon corpses neatly buried underground—

Those weren’t naturally buried.

Someone had buried them deliberately.

‘Who?’

He didn’t know.

But one thing was clear.

‘The degree of decay is identical. They all died around the same time. Which means…’

Someone had killed them.

Hundreds of mastodons.

In a short span of time.

For a clear purpose.

‘Why? For what reason?’

He couldn’t tell.

But in that moment, Lloyd realized the unease stabbing at his chest wasn’t just a hunch.

He felt it through the [Asrahan Heart Technique].

‘Huh?’

He suddenly sensed the flow of mana.

Through the Asrahan Heart Technique, he detected an abnormal current of mana.

It was flowing toward the mastodon corpses.

As if a magic circle were absorbing it.

A massive concentration of mana was gathering unnaturally.

At the same time, the hissing sound from the corpses grew louder.

Which meant—

“Everyone, get back!”

Lloyd shouted.

Workers turned toward him, confused.

He yelled louder.

“Get away from the pit! As far as you can! Anyone who disobeys loses their entire bonus!”

Understanding could come later. Reflexive movement was what mattered now.

And Lloyd’s judgment was right on the mark.

The threat of losing their bonus—there were no words more terrifying.

At that command, everyone instinctively backed away from the pit.

Then it happened.

Fwoooosh—BOOM!

One of the mastodon corpses flashed.

It exploded violently—gas, fire, and shockwaves erupting all at once.

The blast consumed another mastodon.

That one exploded too.

Then the next. And the next. Each one bursting in a chain reaction.

A massive series of explosions followed.

KWA-A-A-A-A-BOOM!

In an instant, around fifty mastodon corpses detonated.

But this wasn’t an ordinary explosion.

It wasn’t just the release of gases trapped in decomposing bodies.

It was an explosion fueled by an insane concentration of mana.

A nightmarish magical force ravaged everything in its path.

And Lloyd knew this kind of explosion—at least in theory.

He had read about it in the novel *The Iron-Blooded Knight.*

‘Damn it, as I thought… It’s [Corpse Explosion Magic].’

The story came flooding back.

A necromancer processes corpses following specific procedures.

He casts [Corpse Explosion Magic].

Then—

When certain conditions are met, the corpses explode.

They devastate everything around them with tremendous power.

The strength scales with the size of the corpse. A human corpse could explode with the force of an anti-tank mine.

And now?

This was far worse than a human corpse.

‘A corpse the size of an elephant… Damn it!’

Lloyd swallowed his nausea and leaped out of the pit.

He steadied his shovel midair and turned back toward the blast zone.

He prepared to fire [Triple Detonation].

Dodging the coming explosions and shockwaves was impossible now.

His only chance was to counter the blast with his own.

‘Whether it works or not—’

He narrowed his eyes and spun the three circles.

Then—

“Bibeong!”

A shout—and the world turned dark.

No, it was Bibeong’s massive body blocking his view.

He hunched protectively in front of Lloyd.

As if to shield him from the explosion.

“Bibeong?”

“Bibeong!”

Get down!

At those words, Lloyd instinctively dropped flat.

A moment later, the explosion and shockwave hit.

……!

He couldn’t hear or see anything.

The world flipped upside down.

His insides churned violently.

A deafening ringing swallowed all other sounds.

Even when he opened his eyes, nothing was clear.

The white haze—was that the sky?

Then what was the black shape?

‘…Bibeong?’

Through the dust, he saw Bibeong collapsed.

The rise and fall of his belly showed he was breathing—thankfully alive.

Lloyd staggered to his feet.

He fought off the dizziness and examined Bibeong.

No major wounds or bleeding.

He had probably fainted from the sheer impact of shielding Lloyd.

‘What about the others?’

Drip.

A thin stream of blood trickled down his forehead.

He wiped it away and looked around.

Gradually, the ringing in his ears faded.

Sounds returned.

“Cough! Hrk!”

“W-What is this!?”

“Ugh… A-Are you alright?”

Workers scattered across the ground were slowly rising.

Thankfully, no one seemed dead or gravely injured.

They must’ve pulled back in time after hearing Lloyd’s warning.

‘What… the hell is this?’

Lloyd slapped his cheek hard.

The dizziness subsided slightly.

But then—

“Grrrroooar… Grooargh!”

From within the pit where the explosions had occurred, a guttural roar echoed.

Not one—many.

“Groooargh!”

“Gr… Waaagh!”

Dozens at least. Possibly hundreds.

The ominous roars kept coming.

Through the settling dust, something approached.

Lloyd’s brow furrowed.

‘No way…’

Could the corpse explosions have just been the beginning?

The thought barely formed when—

Fwoooom!

Something huge surged through the dust.

“…!”

He ducked just in time.

A massive log-like shape swept through the space above his head.

‘A trunk?’

No—

A mastodon’s trunk.

And that could only mean one thing.

The next instant, a colossal figure burst through the dust.

“GROOOOAR!”

“…!”

It was a mastodon.

But not a living one.

Its cloudy eyes and rotting hide made that clear.

Yet it charged with terrifying force, swinging its tusks and horns.

An undead mastodon.

‘Holy crap!’

A monster straight out of a horror film.

One charging straight at him. Lloyd froze in disbelief.

‘Corpse explosion and undead together?’

Now it was certain.

The necromancer behind this was no ordinary one.

Hundreds of undead mastodons—

The fifty that had exploded were just the beginning. The rest—hundreds more—were charging straight for them.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

Lloyd’s whole body trembled.

He wanted to run.

He wasn’t some movie hero who risked his life for glory. He had zero interest in that kind of nonsense.

‘Why does this kind of thing always happen to me!?’

He had just been peacefully building a sludge treatment plant.

Now this?

If only Javier were here.

He would’ve stepped up without hesitation—slashing down undead mastodons with ease.

But Javier wasn’t here.

He was at the apartment site, cutting rebar with his aura.

So now… Lloyd had to take responsibility.

Otherwise, everyone here would die.

“Everyone, run!”

He screamed with all his might.

Thankfully, it worked.

The workers frozen in fear flinched.

Finally understanding the situation, their faces turned pale.

“W-Waaahhh!”

“Run!”

“Save yourselves!”

They were estate residents and refugees. Some combat engineers among them, but only ordinary soldiers.

They couldn’t possibly fight undead mastodons.

In panic, they dropped their shovels and pickaxes and bolted.

They ran south—toward the estate.

But that movement provoked the undead herd.

“GROOOAR!”

One at the front bellowed furiously.

It pointed its half-rotten trunk at the fleeing workers.

The entire herd charged after them.

“GROAAR!”

The undead’s hatred of the living flared.

A murderous stampede thundered forth.

But six men stood in their path.

They were White Spear Knights.

“We are the sword and shield of Her Majesty the Queen!”

“The sword and shield protect Her Majesty’s people!”

Lloyd didn’t have time to stop them.

The six knights drew their swords and charged.

Straight toward the horde of undead mastodons.

Even without horses or armor, they didn’t hesitate.

And they were trampled.

“GROOOAR!”

These undead were stronger than living mastodons. Blades and spears barely scratched them.

The six brave knights were crushed beneath the monsters’ charge in an instant.

Lloyd clenched his teeth.

‘I told you to run, damn it!’

They had just been shoveling beside him moments ago.

Now they lay dead.

His hands trembled in fury and grief.

He couldn’t let more die.

He had to think—fast.

The terrain, their numbers, their positions—

Everything swirled in his head.

Then—lightning struck his mind.

An idea.

“Ppodong!”

He reached into his vest.

Pulled Ppodong out.

“Ppodong! Ppodong!”

The creature must’ve sensed what was happening from inside.

As soon as it emerged, it opened its small mouth.

Lloyd popped a red sunflower seed inside.

Then threw Ppodong far away.

Boom!

“Ppodong!”

The creature grew to ten meters.

“Hold them off! As long as you can!”

“Ppodong!”

It nodded.

Then charged forward.

Straight at the leading mastodons.

“Ppodong!”

Boom!

It rammed them head-on.

At ten meters tall, it outweighed the four-meter mastodons several times over.

No matter how ferocious the undead, they couldn’t overcome that difference in mass.

“GROOAR!”

Seven undead mastodons at the front toppled like bowling pins.

But the rest—

“GROAR!”

The rest surged forward like a tidal wave.

Even a quick glance revealed over three hundred.

Even Ppodong couldn’t withstand that kind of pressure.

“Ppodong! Ppodong!”

It barely managed to slip away.

Its flank and rear were jabbed by tusks and horns several times.

No blood, but plenty of pain.

Still, Ppodong didn’t give up.

It retreated to gain distance, then charged again.

“Ppodong!”

BOOM!

Each charge sent several mastodons flying.

Slowing the herd’s advance bit by bit.

Meanwhile, Lloyd sprinted toward the fleeing workers.

More precisely—to the engineers and White Spear Knights rallying at the rear to protect them.

“Sir Bayern! Sir Blanc!”

Sir Bayern, leading the engineers.

Sir Blanc, captain of the White Spear Knights.

Both responded to his call.

“Lord Lloyd, please retreat! We’ll hold them here.”

“Leave this to the White Spear Knights! We’ll prove our valor is not in vain!”

Their faces were resolute and full of resolve.

Lloyd shook his head firmly.

“No, everyone run. You too, Sirs, and your men—engineers and White Spear Knights alike.”

“…What?”

“I mean, I’ll buy us time. So all of you, lead the workers and retreat south as fast as you can.”

“Lord Lloyd? What do you mean…?”

Sir Bayern’s face went pale.

Sir Blanc frowned.

“You would have us turn our backs on the enemy? You’d have the White Spear Knights retreat?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

Lloyd replied without hesitation.

“Fighting here is pointless. Protect the workers and fall back south. I’ll hold them off.”

“But we cannot accept such an order. We, the White Spear—”

“This isn’t a request.”

Lloyd’s sharp voice cut him off.

His eyes met Blanc’s, deadly serious.

He spoke firmly and coldly, to stop any more needless deaths.

To save them all.

“It’s an order.”