The plumbers led by Adella had to descend a long way down the stairs.
It was called a sewer, but it was not a place you could easily reach just by opening a manhole cover.
The place where Osian took Princess Orlea to hide was, if you had to say, an embarrassing place to even call a sewer.
On the other hand, the place they were heading to now was a massive facility that had to deal with the enormous amount of water flowing into the city.
Naturally, the facility was deep underground, and to reach it, they had to take a special route.
‘It’s disgustingly humid.’
Not only was it underground with poor ventilation, but the water from the rainy season had not completely drained, and the air itself was suffocating.
‘Maybe the plumbers weren’t wearing masks for nothing.’
The stench was one thing, but in such a humid environment, just a little movement would cause sweat to pour down.
In fact, the others were already wiping off their sweat and catching their breath.Of course, Osian was unaffected. This kind of environment felt like nothing more than a minor inconvenience to him.
A few of the guards who participated were keeping watch.
They didn't know what kind of danger might be lurking in the vast sewer.
‘We’re supposed to check valves 34 through 39 today.’
They arrived at the first underground space with valve 34, which could be the first target.
‘It’s incredibly huge.’
Osian looked at the valve, which had a diameter as big as an adult man. The pipe attached to it was even bigger.
At this point, it seemed less like a pipe for draining water and more like a tunnel for people to pass through.
Not just one such pipe, but five of them were lined up to fill one side of the wall, making for a visually overwhelming sight.
‘It looks like it wouldn’t even get a scratch from most attacks, but apparently, even these pipes need regular maintenance to avoid breaking down.’
That was a sign of how crazy the rainfall in Tirna during the rainy season must have been.
Osian watched as the plumbers checked the pipes and valves.
After all, that was the plumbers' job. What Osian had to do here was to be prepared for any potential external dangers.
‘Fortunately, there’s no sign of anything coming out.’
A bit of time passed, and the plumbers returned.
“It’s fine here. This is a good start. The next pipe should be fine too.”
“I see. Then, let’s move on.”
Adella spoke in a businesslike and stern tone.
Even though she probably wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible, she was adamant about not straying from principles.
Despite wearing work clothes and a brass mask, Adella was still an ordinary person.
Spending even a minute or second in this environment must have been a struggle for her, but she was managing to endure it well.
‘It makes sense that she became an 8th-level official in Tirna at such a young age.’
She was the type not to neglect her work, and it was likely that determination that helped her rise to this position.
‘It doesn’t seem like she’s satisfied with just that. She seems to be pushing herself a bit to get promoted.’
The desire for advancement is a common human trait. Osian had no intention of scolding her for that.
The process of checking valves 35 and 36 was also going smoothly when they finally reached valve 37, which was located farther away. They were following a side path of the sewer.
At that moment, something was flowing down the sewer.
“Everyone, stop.”
One of the mercenaries, who was leading and assessing the situation, signaled.
“There’s some unidentified debris coming towards us.”
The sewer was dark since no light could enter. The gas lamps they had set up were too sparse to cover the vast area, so the interior was inherently dark.
From a distance, all they could make out were vague shapes of something flowing, but they couldn’t clearly tell what it was.
Clank. Clank.
The armed people immediately checked their weapons. Magic users gently activated blue mana in their bodies, and others checked their tools.
Everyone was tense when a man wearing sniper brass goggles spoke.
“That's a corpse, I think?”
“Really?”
The lenses of his goggles elongated, magnifying the distant object.
“Yeah. It’s definitely a corpse. Looks like a drowned body that’s washed up here.”
His statement quickly proved to be true.
As the debris slowly came closer, others could confirm it with their own eyes.
It was a bloated corpse, swollen from drowning. Hammond, known for his blue eyebrows, grabbed the body and dragged it ashore.
“Hm. Judging by the clothing, it seems like a laborer swept away by a strong current.”
“What are you doing?”
Adella asked coldly, and Hammond replied nonchalantly.
“What do you mean, what am I doing? In a situation like this, we should carefully inspect even a drowned body. Ah, I guess this is your first time seeing a corpse, huh? I apologize, I should’ve been more considerate.”
“……Forget it. If there’s no danger, please just stick to your duties. Don’t waste time.”
“Hey, it’s not a waste of time! This is part of the mission. It’s just unfortunate. If we knew the identity, we could have informed their relatives, but it’ll be tough to verify now, what with the body all bloated like this.”
His words were insincere. Hammond just wanted to assert some authority on the scene, trying to undermine Adella.
Adella, knowing this, chose not to respond.
‘Her stomach is stronger than I thought. Not flinching even when he sees a bloated corpse.’
Hammond clicked his tongue in frustration and moved on.
“Let’s not waste time and move on.”
As Adella was about to lead the group again, the bloated corpse suddenly opened its eyes and reached out towards her.
“Huh?”
It all happened so suddenly that neither Adella nor anyone else around her could react.
Who would have expected the drowned corpse to suddenly rise and try to attack them?
Except for one person.
Osian.
-Swish.
A white flash moved through the gap of time, slashing the drowned corpse’s neck.
The headless body missed its target, its bloated arms flailing.
A guard protecting Adella quickly stepped forward and kicked the corpse’s chest.
With a splash, the body fell back into the sewer.
Adella’s face turned pale, and her legs gave way, causing her to collapse onto the ground.
Seeing a drowned body was already difficult enough, but the sight of it suddenly getting up and charging at her felt like a nightmare.
“How...how did this happen?”
The mercenaries and guards nearby all turned to look at Osian.
Everyone realized it was him who had swiftly reacted and decapitated the zombie-like drowned corpse.
‘He reacted in that split second?’
‘Or had he been suspecting something from the start?’
Regardless of that, Osian’s gaze was fixed on the spot where the corpse had fallen into the sewer.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
His words were unexpected.
“It seems like we have some uninvited guests.”
There was no need to ask what Osian meant.
The water inside the sewer began to bubble, and suddenly, dark shadows started to rise.
“What is that?”
“Zombies? This is insane! Necromancy!”
What emerged from the water were all moving corpses.
And there were more than just a few. The bloated bodies, having been submerged for a long time, were now rising and wriggling in the water, making one’s stomach churn just by looking at them.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The mercenaries and guards immediately readied their weapons.
-Tatatatatang!
Bullets flew, and blood splattered from the zombies’ bodies. However, due to their swollen flesh, the zombies didn’t fall easily.
“Idiots, aim for the head!”
“Push back those coming closer!”
Some of the guards stepped forward with shields, trying to maintain their line by pushing back the approaching zombies.
Meanwhile, the rear units aimed at the zombies' foreheads and fired.
If things stayed this way, it seemed like they would be able to fend off the attack without too much trouble, but the reality was far from that.
-Clank. Clank.
Several mercenaries' guns began to misfire.
“Damn it. Misfire!”
“Same here! The gunpowder got damp in this humid air!”
The humid environment of the sewer was causing the bullets to fail. It was an unavoidable issue, even with constant maintenance.
“Damn it. Could it be that they planned this, waiting for this moment?”
Judging by how they attacked when the gunpowder was starting to get wet, it seemed that the enemy had been waiting for this precise moment.
“Those without guns, take out your suppression weapons!”
“These are just simple zombies! Just smash their heads in and they can’t do anything!”
The mercenaries who had discarded their guns grabbed close-range weapons. Most of them were modified clubs meant to beat down opponents.
After all, the enemy was slow-moving, bloated zombies. Breaking their heads before they could even get close was a simple task.
But when one mercenary tried to approach a zombie, he couldn’t react quickly enough as a shadow suddenly rushed toward him.
Crack.
The mercenary’s head was torn off. His lifeless body fell like a puppet with its strings cut.
His comrade, watching the scene, widened his eyes in shock.
“T-This crazy thing! It’s a ghoul!”
A ghoul.
It was a higher-tier undead than the regular zombie, capable of moving faster and being much stronger. Its skin was tougher too, making it less vulnerable to bullets.
-Kyaaaah!
The ghoul, with its milky white eyes, looked for new prey.
Its body shot up to the ceiling of the sewer and, using its powerful legs, it dove down like a hawk hunting its prey.
-Swish.
With a clean cut from the crown of the head to the groin, the ghoul was split in half.
Osian, who had finished off the ghoul with a single strike, frowned at the corpse.
‘Stronger than a regular ghoul.’
It seemed that the necromancer controlling this undead army was quite skilled in necromancy.
The faint green glow of necromantic energy around the ghoul’s body was all the confirmation Osian needed.
‘The personal color of necromancy. The darker the color, the stronger the necromantic magic.’
Osian’s gaze swept over the zombie corpses.
He could see more ghouls hiding in the shadows, crouching down.
One of them sprang out, targeting the group again.
“Not so fast!”
Hammond stepped forward.
His body was shimmering with blue mana, as if engulfed in blue flames.
-Kyaaaah!
The ghoul, which could tear people apart with its bare hands, was grabbed by Hammond.
Hammond, using both his arms, tore the ghoul’s limbs off as if they were insect legs.
The ghoul, now arm-less, fell to the ground, its head crushed under Hammond's boot.
-Crack.
Hammond’s eyes gleamed with overflowing mana, and his thick eyebrows glowed with blue mana, leaving a bluish afterimage.
It was clear why he was called "Blue Eyebrows."
A few ghouls tried to take advantage of the situation, but they couldn’t escape Osian’s sharp senses.
Every time he swung his sword, the ghouls' heads fell to the ground like ripe fruit.
The mercenaries and guards, who had been watching, shivered in fear.
Even though they had seen it with their own eyes, they couldn’t understand it. How could such terrifying undead be so easily neutralized?
The way the ghouls’ bodies fell with a few sword swings made it look like Osian was performing a magic trick.
"Everyone, take formation!"
"Aim for the ghouls first!"
Thanks to the efforts of Osian and Hammond, there were no more casualties caused by the ghouls. Without the ghouls, the drowned zombies were not even worth bothering with.
Grumble...
Just when they thought they had nearly wiped out the zombies, the water inside the sewer began to ripple even more violently.
Whooosh!
It was as if an explosion had occurred underwater, as a massive something shot up from the depths. It was a giant undead creature made from human bodies stitched together.
"It's a Flesh Golem!"
The Flesh Golem, unlike other golems that were made from rocks, sand, or steel, this one was made by stitching together human flesh. Since it was a living creature rather than something built from inorganic materials, its durability was weaker, but it was not something to be taken lightly.
The massive, flesh-like body of the creature was heavily reinforced with dark magic, making its tough hide impervious to even spears and swords.
"Damn it. No matter how I look at it, that's too much to handle."
Even Hammond, who easily subdued the ghouls, took a step back, seemingly unwilling to engage with it. While it might have been manageable in a large, open space, fighting in the confined sewer was a major disadvantage.
"Move aside."
At that moment, Osian stepped forward.
With a single, brief command, Osian drew his sword and swung it widely. A white streak etched across the air. Anything caught in that line was immediately severed. The bloated zombies and even the Flesh Golem, which had been stitched together and enhanced from those zombies, were no exception.
The monstrous form made by stitching together multiple human corpses was cut in half with a single strike, its contents spilling into the sewer as it sank. It was one blow.
"......"
"......"
The people looked at Osian with disbelief.