"Aaaahhh...!"
A desperate scream erupted from the Flame Giant King's mouth.
The special concentrated zombie cure had pierced through its eye and lodged directly into its brain. The giant parasite inside, allergic to the cure, must have been in immense pain.
Unable to withstand the concentrated cure, the gigantic parasite burst out from the Flame Giant King's head.
The Flame Giant King's zombified state was instantly cured, and the surrounding zombie minions turned their glowing eyes towards it and attacked.
Grrrr!
Growl-!
Various zombies clung to the Flame Giant King's back.
The Flame Giant King exhaled flames and fiercely swung its arms-
Smash!The zombies attached to it were turned into a pulp.
Just moments ago, the Flame Giant King had been killing its cured subordinates.
Now, the situation was reversed, with the cured Flame Giant King killing other zombies.
"Aaaargh!"
Spewing flames from its entire body, the Flame Giant King turned all the zombies in the area into ashes.
And towards this Flame Giant King...
"Graaaa-!"
"Grrrk, grrrrk!"
"Screeeech!"
Other zombie nightmare legion commanders charged, emitting all sorts of terrifying sounds.
The Hellhounds Cerberus and Orthrus bit into the Giant King's legs, the Tentacle Snail wrapped its body around it, and the Mantis, Rhino, Centipede, and other monsters took turns attacking...
The Flame Giant King, resisting for a while, was eventually torn apart and crushed.
Although the Flame Giant King was a prominent named monster, it couldn't hold out long against the combined assault of equally powerful monsters.
Thud, thud...
The shattered body of the Giant King collapsed to the ground.
But it had bought enough time,
"Damien, keep firing!"
"Yes, sir!"
Damien continued to fire the special rounds in succession.
Thud! Thud! Thud-!
With heavy firing sounds, the special rounds containing concentrated cure tore through the air.
The three fired rounds successively hit the heads of the Rhino Legion Commander 'Ten Horns,' the Mantis Legion Commander 'Bride Devourer,' and the Centipede Legion Commander 'Thousand Legs.'
Thud! Thud! Thud...!
"Graaaargh!"
With the parasites expelled, the three monsters roared fiercely.
Next, the zombified and cured legion commanders glared at each other-
And clashed.
Boom-!
They began to tear into each other with immense ferocity.
'Ten Horns' was a gigantic rhino with ten massive horns, which it used to smash everything around it.
"Rooooooar!"
With a massive roar, the rhino's horns impaled other zombies. Blood from the monsters splattered everywhere.
Slash! Slash...!
Next, the Mantis Legion Commander, 'Bride Devourer,' swung its gigantic scythe-like forelegs in all directions.
Its name came from the fact that it beheaded and devoured its mates after mating...
With each swing of the terrifying mantis's forelegs, nearby zombies were sliced apart.
Finally, 'Thousand Legs.'
As its name suggests, this gigantic arthropod monster—a colossal centipede—had endless legs.
Even when cut, slashed, or severed, it moved separately, discarded damaged segments, and rejoined the remaining parts... it was a robust and disgusting monster.
The colossal centipede wrapped its long, massive body around other zombies, crushing and bursting them.
Waaahhh!
People on the fortress walls cheered loudly at this terrifying scene.
The meticulously prepared strategy was working. It was a moment of joy.
"Success, Your Highness! The legion-level monsters are fighting each other!"
Damien shouted excitedly.
As Damien said, although it was a somewhat gruesome and horrible sight, the monster legion commanders were entangled in a deadly battle.
The rhino 'Ten Horns' and the Hellhounds 'Cerberus' and 'Orthrus' rolled on the ground, fighting each other.
The mantis 'Bride Devourer's' scythe-like forelegs repeatedly sliced the slimy body of the Tentacle Snail 'Maelstrom.'
The centipede 'Thousand Legs' and the 'Wingless Cicada Lord' engaged in a fierce melee, causing massive tremors in the ground.
The sight of the massive named monsters entangled and causing chaos was itself a spectacle. It resembled a reenactment of a mythological era.
The other zombies caught in the middle of this colossal clash were crushed one after another.
The battlefield of the monster legion commanders became a new flesh wall, and the zombies couldn't pass through.
'Good, if we can maintain this situation...'
If we could make them keep attacking each other, depleting their own forces. We could manage this battle stably!
Just as I was thinking that.
Thud...!
The air trembled.
From the rear end of the countless zombie monster lines, an eerie, ominous presence spread out widely.
"...?!"
I turned to look, goosebumps all over my body...
There stood Cromwell, who had not shown herself since the start of the battle.
Standing on all fours like a giant reindeer, the demonic guardian commander had transformed.
No...
'...She got bigger?'
She had grown larger.
More massive than at the start of the battle. And, as I observed her crouching...
Munch. Munch.
She was eating.
The bodies of other monsters.
From the southern plains of Crossroad to the long, wide battlefield stretching across the three party hall zones.
Cromwell had been slowly following the rear, voraciously devouring every fallen monster corpse.
"..."
While feasting on the monster corpses, Cromwell slowly raised her head.
Her empty, blood-soaked eyes stared at me.
A sinister green aura flickered like starlight from the antlers of the flesh-eating reindeer.
'Damn...?!'
I trembled.
It's not uncommon for a boss to power up by absorbing their fallen subordinates. I've encountered and defeated both blood-sucking monsters and cannibalistic creatures before.
But why...
Cromwell felt different.
More ominous, more horrifying.
'In the game, she was just a high-spec legion commander who fought similarly to humans! How did she turn into this, Cromwell?!'
I realized instinctively.
Cromwell must not be allowed to eat anymore. She must not grow any bigger.
I urgently ordered Damien.
"Damien, fire the remaining special rounds! Target the rest of the zombified monster legion commanders!"
"U-Understood!"
Damien, momentarily frozen, quickly complied with my order.
He fired all the remaining special rounds from the modified ballista.
Thud! Thud! Thud-!
The special rounds embedded themselves into the heads of the remaining zombie monster legion commanders.
Cerberus, Orthrus, Maelstrom, and the Wingless Cicada Lord, all were cured of their zombification.
The monster legion commanders, who had been fighting to the death just moments ago, suddenly stopped.
And simultaneously, they turned to face the enormous reindeer slowly approaching them.
"Graaaargh-!"
The one who had zombified them and turned their legions into walking corpses.
Cromwell.
The enraged monster legion commanders all charged at once, pounding the ground. With fierce roars, all the horrific monsters rushed towards Cromwell.
The rhino, the mantis, the centipede, the hellhounds, the tentacle snail, the wingless cicada...
Their eyes filled with hatred, these mighty monsters, capable of destroying the world, charged with clear intent to kill.
And then-
Crunch.
They were devoured.
Cromwell's mouth opened unnaturally wide, like a dislocated jaw, and she swallowed Cerberus, the leader, whole.
The three-headed hellhound, swallowed up to its upper body, furiously kicked and resisted...
Crunch!
When Cromwell finally bit down.
All three heads were simultaneously torn off, and the hellhound stopped moving.
Munch... Munch...
As Cromwell chewed slowly, a sticky, slimy aura spread from her like a swamp.
Orthrus, the second-in-command of the hellhound legion and subordinate to Cerberus, tried to flee in the face of its leader's death. But.
Ssss...
Something long and tentacle-like extended from Cromwell's side, wrapping around Orthrus' entire body...
And pulled it in, swallowing it whole.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The sound of chewing and swallowing echoed.
From Cromwell's side.
Giant teeth-like structures moved like a crusher, swallowing the hellhound monster.
"...My god."
Everyone froze, watching this scene.
Munch, munch, munch...
Cromwell proceeded to devour the remaining monster legion commanders one by one.
'Ten Horns,' 'Bride Devourer,' 'Thousand Legs,' 'Maelstrom,' and the 'Wingless Cicada Lord,' all of them...
They resisted fiercely but in vain.
They were captured by the countless tentacles sprouting from Cromwell's body, pulled in, and either torn apart by the newly formed teeth or chewed up by the reindeer's head.
Before long, all the monster legion commanders remaining on the battlefield were devoured by Cromwell.
Even after devouring such a large number of colossal monsters, Cromwell didn't seem satisfied. She raised her head.
Wooooooom-
Her gigantic antlers emitted a green glow, and the ominous wave spread across the entire battlefield.
The remaining zombies, who had been advancing towards us, all turned and walked towards Cromwell.
They quietly lay down in front of her, one by one.
As if offering themselves as live sacrifices.
Orderly, one by one.
And Cromwell began to meticulously devour these zombies one by one.
The massive reindeer's entire body was now rippling with long tentacles and numerous teeth. The tentacles and teeth moved incessantly, continuously devouring the zombies.
"Can't it just stay a pure zombie apocalypse?"
I ground my teeth at this apocalyptic, nightmarish scene.
"Instead of turning into a mutated creature horror show, huh?"
Well, the two genres are closely related, but still...!
--TL Notes--
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