They reached the other side and began the climb down. However, the group of Neha’s handpicked elites stayed back. It seemed there was something else she hadn’t told them.
As the group of about a hundred chosen slid down the crater, they ensured not to make any noise. The walkers were feasting on the soldiers, but the taste of blood made them go mad after starving for days.
As they made their way to the Headless, they stumbled upon something strange.
A zombie was standing behind the Headless, as if it were there to protect the Headless while it evolved.
Neha hadn’t mentioned anything about such a zombie, and the chosen were confused. They looked at one another before staring back up, hoping for some signal or clarification.
Instead, they met Neha’s emotionless gaze.
"This is why you send the pawns first," she mumbled to Min.
"What the hell is that thing?" he asked.
"Did you think the zombie king would leave its back exposed?" She said, a slight frown on her face. "That is what I call the protector. The Headless’s child, to be specific."
Min raised an eyebrow before turning towards the muscular creature.
"By child... do you mean—?"
The headless from their college had picked a ’child’. It fed it until the said zombie turned into its fierce protector.
Meanwhile, the chosen below looked at the muscular giant. It looked less like a zombie and more like a titan.
Standing at eight feet tall, it towered over the chosen. Its body was covered in pus-filled sores that kept bursting and healing, as if the creature had lava flowing under its skin.
At first, it stood idly. Its back touching the Headless.
It seemed it had eaten so much that it no longer cared about the soldiers being thrown inside the crater. However, it was quick to sense the chosen in front.
The zombie slowly raised its head, staring at the chosen from its milky-white eyes.
"You might want to cover your ears," Neha said, covering her ears.
Those standing over the crater didn’t ask why. They just followed the command, but those below weren’t so lucky.
Before they knew what to do, the zombie let out a roar.
A roar so loud it twisted the air around. Visible ripples of sound could be seen coming from the creature’s mouth, as the waves hit the chosen within the crater.
They didn’t even have time to react. The sound waves hit them like a truck, flinging them back.
However, that was just the beginning.
The sound was so loud that it popped their eardrums. Blood gushed out of their nose and ears like a broken faucet.
Some clutched their heads, screaming in pain. The others died while standing as their internal organs were turned into mush.
Those who had barely gotten hold of them were hit by another wave. This time, it came from behind.
It seemed the creature’s roar had rebounded from the crater’s wall and hit the chosen again.
Just like that, half the chosen inside the crater were incapacitated. The other half, they’d soon wish they had died from the waves.
The zombie charged at them, shaking the ground with each step it took.
A brave chosen stood in the creature’s way, bulging his muscles to match the zombie’s and swung his fist.
For a moment, it seemed the chosen might do some actual damage to the undead, only to have its head crushed the next second.
The zombie’s reach far exceeded the human’s. While the latter could match the former’s strength, he couldn’t overcome the physical difference between the two and perished.
Meanwhile, the ones above barely survived the sound waves, thanks to the distance and Neha’s warning.
"...what the hell is that thing?" a chosen yelled, since his ears were still ringing.
Neha looked at him and shook her head.
She already told them that thing was the Headless’s protector.
The one it fed until it evolved thrice before any other zombie on the planet.
It was because of that creature that the Headless could rest easy and focus on evolving.
It was also the creature that the Headless would consume the moment it evolved into a zombie king. Not because it needed more food, but because it felt threatened by its own child.
It’s safe to say that the protector is the most evolved zombie on this planet right now. But they don’t need to know that.
The Headless would take another two weeks to complete its evolution. It was practically untouched until then.
That’s why Neha wanted to wait, since the Zombie King would be vulnerable after fighting and consuming its protector.
However, because of the zombified Blaze, she had to push forward with her plan.
The reward for the first kill of the Zombie King would make handling Blaze a piece of cake.
But to get that reward, the chosen had to kill the protector first, and Neha had no intention of getting close to that thing before then.
Blaze and his party had finally arrived at the destination via Fester’s tunnels. The first thing they saw was the sight of humans being dumped inside the crater.
It pained Blaze to see such precious body mass being wasted. Yet, he held back and kept an eye on the happenings around the crater.
That’s when they heard the roar. Their ears, eyes, and organs were damaged slightly, but Marrow was quick to heal them up.
That’s when Blaze took note of the protector and made the comment.
"It is, my lord." Marrow nodded in agreement. "It pains me to see such a magnificent creature serving an unworthy master. A kin of that stature should only serve under you, my lord."
Blaze chuckled at Marrow’s words. She was loyal to a fault and assumed every other undead would be blessed to work under him.
However, he thought otherwise.
If every powerful creature obeyed him, then what was the point of his existence? He chased excitement, not a boring, eternal life.
Yet he couldn’t deny that Marrow had a point.
It was indeed a shame to see a familiar face working for someone else.