Ch.256256. Catastrophe (2)

Rewinding time a bit, to a point before the ceremony took place.

At the port of Dongrae on the surface, daily life was flowing as usual.

Harbor workers were loading and unloading goods from docked vessels, while lower-level officials recorded incoming ships in their ledgers, noting the taxes and tariffs to be collected.

Meanwhile, some people attempted to avoid inspections by offering “goodwill” (also known as bribes). Though occasionally successful, most were promptly suppressed by the constables permanently stationed at the harbor.

Additionally, the navy eliminated beast-like creatures drawn by the human scent swarming near the shore, while in the surface markets, merchants from various cultures continued their haggling and negotiations.

Just when everyone was certain that this port city would continue its ordinary routine like any other day…

-Uuuuuugh….

-…Clatter, clatter.

The beginning of all incidents was when a purple mist suddenly covered the surface, and when it cleared, thousands of low-level undead had appeared.

Zombies—slow-moving and dull in their reactions, yet walking corpses that continued moving despite injuries that would instantly kill a human.

Skeletons—fast and weapon-wielding but mindless bones that moved with clattering sounds while carrying crude weapons.

There were also lesser wraiths resembling will-o’-wisps floating in the air, but with an ominous purple color, and undead beasts that continued moving even after death, fulfilling their wishes.

Furthermore, there were horrific enhanced undead with grotesquely twisted corpse forms, and crude lowest-tier undead with minimal activity but no intelligence—”moving corpses.”

After the purple mist had swept through, Dongrae Port was reborn with a visual resembling a raccoon city blessed by 50 stars, seemingly trembling in anticipation of the impending slaughter and massacre.

Additionally, this purple mist exerted influence on cultists throughout the city.

“Our leader has declared a holy war upon us!”

“Rise up! Fellow countrymen, revolt!”

“Haha! Your city is doomed! From now on, this city belongs to our cult!”

The Hunger Cult, having misinterpreted the meaningless signal spread by the purple mist from the failed ritual—essentially believing they no longer needed to hide—had risen up in unison.

These creatures, who had been hiding in the city’s underground depths and increasing their numbers for hundreds of years, had accumulated a force that was by no means negligible—even though they couldn’t make major moves while concealing their identity.

Elite ghoul soldiers wielding cursed magical weapons crafted from human flesh and bodies. Ghoul zealots whose narrow minds were filled with fanaticism and cognitive dissonance.

Half-mutated humans barely maintaining human form, and Beast Skin Ghouls transformed into near-bestial shapes due to prominent animal traits.

The forces that a large cult organization had gradually accumulated over hundreds of years were far beyond dismissible levels, even though most ghoul priests had gathered at the cult headquarters for the “ritual.”

The reality was that this massive undead outbreak occurred throughout the entire city without any specific focus, and from the perspective of the original inhabitants of Dongrae Port, the streets had filled with undead overnight.

Therefore, these innocent citizens of the Kingdom of Kore screamed and fled in all directions… like hell they did.

“Undead! There are undead over there!”

“Kill them! Let’s kill them! Everyone gather!”

Not only did they make no attempt to hide their fighting spirit, but they instantly formed into unified groups and prepared to confront the undead.

All citizens of the Kingdom of Kore, men and women aged 25 and older with household registrations, are basically reservists who have completed military service.

And not like modern times where they serve during ceasefires without fighting—these people have received actual training and been deployed in real combat situations.

In particular, while the real “Joseon” was a nation that strictly regulated the raising of private armies and armaments, in this era’s Kingdom of Kore, there was simply no way to regulate citizens’ weapon ownership.

Bluntly speaking, in the Kingdom of Kore where more than half the territory consists of unexplored mountainous regions, “the right to bear arms” was beyond optional—it was essential.

Of course, the fact that they still regulated private armies even in such circumstances proves how powerful and firm their public authority was, but that’s not immediately important right now.

Thus, the people of Dongrae who witnessed these horrific undead monsters appearing in their front yards were burning with fighting spirit for extremely personal reasons.

“My property value—!!!”

“I bought this with a mortgage! You’ve ruined everything!”

“Die! Die! Die!”

“Take this, enemy of housing prices!!!”

The current high building prices in downtown Dongrae Port were maintained solely by the port’s location and excellent security, so if a large-scale incident like this occurred with undead appearing, property values would naturally plummet.

Therefore, these Property Value Preservation Groups (provisional name) took out various weapons they had stashed in their homes and organized vigilante groups with their neighbors, beating down every evil(?) undead that dared to lower their property values.

Of course, the pike formation that was most effective against these low-level undead was restricted by the government’s regulation on long weapons due to their military utility, but…

[Roar—!!]

“Ox beastkin forward! Charge! Charge!”

“Bear beastkin, hold! Descendants of Ungnyeo! Show your valor!”

From the beginning, the race with the highest population ratio in the Kingdom of Kore was none other than the beastkin, considered natural-born warriors.

Originally comparable to humans who use mana through sheer physical ability, these warriors had awakened their bloodlines and primal nature during six months of military service and training.

The steel hoes wielded by ox beastkin who had gathered from their harbor work severed zombie heads, while a deer beastkin housewife’s kick turned a skeleton’s head to powder.

[ROAR—!!!]

-KWAAAANG—!!!

A tiger beastkin former military officer exorcised lesser ghosts with a mana-infused roar, while swinging a military flail to crush dozens of undead heads.

-Swish! Swish!

These people had long been known by humans of the Western Continent as “the tribe skilled with bows.”

Many reservists were skilled archers who proudly displayed their archery skills by shooting arrows through undead heads, tearing them off.

Even the halflings, usually treated as mere money-grubbing merchants or potential petty thieves, joined the battle and distributed traditional weapons to those who couldn’t afford expensive personal bows.

“Stones! Lee clan stone-throwers over here!”

“Chunsik stone-throwers gather! We’ve got stones.”

These were sling stones and metal balls used in Seokjeon, a popular traditional sport in the Kingdom of Kore where people of all ages enjoyed throwing stones at each other and cracking heads.

The power of projectiles used in Seokjeon matches was enough to put even the much hardier beastkin in mortal danger if hit wrong, and the metal balls they deliberately launched were no joke—practically equivalent to firearms.

Rotting flesh couldn’t withstand the metal balls launched from the rear, which simply punched holes through them, and even undead couldn’t survive with holes in their heads.

At this point, the constables, having dealt with internal traitors, began leading the undead extermination in the city.

While military and police roles are strictly separated in modern times, it was common for soldiers to double as police just a few centuries ago.

The Kingdom of Kore’s constables were local troops affiliated with government offices before being police in charge of maintaining public order.

The basement of the police bureau at the government office strictly stored all kinds of lethal weapons, which only now came to light.

Halberds supposedly introduced by some sage from the West, plate armor, well-oiled and cleanly maintained sabers and battle axes. And as if someone was obsessed with firepower, there were plenty of artillery pieces as well.

From muskets imported from the West to hand cannons that could be carried and fired, along with the gunpowder and ammunition needed to fire these weapons.

And with these soldiers joining the battle, the tide seemed to turn completely in favor of the Kingdom of Kore…

At this point, mid-level undead began to appear throughout the battlefield.

From ghoul priests who couldn’t participate due to lack of ability, to naturally occurring mid-level undead created through chain reactions from numerous deaths.

As these one-man armies with bizarre and threatening abilities and powerful bodies appeared, humanity, which thought it had gained the upper hand, was being pushed back helplessly when…

[Compassionate wind blowing from the heavens, deny these impure things!]

-Whoooooosh….

Starting with a flash of white light from one corner of the battlefield, unexpected reinforcements began to reveal themselves throughout the city.