After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 97 - 14: The Cursed City

Underground Kingdom.

The quiet square.

Hundreds of disembodied ghosts floated above the square, as thousands of zombies crawled upon the ground.

They surrounded the beam of light projecting from the center of the square, as if yearning for something.

Flesh... no, the concept of hunger had left them long ago. Cursed by the All Gods, they could only exist in a state between life and death, enduring eternal punishment.

However, if they could touch the warmth of life, they too could obtain momentary salvation.

Of course, the way they sought this warmth of life was something ordinary people could never accept.

The mercenary that leapt down from the crater was captured by the swarming ghosts and zombies, who devoured his flesh bite by bite, seizing the warmth from his body in the most direct manner.

And at that moment.

Xi Mu and Jed jumped down, and before the zombies and ghosts could react, they ran towards the edge of the square, cutting down a few zombies blocking the way as they did.

Dealing with the zombies and ghosts in the square wasn’t difficult, but his main goal was to acquire the Magic Queen’s meteorite.

It made no sense to waste time on these minor monsters. Once he had the Magic Queen’s meteorite, it would be easier to lure out more creatures.

"..."

"..."

The zombies and ghosts on the square hadn’t grasped the situation yet, watching the two who had already run far away, wondering why they were so adept.

Without a trace of hesitation.

But before they could ponder further, another group of living beings dropped down, drawing the attention of the zombies and ghosts.

Immediately, a bloody melee ensued.

"These guys seem unkillable," the greatsword swung, slicing a zombie at the waist. The werewolf leader furrowed his brow, watching the ground as the severed zombie bodies tried to reattach themselves.

He looked around and noticed it wasn’t an isolated case; none of the killed zombies could truly die, able to heal even after being decapitated or having limbs severed.

And the ghosts were even trickier, paralyzing anyone they touched, turning them against their comrades.

"No wonder no message came back." The werewolf leader immediately understood the reason. The advance teams that had come down to scout before must have been controlled by the ghosts and then devoured by the swarming zombies.

That’s why no message was relayed back.

With that thought.

"Retreat, let the ones behind deal with this," he waved his hand, leading his followers to rapidly withdraw.

These monsters were hard to kill, and to continue fighting would only lead to unnecessary losses. Therefore, a strategic retreat was the better option.

...

...

Meanwhile. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

On the streets.

"Li... life’s warmth!" A zombie suddenly stretched its arms out, lunging at Xi Mu.

Then its head was sliced off with a sword.

Xi Mu looked indifferently at the writhing zombie on the ground, his hand brushing over the Hunting King’s Greatsword. The blade, wrapped in black flames, swung down, forcefully sending the undead zombie into a state of true death.

This underground city in the past worshiped the Creation Witch with an unusual fervor for life.

However, after the Creation Witch was attacked by the All Gods, those who were her followers also received the cruelest of punishments.

All followers of the Creation Witch were executed, but... they were not allowed to descend into Hell, only to linger on the edge of life and death, eternally tormented.

A very boring setup, the All Gods’ methods of torment lacked imagination. The best they could come up with was to make those who worshiped the Creation Witch... lose their lives, forever hovering between life and death.

If it were a player of malign nature, they would think up even more inhumane punishments.

But considering the game officials did this to create a brand-new map and introduce the character of the Creation Witch, while simultaneously exposing players to the cruelty of the All Gods.

That could be deemed acceptable.

"Didn’t expect there to be such a huge city underground," Jed looked around at the dilapidated city, imagining how splendid it must have been in the past, with its rows of buildings and cobblestone streets bustling with life.

Now it was only a bunch of zombies wandering aimlessly through the streets, with occasional ghosts drifting out of broken houses.

Cold.

Eerie.

Despair.

The atmosphere of this underground city was just so, and being in it, one could feel somewhat suffocated.

"Instead of calling it a city, it’s more like a prison," Xi Mu said offhandedly, stepping on the damp cobblestones as he walked toward the most magnificent castle in the distance.

"Boss understands this strange city?" Jed picked up on the implication and quickened her pace to catch up with Xi Mu. Although she was very brave and would gamble with her own life, she still wasn’t accustomed to the sticky despair and curses of this city.

This city held no hope, only cursing and despair.

"Remember the statue in the square?" Xi Mu asked, and after thinking for a moment, Jed recalled that there indeed was a statue of a woman in the square.

"That was the Creation Witch."

"Oh~ so she’s the witch who had... ahem, imprisoned the divine beings, right?" Jed suddenly realized.

If it was a city of those who worshiped the Creation Witch, then it made sense why everyone in it had such a fate; to the All Gods, the Creation Witch was a... stain, the first entity to train divine beings as pets.