Chapter 111 – Boarding (2)

*crash*

As the forklift charged, zombies bounced off the container it was carrying and flew through the air.

“Kuhk, where do you think you’re coming! This is our port!”

The union chief laughed roughly while sending zombies flying with the forklift.

With a phlegmy laugh, he rammed the forklift into the container wall.

*boom*

The impact was so strong it made the tall container wall sway.

When it hit the container wall, the forklift stopped, and the wide-open container door was blocked again.

But some zombies had already escaped.

Though some were thrown by the container on the forklift, the rest heard the forklift noise and all rushed at the union chief sitting in it.

The union chief closed his eyes watching the approaching zombies.

Though black veins were spreading across his face, he looked very peaceful.

*slash*

Just then, black blood sprayed across his face where veins were rising.

*slash* *slash*

Black blood scattered everywhere with small sounds like razor blades cutting paper.

“What’s with the drama. Open your eyes.”

I cut off the heads of rushing zombies and patted the union chief’s back as he kept trying to set the mood.

“Huh? What’s this?”

The union chief opened his eyes startled at my words, then panicked again seeing blood spraying through the air.

“For someone who lived roughly, you’re scared of this? We’re heading back now, so get it together.”

At my words, the union chief showed his arm with a bitter smile.

Clear bite marks were carved into his arm where black veins bulged after removing the bandage.

“Go alone. I’ve become like this.”

*stab*

After stabbing my sword into a zombie climbing the forklift, I grabbed the union chief’s collar.

“I can tell well enough just looking at your face that you’re becoming undead.”

Though it was unclear when bandaged, I could immediately tell through detection that the union chief was turning undead.

But I had run over to save the union chief.

Actually, I understood why the union chief spoke this way.

In this world, there was no cure once infected by undead.

Even in our world, those corrupted by death energy were killed immediately without question where there were no priests.

Without Ye-rim, I wouldn’t have run over to save him either.

Moreover, I liked the union chief.

How could I dislike someone who tried his best for others until the end even knowing he would soon turn undead.

Though most such people died during the war, how many times did I owe my life to those who died.

As long as fallen comrades’ relics remained in my bag, I couldn’t ignore someone like this.

“Stop talking about dying and just clench your teeth. Would be troublesome if you bit your tongue from unnecessary talking.”

I threw the union chief over my shoulder and jumped off the forklift.

Checking his nape, fortunately there was still time.

As expected, just being bitten took time to turn undead.

It was the same in our world.

Though death energy immediately turned you undead if you died or were fatally wounded, living people remained human until death from corruption.

Though we didn’t have much time since I hadn’t noticed immediately, someone skilled like Ye-rim should be able to save him.

I carried the union chief on my shoulder and ran back to the dock.

“Kuk, kurk.”

Though the union chief on my shoulder made choking sounds with each movement, I ran on without concern.

Cutting down rushing zombies and jumping over blocking containers, I arrived at the ship as quickly as possible.

Ye-rim, Hoffman, and the man being treated still remained at the dock below the ship.

In the time I was gone treatment had progressed somewhat, as the man jumped up seeing me run over.

He screamed pointing at my shoulder:

“Ah! Zombie! There’s a zombie hanging on your shoulder!”

Checking the union chief at his words, the union chief’s skin had completely changed.

“Kurk, kurk.”

The sounds heard while running weren’t choking sounds. They were monster sounds made while turning into a zombie.

He looked no different from a zombie outwardly.

But I threw the union chief down on the ground and shouted to Ye-rim:

“Not yet! Can you treat him, Ye-rim?”

I stepped on the struggling union chief’s back and aimed my sword at his neck.

If Ye-rim couldn’t do it, I needed to cut cleanly so he wouldn’t feel pain.

“Um… that… maybe I can… no, I can!”

After fumbling, Ye-rim bit her lip and placed her hands on the union chief’s back.

Then poured holy power into the union chief’s body.

Bright light began enveloping the union chief, and he screamed.

“Kraaaagh!”

Not a human scream, but a zombie’s scream.

A zombie’s scream of pain from holy power.

Hearing that sound made me worry it was too late, but fortunately the screams gradually decreased.

His blackened skin slowly returned to normal, and the bulging veins gradually subsided.

“My god… truly a holy maiden.”

The man treated earlier by Ye-rim crossed his chest then clasped his hands looking at her.

Indeed, in this world without holy power, someone like Ye-rim deserved to be called a holy maiden.

Even in our world, Ye-rim’s holy power might qualify her as a holy maiden candidate.

Wait?

Hold on, the holy maiden just died right?

Then they’ll select a new holy maiden, surely Ye-rim won’t actually be chosen as a candidate?

Though the stubborn temples wouldn’t give holy maiden qualifications to someone from another world, still need to be careful.

Couldn’t lose the party priest I’d just saved.

“Seems we’ve passed the critical moment, treat the rest after getting on the ship.”

I pointed to the container wall on the opposite side of the dock while speaking.

Undead that the union chief’s forklift had missed and I hadn’t dealt with were appearing one by one between containers.

Though a number I could handle alone, there was no reason to expose ourselves to danger below the ship.

At my words, Hoffman immediately carried the union chief, and Ye-rim climbed back on the ship keeping her hands on the union chief’s back.

The treated man also climbed up the boarding stairs with them.

Now I was the only one left below the ship.

I waved my hand to raise the stairs.

No reason to leave the stairs down with no one left.

Though the deck was quite high being a massive container ship, I could easily climb up using mana even without stairs.

I stood at the edge of the dock with my back to the ship and spread my presence toward the approaching undead.

So all undead would know there was a person here.

If they went elsewhere unnecessarily, I’d have to chase and catch them before boarding.

Fortunately the zombies and skeletons didn’t go elsewhere but rushed at me.

“Kraaagh!”

Among unfamiliar faces was a familiar one.

A blood-covered zombie torn apart everywhere. It was the murderer who had opened the container door.

I cut off the neck of the murderer rushing at the front.

“If you’d stayed quietly in prison, you wouldn’t have been executed.”

Or not? If the prison was breached, inside must have been close to hell too.

But that wasn’t my concern.

Standing at the dock’s edge like that, I sent the rushing undead into the water one by one.

Undead falling into the sea after having their necks cut.

The surroundings stayed clean even while fighting after a long time.

As I fought, I heard people chattering above.

People speaking from the ship’s railing:

“My god, zombies stop just from being stabbed by his sword.”

“Even skeletons don’t move after being broken. Can superhumans kill skeletons too?”

Though they seemed to be praising me, somehow it felt like being a monkey in a zoo and didn’t feel very good.

I wasn’t outgoing in my previous life either, and my personality hadn’t changed even being reborn as a knight.

If the world hadn’t ended, those people would all be filming me with phones.

And the videos would spread online for everyone to see.

Thinking that far, it really was fortunate the internet was gone.

Ignoring the chatter, I cleared out all the rushing undead.

After checking the dock with only bloodstains remaining, I looked up at the ship’s railing.

Though unsure why they were hanging on the railing, they needed warning.

But before I could speak, I learned why they were out on the railing.

One of the people on the railing raised his hand pointing at the container wall where the door had been:

“Hey, isn’t that shaking?”

At his words, the person beside him startled and looked where he was pointing.

The person beside him agreed:

“It really is. Is it shaking because the ice melted?”

“A container wall wouldn’t shake just because ice melted!”

The people on the railing were out to watch the surroundings.

They certainly observed well.

“Whoa, it’s collapsing.”

*crash*

They had noticed ahead of time what I only just realized hearing the sound.

With a tremendous noise, dust rose beyond the containers stacked at the dock.

As they said, the container wall had collapsed.

Where we had entered through the container door, where the murderer had opened it and the forklift had rammed.

It had seemed to sway earlier, and finally couldn’t hold up and collapsed.

I sighed softly then shouted up:

“Tell them to depart immediately! Undead will swarm in!”

The people on the railing jumped inside.

Commotion arose on the ship, and soon David stuck his head over the railing:

“We need more time to start the engines!”

I could only frown at David’s words.

“That’s troublesome if it takes longer…”

Because we couldn’t give more time.

Already undead were visible beside and on top of the containers.

Numbers on a completely different scale from the undead dealt with earlier.

A quantity overwhelming just to survive alone. Impossible to protect the ship.

“Use whatever method, launch the ship! We need to get away from the port right now!”

Before my words finished, Jahina’s voice was heard.

Her telepathy sounding like it was right in my ear:

“It’ll be a bit cold.”

Simultaneously, Jahina’s mana rose from the ship’s bow.

Her mana moved the water.

The water churned and the ship rocked.

*splash*

Waves struck the dock and the ship began moving.

*splash*

Standing at the dock’s edge, I was drenched in seawater.