Global Lord in the Apocalypse: I Begin with a Greenhouse

Chapter 4 - The Zombie Horde Attack

“A Lord?”

Just a few dozen meters ahead, a young woman wearing a white steel helmet and armor was swinging her sword at a crowd of zombies closing in around her.

Since this kind of equipment was exclusively provided by the System and came at a high price, only Lords could afford to purchase such combat gear in the New World.

Slash!

With a single swing, five zombies fell to the ground.

“Stop! Don't even think about taking something that doesn't belong to you! Get out of here!”

Noticing Adrian's presence, the woman turned and pointed her sword at him instead.

“You've got it wrong,” Adrian said. “I'm not someone who tries to take advantage of other people's hard work. I just want to warn you to leave this place immediately.”

As he spoke, Adrian glanced at the sword and armor splattered with zombie blood.

Based on his experience in the old world, a zombie wouldn't die without attracting an even larger horde. That was why, ever since the red mist appeared, Adrian had never killed a zombie carelessly.

“Even if the sword in your hand is Silver-tier, it won't be enough to deal with the horde that's about to arrive.”

“Uhuh? Do you think I'm someone you can fool so easily?”

Ignoring Adrian's words, the young woman crouched down and collected the yellow stones that had emerged from the zombies' bodies. The Attribute Stones.

“You came here for these, didn't you? You're planning to take them from me as soon as I leave! What a cheap trick!”

Just then, a faint growling sound came from deep within the forest ahead.

With every passing second, the sound grew louder.

“Zombies!” Adrian shouted. “They're coming!”

He retreated farther away.

Before long, the monsters appeared.

And there wasn't just one. There were many.

Growl!

A loud growl caught the woman's attention as a zombie suddenly appeared behind her.

“Aaaaargh!”

Since she had left her sword far out of reach, she could only leap away to evade the monster's attack.

But the creature had no intention of letting its prey escape so easily. It immediately lunged at her again.

“Damn it!”

The woman jumped in the opposite direction, but unfortunately, that only took her even farther away from her sword.

At the same time, dozens of zombies began appearing from all directions.

No. Within moments, their numbers had rapidly climbed to fifty or more.

“I have to find a way to get my sword back!”

It was a five-star Silver-tier sword. A single swing could kill up to five zombies at once.

Although the undead seemed to be coming endlessly, she was confident that with her sword, she could deal with all of them.

Growl!

Growl!

Growl!

Within just a few minutes, the number of zombies surrounding her had reached the hundreds.

The young woman continued leaping nimbly to evade their attacks, occasionally managing to land a few strikes of her own. But as more and more zombies arrived, she began to struggle.

“I told you to leave, but instead, you accused me of all sorts of things.”

Adrian folded his arms across his chest and smirked.

Unlike the woman, he wasn't being targeted, even though he wasn't particularly far from the zombies.

“Zombies can mark anyone who has recently killed members of their horde. As long as you're here, they won't pay any attention to me.”

He had warned her, but she hadn't listened. So if things had turned into this mess, it wasn't his fault.

After all, some lessons were better learned firsthand than explained to someone who refused to listen.

While Adrian remained completely relaxed, the woman was becoming increasingly overwhelmed.

“Damn it! What is he doing? Is he just going to stand there and let me die? That lunatic!”

She looked left and right, but there was no way out. She had no choice but to fight to the bitter end with her bare hands.

“You ugly monsters! Come at me, all of you!”

She threw punches and kicks in every direction, but within moments, the fight had become hopelessly one-sided.

“Aren't you going to use your trump card?” Adrian shouted. “Unless you want to die, now's the time!”

A Lord wouldn't simply waste all their Energy Stones. They would surely keep some in reserve for emergencies like this.

This woman must have done the same.

“You really are heartless!”

Apart from that desperate glare, those were the only words that escaped the woman's mouth as she tried to fend off a zombie lunging for her face.

Tap!

Unfortunately, that momentary distraction allowed one zombie to grab her arm.

Then another seized her other arm, followed by both of her legs.

Her entire body was now completely immobilized.

“Even if I have to die, I'll never humiliate myself in front of someone else again!”

Although there was no way left to escape, the woman refused to beg for help.

She kept her eyes open and struggled to free herself from the monsters' grip, even though her efforts were futile.

“I will never give up!”

***

A little earlier.

After exchanging her Shelter for Energy Stones, the young woman had decided to follow a stronger Lord.

“Give me nine thousand of your Energy Stones, and I'll give you a place in this palace.”

“All right. I'll do it.”

Without a second thought, the woman transferred her Stones, hoping to secure her survival.

“But you must understand that this is only the initial requirement. You still have to prove yourself worthy to me.”

As he spoke, the man directed his gaze toward his private room upstairs.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Behind the helmet that completely concealed her face, she stared at the man.

“You know, ever since I first saw you, I've been attracted to your beautiful figure and melodious voice. But I haven't been able to see your face. How about we get a little closer to each other?”

Before the man could place his hand on her shoulder, she roughly slapped it away.

“You bastard! Do you know who you're talking to? Watch your mouth!”

“Hmph! You're still thinking about honor in an apocalyptic world like this? You're truly naive!”

The man suppressed his anger. His pride had clearly been wounded by her rejection.

“Get out! I'll never accept someone like you!”

The woman left without getting her Energy Stones back.

With the Energy Stones she had left, she purchased this sword, intending to survive in the New World on her own.

But reality turned out to be far more terrifying than she had imagined.

Still, she refused to humiliate herself again.

She would rather stand on her own two feet until the very end.

Growl!

The woman lowered her head as a zombie opened its mouth right in front of her face.

Her helmet might protect her. But if the zombie managed to attack her unprotected neck, her death would be inevitable.

As if deliberately targeting that very weak spot, another zombie leaped toward her with its mouth wide open, aiming straight for her neck.

Growl!

At the same time, Adrian narrowed his eyes as he watched what was happening before him.

“What on earth is this woman thinking?”

Instead of using her trump card, she was letting herself get surrounded. If she didn't act, the zombies would devour her in no time.

“Does she really have no other choice? Fine! I have to save her now!”

Adrian pulled an arrow from his back and swiped through the holographic screen before him.

[Automatic Arrow Duplication. Purchase for 10 Energy Stones per multiplier.]

“Damn it! Does it really have to be this expensive?”

Even so, he pressed the button on the screen.

[Proceed purchasing.]

The arrow emitted a bluish glow before bursting into blue flames.

Whoosh!

It shot forward at high speed. As soon as it entered the air, it began duplicating itself until there were ten arrows in total.

Adrian could only duplicate it tenfold because doing so had already cost him 100 Energy Stones. He couldn't afford to spend any more Stones to create additional arrows.

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

As if guided by their own eyes, the arrows struck the zombies' heads and necks with pinpoint precision, bringing down the creatures restraining the young woman one by one.