Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Spoils

In the night’s Wokan Town, within the forest to the west.

The scent of bl**d permeated the woods, with those who fell into an ambush now lying on the ground, shot down. Among them, the sole surviving leader was hit by several bullets. Unable to retaliate, he was intercepted by Captain Gregor of the Hunters. Gregor’s short blade was now thrust into his mouth.

“Ahh…”

His eyes bloodshot, his face distorted in agony, the man tried to counterattack towards Gregor, but Gregor moved faster. He pulled the blade out, slicing through the man’s mouth. The man’s jaw was severed, and a torrent of bl**d gushed from his exposed neck as he made a strange sound, swaying before collapsing.

Seeing the man fall, Gregor shook the bl**d off his sword and looked down contemptuously at the man still twitching beneath his feet. Just as he was about to sheathe his sword, a slight movement in the bushes nearby caught his attention.

“Who’s there!”

Without hesitation, Gregor threw the bloody short sword into the bushes. The sword disappeared into the foliage without any cries coming from inside.

‘Was I off target? Or did I overreact, and there was no one there?’

As Gregor pondered, the man at his feet began to rise slowly, raising his terrifying face toward Gregor.

Without a jaw, his long tongue hung down from the upper palate, his esophagus clearly visible. bl**d continued to spurt from the front of his neck.

This… seemed like a scene from a zombie movie. Even in such a state, the man still showed signs of life, emitting indistinct groans as he reached out for Gregor’s head.

“What…”

At the critical moment, Gregor finally reacted. He dodged the man’s sudden attack, but the man still managed to grab Gregor’s face, knocking off his iron mask.

“Grrr!!”

Unable to speak, the man emitted a terrifying sound and raised his other hand to strike Gregor’s unprotected face. At that moment, a gunshot rang out.

“Bang!”

The man’s head exploded, spraying its contents everywhere, even splattering Gregor. With his head blown apart, the man’s body finally lost all vitality and fell backward, motionless. Nearby, a female figure of a hunter held a rifle aimed in their direction, smoke still rising from the barrel.

“You were too careless, Gregor. If you don’t aim for the vital points, the Thirster won’t d*e easily…”

“Mmm… Sorry Elena, I wanted to bring him back alive, but my attention drifted slightly…”

Exhaling, Gregor responded while looking at the stains on his body, then turned to Elena. Hearing this, Elena tilted her head slightly and said,

“Distracted?”

“Yes…” As he spoke, Gregor walked toward the bushes where the disturbance had been. After parting the bushes, he found nothing but the short sword stuck in the ground.

‘A hallucination?’

Thinking this, Gregor pulled out the sword, which was still stained with bl**d.

Sheathing the sword, Gregor turned to look at the team in the woods and gave an order.

“Clean up the scene, prepare to return to Igewent…”

…

On the outskirts of Wokan Town, at the edge of the small forest to the west, a young girl with long white hair sat on a stone, her eyes closed in deep concentration.

Suddenly, the trees behind her rustled. A large black dog with scars all over its body emerged from the dense undergrowth, holding a briefcase in its mouth.

The black dog crouched beside the stone. Dorothy, sitting on the stone, opened her eyes and jumped down.

“Well done, good child…” Dorothy smiled and patted the dog’s head. The dog then released the briefcase, placing it in front of Dorothy.

“Now, rest…”

Looking at the wounded dog, Dorothy stroked her ring and whispered. Immediately afterward, the dog lost all vitality and collapsed.

Indeed, this was one of Dorothy’s controlled zombie puppets, sourced from Edric’s residence in Wokan Town.

During the day, Dorothy had found Edric’s house in Wokan Town and, using a key she found on him, successfully broke in. Inside, she discovered numerous animal and even human corpses.

It was clear that Edric, as the previous owner of the zombie puppet ring, had conducted extensive experiments. His home not only stored many spare zombie puppets but also contained research notes about the ring’s effects.

According to the notes, Edric had acquired the ring from an old market, discovered its functions, and used it for various tests. In his notes, Dorothy learned that the ring could control up to two corpses within a three-kilometer radius. If the corpse’s sensory organs were largely intact, the controller could share the puppet’s senses, meaning they could see through the puppet’s eyes and hear through its ears.

Additionally, the ring had some preservative effects on the controlled corpses. By regularly influencing a corpse with the ring, it could remain preserved for a long time.

The black dog in front of Dorothy was one of Edric’s “collections.” She used it to gain benefits during the conflict between the Mysterious Organization and the An Yin Bureau…

Yes, since Dorothy orchestrated this event, she would not be content merely as an observer. She had long set her sights on what the Mysterious Organization had promised Edric as a reward after the mission was completed.

According to the letter, this reward would help Edric formally enter the so-called “Extraordinary Realm,” thus qualifying him to join their ranks.

Now, this reward was right in front of Dorothy.

However, in this event, Dorothy gained more than just this reward.

Lifting the briefcase, Dorothy stared at the lifeless black dog in front of her, her gaze fixed on a fresh wound on its back.

Unlike the other wounds on the dog, this one was newly inflicted, likely caused by a short sword that had flown into the bushes as the dog fled.

“Sigh… Looks like you’ve been doing well in the city, Brother Gregor…”