[NR] Zombies Shamble Around - Chapter 670

As befitting an undead siege, the event started not the next day, but the next night. As the last rays of the sun vanished below the trees, the first shamblers pulled themselves from the ground. Yes, from the ground!

The classic zombies that made up the first wave died easily. Not that anyone with half a brain thought it would go otherwise. And the same happened over the next two waves of zombies afterwards. Though this wasn’t a waste.

While forced to start at the edge each time, the zombies made it further and further with each wave. All because they weren’t just dying. They were leaving behind a trail of desecration and each death causing a burst of undead power to stain the ground.

And so, each step taken and each death they were dealt spread a road of undeath towards the town.

On top of the wall, Siegfried shakes his head before shouting an order. “Careful of that corruption! While they don’t seem to be able to right now, in normal situations, their summoners can call up the undead out of it. As it is though, it seems to at least empower the undead upon it.”

Down below, the fourth wave crawls out of the ground and this time it isn’t only zombies. Though things didn’t advance in power too much. About a third of the wave is now made of skeleton archers, their bows roughly crafted from bones and sinew, their arrows more Mana than reality as they pull them from empty quivers.

Said arrows are shot without any order, arcing towards the wall, though at that distance they fall short. A fringe benefit of the town’s wall being so tall. Not that the arrows would likely get through the defensive enchantments. After all, the walls are designed to block things like the thrown quills of an enormous porcupine or the venom of a giant spitting cobra. Let alone some puny bone spikes with only the vaguest hint of fletching.

Though the skeletons do have the advantage of being smaller targets. A matter which normally doesn’t mean as much for the undead. After all, taking a chunk out of a zombie doesn’t do all that much. Even things like the heart or brain only matter as targets because of the magic powering them and the inherent magical significance they hold.

This isn’t normal though as the town isn’t stupid. Once they figured out, they would be facing the undead, they had a day and change to prepare. Not enough time to enchant up some proper anti-undead equipment, but it did allow them to both bring out the equipment they did have and ready some magic.

The few clerics in town made sure to prepare the proper prayers to buff the defenders and opened up their emergency stocks of holy water. Alchemists whipped up a few holy poisons using a portion of said holy water. And there were the various other crafters, not quite able to make a rapid difference, but helping in small ways.

A leatherworker pulling out a stock of oils that helps leather resist magical decay. An embroiderer taking the time to add to anyone who wants it, a simple holy symbol of whatever undead hating deity a person might want. Smiths providing free repair. That and more happened in a flurry over the last day and throughout the previous night.

Last, but not least, to provide was the Adventurer’s Guild and their long-term buffer. Wizards who focused on providing buffs that can last days if done right. And they made sure to provide all the fighters with a buff of bane to the undead that should last the night.

As with most of their buffs, this wasn’t going to be a big swing. Rather, it was a subtle bonus. Just a small increase to accuracy, a tiny boost to damage, the slightest nudge to make sure something important is hit. Or as most kingdom’s would call it, strategic level magic.

Sure, it isn’t as flashy as a spell that can blast apart a wall. But when applied across an entire army? So much more devastating. After all, even if the effect only makes a low level trooper 1% more likely to hit, across an army of even just a thousand, that is ten more hits. Nevermind the fact that each hit that does happen is dealing just a bit more damage. At that scale, the small numbers add up fast as more of the enemy dies faster.

Though more importantly for the current fight. The buffs also get around the ability of the undead to no-sell hits. A normal arrow is more than likely to pass through a skeleton’s ribs as it is to hit anything. The buff allows those same arrows to hit the magic spread between those ribs to allow the skeleton to mimic the body’s original capabilities. This also works with the incorporeal undead, though not as effective as a ghost touch effect.

A similar effect can be seen with the zombies and other fleshy undead. Dead flesh might feel nothing, but to be preserved the necromantic power is flowing through said flesh. Which allows buffed weapons to hit at the animating magic itself. At least, these things are true for the more “natural” undead.

Either way, the result of this quite minor buff is anything but. Just the fact it allows normal arrows to be effective against the skeleton archers is a major boon. After all, a company of archers with unlimited ammunition that is hard to hit with return fire is a nightmare.

And so whatever is throwing undead at them continues their zombie plus skeleton strat for a total of three waves. The undead being if anything, persistent. Though in this case it turned out for not. With fewer zombies, these waves don’t even manage to push forward their desecration.

Those on the walls destroying the zombies first before taking out the skeletons. Not that skeletons are slow. Their lack of flesh normally allows them to move faster. It is just that the skeleton archers were more focused on firing bone arrows than advancing.