Lord of Rot

Fishmen.

’They’re actually delivering themselves to my doorstep.’

Leech watched as the Soldier’s body sank into the muddy water, disappearing without a sound. Once he had the location down, he followed, leaping over.

The muddy water was incredibly murky. Further down, her body sank into a non-Newtonian fluid, making it difficult to move.

The muddy water on the surface was just a cover. Anyone who stepped in carelessly would be swallowed by the mire.

’Such an unnatural phenomenon could probably only occur in a lair.’

Leech quickly lost track of his target. Although Aina was a corpse and didn’t need to breathe, he still didn’t know which way to go.

A figure brushed past her body. It was a Fishman, and it seemed to be dragging the dead horse. Leech had her reach out and grab the horse, allowing her to be pulled along behind it.

After quite some time, Aina’s eyes could finally see again.

She emerged from the mire and swam upward for a while, arriving in a dark, damp cavern, half-submerged in water.

Water dripped from above.

At the same time, a red dot appeared before Leech’s eyes.

’It really is a lair.’

His perspective returned to Corpse Ghost Aina. Although the cavern was dim, it wasn’t completely dark. Visibility was surprisingly good.

The cavern was filled with a pale green fluorescent glow, allowing him to see for a great distance.

Leech had Corpse Ghost Aina rise slowly from the water.

Ahead, Fishman monsters let out bizarre, meaningless cries. They hadn’t noticed that a living presence had followed them in.

"WAOO-LALALALA-AWOO-WAWA!"

With their scrawny bodies, they worked together to drag corpses and severed limbs. The warhorse’s carcass, for instance, required several Fishmen to move. They all headed deeper inside.

Leech waited in place, intending to sneak in after the Fishmen were a safe distance away.

"WAOO-LALALALA-AWOO-WAWA!"

A sudden Fishman cry came from behind. Leech spun Aina around, whipping out a kick that sent the creature flying and left a slimy, viscous residue on the top of her foot.

The Fishman slammed into the wall and burst apart with a SPLAT.

Silence.

Leech had her dip her foot back into the water, swishing it to wash off the disgusting slime.

Without the Fishman pulling, the Soldier’s corpse—one leg in the mire, the other in the water—was now awkwardly stuck.

Leech paid the body no mind.

The faint light came from spots of green ore dotting the walls. Unlike the dim, glowing moss of the Cape Lair, the ore in this Fishman lair was somewhat brighter.

This Fishman lair was half submerged in mud, making it dark and damp.

After he walked for some distance, a clamor began to rise.

Cries of "WAOO-LALALALA-AWOO-WAWA" echoed from all directions, still distant.

Leech crouched down. Through Aina’s excellent dark vision, he took in the scene inside the lair.

Countless fist-sized fish eggs were packed together, covering the ground, the cavern walls, and even parts of the ceiling. If this lair was just one-tenth the size of the Cape Lair, there had to be at least tens of thousands of eggs!

If the area was larger, Green Forest Castle might already be surrounded. They were just waiting for the right moment to burst forth, and Green Forest Castle might fall under new ownership.

A cluster of eggs lay nearby. Inside a translucent one, Leech could see a small, fully formed Fishman. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

POP. The egg split open. A slimy, ugly, palm-sized Fishman flopped onto the ground. The moment it saw Aina, it opened its mouth, wagged its tail, and lunged for her, only to be felled by the Poisonous Touch Leech released.

’No wonder they can never kill them all.’

Leech marveled grimly at the sheer number and terrifying reproductive speed of these Fishman monsters.

He had Corpse Ghost Aina walk deeper inside. Aina’s spirit, he could feel, was intensely curious about everything.

As they walked, Leech didn’t forget to use his Poisonous Touch. Aina’s black hand swept over the eggs along their path, poisoning, corroding, and killing them one by one.

The deeper he went, the more alarmed Leech became.

He felt his earlier estimates had been conservative. If the Fishmen in this lair were allowed to hatch unchecked, Linta Bay might soon become the Fishman Kingdom, and the other inhabitants of the Lu Leiyi Continent might be forced to accept its existence.

At the same time, another thought occurred to him.

’What about the other lairs in the world? If they remain undiscovered, how large will their monster populations grow?’

’Probably not this bad. Most are likely similar to the Cape Lair, maintaining a stable population and living their lives hidden from the sun.’

’Individually, Fishmen are weak, but they use poison.’

’They have large numbers and reproduce quickly.’

’When they attack in large numbers, they’re still very difficult to handle.’

But Leech’s arrival would bring all of this to a premature end. He was nipping these ugly lives in the bud—or rather, the egg—silently saving the people of Linta Bay.

"WAOO-LALALALA-AWOO-WAWA!"

"WAOO-LALALALA-AWOO-WAWA!"

The bizarre cries ahead grew louder and clearer.

Leech suddenly stopped.

The ground ahead sloped down into a massive pit filled with water, where several thousand Fishmen were writhing and splashing.

They were tearing the corpses of the people from Mama City to pieces, dunking them in the water, and devouring them hungrily.

The unpalatable items—gold, silver, armor, and other valuables—were tossed onto the bank.

The money Mama had earned from selling his horses on this trip—it was all here!

’Now I have a reason to protect Green Forest Castle,’ Leech thought, eyeing the pile of money.

He had her lie down at the edge, open her palm, and squeeze toxic blood from her pores. It dripped into the pool, and as the Fishmen churned the water, it rapidly dissolved.

Almost half of the toxic blood in her body was mixed into the pool.

Even with Aina’s Extraordinary regeneration, it still took a while to produce new toxic blood.

Looking down again, the toxic blood had already taken effect.

A Fishman flipped over, its toad-white belly showing, and floated on the water’s surface.

One, then another, then another... More and more, until finally, every Fishman in the pool had collapsed.

The few Fishmen on the bank looked on in confusion, not understanding why their companions had suddenly all started floating on their backs. "Waoolalalala-awoo-wawa?"

Leech had the Corpse Ghost’s body leap down. With a flick of her foot, she kicked a bone spear made from a human leg into her hand. A casual throw sent it flying. The remaining Fishman was struck as if by a sledgehammer, blasted by the short spear into the wall, where it left a disgusting spray of blood and guts.

’Looks like this is my entire haul,’ Leech thought, looking at the inheritance left by the dead from Mama City.

’I seem to be getting very good at collecting inheritances.’

Suddenly, a Fishman with a long beard appeared before them. It held a huge bone staff in its right hand and muttered, "Waoolalalala-awoo-wawa."

It raised its left hand.

VMMMM!

Currently on horseback, Leech’s eyes snapped open.

His connection with Aina’s body was severed!

And for some reason, he felt a deep-seated fear toward that strange, long-bearded Fishman.

’Intimidation? Or some kind of psychic attack?’

Drawing on his knowledge of fantasy fiction from Earth, Leech had a rough idea of what kind of Magic the creature had just used.

The sudden disconnection from Aina worried him greatly. Even though Aina was fundamentally undead, he didn’t want her to get hurt, nor did he want to imagine a worse outcome.

He wasn’t worried about her being eaten. Aina was a walking vessel of poison; a single lick would be fatal.

"Lord," Robo said, riding back. "Lord, they say a nobleman’s party has gone missing. Green Forest Castle wants to come and investigate."

"Let them come," Leech said, composing himself.

A detachment of lightly armored Soldiers from Green Forest Castle approached. Their leader’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Leech. "Lord Leech!"

It was one of the Soldiers who had been with Stacy when they were surrounded by Fishmen.

"What’s happened?" Leech asked, forcing himself to appear composed while desperately trying to re-establish his connection with Aina.

"The people from Mama City are missing," the Soldier said with a sigh. "Some young noble from Mama City woke up in a brothel today and remembered he was supposed to leave. By the time he ran to the rendezvous point, pulling his pants up, he couldn’t find his party. He came back to Green Forest Castle to ask, only to find out they’d left a short while ago. An entire party just vanished on the road out of Green Forest Castle."

’So one of them got away.’

The Soldiers had already done a quick investigation. They found that Leech’s party was only carrying seeds, food, and the like. Plus, there were no bloodstains on them and no one was injured; there was no way they were involved with the people from Mama City.

They had even left in a different direction.

Leech asked, "Do you need our help? Green Forest Castle is my second home."

He no longer cared if the lair was exposed. It wouldn’t matter if these men learned of the Fishman lair. As long as he didn’t "take it with him," it was just another den of monsters.

Losing contact with Aina had made him extremely worried.

Not giving the Soldier a chance to refuse, Leech bellowed, "Robo, Little Joel, the craftsman and his family will stay behind! Leave five men to guard the wagons! The rest of my Soldiers, on the double! Follow me!"

"Yes, sir!" his Soldiers roared, their morale soaring.

Seeing this, the Soldier from Green Forest Castle didn’t object. After all, Leech had charged out to help them in the exact same way when they were besieged by Fishmen.

’By the Four Gods, Baron Porcupine... he is a true Knight!’