Lord of Rot

The Cape Caverns.

A lizardman crawled quickly across the ground, its tail, like an iron broom, swinging left and right with its body, constantly striking the narrow path.

A SWOOSHING sound cut through the air.

Lately, this sound had been heard frequently throughout the underground domain. Each time, it heralded the loss of many lives. Now, it had advanced as far as the river channel.

A spear trailing a frosty path pierced the lizardman, its body instantly going stiff.

’Cleanup complete!’

By now, the Cape Caverns were almost completely cleared, with only this underground castle remaining as an unearthed treasure trove.

Leech controlled a lizardman, sending it on a suicidal charge into the castle.

There was no attack as expected. The lizardman corpse turned its neck, its lifeless eyes looking left and right as its head moved.

The castle courtyard was completely silent.

In the faint light emitted by glowing moss, dried bones could be seen—some human, some belonging to monsters like lizardmen and harpies.

’Weird!’

He focused his full attention on controlling the lizardman corpse and walked it into the castle’s interior. The main doors were wide open, as if to say, "Welcome."

The Castle Great Hall.

’Gold!’

Leech stared in astonishment at the golden candelabra on the great hall’s table. The candles had long since burned away, having perhaps once illuminated this space. Now, only the candelabra remained, its golden light, which even time could not erase, still gleaming.

The castle’s wealth far exceeded his imagination. Leech even regretted not charging directly into the castle, having missed out on a sum that could have rapidly funded the development of Porcupine Territory.

This golden candelabra alone could cover Porcupine Territory’s development expenses for more than half a year.

The first floor had nothing special—servants’ quarters, a kitchen, the great hall, a dining room, a reception room, a lavatory, and other such places.

Naturally, there were no golden candelabras in these rooms. It was safe to say he had found nothing of value here.

The Second Floor.

Portraits hung in the corridor. Time had faded the paint, leaving only yellowed, curling canvases and one portrait where the image of some noble was barely discernible, though it had been reduced to a blurry, faded block of color.

He pushed open a door right at the top of the stairs, sending dust flying.

The lizardman corpse’s tail swayed slightly. As it walked, Leech didn’t forget to make a bit of noise.

This must have been a noblewoman’s room. A princess bed, vanity, and other furniture had been corroded by time. Only a golden candelabra caught Leech’s eye.

And as he continued to search, besides the candelabra, he found silver plates, armor that had been completely eroded by time, a stock of fine swords, and a huge pile of Gold and Silver Coins!

No wonder everyone loves treasure hunting. Leech now fully understood the joy of it.

He roughly estimated there were as many Gold Coins, from some unknown era, as five sacks of grain. There were fewer Silver Coins, but still more than two sacks’ worth.

There were also two chests of jewels.

’Should I hire some people now? Drag a few scholars over and have them help me research internal combustion engines to kick-start an industrial revolution on the Lu Leiyi Continent?’

’No, no, no, this little bit of money isn’t enough.’

’Besides, scholars are a pain. They’re too smart!’

’If a scholar discovered I can control corpses, I’d probably become public enemy number one on the continent in an instant.’

He picked up a golden candelabra and headed downstairs. The next step was to control other corpses to come and haul everything away. A great leap forward was right around the corner!

When he reached the first floor, Leech suddenly noticed a blind spot he had missed in his earlier search.

’Hm? There’s a dungeon, too.’

The rusty iron dungeon door couldn’t withstand the lizardman’s charge and fell to the ground in a cloud of rust.

Fortunately, the corpse didn’t need to breathe. The lizardman delved deeper into the dungeon.

It was similar to the dungeons in other castles: narrow, cramped, windowless, and with no light coming in.

He couldn’t breathe, but the consciousness hidden within the lizardman could almost smell the rotten stench unique to dungeons.

It passed cell after cell.

Leech suddenly had the corpse stop and look at the cell at the very end of the hall.

It was a very strange scene.

A dozen or so skeletons were tangled together, bone intertwined with bone, as if they had been engaged in some frenzied act before death.

And in the middle of the skeletons, leaning against the wall, was a single skeleton with its hands and feet bound.

Gold and silver ornaments could still be seen on the other dozen or so skeletons, as well as the hems of skirts that hadn’t completely rotted away.

Following normal logic, the skeleton with its hands and feet bound was likely male, and the others surrounding it were female.

’Looks like he really enjoyed himself to the very last moment.’ Leech was suddenly reminded of a book he’d once read, *The Donkey Knight and the Duchess*. However, compared to that book’s happy ending, this fellow’s end wasn’t quite so cheerful.

Adhering to the principle of not letting anything go to waste, Leech had the corpse break the rusty old lock, go inside, and move the skeletons aside. He collected the gold rings, gold necklaces, and gold emblems hanging in their ribcages.

Leech didn’t plan to sell these treasures for cash directly. Treasures crafted with techniques different from this era were like shouting through a megaphone, "I found treasure, come and rob me!" The greed of the great lords was such that even the slightest rumor could bring an army to his gates.

So, it was better to melt the treasures down and use them as ordinary gold.

After looting the dungeon, Leech couldn’t carry all the treasure, so he had to be selective. But just as he returned to the ground floor and entered the castle’s great hall...

’Something’s not right!’

The long table in the great hall had been knocked over by something.

He had been very careful while searching the castle earlier, so the drastic change in the environment instantly put Leech on high alert.

But then, Leech felt a surge of delight.

’It’s better for trouble to show itself than to stay hidden.’

Anyway, this lizardman’s purpose was to be a sacrifice. Uncovering a hidden enemy now was better than being ambushed while moving treasure later, which would lead to a greater loss.

He deliberately had the lizardman swing its tail, crashing it heavily against the table.

CRASH! CRASH!

The sound of the impacts and lashes echoed through the castle.

"ROAR!!"

The roar came from the second floor. The THUMP-THUMP of footfalls shaking the ground caused the candelabras to sway and the picture frames on the walls to fall. The great hall was instantly thrown into chaos.

Leech looked toward the staircase and finally saw what had been hiding in the castle.

Its head touched the ceiling of the great hall. Its claws were like iron rakes, its teeth like sharp spears.

It was covered in long black fur, and its scarlet eyes were fixed on the lizardman.

The monster reached out and swiped down with a claw.

Leech immediately lost his connection to the lizardman.

’What is that monster!’

Leech’s eyes snapped open, and he gasped for breath.

He had been so focused that for a moment, it felt as if he had personally experienced the lizardman’s death.

Recalling the long-furred monster, Leech quickly began thinking of a way to deal with it.

’If I used that golden-glowing Extraordinary Knight, could it win?’

’Let’s make a rough comparison. The lizardman corpse’s hide was at least as tough as an Iron-Hoof Knight’s. Could the Extraordinary Knight turn an Iron-Hoof Knight into a meat patty with a single slap?’

’It’s not about skill, it’s about pure, overwhelming power.’

’Besides, that long-furred monster, which looks like a giant version of a werewolf, is probably an agile type.’

’What about the Griffin?’

The comparison was meaningless, as Leech didn’t know the Griffin’s actual strength. All he knew was that when it flexed, the little mares didn’t dare to move.

But based on size alone, the Griffin in front of the long-furred monster was like a teddy bear in front of a burly man. One kick would probably send it flying a long way.

Leech switched to a harpy and flew it toward the castle, planning to at least retrieve the golden candelabra he had collected. But to his surprise, the long-furred monster was guarding the entrance. It leaped up and swatted the harpy out of the air, causing it to explode.

He could only grit his teeth and temporarily give up on the treasures inside the castle.

’It seems... I’ll have to come up with a long-term plan!’

First, he had to find a way to kill that long-furred monster.