Chapter 327: Disguise

"Oh? So you don’t call me a cockroach or a rat at times like this. And stop giving me weird nicknames. It’s disgusting."

Phield turned his head in surprise and raised an eyebrow at Ophelia.

"So even corrupted creatures know fear."

Thinking about it, that was true. Back when Ophelia had been his enemy, she knew how to run and use schemes. She was one of the rare ones who actually used her brain.

"Of course. The smarter a creature is, the more it understands fear."

Ophelia puffed out her cheeks indignantly. Her chubby dragon tail swished around and nearly tripped Phield.

"You might not be very intelligent. You’re not even scared."

"Of course I’m scared."

Phield let out a rare sigh.

"But compared to taking risks, I’m more afraid of losing even more. If we don’t break this encirclement, that’s the real disaster."

Whether the corruption pushed south or the rebels marched north, being trapped in the middle meant he could be finished at any moment.

"As long as we seize the initiative this time..."

He cut himself off.

"Enough talking. Have the corpses stop attacking and slowly approach the gate."

Phield pulled Ophelia into a concealed spot to hide.

His palms were drenched in sweat as he took out the divine artifact telescope. Nervous beyond belief, he licked his dry lips and began observing the movements around the fortress gate.

Just as before, large numbers of wild corpses approached the fortress. But once they entered a certain range, they would voluntarily turn away.

Only the special corpses allied with the rebels strode arrogantly toward the fortress entrance.

The soldiers stationed at the gate watched the approaching corpses with complicated expressions.

"Captain, those disgusting insect monsters flew away. Maybe we shouldn’t keep letting the corpses inside."

"Thank the Goddess. She finally left. That face of hers was uglier than a diseased widow."

The squad captain responsible for guarding the gate wore an equally conflicted expression.

"Lord Richard ordered us to assist the insect... lady and allow our allies inside. We can’t disobey. Even if she left, she didn’t give any new instructions before going."

"Maybe she’ll come back soon."

He paused.

"Though hopefully she won’t."

The captain tightened his grip on his weapon.

When he had joined the border army, all he wanted was to protect his homeland from monsters.

He never imagined that one day he would become an accomplice to monsters.

But a lord’s orders were not something he could disobey, nor did he possess the strength to resist.

"Keep letting them in. But inspect every single corpse."

One corpse after another was examined by the garrison before being allowed through the fortress and into the civilized world.

Because Phield had sent people to intercept the corpse hordes, the rebels’ reinforcements were no longer arriving in orderly formations. A long gap had appeared in the flow.

"Please work."

Phield was so nervous he felt like he might explode.

Under Ophelia’s control, the corpses marched steadily forward. Following behind the rebel corpses, they advanced toward the fortress step by step.

"It’s a prohibition order."

A smile appeared on Ophelia’s lips.

"The enemy also has a commander-type Corrupted Divine Chosen. That’s why the wild corrupted creatures obediently leave."

She chuckled.

"But my corpses don’t care about prohibitions."

The Nightfall Domain corpses successfully entered the forbidden zone for wild corpses. Disguising themselves as allies of the rebels, they foolishly lined up behind them.

Phield reminded her again,

"Whatever you do, don’t make any hostile moves. Remember, we’re allies of the Shadow World Sect right now."

"Mhm. Trust my abilities."

Though she said that, Ophelia kept a close eye on the projections within the Sphere of the Abyss.

"These corpses look a little different."

A sharp-eyed female soldier rubbed her chin.

"I can’t quite explain what’s wrong with them."

"Hiss..."

Seeing the human soldier showing signs of suspicion, Phield inhaled sharply.

He thought the plan was about to fail.

"They’re really ugly."

The woman shook her head.

Since they weren’t showing any hostile behavior, they were obviously on the same side.

Otherwise, how could brainless corpses resist taking a bite out of someone as sweet as her?

The soldier opened the temporary barricade and allowed the Nightfall Domain corpses through.

"It worked!"

Phield was so excited he nearly had a stroke.

If one could get in, then an entire group could get in.

"Let’s see what’s happening inside the fortress."

Phield pinched Ophelia’s cheek.

"Okay!"

Ophelia was just as excited.

She grinned foolishly.

"So infiltrating a human fortress is this easy."

Through the Sphere of the Abyss, they could see through the eyes of the controlled corpses.

After entering the fortress, the Nightfall Domain corpses twisted their necks unnaturally and looked around. Their pale eyes swept across the interior.

To enter the city, one first had to pass through a steel gate over a meter thick, followed by two grated rolling gates.

Only then could one reach the city proper.

Large numbers of corpses gathered there, standing like wind-up puppets that had run out of springs, twitching occasionally.

Sensing something unusual, the surrounding corpses cast puzzled looks toward the Nightfall Domain corpses.

"Brother, you smell delicious. Like a human."

If corpses could speak, that would undoubtedly be what they were saying.

Ever since Ophelia had been contracted, even the corpses under her control had become enemies of wild corpses.

"Phield, the rebels’ corpses aren’t attacking us either."

After observing for a while, Ophelia could no longer maintain her usual mature demeanor.

She jumped excitedly, her ample chest bouncing wildly.

"Oh my God, Phield, do you see this?"

"I do."

Phield’s eyes unconsciously followed the extra "Sphere of the Abyss" as it bounced up and down.

"But if you keep shaking like that, I won’t have time to look at anything else."

"It seems the enemy’s Corrupted Divine Chosen ordered all corpses to stop attacking anything once they entered the fortress."

Phield snapped his fingers cheerfully.

"Or maybe they’re simply forbidden from attacking first."

"Either way, keep sending more corpses inside."

A cold smile spread across his face as he rubbed his hands together.

"They dared block me off and come after me with swords."

"Are we going to trigger a corpse tide inside the fortress?"

Ophelia’s eyes sparkled.

"That sounds fun. But a thousand corpses won’t be enough to take a fully prepared fortress."

"No need to trigger the corpse tide yet."

Phield shook his head.

"Our corrupted creatures can’t even beat theirs, let alone capture a fortress."

He had no intention of wasting such a perfect opportunity.

"I’m going in too."

"What?"

Ophelia was stunned.

"The enemy isn’t blind. They’re checking the appearance of every corpse. You’re pretty good-looking... well, ugly, but not ugly enough for them to mistake you for a monster."

"Can you stop insulting me every other sentence?"

Phield gave a thumbs-up.

"Don’t worry. I have no intention of throwing my life away."

He then explained his plan step by step.

"I remember you have that obese corpse. We’ll do this..."

Meanwhile, Rosalia crushed the last insect-mutated villager.

The villager’s body exploded, transforming into pure crimson strands that flowed into the Greatsword of Gluttony.

"Wheeze... wheeze..."

Broken Wing gasped for breath.

Her voice sounded like an ancient bellows, hoarse and filled with furious growls. She spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

"How is this possible? We’re both Third Tier Divine Chosen."

Her breathing became heavier.

"It makes no sense."