Oh Rats, I’m Really Done For

"Thank you, sir." The guard was dazed.

Field reached out, pulled him to his feet, and gave him an encouraging punch on the shoulder. "It's not easy to train a suitable soldier. I'm counting on you all to shed your slave status and become true warriors—even knights!"

The guard felt his blood surge with passion. He had always dismissed Field's promises as empty boasts or nobleman's jokes. But now, he truly sensed that Field was different from other nobles.

"Charge for Lord Field!"

The surrounding soldiers, infected by this fervor, wildly brandished their halberds, cutting down the rotting corpses.

Soon, the zombies drawn by the noise were cleared out. Field quickly counted—over seventy corpses.

Field drew a sharp breath, but the stench of decay immediately flooded his windpipe. He snapped his mouth shut, grumbling inwardly, *Did the winery really need so many workers? When the Empire decided to unleash the Death Mist, why didn't they warn the people of the North to evacuate?*

*Ah, whatever. None of my damn business.*

Shaking off pointless questions, Field pressed deeper into the winery.

After walking for a while, Field found the large brewing room. He'd fantasized about discovering raw materials like rock sugar or barley.

Instead, his unrealistic hopes were met by the grotesque corpse of a bat-woman. Her dead eyes stared emptily. From neck to groin, she'd been violently torn open, her internal organs vanished.

"What a waste of barley. It was meant for barley wine." Field noticed what could still be called "barley" scattered across the floor. Ten years of decay had rendered the grains capable of sluggish writhing. Field marveled at the corruption's strangeness. "Perhaps corruption isn't a demon's curse, but a unique form of radiation."

"Radiation?"

Ashina's brain seemed to short-circuit as she pondered the unfamiliar word. Suddenly, her expression changed. "Look out! Something's approaching fast!"

It moved too quickly for Field to react. A skull icon flashed onto his minimap.

"Clang!"

The guard standing ahead paled. Instinctively looking up, his shield shattered into fragments in the very instant he raised it. He was sent sprawling backward, limbs flailing. A creature resembling a Licker from Resident Evil appeared where the guard had stood. Only its slender tail and pointed nose hinted at its origin: a mutated rat.

The rat-monster shrieked and lunged at Field with razor-sharp claws.

Field felt a gust of wind as the massive claws filled his vision.

"Not a chance!"

At the critical moment, Ashina directed her dragon-wolf to flash in front of Field, curling its body protectively around him.

A series of crackles and pops erupted, accompanied by showers of sparks. The dragon-wolf, relying on its scales, absorbed the claw strike without even a whimper. The monster stared dumbfounded at the giant wolf, then at its own claws. Its usually unstoppable talons had only managed to dislodge two bloodied scales.

The dragon-wolf swung a massive paw, swatting the rat-monster aside.

Mountain Cat and the others seized the chance, hacking wildly with their sabers and halberds. But the monster's thick hide shrugged off most blows, leaving only superficial wounds. It lashed out with its long limbs, sweeping away seven or eight men like dust. This was despite the guards wearing full armor; even lighter lamellar armor added significant weight. Yet they were flung aside with terrifying ease.

"Fall back! This thing is beyond any normal creature!" Field shouted, raising his shield and scrambling for cover in a corner. "Damn it, forgot the crossbow. Against thick-skinned beasts like this, ordinary folks need bolts to pierce its hide. Leave this to Ashina!"

The rat-monster rose, intent on grabbing a guard for a snack.

"Won't let you!" Ashina poured power into her spear, her entire aura exploding.

With tremendous force, the spear pierced the monster's hide like parchment and lodged deep within its body, catching between bones. If the cramped space hadn't prevented her from charging atop her wolf, the blow might have run it through.

The monster screamed in agony and slashed back with both claws.

"BOOM!"

The dragon-wolf slammed into the monster's chest like a high-speed train, interrupting its attack and sending it flying, exposing its vulnerable underbelly. This was a Tier-III Corrupted Beast. In confined spaces, it took a Tier-III human warrior with battle aura or magic to kill it, or heavy weapons like a ballista or armor-piercing crossbow.

Thankfully, Chosen Ones were far stronger than ordinary people. Ashina, wielding only Tier-I Chosen power, was more than enough to crush it.

"Piercing Spear of Absolute Frost!"

Ashina unleashed her divine skill for the first time.

Starlight gathered in her hands, coalescing into a spear that writhed like a sapphire dragon. Pouring immense divine power into it, Ashina pivoted her hips, driving the force from her legs through her torso and arm, and hurled it with all her might. The divine skill struck the rat-monster. Blood sprayed, bones snapped! Chunks of pulverized flesh splattered against the walls.

"Whew... finally dealt with." Ashina's face was pale, her breathing heavy with exhaustion.

The battle had ended in a flash, but the peril had been suffocating.

Field also exhaled deeply. "Thank the gods you were here. The last venison steak is yours."

"Long live the Lord!" Hearing about steak, Ashina's tail wagged furiously, drool escaping her lips. Her aloof battle demeanor vanished instantly. She patted her chest generously, "Half is enough. You work hard too, my Lord."

Field felt deeply comforted.

The minimap showed the large winery was almost clear of monsters, only scattered small skull icons remained.

Playing it safe, Field first escorted the wounded outside, treated their injuries, then led the rested team back in for a thorough sweep of the entire winery.

It wasn't until 9 PM that the cleanup reached its final stage.

The great winery was utterly dilapidated, littered with collapses. Wind whistling through cracks stirred grey dust. The only saving grace was that the main structure remained intact. The first and second floors had been scoured clean, yielding nothing valuable—just some pitch-black rotten wood, useful perhaps for shacks or firewood.

"Just the cellar left, sir," a guard said, stepping forward. Ignoring the thick dust coating the cellar door, he gripped it with both hands and heaved. The heavy door groaned open, revealing a dark staircase descending into gloom.

Field swallowed hard, nervously rubbing his hands together. *Buddha bless me, God bless me, please let me find something useful down there.*

Rows of oak sherry casks lay piled in the shadowy cellar. Some were crushed by fallen debris. Everywhere bore the stains of long-dried spills and the telltale tracks of rats.