MTLNOVEL Chapter 103: Swarm
Heavy footsteps thumped on the ground.
A small group of zombies was headed towards the zoo. Blaze was leading the sporeforms back to the base, but they weren't alone.
On each of their shoulders was a human, a chosen. Every single one of them had had their spines crushed in the most delicate manner, unlike Monica¹.
The rest of them had control of everything above their necks. Though Blaze had to sew their mouths shut as they talked too much.
Other than that, he was quite pleased with himself and his rebellious child. Unlike the necroseed, the spore didn't turn humans into regular zombies.
Instead, it changed their bodies based on need. For example, turning their limbs into whips was one of its favorite mutations, but not all sporeforms had them.
Only the ones who were bulky and could spare some muscle and bones got to have the whip. While some were focused on agility.
There was even a semi-giant form, like a mini-Breaker, to tank damage.
It was as if the blightspore had taken inspiration from Blaze and his encyclopedia to create its own line of zombies.
However, the most useful feature the sporeforms had was their immortality… kind of.
When the blightspore infected someone, it took over their nervous system.
As such, it formed a second brain to control the target, rendering the existing brain useless.
Moreover, this new brain could regenerate.
As long as a single filament of blightspore was left inside, it could regenerate and continue controlling what was left of the host's body.
That's why it appeared unkillable. In reality, the sporeform was dying, but only fire could kill all the blightspores inside it at once.
Honestly, it worries me a bit.
The blightspore followed him because of the spire, not out of filial duty. If anything were to happen to it, the sporeforms would turn on him.
As great as the installation was, Blaze disliked how dependent he was on it.
That's just the kind of guy he was.
First, he'd create something to dominate others. Then he'd come up with contingencies in case things went south.
Besides, it gave him something to do till they reached the lair.
The most obvious remedy would be to make more spires. The only issue is I'd need to find more necroseeds for it.
Blaze threw that plan out of his head.
After gathering materials for Alaric and Voss's experiments, he knew finding a necroseed wasn't easy. He didn't think any zombie even had it anymore.
The second plan was simpler.
He could just reinforce it. But this plan had an obvious flaw.
Reinforcement, no matter how great, could always fail. What Blaze did to the naval base was a prime example of that.
Before he could ponder more possibilities, a strange sight caught his attention.
"What is this?"
Blaze was confused, but the humans were petrified.
How could they not be terrified after seeing such a massive horde surrounding the zoo? Thousands of zombies were there, trying to get inside.
So far, Blaze's horde and defenses had stopped them. But it was a matter of time before they broke through.
It took a second for him to realize what was happening, and smacked his head.
The swarm was the zombies the spire had tamed for him. Over thirty-three thousand zombies were clashing against his defenses because the spire was attracting them.
"I should have gone for the flat structure…" Blaze said, shaking his head.
He didn't realize it before, but the spire's ten-mile radius was biting him in the ass.
San Diego had an area of 372 square miles. And the spire covered an area of roughly 314 square miles. If he considered the zoo as the center, a single spire covered about eighty-four percent of the city.
It was safe to say that most of the zombies in the city were now under his command.
However, instead of feeling proud or joy for such a feat, Blaze was annoyed. He wasn't thinking about the manpower, but about the logistics.
The lair just wasn't big enough to accommodate so many of them. If they went unchecked, they'd break his carefully planned lair.
However, it wasn't all bad. After all, the scenario would let him test the so-called absolute submission the spire offered.
"Stay here," Blaze said, instructing the sporeforms.
Then, he walked towards the zoo, stopping behind the swarm.
"Stop!" he yelled at them.
However, only the ones in his immediate vicinity heard him over the growls. The rest continued thrashing around.
Enough! Stop this right now!
As soon as he thought those words, the swarm halted. The ones that had been banging their limbs and heads against the walls went still.
Blaze looked at them and crossed his arms.
"As I thought, mental commands work better than verbal ones," he said, staring at the swarm. "Move."
The zombies moved aside, clearing a path for Blaze to walk to the gates. Breaker, Saturn, and Marrow were already there, fortifying the base to last against the swarm.
Using Breaker's shoulder, Blaze climbed onto the walls, scanning the zombies before him. Then he turned to see his lair inside.
"There's no way they'd fit in there," Blaze said, scratching his head. "I'll worry about it later. First, I need to classify them into smaller groups."
Grade-0 zombies step forward.
It was impossible for the zombies to know what grade-1 meant. But since their minds were linked with Blaze's, they knew exactly what he meant.
The walkers followed the command, only for Blaze to realize his mistake. He didn't have the time to count all of them!
"…system?"
[…]
"Please?"
[…classifying the numbers based on the subject's preference.]
[Grade-0 zombies: 18,753]
[Grade-1 zombies: 12,914]
[Grade-2 zombies: 1,487]
[Grade-3 zombies: 77]
"Seventy-seven grade-3s? That's a lot more than I thought."
Blaze was still stuck as a grade-4 being, and seeing so many grade-3s got him worried. It made him feel like it was only a matter of time before a grade-4 emerged to challenge him.
He needed to evolve, and thankfully, he knew how.
"Time to kill three birds with one stone."
***
Author's note:
1. Changed Amanda from the last chapter to Monica, as Amanda was already a character who died earlier (during Blaze's first hunt). The last chapter has been altered accordingly.