Lord Shadow-Chapter 20: The great warlord period

London, Former UK

A man was running around in a suit of armour with a longsword (both of which gave a deathly and powerful feeling), mowing through a mob of zombies with apparent ease.

He had already reached level 21 and chosen to class up into the unique class, Death Knight.

His name was John or, at least, it was now. He had never liked his name so when he was given the opportunity to change it, he did so with relish.

His well-toned body was scarred with proof of his battles prior to the Fall. He was a bodyguard for Wilhelm Rothschild, of the infamous Rothschild clan.

And though he had seen enough to, for all intents and purposes, confirm all of the conspiracy theories about them, he really couldn’t care less.

He simply did his job and kept his nose in his business.

To him the Rothschilds were his employers, no more, no less. In all honesty, that trait of his was one of the main reasons he was hired and still had his head. His orphan status only sweetened the deal as he had nobody to miss him if he was gone.

Spotting a building, he jumped from his current position to the second floor and looked down at the zombies.

His efforts paid off. In the three days after the world ended he had spent the majority of his time purging the area of its dangers and, at this point, there were very few zombies left in the area.

He walked to a room and opened it with a key. This marked his 3rd day here. Entering he took a seat and began to eat. After he finished, exhaustion washed over him as he threw himself onto a bed.

He felt comfortable resting here mainly because he had set up a couple barricades. Hell, even if the zombies somehow broke in, he was certain he would be able to deal with them. The only thing he needed to be wary of was the beast.

Three days ago, as per usual, he accompanied Wilhelm to London to meet with an associate. An old friend, if you will.

Suddenly, while they were waiting, everything went to Hell.

The absurdities that had taken place bewildered John, but luckily he was quick to adapt and figure out the rules of this new world as he quickly increased his level all the while protecting his contractor. His battles also earned him 2 offensive skills and 1 for support.

Chaos reigned supreme as the stench of death filled the air.

If it was to be said he did anything wrong, it was that he didn’t loot the gold. He needed to escort Wilhelm to safety. How could he have time to loot the gold?

It took them a few hours, but they finally arrived at the bunker. Holing up they would be safe for the time being. Wilhelm attempted to call the police, army, government, anybody really. Sadly, there was no response. The world had gone dark.

It was night and the two were thoroughly exhausted. As they were about to turn into bed, alarms began to ring. A beast had detected them.

The bunker which was designed to withstand nuclear blasts was torn apart by a single beast. It resembled a hideous dinosaur with its gleaming teeth. Chunks of flesh were lodged in its teeth and blood coated its claws.

That encounter resulted with the death of Wilhelm, while John was lucky enough to just barely slip by. In that moment, a feeling of powerlessness that he had never felt before overcame him.

How could he know that when he chose to become a unique class he would be tasked with defeating the monster? Was such a task even possible?

At any rate, that beast was the sole reason he hadn’t left the area yet. John was a resolute man. Since he made his decision, he wouldn’t easily change his mind. He needed to kill the beast.

He sighed at his situation. He had a long way to go if he wanted to claw his way out of hell.

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New York, Former Usa

Raymond was in an abandoned building and was still in New York.

Well, unless he could fly or teleport, he would be stuck in New York for a long time. And even though three days have passed, Raymond couldn’t believe what has happened.

Their party had been using this building for a while now, and they have grown to 24 in number. There were elderly, young, women, children, and even one pregnant mother. ƒr𝙚𝙚𝘸e𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝒐m

Though there were a lot of more people, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t lost anyone either. Too many people had watched friends, and strangers alike, die.

It had only been three days but the destruction was apocalyptic.

The building he was in was overlooking a gigantic beast near a gas station. With one swipe of its hands, buildings crumbled and vehicles exploded. From this feat alone anyone would be able to deduce the strength it harbored in its bulging arms.

The streets were filled with zombies, corpses, and the remains of what was once a bustling city. The sights were both heart wrenching and eerie.

“Is it coming here?” a voice from behind Raymond inquired.

“It doesn’t seem to notice us,” Raymond answered as he shook his head.

“Good. Let Nick take the next patrol.”

“Ok.”

Switching with Nick, Raymond sat down in a corner and began to talk with his new friend, Jessie.

“How’s the leveling?” Raymond asked amicably. Jesse was a teenager who they rescued from the zombies during their journey here.

“Not long till I reach level 10,” Jessie replied excitedly. His eyes were full of admiration for Raymond.

“Good. I’m going to rest for awhile. If you have any questions, ask me.”

“Un.”

As he began to eat, a few others in the group came to him and struck up various conversations. Quite a few of them wanted to know about what he had figured out about the system. Not only was he patient, he also was a gamer and level 23, so he was pretty much the foremost expert on the subject.

As he was talking, he suddenly felt his hairs raise as he made eye contact with Leonard causing him to avert his gaze

Nowadays his relationship with Leonard was strained.

For some reason Raymond felt that Leonard didn’t like him. Raymond, on the other hand, only had admiration for Leonard. He had not only saved him, but he also saved this group.

Unbeknownst to Raymond, Leonard was jealous and fearful of Raymond’s growth. In 3 short days he had transformed from a chubby little cosplayer, to the man he is now.

When he was injured, Raymond led the group. And contrary to Leonard’s expectations, Raymond didn’t lead just well but great.

Under his leadership, they raided many stores successfully, leveled up, and classed up. Most of the group admired and respected Raymond.

Inevitably, with his power, Raymond’s influence in the group grew stronger. When he fought with his Stone Warhammer he was unstoppable and produced mini earthquakes. Furthermore, his unique class’ ability to control the earth was simply too strong. To make matters worse, his skills only grew stronger when he killed the Red Giant Ape and fully advanced.

It took 20 men and 2 deaths for Raymond to completely leave Leonard’s league.

When Leonard first formed his group it was out of necessity, but now he but now he had aspirations of being the ruler of his own territory.

He wanted to rule. He wanted to conquer. He wanted to dominate.

Leonard knew that Raymond would only get in the way of his dreams. His nature wouldn’t allow him to let Leonard do what he wished. There wasn’t enough room for two tigers in a jungle anyway.

Raymond had become a thorn in Leonard’s flesh. And he needed to remove it, no matter the cost.

And so the game begins.

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Kai, Former Japan

Hikigaya was one of the few that survived the Fall. After he ran away from school he managed to attain level 26 within 3 days.

Quite frankly it was an absurd speed.

So how did he, despised by all of his classmates, become this strong? Strong to the point where his classmates had no choice but to make him their leader?

He used his head. During the Fall, all of his classmates got blades, katanas, bows, and various weapons, but he only got traps and a storage ring. So, while his classmates were fighting for their lives, he went to the back of the school to trap a Black Gigantic Worm.

Using 75 traps, he bound the worm and subjected it to a chain of explosions. In one fell swoop he reached level 19.

Looking at his current situation, his classmates were lucky Hikigaya wasn’t a man that held grudges. Contrary to his appearance he was very nice. His droopy eyes, revolting smile, and constant bedhead juxtaposed his character.

Due to his efforts, his group only needed to worry about the threat of zombies and the natural terrain, a hill, provided a decent barrier.

Even more impressive was the fact that he had saved enough people to have over 100 people under his rule. It had even gotten to the point people started calling him the Tiger of Kai.

Perhaps it was because of his armour which resembled the armour of Shingen Takeda. He wore a kuwagata kabuto, a mempo, a face mask, a pair of boots, and shoulder guards. It was as if a popular portrayal of Takeda Shingen had come to life. ƒ𝐫𝒆𝐞w𝗲𝚋𝗻૦𝘷e𝙡.c𝑜𝙢

His main weapons were his traps, a tachi, and a wakizashi while his class was the unique Illusion Archmage. With his powerful magic, 3 support skills, and 4 offensive skills he was a force to be reckoned with.

Smiling under his mask he muttered.

“I guess this is the beginning…”

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Thus, all around the world, crouching tigers and hidden dragons all emerge from their respective countries.

Each one has their own ambitions and goals. The one common denominator is their abnormally strong wills to survive.

Please watch as the curtains to this Grand Guignol’s Great Warlord Period rise.

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