OPTC Chapter 199 - Forget Beating the Boss, Let's Flip the Table Instead
After a brief discussion, Hogback returned to his lab—or rather, his operating room—while Perona went to her garden to gather animal zombies. Absalom, on the other hand, entered a great hall.
The hall looked like a cathedral, with a massive cross on the far wall and four coffins lined up on each side of the aisle.
Absalom's expression turned solemn. "Awaken, zombie generals!"
Click. Crack. As soon as he spoke, eight zombies rose from their coffins. Some were massive warriors, others armored knights, and even a four-armed gunner holding a firearm in each hand.
Lola, the zombie boar who loved to propose marriage, wasn't among them yet—she wouldn't run away from her arranged marriage and go to sea until about five years later.
But one zombie stood out. He had long purple hair, wore a captain's coat, and immediately leaned against his coffin, drinking straight from a bottle. Two swords were stuck in his body—not sheathed, but literally stabbed into him. It was said they were symbols of betrayal by his own crewmates.
This was none other than the legendary Captain John of the Rocks Pirates, whose treasure Buggy the Clown was still searching for to this day.
"Go, zombie generals! Bring back all the prey!" Absalom spread his arms wide. No matter how strong or famous they were in life, as zombies they could only obey his command. That sense of power thrilled him—this was why he dreamed of becoming King of the Graveyard.
The zombies marched out, though Captain John staggered behind, drinking as he went.
"Hurry up, Captain John! Don't disgrace your infamy from when you were alive!" Absalom barked.
"Yes, yes, I'll go… huhuhuhu…" John muttered lazily, sipping his drink, already planning to pick the weakest opponent later.
…
"I'm exhausted!" Ye Yan tossed away two bricks. In just a short while, he had swung those bricks over three thousand times. His arms were dead tired.
Members of the Victims Association lay scattered all over the ground, each with a giant bump on their heads. They wouldn't wake up until tomorrow.
"Brother Yan, you're amazing! Too strong!" Zhang Da Ye said in an exaggerated tone. "Need a break?"
"Not even trying to sound sincere. Next time you shout '666,' put some feeling into it," Ye Yan complained. "Forget resting, let's just finish off the boss quickly and rest properly later."
The group set off again. Passing through the forest, they didn't encounter many zombies, but they did see strange animals: a lion with a human face, a bear missing an arm, and even a crippled gorilla.
Artoria was especially disturbed by the lion. It was supposed to symbolize strength, yet it looked pitiful.
Zhang Da Ye guessed they were Hogback's failed experiments. That lion, in particular, might've been the one who swapped faces with Absalom.
The animals didn't dare approach people. One glance was enough before they fled into hiding.
Surprisingly, they crossed the forest without incident and soon reached the castle.
The "castle" wasn't just one building, but an entire complex built around the masts of Thriller Bark. The main tower itself was the central mast, where Moria's chambers lay somewhere inside.
"Should we storm in directly?" Artoria was already fully armed.
Tom had switched into a swordsman's outfit to boost his courage. After seeing so many zombies, he no longer found them terrifying—he even wanted to test himself against a few.
Zhang Da Ye hesitated, then said, "Maybe we shouldn't go in. Let's just tear the place down. Too many zombies inside, lots of ambush spots, and not much space to fight properly. If we just demolish the gloomy castle, problem solved."
"Can we really do that?" Artoria was unsure. During the Holy Grail War, she'd always restrained her strength to avoid destroying buildings.
"No innocents inside anyway. This way's faster. If we finish early, we might even get to eat a late-night snack," Zhang Da Ye reasoned.
That convinced Artoria.
"You're serious? I thought we'd fight through each stage before meeting the boss, but you want to flip the whole table?" Ye Yan was surprised. Once Zhang Da Ye confirmed, he grinned. "Fine by me. Demolition's my specialty. Let me recover a bit, then I'll summon the Chaos Beast."
He wasn't exaggerating. Back when the three Exorcists went on missions, they often demolished half the city. The principal of Xiahou Academy had cried countless times over repair bills.
"Let me handle this." Shark Chili stepped up confidently. "Demolition's my specialty too. Super Shark Giant!"
Rumble! From the distance, the Shark Giant emerged. As always, it surfaced with a dramatic underground approach, its massive dorsal fin slicing through the ground and tearing through several buildings.
Debris flew everywhere. Zombies screamed as they were flung out of collapsing houses or buried under rubble.
The Shark Giant tunneled straight to the castle gates before bursting out of the earth with a roar.
Surviving zombies stared up at the ten-meter giant in horror. "What is that thing? A giant?!"
Ye Yan, seeing the Shark Giant for the first time, whistled. "Wow. Didn't know you had that up your sleeve. Cool entrance."
"This is just the beginning." Pleased with the praise, Shark Chili jumped into the cockpit. "Leave it to me. Even zombies will fear the Shark Giant's power!"
Under his control, the Shark Giant stomped through the complex, crushing smaller houses underfoot and pummeling taller ones with fists and kicks.
Any zombies lying quietly inside were spared for now. But if they tried to crawl out, they were stomped back down. In this case, size really did equal power.
"These buildings are sturdier than the ones back home," Shark Chili noted after demolishing a few. "Good craftsmanship."
Probably because of earthquake-proofing, Zhang Da Ye thought, but didn't say it aloud. Instead, a bold idea came to him. "Try not to damage the main mast!"
"Got it!" Shark Chili called back, continuing his rampage.
Ye Yan raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me… you want this ship?"
"That's right." Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Thriller Bark is perfect. It's an island and a ship, stable on the sea without rocking like normal ships. I'm thinking we could build a home here someday. To move it, though, we'd either need enough manpower or some automation upgrades."
He imagined it vividly: a house in the center, farmland and orchards around it, even a moat to raise fish. A mobile homestead like this was perfect for farming. Using it just to dump zombies was a total waste. Moria had no vision.
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