Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 121: Tactical Setback

Eliza trembled in rage… Zane and the girls had just dealt a significant blow to her already limited power. At this rate, Bart was likely to march into her territory and seize control of her horde. Most likely devouring her in the process.

Without sufficient power to deter a neighboring Horde King, especially one as close as Bart was to Eliza, then a Horde King would at best be subordinate to their neighbor, and at worse, be destroyed. Such was the nature of their caste.

Even if there were rules in place to prevent this, especially currently while they were at war with the living. The fact remained that the only Horde Kings who would enforce these "rules" were those who sat much higher in the hierarchy.

And there were any number of excuses that Bart could make to Lilith, who was effectively in charge of what had previously been the Western United States, to get her off his back if he were to swallow up Eliza's horde.

Though Eliza still had tens of thousands of Undead at her command, if push came to shove, Bart, whose power was significantly greater than hers, could challenge her for her throne, and in doing so, add a second crown to his head.

Zane had effectively just dealt a lethal blow to Eliza without even realizing it. And despite this, he and his girls were about to walk away unscathed. This caused significant distress to the undead, which took the form of an adolescent girl.

So much so that she ended up sighing in defeat, knowing that she was as good as dead, she ultimately decided on a drastic course of action. To take Zane and the girls out with her. Thus, while Zane and the girls were collecting their senses, after just barely surviving against six Tier III undead, Eliza made her move.

Zane was about to reach down and collect a Tier III blood crystal when that strange voice he had heard in the past spoke to him. It was urgent, screaming at him, almost as if it had assumed control of his body.

"Move!"

He did not even realize that he had moved out of the way of Eliza's potentially lethal strike until after he saw the girl standing where he once was, her long, and razor-sharp claws reaching into thin air. There was a look of surprise on everyone's face, including Eliza's, as she stared at Zane in disbelief. Seemingly speaking in disbelief at her perceived failure.

"How!?! How did you know?"

This was Zane's first time encountering an undead that was capable of speech. But there was no denying it. As Zane and the girls looked at the details above Eliza's head, they realized they had caught the attraction of something that was well beyond their level to deal with.

---

[Eliza – Tier I Horde King]

[Level: 🕱]

[HP: ???]

---

Zane had only ever seen that skull and crossbones symbol once before, and it was when he saw the Juggernaut for the first time. But a Tier I Horde King? What exactly was that? It must be significantly more powerful than a Juggernaut if he could not even see its HP.

Eliza quickly reacted to the fact that Zane had predicted and dodged her ability by casting her own skill, one that was similar to Zane's blood manipulation, Crystalline, and lustrous bloody spikes protruded from beneath the earth in an attempt to impale Zane on the spot, but once more before they had touched his skin, he heard a voice in his head compelling him to move.

"Move!"

Zane was not fast enough, however, to entirely evade Eliza's sudden attack, which pierced into both of his arms, causing significant pain to Zane, and damage to him.

---

[Damage Received: -25 HP]

[Damage Received: -25 HP]

[HP: 100/150]

---

With a single attack, one that hit Zane twice, Eliza had already taken out one third of his health. Causing him to quickly run away, as he felt something afflicting his limbs.

It was an intense, and crippling pain, one that he had never experienced before, but one that rapidly spread through his bloodstream, causing his veins to blacken much in the same way other awakened had when they underwent the process of corruption.

And sure enough, a message appeared in Zane's vision, informing him of what was happening to him.

---

[Debuff Applied: Corruption]

[Effects:

-50% Movement Speed

-10 Percent XP Gain

Silence]

[Duration: 30 minutes]

[Description: A Horde King's blood has entered your body, causing your body to undergo a forced state of corruption. Note: Because your body is half dead, it is naturally resistant to the concentrated strain of the Undead Virus within a Horde King's blood, causing you to undergo a limited Corruption Debuff.

In addition to suffering half the effects of a normal Corruption Debuff, you are also unable to make use of any active skills, including your Blood Manipulation racial skill for the duration of the Debuff]

---

Zane was cursing under his breath as he slowed down, about to take another attack directly to the back from Eliza's own variation of his so called "bloody needles". He was too slow to evade it, even if he wanted to.

But in the next second, something peculiar happened. Something which saved his life.

---

[Debuff Cured!]

[Caster: ???]

---

While Zane read this, he heard another voice in the back of the head. It seemed filled with concern, as it once more compelled him to move out of the way of Elena's strike.

"Evade!"

Zane's body acted on its own once more, causing him to dive out of the way of the oncoming hail of bloody needles. And while the majority missed their mark, Zane's legs had taken several hits, causing him to the fall to the ground as he realized he had taken even more damage.

---

[Damage Received: -90 HP]

[Legs Crippled]

---

Eliza was stunned twice in as many seconds. Firstly, Zane had suffered from corruption by her attacks, something that should not happen to a Horde King, and second, Zane had dispelled her Debuff almost as quickly as it was applied. Something a Horde King should also not be capable of.

As for Zane, his consciousness was rapidly fading, his vision growing dim. The last thing he saw as he faded entirely into unconsciousness was the young undead girl standing over him with a bewildered look on her mangled face.

Despite her prey being entirely helpless, Eliza did not immediately finish Zane off, instead she gazed at him in curiosity, which she spoke aloud.

"Just what the hell are you?"

However, before she could make another move, a bolt of lightning hit Eliza in the face. She was so obsessed with pursuing Zane that she did not realize the girls had taken a defensive position and prepared their skills.

Olivia's electric discharge was on a ninety-second cooldown, and Zane's evading had bought him enough time for her to cast it again. Luckily for her, Eliza was temporarily paralyzed, just long enough for Elena and herself to get hold of Zane's unconscious body and drag him off.

Normally, if Zane was actually a Horde King, Eliza would pursue him relentlessly, especially since he was quite literally one step away from a second death, as the undead liked to call it. But… Zane was not a Horde King, at least not wholly one. And this was peculiar to Eliza. Causing her to allow Zane and the girls to flee with their lives intact.

After all, though she could not confirm it, Eliza had a sneaking suspicion that somehow her mother was involved with whatever the hell Zane was, and because of this she decided not to finish Zane off until she could confirm just what was going on with the man.

Thus, while Zane and the girls had dealt a significant blow to Eliza and her Horde, they could not claim it was a victory, because they had been forced to make a full retreat by the young Horde King herself, and in doing so causing them to suffer their first Tactical Setback.