Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 222: Negotiations Part I

Zane was covered in blood and sweat. Mind you, the blood was not his own, rather the rotten and coagulated fluids that coated him were those that lied dormant within the veins of the hundreds of undead that he and the women by his side had slain on this day.

While the level of danger had increased along with Bartholomew's newly gained power, there were certain benefits for those who could endure such a malevolent storm of violence and death. For example, the number of Tier I undead in Bartholomew's horde was virtually non-existent.

Instead, they had been replaced with a variety of Tier II Undead, including but not limited to Howlers, Leapers, and Skeletons. As for the previous Tier II Undead, which were a minority of Bartholomew's forces, they had not only vastly increased in numbers, but in variety as well.

Across every city corner there was one tier III Undead for every 12 Tier II Undead. Whether they were abominations, ghouls, or something else entirely. Only those who encountered them would know. This meant that the level of experience and resources Zane gained was at a much higher quality than before Bartholomew's breakthrough.

This also meant that Zane's horde not only started out at a higher tier but also gained much more experience from every enemy killed. Meaning that Zane was able to quite rapidly replenish his losses. What had previously taken two weeks to achieve would instead take a week at the very most.

And thus Zane returned back to Gravestone with a full horde composed of a mixture of Skeletons and Ghouls. But upon returning to his settlement, Zane and the women in his party were surprised to see that there were tents erected outside the settlement's walls.

A relatively large number of human beings were camped outside of Gravestone. Approximately half of the total number of the town's residents. Of course, Zane did not know whether this was a siege, or a friendly visit from a far more powerful settlement.

And because of this, he and the girls stayed back for a bit, and surveyed the camp grounds. Where they were surprised to see the banners of Elysium erected within it. Elysium's flag was a relatively simple design.

It is composed of a white background, with yellow mountains sprouting up from the bottom border. Where as the center of the flag contained a yellow Venus symbol that had a matching laurel wreath below it.

The only reason Zane knew what this symbol meant was because he had seen the banners being held by members of the Elysian Army, which he had obliterated at Tahoe. And because of this, he instantly became cautious.

Zane quickly got on the radio and contacted his sentries, inquiring about just what had happened in his absence.

"This is Death. Just what the hell is going on outside the town's walls, over?"

Death was the call sign that Zane used on the radio, and once the sentries heard this they immediately responded. There was a hint of anxiety in their voices as they relayed the information that they had been given by the emissaries of Elysium.

"Copy that, Death, we're not too sure ourselves what is going on. These fuckers showed up at our gates about six hours ago while you were out hunting. They say that the Goddess has come to Gravestone to negotiate, but we don't know much more than that… Over."

When Zane heard that the so called Goddess of Elysium had come to personally visit him, he couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the banners which waved with the wind. After all, he had not received a reply from the woman after he allowed her defeated soldiers to return to her with his message.

Now she had suddenly shown up at his home with what appeared to be an army? Zane did not intend to welcome this woman into Gravestone without first replaceing out just what her actual intentions were. And because of this, he looked over at Elena and the others, before whispering to them what his plans were.

"We're going to wait until nightfall. Once we have the cover of darkness on our side, I'll sneak into the encampment and replace this self-proclaimed goddess, and figure out what her plans actually are. The rest of you stay here and keep an eye on the camp's movements."

The girls nodded their heads in agreement with Zane. In this entire world, he might have the highest stealth rating of them all. If Zane really wanted to, he could turn invisible to the naked eye. No doubt in thanks to the equipment he wore, especially the legendary cloak he gained from a hidden achievement.

These effects were naturally improved with inferior lighting conditions, such as those on a dark night. Normally in the day, if Zane were to move while in stealth mode, there would be a slight shimmer, where if one looked directly at it, they could see something was very wrong with it.

But in the darkness, this shimmer was much harder to pick up, especially by human beings who lacked natural night vision. His stealth ability also concealed him from thermal detection as well. Making him truly difficult to detect, especially in darkness.

And it was because of this that Zane and the girls waited for the night to fall, before the man finally made a move.

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The Goddess of Elysium sat inside her personal tent. It was not a normal camping tent. Rather, it was a large and luxurious tent. One which had a built-in stove and kitchen. As well as a comfortable bed that was erected by her personal servants. There was also a desk for her to take care of personal affairs, and a solid gold bath tub.

To say that she had ventured to Gravestone in the most luxurious way possible, especially while living in a literal apocalyptic wasteland, was an understatement. And as the goddess became increasingly frustrated with Zane's lack of appearance. She ultimately decided to wash her worries away.

The servants she had prepared had special skills, one controlled water, and the other fire. To some degree, that is. Making them able to fill her bathtub with the purest of water, and to heat it up to a perfect temperature near instantly, without the need for her to wait for it to cool down.

And once her servants had done this, the Goddess dismissed them, disrobing herself from her Greco-roman dress, where she then stepped into the bubble bath and sighed in relief. The goddess was so enthralled by the bath, which was filled with a bubble formula, as well as scented bath salts, that she did not even notice that an intruder had slipped into her tent.

Zane immediately deactivated his stealth mode, and appeared in front of the woman, who was essentially at this moment his mortal enemy, and introduced himself with a cold and emotionless appearance.

He was not the least bit enticed by the woman's curvy figure. After all, he had plenty of beautiful women of his own, and though the goddess was beautiful, she paled to compare to the likes of Angelica. However, it was when he spoke with his chilling tone that the Goddess finally reacted to his presence.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

The goddess's shut eyes immediately opened wide as she stared at the man in front of her. She hardly recognized him, as his figure was coated in blood, sweat, and guts. But beneath that blood stained, jet black hair, and a face marred with the gore of his enemies, were the handsome features of her most hated enemy.

When the goddess saw that Zane had somehow snuck into her tent, her first instinct was to scream. But before she could do so, Zane had closed the distance, and held one of his sickle's to her neck.

There was a callous, and murderous hint in Zane's abyssal black eyes as he raised one finger to his lips and whispered to the woman who led humanity's largest civilization within this apocalyptic world.

"Shhh…. You make on sudden movement, or a voice just slightly too loud, and you will lose your head, understood?"

The goddess did not know how Zane had gotten into her tent without alerting her guards. Nor did she know how he had closed such distance in such a short span.

Seriously, he instantly appeared in front of her with his blade to her neck. There was not even a second between the moment she saw him standing on the other side of the tent, and the time he appeared in front of her.

If this was the case, it meant that her enemy's attributes were absurdly high. So much so that his level should be quite a bit higher than her own. And if this was the case, then she would die a miserable death before she could ever alert her troops to the danger which she was currently in.

With this in mind, the Goddess sighed heavily, and calmed herself in the process. Where she then wore a flirtatious smirk as she spoke to Zane, accepting the state which she found herself in.

"It took you long enough… So… Are you going to join me for a soak? Or are you going to continue standing there in such a messy state for the duration of our negotiations?

Zane couldn't help but stare at the woman in disbelief at her shameless offer. He was so bewildered by her statement that his blade lowered itself as he expressed his shock aloud with a single sentiment.

"Huh?"