2

After leaving Keno in the fortress that he had made, Suzuki Satoru stared at Mt. Kaidinias -- its slopes were barren, with little vegetation. It was time to switch mindsets.

把琪诺留在制造出来的要塞，铃木悟盯着凯提尼亚斯山——几乎没有草木的秃山。差不多也是切换思维了。

The first problem was how to investigate the destination to which the city’s residents had been headed.

最初的问题是该怎样调查这座都市里的居民们前往的目的地。

He had a higher chance of figuring it out if he casts [Fly], but if there were enemies around he would be spotted easily while floating in the air, as opposed to if he were on the ground. While he had [Perfect Unknowable] to use with it, there was a certain reason why Suzuki Satoru considered it a bad move.

如果使用<飞行>从上空观察，能弄明白什么的几率很高。只是如果地面有敌人的话，浮在什么都没的空间的人与在地上的人哪边会被先发现简直显而易见。虽然有与<完全不可知化>并用的手段，不过铃木悟因为某个理由判断那是步坏棋。

A steady and grounded approach would be best.

（踏踏实实去干才是最好的）

While he ought to have cast [Fly] to search from above if there were no enemies, Suzuki Satoru was certain that there was a powerful enemy around.

虽然没有敌人的话应该以<飞行>从上空探索，不过铃木悟确信在那里存在着强大的敌人。

Of course, while he could not be certain that all the information he had gathered to date was accurate, he was sure that there was some intelligent being behind all this.

当然、虽然不敢保证至今为止收集的所有情报都是真的，但拥有智慧的存在居于这些事的幕后是肯定的事。

His basic objective was to defeat that enemy, and then rescue Keno and her parents from their undead transformation. Ideally, he would be able to restore everyone in Keno’s country.

这次的最低达成目标并非是打倒那个敌人，而是把琪诺和她的双亲从不死者化中拯救出来。最高的目标是把琪诺国家的所有居民恢复原状。

The chances that this adversary was not someone that he could negotiate a settlement with was annoyingly high. After all, he had caused so much damage. At the very least, he was probably a being like Suzuki Satoru, who held no love for others.

并非是能通过交涉而想办法谈得拢的对手的可能性高得讨厌。毕竟造成了如此的损失。至少——也应该是与铃木悟一样对他人没有爱的存在。

Then again, there was a small chance that they might be able to make a deal. The problem would then be the terms that the other party would set.

那么、考虑到进行交易的话，说不定会有微小的可能性。那种情况、对面会提出怎样的条件是个问题。

To begin with, he did not think the other party would make any material requests like asking for treasure and the like. After all, if he had wanted that, he could have ordered the undead residents to deliver them all to him. He had made and could command them, after all. However, all the valuables in that city had been abandoned.

首先是不觉得它会希望要财宝之类的实质事求。毕竟如果他想要那些的话，既然把整个都市全部不死者化而且能对其命令，那只要把所有财物送过来就好。只是、那个都市里值钱的东西全都被丢下了。

Then could he defeat his foe and demand that he do so in exchange for his life?

那么在胜利了的情况下要求它以性命来交换又如何？

Is that possible? Is my opponent someone I can hold back on and still accomplish that?

（那种事做得到吗？是能放水到某种程度去战斗的对手吗？）

Suzuki Satoru had already acknowledged his foe as being on his level. No, he had imagined said foe to be stronger than him. However, it was hard to imagine a being more powerful than himself.

铃木悟在脑中几乎将对手认定了是与自己同等的存在。不、甚至连对手比自己还强也假想到了。

只是、难以想象是比自己压倒性强大的存在。

He had collected information on many puissant entities during his five-year journey. While he had learned it through money or force from various knowledgeable individuals, what they all agreed on was that the mightiest beings in this world were the ones known as the Dragon Lords. In fact, he had already confirmed that one of them had the same fighting power as he had.

在这旅行的五年之中收集了各种强者的情报。虽然从不少足智多谋者口中以金钱或者力量得到了情报，不过那些了解这个世界的人们异口同声所说的，被称为最强的果然还是被称为龙王的存在。事实上、也已经确认过其中的一头有着与自己同等的战斗力了。

However, one could not say it was far stronger than himself.

只是、并不能说它远远强于自己。

In that case, he should be able to use strategy and tactics to triumph against his opponent -- even if it was a Dragon Lord.

那么即使与此地的敌人——哪怕是龙王战斗，也应该可以用战略和战术来获得胜利的才是。

Still, I have the feeling that I’m heading into the enemy’s lair. That gives them the terrain advantage. After that… Suzuki Satoru recalled the lessons contained in PKing For Dummies. Right after a patch -- that would be the right time. Powerful players attacking in small groups -- that’s the people united. So what about this time? I don’t know. Only… it’s going to be a gamble.

(TL Note: this refers to an essay by Meng Zi / Mencius. It is is best to go to war when 天时地利人和; the time is right, the terrain is favorable, and social conditions allow for it (i.e th people are united)

（只是、我觉得前往的地方是敌人的据点。那样对面就有地利了。接着是……）铃木悟想起了记载在任谁都能轻松PK术里的内容（刚打完补丁后之类的时间段——是天时，强大玩家们以少数袭击而来之类的情况——则是人和。那么这次又会如何？不清楚。只是……会是场赌博吧）

Of course, all this was founded on the assumption that the culprit responsible for the yuriniggerfication could restore the people to normal, or that he knew how to do it.

当然、这些都是建立在身为僵尸化开端的罪魁祸首能够把让人们恢复原状、又或者是知道那种方法的前提上的。

If that was not the case--

如果不是那种情况——

“--Then he shall pay the price for his foolishness.”

「——就让其为自己的愚蠢付出代价吧」

Suzuki Satoru changed his gear.

铃木悟改变了武装。

He put away all the equipment he had obtained from YGGDRASIL and dressed in the gear he had stolen from “Corpus of the Abyss”, save for a divine-class ring on his left hand.

收起了YGGDRASIL时代获得的一切装备，只穿上从“深渊之躯”夺来的装备。除了左手上的一枚神器级戒指除外。

After that, he put on an icon of “Corpus of the Abyss” around his neck. He also had a crystal with a spell sealed into it.

然后在脖子上戴上“深渊之躯”的标识。以及封入了某种魔法的水晶。

Truthfully speaking, Suzuki Satoru was much weaker now than he had been just now. Leaving aside the tremendous drop in his ability modifiers and defensive power, his resistances were now riddled with holes.

老实说、和直到刚才为止的铃木悟相比，现在的他变得脆了许多。能力值的补正和防御力的大幅下降自不用说，抗性构成的破绽多了不少。

While he still had the HP of someone of his level, he could not place too much faith in that. In addition, he had to avoid any attacks which would instantly kill him.

虽然姑且有着与等级对应的体力，不过不能过于自信。而且也不可以受到可能会被一击杀死的攻击。

There’s one more thing, how should I do it? I’ll prepare a bit more before reaching my destination.

（还有一招，要怎么做？就在到达目的地之前再稍微做点准备吧）

Suzuki Satoru sent a [Message] to Keno, telling her that he would need a little more time.

铃木悟向琪诺发出<讯息>，告知她应该会再多花点时间。

After that, he teleported to his objective.

之后、向着目的地进行传送。

After finishing his preparation -- which had taken quite some time -- Suzuki Satoru returned to his original location and began moving by way of [Fly]. He advanced toward the mountain without lifting too far off the ground -- it felt like gliding -- and thought about his strategy as he did.

那么做花了不少时间，结束了所有准备的铃木悟回到了原先的地方，以<飞行>开始移动。用不怎么远离地面的方式——感觉像滑行一样的方式向山前进，并同时在脑中构思着战略。

The occasional fallen bones pointed the way to his destination. While they had been crushed to powder and blown away, the denuded mountain was very obvious.

偶尔会有掉落的骨头告知通往目的地的正确道路。虽然那是粉碎而且已经风化了的骨头，不过即使是那样在这座秃山也很显眼就是了。

Suzuki Satoru lacked any tracking skills, but he followed the clear traces up the mountain. It was as though the bones were guiding Suzuki Satoru to the being who had made them like this in revenge.

没有什么跟踪技能的铃木悟跟着能明确分清的痕迹向山上攀登着。就如同骨头们也想向把自己变成这个样子的对手复仇似得引导着铃木悟。

He climbed the mountain without losing his way, and soon--

完全没有迷路地登上了山，不久——

Ahhh, we’re here. An undead being, hm.

（啊啊、到了。是不死者呢）

His undead detection skill was something like an omnidirectional radar. There was a blip on that radar.

不死者感知的技能就像是类似全方位雷达的东西。在那个雷达上亮起了一个光点。

Suzuki Satoru looked in that direction.

铃木悟瞪着那个方位。

“--Is it over there? Is the culprit behind all this over there?”

「——就在那里吗？造成这一切的元凶」

This skill could only sense the presence of the undead, not tell him their identity or their abilities. While it was largely conjecture, the creature that had turned the city’s people into yuriniggers and brought them here ought to be over there.

这个技能充其量只能感知不死者的存在，并无法明白其真正身分或是拥有的能力为何。虽然顶多只是推测，但将那个都市里的居民变成僵尸后，又将他们带到那儿的东西，应该就在那里没错才对。

Having cast [Fly] on himself, Suzuki Satoru advanced a step forward, then ground to a halt, standing stock still.

对自己施加了<飞行>的铃木悟在前进了一步的距离后，便嘎然而止，动也不动。

Although his face could not display any changes in expression -- perhaps Keno might have been able to discern them -- Suzuki Satoru’s face had gone stiff.

尽管是不会有表情变化的脸孔——如果是琪诺的话或许可能看得出来——但铃木悟的表情却僵硬了起来。

That was because the undead reactions had rapidly increased with just a single step.

因为虽然只前进了一步的距离，不死者的反应却急速增加了。

What’s this...

（这是怎么回事……）

The sheer number of blips stacking onto each other made whatever it was seem like a huge ball of light.

由于光点过度的增加，而且在同一个位置上彼此重迭的缘故，看起来宛如一团巨大的光团。

Suzuki Satoru held his ground and looked straight ahead. The terrain was very rocky, so he could not see the location of the ball of light.

铃木悟站在原地，瞪视着前方。因为是有很多岩石突出的地形之故，从他所在的位置，视线没有办法通向光团的所在地。

Did it gather yuriniggers, bind them together and then do something with them? ...What should I do? Should I send a yurinigger over to see what’s going on, then think about what to do next after I figure out my opponent’s identity? But...

（将僵尸们聚集、拘束在一起，然后是在做什么事吗？……怎么办？果然还是该先派只僵尸过去、弄清楚对手的真面目后再考虑之后的事吗？可是……）

That approach posed a problem.

这样会有个问题。

If his enemy was very intelligent or possessed magical knowledge, then this would be a poor move. Also -- Suzuki Satoru snorted. Things being what they are, what are you thinking, Suzuki Satoru mocked himself.

假如、对方拥有相当高度的理性或者是魔法知识的话，这样的举动会是下策。而且——铃木悟哼地一声笑了出来。事到如今，还在想什么，铃木悟如此嘲笑自己。

Suzuki Satoru dispelled the [Fly] spell and began walking.

铃木悟解除了<飞行>，开始行走。

Suzuki Satoru’s mana recovery would not have been affected even if he had not dispelled the [Fly]. However, sustaining the [Fly] spell might lead to his mana recovery going into the negative when casting other spells. More to the point, he had to consider that things might develop in a bad direction if he showed his opponent that he could cast the [Fly] spell.

就算不解除<飞行>，铃木悟的魔力回复量也不会受到影响。然而维持<飞行>魔法的持续，有可能会导致在使用其他魔法时，魔力回复量因此而变成负的。更何况——若让对手看见自己手里有<飞行>魔法这张牌，使得事情朝不利的方向发展的可能性，也非纳入考虑不可。

Suzuki Satoru continued walking.

铃木悟继续行走。

Suzuki Satoru sensed the undead reactions growing with every step he took.

一步又一步，每走一步，铃木悟都感到不死者反应在逐渐变大。

“Ahhh, I don’t have any basis for this, but I think I can guess what it is,” Suzuki Satoru muttered to himself. YGGDRASIL also had an undead monster which resembled the one he was imagining, but that undead would only display as a single undead reaction.

「啊啊，虽然没什么理由，但我大概可以预测到是什么了」

铃木悟如此自言自语道。在YGDDRASILL里也有与铃木悟心中所想象模样相同的不死者，但那个不死者只会显示出个体的反应而已。

“Now then -- [False Data - Life], [False Data - Mana].”

「那么——<虚伪情报‧生命>[false data life]<虚伪情报‧魔力>[false data mana]」

Suzuki Satoru cast two spells on himself.

铃木悟对自己施加了两种魔法。

Then, he shifted his mind into PVP mode.

接着他将思考切换到了PVP模式。

--No.

——不。

He had shifted into PK mode.

切换为PK模式。

The terrain at his destination was surprisingly open. A corner of the mountain was abnormally flat and expanded in all directions. It was over two kilometers in length and breadth. Surely that could not have been some naturally-occurring prodigy.

目的地的地形，开阔地令人惊讶。山面的一角变得异常的平整，而且一直扩展开来。不论长宽应

该都超过了两公里以上吧。这应该不可能是自然现象所产生的奇迹才对。

There was no doubt that it had been created by the power of magic.

这毫无疑问是由魔法的力量所造成的。

And then, before Suzuki Satoru’s eyes -- a bizarre object made of the people that had once lived in the city came into view

接着在铃木悟的眼前——有一个利用本应是生活在那座都市里的人们打造的奇妙物体出现了。

A gigantic ovoid mass made of countless corpses stacked one on top of the other sat in the middle of this plaza. Its size was enough to make onlookers gasp in awe. To think something so big could be made from gathering 400’000 people together.

一个由无数人的尸体层层堆栈而形成的椭圆形的巨块，坐镇在广场的中央。其巨大程度足以让人感叹，原来只要有四十万的人聚集起来，就可以形成这么巨大的物体啊。

Had the opposition gathered all these yuriniggers just to make an object like this? Suzuki Satoru could not fathom what his opponent was thinking. No, if there was some aim to making this, then surely it would be able to move.

可对方招集了这么多的僵尸，就只是为了制作这样的物体而已吗？铃木悟实在难以理解对方的想法。不、假设对方这么做是有什么目的的话——那想必这玩意肯定是会动的吧。

“Is it some kind of armor? Or perhaps a sentry?”

「做为铠甲吗？亦或是门卫？」

As Suzuki Satoru conjectured, he mentally calculated various things in his head while striding boldly into the plaza, toward that object which he would tentatively call the Big Ball of Undeath.

做出如此推测的铃木悟一边在脑中做着各种计算，一边堂而皇之的走进广场，朝着那个姑且称之为不死者大球的物体前进。

Though the distance between them shrank steadily, the Big Ball of Undeath did not make any obvious moves. Was it because Suzuki Satoru had not entered its attack radius, or was it simply following orders not to attack? Perhaps it was as stupid as a yurinigger and did not attack Suzuki Satoru because it considered him one of them? Or perhaps--

虽然距离逐渐缩短，但不死者大球没有显露出任何的动作。是因为铃木悟还没有进入对方的攻击范围之内呢，或者单纯只是因为它遵守命令不出手攻击呢。抑或者是它和僵尸一样知能程度很低的缘故，所以将铃木悟视为同族而没有显露出攻击的意思呢？又或者是——

--Who was the one who said it? Ah, yes. It was Luci★Fer-san. How did it go again? When we gaze at our enemy, our enemy is also gazing at us. What a marvellous quote. How shall I put this, it’s quite meaningful. Wasn’t Luci★Fer-san pretty smart?

（——那句话是谁说的来着？啊啊、对了。是路西★法桑说的话。是什么来着？当我们在看着对手的时候，对手也同时在看着我们。这句话讲得还挺妙的啊。该怎么说呢、还蛮意味深长的嘛。路西★法桑是不是脑筋也很好啊？）

Suzuki Satoru smiled as he waxed nostalgic over the words of his friend, and then he shouted to the Big Ball of Undeath:

想起令人怀念的友人的话语，露出些许微笑的铃木悟对着不死者大球大声说道。

“Alright, alright, what are you gathering yuriniggers here for?”

「好了好了，你在这种地方招集僵尸、是在干什么啊？」

There was no answer save the mountain wind blowing quietly past him.

没有回答、只有山风静静从旁吹过。

This was no longer just a lack of reaction -- it was actively ignoring Suzuki Satoru. It was just like talking to a wall. It would be terribly embarrassing if this Big Ball of Undeath was completely nonsapient.

这已经不是没有反应的等级而已，而是完全将铃木悟予以无视。简直就像是在对着墙壁自言自语一样。要是这颗不死者大球真的没有知能的话，那可是真是丢脸丢大了。

“...What’s the matter? Keeping quiet because you’re afraid of me? How boring. I am the Night Lich -- Momon. The mightiest magic caster of them all! Look at you, so terrified you don’t even dare to speak. Still, it can’t be helped. I can understand why you’d be scared speechless after seeing all the magic items I have on me.”

「……怎么了？是怕了我所以保持沉默吗？真是无聊。我是身为暗夜死者魔法师的——飞飞。是最强的魔法吟唱者。瞧你怕的连话都说不出来的样子。不过、这也无可厚非，看到我身上装备这么多魔法道具，你怕得不敢说话也是情有可原」

But the Big Ball of Undeath remained still.

但不死者大球果然还是不动。

Was it some kind of guard? That would mean the opposition had gathered a great number of yuriniggers and ordered them to respond to any attacks in kind, on order to block up the entrance to a cave of some sort.

会不会是门卫呢？这个模式下、对方是为了防堵洞窟的入口，所以召集了大量的僵尸，并下达了遇到敌袭的话要负责迎战的指令。

Or what if there was no enemy after all, just an item stuck in the middle of that ball?

或者是说其实并没有敌人，而是有一个道具在那个球体的中央之类的情况又如何呢？

In order to learn about his foe, it was a given that the opposition would react in some way. If the enemy did not react at all, then he would truly be out of options. Launching an attack to force information out of his opposition was a last resort, for when he had no other choice.

从对手身上提取情报的行动，其前提是至少对方得有点反应才行。如果对方什么反应都没有的话，那可真的束手无策了。向对方施加攻击，藉此来强制搜集情报这种事，真的是没有其他办法的最后手段。

“Honestly… speaking of which, it looks like you need to be taught a lesson for not even greeting me. [Summon Undead 3rd]!”

「真是的……话说回来，见到了我竟然连个招呼都不打，这看来是该给点教训才是<第三阶位死者召唤>[summon undead 3rd]」

Suzuki Satoru summoned a Skeleton Warrior.

铃木悟召唤出了骷髅战士[skeleton warrior]。

Then, he ordered it to the base of the Big Ball of Undeath.

然后让它往不死者大球底下走去。

While it was plain to onlookers that he was wary of his opponent’s actions, walking into the enemy’s attack range was really quite scary. In addition, it would interfere with his future plans.

虽然是个让人一看就知道自己在警戒对方的行动，但是让自己进入对方的攻击范围内一来还是蛮可怕的事，二来对之后的计划也会产生阻碍。

Still, it hasn’t attacked yet… if it was planning to gather the corpses and then maul anyone who approached like a crashing wave, then distance shouldn’t be a matter to it. Or is it really just an item in there?

（可是、还是没有攻击过来……若是打算先把僵尸集中在一起，再对接近的人施予怒涛般的猛攻的话，那距离应该没有什么关系才对啊。还是说真的里面只是个道具？）

If this was just a mountain of corpses, then it was not impossible for it to be a Necroswarm Giant. The problem was that he was pretty much certain that it was a yurinigger horde. In that case, then it would be an undead creature unique to this world that Suzuki Satoru did not know about. Perhaps he should call it a Combi-Zombie for now.

(TL Note: Momon one-shotted one of these in v2c4. Both Necrosome (“body of death”) and Necroswarm are appropriate when I think about it, though Necroswarm probably edges it out)

如果这东西只是座尸体堆成的山，那么它其实是集合尸体之巨人[necroswarm giant]的可能性也不是说没有，但问题是几乎已经确定那东西是一群僵尸。若是这样的话、那它就是铃木悟所不知道的，这个世界特有的不死者。说不定是个姑且称之为合体僵尸之类的东西呢。

铃木悟让骷髅战士接近到不死者大球的旁边。

“...What the hell, so it was just a mass of yuriniggers gathered together. I can’t believe I made such a mistake. To think I actually mistook a group of unintelligent undead for something strong.”

「……什么啊，原来没有反应只是单纯一群僵尸聚集在一起而已吗。没想到我竟然也会做出这样的误判。竟把一群连理性也没有的不死者错当成了强者……」

The Big Ball of Undeath wobbled. Then, as though breaking out of an egg, the Big Ball of Undeath slowly changed shape.

不死者大球摇摇晃晃地动了起来。然后就像是从卵的状态破壳而出一样，不死者大球缓缓地变成了某种形状。

“Is that… a Dragon?”

「是……龙吗?」

It had a long neck, a reptilian-looking head, and wings. It had six thick legs and a slender, whiplike tail. It resembled a Western-style Dragon.

长长的颈子，让人连想到爬虫类的头部，以及翅膀。粗壮的六条腿。像鞭子一样细长的尾巴。

那个模样确实是西洋风的龙的形状。

However, its neck was extremely long compared to the normal image of a Dragon. Also, the extreme thinness of its tail made it look like a mash-up of a Western and an Eastern Dragon. Or rather, it looked like someone had stuck six legs and a winged beast onto the body of a snake. Also, it looked ugly and lumpy, without any of the beauty a Dragon’s form ought to have, probably because it was made out of yuriniggers.

只是、和普通的龙的形象比起来，脖子非常的长。而且因为尾巴也非常的细长的缘故，看起来宛如是把西方和东方的龙结合起来一样的形状。或者该说是把六条腿和一只长着翅膀的野兽全都组合到一条蛇身上的模样。而且大概是因为勉强用僵尸去做成那样的形状的关系，看起来矮胖矮胖的很是难看，没有那种龙身上本该有的优美。

In addition, it was far too big.

而且那东也太过巨大了。

It was 150 meters long from head to toe at the very least. Not even YGGDRASIL had something that big.

就算是在YGGDRASILL里也没有这么大的东西，全长至少也有150公尺以上了吧。

Of course,Suzuki Satoru understood that this was an external change of the Big Ball of Undeath. In other words, it was made from 400’000 yuriniggers joined together. But when he thought about its length and width and the fact that he needed to crane his neck just to see its full size and so on, could a mere 400’000 yuriniggers be enough to make a gigantic body that was over 150m long? Surely it was not hollow--

当然，铃木悟明白这是刚才那个不死者大球改变其外形的变化。也就是说是由大约40万具以上的僵尸共同合作而形成的东西。但是考虑到其厚实的横宽，需要仰头才能一探究竟的高度等等，光凭区区40万具的僵尸真的足以构成这至少150公尺以上的巨大躯体吗？里面该不会变的空空洞洞的吧——

“--I had originally intended to ignore you because you were too foolish. But no matter. You have a big mouth for a mere middle-class undead being.”

「——因为实在太蠢了，本来不打算管你的，但算了。区区一具中级不死者，口气倒是不小」

The Dragon’s mouth slowly opened, and its bass voice echoed in all directions.

龙的嘴巴缓缓打开，重低音在四周回荡。

What he called a mouth was just something made of piled yuriniggers. Surely the voice’s owner must be someone else. But where had this powerful voice -- which seemed like it was being spoken by all the yuriniggers at once -- come from?

说是嘴巴的东西也是僵尸们重迭身体做出来的物体，声音的主人想必另有他人吧。但是这宛如由僵尸们同声共气所说出、充满魄力的声音究竟是从哪里发出来的呢？

Is its true form in its mouth?

（本体是在嘴里吗？）

Its mouth was big enough to easily swallow Suzuki Satoru, so it would not have been strange if there was someone the size of Suzuki Satoru in its head.

那嘴巴的尺寸是可以轻易地将铃木悟吞下。所以就算里头藏了一个和铃木悟差不多体型的人也一点都不奇怪。

One would not be able to discover someone like by remote observation. However, Suzuki Satoru could not make out anything else about it.

只是那样的人物，凭远距离的观看是没有办法发现的。但铃木悟并没有看漏其他的事情。

The mouth was not just made up of humanoid yuriniggers -- there were beast yuriniggers in there too.

嘴巴里头有除了人型生物以外的——动物等僵尸的身影。

So that was why they had not seen any animals on their way here. All the animals on this mountain must have been yuriniggerfied and then driven to the Big Ball of Undeath. It would seem there were more than a mere 400’000 yuriniggers making up that Big Ball of Undeath -- that Dragon yurinigger.

所以这就是为何完全没看到任何动物的原因了。栖息在这座山上的所有动物大概也都被僵尸化，并被驱策到不死者大球底下了吧。看来构成那颗不死者大球——那头不死龙僵尸的僵尸数量，可能不只区区40万。

Also, the opposition had let slip something more important than that.

而且、对方也泄漏出了比上述更重要的情报。

From his opponent’s reaction, it probably knew about Night Liches. In addition, it had not been able to tell that Suzuki Satoru was actually an Overlord.

从对方现在的反应看来，它应该是知道有关暗夜死者魔法师的情报的。而另一方面、它并没有看出铃木悟的种族其实是死之统治者。

In other words, Suzuki Satoru had made it past the first hurdle, but that did not make him careless.

也就是说铃木悟已经突破了最初的关卡了，但他并没有因此而疏忽大意。

...It might be a bluff. If it were me, I’d pretend that I was fooled even after seeing through my enemy’s lies. Looks like I’ll need to continue gathering information to see what other cards the opposition has up its sleeve...

（……这件事本身也有可能是幌子。换成是我、也会在看穿了对手的谎言后故意装成被骗的样子。为了推测出对方手上还有什么牌，继续累积情报的必要性还是相当高的……）

Suzuki Satoru predicted and double-checked over and over again as he backed up one steo.

铃木悟一边在脑中拼命的重复着预测与验证的工作，一边往后退了一步的距离。

“W-what are, what are you? Are you not a mere Necroswarm Giant…?”

「什、什么——你究竟、究竟是什么东西？并不是单单僵尸的集合体吗……」

The Dragon’s face moved. Actually, it was the yuriniggers moving, but they were very well controlled.

龙的脸动了起来。虽然实际上是僵尸们在蠢动，不过控制技巧还真是高明。

If, for instance, the opposition could not just freely control the yuriniggers used for facial expressions, but all the yuriniggers -- far in excess of 400’000 -- that made up its body, then its undead control ability would be far beyond that of Suzuki Satoru’s.

假设、对方能自由控制的不仅仅是表达表情用的部分的僵尸，而是数量远远超过40万以上的所有僵尸的话，那对方的不死者支配能力可说是远远凌驾于铃木悟之上了。

If that was the case, then that left another question.

如果是这样、那当然会留下另一个疑问。

Why had the enemy not tried to directly dominate Suzuki Satoru?

为何、对方不试着直接支配铃木悟呢？

Was it because Suzuki Satoru was of a higher level than it could control? Or was there some kind of special condition required for domination, like say personally turning the target into an undead creature?

是因为铃木悟的等级高于对方可支配的等级吗？还是有类似于必须是自己亲手不死者化的对象才能发动支配能力的条件呢？

Just as Suzuki Satoru was pondering this, the Dragon’s expression changed. He did not know whether to say it was expressive, or if he should laud its control of yuriniggers, but it was plain to see that it was sneering at Suzuki Satoru.

就在铃木悟想这想那的时候，龙脸上呈现出来的表情——不知该说是它表情丰富呢，还是该赞赏它操纵僵尸的技巧已臻化境呢，已经可以明确地看出来是在嘲笑铃木悟。

“What? You do not know of me -- you dare make a fool of me with that pitiful knowledge of yours? No, surely I am the fool for bothering with you.”

「什么、你竟然不知吾乃何人——只有这点程度的知识也敢愚弄吾？真是无言以对。不、愚蠢的是选择搭理你的吾才是吧」

“You’ve got a pretty big mouth, you Dragon-shaped Necroswarm Giant. You might have gained intelligence because you formed a big mass, but unfortunately you’re too blind to see how much more powerful I am than you!”

「还真敢说大话啊，你这只是变成龙模样的僵尸集合体。虽然你因为聚合在一起的关系，而获得

了智能的样子，但可惜的是还欠缺了看清你我之间能力差距的能力啊」

The Dragon’s face shifted against, and it opened its mouth.

龙的脸孔再次动了起来，嘴巴大张。

“Fuhahahaha! To think you could entertain me so! I did not think mocking the ignorant could be so amusing. Fuhahaha--” The laughter suddenly stopped. “Oh miserable little undead, you -- will you not be my jester? You need not do anything. Simply stand there and entertain me. While the position of Jester requires a certain degree of intelligence to fill, it seems there are born clowns in this world!”

「呼哈哈哈哈！竟能让我感到如此开心！没想到嘲笑无知之人竟是如此有趣之事！呼哈哈哈——」哄笑声嘎然而止「弱小的不死者啊、你——要不要来当吾之弄臣啊？你也用不着做什么。你光是在那里，就能替吾带来欢笑了吧。虽说弄臣这职位没有相当的智能是无法胜任的，但看来世上也真有天生的弄臣啊！」

“What, what’s so funny! I’m an undead creature that’s struck terror into the hearts of people all over!”

「哪、哪里好笑了！我可是在许多地方都让人畏怖的不死者啊！」

“Fuhahahaha! ...Oh no no no, everything you say is just so amusing. Alright, now what do you want to do --- I forgot your name, because I was planning to annihilate you… no matter, forget it. Night Lich. Will you serve as my jester? You do know I am willing to spare you if you agree, do you not?”

「呼哈哈哈哈！……不不不、你说的一字一句都是那么让吾开心啊。好了、现在你想怎么办——忘了你的名字了。因为本来想当场就把你给毁了.....算了、没关系。暗夜死者魔法师。要当吾之弄臣吗？若答应的话，吾倒是可以放你一马哦？」

“...I don’t want to be laughed at by an undead creature who doesn’t even dare report his name.”

「……我可不想被连自己的名号都不敢报上来的不死者笑」

The gigantic body moved.

巨大的身躯动了起来。

“I see. While it feels foolish to name myself to an undead creature of your insignifcant stature -- I am Cure-Elim, the XX Dragon Lord.”

「这样啊。虽然觉得向你这种程度不死者报上名号实在很蠢就是了——我乃裘亚伊里穆，■■之龙王」

“What?”

「什么？」

“Ah, yes… indeed! I am -- the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord!!”

「啊、对了……也是啊！吾乃——朽棺之龙王 [Elder coffin dragon lord]！！」【注2】

“I see…”

「原来如此……」

So he was a Dragon Lord. In other words, he was in the same league as the Brightness Dragon Lord. Simply put, he was very strong.

是龙王啊。也就是说、和七彩龙王是同等级的敌人。简单来说就是、很强。

A bolt of pain stabbed at Suzuki Satoru.

一股扎痛般的感觉袭向铃木悟。

From now on, things would be disastrous if he made one false move.

从此刻开始、只要走错一步，事情毫无疑问就会演变成最糟糕的情况。

And the problem now was -- was Cure-Elim in that thing? Or was he controlling it from afar?

而问题是——裘亚伊里穆是在那玩意里头呢？还是透过远距离操作的方式控制那玩意。

“Surely one as impotent as yourself should know the nature of a Dragon Lord?”

「就算无能如你，也总该知道什么是龙王了吧？」

“I can’t believe a mere pile of yuriniggers is calling itself a Dragon Lord. Looks like you’ve moved up in the world. Or does it mean Dragon Lords have fallen far? In any case, it’s rather unsightly for you to act like a big shot in front of a great and mighty undead being like myself, don’t you think?”

「区区一团不死者僵尸的集合体竟也自称起龙王来了。地位变得可真高啊。还是说是龙王的地位变低了呢？不论如何、在我这个伟大的不死者面前妄自尊大——可是很不像样的啊？」

“Fuhahaha! What a marvellous jester you are! Truly, you are entertaining!” With that, the air around Cure-Elim changed.

「呼哈哈哈哈！真不愧是弄臣！这真是太好笑了！」说罢、裘亚伊里穆的氛围随即产生变化。

“Still -- the undead really do displease me. Even when standing before me, even in the face of annihilation, you do not know fear.”

「可是——不死者还真是令人不悦啊。即便面对着吾、即将毁灭你的存在面前，也不会感到恐怖」

The Dragon’s right foreleg suddenly swelled up, and a vast quantity of yuriniggers extended forward like a rope. Then, they seized the Skeleton Warrior, dragging it before the Dragon’s foreleg.

龙右前脚的一部分猛然膨胀起来，大量的僵尸宛如绳索一般往前延伸。然后将骷髅战士一把掴住，打算就这样将它往龙的前脚拉扯过去。

The Skeleton Warrior tried to flee, but in the face of superior numbers, defeat was its only recourse.

骷髅战士虽然试图逃跑，但在数量的暴力之前只有败北一途。

The Skeleton Warrior was swallowed up by the Dragon’s foreleg and Suzuki Satoru could hear it being crushed to bits even from where he was standing. At the same time, he felt his link to the Skeleton Warrior break.

骷髅战士随即被龙的前脚吞没，在相当的压力之下被挤碎的声音大得连铃木悟的位置都听得见。

同时他与骷髅战士的连结也被截断了。

“--I see… you’re not bad.”

「——原来如此……还算有点斤两啊」

Suzuki Satoru cast [Fly] and retreated.

铃木悟发动<飞行>魔法，往后退下。

“Pretty good? ...Fuhahaha, you really are amusing. Truly, you are a born jester.”

「还算得上？……呼哈哈哈哈，真得有趣啊，你这家伙。真的天生是个弄臣的料啊」

“...Hmph. You think you’ve won just because you destroyed the lesser undead I summoned? [Fireball]!”

「……哼。不过只是毁了我召唤出来的低阶不死者就当自己赢了吗？<火球> [fire ball]」

The third-tier spell struck the Dragon Lord-shaped yuriniggers and flames erupted in all directions.

射出的第三阶位魔法击中了形成龙王外表的僵尸，火焰四处飞散。

It was true that the burst of flames was tiny in comparison to the massive size of the Dragon. However, Suzuki Satoru narrowed his eyes and looked closely. That was because he saw the blasted yuriniggers crumble and fall.

考虑龙的身躯之巨大，这个火焰的爆发实在是小得可以。但铃木悟依旧瞇眼细看。因为他看见在火球炸开处的僵尸零零落落的崩散开来。

After the fried yuriniggers fell away, they were replenished by undamaged yuriniggers from the inside.

被烤得焦黑的僵尸三三两两地落下后，内部其他没有受伤的僵尸立刻填补了上来。

“W-what’s this? Are there yuriniggers under there too!?”

「——什、什么！那下面也是僵尸吗！」

“[Fireball]... that warped magic spread by that accursed lot. Not only are you pitiful, but infuriating… speaking of which, that should have been a low-grade spell. Night Lich, try a higher0tier spell on me… as it happens, I wish to assess the completion of this body.”

「<火球>……是那群可恨的家伙所散播的、扭曲的魔法吗。不但可悲、也令人不快……话说回来、那应该只是低阶位的魔法才对。暗夜死者魔法师，用点更高阶位的魔法让吾瞧瞧……吾正好要调查一下这具身体的完成度如何」

“W-why you! How dare you use me for your experiments!”

「你、你这家伙！竟然是想用我来替你做实验吗！」

If Suzuki Satoru had been alive, he would have been spluttering and frothing as he said that, but Cure-Elim simply replied with mocking laughter.

铃木悟如果是活人的话、这怒骂可说是骂得口沫横飞，但裘亚伊里穆只是以嘲笑响应道。

“Indeed, that was my intention. Despite your vacuous skull, it seems you at least understand that much.”

「没错、吾正有此意。就算脑袋里空空如也，看来这点程度的事情还是懂的啊」

“--I see. So you turned all the people in the city undead to protect yourself? Like armor made of yuriniggers, to protect your fragile body, then?”

「——原来如此。将那座都市的人全都变成不死者是为了保护自己？把僵尸像铠甲一样裹在身上，好保护自己脆弱的肉体是吗」

“Perhaps.”

「非也」

Maybe it was because Cure-Elim regarded Suzuki Satoru as a being far weaker than itself that it was being so chatty. Or perhaps it had been looking for someone to talk to all this while.

真是因为将铃木悟视为压倒性低等的存在而予以蔑视的缘故，裘亚伊里穆才会像这样滔滔不绝的说给铃木悟听的吧。抑或是它可能本来就很想找一个人说话。

“No, it was not for such a pedestrian reason. The souls of that city -- no more than that -- have been used by myself.”

「才不是为了那种无聊的理由。那座都市、不，比那座都市里的人更大量的灵魂都已经为吾所用了」

“Oh -- and how did you do that? What’s your aim?”

「哦－－怎么办到的？你的目的是什么？」

“I have no reason to tell you.”

「吾没道理要告诉你」

“...Surely you can tell me as a parting gift before I depart to the netherlands?”

「……就当是送我上黄泉路的礼物，说了也没关系吧？」

Am I obsessing about this? Suzuki Satoru thought. However, he probably would not be able to learn anything if they really began laying into each other. After considering Keno and the fact that his opponent was still willing to talk, he ought to learn as much as he could.

自己会不会太过执着了？铃木悟这么想到。但真的开始互相厮杀的话，很可能就再也没办法获得任何情报了。考虑到琪诺的事情，应该趁对方口风还不紧的时候，尽可能多套点情报才是。

Note 2: For some reason that has not been explained by the author, the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord’s title before becoming undead has lost its meaning in the world, so the translation effect could not translate it for Suzuki Satoru. Until the author explains it, it will remain a mystery for the rest of this book. It seems like the ECDL knows its old name is unusable, so it came up with a new one on the spot.

(TL Note: There was a comment on baidu that suggested that it’s something like how demons are linked to their names)

【注2】出于某种作者没有解释的理由，朽棺龙王在变成不死者之前的称号似乎从世界中失去了意义，导致翻译机能无法将其翻译给铃木悟理解。在作者没有说明之前，此处是本作的不解之谜。朽棺龙王本人看起来是知道自己旧的名字不能用了，所以当场想了一个新的名字。

“Would you tell an inferior lifeform such a thing -- tell the ants crawling around on the ground? Then you must be quite the generous soul. Ah, no, you born jester. Perhaps I revealed it long ago without realizing it.”

“--Tch. Hmph. If you call yourself a Dragon Lord, then I must be the Undead Lord. While I have hundreds of servants at my command, I shall make an exception and go one on one with you. You should be grateful.”

“Fuhahahaha! Indeed I am! Undead Lord! Fuhahahaha!”

“What’s so funny?”

“The fact that you do not realize why makes it all the more mirthful!”

The mood in the air changed. Suzuki Satoru had always been a commoner. Though he had experienced things like presences and killing intent over his five years of travel, the truth was that he did not quite understand them. Even so -- he could sense the Dragon Lord’s fighting spirit.

However, it was not being serious.

“While I would have liked to take your spell head-on, I suppose it would not be good to go too easy on you, Undead Lord-sama. Perhaps I should essay an attack as well. Take care to avoid it so it does not destroy you, alright?”

Cure-Elim made its move.

The movement was ponderously slow, but it closed the distance with incredible speed.

Suspicious, Suzuki Satoru immediately realised the source of this disconnect. The yuriniggers below Cure Elim’s feet that were in contact with the ground were writhing as though on a set of tracks, driving its body forward after it took its first step.

If he was deceived by that movement, Cure Elim would be standing before him in an instant.

Suzuki Satoru narrowed his eyes.

Cure Elim was raising its right foreleg from far away, swinging it like it was going to perform a sweeping kick.

There was no way it could hit him from this distance. He had no idea why Cure Elim had done this, but Suzuki Satoru’s instincts told him that there must be some trick to it, and he reflexively bent down to dodge it.

Just then, the right foreleg unfurled like a paper roll.

The massive forelimb formed of yuriniggers swept over Suzuki Satoru’s head as he bent down so low he was practically prostrate.

The speed of the sweep was not very fast. Even Suzuki Satoru, whose abilities were comparable to a level thirty-odd warrior, could evade it. However, he did not know if it was because Cure Elim had purposely slowed his strike.

“Fuhahahaha! Well dodged! But you look quite unsightly!”

Suzuki Satoru realized the intention of Cure Elim’s attack as he heard its roaring laughter. It was exulting in its superiority as it watched Suzuki Satoru go face down into the mud. Suzuki Satoru raised his head and shouted angrily.

“How dare you make me crawl on the ground!”

“Fuhahahaha!

After the sweep, the foreleg rolled back up like a snake, and its shadow fell on Suzuki Satoru. Perhaps it was because it was made of yuriniggers, but every intense movement seemed to ignore inertia. The yuriniggers in the joints made squelching and cracking noises, as though they were being pulped by the forceful movements.

Suzuki Satoru desperately struggled to escape from Cure Elim’s attack radius. He did not even have the time to cast [Fly]; all he could do was run on his two feet.

With a thud, the foreleg smashed into Suzuki Satoru’s former location. There was a splatting sound as many yuriniggers were squashed flat.

He was not being serious yet.

That attack just now, made with limbs of yuriniggers that extended like rolls of paper could have hit him. There was only one reason why it had not done so.

This was a cat toying with a mouse.

“[Lightning].”

「<雷击>」

Suzuki Satoru cast a spell at Cure Elim’s forelimb, which was on the ground.

铃木悟朝着裘亚伊里穆竖在地面上的前肢释放了魔法。

The bluish-white electrical stroke of the [Lightning] spell pierced through the massive, trunk-likelimb.

<雷击>所发出的蓝白色闪电击穿了巨树般的前肢。

However it had even less of an effect than that [Fireball] just now. Several yuriniggers fell, and then the yuriniggers inside flooded out from the inside as though they were being spat out.

但是威力比刚才的<火球>还要小。几只僵尸掉了下来，然后里面的僵尸像被吐出来一样涌了出来。

The dead yuriniggers looks like they had been spat out. He did not know if Cure Elim was doing this or if it was happening automatically. However, considering one would need over 500’000 yuriniggers to make a body like this, it would probably be impossible to control each individual one, so it was probably the latter.

死了的僵尸就好像被吐出来一样。不知道这是裘亚伊里穆操作的还是自动发生的。不过构成这副躯体至少要五十万只以上的僵尸，要将他们完全控制住应该是不可能的吧，所以应该是后者。

“Fuhahaaha!”

「呼哈哈哈！」

The limb moved again as Cure Elim laughed merrily.

随着裘亚伊里穆愉快的笑声，前肢又动了起来。

“Nggh!”

「唔！」

The part of the forelimb that stood on the ground expanded and shot out in Suzuki Satoru’s direction.

竖在地面上的前肢的一部分——直冲着铃木悟膨胀、弹射了出来。

Ten-plus yuriniggers reached their hands out for him like they desired his body. The yuriniggers extended like they were tied together by ropes, with the yuriniggers at the back holding the bodies of the yuriniggers in front. In this way, they could extend for several meters without touching the ground.

十几只僵尸似乎在渴求铃木悟的身躯一样伸出两手逼近过来。僵尸们就如同被绳子拴在一起一样伸长，靠着后面的僵尸抓着前面的僵尸的身体，这样一直伸出来好几米都没有碰到地面。

This was the attack which had destroyed the Skeleton Warrior.

这就是将骸骨战士破坏掉的攻击。

Suzuki Satoru dealt with it in a calm, unhurried fashion.

铃木悟毫不动摇地冷静应对。

He pulled away with a [Fly] spell. The yuriniggers which had failed to grasp Suzuki Satoru slowly retracted into Cure Elim’s leg.

铃木悟使用<飞行>拉开了距离。没有抓住铃木悟的僵尸们慢慢地回到了裘亚伊里穆的前脚中。

They had pulled back quickly after seizing the Skeleton Warrior, but they were very slow now. Why was there a difference?

抓住骸骨战士的时候返回的速度可是很快的，但是这次却很慢。为什么会有这种不同呢？

“What did you do!? I’ve never seen anyone use the undead like this before! How did you do it!?”

「你做了什么！从没见过这种使用不死者的方式，你是怎么做到的！」

“An undead creature of your caliber would not understand, This is something which only I can do.”

「就凭你这种不死者是不会明白的。这是只有我才能做到的」

“Why you! [Iceball]!”

「你这家伙！<冰球>！」

While this was an area-effect spell of the same tier as [Fireball], ice spells were essentially useless against the undead. And indeed, it had done nothing to the yuriniggers. Cure Elim did not even bother responding to it.

虽说这是与<火球>同一阶位的冰系范围魔法，但基本上冰系魔法对于不死者是无效的。实际上也

没有对僵尸们产生什么影响。对于这种攻击裘亚伊里穆都没有还击。

It was probably going easy on him. Then he would do what he wanted.

这是应该是在放水吧。那就不客气了。

“[Acid Arrow]!”

「<硫酸之矢>」

He cast a second-tier single-target spell

发动了第二阶位的单体攻击魔法。

The struck yurinigger fell.

被击中的一只僵尸掉了下来。

[What’s the matter, jester? You will need to cast that weak spell tens of thousands of times to kill me. You are a Night Lich, are you not? Cast a filthier spell of a higher tier at me. Or does this mean -- you cannot?”

「怎么了、弄臣？那种脆弱的魔法得用几万发才能杀死我哦。你是暗夜死者魔法师吧？用一些阶

位更高的更肮脏的魔法如何。还是说——你根本就不会用呢？」

“Ngh!”

「咕！」

“Then I shall verify it.”

「就让吾确认一下吧」

Cure Elim attacked again. This time, he hit Suzuki Satoru.

裘亚伊里穆再次发动了攻击，这一次打中了铃木悟。

It was a strike, as he had expected, but the damage it did was trivial for his present gear to absorb. However, the force of the attack was not cancelled out. Suzuki Satoru rolled several times along the ground before stopping.

如同预想的一样这是打击属性的攻击，但是造成的伤害在现在的装备下也不算什么。但是其中包含的能量却不会被抵消。铃木悟就这样在地上滚了好几圈才停下来。

Suzuki Satoru shakily rose to his feet.

铃木悟摇摇晃晃地站了起来。

“Is something the matter, jester? My experiment is not yet over, so take care not to die, will you?”

「怎么了、弄臣？吾的实验还没结束呢，可别死了啊？」

Cure Elim closed the distance to Suzuki Satoru in that nauseating way again. This time, it raised its left foreleg. Then, it repeated its huge area-effect attack from before.

裘亚伊里穆又用那恶心的方式踏出一步缩短了与铃木悟的距离，这次则将左前脚抬了起来。

然后又重复了像刚才一样的大范围攻击。

Evading it was simple enough, but that was not the end of Cure Elim’s attack.

要躲开并不难。但是、裘亚伊里穆的攻击可不止如此。

The forelimb that had swept past him extended long, thick, tentacle-like objects. They opened their maws, latched onto Suzuki Satoru and entangled him.

从已经扫过去的前肢中伸出了又粗又长的触手一样的东西。它们张开大口，咬住铃木悟之后缠了上去。

Suzuki Satoru thought they were snakes, at first, but then he realised his mistakes.

铃木悟还以为那些是蛇，但很快就发现了自己的错误。

--They’re Dragons!!!

（——居然是龙！！）

He could not escape the Dragon yurinigger’s gaping maw, and Suzuki Satoru was seized in its jaws from his right shoulder to his chest. The teeth sinking into his shoulderblades creaked as they damaged him. It might have been yuriniggerfied, but it was still a Dragon.

没有能够躲开僵尸龙的大口，铃木悟的右肩到胸前都被咬住了。咬入肩头的牙齿发出吱吱嘎嘎的声音的同时造成了伤害。虽然已经僵尸化了，但不得不说不愧是龙。

While he knew of Beast yuriniggers, not knowing that even Dragons could become yuriniggers had been a very big mistake.

虽然知道动物僵尸的存在，但是没想到就连龙也会成为僵尸这一点是个很大的失误。

The strength of yuriniggers depended on the base creature they were made from. Surely a Dragon yurinigger would be several, if not dozens of times more powerful that a yurinigger made from a human. In addition, its increased HP meant that he might not be able to kill one in a single third-tier spell.

僵尸的强弱是根据作为母体的生物而变化的。如果是龙变成的僵尸的话，强度应该是人类所变的僵尸的数倍、不，数十倍吧。并且因为体力也会相应变化，有可能使用第三阶位的魔法也无法一击击杀。

While they were not especially mighty foes for Suzuki Satoru the existence of Dragon yuriniggers implied that there were more powerful monster yuriniggers in store. No, he ought to say that they were definitely out there somewhere.

虽说这对铃木悟来说不是什么厉害的敌人，但是如果僵尸龙存在的话就意味着还藏着更加强大的怪物僵尸的可能性很高。不、应该说是一定还有才对。

Suzuki Satoru suddenly had an idea.

铃木悟突然有了一种感觉。

It had not collected the people of Keno’s country because it did not need to.

之所以没有将琪诺的国家的居民收集起来是因为没有必要吧。

The 400’000 human-sized yuriniggers of Seruk-3 were enough. It then turned more powerful creatures into yuriniggers and stored them in its body.

有了斯鲁克3号城市的住民四十万人，人类大小的僵尸已经足够了，然后再把更强大的生物转变为僵尸放入那个身体之中。

It was very likely -- no, it was the only possibility.

这种推测很有可能，不，也只有这种可能了。

“--To think you’d use your own kind!”

「——居、居然把同类！」

“Own kind? Fuhahaha! What a jester you are. How could I consider inferior living beings to be of the same kind as myself?”

「同类？呼哈哈哈！不愧是弄臣。吾怎么可能把这种劣等生物当成同类！」

Dragons grew more powerful the bigger they got. Was it saying this in light of that point? Or were Dragon Lords a different kind of creature altogether. Suzuki Satoru did not know about that. However, if it had yuriniggerfied several Dragons, then part of his battle strategy would need to be altered.

龙是的体型越大就越强。这是考虑到这一点才这样说的吗？还是说龙王和龙是不同种的生物呢。这一点铃木悟就不知道了。但是如果有几条龙被变为僵尸了的话，一部分战略就不得不进行改变。

Something picked up Suzuki Satoru’s body.

铃木悟的身体被提了起来。

The Dragon’s body began to retract into Cure Elim’s foreleg, bringing Suzuki Satoru with it.

龙的身体开始缩回裘亚伊里穆的前肢之中，连带着将铃木悟也拉了起来。

Escaping was easy enough. It might have been a Dragon, but it was just a yurinigger after all. Suzuki Satoru worked his hands into the gaps of the teeth seizing his shoulder and forcefully pulled them apart.

要挣脱很容易。虽说是龙也不过是个僵尸而已。铃木悟将手伸进咬在肩膀上的龙的牙齿缝隙中，用力将其分开。

The Dragon’s lower jaw opened. Suzuki Satoru’s strength overcame the Dragon’s might, which meant that this Dragon was not yet fully grown.

龙的下颚慢慢地打开了。铃木悟的腕力胜过了龙的力量，也说明这条龙还没有足够的成长。

Just as he was thinking that he could slowly struggle free, a massive hand came into view.

就在想着能够这样慢慢挣脱的时候，视线中突然出现了一只巨大的手臂。

“What!”

「什么！」

A hand that was several tiems the size of a normal human’s seized Suzuki Satoru’s body.

铃木悟的身体被一只数倍于普通人类的手给抓住了。

“Giants too!?”

「还有巨人吗！」

The Giant’s body poked out from beside the Dragon and grabbed Suzuki Satoru. He could not tell what species of Giant it was, but it probably lived around here.

巨人的身体从龙的侧面探了出来，抓住了铃木悟。看不出来是什么种类的巨人，但应该是生活在这附近的吧。

The rate at which he was being reeled in suddenly sped up, and Suzuki Satoru was drawn into Cure Elim’s foreleg.

被拉过去的速度一下子上升了，铃木悟被卷进了裘亚伊里穆的前肢之中。

The undead domination effect which he was most wary of did not take place. Of course, he had never once lowered his Turn Resistance III in order to protect against it. It would seem he would not be controlled just by being pulled into it.

没有出现最为提防的支配不死者效果。当然、为了防备这一点并没有解除上位退散耐性III，看来并不是被卷进来就会处于操控之下。

In that case, it would seem the undead domination only happened to the yuriniggers raised by its own power.

那么支配不死者的效果对象、果然仅限于被自己的力量转化成的僵尸吧。

The maw biting his shoulder and the Giant hand holding his body let go. In its place, an arm the size of Suzuki Satoru held and pinned him.

咬住肩头的龙口和抓住身体的巨人的手都放开了，取而代之的是一只跟人一样大的手将铃木悟的全身都抓住，拘束了起来。

There were so many yuriniggers around him that he could not see the outside. However he could feel himself moving like he was being carried by an underwater current. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he was being propelled by the surrounding yuriniggers.

周围围满了僵尸完全看不到外面的样子。但是、就像在水面之下被水流推动的感觉一样，自己的身体在移动这一点还是知道的。或者应该说是在被周围的僵尸们推动着才对。

Just as he was wondering where he would be taken, his head was suddenly thrust outside.

正在想着会被带去哪里的时候，突然只有头被推到了外面。

What skilful control of the undead you have, Suzuki Satoru mused with genuine admiration for Cure Elim.

真是精密的不死者支配啊，铃木悟对裘亚伊里穆真心感慨着。

The outside -- it looked to be around Cure Elim’s shoulder. It would seem he had been pulled up from below.

外面——应该说是裘亚伊里穆的肩头的地方。看来是被从下面拉了上来。

A head that was many times smaller than before looked down on Suzuki Satoru from above.

比刚才短了许多的头部从上面看着下方的铃木悟。

No, that was not it.

不，不是的。

That could not possibly be something made out of yuriniggers.

那绝不是用僵尸构成的东西。

That was Cure Elim’s true form. Wrapped by yuriniggers,Cure Elim had revealed its true self.

这才是裘亚伊里穆的本体。被僵尸缠绕着的裘亚伊里穆展示出了他的本体。

Though he could only see its head, it looked very much like the head made of yuringigers. However, it was beautiful. Its vibrant scales rippled like they were alive. However, Suzuki Satoru could sense Cure Elim’s main body -- though he was surrounded by the undead -- with his undead detection sense. The massive creature before him was also undead.

虽然只有头部，但那确实跟僵尸们所构成的头部一样。但是非常的美丽。那鲜艳的鳞片滑动着就像有生命一样。但是铃木悟对于不死者的感应——虽然周围被不死者包围着——还是能够感受到

裘亚伊里穆本身。面前的这个巨大的生物同样也是不死者。

The blood-red, vertically-slitted red eyes looked straight at Suzuki Satoru.

有着竖缝瞳孔的血红色的眼睛直直地看着铃木悟。

As he saw those eyes, he suddenly thought of Keno -- he hid his anxiety with all his might.

看着这只眼睛铃木悟突然想起了琪诺——他全力将焦躁隐藏了起来。

“--Aiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!”

「——噫噫噫噫噫噫噫！」

Suzuki Satoru screamed.

铃木悟尖叫了起来。

It was a hideous cry that one would naturally expect from those who understood that they could not win.

这是领悟了自己不可能赢的人理所应当的丑陋尖叫。

“Fuhahaha,” Cure Elim narrowed its eyes and twisted its neck. “What a pleasing scream. It would seem even the undead can make such sounds when they know their doom is at hand.”

「呼哈哈哈哈哈」裘亚伊里穆眯起眼睛，扭动着「真是令人愉悦的惨叫。看来即使是不死者得知自己死期将近，也会发出这种声音的啊」

“W-wait! Dragon Lord. No, Dragon Lord-sama! I, I was wrong! Please accept my apology! You - you’re very strong, I know that now. I was wrong, so please forgive me!”

「等、等等。龙王。不、龙王大人！是、是我错了。请接收我的谢罪吧！你——您很强，我已经明白了。我错了、请原谅我吧！」

“Hmph! Only now, at the end, do you understand.”

「哼！事到如今终于明白了吗」

“Ah! You’re the mightiest Dragon Lord! I was wrong!”

「啊！您是最强的龙王，是我错了！」

“--Is that so. In that case…”

「——是吗。那么……」

Suzuki Satoru could imagine what the Dragon Lord would say next. That was why the yuriniggers holding on to his right arm were beginning to exert force on him. They -- the yuriniggers -- were probably using a lot of strength.Their muscles made a pulping sound as they were torn apart, and he could feel rotting fluids splashing onto his body. But no matter. He pretended that his left arm was stuck.At the same time, he took out his hidden item and prepared to use it at any time.

铃木悟能够预想到龙王接下来的台词。正因如此，在裘亚伊里穆体内被几只僵尸抓住的右手开始用力，硬是动了起来。对方——那些僵尸应该也很用力吧。筋肉被扯断发出吧唧吧唧的声音，同时一股腐败的液体附着在身上的感觉传来。不管这些了。左手装作无论如何也拿不出来的样子。

同时拿出隐藏的道具，准备好随时都能发动。

“Fulfil your duty as a jester to the very end. Allow me to enjoy the screams of a foolish undead creature as he is crushed flat!”

「作为弄臣尽到你最后的职责吧。让吾享受一下愚蠢的不死者被压扁时候的惨叫吧」

“Noooooooooo!”

「呀啊啊啊啊！」

The crushing sensation grew stronger, and Suzuki Satoru wailed in an uncharacteristic way. At the same time, he raised the crystal he was holding to a palce where Cure Elim could see, and then released the spell within.

挤压的感觉越来越强，铃木悟大声发出不像样的惨叫。同时从僵尸的海洋之中抽出右手，把握着的水晶举到裘亚伊里穆能够看到的地方。然后解放了其中的魔法。

“[Greater Teleportation.]”

<高阶传送>

He arrived at Seruk-3’s main gate, which he had memorized beforehand so he could teleport to it.

传送的目的地是斯鲁克3号城的大门，为了用于传送已经提前记忆过了。

Suzuki swiftly passed through the gate and hid behind cover that Cure Elim could not see past from his current position. He pricked up his ears and observed his surroundings. The empty city was dead silent, and the mountains above were also quiet.

铃木悟迅速穿过大门，躲到了从裘亚伊里穆所在位置目光所不能及的掩体后边。然后竖起耳朵，关注着周围的动静。空无一人的都市一片寂静，山峦之上亦是如此安静。

It would seem his escape had not driven Cure Elim into a rage, and there were no signs it had pursued him.

看样子自己的脱逃，并未使得裘亚伊里穆大发雷霆，也看不出它有追击过来的意图。

Was it because moving that huge body needed time, or did it not see the value in squashing a single bug? Suzuki Satoru continued observing for a while before concluding that it was the latter.

是挪动它那巨大的身躯需要花些时间呢，还是认为区区一只飞虫没有如此大动干戈的价值呢。又继续观察了一段时间，铃木悟推断应该是属于后者。

“And now…”

「接下来……」

Suzuki Satoru’s expression suddenly changed. His pathetic demeanor from just now was gone, and in its place was a calm thoughtfulness as though he was following up on the results of an experiment.

铃木悟的神色猛然一变。此前的狼狈之情全然消失不见，取而代之的是依据实验结果进行推演的敏锐才思与冷静之色。

Suzuki Satoru deployed his anti-divination defensive spells. This way, he would be able to instantly sense if the opposition was trying to find him with magic.

铃木悟发动了针对情报系魔法进行反制的防御魔法，如此一来，如果对方利用魔法窥探过来的话，他便能立刻有所察觉。

Even so, it would seem the Wild Magic his foe could use was different from the spells that Suzuki Satoru could use. It was not impossible that it could pierce his defensive spells. Therefore, it would be safer for him to act as though every move he made was being observed by his opposition.

但话虽如此，对方恐怕是可以使用始源魔法的，这与铃木悟所使用的魔法有着些许的不同，足以穿透他的防御魔法这种可能性也不能说绝对没有。因此比较稳妥的做法就是，接下来的一举一动，都要建立在对方可能监视着自己这一前提下进行。

Suzuki Satoru narrowed his eyes.

铃木悟眯起眼睛来。

He had spent so much time on preparations precisely because he had considered this possibility.

正因为考虑到了这种可能性，才会花费如此之多的时间进行准备工作。

As he analyzed the information gained from that battle, he looked over at Cure Elim’s direction.

一边分析着从刚刚这场战斗中得来的情报，一边盯着裘亚伊里穆所在的方向。

“You really are strong.”

「很强啊」

He had to admit that even the phrase “mighty foe” was not enough to describe it. One could say it was an extremely tough opponent.

不得不承认，强敌这一词汇都不足以来形容它，可以说是极难对付的敌人了。

The Brightness Dragon Lord was strong too, but Cure Elim was stronger still, and--

七彩龙王虽然也很强悍，但它更为强大，而且——

“How troublesome.”

「真是棘手」

The most basic thing was that Cure Elim’s original body was undead.

最根本的、裘亚伊里穆的本体是不死者这一点，就很棘手。

Suzuki Satoru -- or rather, the character Momonga -- had mastered various skills which fit his role as an undead magic caster. Now that he was fighting an unliving enemy like one of the undead, his options for effective resistance were extremely limited.

铃木悟——或者说飞鼠这一游戏角色，掌握着与其不死者魔法吟唱者的身份相匹配的各种特殊技术。因此在面对不死者这种没有生命的敌人之时，行之有效的对抗手段就极为有限了。

He could be certain that Cure Elim had surrounded himself with a mass of yuriniggers. While yuriniggers were the weakest kind of undead, defeating that many yuriniggers would need a great deal of time and mana. Worse still, it was not just human yuriniggers in there, but even Dragon yuriniggers. Even if he killed all those yuriniggers, a mana-depleted Suzuki Satoru would then have to face an untouched Cure Elim. It was an overwhelming disadvantage.

裘亚伊里穆把僵尸集合体裹在身体之外是可以确定的了，虽然僵尸是最为弱小的不死者，但要击杀那个数量级的僵尸也是需要花费大量时间与魔力的。更麻烦的是，不仅有人类僵尸，甚至还有龙族的僵尸。就算杀光了这些僵尸，接下来也将是魔力有所损耗的铃木悟VS毫无损伤的裘亚伊里穆，局面是压倒性的劣势。

However, from the spells he had cast earlier, it would seem there were no special yuriniggers in there, and it would seem they could not breach Suzuki Satoru’s High-Tier Physical Nullification. Therefore, he ought to be able to ignore the damage and focus on keeping enough mana to maintain that skill, letting them hit him as much as they wanted -- but things were not that simple.

不过从此前发动的魔法来看，也的确都是些没什么特别之处的僵尸，想来是不可能突破铃木悟的高阶物理无效的。所以受损方面应该可以无视，只要保留维持该技能的魔力，让它们尽管打就是了——但事情也没有那么简单。

If one’s armor was damaged, normally one would choose to retreat, repair one’s armor, and then fight again. Thus they would choose to flee. Therefore, he felt that it would make sense for Cure Elim to escape, unless there were some special reason to make him stay there. However, there did not seem to be anything like that.

倘若身周的铠甲遭到削减，正常来说应该会选择撤退，要么修复护甲之后再度发起挑战，要么干脆三十六计走为上。所以认为裘亚伊里穆可能会逃遁才是常规思路。除非那里有什么特别之处让他不得不留在此地，但看上去似乎并没有这样的倾向。

If it had some way to collect the yuriniggers from its surroundings, then while he was not sure exactly how many yuriniggers there were in the surrounding countries, but their numbers would run into the 8-digit range at the very least. If he let it escape, he might end up having to fight Cure Elim through tens of millions of yuriniggers.

如果它真有什么集结僵尸的手段的话，虽然不清楚周边国家不死者的确切数字，但少说也要8位数打底了。这次放它逃掉的话，下次说不定就要跟身披千万僵尸的裘亚伊里穆为敌了。

When that happened, the same tactics would probably not be effective again.

到了那个时候，同样的战术不可能再度生效。

The more times he fought, the more likely it was that Suzuki Satoru would lose.

战斗的次数越多，铃木悟败北的几率就会越高。

He had managed to escape this time, but it would be best to assume that his High-Tier Physical Immunity would only be effective for the next battle.

这次是成功脱离了，高阶物理无效这一能力，还是假定仅能在接下来的第一场战斗中生效会比较妥当吧。

Analyzing the knowledge one had gained and working to counteract the abilities of one’s opponents was a matter of course. Cure Elim would definitely do such a thing. Only a fool would assume all their enemies were fools.

分析得来的情报，从而逐步针对对手的各项能力，可以说是理所当然的事。裘亚伊里穆也一定会这么做，只有愚者才会认为敌人都是愚者。

More to the point, the enemy might have found a countermeasure in the next battle, if he was unlucky. Since he was a Dragon Lord like the Brightness Dragon Lord, it was possible that he might wield Wild Magic -- an incomprehensible power that did not exist in YGGDRASIL.

更何况、若是运气不好的话，说不定在下一场战斗中途，敌方就已经找到了应对手段。既然与七彩龙王同样有着龙王之称，驱使着始源魔法这种YGGDRASIL里并不存在的、无法理解的强大能力也不是不可能。

No -- he ought to take that into consideration too.

不——应该说必须要纳入考虑。

You lose less by overestimating your opponent compared to underestimating them.

（相比低估敌人，还是高估敌人带来的损失更小）

Also, if he let it flee, the worst-case scenario might play out -- he would join forces with the Brightness Dragon Lord and attack Suzuki Satoru again.

而且一旦放对手逃跑，说不定会演变成最为糟糕的情况——与七彩龙王联手，再度向铃木悟发动攻势。

It was very likely to be the case if it was as strong as Suzuki Satoru and he managed to strip away its yurinigger armor.

如果铃木悟与对方实力相当，并且剥光了其僵尸铠甲的话，极有可能会变成这种情况。

When that happened, Suzuki Satoru would be out of luck.

到了那时、铃木悟就毫无胜算了。

In other words --

换句话说——

“I need to win the next battle and make sure I kill Cure Elim.”

「下一场战斗必须要完胜才行，确保击杀裘亚伊里穆」

He did not know if he could do it.

不知道能不能做得到。

But he had to do it.

但是必须要做到。

First, he had to destroy that layered armor of yuriniggers. Otherwise, he would not be able to strike at Cure Elim’s body. But it would be more dangerous the more time he spent on it. While he had no idea how far its yurinigger-summoning ability could reach, Suzuki Satoru would have no chance once it managed to replenish its shield of yuriniggers.

首先要把那僵尸堆叠而成的铠甲彻底破坏，不然是无法对裘亚伊里穆本体造成打击的。但花费的时间越多就越是危险，虽然不知道它呼唤僵尸的能力能够覆盖多大的范围，但一旦让它成功的补充了僵尸护盾，铃木悟就不再有胜利的机会了。

In that case he would need to use an attack spell that could penetrate all the way into the interior and cover a wide area at the same time.

如此一来、就要选用能够一击震撼到其内部的攻击性魔法，而且还得是大范围性的魔法才行。

In that case, his options were --

那么可以选择的就是——

“Super-tier magic.”

「超位魔法」

Suzuki Satoru thought about the most potent spells he knew. Could any of them destroy all those annoying yuriniggers around Cure Elim?

铃木悟回想着自己掌握的最高位魔法，其中有没有能够将裘亚伊里穆身周那些碍事的僵尸一举歼灭的魔法呢。

He thought of several options, but each of them lacked an element of decisiveness.

想到了若干个选项，但每一个都欠缺一锤定江山的决定性因素。

Also, even if he destroyed the yurinigger conglomerate, the fact that he knew nothing about th abilities of Cure Elim’s true form meant that he would simply be engaging in a blind gamble.

况且就算消灭了僵尸集合体，由于裘亚伊里穆本体的能力尚属未知，也只不过是拉开一场盲目赌

博式战斗的序幕而已。

Could the rewards of this battle, or rather, this victory, satisfy him?

这一战、或者说这场胜利带来的回报究竟能否让人满意。

As Suzuki’s thoughts wandered unbidden in that direction, he suddenly laughed.

无意之间想到这里的铃木悟，突然笑了出来。

“What am I thinking? Isn’t the reward of this greater than anything else? I’m doin this for Keno.”

「我到底在想些什么东西。回报不是比什么都大吗——这一战可是为了琪诺啊」

Suzuki Satoru -- or rather, the character Momonga -- might have been the Guildmaster, but in truth, all he had been doing were miscellaneous tasks or making sure things went smoothly between everyone. He was not someone who stood at everyone’s head and pointed the way for them to go.

铃木悟——或者说飞鼠这一人物，虽然身居公会会长之位，但实际上他一直觉得自己无非就是做些杂活或是充当各位会员之间的润滑油，并不是站在全员的前方、指引方向的角色。

Therefore, there was a powerful sense of fulfilment in Suzuki Satoru’s heart now.

所以如今的铃木悟心中有着强烈的充实感。

It was because he was fighting on the frontlines for his friend.

因为他现在是为了同伴、战斗在最前线的那个人。

He was the one making sacrifices for his friend’s happiness.

是为了同伴的幸福，正在做着奉献的那个人。

“Cure Elim -- you’re going down today,” Suzuki Satoru declared in a quiet, calm voice.

「裘亚伊里穆——今日定要将你消灭」

铃木悟以低沉而又平静的声音宣告着。

However, his words contain a powerful passion.