Dungeon Corpse Stacker: I Absorb Everything to Become Ominous Monarch
Chapter 31: THE HARVEST AT SECTOR 2

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: THE HARVEST AT SECTOR 2

The damp subterranean corridors of Sector 2 vibrated with the rhythmic, heavy thud of tactical boots. Tactical searchlights cut through the thick fog, casting long, unnatural shadows against the moisture-beaded concrete walls. Two hundred fully armed Hunters from the Southern Association Strike Force moved in tight, military-grade formations, their anti-mana exoskeletons humming with raw kinetic energy.

At the front of the advance unit, Director Gregory—a veteran Rank-A Hunter known for his iron-clad defensive barrier skills—adjusted the mana-meter attached to his visor. The device flickered erratically, its digital needles twitching between zero and off-the-charts spikes.

"Keep your eyes sharp," Gregory growled into his helmet comms, his voice echoing through the channel. "Sensor readings are unstable. High concentrations of necrotic mana detected deeper in the sector. Fire at anything that moves—no questions asked."

"Director, what about the underground locals?" a younger Hunter asked, tightening his grip on a high-caliber mana rifle. "The merchants and scavengers who reside in these lower tunnels?"

"Orders from Director Harold are absolute," Gregory replied coldly, stepping over a puddle of stagnant water. "Consider them collateral damage. No word of tonight’s operational failure can leak to the press. If Guild Apex’s black market network falls, the Association’s budget goes down with it."

Before the young Hunter could respond, a sudden, unnatural silence descended upon the tunnel.

The low hum of the tactical lights flickered violently before dying completely, plunging the advance unit into pitch-black darkness. Night-vision visors auto-activated with a soft click, flooding the Hunters’ vision with pale green light.

Then, the temperature plunged.

The air became so frigid that frost began to form on the reinforced visors of the strike squad. The puddle at Gregory’s feet froze solid within seconds. Deep within the shadow of the corridor ahead, a low, layered vibration echoed—not through the air, but directly inside the minds of every Hunter present.

[Skill Activated: ’Bloodhound Intuition’ (Rank-A)]

Targeting 200 Hostile Human Entities...

Spatial Mapping Complete.

Out from the gloom stepped a single figure wrapped in a tattered, dark trench coat. Renan walked forward with unhurried, measured steps. Beneath his dark hood, his golden eyes burned like twin suns in the pitch-black tunnel.

"Halt!" Gregory raised his hand, gesturing for the heavy infantry to form a wall of tower shields behind him. "State your identity! You are trespassing in an active Association quarantine zone!"

Renan stopped twenty paces away. He didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t assume a combat stance. He simply looked at the two hundred Hunters standing before him, his gaze devoid of fear, disgust, or malice. To him, they were not enemies—they were merely an inventory waiting to be cataloged.

"An Association quarantine zone..." Renan’s voice resonated through the narrow passage, carrying an eerie, unnatural weight. "You come down here to murder witnesses, conceal Guild Apex’s corruption, and reclaim stolen assets. Yet you dress your atrocities in the language of law."

"Execute him!" Gregory barked, waving his hand forward. "Heavy gunners, open fire!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Muzzle flashes illuminated the tunnel in blinding bursts as fifty heavy mana rifles unleashed a hail of armor-piercing projectiles. The wall of lead and concentrated energy surged toward Renan, capable of turning an S-Rank monster into red mist within seconds.

Renan didn’t dodge. He simply raised his left hand, extending a single open palm.

THUD!

An invisible, impenetrable wall of dark energy materialized in front of him. The barrage of high-density mana rounds hit the dark barrier, flattening and dropping harmlessly to the concrete floor like rain falling against glass. Not a single bullet penetrated his defense. Not a single spark touched his coat.

Gregory’s eyes widened in horror behind his visor. "What... what kind of barrier is that?! Is he a High-Rank Mage?!"

"My turn," Renan whispered softly.

He snapped his fingers.

SNAP.

[Shadow Army: Deployment]

Summoning 50 Shadow Knights...

The shadows beneath the feet of the frontline Hunters surged like black ocean waves. From the very floor they stood upon, dozens of armors made of pure, abyssal steel tore through the darkness. Fifty Shadow Knights manifested simultaneously, their spectral violet eyes flaring with murderous intent.

Before the Hunters could adjust their weapons, the Shadow Knights struck.

The towering Shadow General swung its massive executioner’s greatsword in a horizontal arc. The wind pressure alone shattered three anti-mana shields instantly, sending four heavy infantrymen flying back into the tunnel walls with bone-crushing force. Screams of terror and the agonizing crunch of metal being torn apart filled the subterranean chamber.

"Form a perimeter! Fall back!" Gregory screamed into his comms, his voice cracking with panic as his own men were cut down around him. "He’s controlling undead entities! Request immediate air support from the surface!"

"No support is coming, Gregory," Renan spoke, his voice appearing right beside the Director’s ear.

Gregory gasped, spinning around in sheer shock. Renan was standing less than an inch away, his golden eyes looking down into Gregory’s soul. The Director instinctively activated his ultimate defense skill, summoning a glowing blue mana sphere around his body.

"Iron Sentinel Barrier!" Gregory yelled, pouring all his mana into the shield. "You can’t break this! It withstands S-Rank strikes!"

Renan didn’t even use a skill. He simply raised his bare, unarmored right hand, coated it in a thin layer of extracted raw strength, and thrust his palm directly into the center of the blue barrier.

CRACK!

Spiderweb fractures spread instantly across the glowing sphere. With a final, deafening shatter, Gregory’s absolute defense disintegrated into harmless blue dust. Before the Director could scream, Renan’s fingers closed tightly around his throat, lifting the grown man off his feet with one arm as if he weighed nothing at all.

[Strength Stat Applied: 3,850+]

"Your barrier was built on artificial mana," Renan said coldly, feeling the Director thrashing helplessly in his grip. "Weak. Fragile. Just like the Association you serve."

Renan squeezed his fist. A clean, sharp snapping sound echoed through the tunnel. Director Gregory’s eyes went blank, his limbs going limp as his body collapsed onto the cold concrete floor.

[Absolute Extraction System Activated]

Extracting Corpse of Director Gregory (Rank-A Hunter)...

+120 Strength

+95 Agility

+150 Mana

[Skill Acquired: ’Iron Sentinel Barrier’ (Rank-A)]

A dark, purple miasma oozed out from Gregory’s corpse, coalescing into a new, heavily armored Shadow Knight that knelt before Renan.

Renan stepped over the fresh shadow soldier, looking down the long stretch of the tunnel where the remaining hundred and fifty Hunters were being systematically rounded up and crushed by his Shadow Army. The massacre was quiet, efficient, and absolute.

"One Director down," Renan murmured, his coat fluttering as the dark energy swelled around him. "Two to go."