The Innkeeper

The soldiers of the Empire were naturally the first to notice the newly arrived zombie army after Lex. A hush fell upon the entire camp as they angrily eyed the undead horde, wishing that they could attack. As much as the large forces of the universe treated the demons as natural resources to benefit their cultivation, the lower echelons of all civilizations detested them with a burning passion. Many, if not all, of the soldiers present in the camp had suffered the loss of a close friend or relative at the hands of demons. Of course, this also had to do with the fact that, as soldiers, they were more likely to encounter demons than random people.

But fortunately, their discipline held, and no one made a move. They had already been informed that there was to be no fighting at the Inn. Of course, if the zombies made the first move… But unfortunately, despite their desire to attack, Pramod had a firm hold over them. The demon moved his head, as if looking at the soldiers surrounding him, but there were no eye holes in his scaly armor. Still, after glancing at everyone, he followed his personal hologram as it led him to their part of the camp.

Yet even as he led his army away, unbothered by anyone or anything, another army appeared to take its place. These zombies did not appear to be rotting, and some of them could even be said to look somewhat clean.

These zombies, all in the Golden core realm, had various shapes and figures. Though it was still evident that their form used to be basically humanoid, all sorts of extra limbs grew out of them now. Some of them had scales, some of them had wings, some of them had long black nails and hair long enough to be Rapunzels. Besides looking more disgusting and dangerous, they also looked more intelligent.

These zombies stood in a somewhat casual formation and carefully observed their surroundings. They growled at the humans nearby, but despite their instincts, they stopped themselves from attacking without the need for someone to command them. Yet, even though they did not need to be commanded, a leader was still assigned. But unlike Pramod, the leader this time was a zombie.

A four feet tall, fairly ordinary looking girl stood at the forefront of the army, focusing intently on a small mirror in her hand. Ignoring the various onlookers, she slowly and carefully applied foundation to her face, ensuring that, despite her undead state, no one would be able to tell. In fact, if it weren't for the ridiculously strong demonic aura she was emitting, many would have actually assumed she was a human.

Lex checked her status as well.

Name: Harriot Shelby Ruby Selma Jane

Age: 122

Sex: Female

Cultivation Details: Golden Core

Species: Zombie

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Condition: The patient is suffering from the side effects from a failed artificial animation. The Midnight Inn currently does not have the means to cure the patient.

Remarks: Do not let her fragmented mind, undead body, and devious intent fool you. This is a true yandere in the flesh.

Lex was confused by the unusually long list of first names that made up this zombie's name, and the rest of her status did not make much sense to him, either. Was she, as a zombie, sick? Did zombies need medical attention? Would he one day have a zombie as a guest, who would then try to use the Recovery room?

While Lex was pondering, Harriet seemed to finish up her last-minute makeup. She looked at the crowd with a bright smile and then frolicked away. If one did not see the army of zombies following behind her, they really would believe that this was a little girl having fun.

By now, the rest of the Inn also became aware of the arrival of the zombies. The guests from Earth stood in line at a distance and watched with awe as the hordes disappeared into their own tents. No one had expected such well behaved zombies, and some of them were even a little disappointed at the anticlimactic arrival.

Even Alexander, who was having a serious discussion with his grandfather, was informed of the commotion and came out to observe them. His personal plans did not go over well with the rest of the families, and the fact that he was unwilling to relinquish control of the soldiers following him was a point of contention amongst the humans. Ultimately, they had reached a compromise, but while Alexander was uncaring, the rest of the families were furious at the compromise. Brandon was too supportive of his grandson.

The grandfather and grandson duo stood and observed in silence. While Brandon's thoughts were unknown, Alexander's arm slowly started to tremble as he watched the undead army. His eyes wandered over his future enemies, and the more zombies he saw, the tighter his hand clenched into a fist.

As it happened, Alexander caught sight of Pramod just as the demon was about to enter its tent. The teenager could not determine the other's cultivation, but his intimidating visage attracted the boy's attention. Pramod, as if sensing a gaze upon himself, stopped and turned directly to Alexander, who stood in the distance. The two stared at each other, as if inspecting prey. Alexander could not stop himself from revealing a smile before his hand suddenly stopped trembling. He turned to leave, suddenly becoming indifferent to whatever was happening. He needed to hone his mood before the games began - his excitement was affecting his control.

There were only two hours left before the games began and a lot of people could feel the tension in the air. The soldiers did not get nervous, but as the clock came close and closer to the moment of truth, their murderous aura started to leak.

Movement across the Inn settled down, and slowly everyone returned to their rooms. Even the children from the academy were summoned by their teachers and forced to enter their respective rooms. An artificial silence took hold of the Inn.

An hour before the event began, the Innkeeper appeared at the coliseum. A display of fireworks over the coliseum attracted everyone's attention, letting them know it was time for another announcement. The leaders of various factions made their way to their seats and awaited any news their host had to give.

As if unaware of the mood that had gripped his guests, the Innkeeper let out his usual smile and greeted everyone.

"Welcome, one and all. The time for the next portion has nearly begun, so I thought I would kick things off and start the party."

Lex had been so busy handling the various affairs of the Inn that he did not even realize that he was no longer feeling nervous. He was dealing with things as they came and was so preoccupied with making sure everything went smoothly, he appeared before the largest crowd the Inn had even held without a second thought.

"There are just a few things everyone needs to know before we begin. Firstly, as with the previous performances, you will be able to view the games from anywhere in the Inn. You can choose to focus on any person or army, and your screens will show them. You can also stay in the coliseum and watch as it shows the most heated parts of the games.

"Each game will last 12 hours at most. If the node is not destroyed within that time frame, the game will be considered a loss and no one will receive any points for the destruction of the node though you'll still be able to receive total points for number of participants survived, and individual points per participant for number of zombies killed."

A giant screen appeared above the Innkeeper with a few headings: zombies killed, achievements and total points.

"But where's the excitement of watching such a game if you don't feel involved? Before the match begins, you can bet on your favorite armies and contenders. Which person will have the highest points? Which planet will take the lead? Who will have the highest kills? Will your favorite contender survive the round? Will the node be destroyed, or will the zombies be able to defend it? Show how much confidence you have in those you support with your bets!"

The Innkeeper flashed everyone a grin. All bets could only be placed before each game began, and Lex, aware of the deep background of the Jotun Empire and the devils, had placed an upper cap on each bet. His deposit was only so much, he could not risk it. But that was just a precaution. It was unlikely that anyone would place a single bet with such high stakes.

"When the game begins, each planet's armies will be teleported to a random place and will begin from there. As for what they can expect once they arrive at their location… Well, I can't give everything away now, can I?"

Unlike previous times where the Innkeeper would disappear after each announcement, he walked offstage and took a seat right in front to watch the games. Even he was feeling excited.