I, the Supreme Overlord, Start by Enslaving the Zerg Queen
Chapter 48 - 48: The Return of the Dead

According to rumors circulating in the regional channel, there have been numerous bizarre anomalies recently manifesting in the Serene Forest.

For instance, it is said that minions who had been dead for many years suddenly reappeared beside various Overlords, continuing to fight for them with the same fervor and loyalty they had in life.

Moreover, some Overlords have encountered their long-deceased fathers, allowing them to experience the boundless joy of a family reunion.

Furthermore, there have been instances where the undead of former enemies have risen from their graves, successfully killing the unfortunate Overlord and usurping their position.

This time, while Medusa was out expanding her territory, she stumbled upon a familiar face—one that made her grit her teeth in seething hatred.

Megan Takeshi.

The very tainted blood who had incited the Overlord coalition to attack them, and who had coveted her and her Master's possessions, had returned!

His face was ghostly pale, and a lecherous grin played at his lips. "Lady Medusa, may I have another chance to pursue you?"

Seeing the resurrected Megan Takeshi, Medusa decisively used a set of Serpent secret techniques to bind him completely and brought him to the interrogation room.

Charles was somewhat surprised as he looked at the lifelike Megan Takeshi before him. Was this really a living person?

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Weren't you dead?"

Megan Takeshi laughed heartily in response, as if mocking the methods of Charles and his companions.

Indeed, he had come back to life, and now possessed immortality!

With arrogance, Megan Takeshi declared, "I've defied death itself and come back to life!"

"I advise you, trash Overlord, to proactively send those two—no, three—beautiful women to my bed for my entertainment, or else I'll kill one Zerg a day until there are none left!"

Hearing his obnoxious words, Little Green shot him a cold glance. A puff of toxic gas entered his mouth, rotting him from the inside out.

Little Green was Master's private property, how dare he even think of laying eyes on her?

If not for the master's orders...

Charles paid no heed to these matters and simply turned to Medusa, asking, "Did you engage him in combat?"

Medusa shook her head slightly, her tone earnest, "No, master."

"I found the return of the dead rather suspicious, so I dared not easily eliminate this singular experimental subject."

Upon hearing this, Charles nodded slightly, casually conjuring a scarlet arrow that pierced through Megan Takeshi's throat.

He remarked indifferently, "The return of the dead is now a frequent occurrence in the channel. He is not rare anymore. Next time, just kill on sight.

Medusa nodded in acknowledgment, indicating her understanding.

Then, something bizarre occurred.

Megan Takeshi, whose throat had been pierced by Charles's arrow, continued to spurt blood from his neck, appearing as though he had died.

In merely a few seconds, the blood seemed to flow back, and the pierced throat rapidly healed as if nothing had happened.

Is this what immortality looks like?

Observing the increasingly smug Megan Takeshi, Charles's gaze grew contemplative.

If the physical body is immortal, does that imply an issue lies elsewhere?

"Hahaha, I am the immortal one, Overlord Number One! Bow down to me at once!" Megan Takeshi declared arrogantly.

In his eyes, he had already become the emissary of the gods, and the sole purpose of Overlord Number One's existence was to deliver those beautiful women to him.

"Master..." Catherine began to speak, but Charles interrupted her directly, turning to Medusa and saying, "Medusa, check if there's anything unusual about his soul."

Medusa nodded upon hearing this. With a casual flick of her sleeve, Megan Takeshi's soul was forcibly extracted.

However...

"Master, his soul appears to be intact, but there is a brand deep within." Medusa held the soul in her hand, frowning as she pointed to the mark on the faintly blue soul.

It was a crescent-shaped cyan mark, its mysterious aura seemingly indicative of some ominous portent.

Charles fixed his gaze and noticed the brand on the soul.

He shook his head helplessly, saying, "I've never seen this before, but I suppose this is the reason why this fellow keeps on living."

An eternal soul, an immortal body.

Could this be... the doing of the Land of the Dead?

He thought of consulting Rose, but upon opening the parchment, he found she was offline.

Seeing the master's troubled expression, Catherine volunteered, "Master, since this experimental subject has come to us on his own, why not leave him to me?"

"This matter likely involves some conspiracy, and as the strongest here, we might be more significantly entangled."

Charles did not refuse. He spent some resources in the Global Channel to exchange for skull coins and bought information regarding the Land of the Dead, handing it over to her.

Noticing her puzzled expression, Charles explained, "The return of the dead, combined with the Ephemeral Beings of the Underworld we encountered during the Crimson Tide, makes it necessary for me to suspect that all this is the work of the Land of the Dead."

"That is a realm where only the deceased can go, and it is terrifying. Anything associated with it becomes exceedingly strange. Our Serene Forest is indeed facing a storm on the horizon."

The Land of the Dead...

Charles was not unfamiliar with it. In his previous life, he had witnessed the descent of the Land of the Dead in a certain grand domain.

An entire domain, where both the reborn Overlords and the native beings were completely transformed into undead creatures!

They raised their weapons, cold and merciless, seeking vengeance against the living.

They resented the living for being able to exist, they longed to drag the living into the abyss and transform them entirely.

A perpetual cycle, an unending fate.

Those sky-darkening undead bone dragons, the Lich Lords who had pledged allegiance to darkness... were merely the tip of the iceberg of the Land of the Dead!

Upon hearing Charles's words, Medusa also added some details with a grave expression.

However, the information was quite limited.

This grand domain was known as the Land of Turmoil. The Serpent race, which had stood tall on this continent, had only been developing here for ten thousand years.

A span of ten thousand years might bring cosmic changes in the external world, but not in the realm of cultivation.

Thus, Medusa's knowledge of the Land of the Dead was not much greater than Charles's, but she understood its terror.

It was an entity so formidable that even the Serpent Empire would consider relocating upon its emergence!

Hearing how significant this matter was, Catherine was also taken aback.

She solemnly gathered the soul into her hands and said, "Rest assured, Master, Sister Medusa, I will definitely decipher the secrets of this soul."

"However, due to the fragility of his soul, I will need more experimental subjects."

The nature of the Zerg, characterized by their ability to endure massive losses, made Catherine's research style particularly wasteful of experimental subjects.

"I will catch them for you." Medusa volunteered, eager to take on the task, exuding an aura of confidence.

Charles did not refuse. From the current situation, matters seemed to be under control.

The critical task now was to contact his allied Overlords and his fiancée Eve, instructing them to immediately use soul-severing techniques if they discovered the return of the dead!

Indeed, Charles was not certain if this incident was triggered by the Land of the Dead.

He definitely didn't want his followers in this world to be killed for no reason!

Moreover, he needed to discuss this matter with Rose.

As the princess of the Succubus clan, she should have insight into this situation.

Thinking about it, there were indeed many things to address.

The three of them were engrossed in their discussion, leaving only Little Green, whose eyes were beginning to droop.

She couldn't help it, her knowledge level was only at a middle school standard, making her too young to partake in such discussions.

Perhaps when she turns one, they could reconsider. For now, even Catherine, who doted on her the most, dared not assign her any task lightly.

But who was Little Green?

She was a mischievous child!

Her big eyes twinkled with curiosity.

Earlier, the Master and her sisters mentioned they were going to find those who had returned from the dead.

She didn't understand the intricacies of their work and couldn't offer help there, but catching someone? That she could do!

Having been turned down before, Little Green decided to undertake this task secretly. Once she succeeded, the adults would have no choice but to see her as one of them!

Each of the three sisters had their own tasks, but this time, the urgency was palpable.

The more one knew about the horror of the Land of the Dead, the higher the stakes seemed.

Charles began contacting the Overlords, instructing them to immediately eliminate any returned dead.

As he had anticipated, some relatives had indeed come back to life and were living disguised among the Overlords.

Trusting their leader, the Overlords chose to send those who should have remained dead back to the afterlife.

Even if some Overlords lacked soul-severing techniques, Charles and others who possessed such knowledge supplied them generously.

Unity was the anthem of humanity.

Just as Charles was about to privately message Eve, urging her to be vigilant, she sent him a message first.

[Eve: Daddy, could you give me a soul-severing technique? All I have here are nature deity skill books, not even a basic divine tree.]

Eve had become addicted to calling him Daddy, realizing Charles had a peculiar fixation on the role of a father.

In other words, it made him more agreeable!

True to form, Charles promptly gave her all the soul-severing techniques piled up in his warehouse and asked a question.

[Charles: Who is the returned dead on your side? It wouldn't be Grandpa Augustine, would it?]

That would be a difficult situation, as Eve might not have the heart to deal with it.

Her response came quickly, accompanied by a photo.

It showed several long-eared elves bound up.

[Eve: Isn't it just my luck? The returned dead here are the very scumbags who insulted me!]