After spending a few mana points, Rhode lit the torch he had prepared earlier and handed it to the Walking Corpse beside him, then stepped to the side of the passage.
Rhode had arranged two Walking Corpses in the burial chamber. One wore Iron Armor and held a battered Iron Shield, standing at the entrance to the passage. The other remained in its original state and stood inside the chamber. Both Walking Corpses were holding torches.
Using the Mental Mark, Rhode controlled the Walking Corpses and began setting the burial chamber alight.
The Walking Corpse carried its torch to the coffin at the far end and held it beside the coffin. Flames sprang up at once.
Without stopping, the Walking Corpse hobbled around to the other spots under Rhode's control, setting everything in its path on fire. At last, it reached the Walking Corpse in Iron Armor and set fire to the wood piled up in front of the passage.
All the wood in the burial chamber was now burning. The chamber was ablaze.
The flames drove away a great deal of the Death Energy inside the tomb.
Rhode continued controlling the Walking Corpses. After setting the entire tomb alight, one of them crossed the sea of fire, placed its torch on the coffin, and began setting it on fire.
The entire coffin began to shake violently. The Undead Creature sleeping inside had awakened.
The Walking Corpse's feet had been burned black, and a foul stench of rotting flesh and charred wood filled the air. Even so, its undead nature meant it continued following Rhode's orders and setting the coffin alight. Its high Constitution meant it wouldn't die anytime soon.
Bang! Bang!
Heavy blows sounded from inside the coffin, one after another. The Undead Creature within had realized something was wrong and was trying to escape.
Rhode tried to make the Walking Corpse open the coffin, but it didn't work. It was clearly nailed shut.
Over the past few days, Rhode had examined the coffin many times. It had no special markings, and there were no patterns around it. He hadn't dared to touch it directly, afraid the Undead Creature inside might notice.
Only now did Rhode have the Walking Corpse try to open it. He wanted to release the creature as soon as possible and avoid wasting the air inside the tomb once the flames had consumed it.
Bang!
Just as the Walking Corpse tried to push at the side of the coffin, a hand punched through the burning lid and reached out. The flames seared it, and it quickly withdrew. Dull impacts sounded again from within.
Seizing the chance, Rhode controlled the Walking Corpse and shoved the burning torch straight through the hole made by the arm.
The struggle inside the coffin intensified. The Walking Corpse seemed to have to use all its strength to push the torch down.
The flames dealt considerable damage to the Undead Creature inside. The coffin began to shake wildly, then burst apart, and countless bats flew out!
"A vampire..."
The moment Rhode saw the bats pouring out of the coffin, he understood the Undead Creature's identity. A vampire!
Bat Form was one of a vampire's signature skills.
Rhode had assumed that no matter what kind of Undead Creature was inside the coffin, once it broke free, the Walking Corpse ahead would use its body to hold it back and trap it in the sea of fire.
But the bats rendered the Walking Corpse's attempt to hold the creature back completely useless. It swung its torch wildly, trying to attack them.
There were a great many bats. Yet when the Walking Corpse swung its torch, they swiftly parted to either side, neatly avoiding the attack.
Ignoring the Walking Corpse and its torch, the bats flew toward the back of the burial chamber. The Walking Corpse's swings did nothing. It tried to grab the departing bats, but its feet were nearly melted, leaving it unable to move. It could only remain in the sea of fire and await its death.
Once he had identified the Undead Creature, Rhode left the Walking Corpse where it was and withdrew from the passage. He took several large wooden blocks from his Space Ring and used them to block the entrance to the burial chamber.
Rhode headed farther back, using his Space Ring to put away the wooden blocks he had set aside.
Inside the burial chamber, the Walking Corpse in Iron Armor set fire to the wood stacked behind it, as well as all the wood laid out on the ground beneath its feet.
Rhode couldn't set all the stacked wooden obstacles alight on his own, so he had to rely on the Walking Corpse he'd left inside.
The bats swarmed toward the Walking Corpse in Iron Armor. It tossed its torch to the ground and raised its shield to protect its head.
In the blink of an eye, bats covered the Walking Corpse. They sank their claws into its body and tore at its Flesh and Blood. The Walking Corpse showed no reaction. Following Rhode's orders, it simply stood in front of the passage.
Many bats crashed into the Walking Corpse's Iron Shield, to no effect. The barrier of flames burned just behind it, keeping them from attacking its back, so they could only bite at its legs.
The fire in the burial chamber grew fiercer, and a plume of Black Mist rushed outside. Many bats fell into the flames, turning into clouds of Black Mist before vanishing without a trace.
For a time, bats fell in droves.
At last, just before the Walking Corpse collapsed, the bats began gathering in front of it. A huge cloud of Black Mist surged forth, and the vampire's figure emerged.
The vampire stood right in front of the Walking Corpse. Still following Rhode's instructions, the Walking Corpse hunched its upper body completely behind its shield, oblivious to what was happening.
Unfortunately, with its vision blocked, Rhode couldn't direct the Walking Corpse. If he could see inside the burial chamber, he would immediately order it to charge the vampire with its shield. Even a brief delay would help.
The flames quickly reached the vampire's legs and climbed up its nearly rotten clothes.
The vampire charged the Walking Corpse and shoved with all its strength against the Iron Shield. Its immense Strength left the Walking Corpse unable to resist, driving it backward into the burning wood. The barrier meant to hold back the vampire was now being struck by the Walking Corpse it was pushing.
The vampire's tremendous strength slammed the Walking Corpse into the barrier. Flames scorched its back with a sizzling sound, and its impact knocked a gap into the pile of wood.
The vampire itself was in no better shape, its feet constantly scorched by the flames.
With the Walking Corpse still in the way, the gap wasn't very large.
Rather than keep pushing the Walking Corpse, the vampire burst into a huge cloud of Black Mist to escape the flames. Its human form vanished, and a mass of bats surged out, flying over the Walking Corpse and racing toward the gap.
The Walking Corpse felt the pressure against its front ease, but its limited intelligence couldn't make sense of what had happened. It simply kept its shield raised and remained in the sea of fire.
Seeing the scattered wood and the swarm of bats flying out behind it, Rhode knew the vampire had broken through the first barrier.
The bats gathered again at the front of the hall. The vampire's figure had only just appeared when it saw Rhode's retreating back.
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