SSS Ranked Dragon King: My Innate Ability is Unbelievable.-Chapter 179: The one behind the strange disappearances.

Due to her lack of strength, she would occasionally fall on her face when she tried to stand up but to no avail.

" I don't want to be taken alive!" The archer screamed, her eyes overflowing with despair.

" Just kill me! Please, just kill me.." she cried, tears streaking down her dirt-smeared face. But her efforts were futile because the person she was pleading with didn't even bother to listen to her please.

The zombie king reached her in a few steps, his bony hand seizing her hair, yanking her backwards with a force that made her scream, the sound piercing the night like a wounded animal's cry.

She clawed at the ground, her nails breaking, but he dragged her relentlessly, her screams echoing through the trees as they vanished deeper into the forest's shadows, the moonlight swallowed by the dense canopy, giving way to darkness.

The moment the zombie king and the archer disappeared, the zombie beasts snapped back to life, their silence shattering as they sped into the dense foliage, yet their their movements were eerily quiet, like silent sentinels waiting to sneak up on their next unsuspecting prey.

Their glowing eyes were a spine chilling sight from a distance.

Their paws barely disturbed the leaves as they left, in search for new prey, leaving behind the bloodied clearing where the swordsman, Mage and tanks corpses lay immobile, no longer breathing nor moving.

Nevertheless, as the zombie beast's had gone a notable distance away, the eyes of all three corpses slowly morphed into a ghoulish green hue. Their bodies twitched ever so lightly at first, the tank being the first to slowly get back on his feet, against all the grievous injuries on his body, his glowing green eyes seemingly still, yet burning with an unstable hunger, the very hunger all undead possessed, a hunger for the living, for flesh, vitality and the sustenance of life.

The mages corpse stood up after the tanks, his body that was once emptied of mana soon began to releases a magical aura that was far greater than when he was alive.

After his zombie rebirth, he broke through and became a Lvl 2 rare tier unit. The others also became stronger, although not enough to warrant a breakthrough.

Now zombies, the three of them glanced at each other. Understanding that non of them were fresh meat, they sauntered off in different directions, silently looking for the sweet succulent flesh of the living.

A few days later, whispers started spreading throughout Rose city about adventurers disappearing while out on jobs. The news hung over the streets like a dark cloud, making everyone uneasy.

At this moment in time, Melinda and Emilia were walking through the busy market, both holding bags stuffed with bread, veggies, and cheese.

After spending several days together, The dragon Kings wife and the ruined noble vampire had slowly began to get along more than one would expect.

The sun was currently low, painting the street in a warm golden glow, and the air smelled of roasted nuts and ripe fruit. Melinda's hair was tied in a ponytail today, same as Emilia as the both of them walked through the streets. One black and the other silver.

Melinda's eyes would occasionally scan the crowd, enjoying the scenery she never got to witness back in the village, it'd been days since they're family relocated to the city yet she still couldn't quite get used to this new change of scenery, at least not yet.

Though she looked at ease, her shoulders slumped a bit under the weight of her bags. Emilia, on the other hand wasn't bothered by the weight of the groceries she had in hand, after all, she was a vampire and a Lvl 2 unit at that.

Due to her prolonged stay with the Su family household, her once, dilapidated self was nowhere to be seen, now, her pale skin was almost glowing in the light, her silky silver hair swaying to her side's, with every step. Her big, amber eyes, which seemed to shine just a little too brightly, kept flicking to Melinda with worry. Or more like anxiety towards an impending storm.

"Big sister... Please–" Emilia said, her voice soft but pushy, with a hint of childishness. "Let me carry your bags. They're far too heavy for you." She reached out, her slim fingers brushing the rough fabric of Melinda's bag, but Melinda pulled away, holding on tighter. Emilia had been trying to get her to hand her the bags for awhile now yet Melinda just seemed to stubborn to listen.

"I'm fine..." Melinda said, her voice firm but not mean, though her cheeks were a little red from the effort. "I've once carried heavier things than this."

Emilia's face crumpled, like she was about to cry right there in the market. "But what if Elder Brother saw you carrying all this?" she said, her voice shaky with worry.

' That heartless demon would definitely have my head for this...' She shivered inwardly at the thought before shaking the thought out of her head.

Emilia, unwilling to give up, leaned closer, whispering, "You're pregnant. You shouldn't be carrying so much. At least let me help since we're out here together."

" You promised you wouldn't make things too difficult for me when you asked to come along..." Emilia's face shifted into a pout that was no less cute as it was stunning. Even some passerbys couldn't help bumping into each other at the sight, clearly mesmerized. The vampire obviously payed them no attention.

Melinda who was walking with a smile on her face, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her boots scraping the cobblestones as she turned to Emilia, eyes slightly wide with shock. "How do you know I'm pregnant?" she asked in a low tone, her voice pitched and curious, one hand moving to her stomach, which didn't even show yet.

The question pushed through the noise of the market, the vendors shouting, the creak of cartwheels, as if it was just the two of them.

Inside, Emilia's mind was racing. ' Of course I know.' she thought to herself, restraining the urge to roll her eyes.

As a vampire, her senses were so sharp she could hear Melinda talking to herself about her baby, through the walls of the house as if she was whispering into her ears herself, moreover, she picked up on how Su Ping had began to grow more and more tender when around this wife of his.

' It'd be weird if I didn't notice.' She said to herself, But she didn't want to say to avoid scaring her. Instead, she gave a shy smile. "Elder Brother told me," she said, trying to sound casual, hoping mentioning Su Ping would stop Melinda from asking more.

Melinda stared at her for a long moment, her eyes narrowing like she could see right through the lie. Then she sighed and handed over her bag.

"Fine, take it." she said, sounding annoyed but also a little grateful. " I'm only doing this because I promised... It's not like I can't take care of myself..., just because I'm pregnant dosen't mean I'm no longer useful."

Emilia took the bag, she was surprised by the weight, she didn't expect it to be this heavy, although not enough to make her wince in pain.

Nevertheless, this weight wasn't something a regular woman like Melinda should've been able to carry so easily. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

' She's tougher than she looks...' Emilia thought, tucking the thought away. But when she looked at Melinda, she saw a sad look on her friend's face, like giving up the bag had taken something out of her.

Melinda's lips were pressed tight, her eyes far away, and Emilia felt a pang in her chest.

Wanting to cheer her up, Emilia spotted a fruit stall nearby, piled high with bright apples, shiny plums, and juicy grapes.

The sweet smell of fruit wafted through the market's mix of scents. "Hey, why don't we grab some fruit for everyone?" Emilia said, her voice perking up as she nudged Melinda with her elbow. "It'll be a nice treat. Plus, maybe this'll finally give you a chance to talk to that landlady of ours who always seems to avoid you."

Melinda's face softened, a small smile tugging at her lips. " Thinking this far ahead after only spotting a few fruits." she chuckled, but there was warmth in her voice now. The very warmth one would feel when being cheered up by a friend.

She followed Emilia to the stall, her steps a little lighter, like the idea of something as simple as this, had lifted her mood.

At the fruit stall, they set their bags down and started picking through the fruit, their hands brushing over smooth apples and soft peaches.

The vendor, a young girl with a sunburned face and messy blonde hair under a bandana, smiled at them, chatting about her fruit as she sorted it.