I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Chapter 498 - 495 – Mud Storm and the Battle in Front of the Rift

The battle in front of the dimensional rift grew fiercer and more chaotic amid the unrelenting storm. The heavy rain poured down mercilessly without pause, creating a thick curtain of water that limited visibility to only a few meters. Every drop felt like a cold needle piercing the skin, making breathing heavy and movements increasingly exhausting. The ground around the rift area had completely turned into sticky, slippery mud like oil. Every step sank up to the ankles or even deeper, and quick movements could cause slipping at any moment. Puddles mixed with mud made the battlefield an extremely difficult zone, where even a small mistake could be fatal. Falling in the mud meant vulnerability to approaching monster attacks.Sylvia stood firm on the front line, her body completely soaked from the tips of her hair to her boots. Her combat clothes clung tightly to her pale, cold skin, accentuating her strong, well-trained athletic curves. Her thin black tunic stuck perfectly to her chest, waist, and hips, revealing the smooth muscle lines forged from hundreds of previous battles. Her long black hair clung to her face and back like wet silk, rainwater streaming heavily over her glowing dark red eyes. Despite the water stinging her eyes, her gaze remained sharp, cold, and filled with unshakeable steel determination.

Her Chains of Abyss shot out from the shadows in the mud, moving like living bloodthirsty snakes through the murky puddles. The pitch-black chains glistened wet from the rain as they slashed and wrapped around approaching wind monsters with deadly force. Every swing of the chains sent high splashes of mud flying, mixed with the monsters’ black blood that was quickly washed away by the heavy rain.

Beside her, Elara leaped nimbly despite the slippery, muddy ground. Her slender elf body moved with grace, her soaked nature protection cloak clinging to her lithe curves. Her bow drew the string quickly with elven precision, releasing nature-energy arrows that glowed bright green in the storm’s darkness. The arrows pierced the wings of giant thunderbirds, causing the monsters to spiral down into the mud with shrill screams that were immediately swallowed by the roar of rain and strong winds.

"Stacia! Wind barrier on the left side!" Sylvia shouted amid the storm’s rumble, her voice ringing out even as it competed with the crackling lightning in the distance.

Stacia stood slightly back to maintain a safe distance, her gray robe heavy and soaked, clinging to her slender body. Her grimoire was open wide despite its wet, heavy pages, the rune ink inside still faintly glowing. "Wind Vortex!" A powerful wind spell spun fiercely, creating vortices that disrupted the movements of the nearly transparent wind wolves. Several wolves were thrown backward, their bodies stumbling in the thick mud and colliding with each other, giving the team an opening to attack.

Alicia was in a strategic support position. Her white mage dress had become see-through from being completely soaked, revealing her graceful figure and smooth skin beneath. Her magic staff glowed with holy white light that contrasted with the rainy darkness. "Weakness Chain! Slow Curse! Fatigue Wave!" Debuff after debuff flew like a rain of spells, making the wind and water monsters slower and weaker. Their once agile and deadly movements now felt heavy, their feet sinking deeper into the sticky mud, giving the team a huge advantage.

Lira and Sylvana from Eternal Party worked together perfectly in sync. Lira, the skilled archer with her brown hair wet and clinging to her face, unleashed a barrage of accurate arrows despite the limited visibility caused by the heavy rain and mist. Each arrow carried nature energy that exploded on impact. Sylvana, the nature mage in a dark green robe that clung wet to her body, summoned strong plant roots from the muddy ground. The roots entangled the legs of approaching water monsters and dragged them into the mud, slowly sinking them as if swallowed by a swamp.

Sol, in its impressive medium size, charged with its sharp, holy golden claws. Every slash left smoking wounds on the thunderbirds’ bodies, accompanied by dazzling holy energy flashes. Qilin leaped gracefully between puddles, releasing lightning bolts that neutralized the enemies’ thunder attacks, creating blinding explosions of holy energy in the midst of the rainy darkness.

The heavy rain continued pouring without stop, as if the sky itself was angry and wanted to destroy everything. Cold water drenched all of them mercilessly. Their clothes clung tightly, revealing beautiful and athletic curves, chests rising and falling with labored breathing, slender waists, and tense thighs straining to maintain balance in the mud. Wet hair stuck to their faces, water streaming down their jawlines, necks, and into their cleavages. The cold began to seep into their bones and joints, making muscles feel stiff and fingers nearly numb, but adrenaline and determination kept them moving without surrender.

A giant water serpent slithered quickly through a muddy puddle, its mouth wide open as it tried to snap at Alicia, who was focused on casting debuffs. Sylvia reacted instantly with her sharp undead instincts. Chains of Abyss shot up from the ground like spears of darkness, wrapping tightly around the serpent’s body and yanking it upward. With a firm hand movement, she hurled Death Flame black fire at the monster. The black flames blazed fiercely despite the heavy rain, evaporating the surrounding water and burning the water serpent’s scales until thick smoke mixed with the mist. The smell of burnt fish mixed with wet earth filled the air. She no longer cared if Elara would realize her true identity.

"Nice!" Elara shouted while firing an arrow at a thunderbird diving from above. Her arrow pierced the monster’s neck precisely, causing it to fall and slam into the mud with a heavy thud.

The muddy ground made the battle increasingly chaotic and unpredictable. Every time someone jumped or ran, splashes of mud flew high, dirtying their faces and clothes. Their feet frequently slipped on the slick mud. Stacia nearly fell when the ground beneath her gave way due to the constant flow of rainwater, but Alicia quickly steadied her with a gentle yet strong small wind spell, pushing Stacia back into a stable position.

Monsters continued pouring endlessly from the direction of the rift. A wave of wind wolves approached from the right side, their bodies almost invisible in the heavy rain. Sylvia advanced forward without hesitation, her abyss chains spinning like living whips of darkness. "Reaper Claw!" Her undead claws extended sharply, slashing three wolves at once in a wide, powerful motion. Black blood mixed with mud flew everywhere, quickly washed away by the rain.

In the back, Alicia continued stacking debuffs relentlessly. "Elemental Drain!" The mana of the wind and water monsters began to be slowly drained, making their attacks weaker and unstable. Stacia complemented this with a small "Spatial Lock," restricting the monsters’ movement in the muddy area so they had difficulty maneuvering and became easy targets for Lira and Elara’s arrows.

Elara leaped onto a large rock half-sunk in the mud, pulling her bowstring to its maximum with visibly tense muscles beneath her wet clothes. "Arrow of Nature’s Wrath!" A large green-energy arrow shot forward, exploding in the middle of a group of thunderbirds and knocking several down at once in a blinding explosion of natural light.

The battle raged on without pause for nearly a full hour. The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping; instead, it grew even heavier, accompanied by howling winds that roared like the screams of thousands of spirits. Lightning struck near the rift, briefly illuminating their wet faces full of determination and tension. Their bodies were freezing, breathing labored, muscles aching and heavy from the clinging mud, but their fighting spirit burned even brighter like an unquenchable fire in the middle of the storm.

Sylvia felt her level rising slowly amid the intense battle. The system notification sounded faintly in her ear, granting additional strength that flowed through her undead body. Her abyss chains became more agile and powerful, her black flames more ferocious in evaporating the surrounding water. She felt the abyss energy within her surging stronger, as if the storm itself was fertilizer for her power.

"Keep pushing!" she shouted loudly amid the roaring wind and rain. "Don’t give them a chance to approach the rift! We fight together!"

Sol ferociously charged a giant water serpent, its golden claws slashing through scales and leaving bright, glowing holy wounds. Qilin released a wave of holy energy that cleared a small area of wind monsters, creating a temporary safe zone for Alicia to recover some mana.

Slowly but surely, the number of monsters outside the rift began to decrease drastically. The muddy ground was filled with monster corpses that were starting to dissolve and be swept away by the endless heavy rain. The corpses floated briefly before sinking again into the murky puddles. This team of six women stood firm in the middle of the storm, bodies completely drenched, clothes clinging tightly to their skin, hair disheveled, but their eyes filled with temporary victory and deep satisfaction.

Sylvia wiped the rainwater from her face with the back of her hand, her breathing still heavy. Water dripped from her chin as she spoke. "This is only the beginning. The main rift is still ahead, and the monsters inside are definitely much stronger. We cannot let our guard down."

Elara approached while lowering her bow, breathing heavily but smiling tiredly. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks. "You all are amazing. With a team like this, we can face anything that comes out of there. Our coordination is getting better."

Stacia closed her grimoire with heavy breaths, her body trembling from the cold and mana exhaustion. Her robe dripped with water. "Mana is almost depleted, but we can continue after a short rest. I also need time to recover."

Alicia healed minor wounds with light holy magic. Warm white light illuminated her companions’ bodies amid the heavy rain. The light briefly warmed their freezing skin. "Rest for a bit behind that large rock. We need to prepare to enter the rift. I’ll set up a small barrier to protect us for now."

Lira and Sylvana nodded in agreement. Their bodies were tired too, but their spirits still burned. They took shelter behind a large protruding rock, sitting on somewhat dry tree roots. The rain still poured down, but at least the wind was slightly blocked.

The heavy rain continued falling mercilessly, winds howled fiercely, and lightning crackled across the dark sky. Before them, the dimensional rift gaped wide like a mouth of darkness that hungered, spewing thick black mist and unstable pulsing energy. A faint rumbling sound came from within, as if something far greater was waiting.

Sylvia stared at the rift with glowing eyes full of spirit and slight anticipation. She felt the cold in her bones, the weight of her soaked clothes, and the ache in her muscles, but her heart burned even more fiercely. "We’ll take a short rest, recover our strength, then advance. The monsters inside are definitely stronger, but we’re ready to face them together. No one backs down."

The team looked at each other. Tired but trusting smiles appeared on their wet faces. This mud storm had tested the limits of their abilities but had also strengthened their team’s bond. The dimensional rift awaited, and their adventure had just entered a more dangerous Chapter.