Reincarnated With The Strongest System

"No one knows what this place is really called, but due to the countless number of undeads that roam the land, the locals decided to just call this place 'The Deadlands'".

Raizel explained as she eyed her two guests with a smile. 

They had just finished eating dinner, and were lazing around inside her room, so she decided to answer William's and Lilith's questions.

"The Deadlands? Well, I guess it's a good name to call this place," William said as he leaned on the couch. "Do you have any idea how big this place is?"

Raizel shook her head. "When I first arrived here, I thought of exploring the surroundings, but the number of undead around the outskirts of the city is staggering. I didn't want to take any chances, so I decided to look for a safe place to stay as I conducted my investigation.

"The previous owner of the Glory Shelter was a good person, and she allowed me to stay here. Unfortunately, during one of our scavenging operations, the 'Haunting' commenced and we found ourselves, surrounded on all sides by Death Knights and other Higher-Undead."

A sad expression appeared on Raizel's face as she told William and Lilith how the previous Guardian of the Glory Shelter sacrificed her life in order to buy time and allow them to break through the encirclement.

"That was three months ago." Raizel lowered her head. "The number of people in the Glory Shelter has also decreased since then. Right now, there are only thirty-eight survivors in this shelter. Forty, if I add the two of you."

Lilith, who had maintained her silence while listening to Raizel's explanation, crossed her arms over her chest.

"Does this Haunting happen on a regular basis?" Lilith inquired.

Raizel nodded. "It happens every three to five days. Usually, we only scavenge for food a day after the Haunting ends. Fortunately, the two of you arrived today. If you had appeared in this world yesterday, you might have found yourselves trapped amidst a vast army of Undead."

William frowned. He and Lilith weren't able to use their powers, so fighting against an army of Undead is akin to suicide. Even though he could use the Flames of Purification, he could only use it sparingly because it took a toll on his body, everytime he used it.

"Are there any other shelters aside from the Glory Shelter?" William asked. 

"Of course," Raizel replied in a heartbeat. "Although I don't know about other places, this city has at least twenty shelters. Aside from humans, there are other races that appear here from time to time like Orcs, Demons, Devils, Elves, Beastkins, Dwarves, Gnomes, etc. Our shelter mostly has Humans, but the others have mixed races in them."

"Are these shelters all in good terms with each other?" Lilith inquired. If so many ethnicities were gathered in one place, there were bound to be disputes. She was very curious if, aside from the Undead, they also had to be wary of the people that were also doing their best to survive within this land ruled by the Undead."

Raizel sighed. She was about to answer the question when a ringing sound rang out inside the building. 

"Speaking of the Devil," Raizel muttered in annoyance. She then grabbed the sword that was hanging on the wall before glancing back at the two clueless people inside her room. "Please, come with me. I might need your help in dealing with these bastards who don't know how to coexist in peace."

William and Lilith glanced at each other before following Raizel who had already started running down the hallway. 

A few minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the stadium where a dozen Demons were gathered.

"What do you want this time, Swiper?" Raizel asked as she glared at the two-meter tall boarkin that reminded William of Zhu. "Do you really think that we are people that you can bully?"

The Boarkin laughed out loud as he eyed the beautiful young lady in front of him. "Raizel, my boys told me that your people managed to salvage plenty of resources earlier. Don't worry, we didn't come here to trouble you. We just came to ask you to share some of those provisions with us."

Raizel sneered at Boarkin whose face was as thick as an electric pole. "Share our provisions? Do you really think I am a gullible child? Why don't you just say that you intend to steal the provisions we worked hard to acquire?"

Swiper shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Steal? Don't slander me, my dear. I don't have a habit of bullying the weak. Tell you what, why don't you and your people join our Demonic Shelter? 

"I will guarantee your safety and the safety of those under you. All you need to do is help us gather provisions from time to time. What do you say? It's a win-win proposal, right?"

Raizel gritted her teeth and unsheathed the sword that she had brought with her.

"Since you want provisions so much, how about I use your body to cook a barbecue for your people?" Raizel took a fighting stance and glared hatefully at the Demons in front of her.

Swiper chuckled as he eyed the young beauty whose eyes had locked onto his body.

"Do you really want to go down this route?" Swiper raised his hand and the Demons took out their weapons. "I admit that you are a strong fighter, but you're only one person."

The Boarkin eyed the people behind Raizel who unconsciously took a step back from the Demon's intimidation.

While some of the members of the Glory Shelter could deal with normal zombies, they couldn't possibly fight off Demons who are well versed in combat.

Raizel frowned because she knew that none of the people behind her were the Demons' match.

"Raizel, I admire your strength," Swiper commented. "Become my subordinate and I promise that your people will no longer have anything to fear in the Deadlands. This is your last chance. You're a smart person, so make the right decision!"

Raizel gritted her teeth as she firmly held the weapon in her hand. She now understood that Swiper's true reason for coming to their shelter was to Annex them and bring them under his wing. 

Sharing the supplies was just an excuse to force them to submit to his will. While she was pondering on what to do next, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. 

Turning her head to the side, she saw William looking at the Demons with a calm expression on his face. 

"I'll handle this," William said as he took a step forward. In his hands was a long steel pipe that he had picked up from the ground. 

The Half-Elf walked towards the Demons while resting the steel pipe on his shoulders. He was like a hoodlum that was about to ask people for protection money.

"Your name is Swiper, right?" William asked.

"And you are?" Swiper frowned as he looked at the handsome Half-Elf. This was the first time he was seeing William, so he didn't know if he was a capable fighter or not.

Only Raizel held a significant threat against him because he had crossed swords with her a month ago and experienced her fighting prowess first hand. 

Because of this, he desired to make her his subordinate so that their Demonic Shelter could have the power to annex the other shelters in order to become the sole ruler of the survivors in the Deadlands.

"Me?" William smiled as he stopped a meter away from the Boarkin who made a gesture to his subordinates to surround the Half-Elf. "I am… Your Daddy!"

Without another word, William swung the steel pipe on his shoulder, hitting the side of Swiper's right face, sending him tumbling to the side. 

This scene made the Demons, and the Humans, who were paying close attention to William's and Swiper's chat, look at the Half-Elf with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. 

All of them only had one thought in their minds and that was…

'This guy is dead!'

Swiper hastily stood up from the ground and touched his right cheek. He didn't expect that William would have the guts to take the initiative to attack him. Because of this, he felt that he had been shamed in front of his subordinates and it made his eyes become bloodshot.

"What are you waiting for?!" Swiper roared. "Kill him!"