I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Within only a few hours after the Eclipse-Class Fleet’s anchors were dropped, the previously silent and untouched shoreline of the chimera continent had transformed into a massive, busy construction site. For any faction in the pre-apocalypse world, building a solid military base in a foreign territory filled with deadly miasma would have taken months and claimed many lives. Yet for Nocture, this was merely a matter of mathematical efficiency.

The undead army did not know the meaning of fatigue, required no oxygen, and was completely immune to the poisonous miasma rising from the dense forest before them. Thousands of zombie workers and low-level skeleton knights were deployed from the holds of the cruiser ships. Using steel axes blessed with Dwarf runes, they began felling the black-trunked trees at the edge of the forest. The sound of axe strikes and the creaking of falling giant wood echoed back and forth, driving away the giant predatory birds that had been hiding behind the emerald-green canopy.

In the middle of the cleared area, large emergency tents made of anti-magic canvas began to be erected. These tents were intended as logistics posts, emergency workshops for the Dwarves, and magical healing clinics for the Elves.

Meanwhile, in the most strategic section facing directly toward the sea and with its back to the forest, a far more elegant wooden structure was being built. This was not a tent, but a wooden pavilion house in classical architectural style, assembled with high precision by a group of expert skeleton carpenters. The black wood from the forest was smoothed, joined without using iron nails, and coated with magical protective varnish within minutes. This was the temporary residence for their Queen of Death.

Sylvia stood on the veranda of the half-finished wooden house, gazing at the sea of activity before her with a flat expression. The coastal wind blew the hem of her black gown. Behind her, Stacia was busy arranging her holographic projector devices on a wooden table that had just been cut and smoothed, while Celes stood upright near the stairs, her hand resting casually on the hilt of her greatsword.

This expedition through the Outer Ocean was a heavy-class military operation designed for expansion and mapping. Therefore, the composition of Nocture’s high officials who participated was strictly limited. Only Sylvia as the absolute authority holder, Stacia as the logistics brain and alchemical strategy expert, and Celes as the supreme commander of the undead combat forces had set out.

Meanwhile, Sofia, Aurellia, and Alicia had been forced to remain in Nocture. Not because they were not strong enough, but because the continuously developing capital of Nocture required high-level protection while their Queen was away. With the absence of the main forces, Nocture was highly vulnerable to unexpected attacks from the remnants of other ancient entities. Sol, the solar crow, and Noir, the shadow dragon, had also been left behind to guard the airspace of their original continent together with those three core family members.

"Your Majesty," Celes spoke, breaking the silence on the veranda. "The first-layer defensive perimeter has been completed. The zombie workers have erected wooden barricades five hundred meters into the forest."

Sylvia turned slowly, shifting her gaze from the sea toward the dense forest radiating that primitive aura. "What about the living crew?"

"They are still on the beach area, as per your orders," Stacia answered without shifting her eyes from her tablet screen. She tapped several runes, projecting a rough map of the chimera continent onto the table. "The physical condition of the Dwarves, the Beastkin race, and the Elves has already begun to recover after consuming stamina potions. However, they will remain here to continue the base construction and assemble watchtowers. The air inside this forest has a concentration of miasma too dense for living beings to breathe for long periods."

"A correct decision," Sylvia nodded slightly. She stepped forward, the tips of her boots tapping the wooden floor with a calm rhythm. "We will not waste their lives merely to open a path. Celes, gather the Elite Zombie Knight battalion and the hunter zombies. Order them to spread out and execute a full exploration into this continent."

"Is there a specific target for this exploration, Your Majesty?" Celes asked, her posture tensing, ready to receive absolute orders.

"Detailed mapping data from the first hundred-kilometer radius. Find sources of clean water, identify safe routes toward the metropolitan city ruins I saw from the air earlier, and most importantly..." Sylvia narrowed her eyes, "kill every mid- to high-level monster or wild beast that could potentially become a threat to this camp. Let the undead become the broom that cleans the dirt from the floor of our new home."

"As you will, Your Majesty the Queen," Celes bowed respectfully, then immediately turned and leaped down from the veranda, shooting toward the ranks of skeleton troops to deliver the orders.

After Celes’s departure, the atmosphere in the pavilion returned to silence, filled only by the clicking sounds from Stacia’s alchemical devices. Sylvia gazed toward the dark emerald-green forest. A familiar sense of boredom began to creep into her mind. During the weeks of sailing, she had only faced waves, storms, and disgusting sea monsters. Although sea battles had their own charm, Sylvia felt her feet needed to feel real ground.

"Stacia, oversee the construction of this base. I’m going for a short walk," Sylvia said casually.

Stacia looked up, adjusting her slightly slipping glasses. "A walk? Sylvia, that forest has not been mapped in detail at ground level at all. The wild mana fluctuations there..."

"I’ll only walk around the outskirts," Sylvia cut in, giving a thin smile that froze blood. "Besides, what’s the point of having absolute power if I can’t enjoy the afternoon air on a deadly continent?"

Without waiting for further objection from her genius scientist, Sylvia’s body flickered and vanished from the veranda, leaving a thin trail of black smoke that smelled like wilted roses.

The atmosphere inside the chimera forest was completely different from the beach. The moment Sylvia stepped past the wooden barricades built by the zombies, sunlight was immediately blocked by the giant canopy. The air felt humid, heavy, and smelled of ancient moss mixed with the pheromones of wild beasts. The buzzing of insects the size of a fist was noisy in her ears.

Sylvia walked with leisurely steps, her black gown floating a few centimeters above the muddy ground, refusing to be dirtied by the dust of the mortal world. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest. She enjoyed this oppressive silence. Every time she stepped, low-level wild beasts with red eyes hiding behind the bushes immediately fled in panic, their survival instincts warning them of the arrival of the apex predator.

While following a natural path formed by tree roots, Sylvia’s thoughts unconsciously drifted toward her stomach.

During the weeks at sea, her main dishes had always revolved around catches from the saltwater. Melting sashimi of mutant tuna belly, clear soup of giant rock crab, garlic-seasoned grilled oysters, even steak of dragon shark meat. All of it had been delicious and prepared with extraordinary skill by the fleet chefs. Yet even a Demigod could feel sick of being forced to eat the same things every day.

"Tuna... shark... monkfish..." Sylvia muttered softly, her face slightly wrinkled with boredom. "Their meat is soft, but it lacks challenging texture. Too much fatty acid, too much sea aroma. I need something denser. Something warm-blooded. My tongue is craving a piece of red meat slow-roasted until juicy, or a beef bone broth simmered overnight with strong spices."

She let out a long sigh, imagining how perfect a giant beef rib soup served hot in the middle of this humid forest air would be.

As if the universe itself had heard the Queen of Death’s complaints and decided to provide a highly efficient delivery service, the ground beneath Sylvia’s feet suddenly trembled lightly.

BUM... BUM... BUM...

The vibration grew stronger, accompanied by the sound of breaking wood from the twelve o’clock direction. Giant birds flew up in panic from the treetops. The miasma in the air instantly thickened, signaling the approach of an entity with mana fluctuations equivalent to a peak Rank 5 monster.

Sylvia stopped walking. Her heterochromia eyes narrowed, staring straight into the darkness of the giant undergrowth ahead of her. A smile slowly bloomed on her pale face.

WUSSSHHH! BRAAAAK!

Two black tree trunks the size of temple pillars shattered into pieces as a giant figure burst through them. It was a mutated bull whose body size matched a heavy-class armored tank. Its fur no longer resembled hair, but thick steel needles of dense black. Its muscles bulged like clumps of granite rock, pumping boiling blood that radiated red steam from its nostrils.

Yet the most terrifying part of the bull was the pair of horns on its head. Those horns did not curve upward, but pointed straight forward like a pair of giant spears made of solid miasma crystal, gleaming with destructive energy.

Seeing a tiny black-gowned intruder in its territory, the giant bull roared fiercely. Its glowing red eyes radiated absolute brutality. Without hesitation, the monster scraped the ground with its iron hooves, then shot forward, performing a charge attack that split the air with a sonic boom. Its speed and mass were sufficient to destroy the iron gates of Nocture city in a single impact.

Yet the target of its charge did not panic at all.

Instead of dodging, Sylvia actually widened her smile. Pure and innocent joy radiated from her face the joy of a chef who had just discovered high-quality premium ingredients.

"Outstanding," Sylvia whispered in a soft tone. "Extremely tight muscles, massive bone size, and from that hot steam... it seems you have an excellent layer of internal fat. Truly a meal that knows how to deliver itself."

Exactly when the bull was only two meters away from her, preparing to pierce the slender body with its horns, Sylvia casually raised her right hand and extended a single index finger.

BAMMMMM!

A powerful kinetic shockwave exploded at the point of impact, leveling the ground and sweeping the trees within a radius of tens of meters into dust. A small tornado was created from the collision. Yet when the dust settled, the sight that appeared completely defied common sense.

The giant bull that had been charging with momentum equivalent to a high-speed train had stopped completely. Its four legs were planted deep in the mud, struggling in vain. The tips of its deadly crystal horns were pressed exactly against the tip of Sylvia’s index finger, unable to advance even a single millimeter.

Sylvia did not shift even slightly. Even the hem of her gown was not folded by the impact. She blocked the entire mass and kinetic energy of the Rank 5 monster with only one finger, using her absolute spatial manipulation law.

The bull’s red eyes widened; animalistic panic began to overpower its rage. It tried to pull its head back to flee, realizing that the small creature in front of it was not prey, but death itself.

"Ah, don’t be in such a hurry," Sylvia’s voice sounded as cold as ice. "You’ve already offered yourself. It would be very rude if I refused."

From the shadows of Sylvia’s gown sleeves, dense black energy surged. In the blink of an eye, a black chain sheathed in abyss flames Chain of Abyss shot out, coiling through the air like a venomous serpent.

SLASSSHH!

The bull did not even manage to release a whimper. The abyss chain shot with surgical precision, piercing exactly between the gaps of the bull’s neck bones protected by steel fur, severing its spinal nerves, then exiting without damaging the surrounding meat too severely.

Instantly, the light of life in the monster’s eyes extinguished. Its giant body collapsed forward with a heavy thud, creating a small earthquake in the forest ground. Blood began to pool, yet before the blood could be wasted, Sylvia’s black chain sealed the wound using the cold temperature of the abyss flames, preserving the freshness of the meat within.

Sylvia lowered her hand, gazing at the giant carcass with satisfaction. Her boredom toward seafood suddenly vanished, replaced by anticipation for a dinner feast.

"Even though its size is larger than a normal bull, its anatomy shouldn’t be far different," Sylvia muttered while rotating her wrist. The abyss chain still embedded in the bull’s neck tightened, wrapping firmly like a towing rope.

Without much ceremony, Sylvia turned around and began walking back toward the temporary base. Behind her, the dozens-of-tons bull carcass was dragged across the wet ground, creating a deep trench. Although the monster’s weight was extraordinary, Sylvia pulled it as if she were merely dragging a light hot-air balloon, her face once again displaying an elegant aristocratic expression as if nothing had happened.

A few minutes later, at the emergency coastal base.

The Dwarves who had been resting while eating rations suddenly stopped chewing. Zark, the Undead General who was overseeing the construction of the watchtower, immediately turned toward the forest edge. The sound of breaking wood and strange ground rumbling put the entire camp on alert.

Yet their vigilance transformed into blank expressions when they saw the figure of their Queen of Death emerging from behind the trees.

Sylvia walked with elegance, her gown unstained. Yet behind her, connected by a black magic chain, was being dragged the carcass of a giant mutated bull nearly the size of a small patrol boat.

"By the iron beards of our ancestors..." one of the Dwarves muttered, dropping his hard bread to the ground. "Our Queen just went for a fifteen-minute walk and came back carrying a high-level monster as a souvenir?"

Sylvia paid no attention whatsoever to the astonished and horrified stares of the living crew. She continued walking until she reached the area specifically allocated for the field kitchen and supply logistics. She released her abyss chain, allowing the bull carcass to land with a heavy thud in front of a group of Beastkin chefs who had been cutting up the remaining dragon shark meat.

The chefs jumped back, their tails and ears bristling in fear at the residual miasma aura still clinging to the bull carcass.

Sylvia crossed her arms and stared at the head chef who was still trembling.

"I’m sick of seafood," Sylvia said in a flat tone, yet filled with irresistible authority. "Starting this afternoon, the menu changes. Skin this bull carefully; I want to use its hide. Cut the meat neatly."

Sylvia paused for a moment, imagining the perfect recipe. "I want the main dish to be roasted beef ribs, slow-cooked until the meat falls off the bone. And use the marrow and remaining bones to make a clear broth soup with strong spices. The rest, you may distribute among the living workers. Make sure dinner is served in my pavilion exactly at sunset."

After placing the most epic food order the chefs had ever heard, Sylvia turned around and walked back toward her wooden house, leaving the logistics camp in organized panic to butcher a house-sized bull before dusk arrived.