WHIII

"What's going on?"

"What's happening? What is this sound...?"

The blaring sound of the horn echoed throughout the air. It was loud, and as if a spell had been cast on the entire town, the atmosphere drastically changed.

It suddenly became extremely tense.

Cli Cla

The lights went out everywhere, and the shops closed, leaving everything deserted in an instant.

Just as we were wondering about what was going on, Professor Bridgette entered the reception with Professor Hollowe behind her. As compared to her, who had a grim expression, he seemed more relaxed.

"Everyone, please calm down. There's no need to be tense."

Her calm voice seemed to have an effect on the cadets, gradually easing the previous spreading panic.

".....I will let you know more of what's going on later. For now, please follow me. I would like for you to see what is happening for yourself."

Professor Bridgette left shortly after that.

We followed her from behind.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The only sound echoing within the town was the sound of our footsteps as we walked across the now-deserted streets.

It was a strange sight. Especially considering how different it was from the day.

"....Wow, fuck."

Even Kiera appeared to be creeped out as she rubbed her chin against her fur jacket.

On the other hand, Leon walked beside me with the same look he always wore. Glancing at him, I couldn't tell whether he was concerned or not.

But it didn't matter.

Soon, we approached the city walls. Over a hundred guards greeted us near the stairs that led to the top, with a tall man in his forties taking the lead.

"You are here."

He almost seemed relieved by our appearance as his stiff face relaxed, slightly.

I took a moment to take a good look at him. He wore light armor, and with blonde hair and blue eyes, he looked no different than a noble. With that said, despite his appearance, I couldn't associate him with a noble.

There was something about his demenour that was vastly different than that of a noble.

He was more 'wild', or better said, 'rough'.

"Let me have a moment of your time."

Even his voice was rough, with his tone sounding rather deep. Clearing his throat, his sharp blue eyes scanned us.

".....I've been told that you are the cream of the crop of our Empire."

He started off with a very obvious statement.

"My name is Tristan Blackwood. I'm a Tier 3 knight and a proud citizen of Ellnor."

Pausing, his blue eyes paused on several of us.

I thought he was going to give us a stern lecture about us being young and reckless and all that, but I was wrong.

"I understand that you look young, but I won't judge you for it. In fact, I am proud to know that our Empire has young people like you in our midst."

Rather, he started off by complimenting us.

As his eyes scanned us, his expression turned extremely grim.

"With that being said, this will be no easy mission. In fact, I don't even know if I will be able to guarantee you your life. We have lost far too many people already. It's because of our stubbornness that the situation reached this level. And for that, I am truly sorry."

Bowing his head, he earnestly apologized.

"...."

"...."

No one said a thing. I didn't as well. Especially when I noticed the expressions of the other knights behind him.

"W-we... have suffered far too many losses to count. Everyone here, be it me, or the knights that you see behind you. We have all lost someone dear to us. And all of it is our fault."

They appeared to be pained. Some were even shaking.

"For-"

Growwllll!

Just then, a loud growl echoed in the far distance, and the faces of the knights changed drastically.

The same was true for the captain who hastily turned his head.

"Oh, no..."

Without saying another word, he rushed up the stairs of the walls.

"Follow procedures quickly! Close the gates!"

WHIIII WHIIII

The horn sounded again, and the city gates began to close. Despite the suddenness of the situation, everything proceeded in an orderly manner, with all the knights following orders without a single problem.

As I looked around, Professor Hollowe's voice reached my ears.

"Cadets, make your way up. Captain's orders."

Looking up, the Professor beckoned us with his hand. Exchanging glances with Leon for a brief moment, we climbed up the stairs of the wall.

The walls stood about eight meters high and were constructed from solid stone. As I ascended to the top, the first thing that caught my eye was the large ballistae stationed there.

With arrows stretching over several meters and pointed metal heads, they looked extremely intimidating.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.

"Holy crap..."

I stared off into the horizon. A large cluster of...

"What in the world is that...?"

Humans? Skeletons? No... It was hard to describe. However, the only thing I could think of at the moment was.

"Zombies."

A large cluster of zombies.

Having overheard my mutter, Leon looked at me with a questionable look.

"....Zombies?"

"Yeah, zombies."

"What is that?"

"Uh? Ah, right."

Realization hit me not long after.

This wasn't a term used in this world.

I pointed at the monsters in the distance.

"Well, whatever that is."

Their movements were slow, with some of them wearing armor resembling that of the guards at the top.

Staring at the numerous such creatures, I shuddered slightly. The scene looked straight out of a horror movie.

The creepiest part was that many of their bodies were preserved due to the cold, leaving their skin blue as a result.

Just as I locked eyes with one of the zombies in the distance, their mouths parted open as they began to shout.

Growwllll!

Their sound pierced through the air. Behind them, the sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, casting the sky in a gentle veil of orange.

With one scream, the zombies made themselves known.

"Load the ballistae!"

It took three knights to operate a ballista. But even that was a struggle as they let out strained "Guoo!" shouts as they loaded up the arrows.

"Shoot!"

Xiiu! Xiuuu!! Xiu!

The air whistled as several enormous arrows shot forth, casting shadows on the land below. They streaked through the air and crashed into the hordes of zombies in the distance as a dust cloud formed.

Booom!

Like bowling pins, the zombies scattered and flew everywhere.

"Oh!!"

"It hit...!"

The cadets threw their hands in the air in celebration the moment the arrow hit.

"That was awesome!"

However, looking around and taking in the grim expressions of the knights on the walls, I knew that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

And as expected.

They weren't.

"Ah! They're getting back up!"

"What the...!"

As if nothing had happened, the zombies regrouped from the ground and resumed their march forward. The creepiest part was when the zombies picked up their missing limbs and reattached them to themselves as if it were nothing.

Growwllll!

I felt goosebumps staring at the scene.

This really did seem like a scene from a horror movie.

"Reload the arrow! Reload the arrow! We need to hold them off until the sun rises again! They will leave right when the sun comes back up! Reload the arrows...!"

Accompanying the captain's shout, I heard a new piece of information.

'So the zombies only come out at night, and they will stop during the day?'

Now this...

It really did sound like a game.

"Don't falter! Keep reloading! This is just the start! You already know the drill!"

"Guooo!"

The knights reloaded the arrows and prepared for the second round.

Xiiu! Xiuuu!! Xiu!

A similar scene from before occurred. Enormous arrows shot forth from the ballistae, hurtling toward the large horde in the distance. Each arrow streaked through the air at incredible speeds before colliding directly with the horde.

But even so...

"Again!"

None...

"Again!"

Of the arrows...

"Again!"

Did a thing!

"Again!"

Xiuuuu!

With each arrow shot, the knights grew increasingly fatigued. I could vividly observe this from where I stood. Sweat dripped down their faces, and their hands shook as they carried each arrow to the ballistae.

It was a tragic scene.

However, as if they were on some sort of drug, they continued to load the ballistae without letting out a single complaint.

Thump!

Even as some of them fell over due to tiredness.

"Quickly replace him! Go! Go! Go!"

It was a grim scene.

One that made me realize just how gruesome each day had been for them.

'So they've been doing this every single day for thirty years...?'

It made one wonder just why people still chose to remain in this town. It wasn't as if the citizens couldn't run away. It was possible. So...

'What is keeping them from leaving?"

"Sir captain, let us do something."

"At this rate, the soldiers won't be able to last much longer."

"Is there a better way of doing this? Do they not have any weakness?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to look to my right.A small circle had formed around the captain who had to halt his commands to look back at them.

It appeared as though some of the cadets could no longer take the scene they were seeing.

"Let us help!"

The captain dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"Later! Later! Your role will come later. As for weaknesses, they don't have any."

"They don't?"

I was the one who said that as Leon turned to look at me. Feeling his gaze, I sliced my neck with my hand.

"Cutting their necks and stuff. That could work."

It worked in the movies.

"....?"

Leon tilted his head and looked at me with a gaze that seemed to say, 'Are you stupid?'. No, rather, I think he was just about to say that when I stopped him.

"You still look stupid."

"...."

He lowered his head with a frown.

Most probably, he was thinking about a comeback. I didn't let him.

"So cutting necks doesn't work?"

For a game, it sure didn't respect the main rules of zombies.

"What works then?"

".....Killing the one behind all of this."

A voice interjected from behind us. When I turned to look, my gaze met with Aoife's. As the wind blew, scattering her red hair all over her face, she went on to say,

"So long as the necromancer is alive, the undead will be able to revive infinitely."

Looking towards the hordes of zombies, Aoife frowned.

"....And that's the problem. Nobody knows where the necromancer is. It's for that reason that they've been stuck in this stalemate for so long."

"Ah."

It all clicked then.

"So the problem is finding the necromancer..."

"Yes. From what I've managed to get, they've sent several search parties in hopes of finding it. Unfortunately, none ever came back, and those that did weren't able to find a thing."

"....I see."

Moving toward the edge of the wall, I leaned slightly to get a good look at the zombies. Despite their slow speed and the barrage of arrows, they were steadily making progress, their numbers overwhelming.

"....."

barrage of arrows, they were steadily making progress, their As the cold wind pierced my skin, I had a sudden thought.

Since it was possible for me to use the second leaf on people I killed...

"Is it possible to use it on them...?"