Roland spurred his horse and rode toward Francesse.
Just as he’d heard, troops bearing torches were blocking all access to the town.
He searched for a spot where the guards seemed lax and approached cautiously.
A small group of soldiers stood together, chatting quietly.
Every now and then, he caught the word “Francesse,” but couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Dismounting, Roland crept forward, quietly weaving his mana method.
Thanks to his guerrilla skirmishes with the imperial army alongside Yuri, his understanding of stealth had improved considerably.
He moved forward on all fours, keeping his footsteps as silent as possible.
The soldiers didn’t notice him passing right beside them.
“Have you been inside Francesse?”
“No.”
“Looks like there’s some kind of chaos going on…”
Roland wanted to stop them and ask immediately, but he held back. He’d see for himself soon enough.
Patiently, he crawled through the underbrush.
The patrol line gradually fell behind.
Ahead, Francesse stretched out before him.
Roland slowly rose to his feet. Strangely, there was no sound at all. His footsteps echoed unnaturally loud in the silence.
Having left his horse behind to sneak in, he had to run to move quickly. He started sprinting toward the castle.
Then, suddenly, he came across a group of people.
Roland’s heart leapt.
“Hey…”
There were about five or six of them, standing silently facing each other.
But as he drew closer, his expression hardened.
They didn’t look right—far from normal.
Roland tensed and spoke cautiously.
“May I ask you something?”
One of them turned toward him, but said nothing. Thick shadows from a nearby tree obscured their faces completely.
Gathering silently like this at night was suspicious in itself.
Roland rested his fingertips on the hilt of his sword.
“Can you hear me?”
The group began walking toward him.
But their gait was strange—staggering, limping. Not just one or two, but all of them.
“Stop.”
Roland stepped back, frowning.
Their forms became clearer.
He was speechless.
They were horrific.
Faces torn apart, bodies riddled with holes. Some had lost both arms, moving clumsily on their lower halves alone.
They charged at Roland, shrieking.
Though their movements were crude—more like wild animals than anything else—they were relentless.
Roland swiftly severed their limbs, and soon all six were crawling on the ground, dismembered.
“What the hell…”
The worst part was that they weren’t dead. Even in this state, they twitched and writhed.
Roland looked down at them, unsettled.
They bared broken teeth, snapping at him.
He stabbed one in the head with his sword, and it finally went still.
The head was their weak point.
Realizing this, Roland crushed every one of their skulls.
“Like zombies from a horror story.”
He stood silently for a moment, staring at the six motionless bodies, then turned his gaze toward the darkness of Francesse.
“Something’s… happening in there.”
Maybe this was the “seed of the demon” Soders had warned about. No ordinary person could keep their sanity after witnessing this.
Roland gripped his sword tightly and moved forward again.
Did the Briol royal palace know about this?
It had to.
The very presence of those troops blocking entry and exit made Roland suspicious of Cedric.
Though the third prince he served was known for his close brotherly bonds, Roland no longer trusted Cedric.
He must have had a hand in this.
Roland disappeared into the shadows of Francesse.
Roland fought through countless zombies as he pressed on.
Even when day broke, they didn’t stop moving.
He had to admit it.
Francesse was destroyed.
Or at least, it was beyond saving.
There might be survivors somewhere, but the town would never be the same.
“Hey.”
Walking through the ruined village, Roland suddenly heard a voice.
“Hey…”
He turned around.
Inside a warehouse attached to a house, a pair of eyes peeked through a tattered door.
“Is someone there?”
Roland approached and flung the door open.
A startled girl tumbled backward.
She looked about thirteen or fourteen, her hair tangled and face smudged with dirt—clearly lost for some time.
“Who are you?”
“I-I’m Stephanie. I was scared, so I hid here.”
She was the first living person Roland had met in Francesse. The rest were all zombies.
“You’re human, right?”
“Of course.”
“But there were monsters that looked like people. You can’t trust just because they look human.”
“Then don’t.”
Stephanie hesitated, edging closer to Roland.
“You’re a knight, right? Are you leaving Francesse?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“I’m going the other way.”
“Inside?”
She recoiled.
“Why? We have to get out. Can I come with you?”
“I said I’m going inside.”
“Why?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Roland’s gaze was cold and distant.
His nerves were frayed from everything he’d been through and the state of Francesse.
Stephanie shrank back.
“It’s dangerous inside…”
Roland paused, thinking. If she stayed here, she’d die. But he had to keep moving forward.
After a moment, he spoke.
“Stephanie.”
“Yes?”
“I’m heading to the lord’s castle. Do you know anything about it?”
“No…”
“Even like this, it should be safe there.”
Without looking back, Roland left the warehouse.
“If you want to follow, fine. But I can’t promise I’ll protect you.”
“I-I’ll follow!”
She hurried after him.
“Knight, why are you going to the castle?”
“…”
“Can’t you just leave?”
“I want to go quietly.”
“Okay…”
Stephanie talked a lot—maybe out of anxiety.
Roland killed every zombie they encountered. They didn’t know how to flee, so once alerted, they were easy to wipe out.
Stephanie said, “I watched from hiding. There are stronger zombies. You should avoid those.”
“How do you know they’re stronger?”
“Their skin’s different. Like they’re burned. Like…”
Suddenly, she shouted, “Like that one!”
Roland turned.
Between two half-collapsed buildings, a zombie was approaching.
Unlike the others, its skin looked fused and burned, and its eyes glowed with a sinister light.
Its gait was steady, unlike the usual shambling.
“That’s…”
Roland noticed tattered cloth clinging to its body—a knight’s armor.
He hadn’t expected even knights to become zombies.
“How did this happen…”
Before he could say more, the zombie lunged.
Roland swung his sword.
The zombie dodged swiftly and slashed with its claws.
“Ugh!”
Roland arched his body back like an acrobat, regaining balance, then activated his mana method.
A white light flowed from his blade.
“Wow…”
Stephanie gasped from behind.
Roland focused on the zombie.
It was faster than the others and seemed to have some judgment.
But its hunger for humans remained. Even as it backed off, it drooled, as if barely restraining itself from attacking.
Roland stepped closer.
“Do you understand me?”
“…”
“Can you hear me?”
The zombie charged.
Roland gave up on communication and swung his sword again. After a few dodges, the zombie was cut to pieces and collapsed.
He stepped on its chest to keep it down as it tried to bite his leg.
“Last question. Can you speak?”
“Kieee…”
Nope.
Roland crushed its head.
“Stephanie.”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go.”
He turned, and Stephanie followed, glancing nervously at the dead zombie.
“You’re amazing, knight. Are you some kind of legendary swordsman? You’re incredible with that sword.”
“Hungry?”
“Are you a famous knight…? Yes, I’m hungry.”
“Here.”
Roland handed her some jerky. She took it gratefully and finished it quickly.
He gave her another piece.
“Thank you!”
Together, they crossed the zombie-infested village, sharing the jerky.
Yuri stood atop the castle wall, swinging her sword.
“Damn it!”
The imperial assault had resumed. Imperial knights climbed the walls using their jump gear, swinging their swords wildly.
Fiore faced off against the Black Knight.
The Black Knight had arrived leading a group of elite soldiers, fighting alongside him, which was why Fiore hadn’t been able to kill him outright.
Fiore had been dominating the larger force from the start.
But the truth was, he was pinned down.
While Fiore was held back by the Black Knight, the rest of the empire’s troops kept swarming the walls of Bezos Castle like a plague of locusts.
At one point, ropes were thrown up, and even soldiers without the ability to leap began climbing over and swinging their weapons.
The odds were worse than before.
“Damn it, Laurent!”
Yuri called out to Laurent without thinking, then clicked his tongue in frustration.
He was gone.
“Jared!”
“Yes!”
“Follow me. There’s a rope hooked over there. We need to take it down.”
Even as they spoke, imperial soldiers continued scaling the walls by rope.
Briol’s archers fired arrows, but the imperial soldiers blocked their shots with large iron shields.
“Just the two of us?”
“Bring whoever you can.”
“Everyone looks busy. If only Sir Laurent were here…”
“He’s got more urgent business.”
“Understood. Let’s move.”
“Let’s go!”
The two charged toward a section of the wall that was a critical point in the assault.
A knight commander-level soldier was stationed there to defend it.
“Third Prince!”
“Yes, that’s me!”
“I am the commander of the Spear and Sword Knights.”
“Does the empire even have knight orders with numbers?”
“Only those directly under the palace have numbers.”
Their swords clashed.
From the start, Yuri pressed the attack, channeling a chaotic energy that forced the commander to step back, surprised by the unexpected power.
“Impressive as always! Ha ha ha!”
“Cut the cheap villain act and just die already.”
“Your words are harsh!”
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Not very royal of you.”
“So what, you bastard?”
Yuri’s sword struck down like lightning.
The commander barely managed to block the follow-up attacks before a kick from Yuri sent him sprawling.
Yuri immediately brought his sword down.
The commander rolled away just in time to avoid the blow. Yuri didn’t relent, continuing to strike from above as the commander tumbled.
“W-wait! You’re stronger than I heard! This should be enough!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Let’s talk for a moment…”
“Just die.”
“Why are you so damn rude?”
Without another word, Yuri stabbed at the commander’s armor.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t play the victim.”
Just before the strike landed, the commander twisted his waist to the side, so the blade slid between the plates without piercing flesh.
They were now so close it was like they were about to wrestle.
The commander whispered, “Listen to me, Yuri Briol.”
“Shut up…”
“I came to help you.”
“Nonsense…”
“Ekaterina.”
At that name, Yuri’s movements faltered for a moment. Through the helmet, he caught a glimpse of the commander’s exhausted smile.
“Lady Ekaterina sent me.”