The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 114

The moment the party noticed something was off was when the town surrounding the mansion came into view.

“Finally, we’ve arrived. I can finally rest a bit.”

Prince Robertze’s voice carried both anticipation and fatigue.

“Don’t let your guard down. If it’s Yuria, she must have some kind of scheme put in place on Lopez’s side.”

“It’ll be fine~ Lopez knows how to handle things well.”

“…”

As he watched the two chat, Lanit’s eye caught the worried expression on Arit’s face.

“Arit.”

“Oh… Lanit. What’s the matter?”

When Lanit addressed her, she forced a smile, but it was awkward.

“Are you worried about Lopez?”

“…I guess it’s obvious. Yes. Of course, if it’s the wise Lopez, he must be prepared for the situation, but… I can’t help being worried.”

“Yes. I believe so too.”

Lanit flashed her a smile to offer some comfort.

This time, Arit managed a much better smile in return.

“Alright. Once we get through this forest, we’ll see the territory of the Terelude family. Let’s go!”

Revitalized, Robertze took the lead and hurried ahead. The rest of the party followed, and finally, as they emerged from the forest, they saw—

“…What the hell is this.”

A completely empty Terelude territory, devoid of any residents.

“Where did everyone go?”

Robertze floated about 10 meters up to survey the surroundings.

“Do you see anything, Your Highness?”

“No! This is really strange. There’s no one in this town. It doesn’t look like a battle occurred, nor are there signs of evacuation. It’s as if the people just vanished in an instant…”

As Lanit asked, Robertze suddenly trailed off, narrowing his eyes as if focusing on something far away.

“Your Highness?”

Whoosh—Tap.

Landing gracefully from the air, Robertze began to relay what he saw to the party.

“…I saw something over there. It’s too far to identify clearly, but it looks like a multitude of people surrounding a building…”

When Robertze pointed northwest, Arit’s eyes widened in realization.

“That’s Lopez’s mansion…!”

Thud-thud-

Lanit and the others immediately dashed in that direction. As they passed through the residential area and the bustling center filled with shops and various government offices, they didn’t encounter a single soul.

Crossing through the ominous silence of the town, Arit’s expression only grew more worried.

About 15 minutes later, the party finally left the commoners’ area behind.

On the high hill where the great mansion, symbolizing the pride of the Terelude family, should be—

Lanit looked up, but instead, what entered his view was—

-Gahhhhh!

-Grrr…

Zombies surrounding the mansion and trying to break in, and soldiers who seemed to be part of the Count’s loyal guard, holding the barricade with makeshift barriers and sandbags shouting—

“Don’t fall back! Fight to the last for the Terelude family!”

“…Combat readiness.”

Expecting something to have happened at the mansion before they arrived, the party instantly got into battle formation at Lanit’s command.

“It seems the enemy hasn’t noticed us yet. I don’t see any commanders or spellcasters. About a hundred spear-wielding soldiers are holding off the zombies inside the barricade, but… I don’t think they can hold out for long.”

“In that case, we need to join the fight immediately.”

As Robertze suggested, everyone looked ready to charge at the zombies, but suddenly—

“Wait a minute!”

Arit’s urgent shout stopped them in their tracks.

“What’s wrong, Arit?”

In response to Esmela’s question, Arit pointed up the hill and exclaimed.

“It’s not just zombies! There are ordinary people mixed in!”

“What?”

Everyone turned their heads in surprise towards the zombies.

-…

As Arit had said, there were indeed a number of people in ordinary clothes mixed among the zombies.

Although they certainly appeared human, their movements—charging mindlessly towards the barricade with arms raised just like puppets—were as bizarre and awkward as the zombies themselves.

“What the…”

Robertze’s expression was one of sheer confusion.

“…It does make sense. No matter how many zombies there are, I found it strange that the elite soldiers of the kingdom would struggle so much with them… It must be that they’re unable to attack easily due to the civilians mixed in.”

Iiergo was calmly analyzing the situation amidst all this.

Upon hearing this, Lanit observed the soldiers again and realized they were only focused on pushing the zombies away from the barricade, not actively trying to kill them.

‘Are they worried about stabbing innocent people with their spears? Even so, this is way too much of a retreat…!’

“I’m changing the operation! Esmela! Amplify my voice magic!”

“You want to lure them? Are you sure about that?”

“I’ll lure them away from the mansion and retreat quickly using transformation magic! Since there aren’t any mutant zombies, I won’t have to worry about being shot down while flying! Once I’ve cleared enough zombies from the mansion, you guys should join up with the people inside!”

“…”

However, Esmela seemed hesitant despite Lanit’s orders.

“…Esmela.”

Lanit’s voice softened.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a simple task.”

“…Fine.”

Only after Lanit reassured her did she reluctantly come forward to cast magic on him.

“Announce.”

Once the spell was completed, Lanit flashed a smile at her and quickly approached the zombies.

Now standing less than several meters away from the battle occurring on the hill, Lanit took a deep breath—

“Over here! You zombie bastards!!!”

With all his might, he shouted, and—

-Graaaar?

All the zombies turned their heads toward him in unison.

-…Kiaaak!

A few seconds of silence followed.

Then, as if they had made a pact, the horde of zombies suddenly charged down the hill toward Lanit.

“Move according to the plan!”

Confirming that the zombies were rushing toward him, Lanit gave one last shout to the party and turned at full speed to charge down the hill.

Ten minutes into his escape, Lanit and the horde of zombies had already entered the city.

“Haah…”

As his breathing grew heavy, Lanit glanced back at the zombie horde.

“Uh…?”

‘Now that I think about it, it’s just the zombies that followed me. Could the people still be left around the mansion?’

“Tsk…”

Lanit clicked his tongue.

It was a situation beyond his assumptions, but he felt foolish for realizing this vital fact only now.

‘All I can do is hope the others handle things well…’

With that thought, he picked up the pace, dashing deeper into the city.

Flap flap.

The transformation magic’s crimson wings soared through the sky.

Whoosh—

Thud.

Upon arriving at the mansion grounds, Lanit folded his wings and landed on the ground.

“Lanit!”

The first to run to him was Esmela.

Others followed her lead, coming to greet Lanit.

Among them, Lanit’s eyes caught—

“Lopez.”

It was none other than Count Lopez Terelude, the head of the Terelude family and Arit’s fiancé.

“You made it, Lanit. Thanks to you luring the zombies away, we were able to take a breather.”

“I’m glad to be of assistance.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Lanit’s gaze naturally fell to those lying bound by golden ropes behind Lopez.

The townspeople, caught in Arit’s binding magic, lay helpless on the ground.

“Ughhh!!”

They seemed completely unaware of their bindings, still struggling aggressively against the surrounding soldiers and Lanit’s party, displaying animosity.

“What are those people…?”

In response to Lanit’s question, Lopez sighed, furrowing his brow.

“As you guessed, they are the nobles living around here. Originally, they were ordinary folks, but… for some reason, they suddenly lost their minds and began attacking us a few days ago.”

Lopez shook his head and composed himself, issuing commands to the nearby soldiers.

“It’s not sustainable to keep them bound by Arit’s magic, so bring ropes from inside the mansion and secure them. We can segregate them in the warehouse and basement.”

After giving instructions, Lopez turned back to Lanit, his face looking incredibly worn out.

“Though the situation is dire, we must at least maintain some formality. Welcome to the Terelude family, Lanit. Let’s discuss the details inside the mansion.”

The reception room of the Terelude family was as splendid as any noble’s.

The only difference was that one wall featured the Terelude family crest alongside a golden cross representing the Radain Church.

In the center, seven people were seated on a sofa.

Lopez, who sat separately in the seat of honor, was the first to speak.

“First off, I’m sure you all have many questions about the current situation, so let me explain that first.”

After taking a brief breath, Lopez continued.

“Currently, the Terelude territory has mostly fallen into the hands of the royal family, controlled by Yuria. The only land left to us is this hill where the mansion is located.”