25. The Lawbringer of the Wilderness
-Urgh…
A corpse, its wounds blackened and rotting, with maggots swarming all over, staggered around the town. Its shriveled, cloudy eyes searched for fresh flesh. Of course, there was none.
-Urghh!!
A corpse accidentally stepped out of the shadow of a wall into the sunlight. Its skin burned white. Twisting its body in resistance, it eventually collapsed weakly.
The town was desolate. Only dust and dirt moved around, while corpses huddled under eaves or in shadows, avoiding the scorching sun. Then, in the distance, a cloud of dust rose.
A small town on the outskirts of Baron Barbes’ territory. Occasionally used as a trade route along the Widow’s Coastline.
An Inquisition Officer was approaching.
“Your Excellency! That town seems to be the right one!”
“Are you sure this time? It’s already the third try.”
Fernandez and Kirhas, covered in dust and exhaustion, rode toward the town. Their horses, severely dehydrated, were half-dead.
“This time, for real, for real!”
“Alright… I hope this time it’s the right one…”
The town was barren. Not even a stray dog in sight—a forsaken place. Fernandez dismounted at the entrance and lightly slapped the horse’s rump. Startled, the horse bolted away.
“Live long!”
“What about when we return?”
“I doubt that thing will survive until then.”
Fernandez slowly entered the town. Kirhas looked around beside him.
“No one’s here, Your Excellency?”
“They’re here.”
Fernandez pointed toward the eaves of a roof, where corpses sat motionless, staring at them. Kirhas’ ears perked up in alarm.
“Are those… corpses?”
“Do you think corpses can sit like that?”
Fernandez scanned the area. Under every roof, every eave, and every shadow—corpses sat, all in the same posture, staring eerily at them.
“Why are they just sitting there? Aren’t Walkers supposed to be mindless?”
“Either there’s a necromancer nearby, or these aren’t Walkers.”
-Swish
Fernandez drew his sword. Kirhas quickly followed suit, readying her stance.
“Not Walkers. Ghouls.”
Damn it. The things you least want to see always show up. Fernandez frowned. An abnormal number of ghouls had appeared.
This meant a mad vampire suffering from Red Hunger was lurking nearby.
Fernandez calmly walked into the shadows. Simultaneously, as if waiting, a swarm of ghouls pounced.
-Slash!
Fernandez’s sword cut through a ghoul’s neck. Before the head hit the ground, another ghoul’s torso, arm, and jaw fell.
-Slash, chop!
“Ugh, Your Excellency!”
Kirhas quickly positioned herself behind Fernandez, cutting down the ghouls attacking from behind.
They were as mindless as Walkers, but while Walkers were infected humans, these were truly dead.
“Kirhas, you need to cut their heads off.”
“Got it!”
Kirhas sliced through a ghoul’s shoulder, then stabbed upward, piercing its jaw and exiting through the crown of its head.
The ghoul collapsed without a twitch. No nerve reflexes—definitely a corpse.
Her movements were flawless, perfectly controlled as she slaughtered the ghouls.
“Your skills have improved.”
“Your Excellency too! You must have been practicing swordsmanship!”
Did I? For Fernandez, swordsmanship was half a hobby, half an excuse to escape Diemonica’s strength training.
As he cleaved a ghoul’s skull, Kirhas blushed and said,
“You’re amazing. With the physique of the Diemonica brothers, martial arts would naturally take a backseat…”
To Kirhas, the Diemonica brothers were beasts. Their superhuman muscle efficiency, reflexes, and senses turned them into literal shredding machines!
But Fernandez was a wolf among sheep. With a body capable of slaughtering dozens, he honed his skills to wield it even more effectively.
Moreover, during Fernandez’s last mission briefing, Kirhas had witnessed his brilliant wisdom. To her, he embodied the bravery of a lion, the strength of a crocodile, and the wisdom of an ibis!
He was like Rutmargar, the legendary hero who swallowed the sun!
“Uh… thanks, I guess.”
Fernandez replied awkwardly, splitting the last ghoul in half. It seemed all the ghouls in this building were dealt with.
Like most undead, ghouls were weak.
In fact, ghouls were weaker than Walkers. Unlike Walkers, which retained muscle and reflexes, ghouls were merely victims of necromancy, raised by vampires.
And knights fell to these? Fernandez, sword still drawn, entered the building.
His vision warned him of the lingering magical resonance unique to vampires.
“Don’t vampires usually sleep underground?”
“That’s a myth. They generally sleep in beds. They prefer high places and blackout curtains.”
Fernandez said as he cut down two armored ghouls. They had suddenly lunged from the stairs leading to the second floor.
Already slow and weak, the ghouls were even clumsier in armor.
-Clang!
The headless body fell, its chainmail clattering noisily. Fernandez pushed the bodies aside and ascended the stairs. During the fight, he hadn’t noticed, but his sharp…
