The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 112

They were like a pack of wolves sliding across the fields in search of food.

“Your Lordship, there has just been an intruder in the castle…!”

Taking advantage of the dawn while everyone slept, they overpowered the guards and climbed over the castle walls, heading straight to the lord’s mansion without casting a glance elsewhere.

“Intruder! The intruder is in the Lord’s office…!”

“What about the barrier magic? Why isn’t the barrier magic working?!”

Of course, even the guards wielding spears and the makeshift barriers set up to fend off burglars couldn’t halt them.

“Damn it… what the hell are you?! What’s your purpose for coming all the way here…?!”

Having breached to the heart of the castle, they made one simple demand to the trembling lord—

“Well, it’s nothing special. Just gather some food and supplies for our journey.”

The actions of Lanit and his group since leaving the first castle were starkly simple.

First, they would check the map and choose a castle within reach before their supplies ran out.

Next, they would quickly move to the next castle before the information about them could spread from the last castle where they had forcibly gained cooperation.

And just like before, they would break in without permission, subduing the lord swiftly, holding him hostage to extract the necessary supplies.

Then, they would return to the beginning, repeating the same act as they headed towards the royal capital.

Absurd but surprisingly efficient strategy.

There was no way a mere local lord’s guards could stop a party composed of the strongest of the entire kingdom, or even the whole Tarkma continent.

Of course, this strategy wasn’t just smooth sailing without any drawbacks.

“Haah…”

Esmela sighed heavily and sat down, utterly drained.

“I’m really tired.”

She lamented, looking at the corpses of the zombie Wood Wolves they had just exterminated.

As soon as the party stepped into the forest at night, they were ambushed.

“Hey, Lanit. Can’t we move a bit slower?”

“We can’t afford that. If the speed of information spreading overtakes us, we’ll constantly have to face the soldiers preparing to capture us.”

Lanit checked on the others as well.

Though they didn’t vocalize it, everyone was equally exhausted.

Even Dion showed signs of fatigue from the relentless march.

Though they were all strong enough to be called superhumans, they were still just people.

They hadn’t even ridden on horseback but had purely relied on their legs to sprint between castles, enhancing their bodies with mana.

Had they simply been moving fast, it would have been one thing, but along the way, they had to fight both the castle guards and the zombies and monsters they encountered during their travels.

None of those battles were difficult enough to pose a threat, but no matter how easy, fatigue builds up when repeated without rest.

“…”

Lanit, too, felt his state of exhaustion becoming evident.

“Let’s take a day off in this forest tomorrow. After that, we only need to hop between one or two castles to reach the Terelud territory.”

After Robertze had lost his motivation, Lanit found himself in the leadership role and told his party this while approaching Arit, who looked several times more fatigued than the others to offer her comfort.

She needed psychological comfort rather than physical rest.

Days later, just before another nighttime ambush.

Fortunately, it seemed their day of rest had worked wonders, as the party somewhat regained their energy.

Now, just crossing this castle would allow them to head straight toward the Terelud territory, which was yet another reason for their spirits to lift.

“Ahh… not again… Lord Juten…”

Of course, there were those who didn’t feel the same.

“Then, just like always. Let’s subdue everyone we encounter while moving as quietly as possible.”

Following Lanit’s orders, they moved.

After Arit cast a blessing of strength upon everyone, they scaled the castle walls. Except for one approaching guard, Dion knocked out the rest.

“Yikes…!”

Lanit approached the soldier, who was now rolling on the ground in fright.

“I have a few questions for you.”

To save his life, the soldier answered every question Lanit asked with military precision.

After the interrogation was concluded, Lanit signaled Dion, and the soldier went down too.

“This one’s going to be a little complicated.”

The information Lanit obtained from the soldier was as follows: The lord kept his residence and mansion separate, returning home to the mansion at night.

According to rumors, he had hired extra guards following the zombie incident due to holding massive wealth as a local lord prior to the situation, and even hired a sorcerer specializing in barrier magic for protection around the mansion.

There were even rumors that he had secretly embedded combat-capable servants among his staff.

“There shouldn’t be any issues. It’s just that things have gotten a bit annoying.”

Dion said this while eagerly looking forward to the upcoming battle, slapping his palm with his fist.

As she mentioned, entering the lord’s mansion wasn’t all that difficult.

Of course, it did take Esmela and Robertze a bit longer to dispel the barriers, and they had to fight twice as many soldiers during that time, but it really was just a slight degree of difficulty.

After subduing the guards outside the mansion, they began racing down the vast mansion’s hallway toward the lord’s bedroom.

First floor, second floor…

And just as they were about to reach the bedroom after one more flight of stairs,

A mysterious black object suddenly hurtled towards Esmela.

“Be careful!”

The thing crashed into the golden wall conjured by Arit and disintegrated harmlessly into thin air.

“…Esmela?”

Lanit turned to check on her well-being.

However, seeing her horrified expression, he asked what was wrong, to which Esmela just kept staring silently at the direction of the attack.

And from where she was staring, the attacker finally revealed themselves.

“What…?”

Lanit was left no choice but to gasp in disbelief at the identity of the figure.

“I will give you one warning, intruders. Drop your weapons and surrender immediately.”

A calm voice.


Shadow-like black hair cascading down, reminiscent of a lurking silhouette.

Her maid uniform was of a different design than the one she wore in the House of Herta, yet it still suited her well.

“…Elina!?”

At Esmela’s cry, everyone’s attention shifted toward her.

“If it’s Elina… are you talking about the maid you always brought along?”

Dion inquired, but Esmela seemed too flustered to even think about answering.

“Yeah. She was kidnapped by the Black Witch while we were trying to escape the royal capital. But why is she here…?”

Lanit replied in her stead.

“I don’t know what happened to her during that time.”

Iiergo remarked while looking at Elina, who was approaching them.

“At the very least, it’s clear that she doesn’t remember Esmela.”

True to his words, Elina’s gaze, when directed at Esmela, was filled only with hostility.

“Elina, it’s me! Don’t you remember?!”

“Esmela, compose yourself.”

Lanit barely held Esmela back as she tried to rush toward Elina.

“So, all we have to do is subdue her without injuring her, right?”

Dion stepped forward.

“Be careful, Dion. The Head Maid practices dark magic. She typically uses shadows to attack or incapacitate her opponents, so be mindful during the fight.”

“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Elina charged, Dion leaped toward her with all his strength.

Many black arrows shot from behind Elina, hurtling toward Dion.

However, Dion dodged them with almost acrobatic flexibility, bending his body at unnatural angles.

“…!”

Startled, Elina pulled out a dagger from the garter belt strapped to her thigh and charged at Dion once more, but

In close combat, she was no match for Dion.

“Elina!”

As Dion caught the unconscious Elina in his arms, Esmela rushed over, desperately calling out her name.

“What on earth… happened…?”

Holding Elina close, Esmela looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“…I think only one person knows the answer to that, Esmela.”

Bang!

Kicking the lord’s bedroom door open with a strong thrust, they charged inside.

“Don’t come in! Damn it…”

The lord, clad in his pajamas, reached for a defensive dagger on the table, but

“It would be wise not to attempt anything foolish.”

Robertze whipped his hand, freezing the lord’s reaching hand in place.

“Ugh…! W-What do you want?!”

The lord, now stuck tightly against the table, desperately shouted at the party.

“What do we want…? Honestly, it’s nothing special. Just answer our questions truthfully.”

However, it wasn’t Lanit who was in charge of the interrogation this time.

“But if you lie even a little, I’ll turn you to ash without hesitation.”

The noble lord began to back away in fear from Esmela’s blazing gaze.

“What did you do to Elina?!”