The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 46

-Ggruaaa!

-Kugh, kieek!

A horde of zombies is pouring in.

Even wandering on the streets, they rush at us as soon as they spot us,


breaking through windows inside the buildings, and


I can’t help but wonder how so many of them could simultaneously swarm out from the narrow alleys between buildings along the main road.

Like ants discovering a candy on the ground, they gathered from all directions to taste us, surrounding us.

-Advance! Keep moving forward!


-Sorcerers, don’t stop the bombardment! Even if the magic’s power weakens, keep firing!

In response, humans grit their teeth and swing their swords to survive, or conjure fireballs or ice spikes to pierce the zombies’ heads.

-Which bastard keeps casting lightning magic? We almost got electrocuted!


-Hey, don’t lose focus! The formation is collapsing… Uh, uh, uagh!

But the chaos of battle had turned into utter mayhem, so the panicked humans weren’t even in sync with each other.

“Light, protect the pilgrims with your holy barrier.”

At that moment, as part of the front line was about to collapse, the saintess’s holy voice echoed in the ears of those who were about to become the zombies’ prey.

Hwaak-

A dazzling golden wall rose up right before the soldiers about to be overwhelmed by the zombies.

Clang!


-Kuek?

The zombie that charged aggressively clashed its head against the shield, dazed and confused, while the saintess ruthlessly swung her spiked club, obliterating its head in one hit.

“Are you okay?”


Thwack!


“Y-yes, Saintess! Thank you so much!”

Crunch!


“Just hold on a bit longer. As long as we don’t betray ourselves, Lord Juten will definitely guide us to salvation.”

While encouraging the soldiers, Arit continued to smash the heads of the zombies with her club.

“I will offer a prayer of blessing for you all!”

Arit momentarily stepped back from fighting zombies and began chanting her prayer with her hands together.

“O Great God Tiaanash, grant victory to the warriors who bravely fight!”

Paah-

The strong light emitted from the saintess infused life into the bodies of the soldiers it touched.

“Oh wow, is this the saintess’s blessing! I feel revitalized! Come on, bring it on, you bastards!”

The soldiers, reinvigorated by Arit’s prayer, grasped their swords again and bravely faced the charging zombies.

“Ha…”


After the soldiers left, Arit let out a small sigh.

“Arit, are you alright?”


Spotting Arit from a distance while fighting zombies, I waited until she caught her breath before approaching her to ask.

“Ah, Lanit.”


“Are you seriously going to keep going around the front lines casting blessings like this?”

If that’s the case, it makes sense that a mere handful of kingdom soldiers, even if trained, can barely withstand the hundreds or thousands of zombies, given their physical abilities are much superior to ordinary humans.

When I heard the details of the operation earlier, I couldn’t shake the question of how a kingdom’s army with less than ten thousand could plan to break through a horde of tens of thousands of zombies. This operation was set up on the premise of the saintess’s support.

“Yes. If I can help even a little with their strength…”

“But if you keep throwing around blessings like that, you’ll run out of mana in no time.”

[Name: Arit Radaine / Gender: Female / Age: 24 / Occupation: Saintess of the Radaine Faith]

[HP: 2302/2891] [MP: 711/2240]

…

Checking her status through the system, I could see she had already spent more stamina than expected, and her mana had dropped below a third.

“It’s fine. I still have a lot of mana potions, and above all, I can’t just ignore those in trouble if I call myself a saintess.”

Despite the sweat running down her forehead, she spoke to me with a calm smile, not at all flustered.

“…Understood. Please be careful.”


“Yes, I’ll move on ahead. Please stay safe too, Lanit!”

With those words, Arit dashed forward in the procession, striking down the heads of the zombies that charged at the other soldiers with a powerful swing.

“…Phew.”

To be honest, I’m not in any position to talk about being tired either.

Barely five minutes after the survivors left the castle, the outer defense line made up of soldiers faced a crisis of collapse, continuously overwhelmed by the incoming zombies.

Ultimately, those who could still fight among the remaining survivors inside had no choice but to step out and join the kingdom soldiers to desperately battle the zombies together.

It was only after the united front between the kingdom soldiers and citizens was formed that the survivors could finally regain a semblance of balance in their struggle against the zombies.

The house servants of the House of Herta were no exception, and the original plan of having soldiers guard the outside while the butlers and maids protected the nobles inside had already gone out the window…

“O Flame of Herta, become my sword and strike down the enemies of my house!”


Fwoosh!

The butlers and maids had already joined the front line, wielding that burning sword and doing their utmost to take down as many of them as possible.

Naturally, the original formation surrounding the nobles had long since unraveled, and now, ensuring that the distance between the servants who had barely jumped into the fray wasn’t too far apart was all they could do.

I looked around, checking the situation. The front line hasn’t collapsed yet, but…

The procession is moving forward far too slowly.

It’s a short distance from the royal palace to the south gate of the royal capital that shouldn’t take even 15 minutes to run at full speed…

If they keep pushing through the zombies at this rate, they won’t make it there even after an hour, let alone reach half the distance.

-Kieek!

“Uh, uh, hey! Somebody help here! There are too many of them!”


Hearing someone’s cry, I turned to look back.

The rear line of survivors was on the verge of collapse due to dozens of suddenly surging zombies.

“Oh no!”

I immediately pulled out my spare sword and tried to run to help them—

Clomp, clomp!

Five cavalrymen galloping in from the back rushed straight toward the zombies that were pushing inward.

“Clear the way!”

As the lead horseman shouted his warning,

Thud!

The zombies that collided with the warhorses were turned into mush as they flew off into the distance.

“Keep fighting!”

The cavalrymen left behind only a brief encouragement, not slowing down their gallop as they passed by the soldiers and charged ahead.

I guess they were the cavalry positioned at the rear.

I wondered why they had split the cavalry into front and back, but it was probably to send reinforcements right at this critical moment.

However, the vanguard unit of the cavalry had dashed at full speed the moment the operation began, vanishing from sight as they charged through the zombies, and I couldn’t help but worry about where they had gone.

Regardless, even after they left, I continued to fight alongside the soldiers, evading zombies and kicking them away while vigorously swinging my sword to eliminate the zombies.

Yet even amidst that fierce battle, an unsettling feeling began to creep up in my chest.

The strategy isn’t bad. But is this really enough?

When will this fight ever end?

Can we really survive this—

“Flame of Herta.”

At that moment, I clearly heard Esmela’s voice from behind me.

“Burn them all.”

Hwaak-!

Kieeeek!

The zombies in front of me were engulfed in black flames and turned to ashes.

“My lady?!”

“Hmph. They’re just weaklings trying to put up a fight.”

When I turned around, I saw Esmela gazing at the zombies with a haughty smile befitting a villainous noble lady.

“What are you doing here? You should get inside right now!”

“What are you saying now? If the soldiers defending it fall, then it’ll be my turn next. Am I supposed to just sit by and watch?”

Ignoring my warning, Esmela calmly walked over to my side.

Swish-Pff.

At that same moment, numerous shadow spears shot forth from behind and pierced through the zombies’ foreheads.

“Lanit is right.”

The head maid Elina had somehow arrived behind us.

“If Lady Esmela keeps this up, how are we supposed to protect your safety?”

Although her expression remained neutral, there was a hint of fatigue in her tone.

It looked like Esmela, despite Elina’s pleas, insisted on joining the front lines.

“Can you even use that in front of other people?”

“It doesn’t matter. The saintess has moved ahead of me, and even if someone sees, in the chaos, they wouldn’t notice who did it. More importantly, let’s hurry back, Lady Esmela.”

“How can you, who are mixed in with the soldiers, claim to protect my safety? I’d rather increase my odds by lending my strength to them. Besides… with both of you beside me, I have no reason to be scared!”

“…Ha.”

Elina finally let out a sigh.

That was an unusually touching comment for her. It made me want to swear loyalty to her all over again.

But I had to say this one thing.

“Um, my lady.”

“What is it?”

“I’m grateful that you trust us so completely, but…”

“But?”

“That flame of Herta you just used is spreading this way.”

“What?!”

The flame of Herta that was burning the zombies right in front of us wasn’t dying down, but rather growing stronger and reaching out toward the soldiers.

-What, what is this! Why is the fire black?


-Ah! It’s hot! It’s coming this way! Everyone fall back!

The flame of Herta, having burned all the nearby zombies, was now expanding its territory, trying to invade the survivors’ area.

“Uh…”

Esmela looked flustered.

“No, my lady! You can’t use the Flame of Herta in a crowded place like this!”

“What’s wrong with using something this effective to burn them all?”

“If you keep this up, we’ll all be burned too! Do something!”

“A-Okay! So, um, poof, Ice Rain, downward…”

Esmela hurriedly began to chant a mid-level water magic spell. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to stop the Flame of Herta.

“…Lanit. If necessary, be ready to grab her and run forward. At this rate, the formation will break.”

Just as the head maid was warning me—

“Frozen ice of Elanox, freeze the life before you.”

Clang-

An ice wall instantly surrounded the flames.

Fwoosh-

The flames of Herta, which had been burning vigorously, began to lose their strength as they were blocked by the ice, until they were completely extinguished.

“…”

I instinctively looked around for the caster.

But there was no need for that; she approached us on horseback, giving us a cryptic smile.

“…Yuria.”

Esmela’s expression turned rigid.

“Elina, I told you, didn’t I? You got the title wrong again. Now, say it again. Call me ‘Princess.’”