Laurent rode toward Francaise.
Just as he had heard, troops holding torches were blocking entry into Francaise from the surrounding area.
Laurent searched for a section where the security was particularly lax and approached.
Several soldiers were gathered together, chatting among themselves.
From time to time, the word "Francaise" could be heard, but it was impossible to tell exactly what they were talking about.
Dismounting from his horse, Laurent moved forward while channeling his mana method.
Thanks to his experience waging guerrilla warfare against the Imperial Army alongside Yuri, his understanding of infiltration had greatly improved.
He advanced while keeping noise to a minimum, crouching low.
Even though he passed right by them, the soldiers didn't notice.
"Have you been inside Francaise?"
"No."
"I heard it's in chaos in there…."
Laurent wanted to grab them right then and ask, but he held himself back. Soon, he would see it with his own eyes.
Patiently, he crawled through the bushes.
Soon, the line of guards was behind him.
Ahead, Francaise stretched out before him.
Laurent slowly straightened his body. Strangely, no sound could be heard. Only the sound of his own footsteps echoed unnaturally loud.
Since he had left his horse behind for stealth, he would have to run if he wanted to move quickly. Laurent began to run toward the direction of the castle.
Then, suddenly, he came upon a group of people.
Laurent's face lit up.
"Excuse me…."
There were about half a dozen of them, standing there facing one another in silence.
As he drew closer, Laurent's expression hardened.
Even at a glance, they didn't seem normal.
Cautiously, Laurent spoke.
"May I ask you something?"
One of them turned his head toward Laurent. But there was no reply. The dense shade cast by a tall tree beside them hid their faces completely.
For them to be standing together without a word, in the middle of the night, was suspicious in itself.
Laurent rested his fingertips on the hilt of his sword and said,
"Can you hear my voice?"
The group all began walking toward Laurent.
But their gait was strange. They staggered, limped. Not just one or two—every single one of them moved that way.
"Stop right there."
Laurent stepped back, frowning.
Gradually, their figures became clearer.
Laurent was at a loss for words.
It was a horrifying sight.
Faces torn apart, bodies riddled with holes. One man's arms had been torn clean off, leaving only his lower body to move awkwardly.
They let out shrieks and charged at Laurent.
To Laurent, who had reached the peak of mastery, their attacks were simple and crude. They merely rushed forward—less capable than a wild beast.
Soon, all of them were crawling on the ground, their limbs severed by Laurent.
"What in the world…."
Even more horrifying was that they were still not dead. Even in a condition that should have left them corpses, they continued to twitch.
Laurent looked down at them with a sickened expression.
Clacking their half-shattered teeth together, they tried to bite him.
When he stabbed a sword through one's head, it finally went still.
The head is the weak point.
Having realized this, Laurent crushed every one of their skulls.
"They're just like zombies from ghost stories."
He stood in silence for a moment, looking down at the six motionless bodies, then turned his head toward the direction where Francaise lay.
"Something's…."
Something was happening in there.
Perhaps this was the demon's seed that Soders had spoken of. An ordinary person who experienced this would not remain sane.
Laurent gripped his sword tighter and began walking again.
Could it be that the royal palace of Briol was unaware of this situation?
Impossible.
The mere presence of the troops blocking access from inside and out was enough to make Laurent suspect Cedric.
Although he had always respected the Third Prince he served, due to his deep fraternal bonds, Laurent no longer trusted Cedric.
Either Cedric had done this, or he was involved in some way.
Laurent soon disappeared into the darkness of Francaise.
***
Laurent advanced, cutting down countless zombies as he went.
Even in daylight, they did not stop moving.
Laurent had to admit it.
Francaise had fallen.
Or at least, it was in a state tantamount to destruction.
Perhaps there were survivors somewhere, but it would never return to the way it once was.
"Excuse me."
As he walked through the ruined village, Laurent suddenly heard a voice.
"Excuse me…."
Laurent turned his head.
It came from a storage shed attached to a house. Through the gap in the tattered door, a pair of eyes appeared.
"Are you human?"
Laurent approached and opened the door without hesitation.
Inside, a young girl, startled, fell back onto her rear.
She looked to be around twelve or thirteen. Her hair was tangled, and her face filthy, as if she had been wandering for a long time.
"And you are?"
"M-my name is Stephanie. I was hiding in here because I was scared."
She was the first human he had encountered in Francaise. Everyone else had been turned into zombies.
"You're human, right?"
"What else do I look like?"
"Human…."
Laurent looked around inside the shed. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
"B-but there are so many monsters that look like humans. Just because you look human doesn't mean I can trust you."
"Then don't trust me."
"Ugh…."
Stephanie edged toward him hesitantly.
"You're a knight, right? Are you on your way out of Francaise?"
"No."
"Then…?"
"I'm heading in, actually."
"Inside?"
She recoiled in horror.
"Why? You have to leave. Can't I come with you if you're leaving?"
"I told you, I'm going in."
"Why?"
"You don't need to know."
Laurent's eyes, cold and devoid of warmth, fixed on Stephanie.
The strain of what he had been through, combined with the state of Francaise, had made him more on edge than usual.
Stephanie shrank back.
"It's dangerous in there…."
Laurent fell silent in thought. If she stayed here, she would die. But he still had to keep moving inward.
After a moment, he spoke.
"Stephanie."
"Yes?"
"I'm heading for the lord's castle. Do you know anything about it?"
"No…."
"It may be in ruins like this place, but it will be safer there."
Laurent stepped out of the shed without looking back at her.
"If you want to follow me, then follow. But I can't promise to protect you."
"I-I'll come with you!"
She hurried after him in small, quick steps.
"Sir Knight, why are you going to the castle?"
"…"
"Can't we just leave?"
"I'd like to walk in silence."
"Okay…."
Stephanie was rather talkative—or perhaps she was forcing herself to talk to keep her fear at bay.
Laurent cut down every zombie they encountered. Since they didn't know how to flee, once they drew attention, it was easy to wipe them out.
Stephanie spoke again.
"I've been watching from hiding. There are strong zombies. You have to avoid them at all costs."
"How do you know they're strong?"
"Their skin is different. Like it's been burned. It's like…"
Trailing behind Laurent, she suddenly screamed.
"Th-there, like that one!"
Laurent turned his head.
From between the remains of a half-collapsed building, a zombie emerged.
It was different from the others he had seen so far. As Stephanie had said, its skin was fused together like it had been burned, and its eyes glowed faintly.
Its gait, too, was unlike that of other zombies—it walked as if completely uninjured.
"That's…."
Laurent examined the ragged scraps of cloth clinging to the zombie's body. To him, it was a familiar knight's uniform.
He had never thought a knight could become a zombie.
"How could…."
Laurent couldn't finish the sentence. The zombie had leapt at him.
Laurent swung his sword.
But the zombie quickly dodged and slashed with its claws.
"Kh!"
Laurent bent his body back in an acrobatic motion to evade, then regained his balance. He then roused his mana method.
White light flowed from the sword's blade.
"W-wow…."
Stephanie, watching from behind, let out an exclamation.
Laurent focused on the zombie.
Unlike the others, it was fast, and it seemed to possess a certain degree of judgment.
Yet its hunger for human flesh was unchanged. Even now, as it backed away, it drooled while staring at him, as if barely restraining the urge to pounce.
Laurent stepped toward the zombie.
"Can you understand me?"
"…"
"Do you hear my voice?"
The zombie lunged.
Laurent abandoned the thought of communication and swung his sword at once. It dodged several times, but in the end, the zombie was cut to pieces by Laurent and collapsed to the ground.
Laurent approached the twitching zombie and placed his foot on its chest. The zombie tried to bite his leg, but when he pressed down with his weight, it couldn't move further.
"I'll ask you one last time. Can you speak?"
"Kieee…."
Apparently not.
Laurent immediately smashed the zombie's head.
"Stephanie."
"Yes!"
"Let's go."
Laurent turned away. Stephanie, glancing sidelong at the dead zombie, followed close behind him.
"You're amazing. Sir Knight, are you perhaps a great knight? You're incredible with a sword."
"Hungry?"
"Are you a famous knight…? Yes. I'm hungry."
"Here."
Laurent handed her some jerky. Stephanie accepted it and quickly devoured it.
Laurent handed her another.
"Thank you!"
The two of them ate jerky together as they walked through the zombie-infested village.
***
Yuri was on the castle wall, swinging his sword.
"Damn it!"
The Empire's assault had begun again. Imperial knights, stepping on launching devices, vaulted onto the wall and swung their swords.
Fiore was engaging the Black Knight.
The Black Knight had brought along several elite knights to fight at his side, and so even Fiore could not kill him immediately.
Still, Fiore was overwhelming multiple opponents at once.
But, the fact remained—he was tied down.
While Fiore was blocked by the Black Knight, the rest of the Imperial forces swarmed like locusts, leaping up to assault Bezos Castle.
At some point, ropes had been thrown up, allowing even soldiers without launching equipment to climb up and swing their weapons.
It was worse than before.
"Damn it, Laurent!"
Yuri called out for Laurent before clicking his tongue.
He had left.
"Jared!"
"Yes!"
"Come with me, there's a rope hooked over there. We need to get rid of it."
Even as they spoke, Imperial soldiers continued to climb the rope and come over the wall.
Briol's soldiers fired arrows, but an Imperial soldier with a large iron shield blocked the way forward.
"Just the two of us?"
"Bring someone if you want."
"Everyone looks busy. If only Sir Laurent were here…."
"He has something more urgent."
"Understood. Let's go."
"Move!"
The two dashed toward a section of the wall.
Since it was a decisive point in the siege, a knight order commander–level knight was stationed there.
"Third Prince!"
"Yes, it's me!"
"I am the commander of the Spear-and-Sword Knight Order."
"Does the Empire have knight orders without numbers?"
"Only those directly under the Imperial Palace bear numbers."
Their swords clashed.
From the start, Yuri poured chaotic energy into his strikes, pressing the opponent hard. The commander stepped back in surprise at the unexpected destructive power.
"As expected, you're formidable! Hahaha!"
"Stop laughing like some third-rate villain and just die already."
"Your words are coarse!"
"This is all you've got?"
"You lack the dignity of royalty."
"So what, you son of a bitch!"
Yuri's sword fell like a lightning strike.
The commander, struggling to block the continuous onslaught, soon took a kick from Yuri and toppled over.
Yuri immediately brought his sword down.
The man rolled away in haste. Without stopping, Yuri continued to hack downward from above, and the commander rolled over and over to evade.
"W-wait! You're stronger than I heard! Let's call it here!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's talk for a moment…."
"Just die."
"Why are you so bad-tempered?"
Without another word, Yuri thrust his sword at the commander's armor.
"Guh!"
"Stop whining."
Right before the thrust landed, the commander twisted his waist aside. The blade slid between his side plates instead of piercing flesh.
Yuri and the commander ended up close enough that they could have been wrestling.
The commander whispered.
"Listen to me, Yuri Briol."
"Shut your mouth and—"
"Ekaterina."
At that word, Yuri's movements froze for a moment. Through the visor, he saw the exhausted commander grinning faintly.
"Lady Ekaterina sent me."
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