Below) Leave traces of the long night

【Dongzhou, Naruf Town, Abel】

- Church

The crimson glow of the sunset fades from the stained glass, and if you look down on the hillside as you normally would, you should see the sunset sinking over the horizon and the vibrant paradise island slowly falling asleep in anticipation of tomorrow's life.

However, there is no going back, that kind of quiet and happy days......

The teacher now looked very tired, his eyelids drooping and his eyes lacked with the vicissitudes of time. He must have consumed too much strength.

Everyone gathered around the teacher and waited for him to speak to the priest and the chief of the guard. From time to time, there were low voices of talking and sighing, and even suppressed cries from the crowd.

"Kids, I know you're scared, but now is not the time to be scared and scream and cry 'what are we going to do?' The older teacher glanced at us heavily, "According to a rough count, at least two hundred people have died in our town of Naruf since the emergence of the Dark Arts Fluctuation, more than in the previous months combined, and the situation is getting worse......"

"The zombies that caused this catastrophe are still attacking our towns in droves. Once a living person is bitten by a zombie or scratched to see blood, they will become infected as a zombie. What's more, after today's battle, we found that this magic fluctuation can not only infect the dead, but also the corpses of livestock and demonic beasts! After these creatures become 'zombie beasts', they are even more terrifying than humanoid zombies......" The teacher sighed and said, "You are still children, the hope of the family, and you have an immeasurable future. It stands to reason that you should not have been brutally put on the front lines, but in these difficult times, Naruf needs the strength of you children, and only you can help the civilians through this catastrophe......"

"Teacher, won't the neighboring town support us, and what about the Wizards' Guild there?" someone asked hurriedly.

The teacher's face sank. He glanced at the captain of the guard, as if waiting for permission.

The captain of the guard, who had been silent for a long time, spoke in a deep voice: "You have grown up, and you should have the courage to accept the cruel reality...... The neighboring town has also suffered a zombie disaster, and they also have a huge jade magic flower that is constantly growing and infesting the town. ”

Frightened chattering interrupted his words.

"Not only that, according to the information fed back, the magic flower that can infect the entire town into jade has appeared in more than a dozen towns, even the international metropolis Future City is no exception, of course, at present, Future City has successfully defeated the magic flower. The teacher continued, "Now, most of Dongzhou is also threatened by zombies like us...... I'm afraid that other towns will not be able to support us. ”

"What about the national army, and what about the Heavenly Punishers?" asked another eagerly.

The teacher smiled bitterly: "Naruf is too remote, and it is a small island in the sea, when will the army and the Heavenly Punisher arrive here?"

Indeed, if even an important city like "Future City", which is the largest metropolis in the White World and the headquarters of the Heavenly Punisher White World, is in danger, we are a small island located in a forgotten corner of the borderlands...... I guess it will be ignored.

Disappointed and panicked, the students who had just been arguing fell silent.

"So, the only thing we can rely on is ourselves. The teacher said slowly, smiling bleakly, "Still, we have the ability to protect ourselves." Naruf will get through this, yes, I'm sure of it......"

"Our town has been sealed off with a magical barrier, and the 'zombie beasts' outside the island will not threaten us yet. The mayor of the town and the big names have already discussed, and in order to curb the spread of the zombie disaster, they have ordered that we must destroy all the zombies and 'infected' in the town in the fastest time and with the most brutal means. Only in this way can the living be protected. To do this, you're going to have to divide into squads, as you do today, and work in squads to clear the town of zombies until the town is completely out of danger. The teacher looked at us with a solemn expression, as if every word he said would grow old.

"Children," said the kind priest, trembling and holding the cross, unable to believe that such a bloody and miserable catastrophe could have befallen him, "I have seen many deaths in my decades of priesthood...... But until now, I still can't turn a blind eye to death. Death brings mourning to the living...... I believe that you also do not want to see death, especially the tragic death of innocent people. In such a life-or-death moment, if you want to avoid death, you have to take up the sacred sword and fight for the living. Therefore, the Lord will bless you, please......"

But the priest's words did not seem to be heeded by everyone. The cruel orders that the infected must be eliminated terrified us! The victims of the zombie catastrophe are living, painful, weeping, and familiar people!

"As patrol and search personnel, you must not be soft, zombies needless to say, you must kill the 'infected'!" said the guard commander in a deep voice that could not be refuted, "Even if the 'infected' is your family, you must kill it!"

"It's not that we're crazy," hearing the chaos of "how can you do it, are you guards crazy?" and the like, the guard commander suddenly lost his mind and shouted, "It's this world that is crazy! The entire Dongzhou is occupied by zombies, the army is devoured alive, the demonic beasts are going north to eat people, and even the Heavenly Punisher has members sacrificed! If you don't want to die, follow the order! Do I want to kill my wife!"

The chaotic sound slowly fell silent, and the fear of being killed, the fear of being killed, mixed together like a knife blade, scratched our hearts little by little, spreading the pain. I looked at the dazzling stained glass of the sun, and even the blood-stinging light on it was gone, and the outside was probably about to be completely dominated by darkness.

The teacher sighed: "I know that it is very difficult and cruel for you to kill those familiar people, but you must understand that they are no longer the ones you are familiar with! They have become monsters without self-consciousness! Therefore, in the next battle, you must be ruthless...... If you are soft-hearted, you will not only harm the innocent civilians in the town, but also harm yourselves!"

The Captain's tired and stoic gaze swept across our faces one by one: "The biggest danger you face when clearing the town of zombies is the zombie beasts that are more difficult to master than zombies. When you encounter them, you must be calm, careful, and think about what the teacher usually teaches. I don't know magic, but I'm sure it will save your life. Let's fight in today's formation! Maybe the strength of each squad is uneven, but I hope you don't complain. After all, the battle is urgent, and we must act vigorously and resolutely, and we cannot afford to waste time on personnel allocation! Several squad leaders today stood up!"

I stood up silently.

"Abel Rettan. The Captain of the Guard took the roster and patted me on the shoulder, "Brave boy, you have done very well today, although you are not good at magic, but you are the best. ”

He looked at us squad leaders sternly: "Listen up, you captains! It's not me, it's the innocent people of the town who demand you--be merciless, absolutely! Kill the zombie or the infected person immediately, even if the zombie is your mother! If any of the squads are found to have spared any of the zombies, the squad leader must take full responsibility and be beheaded in public!"

We bowed our heads in fear.

"Children," the priest said, with a cross on his chest, "to take up arms to protect the weak, even the sins of killing will be forgiven by the Holy Lord." Sister Verma, help me bless these children. ”

The Sage on the stained glass is illuminated by the light of magic, watching us silently. The young and beautiful Sister Verma prayed for us with great devotion, and the light of white magic slowly enveloped us, giving us peace and firm strength.

"Let's go!" roared the Captain of the Guard.

We rushed out of the church of holy peace.

A faint twinkling star appeared in the darkened sky, and the sun must have sunk deep into the ocean floor. The dark red that remained in the west seemed to resist the erosion of the night, but finally sank little by little—

The night has come.

"Abel, I ......" was about to run to the designated inspection area, but a team member whispered, "I want to go home and have a look!"

I hesitated to my feet.

"I want to see my mother's ...... too"

"Me ...... too"

Have you lost your will to fight...... But why don't I want to go home and see how my father is doing......

"Captain, give your orders. Bivis's calm voice sobered me up.

Yes, I'm the captain, and I have to take full responsibility for the team's actions, and I can't let the team get scattered......

"Captain, I have a proposal. Bivis was the first to change his name to obey my management, and I felt that my lively and noisy brother was calm and mature at once, "If you go home, the team will be scattered." I'm good at wind magic, so can I listen to your homes and tell me that you're safe? If I hear someone's house in danger, I'll tell Ortilette to inform the patrol team in the area. ”

Otillet, who can use the "Far Talk" spell, nodded hurriedly, and the other team members didn't seem to object, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Very well, then this task will be handed over to you, Bivis. I nodded.

We rushed to the designated inspection area, and the dimly lit houses were black and dark, and the shadows like tombstones were gloomy in the mist, making people afraid to approach.

“...... Otillet, we must first pacify the civilians, and it is up to you to tell them what we are going to do. I looked at Otillet, who looked a little uneasy.

She nodded, and unleashed her magic towards the dimly lit construction area, her soft voice as a nightingale spreading: "Everyone, please note, we are a temporary zombie patrol and removal team according to the mayor's instructions! Please rest assured......"

Her voice passed through the mist into every dark corner of the chaotic labyrinth. The moaning, screaming, and crying that had been muffled between the low houses were all the more chaotic and strange like falling rocks stirring up the water, and there seemed to be cries for help and screams mixed with them, but we could not hear anything clearly, only felt creepy.

Otillette looked at me helplessly, with a look of fear and disgust.

"You have to remember that there are a lot of people out there who need help. Come on, Otillet. "I can only encourage her to continue.

“...... Zombies are monsters that cannot be cured with medicine or magic, so the only option is to destroy them, lest the scale of the disaster continue to grow, and I hope everyone can understand and cooperate!" Ortillet paused, and then raised his voice and announced.

"Very well, and I would like you to repeat it from time to time. Let's do it!" I led the charge into the narrow, dirty streets, "and we divided into two groups and searched house by house along both sides. Bivis, the two of us are also responsible for scouting and guarding, you go over there and watch out for zombies or zombie beasts roaming the streets!"

"Understood!" Bivis and the rest of the team had no objections, and the heavy work began in earnest.

Since the lockdown has been issued, the townspeople will not go out casually, we will just search from house to house.

"Excuse me......" came the sound of the door lock opening, and a haggard aunt poked her head out eagerly and looked at us hopefully.

"We're a zombie removal squad, and we're here to sweep up zombies. Otillette told her right away.

The aunt looked hesitant, she lowered her head, her gloomy and frightened gaze as if she was indulging in a nightmare.

"Those demons ......," her voice trembled with anger and fear, "hurting my child......"

I froze. There was a gasp in the ranks.

Auntie looked at us earnestly: "Please, save him!"

But, this ...... My mother, who didn't know how to treat the infected and zombies equally, asked for help from us people whose mission was to kill with tears of heartbreak!

All eyes of the players were on me...... At this time, why leave the decision to me......?

"I'm sorry, ma'am, for what happened to you and your children...... There's nothing we can do...... "It's so heavy, I can't say any more......

The mother's tears immediately flowed down like shards of the heart...... But how could I bear to tell her that we were going to put her child—

"Ma'am, perha......ps," Bivis picked up my words in a low voice, "we can't help much, but we can take your child to the church for the purification ceremony." ”

"Lives that have been mutilated by the demonic energy of zombies will live in the Garden of the Gods, the Garden of the Gods, the Tower of Prayer, under the blessing of the Holy Lord, and you may never see your children again. Otillette slowly weaves lies with her wonderful voice.

The tearful mother was in good spirits: "...... As long as he's safe......"

We followed my mother into the house and saw the pale, dying peer in the cramped room. The traces of life have faded from his body, and they have ...... There's no going back.

"Madam, be strong and live, your life will not be lonely, and the Holy Lord will always be with you and your children. "As an orphan, Bivis gloomy his eyes soothed his reluctant mother, and we helped the infected out of the house.

Otillette closed the door, unwilling to let the mother see the cruelty.

We look at our peers who are showing signs of change.

"Bivis, Otillet, thank you for your lies. I whispered, "Although...... I can't hide it for long. ”

"It's a disaster. Otilette lowered her eyelids sadly.

"For the sake of a bright future, no amount of suffering will have to endure," Bivis stared at me, "Fight for the living, cheer up, brother." ”

"Beavis...... Thank you. "I looked back at the quiet cottage and helped my mother's child to the far side of the street that she couldn't see.

"With the flame that purifies everything. I finished speaking to the members of the team who were using fire magic, and then looked at the children of my age who were in a coma in agony.

"May you find the joy of eternal life in the Pure Land of Bliss. The Lord is with you......"

Once again, I thought of Jiang Yunhe, a pen pal from Zhongzhou. Is he okay? He said that he, along with his sister and father, were always ready to fight the demons. Every adversary he encounters has the power to destroy me in an instant, right?, but I'd rather fight powerful monsters like he did than face the familiar zombie faces and infestation!

"Captain, we don't have time to procrastinate. Beavis' gaze was resolute, "We need to hurry up before more civilians are infected." The tragedy cannot be allowed to happen again. ”

"You're right. "I clench my grip on the greatsword," to the zombies who caused the tragedy...... We will not tolerate it!"

"Sorry to interrupt. Can we come in and have a look? It's great that your family is well...... Stay at home during this time, and don't go out! ”

Even if we are still students, our combat effectiveness is quite amazing compared to ordinary people, no one dares to disobey us, not to mention that we are also here to rescue and escort, so the search work is going smoothly.

After searching about twenty homes, we stood in front of a strange house.

“...... It seems to smell of death...... "My moss perception can only detect the outside of the house, but I feel faintly uneasy, so I glanced at the nervous team members, "Be careful. ”

Glancing at what looked like a bloody stain outside the door, I knocked on the door carefully: "...... Sorry to interrupt. We are—"

The beast on the door made me take a big step backwards, and there was a shivering moan from inside the door!

"Zombies!" the team members were at a loss.

The first zombie I encountered tonight!No, it shouldn't be one...... Presumably, the infected fled home in panic and locked the door, and then turned into a zombie locked house. Now we can hear the creepy sound of zombies scratching the door panels......

"It's two, no, avoid the excessive consumption of mana, don't burn the house!" I thought of my tearful mother and anguished child, and restraining my resentment. But I still stopped the panicked classmates who wanted to solve the problem with a big hit, "'They' are all here, I'll cut the door open, you can just use the flame ball...... Be careful not to miss a beat. ”

I carefully judged the position and general posture of the zombies, and swung my greatsword—

The fragile door panel was broken, and my blow should have killed one of the zombies...... I didn't dare to look at it, and immediately dodged: "Attack!"

The ball exploded inside the doorframe, and the humanoid flame shook and let out a chilling groan before falling.

I resisted the urge to vomit and squeezed out a smile to the slightly relieved teammates: "Tonight's first battle, victory-"

"There's one in the street!" Before he could catch his breath, Beavis shouted not far from the opposite side, "Be careful!

The sharp wind knife tore through the mist in the distance, and among the few dark shadows that loomed, a tall shadow fell.

"Good Bivis, you follow me and start attacking from ten meters away!" "I'll run right away, zombies are slower than us in terms of speed, as long as you are fast, you can still avoid melee combat!"

"Wind Blade!" "Spear of Light!" "Flame Ball!" Everything is difficult at first, and after participating in the elimination of the first two zombies, the brutal scene has already sharpened everyone's body and mind. This time, the team played exceptionally well, and the remaining three zombies were solved in an instant.

"Traces of battle...... The guards are in charge, right?" Bivis was trying to say about the disposal of zombie remains.

"Well, the car that handles the remains will be around every two hours," I told him, "don't worry, the dead will be laid to rest in peace." ”

"It doesn't matter what the zombies say, it's disgusting at best......" Bivis frowned, "Ah...... No, Captain, you think, if the remains of the infeved, the smell of blood and death will attract more and more zombies, right? ”

yes, if a large number of zombies are coming, we have no chance of winning......

That's when the lights of the car and the sound of the horn made us turn our heads. That's the car that transports the body.

"How's it going?" the driver rolled down the window, "...... Six. Not yet, we have to work harder!"

The two men in charge of transporting the bodies got out of the car, and the stench of the truck's tail hatch opening almost stunned us.

I told the driver about Bivas's concern, and the driver immediately nodded: "I was about to tell you...... You have to hold back the nausea. When we're gone, you'll find a little square or something...... In short, if it is an open space with a house or something as cover, put the body in the open space and wait for us to transport it for burial, if it attracts zombies, hide behind the cover and attack them, so that it is efficient and safer. ”

"Ah, thanks for the guidance!" I was overjoyed, this was the best tactic for our mages who weren't good at melee combat!

And then do it. Bivis and his team continued to search from house to house and sent strong men to bring the bodies to the street square, while our group hid not far away to ambush the zombies.

There were more zombies than I had imagined, and after we piled the bodies of the poor infected there with a heavy heart, we were able to attract a steady stream of zombies......

Originally, I should have carried the body in terms of strength, but after all, I am good at magic detection, so I have no long-range attack means and I am lying on the side of the street waiting for zombies.

“...... What time is it?" I asked after eliminating a new round of about ten zombies.

"Don't look at the captain, it's only been more than two hours since we came out on a mission. One of the team members looked intently at the gloomy street.

"But if we continue to fight like this, we can take care of a lot of zombies. The other team member smiled stiffly, "If the whole town is cleared like this, the zombies will be wiped out soon, right?"

"Yes, it will!" I nodded.

In that case, our lives will soon return to normal...... As long as my family is well, it's okay if I want to learn magic and go to Middle-earth to fight monsters!

"Here we go again!"

"Bodies are being brought in over there! Be careful not to accidentally get hurt - hey! Beware of danger! Zombies are coming down the street on your left!"

“...... Spear of Light!"

There is no danger. It would be nice to keep the situation going. No more casualties, just so until victory......

I glanced up at the darkness-ruled night sky, where there were faint bright spots from time to time, zombie beasts from outside the island crashing against the magical barrier.

When I looked back, the two strong team members were struggling to carry the body on a stretcher, and when it arrived, they had to move the remains of the zombie aside, which was really hard. And we nervously guarded them.

The stench of zombie wreckage had attracted a large number of flies, and now the buzzing insect chirped faintly, probably some flies flying around them. I'm worried about whether these flies will be infected, and if there are zombie beasts, will there be zombie bugs...... A swarm of insects carrying a deadly virus is clearly more terrifying than humanoid zombies.

“...... Ahh

"What's wrong?" we shouted.

Ah, I see the foul-smelling rotten rat on his foot!

I thought it was just a canine or something, so I didn't watch out for that!

The other transporter hurriedly kicked the zombie rat away and hurriedly refilled it with a Wind Blade.

"Are you alright?" we all hurriedly asked the attacker and ran over, "Calm down, it's okay with such a thick fabric—"

He stared blankly at my ankle.

Bloody......

I and the other team member just stood there, watching him pull open his pants, where small tooth marks marked the fatal wound in red.

It's my negligence, it's my fault...... I was so bewildered by the dead aura of the zombie corpse that I couldn't detect the faint magical aura of the zombie beast!

I looked up wordlessly, only to meet his eyes in a mixture of shock and horror.

“...... What should I do?" he asked dryly, a whimper bursting out of his throat, "Are you going to kill me!"

The red light of the flame ball swelled in front of my eyes, and I scrambled to dodge, the blazing flames exploding around me with a stinging light that pierced my eyes and heart.

"No! we-" I shouted subconsciously, but I had to stop—

I can't make a commitment, I don't have the authority to let him go......

I......

He fell to his knees suddenly, his wailing cries tearing through the thin mist.

I had never heard such heart-rending cries, such despair and pain, such helplessness and desolation, in the darkness, in the midst of the terrible cries of fear, sorrow, and pain, so bitter that I wanted to tear everything apart......

"I understand...... "Don't forget me...... May the fortunes of war be with you...... Holy God bless!"

The humanoid flames burned my eyes with a dazzling light, and we wept uncontrollably.

In the trembling vision, the flames danced upwards with all their might. The bright light seemed determined to dispel the darkness, tearing at the darkness-dominated space with its faint flames.

There was a burning pain in my arm, and it was a little spark splashing on my arm......

I want to cry as much as I want...... He was fighting alongside us just now!

("But if we continue to fight like this, we can take out a lot of zombies...... If the whole town is cleared like this, the zombies will be wiped out soon, right?"

"yes, it will definitely be ......")

Until just now, we were still expecting, imagining that this was just a nightmare, thinking that there would be no scars left when we woke up from the dream, that this would definitely end a happy story for everyone, that the righteous side would always win smoothly-

As long as you hold on to victory, you can forget all the pain...... Yes, it will always be like this - I thought...... I just thought it was ......

How long will it be before I see you, O light of dawn, and when the morning light shines, will everything that makes us fear and sorrow evaporate like vapor?

I looked up at the sky, and the bright spots that shimmered with the bombardment barrier seemed to be getting denser and denser.

Boundless darkness, and ominous light that heralds disaster...... Tears slid down, but it was even more uncomfortable to be cold—

Or will everything that makes people feel terrible and sad gradually evaporate like water vapor, and then gather and turn into a torrential rain that cannot be avoided, and then pour down?

Residual pain in his arm.

Perhaps, this pain will remain forever, so that people will remember for the rest of their lives, such long dark nights, such heartbroken eyes, such terrible cries, such heart-piercing pain......

Panic for help, desperation kills...... It must be like this, the pain that invades the bone marrow and heart, this is the pain that the long night leaves for the living, and the long night leaves the wounds of the living to live forever......

—

Preview: All beings tremble and sway on the staggered line of doom. And where did the Demon King, who had the Divine Power of the Mandate of Heaven, want them to go? Behold, the prey of the Demon King collided with each other in the flames of fierce battle! Did she want them to go to the center of the net and assemble to give her a gluttonous feast?

Next chapter: The Gathering of Suffering.