Everyone watching the scene before them felt their hair stand on end. This was a terrifying disaster that only existed in stories. They never expected to experience it firsthand.
“Ordinary zombies. Looks like the enemy’s first wave is playing it safe.” Samimi stood behind the wall. Even without climbing up to look, she knew exactly what was happening outside.
“Miss Nun! It’s exactly as you said! Zombies are attacking! What should we do?” A Judgment Knight Captain ran over, urgently asking.
“Send orders: everyone hold your ground and do not advance. Zombies move quickly on flat ground. Even elite knights surrounded on flat land will surely die. But their decayed bodies lack coordination, so they climb walls very slowly. That’s the best time to strike. Also, the zombies’ weak spot is their heads. Cutting off limbs or stabbing the heart won’t work,” Samimi calmly issued her commands.
“Understood. I’ll spread the word immediately. Thank you, Sister.”
The Judgment Knight Captain hesitated not a moment and decisively relayed the instructions to every knight on how to handle the zombies.
“…”
Samimi nodded and continued sitting beside the brazier, her mind racing.
For the powerful vanguard force, these zombies were just child’s play. The truly terrifying beings that posed real danger were still to come.
The Church knights and Kingdom knights fought shoulder to shoulder, guarding the entire length of the wall’s defense line.
Whenever zombies approached and tried to climb down the wall, sharp blades stabbed downward through their skulls.
Just as the Demon-Hunting Nun had said, zombies were as fast as lizards on flat ground, but crawling up walls was like watching snails. They looked frightening but their combat effectiveness was average—except for their overwhelming numbers, there was nothing to fear.
The experts in the vanguard hadn’t yet made a move, still observing and conserving energy.
The Azure Moon Rampaging Dragon, Papal Left Hand, two mysterious archers, Qiqido, and Niubao were all just guarding behind.
“Huh? Niubao, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be with Captain Floro defending elsewhere?” Samimi asked in surprise.
She suddenly noticed Niubao had been guarding behind her the whole time, despite her earlier order for Niubao to fight alongside Captain Floro after nightfall.
“I want to protect Sister,” Niubao said, pretending to look at the scenery, defiantly refusing orders and showing stubborn determination.
“You… sigh, never mind.” Samimi gave up trying to persuade him, knowing Niubao wouldn’t listen.
The stubborn Niubao didn’t care about saving the human race. It was too complicated; Niubao only understood protecting family.
“Sigh, I’ll go myself.” Samimi had no choice but to climb onto the wall to join the defense. Naturally, Niubao would follow and fight zombies alongside her.
Niubao had fought alongside her in several battles, but those were against humans—knights or mages—and Niubao held back, never striking hard, always restraining.
It was time to let Niubao face the real enemy: the Evil Demons.
The so-called Evil Demons were not a specific type of monster but referred to all non-human creatures hostile to the human race. Usually, only the scarier monsters qualified as Evil Demons; appearance mattered more than strength.
The good thing about fighting Evil Demons was that no mercy was needed. The more hatred you felt, the fiercer you could be.
Watching everyone stab blades through zombie skulls made Samimi itch to join in, but for now, there was no chance for her and Niubao to make a move.
The Church knights and elite Kingdom knights were all superhumans in terms of endurance. Guarding the walls and slaying zombies was too easy for them.
“…”
Samimi looked back.
On top of the watchtower behind the wall was a brazier lighting the night. Two fully cloaked archers stood ready.
They had a far-reaching view but had yet to shoot, since using arrows on ordinary zombies was a waste.
If a large monster appeared, their arrows would strike first, warning everyone immediately.
Meanwhile, scout Karl was temporarily assigned by Samimi to the watchtower to observe and sound the alarm, while helping the two archers by adding wood to keep the brazier burning bright.
But that was only the official task. There was also a secret mission: to investigate the identities of these two mysterious archers, especially the S-rank archer.
As for the junior archer, Samimi was almost certain of her identity.
Did she think her hood and cloak could fool the sharp-eyed Mage Millipede?
Samimi just hadn’t pointed it out, pretending not to see.
Keep pretending a little longer. When you can’t keep it up anymore, only you will be embarrassed. I don’t lose anything.
Zero hour has arrived! Resurgence of Horror!
“Uuuu~ uuuu~ uuuu~”
More and more zombies emerged from the Twisted Forest, their bodies more mutilated, twisted, and bloody, but moving with even greater speed, rushing toward the walls.
The pressure on the vanguard defense suddenly surged. More than ten human knights had to hold off over ten times their number. Their swords swung until their arms ached. They lost count of how many skulls they’d shattered. Their blades were slick with blood, starting to slip.
The situation was becoming dangerous. The walls shook from the relentless headbutts of countless reckless zombies.
This drastically raised the knights’ psychological pressure.
Because if the wall was breached, everyone was finished. The reason they had held so long wasn’t their skill, but the wall’s strength.
“Everyone, don’t panic. If anyone feels suffocated or nauseous, shout for me. I’ll give you a Clear Mind Technique.”
Samimi began patrolling along the wall, comforting one after another.
At the same time, she activated a group-wide calming aura, Still Water.
Wherever she went, it restored everyone’s sanity.
“If you get bitten, don’t be afraid. But you must come to me for an antidote within five minutes! Otherwise, you’ll turn into zombies! This is very important! Remember it!”
Not just the calming aura, but her words also comforted everyone greatly. Having a Demon-Hunting Nun around brought a strong sense of security.
Samimi was acting like a wartime political commissar—constantly keeping everyone’s fighting spirit high and eliminating any distractions or worries, so they could focus fully on battle. Otherwise, their strikes would slow.
The human body could push past limits. The worst was lying down for a few days afterward. As long as they survived, that was enough.
But the human mind wasn’t so resilient. It could easily break and was hard to repair.
This was what people commonly called SAN value (sanity). If it dropped to zero, one became a useless wreck or, worse, a madman who endangered comrades.
Samimi would never allow that to happen.
“The Goddess watches over us! Our faith is unbreakable!”
With me, the Demon-Hunting Nun, aiding and supervising, no one’s spirit will break.
Especially the Church knights—they were pumped full of adrenaline, swinging swords so fast all you saw were afterimages.