The old city walls in Thornwick glistened with a cold, bluish-black sheen in the dusk. In the gaps between the bricks, traces of rusted arrowheads from a century ago still remained.
As Matthias stepped onto the battlements, the soles of his boots crunched over the frozen blood crust. Fresh blood dripped from the saber on his waist, and each drop froze the instant it touched the ground.
“Get those oil barrels up here now!” he bellowed. His face was hardened with fury as he commanded, “Gunners, hold your fire until those beasts are within a hundred yards.”
Below the city walls, the zombie horde surged like a rising black tide. In the dim twilight, pale gray arms flailed and clawed at the stone.
The front ranks clawed at the walls with bare, worn-down nails. Bits of stone and mortar flaked away and scattered across the ground.
A few of the larger ones were climbing over the bodies piled beneath them. Their rotting feet slipped on the ice, scraping against the stone with a sickening sound.
“Mommy, I’m scared!”
A child’s terrified cry echoed from within the walls.
More than 30 civilians-most of them elderly or children-were being held back in the courtyard by soldiers, unable to get out.
One middle-aged woman pressed her hand tightly over her child’s mouth, though muffled whimpers still escaped through her fingers.
These were civilians who hadn’t managed to evacuate in time. Now they were trapped in this cramped space, surrounded by zombies.
Matthias glanced back at the restless crowd and shot them a cold glare.
“Anyone who dares make noise again will be thrown down to feed the zombies,” he growled.
Before he’d finished speaking, a cry of alarm rang out from the western battlements.
A zombie with half its leg torn off had managed to climb up using the pile of corpses as a ladder. Its skeletal claws grabbed a young soldier’s ankle. The soldier screamed as he fell, teeth tearing through his shin, revealing bones.
Matthias’s saber whistled through the air, severing the soldier’s leg clean at the knee. Blood splattered across his face, but he didn’t even blink.
The soldier immediately let out an agonizing scream, causing the zombies below the wall even more agitated.
“Get him medical attention now,” Matthias ordered. “If he shows any signs of turning into a zombie, burn him alive.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
His two personal guards immediately dragged the wounded soldier away.
Everyone knew that anyone bitten or scratched by a zombie could become infected with the zombie virus and turn into one of them.
Matthias’ swift, brutal stroke had cost the soldier his leg, but it might have saved his life.
“Stay sharp, everyone! If you’re bitten, do the right thing and end it yourself,” he reminded them, sweeping his gaze around with the bloodied saber still in hand.
At those words, the soldiers turned pale. Their hands trembled around their weapons, but no one said a word. The image of that wounded soldier was burned into everyone’s mind.
Just then, several able-bodied civilians pushed past the soldiers and rushed onto the battlements. Leading them was a broad -shouldered man with a hoe slung over one shoulder, his muscles drawn tight beneath a rough linen shirt.
“Your Highness, let us lend a hand,” he said.
Matthias frowned and was about to snap at them when he saw the man swing his hoe and accurately smash the skull of a zombie that was climbing the wall.
Dark brown fluid splattered all over him, but he showed no fear. He grabbed his hoe again and pushed the zombie off the wall.
More civilians rushed inside the city wall.
Some carried stones, while others passed along Molotov cocktails. An elderly woman even fumbled her way to the oil barrels to add kindling. The defensive force on the walls grew stronger instantly, but it also created new dangers.
A woman carrying an infant, startled by the zombies, stumbled backward and knocked over an oil barrel. The thick oil flowed through the cracks between the stone, dripping onto the pile of corpses below.
A stray spark fell somewhere, and flames shot up ten feet high. The wall of fire temporarily held back the zombie assault, but it also made a section of the western wall scalding hot, forcing the defenders to temporarily retreat.
“Fill the gap!” Matthias roared as he cut down a zombie that had climbed the wall in the chaos. His saber was caught in the creature’s ribs. In that moment of delay, another zombie lunged at him, aiming for his neck.
“Your Highness!”
Neville reacted instantly, becoming a blur as he rushed forward to block Matthias. With one stroke, he decapitated the zombie, but the creature’s claws raked across his arm, leaving deep scratches.
As the zombie virus spread rapidly, he gritted his teeth. Without hesitation, he drew his dagger and severed his own infected left arm.
“Neville!” Matthias’s face went white with shock. He hadn’t expected his most trusted lieutenant to sacrifice his own limb to protect him.
“Your Highness, don’t worry about me.
Keep killing those monsters.”
Neville used his internal energy to seal his pressure points and stop the bleeding. In such a situation, there was no time for distractions. One moment’s carelessness could mean death or worse, even for a grandmaster martial artist.
The flames below the wall gradually died down, revealing charred corpses and even more zombies surging forward. The section of wall that had been burned now showed signs of cracking.
Several particularly strong zombies were ramming it with their heads, the sound of loosening bricks like the beat of a countdown drum.
With a thunderous crash, the southwestern corner of the wall collapsed. The black tide of zombies instantly poured through the breach.
More than ten soldiers who bore the brunt of the assault didn’t even have time to scream before they were swallowed by the horde.
“We’re doomed…”
A soldier collapsed onto the stones, his weapon clattering to the ground. Matthias gritted his teeth. He tore strips from his battle robe to bandage wounds and prepare to organize a counterattack.
Just then, the sky suddenly split open with a golden crack. From the blinding light, a white figure streaked down like a meteor. He crashed with tremendous force into the densest cluster of zombies at the breach.
