Temporary Safety, Evil God

Upward Flick!

Whoosh! Parr had just drawn his sword and cut down a Walking Corpse when a loud bang suddenly came from the warehouse's wooden door.

Bang! "Hold it!"

Old Man Jack and the others, who had relaxed somewhat as the number of Walking Corpses dwindled, hurriedly braced their feet and desperately held against the wooden door struck by tremendous force.

Bang! Another loud crash rang out. This time, Parr saw clearly—it was the Black Robe Walking Corpses that had appeared at the beginning and then busied themselves eating people. Their faces were expressionless, their bodies covered in blood, and even their black robes had been soaked through.

Unlike the ordinary Walking Corpses transformed from Haystack Village residents, who only knew how to swarm the warehouse door, the Black Robe Walking Corpses would retreat several steps after charging into it, gather strength, then charge again.

With ordinary Walking Corpses blocking the way, the Black Robe Walking Corpses crashed into them instead. The force of the charge passed through the ordinary Walking Corpses and reached the warehouse door. Though weakened along the way, the people inside could still feel its terrifying power.

The ordinary Walking Corpses caught in the middle suffered miserably. Their bones shattered and tendons snapped under the Black Robe Walking Corpses' impacts, but it did not matter. Walking Corpses did not fear pain. They only followed orders, continuing to swarm before the warehouse door.

"Damn it!"

Sensing that these impacts were different, Old Man Jack gritted his teeth and asked, "Parr, what's happening outside?"

"The Black Robe Walking Corpses are here. They're crashing into the Walking Corpses in front of the door," Parr replied as he adjusted his breathing.

"Damn it!"

Bang! Old Man Jack's curse and the crashing sound rang out at the same time. While continuing to hold the door without yielding an inch alongside the others, he shouted, "Parr, quickly clear out the ordinary Walking Corpses in front of the door! Those Black Robe Walking Corpses are Apprentice-level Walking Corpses. The heretics won't want to see them suffer losses, so as long as you clear out the ordinary Walking Corpses and we close the door and hold out until daylight, we'll be safe."

"Mm."

Parr nodded. Having steadied his breathing, he stepped forward and drew his sword once more.

Upward Flick!

Whoosh! Another Walking Corpse died beneath Parr's sword.

What followed was a repeat of the previous steps. In the end, just as Old Man Jack had said, once Parr had killed all the ordinary Walking Corpses, the Black Robe Walking Corpses neatly retreated several steps and stopped charging.

Huff... Huff... With his Stamina depleted once more, Parr panted heavily as he opened the Status Panel and took a look.

Stamina: 2/50 Mental Power: 2/10 HP: 100/100 Life Energy Points: 41 Mental Energy Points: 31

After recovering his Stamina, Parr had killed a total of twenty Walking Corpses. During this process, his Stamina had run out once. He first spent 1 Mental Energy Point to fully restore his Mental Power, then used the Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique to convert 8 Mental Power into 40 Stamina. Only then had he managed to hold on and kill the last ordinary Walking Corpse.

Parr did not dare use all his Mental Power at once. He did not even dare let it drop to one point, because he felt that if he did, he would likely pass out on the spot. Two points of Mental Power was the minimum he had to keep.

Likewise, two points of Stamina was also the minimum. Parr had not forgotten that when he had only one point of Stamina earlier, even moving had been difficult! As for why he did not use Life Energy Points to replenish his Stamina?

Because the Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique existed, Parr only needed 1 Mental Energy Point to fully replenish his Stamina through conversion. If he used Life Energy Points, it would take 5 Life Energy Points. Which one was more cost-effective was obvious at a glance.

"Parr, how is it?"

Old Man Jack, still bracing the door and not daring to relax, asked. The others also looked at Parr, their eyes full of anticipation. They could no longer feel any impacts against the door, which meant...

"I've killed all the ordinary Walking Corpses."

Having spent another 1 Mental Energy Point to fully restore his Mental Power, Parr spoke the words everyone had been hoping to hear while adjusting his breathing.

Huff...

A unified sigh of relief sounded. Several of those holding the door even collapsed to the ground. Just now, they had only been holding on through their refusal to die. Now that the ordinary Walking Corpses were gone, the moment they relaxed, they felt utterly drained and could not even climb back up.

Only Old Man Jack and the bald, burly Achilles were doing somewhat better. One was Haystack Village's strongest man, while the other was the captain of Haystack Village's hunting team. Their performance was hardly surprising. Even so, Achilles had reached his limit. Leaning against the warehouse door, he panted heavily, nearly out of strength as well.

Only Old Man Jack still had some strength left. He was also rational enough to know that the most important thing now was to close the warehouse door and hold out until daylight. Walking Corpses were weakened enormously during the day.

Huff... Huff... Supporting the door with one arm, Old Man Jack took several deep breaths. He glanced at the Walking Corpse bodies blocking the doorway and preventing the door from closing, then turned to Parr, who was using the Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique.

"Parr, do you still have the strength?"

"I do."

Having restored his Stamina to 42 points again, Parr nodded while enduring the dizziness in his head. To someone who had endured countless all-nighters, this little dizziness was nothing.

"Good. Go move the corpses blocking the door. Be careful. Watch out for sneak attacks from those Black Robe Walking Corpses."

Old Man Jack only had one arm and was not agile enough, so he gave Parr the task of moving the corpses. As soon as the bodies blocking the door were gone, he would immediately shut the warehouse door tight.

"Mm."

Parr nodded again, endured the nausea, and stepped forward to move the corpses that had been crushed out of shape from blocking the entrance.

"Roar..."

At that moment, a Black Robe Walking Corpse in the distance suddenly let out a roar and charged over.

"I was waiting for you!"

Parr had not let down his guard. He had taken Old Man Jack's warning to heart, and his right hand had been gripping the sword hilt the entire time. When the Black Robe Walking Corpse rushed over, he used Upward Flick.

Bang! However, Parr's attack did not kill it in one strike as before. Instead, it made a sound like striking hardened leather. The black robe was cut open, and the Black Robe Walking Corpse, now bearing a large gash on its chin, staggered back several steps. Rather than advancing again, it retreated.

It seemed Old Man Jack had been right. The heretic behind these Black Robe Walking Corpses, who had yet to reveal himself, was unwilling to waste them here.

"Couldn't break its defense? No! My attack power isn't high enough!"

Taking two steps back, Parr frowned at the Black Short Sword in his hand. He could feel that this Black Short Sword was fully capable of breaking through a Black Robe Walking Corpse's defenses, but he did not have enough strength. Even with the Skill's boost, it was still not enough—just a little short. In the end, he had only left a wound on the Black Robe Walking Corpse.

Huff... Seeing that Parr was unharmed, Old Man Jack breathed a sigh of relief and released the One-Handed Sword he had been gripping near his feet. Then he loudly reminded him, "Move the corpses, quickly."

"Oh!"

Parr came back to his senses. Keeping one eye on the distant Black Robe Walking Corpses, he endured the nausea in his heart and moved away the bodies blocking the door. The process went smoothly. The Black Robe Walking Corpses did not attempt to charge again, and as soon as Parr finished moving the corpses, Old Man Jack immediately shut the warehouse door.

Creak—bang!

Once the wooden door was closed, Haystack Village Grain Warehouse instantly fell silent. Only people's panting and quiet sobs remained. No one was in the mood to speak. They were all immersed in grief and fear.

"Old Man Jack, what are Walking Corpses? And what are heretics?"

Parr walked over to Old Man Jack, who was sitting against the warehouse door, and sat down cross-legged before him. He asked the question that had been lingering in his mind ever since he had crossed over.

Parr's memories contained no such terms as Walking Corpses or heretics.

Old Man Jack shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable, then explained to his adopted son as he thought. "Heretics are followers of the Evil Gods. They are the continent's cancer, a bunch of lunatics who dream of reviving the Evil Gods. Walking Corpses are one method used by Death Heretics. They use forbidden death magic to revive corpses for their own use. Revived Walking Corpses hate living creatures and love nothing more than eating living people raw."

"..."

There was a lot to process in Old Man Jack's words. Parr lowered his head and poked the ground with the Black Short Sword for quite a while before coming back to his senses. Then he continued asking, "There's more than one Evil God?"

"Mm."

Old Man Jack nodded, his voice somewhat heavy. "There are many Evil Gods. You could put it this way: any being that calls itself a god is an Evil God. But they have all been sealed away, so only heretics are active on the continent."

"If that's the case, why have I never heard of them before?" Parr closed his eyes and quickly searched through his memories, but he still could not find the term heretic. His confusion only deepened.

"Because of the Church."

Old Man Jack explained.

"Parr, do you remember? That white building with the pointed roof in Straw Stack Town. When you were sick before, I took you there twice. That was the Church. Not only do they heal the sick and save people, they have also been hunting heretics all this time. That is why we have been able to live peaceful lives. But this time..."

Sigh... At the end, Old Man Jack shook his head and let out a long sigh. He said no more, closing his eyes to adjust his breathing and seize the time to use the Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique to recover his Stamina. He had taught this Skill to Parr, so naturally he knew it as well.

"Church..."

Parr still wanted to ask something, but when he saw the exhausted expression on Old Man Jack's face, he swallowed the words that were about to leave his mouth. He asked no more and lowered his head, closing his eyes to rest. In truth, he opened the Status Panel and fixed his gaze on his realm.

Ding. Raising your realm to Elementary Knight Apprentice requires 50 Life Energy Points.

"Elementary Knight Apprentice."

The transmigrator searched through Parr's memories and found some information about Elementary Knight Apprentices. They were somewhat stronger than ordinary people, a realm above weaklings. In all of Haystack Village, only Old Man Jack and Achilles, the hunting team captain, had reached it.

After that came Intermediate Knight Apprentice, Advanced Knight Apprentice, and Peak Knight Apprentice. Beyond those was an entirely new realm.