A dead end! The Empire's strongest defensive line was unmanned

"Killing Corpse Ghouls isn't that hard." Field's confidence soared, and he casually flicked the foul blood from his sword.

"My lord, look out!"

Another Corpse Ghoul, with only half its body left, crawled over during the opening and lunged to bite Field's ankle. At the crucial moment, Ashina snatched a manure fork from a wooden cart and drove it hard into the ghoul's back, pinning it to the ground.

"Whew! Well done!"

Field broke into a cold sweat and stumbled several steps back, his heart hammering. That had been far too close!

Although the Church's clergy could cure corpse venom, the price was exorbitant. Without a hundred gold coins, there was no hope of treatment.

Barely recovering from his pounding heartbeat, Field let out a long breath and rubbed Ashina's head. "As thanks for saving my life, I'll reward you with a gold coin, Ashina!"

Ashina was overjoyed, her eyes practically sparkling with gold. She had never seen so much money in her life. "Huh? Really? But I was only doing what I should."

Corpse Ghouls were unlike the zombies in horror movies. Simply driving a weapon into their bodies would injure them.

More Corpse Ghouls surged forward, clawing wildly at the barricade formed by the wooden carts.

But the slaves behind the caravan saw that the Corpse Ghouls were not particularly strong and could not attack them through the carts. Besides, their lord and even that frail girl dared to fight back. Many of the men picked up farming tools and began striking at the zombies outside the cart formation.

Field did not hesitate either. He raised his sword and kept killing.

Blood splashed again and again as scores of Corpse Ghouls fell beneath the farming tools and Field's longsword.

"Aah!"

At the same time, a scream rang out. As one of Connor's cavalrymen charged through the enemy ranks, a Corpse Ghoul dressed as a village woman grabbed his cloak. With a savage yank, it pulled him backward, his legs flailing.

Crack!

The sudden fall slammed the back of the cavalryman's head into the ground, and the unfortunate man went still at once.

Connor swore furiously. "Fuck! Useless!"

What angered him even more was that Field had not been scared shitless. Instead, he was calmly directing the slaves.

"Cut the head off every corpse, then pile them together and burn them here." Field had crammed in everything he could learn about corruption during the journey. The bodies of these corrupted humans posed a serious threat to the environment after death. Left alone, they would soon become new sources of contamination. Field frowned, gazing uncertainly at the Gray Fog that stretched to the distant horizon. "We haven't even reached Nightfall Territory, and we've already run into so many zombies. This really isn't a good sign."

His family disliked him and wanted to exile him, but driving him into a pile of corpses was far too cruel.

"Thank you for your help, my lord."

The fleeing refugees looked as though they had found their own fathers. They shuffled forward on their knees, then prostrated themselves before Field and kissed his boots.

"May the God of War light your path!"

Field accepted their gratitude without hesitation. Looking over the refugees, who were as bedraggled as beggars, he asked, "Where are you from? Why are there so many Corpse Ghouls? Shouldn't those Corrupted Creatures be held back by the towering walls of Ka Mountain Fortress?"

"It was the death miasma! That Gray Fog from the Northern Frontier seeped through the fortress walls and engulfed our Oak Village. It was nighttime, so most people in the village were corrupted by the Gray Fog in their sleep and became Corpse Ghouls. We were the only ones who escaped." The villager was terrified. As though recalling something utterly horrifying, he shook like a leaf.

The Gray Fog, also known as death miasma, was said to be the source of corruption. It mingled with the air, and once inhaled by animals or plants, it rapidly killed its hosts and transformed them into corrupted monsters.

Only those who possessed a lord's abilities or were Chosen Ones were immune.

The other option was to buy the Church's Atonement Lamps, which could dispel the Gray Fog. Naturally, they were expensive. Field had spent fifty gold coins to buy just two, and even that had only been possible because he was a noble.

Field listened quietly to their account, then frowned. "Where is your lord? As far as I know, every border fortress has a Chosen One stationed there. The Gray Fog shouldn't be able to seep in."

"The baron and the Chosen One went to investigate traces of the Evil Cult. Only the baron's son is in the castle."

"Let's go meet the master of this place." Once everyone had finished regrouping, Field mounted his horse.

To reach Nightfall Territory, he needed permission to pass from the local baron.

When they arrived at Ka Mountain Fortress, Field was awestruck by the imposing stronghold. Unbroken stone walls and round towers joined with the mountains to form a sturdy, towering defensive system. The walls were wide enough to ride horses along, and ballistae, catapults, cauldrons of oil, and braziers stood everywhere. With defenses like these, even an army of a hundred thousand could do nothing but batter itself bloody against them. Griffin Banners snapped in the wind everywhere, proclaiming the majesty of the ancient empire.

But the biggest problem was this.

"Where is everyone?"

Field was dumbfounded. Not a single person stood along the entire outer wall. As far as he could see, it was utterly bare.

Connor was badly frightened too, his face deathly pale. "Could the Orcs have launched a surprise attack? If the Orcs breach Ka Mountain Fortress, the entire province will fall in an instant."

"Probably not. It wouldn't be this quiet."

Fortunately, after advancing some distance, Field spotted burning torches on the fortress's inner walls.

"Stay back! Who are you?" someone shouted from the wall. In the torchlight, heads crowded together, showing that the castle had plenty of troops.

Why the hell did they suddenly abandon such a vital outer defensive position? Field wondered.

"I am Baron Field of the Ross Family, traveling to Nightfall Territory to take up my post. Please open the gates of Ka Mountain Fortress and let us through."

The officer who had called out looked troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he summoned a young man, who was none other than Baron Bull's son.

"No! Until my father returns, no one is tricking us into opening the castle gates! Leave, or we'll shoot!"

Hearing the adamant reply from the wall, Field's mouth twitched. Guessing that the young man had been scared out of his wits by the Corpse Ghouls, he called out at once, "It's me, Field! I even donated money here, remember? I'm not your enemy."

"So you gave us a few lousy coins? The entire empire has to send money to the border. Who the fuck do you think you are, expecting me to remember you? You filthy outsider, coming to Bull Territory to make a fool of yourself."

"Unbelievable. There really aren't many decent nobles." Field nearly ground his teeth to pieces. The original owner's final act of kindness had amounted to throwing money down the drain. If Field had possessed any soldiers, he would have wanted to storm the castle immediately. Still, he patiently said, "These villagers are people I rescued along the way. You..."

Before Field could finish, another torrent of abuse rang out.

"Damn you! Do you think I have too much food in my castle? Who told you to save those stupid things? You meddling bastard, take one step closer with them and I'll order the archers to fire!"