"Dad, Mom, you are in the embrace of the stars, please protect me. I must find food, I must keep my sisters alive..."
Thinking to himself, the boy's eyes blazed with hatred.
All these disasters were absolutely caused by the Anzhi people. Every Alania people firmly believes that it was the Anzhi people who destroyed the Alania people kingdom and unleashed the terrible plague and Undead Frenzy. It must be their doing, trying to wipe out the Alania Resistance Army and destroy the Alania people will in this cursed way... The Alania people will never yield to these Anzhi scum.
The boy had some martial arts background. Although he wasn't a Dou Qi arts aura fighter, his movements were extremely agile, darting through the grass like a nimble cat. He remained highly vigilant as he approached the edge of the forest.
To find food, one should go to towns, but young Leo did the opposite, heading to the edge of a sparsely populated forest. He knew that, under the corruption of the Undead Frenzy, most of the town's residents had turned into zombies, and the more populated a place was, the denser the zombies would be, and the more dangerous it would be.
While there are mutated magical beasts in the forest, their numbers are relatively small in the border areas. Moreover, not all wild animals have mutated; there are some gentle small beasts on the edge of the forest. If you are lucky enough to catch one or two, they can serve as a food source for you and your sister for a day or two.
He cautiously approached the edge of the forest, carefully observing his surroundings.
Five hundred meters away, four humanoid zombies were wandering around. Judging from their clothing, they were probably hunters in life, returning from hunting in the forest. Before they could even get home, they were attacked by mutated creatures or infected by evil forces and turned into zombies.
"Most hunters are physically stronger than the average person, making them less susceptible to infection. These individuals were likely injured during a hunt, which is why they were unlucky enough to be invaded by evil forces and turned into zombies."
Having survived in this terrifying environment for several months, young Leo began to understand the ' Undead Frenzy '. He learned that compared to ordinary people with average physiques, those martial artists with strong physiques were more likely to survive the invasion of evil forces. Of course, no matter how good one's physique was, once harmed by mutated creatures or zombies, there was no hope of survival.
Leo glanced enviously at the knives hanging on the hunter zombies, but ultimately restrained himself from taking them. Although weapons would greatly increase his and his sisters' chances of survival, in his current state of hunger and weakness, he was no match for those hunter zombies.
However, as long as the distance is far enough, more than 100 meters, they will not attract their attention.
Leo carefully observed his surroundings for a while, selected a few animal trails, and then began to set up some small traps. In the previous few months, his father had brought him here to hunt, and he had used the same method to catch some plump groundhogs and rabbits, so he was quite skilled at setting them up.
With everything arranged, the long wait began.
This was the only thing he could do.
Without traps, he wouldn't be able to catch any food in his current state.
Unfortunately, Leo's luck seemed to be running out. He waited quietly under the scorching sun for two or three hours without any luck. He licked his dry, cracked lips, touched the deerskin water pouch at his waist, and decided to go fetch water. He had to return to his hiding place before Sun, because at night, these mutated creatures and undead zombies would become unusually restless and active.
They continued to crouch low, moving forward cautiously.
The river's water source had been polluted and was therefore undrinkable, so they could only look for springs. Leo knew of a well-hidden spring nearby with good water quality, and he and his sister had survived these past few days thanks to it.
The round trip took more than forty minutes.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any mutated creatures or undead zombies along the way.
But when he returned to the vicinity of the traps, Leo's heart sank, because none of the traps he had set had caught any prey.
" The Sun will set in less than an hour. If we can't find food before Sun..." Leo felt a surge of anxiety as he thought of his two young sisters, who were waiting for him in the dark cave, filled with fear and hunger. He knew he couldn't wait any longer.
"We need to get a little closer to the edge of the forest; there's more prey there."
Ignoring the danger, Leo decided to take the risk; otherwise, his two hungry sisters might not survive until the next day.
He dismantled the materials for setting the trap, tied them to his waist, and cautiously continued to approach the edge of the forest. Less than two kilometers ahead were some sparse groves of trees, which was the outer edge of the Border Forest. About ten kilometers further in, the trees became more and more lush, which was the real Border Forest.
It is said that this forest has been completely overrun by the aura of the dead. Although some strange phenomena have been observed in the forest in the past day or two, with some claiming to have sensed the presence of the God of Light, Alania has already begun to place her trust in the Holy Church and the God of Light, because in this catastrophe, even the priests of the Holy Church have turned into zombies.
When Leo was less than two hundred meters from the woods, he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
A whooshing sound came from the side, and a dark figure suddenly leaped up, carrying a pungent stench, and pounced on Leo.
"A mutated demonic wolf? This is the outer edge of the forest, how could such a creature appear here?"
Leo was just an ordinary fifteen-year-old boy. He had never encountered such a scene before. Logically speaking, a third-tier demonic wolf should be a magical beast from the depths of the forest and should not be here. He subconsciously turned his head and, in a terrified glance, vaguely saw the mutated black demonic wolf's giant hammer dripping with black saliva, and its sharp white claws and teeth gleaming coldly in the sunlight. The poor boy felt his legs go weak and instinctively dodged, feeling a burning sensation on his back.
The boy's heart sank.
He knew he was finished.
Even Dou Qi artists with fighting spirit would be attacked by the power of the dead and turned into zombies if they were scratched by these mutated creatures. He felt the pain in his back and knew that he must have been injured at that moment.
The howl of the mutated wolf came from behind him again, and he could feel the warm, fishy smell coming from its gaping maw. The boy's body was already stiff and unable to move, but in that instant, everything seemed to slow down. He thought of his two younger sisters who were still waiting for him in the cold, damp cave, hungry and cold. They were so young and had already lost their parents. If they lost him too, they would definitely not survive until the second sunrise.
"I must live! I can't die! Jili, Dili, my dear sister, if I die, how will you live...?"
A sudden force sent the boy tumbling to the side at the last second. A searing pain shot through his shoulder again; he was injured once more. Large chunks of flesh were torn away by the mutated wolf, and blood gushed out.
After all, he was just a boy with a little martial arts skill. Facing a mutated wolf that was equivalent to Four-Star-Rank Warrior, being able to Avoid twice was already the limit, and his chance of survival was practically zero.
The boy turned around, wanting to run away.
But the wolf's kiss came again, easily knocking him to the ground. Its front paws pierced the boy's chest, and black liquid dripped into his neck. The wolf's eyes flashed with a terrifying scarlet flame, and its sharp teeth tore down into the boy's neck like knives.
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry, I can't protect my two little sisters..." The boy gave up in despair.
Just then, an unexpected change occurred—
"Call out...!!"
A sharp whooshing sound rang out, and young Leo felt a lightness on his body. He subconsciously turned his head to look and saw that the third-tier mutated demon wolf had been shot away by an arrow that came from the depths of the forest. The ordinary arrow had pierced through the neck of the demon wolf, whose mutated fur was difficult to cut even with swords, and it was stuck firmly to a Rock in the distance, clearly beyond saving.
Who is it?
The boy struggled to sit up and looked in the opposite direction. He saw a group of about four or five warriors wearing exquisite white armor, shouting and talking loudly as they strode out of the distant forest. The leader was holding a longbow, and it was clear that the terrifying arrow that had instantly killed the demon wolf had been shot from his hand.
"Who are they? It's not Alania, could they be those damned Anzhi scum?" The boy's mind raced, then he shook his head. "No, that's not right. I've heard Anzhi before. Could they be warriors from the neighboring Dite Empire?"
The warrior in white armor quickly arrived at young Leo's side.
Then a signal came through, and the boy, barely conscious, was surprised to see more and more white-armored warriors emerging from the forest. These powerful white-armored warriors, like stars surrounding the moon, escorted a handsome young man with long black hair dressed in a white robe as he slowly walked towards them.
This young man was extremely handsome, with a faint, friendly smile on his face. He possessed a noble air that was indescribable to the young Leo, as if he were a god in the bards' tales, radiating divine light. Even the high-ranking knights and nobles of the great towns of Alanik paled in comparison to this handsome young man, like fireflies compared to the bright moon.
In his final moments before losing consciousness, young Leo saw the noble and handsome young man approach him. After listening to a brief report from the white-armored warrior, the young man stretched out his hand, and a warm, golden light, like a mother's gentle caress, shone from his palm and flowed into his body. It felt so comfortable, so wonderful.
Then, young Leo lost consciousness.