[Vol. 8] Chapter 32: Hidden Shadows
The two of them searched for a long time before they finally found a large group of zombies. What made Violet even more curious was that, although these creatures clearly had lost their minds, they didn’t wander around aimlessly like in zombie movies.
Instead, they were moving in a slow, organized line, guarded by a group of about a dozen tall, strong warriors. These warriors had long noses and tusks and looked kind of like upright-walking elephants.
Violet had never seen these "straight-walking elephants" before, but if she remembered correctly, they looked just like a tribe called the [Elephant Folk Tribe] from the buffer zone. That meant these guys were probably soldiers from the allied tribes, carrying out some task under orders from their leaders.
In other words, this so-called zombie infection was probably something the allied tribes had already figured out how to control. At least for their own people, which is why they dared to spread it so openly inside the fortress.
To be honest, it was a little hard to believe.
Even a powerful country like the Holy Empire, with full institutions and research groups like the Holy Academy, couldn’t fully crack and use the zombie virus. Violet found it hard to believe that these small nations, driven from their homelands by the Austre Empire, could really master such a rare ability.
If their confidence to start this war came not only from the Behemoth but also from this power to infect living people and turn them into zombies, then both might be connected, maybe even share a single, bigger source.
The two girls hid behind a wall, watching the zombie group move slowly through the ruined streets, which had been destroyed by war. It was like a funeral march. The dragon god couldn’t help but whisper another suggestion.
"Master, they’re walking so slowly. Why don’t I just go wipe them all out? We only need to leave one leader to ask questions. These infected are basically dead already. If we’re relying on them to guide us, having just one would be faster anyway."
"So direct? Hmm… what you said does make some sense… but no, it’s still not the right move."
After seriously thinking about it, Violet quickly turned down her companion’s idea.
It was true that Xiao Guang was strong enough to instantly destroy all the zombies and [Elephant Folk Tribe], and even escape with one of the leaders before anyone from the allied army could react. That would be easy.
But the problem was, they had no personal grudge against these people, and they weren’t on either side of the war. Sure, turning so many people into zombies was cruel and inhumane. But that decision came from the top, and the ordinary soldiers were just following orders. At least up to this point, Violet hadn’t seen the [Elephant Folk Tribe] doing anything she personally found too disgusting.
Violet never avoided killing when necessary, but she didn’t like doing it without reason. Also, attacking now would cause chaos. That wouldn’t affect them much since they were strong and low-profile, but it could ruin Frederica’s infiltration mission. That would be like betraying a teammate.
"By the way, Xiao Guang, did you notice... those 'birds' in the sky seem to be flying toward places where there are a lot of zombies? Some are even circling above them. Looks like they’re pretty interested in these things~"
"Huh? Are you saying those Austre Empire people are watching the zombies on purpose? Are they trying to figure out how the enemy controls them?"
For someone like the dragon girl, who didn’t usually think deeply, that was already a big step forward. But Violet just smiled and shook her head.
"It’s not that simple. Let’s start with a basic question. Why did every zombie outbreak in the past always happen in the Holy Empire? And why is it only now that the wild tribes have suddenly figured out how to use it, and are using it against the Austre Empire?"
"Uh… why?"
"Hehe, let me explain it more clearly. Remember back when we were in the [Forest of Death], we were attacked by the undead? Those ‘birds’ in the sky were circling around back then too. But as soon as the attack ended, they disappeared. Now here, a zombie outbreak is happening again, and once again, the Austre Empire’s spy birds, the [Graeme] birds or whatever the name is, have shown up."
The priestess gave a small smile.
"It’s the same undead… and the same Austre Empire spies watching closely. Don’t you think that’s a strange coincidence? Doesn’t it tell us something?"
Hearing this, the dragon girl suddenly realized something.
"Oh! You mean... the same people might be behind both events? And they’re somehow connected to the Austre Empire?!"
But soon, Xiao Guang noticed something that didn’t make sense. She frowned and said,
"Wait, that can’t be right. The first time, maybe, but this time the undead attacked the Austre Empire fortress. Why would the Empire help its own enemies and hurt itself?"
"Who knows~ But right now, that’s still the most reasonable explanation we’ve got."
While they talked in low voices, the two girls kept hiding their presence and followed the long zombie group to a large open area in the west part of the fortress. This place looked like it had once been a military training ground. But after heavy fighting earlier, it was now completely ruined. Although most of the broken buildings and bodies had been cleaned up, many dark red stains still covered the ground, signs of deep damage, full of the smell of iron and blood.
There didn’t seem to be anything unusual about this place. Otherwise, Violet and her partner would have noticed it from above earlier. But since the [Elephant Folk Tribe] soldiers had brought the zombies here and then stopped, there had to be a reason.
And sure enough, once the zombies converted from Austre Empire’s soldiers within the fortress arrived at their designated positions, the [Elephant Folk Tribe] soldiers quickly left as if they were scared of something. They didn’t even look back. They just left hundreds of mindless, unguarded zombies wandering around, like bait left out in the open for some kind of terrifying predator.
For some reason, that strange idea suddenly popped into Violet’s mind.
Then, in that moment…
"Master, look below!"
The dragon girl lowered her voice in surprise. Suddenly, the ground of the training field began to ripple like the surface of water. It was as if something huge and strange was hiding underground, building up power, and was about to burst out!
"Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!"
A loud, deep buzzing sound, like the wings of countless insects shaking at once, filled the air. The solid ground suddenly cracked open to both sides, turning into a giant, circular mouth, hundreds of meters wide, that opened up and swallowed all the wandering zombies in one go!
This giant mouth didn’t have sharp teeth, but it was so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. In just a few seconds, every last infected zombie had vanished into the dark hole. And once it had finished its terrifying feast, the huge, strange thing began to shrink back down into the earth, with ripples spreading out as it tried to hide again.
But the two girls had been waiting for this moment all along. As soon as Violet gave a signal with her eyes, Xiao Guang, who understood her without words, acted instantly. She raised her hand and slashed down at the air!
"Super Dimensional Rift!"