Bulville scratched his head, looked in the direction Karin had left, and said hesitantly, "Should we go help her?"

Kellogg flicked his tongue: "We can't help her, we'll only cause her trouble."

Randall was silent for a moment before speaking, "Take all the children and let's go."

Just as the group headed toward the safe house, Karin followed the rooftop passageway to the central street of the Upper City of Tero.

Karin clung to the edge of the roof, looking down at the dozens of zombies covered in black parasites wandering the streets, searching for survivors.

Karin looked down at the surrounding terrain. The building she was in was a tavern located in a bustling commercial district. The streets were littered with debris—damaged carriages, collapsed houses, and scattered supplies.

With a somersault, Karin jumped off the roof and onto the balcony on the second floor of the tavern. She crouched behind the low wall of the balcony and cautiously peered inside.

Scattered marks, broken tables and chairs, and dried bloodstains were everywhere on the ground, all hinting at a tragic massacre that had taken place here.

However, she could not see a single corpse.

Karin was about to enter the tavern for a closer look when a vibration under her feet alerted her.

Straightening up, she looked out through the balcony railing on the second floor of the tavern into the distance. In the direction of the city center, tens of thousands of corpses covered in parasites gathered together, like a huge black wave, destroying everything in its path.

Those exquisite sculptures and elegant buildings that embodied wisdom crumbled at the slightest touch under the onslaught of the zombie horde, like a lone boat in a tsunami.

Karin found it hard to imagine what power could stop the entire city's population if they were all transformed into such monsters.

Forcing herself to calm down, Karin began to think about how to slow down the zombie horde and buy time for Randall and the others.

Turning around and walking into the tavern, a familiar scent entered Karin's nostrils.

Karin tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor, avoiding the obstacles, and made her way to the tavern's kitchen.

A sealed metal bucket on the shelf caught Karin's attention.

Karin went to the metal barrel and carefully pried open the lid on top.

The dark, viscous liquid sloshing around in the bucket, along with the pungent odor, quickly made Karin recognize what was inside—whale oil.

This viscous, flammable substance is typically used for lighting and is common in coastal cities like Muxi City, but it is a rarity in the Papal States, deep inland.

Carrying the whale oil, Karin walked towards the tavern's door.

After placing the iron bucket near the door, Karin turned around, picked up a broken wooden table, and used her supernatural ability to teleport to the door.

After going back and forth dozens of times, Karin had piled up all sorts of tables, chairs and benches at the entrance of the tavern in the blink of an eye.

When Karin had everything ready, she turned to get the whale oil again when a gust of cold wind blew in from the back of the tavern, making her hair stand on end.

A black parasite, as thick as an arm, slithered across the floor like a giant snake. As it approached Karin, it suddenly sprang up and lunged at her.

Almost entirely relying on her long-trained combat instincts, Karin flicked a pebble, instantly teleporting several meters backward, barely dodging the parasite's attack.

Soon, the attacker's true identity was slowly revealed in the sunlight.

Dozens of parasitic corpses, either entwined or devouring each other, clung tightly together, forming a monster that looked like a sphere.

This 'sphere', constructed from corpses and parasites, extends parasitic limbs resembling arms and rolls forward on the ground.

Karin looked closely and saw that the corpses inside the sphere included the tavern's bartender, the hostess, and the customers. She finally understood why she hadn't seen a single corpse in the tavern earlier.

Looking at the chilling "thing" in front of her, Karin shuddered and muttered to herself, "What exactly are you?"

Using the movement of the parasite's limbs, the parasitic sphere suddenly slammed into Karin like a spring-loaded ball.

Unprepared for the enemy's speed, Karin panicked and leaned back, narrowly dodging the attack.

With tremendous force, the parasitic sphere crashed through the tavern wall and continued its momentum into the street.

This commotion not only startled the parasites roaming the streets, but also attracted the attention of the distant horde of zombies.

Hearing the grating sound of parasites rubbing against her ears, and the terrifying screams coming from the corpses' mouths, Karin made a snap decision and rushed toward the whale oil barrels by the door.

A parasitic zombie rushed into the tavern and, facing Karin who was running towards it, stretched out its entire body of black parasites and swept towards her.

Karin flicked a pebble from her fingertip, and the pebble pierced through the parasites' encirclement, striking the tavern wall.

The next second, Karin's body fell off the wall and landed right next to the whale oil barrel.

The parasitic corpse turned around, let out a shriek at Karin, bent its legs, and then leaped up, pouncing on her once again.

Karin grabbed the iron bucket with her right hand and flicked a pebble out the window with her left, instantly teleporting to the street, while the parasitic zombie that lunged at her crashed directly into the wall.

As Karin stepped onto the street tiles, she instantly attracted the attention of all the parasitic zombies.

Hundreds and thousands of parasitic zombies rushed out of the surrounding buildings and attacked the only living person.

Karin looked up and saw that the massive horde of zombies was approaching at a visible speed.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!