When Ackerman jumped from the griffin's back to the ground, what appeared before him was a makeshift position set up on the port street.

The streets were completely blocked by layers upon layers of sandbags, and the towering watchtowers kept emitting piercing alarms.

Ackerman glanced back at the still-shaken Parney, waved for her to go and rest, and then walked alone towards the inner military camp.

Alfonso, who was engrossed in examining a city map at his desk, glanced at Ackerman as he approached, but did not speak. Instead, he quickly wrote down a warrant and handed it to the messenger beside him.

"Tell those who are unwilling to board the ship that the Dragon Kingdom will not provide them with asylum, and they are free to leave."

After finishing his work, Alfonso turned to Ackerman and said in a low voice, "As a commander, you shouldn't leave your army."

Ackerman sighed: "I won't be anymore soon..."

“As long as you remain in this position, you must stay here,” Alfonso said sternly. “You should know what the Black Plague is.”

Ackerman realized what was happening: "Wait a minute, what's with all these rats?"

“A week ago, continuous torrential rains destroyed the drainage dikes of Tero City. We believe that this is how these plague rats came out of the city.” Alfonso said while tapping the map. “In order to escape the cold air from the north, these rats traveled south along ditches, streams and underground burrows to the Duchy of Dorkci.”

"They first lie dormant underground in the city, and then all of them surge to the surface when the tide comes in."

Alfonso paused for a moment, then said to Ackerman, "His Majesty previously ordered that the Crusaders, the Knights, and the aliens must not act alone in the Duchy of Dorczy, do you remember?"

Ackerman nodded: "I remember, but I thought his intention was to get everyone to evacuate faster..."

Alfonso waved, signaling the other person to follow him.

With a sense of doubt, Ackerman followed the knight out of the room, through the crowd, and finally arrived at the entrance of a warehouse built near the port.

Looking at the fleet of ships busy loading civilians and supplies on the distant sea, Ackerman asked curiously, "What are we doing here? Shouldn't we be at the front lines helping out at a time like this?"

Alfonso gestured to the guards to open the warehouse door, then went inside.

The huge warehouse had long been divided into dozens of large rooms, and in each room, a group of people wearing doctor's coats were busy running around.

Ackerman was a little confused: "I never knew there was such a place here."

Alfonso showed his dragon badge and said, "Come in, just watch and make sure your hands don't touch anything."

Ackerman entered the room and saw a metal operating table lying flat in the center of the room, with an orc whose body was covered with black parasites strapped to the table.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the orc had lost all four limbs, leaving only its head and torso. It had long since lost all vital signs and had become a plague-ridden zombie incapable of thinking.

“Bocanian, captain of the sixth squadron of the seventeenth warband of the Crusader Orcs, was originally responsible for guarding the southwest exit of Tero City…”

Upon hearing Alfonso's words, Ackerman's eyes widened, and he suddenly exclaimed, "I've never heard of this soldier's name on the list of the dead!"

Alfonso gestured for the doctors to continue their work, then left the room and said, "That's because His Majesty doesn't want the Crusaders to know about this. So, some of the fallen soldiers are recorded in the files as having other military duties or being missing."

"Why?"

Alfonso pointed to the dragon badge on his chest and said, "In the battle against the Black Plague, some soldiers' souls did not return to heaven."

"Wait a minute! What did you say?!"

Alfonso said, "I'll say it again, there's a chance that the soul of anyone who dies from the Black Plague will not reach heaven."

Ackerman broke out in a cold sweat: "So that means..."

As Alfonso walked forward, he said, "If you and Parne had died there, your souls might have been scattered and never reached heaven."

Ackerman: "Why is this happening?"

Alfonso: "I don't know. The kingdom is investigating, but there's no answer yet."

Leaving the surgical area in the warehouse, Alfonso walked to a bunker door and signaled to the guards to open it.

The steel doors were opened by four knights clad in dragonbone armor. Alfonso, holding the handle with one hand and gripping his weapon with the other, carefully descended the stairs.

Walking behind the knight, Ackerman asked in a low voice, "Where are we going?"

"Under His Majesty's instructions, we have constructed an experimental zone underground in the Duchy of Dorkechi."

"Experimental area?"

Alfonso brushed the parasitic limbs away from his ear and continued, "During this time, we captured a large number of undead samples from Tero City and transported them here for research."

Ackerman was taken aback: "Grand Duke Dorkech knew about this?"

"Not knowing... In fact, not knowing some things is a kind of happiness for him."

Stepping onto the ground of the underground experimental area, Ackerman heard a metallic echo beneath his feet and asked in surprise, "This ground...?"

“It’s not just the ground, but also the walls, isolation doors, and planks; most of the materials are made of iron.” Alfonso crouched down and walked through an iron gate, saying, “Planks, soil, and stone don’t offer much protection against the plague parasites.”

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