When he thought of those walking corpses buried deep in his memory, those who eventually took over the entire planet, the lingering stench of decay and the blood-splattered brain matter and flesh rushed into his mind, making Yun Wei's stomach churn and almost make him vomit.
His face was ashen, and he politely said to the still chattering sergeant, "Thank you, Mr. Quentin."
When the other person gave him a somewhat unorthodox knightly salute, he nodded in acknowledgment and silently walked to the side, his steps a little unsteady.
Isaac had seen everything and quickly followed, asking worriedly, "What's wrong, Yun?"
Yun Wei remained silent.
He took out a tin cup, gulped down several mouthfuls of water, and then slowly said, "Isaac, do you remember what I told you about the continent I used to live on? I suspect... that the Continent of Primordial Elements will soon repeat all of that."
He forcefully suppressed the urge to vomit, but his eyes were still wet with tears. He sniffed and continued, "I don't know if those... what we call 'zombies,' or 'zombies,' 'living dead,' or 'undead' have ever appeared on the Zhuyuan Continent..."
Yun Wei took a deep breath, looked at Isaac, and said solemnly, "They can't be considered living people, nor are they clearly dead. To be precise, they are walking corpses, probably caused by some kind of bacteria or virus..."
He paused, deciding not to elaborate for the time being. "In general, when a person is scratched or bitten by a zombie, they will soon be transformed into the same creature: their heart stops beating, their pupils dilate, their nails grow longer, but their joints and muscles remain agile, and they can even run faster and jump higher."
"Perhaps their eyesight is somewhat impaired, but their hearing is enhanced, and they have no sense of pain. They are fearless and will remain aggressive even if their brains are crushed and only half of their bodies remain."
"They will attack other uninfected humans frantically until everyone has turned into zombies, then gather together and wander aimlessly until a zombie king is born and leads them to attack the next base."
"Of course, if they get really hungry, they might tear you to pieces, snap your neck, and rip your body apart..."
He was about to vomit if he kept talking, so Yun Wei stopped him in time and said with a wry smile, "This is what happened on the continent where I used to live. You heard what Quentin just said—I strongly suspect that zombies have appeared in Apperfield."
Even with firearms, humans in his previous life still struggled to withstand the surging tide of zombies. He couldn't imagine what a hellish scene it would become if zombies were to appear on the backward Zhuyuan Continent.
As for the magic and fighting spirit here, they are probably just a drop in the ocean.
According to the general situation on the Zhuyuan Continent, there might be one mage for every hundred people. But even a high-level third-tier mage can only use a maximum of twenty-seven first-tier spells at a time. Faced with the attack of ninety-nine zombies, he will soon be exhausted and become food for the zombies.
After listening, Isaac remained silent for a long time. He gently patted Yun Wei's back and comforted him, "Relax, Yun, maybe it's not as bad as you think."
Yun Wei shook his head, then raised his eyes and asked, "Has this ever happened before on the Zhuyuan Continent? Or rather... besides necromancers, are there any groups that like to conduct research on corpses, resurrection, and similar topics?"
This time, Isaac's silence lasted even longer than before. In the silence, Yun Wei's heart sank slowly. He understood Isaac's expression; even though the other hadn't answered yet, those melancholy, smoky gray eyes had already told him the answer.
Under Yun Wei's worried gaze, Isaac slowly spoke: "It's still about the end of the First Dynasty... Remember that tyrant Luther? On one hand, he begged for immortality from the abyss, and on the other hand, he ordered the mages under his control to conduct forbidden experiments."
“I don’t know the specifics, but it’s roughly that a lot of graves were secretly dug up back then… If my parents were still alive, they would explain it to me in detail.”
“I’m sorry, Isaac.” In Yun Wei’s memory, this was the second time Isaac had mentioned his parents. He couldn’t help but ask, “Your parents… what happened back then… I’m sorry, what I wanted to ask was, what happened back then?”
Upon hearing this, Isaac gazed intently at his sworn master before him. The other's expression was quite solemn, his dark eyes filled with concern. He instinctively moved aside, embracing Yun Wei from behind, resting his chin on the other's shoulder, and spoke with a touch of nostalgia:
"The Lord of Chaos made quite thorough preparations before invading the Continent of Elements. On that night, my grandmother, parents, teachers, and the Minister of the Imperial Seal and the Eunuch, who were closest to the royal family, were sent into a time rift by the enemy at the very beginning of the war. I don't know where they went..."
“I’m an adult now and don’t live in the palace. I was hunting in the far north, so… I’m the only survivor of the family.” Although he didn’t know if his current half-dead state counted as still being alive.
“…I’m sorry, Isaac.” Yun Wei didn’t know how to comfort him. In the face of the merciless cycle of life and death, all words seemed too insignificant.
He simply held the other person's large hand, which was crossed in front of him, hoping that the warmth of his palm could warm the other person's cold fingertips, even for a moment.
"Hey! They're back! It's the captain and his men!" Quentin, who was standing guard nearby, suddenly exclaimed excitedly. He looked at the signal flare that had burst open in the sky above the valley and carefully tried to decipher its meaning.
Isaac squeezed Yun Wei's fingertips reassuringly, straightened up, and whispered, "I'm fine, Yun. At least, I still have you."
Yun Wei nodded slightly, but sighed inwardly.
Today was definitely not a good day; everything that happened was too heavy.
At the front of the formation, the leading imperial guard officer was directing the students to part to both sides, making way. Yun Wei and his companion slowly walked to a stop near Vivian's group of three.
Sure enough, just a few breaths later, the ground trembled slightly, and from within the thick fog came the sound of hurried hoofbeats.
The one who charged out of the thick fog first was a middle-aged man dressed as a priest. Yun Wei remembered him well; the man had been in charge of his entry check and registration at the time.
But the other side, who had previously maintained a serious expression, appeared extremely flustered. He was lying on his horse, raising his arms without regard for his image, and shouting, "Defense! What are you all standing there for! Get into defense now!"
Behind him followed a dozen or so other knights of light, all equally disheveled, their eyes lifeless, their silver armor stained with dark blood.
At the very back of the procession stood the flamboyant red-haired Al, his face ashen, holding a peasant woman in his arms, who in turn held a child.
Al reined in his horse at the front of the crowd, dismounted, and carefully helped the terrified peasant woman down to the ground. He then ordered one of his men to take her to the back of the group and settle her in.
The students immediately erupted in an uproar, and under the officer's reprimand, they lazily formed a loose defensive formation.
Isaac listened for a moment, then whispered to Yun Wei, "He's telling the officer in front that she's the last survivor."
Upon hearing this, Yun Wei quickly looked at the peasant woman and saw three dark scratch marks on the lotus-root-like forearm of the child in her arms, which was shocking to behold.
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