The Encirclement and a Glimmer of Hope

It appeared the Chant Church had successfully bought enough time, allowing the news of the living corpse outbreak to spread, prompting even the Capital Garrison, stationed just outside the city, to rush to the scene.

Working in seamless coordination with Yelica Cooper and the priests, this mortal army integrated into the clergy’s defensive line with remarkable efficiency.

With astonishing speed, they erected barricades and positioned machine guns; and while the combat capabilities of a single soldier paled in comparison to a Transcendent, a well-constructed network of fire would render their killing efficiency equally formidable.

Only due to the city’s dense population and Landon’s status as the kingdom’s capital were they hesitant to unleash heavy artillery upon the living corpses; otherwise, their rate of elimination might have even outstripped that of the Transcendents.

Moreover, Yelica Cooper’s situation proved not to be an isolated incident; along other main arteries and smaller paths, defensive lines, forged by a multitude of factions, were also beginning to solidify.

Police, military, clergy, civilian Transcendents, and even unarmed civilians, galvanized by the colossal threat, united as one to defend the homes they cherished.

Barricade after barricade, and layers of barbed wire, were swiftly erected, encircling Leicester University in multiple, seemingly impregnable rings.

During this time, the Eternal Life Society repeatedly seized control of living corpses, employing their old tactics to launch relentless assaults on the defensive lines.

However, the holy light of the Chant Church, the lightning storms of the State Religion, and the army’s heavy machine guns retaliated with merciless force.

The once unstoppable ‘sea of corpses’ tactic was now rendered utterly ineffective; the streets, after all, were of limited width, and under such an intense density of firepower, the living corpses were mowed down in droves, ripped to shreds.

Furthermore, while the living corpses possessed the advantage of tireless endurance, the cultists of the Eternal Life Society who controlled them still required rest.

The grueling struggle persisted until deep into the night, by which point both sides were utterly exhausted, leading to a tacit ceasefire.

****

Underground cavern, Eternal Life Society stronghold.

The Elder, vexed, switched his perspective between various living corpses.

A moment later, he gave up.

With Leicester University at its epicenter, the Three-Island Kingdom’s encirclement had completely sealed, signifying that the Eternal Life Society no longer possessed any opportunity to exploit weaknesses; their only recourse was a direct breakthrough.

“Why is it always just a hair’s breadth away?”

“Why does the Chant Church always manage to interfere just as we’re on the verge of success?”

“Have we not purged all the traitors yet?”

The surrounding cultists, witnessing The Elder’s ravenous, man-eating gaze, lowered their heads in unison, terrified of attracting the madman’s attention.

“No, calm down.”

“There are still many living corpses.”

“While a full-scale breakthrough is impossible, it doesn’t mean a focused breakthrough is out of reach.”

“We just need to concentrate our forces and break through in one direction.”

After roughly tallying the total number of living corpses, The Elder frowned.

“The numbers are still a bit insufficient.”

“There should be quite a few living people left inside the university.”

“Convert them all first, increase our strength, and ensure a successful breakthrough.”

He immediately gave the order: a portion of the living corpses were to remain on alert, while the rest were to return to the university, sweeping through room after room, leaving no survivors.

Meanwhile, the brother and sister hiding on the top floor of the teaching building had no idea what awaited them.

“Brother, I think I just heard thunder and gunshots.”

“Yes, I heard them too.”

“That’s good news; it means the kingdom still has the ability to organize resistance.”

“We just need to wait patiently for rescue.”

“Okay.”

Yali Miller nodded vigorously, reasoning that if her brother said it was fine, then she had no need to worry.

“Go to sleep first; I’ll keep watch.”

Yodel Finn gently patted his sister’s head.

However, before Yali Miller could even fall asleep, the siblings, peering through the window, saw a figure pass by in the corridor.

An alarm blared in Yodel Finn’s heart, yet according to his deductions, it should have been impossible for living corpses to wander up to this floor so quickly.

Before he had time for further thought, the classroom door creaked open.

It wasn’t that Yodel Finn didn’t want to lock the door; the problem was that this dilapidated door could only be secured with a key.

Under the siblings’ anxious gaze, the figure stepped into the classroom.

In that instant, Yodel Finn was almost ready to call for help—no, to summon a god for assistance.

But before he could do so, he saw the combat record floating above the figure’s head.

0/0/0

‘Never died, it’s a living person!’

Hiding Yali Miller under a desk, Yodel Finn stood up and made a shushing gesture towards the figure.

The figure was clearly startled by Yodel Finn’s sudden appearance, but upon understanding his gesture, they froze instantly, a scream on the verge of escaping their lips now caught in their throat.

Signaling the figure to approach, Yodel Finn discerned the newcomer’s appearance in the faint moonlight.

It was a young male student with red hair, his face still bearing traces of boyish innocence; he was likely a freshman, just like Yali Miller.

‘Judging by his appearance, he’s probably not one of those seasoned schemers,’ Yodel Finn thought, making a preliminary judgment. ‘I can trust him for now.’

“Holy hell, I didn’t think there were any other living people left in this damned university!” the male student exclaimed in a small gasp of surprise.

“Other living people?”

“Haven’t you seen anyone besides us?” Yodel Finn asked, frowning.

‘It seems the situation on campus isn’t optimistic,’ he mused.

“Uh… yes, there are about ten more people following behind me.”

“How many?!”

“Why aren’t they with you?”

“Well…” the male student began, a wronged expression suddenly crossing his face as he spoke with a bitter laugh:

“A middle-aged man forced me to scout ahead… I was forced to go first; to put it plainly, I’m cannon fodder.”

Yodel Finn inwardly cursed, realizing there was likely a difficult individual among the survivors.

He wasn’t afraid for himself, yet he had his sister by his side.

If things came to a head, he might still have to ask Thanatos for help.

He only regretted that he had become a Divine Chosen too recently and that the abilities he had acquired were not yet powerful enough; otherwise, he would simply wield his death scythe and cut down every single living corpse outside.

However, with things as they were, dwelling on such thoughts was pointless; it was far better to seize the moment and gather more information.

“Why did you suddenly run to the top floor?”

“Did the living corpses make a move?”

The male student shivered. “You don’t know, just a few minutes ago, a huge horde of monsters squeezed in through the campus gate, then rushed into the residential area and slaughtered everyone in that dormitory building.”

“We barely escaped from there, but I have a feeling that after they finish with the dorms, those monsters will come to the teaching area too… It’s just a matter of dying sooner or later.”

Hearing this, Yodel Finn gazed intently at the male student, and several seconds passed without any deathly illusions appearing above his head.

‘Good kid, tough as nails,’ Yodel Finn thought.

Yodel Finn decided to stick close to him; the fact that this student, despite having no combat ability, had survived so far meant he would likely encounter no threats on his journey.

‘He might be a weakling, but who knew he was a bringer of good luck!’

“Don’t worry, I see divine light shining on your head; you have a god’s blessing, so you’ll definitely survive this great calamity!” Yodel Finn declared, thumping his chest to reassure the male student.

The male student offered a bitter smile and nodded, simply thinking Yodel Finn was trying to comfort him and not taking his words seriously.

Just then, the three saw another large group of figures moving in the corridor.

The closed classroom door creaked open once more, this time revealing two trembling female students leading the way.