The Aegis of the Holy Light

Lu Wei and Antolia, carrying their equipment, arrived at the front. There, besides the soldiers already on high alert, was a group of civilians, their clothes tattered, their faces drawn with exhaustion. It was impossible to tell what kind of terrible place they had escaped from.

“Sister,” General Greer, the commanding officer at the front, approached them. “See if these people need any help. The rest of you, quickly build up the defenses. It’s highly likely we’ll be the next target of this corpse tide.”

“Understood.” One by one, the soldiers began constructing makeshift fortifications with the tools they carried. Simultaneously, they lit torches and poured oil to ignite the surrounding area, forming a barrier of flames. Scattered undead lurked nearby, and facing such adversaries, every soldier had to remain vigilant.

“Running like that, some of them wounded, fleeing in such a large group—they’re bound to draw the corpse tide straight to us. Honestly…” An old veteran muttered, eyeing the refugees. Lu Wei shot him a sharp glare, and he promptly fell silent.

There was no room to blame survivors, especially those who had expended every ounce of their strength simply to stay alive.

“Did you escape from the front lines?” Antolia and Lu Wei stepped forward together to examine the wounded. Sister Antolia knelt, her gaze falling upon the elders and children seated on the ground.

“Don’t worry,” she reassured them. “We are Sisters of Aid, and the soldiers here will protect you. May I examine you? I can perform basic treatments for your injuries.”

“…Sisters… there are still Sisters?” The old man on the ground spoke with a trembling voice. “Thank heavens… thank heavens… Sister, you must save your comrade. He… he is still there.”

“Comrade?”

“We fled from Chris Village on the front lines,” a young girl beside the old man began to explain. “Though the undead had appeared in this vicinity before, they were never on such a massive scale. At first, our resistance was relatively easy, but the longer time passed, the more people became possessed by demons. More and more fell into madness, and the village was almost indefensible. The attacks from outside grew increasingly fierce. But then, a monk arrived in the village. Using Holy Water and other Holy Light incantations, he rebuilt our defenses and restored everyone to their senses. After that, it was this priest who organized the village’s defenses, and we achieved some success, but…”

“The village still fell,” a man interjected, his voice heavy with self-reproach. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let that girl in… A wounded girl. We thought she was a survivor from the neighboring village, so we brought her in. As it turned out, she was deliberately released. She had a wound, and she… she was infected.”

“A child infected with corpse poison contaminated more than half the village in a single night… A vast number of people turned into undead. At that time, Father Corvin… he stayed behind alone to hold off those creatures. He cleaved a path with Holy Light, allowing at least one of our carriages to break through the encirclement before the village was completely overrun.”

‘…Is that so?’ Lu Wei gritted her teeth, listening. ‘What a beastly way to wage war. Those demon lord’s forces are truly symbols of pure evil.’

“I understand the situation now,” Antolia nodded. “I will provide you with basic care to prevent any further corporeal infection and to dispel the miasma from your bodies. After that, you will accompany our detachment. The Holy Light’s barrier will ensure your safety.”

“We are truly so grateful to you. To take us in, really…”

“There’s no need for thanks; this is simply our duty,” Antolia replied with a smile. She then began to administer basic Holy Light healing to the survivors. At the same time, Lu Wei detected an unusual sound emanating from the forest.

“Their pursuit is much faster than we anticipated,” Greer stated slowly. “Have the scouts returned?”

“No, and they likely won’t be able to,” someone replied. “Judging by this sound, the scouts are irrelevant now. It’s possible we’ve already… made contact with the enemy.” At the forefront of the legion’s formation, unseen entities roared ceaselessly from within the shadows, their forms concealed yet constantly exuding an aura of menace. Faced with such adversaries, Greer bellowed:

“Listen up, everyone! This is no joke! Prepare for battle! Shieldbearers to the front! There’s no time for hesitation; everyone get ready to fight! Hold the front line, archers prepare! Everyone, brace yourselves for combat!”

“Sound the horn!” As the horn blared, every soldier seized their weapon. They knew battle was imminent. Unlike ordinary training, this was the dawn of true war, and facing it demanded complete psychological readiness.

“Little Anto, behind me,” Lu Wei instructed, rising to stand in front of Sister Antolia. Lu Wei did not wield the typical Holy Light staff of a nun; her staff was a weapon resembling a mace, a standard piece of equipment for battle sisters. Beyond healing others, it also offered effective protection and aid to those nearby.

“Understood.” Antolia nodded, looking ahead. She had already sensed the malevolent presence lurking within the shadows and mist. Faced with such beings, the people here had no other choice. In essence, there was only one option: to confront them, and to fight, solely for the sake of ultimate victory.

“The enemy is coming!” someone bellowed. “There are so many of them, truly countless. The forest… it must be completely filled.”

“Regardless, if we’ve encountered them, there’s only one option: to fight,” Greer commanded.

“Everyone… prepare for battle!”

“Hoo… hoo…” In an instant, everyone had assumed their combat stances at the front. The previous clamor gave way to silence at a single command. Each person held their weapon, ready for battle at any moment, plunging the entire front line into an eerie quiet. Not a single sound was made; they simply stood, waiting for the inevitable. Yet, the tranquility of that moment felt incredibly precious. Everyone wished this damned peace and quiet could last a little longer, just a little longer, hoping against hope that everything that had just happened was merely a false alarm…

But everyone knew such thoughts were nothing more than a delusion. A figure burst from the tall grass, brandishing its sharp claws, and a heart-wrenching roar erupted from its throat, dragging everything back to grim reality.

“Gaa-wooh!!!”

“Uwah!!! Ugh!!!” The first figure lunged forward, only to be impaled by a spear. Its emaciated, cracked body, devoid of blood, was horrifying, its vacant eyes betraying a mysterious, ravenous greed. Though its body had been pierced through, it still struggled to advance, just like any monster before it. Just like its kin.

“Uwah!!! Gaa-wooh!!! Uwah!!!” The sounds erupted ceaselessly as more and more undead surged towards them. Most were not particularly fast, but any swift-moving entity posed a threat to the defensive line. The undead swarmed forward like a tide, appearing from all directions of the forest in a destructive onslaught.

“Fight! Hold the line!” Greer commanded loudly. The shieldbearers at the front used their shields to block the enemies, while those behind them, armed with spears, delivered slightly longer-range strikes. Between these two lines, swordsmen wielding short swords served as a second echelon, reinforcing and maintaining the shield wall. These were not ordinary mainlanders who would be defenseless against an undead assault; they were seasoned border warriors who had battled the undead with cunning and courage for years. They possessed a complete system for confronting the undead in a front-line engagement.

“Die, monsters!” The warriors at the front swung their blades, and with every strike, an undead creature was decapitated. These beings were once human, but no longer. To hesitate now, to lack the courage to strike them down, would only lead to becoming one of them. Thus, only through constant combat, through practical experience and relentless engagement with these creatures, could one truly become adept.

“Don’t let a single one escape! Don’t let any of them in!” As the battle commenced, the legion had already stabilized its formation, preventing any collapse. This allowed the flank defenses to expand, with large numbers of reserve troops surging forward to solidify the line. It was at this moment that Antolia drew her staff and began chanting an incantation for a Holy Light protective spell.

“…Oh Light, protect these brave warriors, let their bodies be as solid as iron against enemy attacks, standing unyielding.” The Sister finished her prayer, and with a flash of light, all the warriors fighting on the front line felt an instantaneous influx of power.

“‘Legion’s Aegis’,” Antolia declared, naming the Holy Light spell. Lu Wei, witnessing this, was utterly dumbfounded. A spell like ‘Legion’s Blessing’ typically required three to five Sisters to prepare for a long time before it could be activated. Yet, this Sister before them had accomplished it alone with a single chant. What more could be said? The only word that could possibly describe such power was ‘miracle.’ As the light infused the bodies of the frontline warriors, they instantly surged forward in a counterattack.

“Is this the Holy Light’s Aegis? What a novel experience,” Greer mused, feeling the power of the light. He too, longsword in hand, stepped forward to the front.

“This time, we will not flee in disarray again.”