Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Leaving aside the journey down to Altz Point, we still had to make a choice. In the distance, Klitz Point was getting closer.

“What should we do?” for new novels

Neither Ellen nor Eleris could give a specific answer to my question.

The last time, we’d arrived at Klitz Point at midnight because of the rain. This time, though, thanks to the good weather, we were able to reach the outskirts of Klitz Point as the sun was setting.

In the light, the desolate atmosphere of Klitz Point, devoid of any living souls, looked even more bleak. We had to choose between sleeping in that gloomy, eerie place, or camping out.

Camping out was dangerous. At Klitz Point, we could rest in relative safely, with walls around us and a roof over our head. Of course, we would have to endure the spookiness and the smell of blood.

Since safety was the top priority, it seemed better to stay at Klitz Point, despite the reluctance.

“Let’s go check it out first,” Ellen suggested. “If we can tolerate the smell, we’ll rest there.”

She seemed to be willing to give it a shot first. If the smell from the decomposing bodies was bearable, we could rest there.

Thinking about it made me feel horrible again. Just seeing the corpses was already awful, and after a few days, the bodies would have decomposed and would be swarming with maggots. I didn’t think I could handle seeing that and retain my sanity.

Moreover, there were also the corpses of the people we had killed.

Eleris also seemed to be having similar thoughts. Her expression seemed pretty terrible.

‘... But isn’t a vampire considered undead? Technically, shouldn’t Eleris be viewed as a corpse? ... What is this?’

I’d only thought about it, but I felt like I had inadvertently made an offensive joke at Eleris’s expense. It felt like an extremely disrespectful thought.

After offering a sort of mental apology to Eleris, we entered Klitz Point. Ellen had suggested that, if the stench of rotting bodies was unbearable, it was better camp outside instead of staying at Klitz Point.

“...”

“...”

“... What’s going on?”

First of all, the smell of rotting corpses that Ellen was worried about was completely absent. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

“Where... did all the bodies go?”

The corpses that should have been scattered around Klitz Point were gone without a trace.

***

The bodies of the original inhabitants of Klitz Point had all been thrown into a single pit by the bandits. It was effectively a mass burial, if it could even be called that.

We had also dug a trap at the entrance of the inn to bury the bandits alive, but we’d killed any that tried to escape through the windows by stabbing them or shooting them with arrows. We hadn’t had time to deal with their bodies after that.

There should have been bandits’ corpses left lying around. Yet all the bodies had disappeared, as if they had vanished into thin air. Ellen and I had taken out two sentries at the entrance and hid their bodies in the bushes. Those bodies were gone too.

And that wasn’t all.

“... I doubt that someone buried them.”

The pit in front of the inn and the one where the other corpses had been thrown in had both been dug up.

Had whatever happened at Altz Point spread up to Klitz Point? Or was this an entirely separate incident? Either way, it seemed that something unusual had happened at Klitz Point.

“Could it be that some kind of monster has eaten all the corpses?” Eleris cautiously theorized.

If it were just one animal, it wouldn’t have been capable of consuming so many bodies. Besides, there should have at least been some bones left behind.

“Is there a monster that could eat up so many bodies entirely, even digging up the burial pits to consume them all?” Ellen asked with a serious expression.

“Hmm... we can’t rule it out,” Eleris replied, looking pensive. It seemed like she was considering different candidates in her mind. Apparently, she knew of such voracious monsters.

The disappearance of the corpses and the suspicious circumstances made the area feel undoubtedly dangerous.

Ellen was still thinking.

“I can’t decide if camping out is more dangerous or if staying here is riskier,” she said.

Moving around at night was treacherous. Camping out meant being exposed on all sides, making us vulnerable to nighttime ambushes. However, staying at Klitz Point without knowing what had happened was also dangerous. We had to choose between two sets of risks.

We were being forced into an uncomfortable dilemma.

I could understand why Ellen had wanted to gain real combat experience. There were limits to what could be achieved through training and practice alone; certain things could only be obtained in real combat.

Experiencing killing was never something I desired.

Through it, Ellen and I had gained something, and also lost something.

I couldn’t call this growth, but it was undeniable that we had changed, and there was no going back to how we were before.

“...”

Eleris was lying on her side on a table, looking at me. It seemed she hadn’t fallen asleep at all.

While Ellen and I were tense, Eleris was probably even more on edge. She was likely staying alert, ready for any unexpected incidents.

Had Eleris ever really gotten any proper sleep since the beginning of this journey?

She was under a lot of stress, just like Ellen, but she didn’t show any signs of struggling.

Eleris smiled at me quietly in the darkness.

It was a smile that conveyed a message: she could protect Ellen and me, no matter what situation arose. ‘So, relax.’

That smile eased my tightly wound nerves, giving me a small sense of peace. It was a smile that alleviated my stress and fatigue more effectively than sleep ever could.

‘Yes. I am safe.’

‘Get some rest,’ I thought to Eleris.

‘I’m fine, Your Highness. You should sleep. I’ll watch over us.’

Eleris responded to my silent suggestion with her own silent insistence that I should rest.

How could I break Eleris’s stubbornness? Despite Eleris’s reassurance that I should sleep, I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

I spent the time by myself keeping watch. If Eleris’s shift ended, she probably wouldn’t even wake Ellen. She would just let her sleep.

How much time had passed?

“Your Highness,” said Eleris, who had been watching me.

Her expression suddenly hardened. “You need to get ready.”

Get ready. Her words made all the muscles in my body tense up.

“Something is coming.”

It seemed Eleris had detected something through her surveillance network. I immediately moved to the window and scanned Klitz Point under the moonlight. The darkness made it hard to see.

I couldn’t use night vision magic, but I cast Self-Deception to enhance my vision. While I couldn’t achieve true night vision, I hoped to see a bit more clearly.

Though it wasn’t quite night vision, I started to make out shapes in the darkness.

“... Is that...?”

Something was gathering around Klitz Point. Something, in large numbers.

“Wake up!”

At my shout, both Ellen and Eleris sprang to their feet.

A large number of unknown figures were advancing towards Klitz Point. Though I couldn’t identify them clearly, it was evident that a group of something was moving toward Klitz Point.

Both Ellen and Eleris had gotten up and armed themselves. The shapes visible through the window soon became distinguishable under the moonlight.

“What... are those...?”

“... Holy...”

Ellen momentarily froze at the bizarre sight outside, and so did I.

“Zombies,” Eleris murmured softly as she took in the scene.

A horde of zombies was heading towards Klitz Point—no, to be precise, they were rushing towards the inn where we were staying.

“The rooms! Get to the rooms! Now!” Eleris shouted urgently.