*Roar*
Despite clearing the building of zombies, the group found themselves surrounded by hordes of zombies coming at them.
Quickly, Roan shouted, "Let's go back inside."
He looked at Cheyenne who nodded back at him.
As the only one who still had enough energy left, she stood in front of the group and whispered, "[Warden's Gate]!"
Following her declaration, the wind in the air rustled.
*Swoosh*
The fierce wind concentrated in front of her to form two large blue gates, which color became more intense the more wind it collected.
Reaching its peak, the blue color of the gate fully covered the group and the zombie couldn't see them anymore.
*Grrrrrrrrr*
Having lost sight of their prey, the zombies snarled and smashed their bodies on the blue gates that deterred them from their prey.
One of the zombies had had enough!
*Roar!*
It opened his mouth, and a loud pulsing sound could be heard inside.
*Roar!*
By the time the sound got to its peak, a grey blast emitted from its mouth as the zombie roared.
The [Nether Blast] pierced to the gate and started a series of cracks that crumbled the gate.
Yet, after the gate fell, there was no one on the other side.
The loss of their prey left the zombies dumbfounded and their little brains couldn't graph what had just happened.
Following a period of time, they moved on and checked for another human to bite.
They had no idea that an eye was peeping at them through a nearby building
...
The Courtyard Building.
Roan's eye moved away from the entrance door and fully closed it.
Seeing this, Nico asked, "Have they gone?"
A while back, after Cheyenne had activated her technique, she had urged them to silently escape, while she still powered her technique.
After the group had left, she had timed herself and left just before the zombie used its [Nether Energy] to destroy her gates.
Following the question thrown at him, Roan replied, "Yes. They wouldn't attempt to break in."
The plan to escape by hiding behind a cover was first offered by Sierra, who knew about the habits of zombies.
Zombies were relentless creatures that always wanted to infect any living being they see.
However, they had to see them or smell them, but since the smell of blood was all over Aztec, it would be hard for them to pick out specific scents.
So, all the group had to take care of was the zombie's sight!
Cheyenne did just that, and the group had to escape to the entrance door at their left without making a single noise.
It was intense and possibly the defining moment of their entire life, as if they hadn't escaped, they would have been drowned in the endless swarm of zombies.
Going back to their room, the group sat in a circle on the grass while they recuperated.
"What do we do from here?" voiced Nico.
He was sure that that was the question on everyone's mind.
They needed a plan.
"We have no clear understanding of the situation! But looking back, it is possible the tremor we felt previously was related to this zombie outbreak," explained Roan.
Being the son of the king, he was required to use his brain all the time.
He had been put through multiple made-up scenarios that resembled this and has been examined countless times.
So, he was able to reach a conclusion based on what he had seen.
That time, when they felt the tremors, they had ignored it, deeming it as meaningless as they were no alarms sounded after that.
However, when they thought back on it, it was very easy for them to link the sound with the start of the zombie outbreak.
It could even be that the zombies broke past the gate and the soldiers were all converted before they had the chance to sound the alarm!
This would also mean that the outbreak was more serious than it looked as the zombies would possibly have someone capable of breaking past the gates on their side.
Roan shared his thoughts with the rest, "...based on all these possible facts, it is quite likely that nowhere is safe. There was only a handful [Gray-Eye Zombies] out of the one we met, but I can bet that there would be many roaming the streets."
"But we can't stay, can we?" groaned Jaya as she felt a massive headache coming her way.
"Yes, we can't stay. If we do that, we would be leaving our fate to lady luck. Moreover, we have to gain an understanding of this invasion. It is key to our survival," stated Roan.
His speech made Cheyenne confused as it seemed to coil around, forming a second, "So, what are you suggesting?"
"Simple. We have to go out. Whether we like it or not! It is the only way, but----"
Sierra interrupted, seeing where things were going, "--but the problem is where do we go to."
"More specifically, where isn't compromised?!" Lola, who kept quiet all this while, quipped in.
The entire group had places that they would love to check. The trio, being the guesthouse and the royal children, being the palace.
However, they couldn't blindly put their fate in those locations.
"Hmm….wait a sec," Sierra nudged the group.
She rubbed her [Spatial Ring] and brought out a map of the capital.
Pointing her finger at their exact location, she gave it to her brother, "Here!"
Roan trimmed his hand on the map.
He scrutinized as he saw the streets linked to their building, "Sure enough. We need more information... That's it!"
Getting an idea, Roan slammed his finger at a particular location a bit far away from them.
"What's there?" asked Nico.
"You should be asking who's there," replied an overly-excited Roan, who was now reaping the seeds he had sown.
However, when he looked at his friends, all he got were dull faces. Clearly, they weren't feeling as excited as himself.
He lightly coughed and continued, "It is the King's Park. Does the name ring a bell?"
"No."
"No."
"Is it an inn?"
"It's probably a playground."
"Yes."
"Most likely."
Listening to the ignorant answers, Roan couldn't believe his eyes--no, his ears.
The location he had just mentioned was one of the most popular places in Aztec.
"The King's Park and open space filled with statues of all the past kings of Aztec..." he looked at his friends again and was met with their distant stares.
Sighing, he let their ignorance slide and continued, "Anyway, the park was listed as one of the locations to go to during emergency times. You know, the one the king emphasized during his final speech at the end of the Aztec competition."
"Oh, that one."
"So, it's that place."
"That place…..."
"So, it's not an inn?"
"I'm hungry."
"Yeah, me too….."
Roan didn't know when his face had squeezed to the limit, but he cooled himself as he had to continue, "Well, I'm suggesting that we go there as it is most likely to be a battleground, protected by the soldiers. If it had been compromised, then we can assume there is no safe place in Aztec. What do you think?"
Understanding the situation, Nico replied, "Since that is our only choice, I say let's take it."
He was joined by the others who simply nodded their heads.
They knew, fully well, that they were talking of a matter of life and death here, but wasn't that what they had been prepared for all their life?
They have been instilled with the necessary skills required to navigate their way in a chaotic situation like these.
"Okay, since we have all agreed. Then, we will move in an hour," acknowledged Roan.
"Yeah…..."
......…..
Two hours later.
In the death-filled streets of Aztec, seven figures were seen running from a horde of zombies
"Nico, run faster!" shouted Roan who had already shifted to his half-wolf form and was in front of Nico.
"Don't shout at me. I'm running as fast as I can," replied Nico.
Suddenly, he felt a horrendous presence getting closer to him and knew that if he turned his head back, he would lose his speed and get closer to the zombie.
Following the plans they had made, he hollered to his sister, "Lola, Behind me!"
From the middle of the group's formation, Lola flipped and shot out an arrow, coated with [Wind Elemental Spirit Essence], mid-air.
All Nico heard was an arrow that wheezed past his ear, drawing out blood, and the presence at his back was no more.
While running, he faced his left hand back and chanted, "[Sunset Fist]!"
It took a while but the familiar fiery energy fist ejected from his hand and inflamed everything behind him.
After he was done, he shouted at Roan, "I have stalled the ones behind me for a few seconds. How long till we get there?"
"Don't worry, we will soon reach our destination," replied Roan, without turning back.
The group continued maintaining their formation as they blew up all obstacles, not even bothering to kill them.