He looked straight at Gavin's lukewarm eyes and got his answer, "Uncle Todd."
...…..
His soft words were heard by everyone, including the trio.
Being familiar with Uncle Todd, they exclaimed, while fighting, "What?"
Refusing to believe what he heard, Nico asked again, "Who did you say died?"
A drop of tear dripped down Gavin's cheeks as he thought about the matter again.
In a fit of annoyance, he shouted, to no one in particular, "I said it was Uncle Todd, alright!"
He wanted to break out of the formation and continued killing as many zombies as he could find, but his last ounce of sanity kept him in line.
Meanwhile, Nico couldn't process the information he had just received, 'Uncle Todd….he is…..dead…..'
It has more been more than half a year since he first met Uncle Todd.
The first time they met, the charismatic man saved him, his sister, Jake, and Jaya's life, introducing them to the real world of cultivation with his [Boulder Fist] technique.
Months after that, they met again for their journey to the capital and the man was still as lively as ever.
Uncle Todd had instructed them, before the competition, and even pointed out his flaws after he was eliminated.
It could be seen that Nico well respected the man called Todd Elliot and had a teacher-like relationship with him, along with the rest of the Pinesun group that came to the capital.
Hearing such a man had died caused an emotional turmoil in the minds of the trio.
Despite not knowing for more than a year, his impact on their life way out-valued the impact one can make in another person's life in under a year.
While they didn't descend into tears, they were immensely sad as the man had now departed from the world of the living.
Wanting to know more, but being careful with it, Nico softly asked Gavin, "How did he die?"
After killing a zombie that lunged at him, Gavin, "A while ago....."
Listening to his words, Nico understood everything.
It turned out a while ago, Gavin was recruited to the army.
Due to his strength and upbringing, he was easily promoted to knight rank after a month.
That filled him with a lot of responsibilities and made him busy, absent from the guest house, where the Pinesun group stayed.
However, when it all happened, that is exactly today, Gavin was off-duty.
So, he took the time to spend it with his uncle, not knowing that he chose the wrong time.
That was when things turned sour.
Coincidences linked up with one another and Gavin found the guest house invaded by zombies.
With his experience, Gavin fought well to protect the building but was later overcome by the sheer number of zombies.
He tried to escape with the rest of the Pinesun group but was cornered by five [Gray Eye Zombie] that were already used to their abilities.
Being the only one that was at [Realm-2], Gavin couldn't take on the five zombies.
He easily got overwhelmed by their sheer strength of the zombie.
In less than a minute, he was beaten up so badly that it would have led to his death, if not for his uncle intervening.
Using himself as bait, Uncle Todd attracted the zombies and shouted at Gavin to led the Pinesun group out.
He sacrificed his life for the safety of his nephew and the other teenagers!
Immediately after leaving the building, they could hear Uncle Todd's screams of pain, but couldn't go back.
They steeled themselves and ran away, but they weren't exactly safe.
Little by little, they died, one after another, until only a handful, including Gavin, was left wandering aimlessly.
Fortunately, they met Knight-Captain Garrett, who was his direct superior, and were able to combine their strength together, protecting the few who were still alive.
........
Listening to Gavin's story, Nico realized that his group had it easy.
Despite being close to death many times, they weren't any actual death.
However, for Gavin, it was different!
He had to listen to his uncle slowly die and couldn't do anything, except run away.
It was bound to torture him for the rest of his life!
Nico didn't know what to say to comfort Gavin. Instead, he kept quiet and focused back on the zombies.
He now knew why Gavin's eyes were soulless and only brightened at the sight of zombies.
He was sure the others that listened to Gavin's story had the same thought.
......….
After killing another zombie, Roan felt dreary.
He only had a little amount of time to recharge his energy reserve after every kill
Knowing this couldn't go on, he shouted at Garrett, "If this continues, we would die!"
Garrett understood that fully well.
However, his men were not enough to guide the group to a safe path, but with the addition of Roan's group, they could manage.
Still, a lot of sacrifices would have to be made.
Having sworn an oath to the kingdom, Garrett wasn't scared of dying, but he had to make it worth it.
If he died to protect the rest, then it would be the best!
"Then we move. If I remember, the palace is another safe place for emergency periods. It is bound to be filled with soldiers," instructed Garrett.
What he said made sense to Roan and the rest.
Before assessing the situation, Roan had carefully avoided going to the palace, but now that he knew the whole event, then the palace was probably the safest place in the entire capital.
If it was already infiltrated, then all hope was lost.
The group felt the same and slowly moved, in formation, to the capital.
The weaker and defenseless normal denizens were protected by the circle formation, while the regular cultivators and soldiers guarded all the sides of the circle.
They inched closer and closer to the palace, bursting through the army of zombies.
Five minutes later, on their way to the palace, they witnessed something extraordinary!
Amidst the zombie horde, they were about to bash through was a bunch of masked men that walked, side by side, with the zombies as if the zombies couldn't see them.
It was a scary sight that even became scarier when the masked men looked at them as they kept running forward!