A loud noise was heard from the capitol building as if something crashed,
and everyone's attention was diverted to that direction.
As if aiming for that moment, enemies began to appear from all over the
building.
They attacked us, taking advantage of the gap that was created by the
momentary explosion.
And what emerged was not a mutation of the goblin we had seen earlier.
"Humans? No, something is wrong!"
What we saw were human beings with beastly ears and tails and unusually
developed fangs and claws.
The degree of abnormality varied from individual to individual, with some
being almost entirely human while others had limbs covered in hair.
However, all of them wore clothes, making it possible to identify them as
human beings.
"What in the world are they?"
Even the ever-prim and proper Lucy froze at the sight of these unusual
beings.
"Pull yourself together, milady! Your orders!"
Regaining my senses quicker than the others, I shook Lucy's shoulder.
"Y-yes! All units form a circular defensive position around the square! The
opponents may be inhabitants of this city. Please do as little harm as
possible!"
Lucy herself thought this was a reckless order.
However, it would be a total disaster if they came here only to kill the
inhabitants with their own hands, the same inhabitants whom they should
be saving.
The Krasland troops could be stigmatized as fellow countrymen killers if
they did that.
So as long as they are identifiable as human from the outside, we have to
provide caution and not kill them aggressively.
"Lacy, please take Milena and her unit back to the rear as we do the
defensive formation."
"R-roger!"
After asking Lacy, who is holding back the attacks on the front line, to
rescue her sister, I went in to join Lucy.
The situation on the battlefield is not so good.
Our mobility is now severely limited in the absence of an aggressive
offensive.
Even so, the various units were able to coordinate and reorganize their
formation.
The troops under Lucy's direct command also moved to the center of the
square.
"It seems our opponents are attacking us with teeth and claws, just like real
beasts."
While being protected by the escorting soldiers, we started assessing the
battle situation. If y ou ar e abl e to rea d this mes sa ge, yo u are rea ding
from an un aut hor ized a ggreg ate si te. Re ad at my Wor dPr ess at s tab
bing wit h a syr in ge. ho me. bl og to su pp ort me and my tra nsla ti ons.
Because of the unusual yet simple behavior of the inhabitants, the soldiers
in the vanguard were able to defend themselves with ease, occasionally
counterattacking by bashing their shields at the enemy.
They cannot easily use blades, as there is a risk of killing or wounding them
if they use them.
"Yuushin, what's going on inside the capitol?"
I took a glance at the capitol building behind me as I was told this.
Then, the door that had been closed earlier was opened from the inside.
I saw soldiers from our side coming out.
"There they are. They seem to have escaped. But the situation is not good."
It seems that the other side had also been attacked and was frantically
retreating in a hurry.
Their formation is broken, and their chain of command is a mess.
Among the soldiers, I could see Jones and the other messengers, together
with our escort troops.
I want to cover for them with our troops, but Tilda and Anastasia are too
busy intercepting the enemy.
The sisters are also stuck in their place as they are the first ones to get
attacked.
I guess I'll have to go myself.
"Commander, can you lend me about a hundred men? We'll cover the
retreating diplomat and the troops."
"…I understand. Be careful."
Just like that, I was able to leave Lucy's side, leading a hundred men to
cover the troops retreating from the Capitol.
It seemed that they, too, had been attacked by humans who had gone
berserk, and perhaps because it was inside a building where there are
several blind spots, I could see quite a number of injured people.
"Hit them with your shields and send them flying! A little bumping won't
kill them!"
I screamed my orders, and the soldiers who received them rushed in with
their shields at the ready.
However ferocious they might have become, the inhabitants are not
soldiers.
Thus, we were able to quickly breach through them, easily reaching the
diplomats and our men.
I sought Jones among the rescued and asked him a question.
"Jones. Are they residents of this city?"
"Oh, yes, no doubt about it. I recognize a few familiar faces. But still, what
in the world is…"
"We'll worry about that later. Prioritize joining with the main troops as soon
as possible."
After that, I had the wounded carried by the unharmed soldiers, and we all
headed back to the location of the almost complete defensive formation.
"Commander Finlay, I'm back. What is the situation?"
When the formation is complete and the wounded was brought in, I asked
Lucy.
But even if she didn't answer, I could tell that it's not looking good.
From the looks of it, quite a number of people live in this area alone.
If we consider the whole city being mutated, honestly, the numbers would
be too much for us to handle on our own.
"…I guess we'll just have to get out of here first."
As I was thinking that, I heard a commotion from the area where the injured
are being held.
"What the hell is going on over there?"
I headed toward it, and an unbelievable scene unfolded before my eyes.
The injured soldiers, who were wounded by the frenzied residents, were
now on the rampage.
Moreover, their bodies are now covered with animal hair, and the nails on
their hands are rapidly growing.
"It's like…"
My mind replayed a zombie movie I had seen on TV a long time ago.
The kind of pattern where the character that gets bitten by the monster turns
into that same monster.
The first time, I thought it was impossible. But then, I heard a familiar
voice.
"Ouch, sis, stop! It's me!"
I quickly turned my head to see Milena biting Lacy's shoulder.
"Let go, Milena! Don't you recognize Lacy? She's your sister!"
I rushed toward Milena and pulled her away from Lacy.
But upon releasing her, Lacy was already looking limp.
"Gghhhh, gahhhh!"
Meanwhile, Milena seemed to have already lost her senses.
She was breathing hard as if excited, and her body was unusually hot.
Damn, does that mean everyone who got wounded is already out of the
picture?
"Hey, you. Help me out here!"
I called for help from the nearby soldier to restrain Milena and Lacy.
Meanwhile, similar things are also happening all around us.
"We can't hold them like this forever. What the hell are we gonna do?"
With enemies on the outside and the inside, we could no longer sustain
ourselves in this fight. Th is ch a pt er tra sla ti on is ma de po ssib le by sta
bb ing wi th a sy ri nge tr ansla tions. C heck onl y up-to-da te transl at ions
on my Wor dpr ess si te.
It was also impossible to take Milena and Lacy back to Krasland in this
condition.
We have to find a solution. And fast.
"To provide the solution, I need to find the cause. But what is the cause of
all this?"
I tried my best to wrap my head around it, but I couldn't even find the
slightest clue as to the cause of this infection.
If it's a virus, like in the movie, there's no way to fix it.
Should I just kill them all?
Nonsense, we can't do that.
(But if we don't do anything, even Lucy and the others will be in danger….)
"No, now is not the time to be confused. I have to deal with this calmly…"
Slapping my cheeks hard to get to my senses, I sought a nearby military
doctor.
"Have you ever seen or heard of a sickness with these symptoms?"
"No, I haven't. But even if it is a disease, the time between infection and
onset and loss of sanity is too fast. Something is wrong."
"Is that so. Thank you."
If it is what the doctor says, there is no possibility that it is an existing
disease.
If it's a new disease, there has to be an incubation period for it to grow.
As I thought of this, I noticed something.
The inhabitants began to move again as if they were waiting to ambush us.
Though it was an 'ambush', it was impossible not to notice this, as they all
made sounds like feral beasts.
There is a possibility that something is controlling them from behind the
scenes.
In that case, the most likely candidate would be an intelligent monster – a
"general" monster.
(For now, let's return to Lucy to confirm my thoughts.)
Even after I returned, Lucy was still busy dealing with the situation, but I
was relieved to see that she herself had not been attacked.
I immediately went over to her and told her what I was thinking.
"So… Yuushin thinks that some kind of monster is controlling these
residents?"
"I suppose. It's possible."
At least, I haven't thought of other possibilities yet, so it is worth looking
into.
"I understand. Let's look into it along those lines. Thankfully, we have
someone who knows a lot about monsters."
Lucy's eyes then rolled to the direction of a dark elf woman who was still
casting magic at the residents who had gone berserk.
Indeed, she immediately knew the capabilities of the Lich at the time when
it invaded.
Perhaps she might be able to identify the monster this time as well.
Holding these thoughts, I immediately ran to Anastasia.