"The steps of migration must not stop!"
On the front line, a temporary command post in the small town of Byripe.
A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties addressed the attending local administrators, military personnel, and the stern-faced cleaners, stating earnestly,
"Only we need to remain on the front line."
With that, he seriously looked at the silent local administrators and military personnel, then calmly continued after tapping on the table,
"This is an order from our bishop."
The pressure from his gaze was palpable, and everyone except the cleaners felt it, exchanging glances and nodding in agreement.
"Understood, I will continue to arrange for the town's evacuation."
The local administrator, a very astute and capable man, confirmed.
"I will also dispatch some troops for escort duties, to accompany them throughout the journey."
The military personnel also expressed their stance at this moment.
If the bishop had not been involved, they might have had a say even in the presence of the cleaners.
Now, with the bishop's direct involvement, the situation was overwhelmingly one-sided.
"Very good."
Ginias nodded in satisfaction.
As the leader of the cleaners in Byragde City, he understood the reasons behind their cooperation.
Thus, he truly wished to meet the bishop in person, not just through video or second-hand accounts from Marcos and others.
He also envied Marcos and his companions.
"Let's proceed to the next item on the meeting agenda."
After a while.
With the sound of adjournment, the meeting simply concluded.
The already migrating populace, along with the residents of Byripe Town, continued their move.
The already large convoy grew even larger with the inclusion of another town's residents.
The long line of vehicles resembled a serpent with no visible end, the rumbling of engines undulating as puffs of dark exhaust vanished into the air.
Ginias stood on a high platform, watching expressionlessly.
Moving with families was no easy task, even if each household had a vehicle.
But there was no choice! To stay was to die or become fodder for demons.
"Lord Ginias."
Just then, a very urgent voice reached his ears.
Ginias frowned and looked toward the source.
A man dressed in a cleaner's uniform hurried over.
"The equipment left in Suzdal Town has detected that the spirits have begun to move."
"Damn!"
Hearing this, Ginias couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Since yesterday, the infected spirits had been moving faster.
And their evacuation had never stopped, constantly on the move.
Yet, the distance between them and the spirits was closing.
Ginias's expression grew colder as he took the device his subordinate handed him, examining the screen:
"Do we know exactly where they are now?"
"The equipment in Narola North City hasn't been triggered yet."
Hearing his subordinate's reply, Ginias felt a subconscious relief.
According to the plan, they would retreat as the spirit group advanced, maintaining a distance of two towns between them.
This buffer zone also gave the people time to evacuate.
So when the spirit group attacked the next town, they would retreat to the subsequent town, leaving the previous one empty except for the scattered detection equipment.
Once the equipment was triggered, it meant the spirit group had arrived.
And Narola North City was just the first contact point between the two towns.
"We should still have time."
Ginias handed back the device to his subordinate and decisively said,
"Tell them to speed up, throw away anything non-essential."
His subordinate, just after receiving the tablet, slightly nodded in acknowledgment.
But Ginias, thinking of something, added,
"All losses will be compensated by the authorities and the church."
"Yes!"
His subordinate nodded again and hurried away.
Ginias subconsciously turned back to look at the flow of vehicles, took a deep breath, and prepared to descend from the platform.
However, just as he moved towards the checkpoint.
Another incident occurred.
The detection equipment in Narola North City was suddenly triggered, indicating that spirits had now appeared there.
The distance between the two parties was just one town.
"It's not the infected spirits!"
Ginias appeared at a newly established checkpoint, his face growing even darker.
Who would have known that just after they moved, the steps of the spirits had instantly encroached upon Narola North City.
"It's the animals between Narola North City and Suzdal Town; an animal has led the infection of the entire area."
Ginias stared at the empty wilderness ahead, saying darkly,
"Prepare for battle, and if it's not human, there's no need to hold back."
Continuing, Ginias felt extremely disgusted, constantly saying,
"Try not to use firearms, just cold weapons.
Otherwise, we all risk immediate infection, falling into infighting, and even if we die or become infected as spirits, we must at least take down one spirit before that."
His words were broadcasted over a loudspeaker.
Tr
apped on the inevitable route, everyone stationed along the extensive defensive line—from the retreating soldiers to the cleaners—silently drew their weapons, placing them at their sides or within easy reach.
Those were all cold weapons, not swords, then knives, all kinds of blades were present, but noticeably absent were firearms.
With years of tangled interactions and combat experience, these soldiers and cleaners at the front lines were well-versed in the demonic infection mechanisms.
The reason for not using firearms was due to one of the seven guidelines: do not use firearms to kill them (instant possession or death is possible).
There had been instances where soldiers using firearms to kill spirits resulted in immediate infection, leading to total infighting, leaving a field of corpses behind.
The last survivor also committed suicide with a gun just as the cleaners arrived.
"This is the terrifying aspect of demons, and this is just their accompanying infection mechanism."
Ginias muttered to himself, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
His cold weapon was a knight's sword passed down from his ancestors, who had been Templar knights.
It seemed they had also once slain a demon, allowing them to advance in their holy orders.
The narrow front line presented different scenes before and behind.
Behind Ginias and those ready to withstand the impact was an empty and eerily calm wilderness.
Behind them was a scene of families on the move.
Due to Ginias's orders.
As the escort soldiers and local administrators got involved, the pace of the people's migration began to accelerate.
Time passed.
When Ginias received notification that the detection equipment placed in advance had been triggered,
the people behind had just started moving, with the rear of the column just stepping on the road.
"It seems that battle is unavoidable," Ginias said calmly.
His words still reached everyone's ears through the loudspeakers.
"We need to buy some time for the people behind."
Hearing the announcement, everyone took a deep breath and quietly took up their cold weapons.
No one shrank back; the calm atmosphere shifted, and even without actual combat, a scent of gunpowder seemed to suddenly permeate the air.
After an unknown amount of time.
Activity finally began in the wilderness.
Ginias touched the ground with his hand; he could feel the earth trembling.
The vibrations indicated that the number of spirits ahead was not small.
"Prepare!" Ginias's face remained expressionless as he simply said.
Everyone blocking the essential path drew their cold weapons, their faces stern.
A glance revealed a thousand individuals.
The chilling gleam signaled that a melee was about to ensue.
"They're here!"
Ginias casually drew his knight's sword from his waist, watching the shadows that appeared on the horizon and said in a low voice.
Everyone licked their dry lips, staring intently at the shadows that had come into view, their breathing gradually becoming heavier.
As the distance closed, this large group of shadows turned out to be a herd of common wilderness animals.
Wild boars, wolves, wild goats, and more.
All these animals, simply because they ran the fastest.
Ginias's eyes showed bitterness; the situation he least wanted to see had still occurred.
He believed that behind this group of infected animals, there would be many more animals of various sizes.
He also believed that many people would die in this uneven battle.
But now, there was no alternative.
"Engage!"
With only one word, Ginias took a deep breath and watched as the animals that had reached the trap array charged forward and roared,
"Engage."
In the distance, a sharp and sturdy rope was pulled tight.
As the crazed herd charged past, pairs of limbs were left behind.
Blood misted into the air but was immediately suppressed by the subsequent animals that followed.
These following animals ignored the fallen ones ahead and trampled over them brutally.
With the rising dust and the cries of agony, the shadows drew nearer.
The roaring became deafening.
Everyone instinctively clenched their weapons tighter, staring dead ahead.
In their eyes, even though they had set deep pits and numerous traps, these were still brutally filled with the bodies of the crazed animals.
This was a very bloody scene; this group of crazed animals, after leaving many corpses, brutally crossed the trap array.
Ginias's face grew colder; now, the only obstacles between them were the barricades set to withstand the impact.
The most disgusting part was that no matter what they did, they still couldn't avoid the risk of infection; the best they could do was to reduce the risk of infection.
But now, no matter what they did, it was futile because in this battle, they were destined to have people become infected.
One of the seven guidelines:
③ Do not take anything from around them (because it will cause infection, the demon's spirit is as contagious as a virus).
④ Do not harm them.
Remembering these two guidelines, Ginias subconsciously recalled the legendary bishop's and Marcos's excited words.
"I've heard that becoming
a clergyman allows one to ignore the seven guidelines."
Ginias yearned.
"I wonder if I can survive this time."
As he watched the crazed herd preparing to charge the barricades, Ginias, as the leader, could only raise his knight's sword.
"Engage!!" He roared loudly, staring at the beastly faces of the charging animal herd.
The animals had already begun to assault the barricades; they were utterly fearless of death, directly smashing through the barriers set in front with their flesh and blood.
"Kill!"
Ginias moved faster than anyone else; though in his forties or fifties, his strength had not faded too much, and his skills were at their most mature.
The battle fully unfolded, and Ginias directly confronted a few wolves that had breached the barricade gap, diving deep into the formation.
No extra movements.
When they met, it was a bloody battle.
Roar!
Several wolves surrounded him, directly pouncing towards Ginias.
The attack of a wolf always leads with its forepaws, its teeth aiming for the human's neck.
It might be the instinct of a beast of prey, this straightforward method of attack, yet it was highly effective.
The roar echoed in his ears, other wolves also appeared before him.
Ginias's eyes hardened, his gaze becoming sharp and determined, fearlessly striding toward the closest alpha wolf, utterly ignoring the wolves pouncing from the sides.
Without any extra skills, relying on the length of his knight's sword, he slashed at the body of the alpha wolf, knocking it to the ground.
At the same time, he agilely dodged the second wolf's attack, using a quick and precise left punch to counterstrike, hitting it hard on its wolf head with the powerful force of his blow, sending it flying several meters away.
Then, his right hand wielding the knight's sword simultaneously struck, piercing through the third wolf that had opened its bloody mouth wide in mid-air.
Three wolves attacking in a surround were thus easily dealt with by Ginias.
But his steps did not stop, because his field of vision was full of these crazed beasts; three wolves had been killed, but many more filled the gaps.
Ginias's expression remained impassive as he continued to confront these fierce beasts, maintaining a high speed of movement.
One beast after another died along the way, but Ginias found that the pressure from his surroundings was increasing; he felt his right hand continuously swinging the knight's sword getting heavier, and his speed began to slow.
To the point where some of the beasts' attacks he simply could not avoid or counter effectively, and his wounds increased in number.
Even as human screams rang out around him, he couldn't spare the attention to look or offer help.
Time passed.
Ginias became somewhat numb, just endlessly dodging and attacking.
The scent of blood hit his nose, and a pain struck his chest.
It turned out a leopard had pounced on him, biting at his chest.
Ginias was knocked back several steps by the impact, but he gritted his teeth and stood firm against the force, knowing that falling down meant only one outcome.
Roar!
The surrounding roars let him know that beasts from all directions were attacking again.
Ginias's expression chilled, he took a deep breath, turned his knight's sword in his right hand, and with all his might, slashed at the leopard still biting at his chest.
A flash of cold light, blood splattered onto his pale face.
But his strength was waning, and the knight's sword's slash was no longer as sharp as before, getting stuck in the leopard's neck.
Ginias's expression remained impassive as he swung his left fist hard, hitting the leopard's body.
Brutally dragging the leopard's body away took with it the flesh from his chest.
Ginias's face paled, he didn't even look as he stepped forward, trying to dodge the collective bite of the beasts.
But no matter what, his speed had significantly slowed, and he was still knocked down by a wolf attacking from the right.
Roar!
With a blood-filled mouth so close, it was enormous.
Ginias could only dodge his head, his pale face still expressionless, but he also knew his fate.
"Is this my death? So be it."
Just as he resigned himself, Ginias suddenly felt a strange thought appear in his mind, as if it had been deeply implanted there.
"I won't let you infect my mind!"
A fierce light suddenly flashed in Ginias's eyes; he directly leaned forward, choosing to send his vital parts into the continuingly biting wolf's mouth.
He knew this was the demon's infection; he was too familiar with it. The demon's infection might work on ordinary people, but it couldn't shake a determined mind unless it was a prolonged infection or occurred while unconscious.
And even if he were to die, he wouldn't become a spirit.
Just at this critical
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