Ryo moved with a quiet intensity through the town streets, accompanied by Sayako and flanked by four Striders and two hulking Brutes. The Striders were lithe and silent, shadowing Ryo's every move with a predator's grace, while the Brutes towered at the rear, their heavy footsteps echoing like distant thunder.
Ryo's gaze swept over the streets he now considered his own. Zombies milled about in a slow, steady rhythm, filling every corner, alley, and doorway, a dense wall of grey-skinned figures moving in silent obedience to the territory's new master. Unlike the sporadic, chaotic swarms that had filled the towns before his arrival, these zombies appeared subtly ordered, almost as if they sensed his presence and moved to clear his path.
