Arianne's swing cleared the nearby zombies, but it didn't mean she killed all of them in one swing. After all, given the large number of refugees—more than what she heard from Axel—over a thousand zombies were rushing toward them!
'I don't know what's going on, but I'll do what I was asked to do!'
She stood strong, longsword in hand, and held her position. She had to. After all, behind her was a pair of sisters, Angela and Karen, who were unable to move from injury and fatigue.
If Arianne moved away, then with almost a hundred percent certainty, the two would die!
'Anyway, I need to clear these bastards away, fast!'
Arianne couldn't use any magic, but at the very least, she could strengthen her body with "mana," the energy used to cast magic. That was partly the reason she could arrive at the scene in time.
"Haaap!"
With a cleave of her sword, zombies fell like wheat to a sickle.
And with every swing, she took a step forward, advancing into the zombies' formation.
She wasn't abandoning the sisters, of course. Rather, she was placing herself as the main target of the zombies. They target the closest living being, after all. That meant as long as she moved closer to the zombies than anyone else, nobody but her should get targeted.
"Huh?!"
But just as she moved roughly ten meters onward, killing hundreds of zombies along the way, she noticed an anomaly. "Giant Zombies... eight of them?!" she gasped.
She was confident she could kill a Giant Zombie one-on-one, but against a group of them, her confidence faltered. Although Axel's sword was a powerful weapon, it wouldn't mean a thing if she got hit from the back while facing another one.
In the end, with physical strengthening to bolster her defenses or not, one hit from a Giant Zombie would be more than enough to take her life.
"GRAAAAH!"
"...!"
And to add to that, a different zombie pounced at her. It was so fast that Arianne barely managed to block the attack with her sword.
"No way...!" she gasped upon realizing what she had just blocked. "A Pouncer?!"
Pouncer.
It was a tricky zombie that appeared only when the group exceeded 50 people. Its body was just as strong as a Giant Zombie's, despite its size being three-quarters that of a regular one.
But the trickiest part of all this was its speed.
"Die...!"
Arianne pushed the Pouncer back forcefully and swung her sword to follow.
However, her blade couldn't even touch the zombie. It moved back, dodging the sword and even using other zombies as a shield!
"Ugh...!"
She didn't stop moving, swinging her sword. She knew that the moment she did, zombies would swarm around her and make it impossible to attack. Furthermore, with the Pouncer in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to attack, she couldn't even let her guard down for a moment.
'This is going to be a battle of attrition...!' Arianne grunted.
Her sword kept swinging, killing zombies one after another, for minutes on end.
Her eyes didn't only stare at the enemies before her; she even kept track of the Giant Zombies way behind, and of the Pouncer that she couldn't see at the moment. As she continued just like that, her fatigue began to pile up—
physically and mentally.
She felt so tired that she lost track of time... but despite that, she didn't stop swinging her sword.
The Pouncer had attacked her multiple times by then, leaving a few wounds on her body. Flesh wounds, bleeding, ones that sapped her strength the longer they remained untended. Still, she managed to avoid any fatal injuries until now.
For a countermeasure against the Giant Zombies, Arianne kept walking backward slowly, making sure to keep the distance between her and the big ones just right. But with the swarm of zombies between them, those wouldn't arrive within her range for a while more.
As for the two sisters, they had already moved further back, resting while watching over Arianne's plight. Even if they wanted to truly run away, continuing on their way, their bodies were already unable to move satisfactorily.
"Please win, Miss Knight...!"
As weak as they were, all Angela and Karen could do was pray for her victory.
But as if destiny was playing with them, Arianne fell to her knees at long last.
Her wounds slowly drained her blood away, making it hard for her to even move her body now. Rather, with how much blood she'd lost, it was almost a miracle she could still swing her sword.
A dark bag was already forming under her eyes from blood loss, but despite that, her eyes remained firm and dedicated.
"Just... a bit more..." she whispered, as if to steel her resolve. "Sir Axel... will arrive... just hold... on..."
She gritted her teeth, using the sword as support to get back on her feet. Then, she held her sword forward in a stance, its tip unshaking despite her battered state.
"NOW! COME AT ME, YOU BASTARDS!!!"
After slaying over a thousand zombies while being harassed by a Pouncer, it was finally her last stand. She glared ahead, raising the sword in her hand high until—
"BEEEEEEEEEP!"
A loud horn echoed from behind, along with a blinding flash of light moving, seemingly approaching her.
Arianne was distracted for a moment, turning her gaze toward the source of light, only to turn away from it as it was too bright to look at. But along with the light and over the roaring sound—like the cry of a wild beast—she was sure she could hear someone's voice.
"Arianne...! Get down!"
"...!"
She was sure of it. It was someone's voice—Axel's!
Although she couldn't tell why, she did as told and ducked. The next moment, a crossbow bolt flew over her head and hit the Pouncer who was coming from behind her.
A surprise attack on someone launching a surprise attack!
"KEEEEEK!"
The Pouncer rolled in pain from the hit, but it didn't die. However, it was rendered immobile long enough.
"Vengeance is mine...!"
Arianne didn't miss the chance and brought her sword down, decapitating the zombie. Finally, the Pouncer's body stopped moving before melting away into green, sticky goo.
The next moment, Axel's vehicle braked hard, coming to a stop a short distance away.
What he rode wasn't a bicycle as planned. Rather, it was a large, angular, almost rectangular vehicle fit for military use...
A Humvee!
Axel didn't waste time.
He knew that Arianne was near the end of her rope, so he quickly moved toward the other two figures he saw while approaching—Angela and Karen.
"You two, get in! Hurry!"
He said as he almost naturally carried the little girl in a princess carry.
Angela was confused but knew that whoever he was, he was the companion of the knight, Arianne, who had protected them from zombies until she looked like rags. He couldn't be a bad person!
Opening the rear end, he laid Karen carefully on the metal floor before helping the limping Angela up. Then, he closed the rear door, rushing toward the passenger seat and leaving it open before finally rushing to the driver's seat once more.
"Arianne, that's enough! Get in!"
He shouted toward the brave knight who still waved her sword against the odds.
She flicked her eyes aside, seeing the passenger seat open. Then, before she ran back, she didn't forget to do one last swing, killing a dozen more zombies before retreating.
"Hack...!"
As soon as she jumped into the seat, without even waiting for her to close the door—which she didn't know how to do—Axel floored the Humvee.
At last, albeit covered in blood, Arianne was finally able to breathe in relief.
"I thought I was gonna die..."
Axel smiled wryly, passing a potion over to her. "Well, sorry for being late."
They survived for now...
But the quest was still far from over.