"Killing Rot Corpses isn't that hard after all."
Field's confidence surged. He casually flicked the foul blood off his sword.
"My lord, watch out!"
A half-bodied Rot Corpse suddenly crawled forward through a gap, its rotting jaws snapping toward Field's ankle.
At the critical moment—
Ashina grabbed a pitchfork from one of the wooden carts and thrust it down with all her strength.
THUD!
The fork pierced straight through the corpse's spine and pinned it firmly to the ground.
"Whew! Nicely done!"
Field stumbled back several steps, his heart pounding wildly.
That had been dangerously close.
If he had been bitten, things would have become extremely troublesome.
Corpse poison could be cured by priests of the Church, but the price was outrageous.
Without at least one hundred gold coins, there was no treatment.
After calming his racing heartbeat, Field let out a long breath and rubbed Ashina's head.
"As thanks for saving my life, I'll reward you with one gold coin, Ashina."
Ashina's eyes instantly lit up like shining gold.
She had never seen that much money in her entire life.
"R-Really?! But… that was what I should do!"
Unlike the zombies in horror movies, Rot Corpses weren't invincible.
As long as weapons pierced their bodies, they could be killed.
More corpses rushed forward, clawing and smashing against the wagon barricade.
But the slaves behind the carts soon realized something.
These monsters weren't actually that powerful.
The carts blocked their attacks, and the creatures couldn't reach them.
More importantly—
Their lord was fighting.
Even that seemingly fragile girl had struck back.
Several men finally gathered their courage and picked up farm tools.
They began attacking the corpses outside the barricade.
Field didn't hesitate either.
He raised his sword and joined the fight.
Blood splashed again and again.
One Rot Corpse after another collapsed beneath farm tools and steel blades.
"AAAH!"
Suddenly, a scream rang out from the battlefield.
One of Connor's cavalrymen had been dragged off his horse.
A female Rot Corpse dressed like a village woman had grabbed his cloak.
With a violent tug, the knight lost balance and fell backward.
CRACK.
The back of his head slammed against the ground.
The unfortunate man stopped moving instantly.
Connor cursed furiously.
"Damn it! Useless idiot!"
But what made him even angrier—
Field hadn't panicked at all.
Instead, the young baron was calmly directing the slaves.
"Cut off the head of every corpse," Field ordered.
"Pile them together and burn them on the spot."
During the journey north, Field had studied everything he could about corruption.
The bodies of corrupted humans were extremely dangerous to the environment.
If left unattended, they could quickly create new sources of contamination.
Field frowned as he looked toward the distant horizon.
A thick layer of gray fog stretched across the land.
"We haven't even reached Nightfall Territory, yet we've already encountered this many Rot Corpses."
"That's not a good sign."
Sure, his family disliked him and wanted him gone.
But sending him straight into a mountain of monsters felt a bit excessive.
"Thank you for saving us, my lord!"
The fleeing villagers rushed forward as if they had just seen their own father.
They dropped to their knees and crawled toward Field, kissing his boots.
"May the God of War bless your path!"
Field accepted their gratitude calmly.
He glanced at the refugees, who looked more like beggars than villagers.
"Where are you from?"
"And why are there so many Rot Corpses?"
"Shouldn't the walls of Kasha Fortress block those corrupted creatures?"
"It was the Death Fog!"
The villagers' voices trembled with fear.
"The gray fog from the Northern lands seeped through the fortress walls and spread across our village—Oak Village."
"It happened during the night."
"Most people were sleeping when the fog came."
"They were corrupted in their sleep… and turned into Rot Corpses."
"Only a few of us managed to escape."
The villagers shook violently as they spoke, clearly reliving a horrifying memory.
The Death Fog was said to be the source of all corruption.
It drifted through the air.
Once inhaled by animals or humans, it quickly killed the host and transformed them into corrupted monsters.
Only two kinds of people were immune:
Those with lord abilities.
Or Chosen.
There was another option as well.
The Church sold special relics called Atonement Lamps, which could disperse the gray fog.
Of course—
They were absurdly expensive.
Field had spent fifty gold coins just to buy two of them.
Even then, he only got the deal because of his noble status.
After listening quietly to their story, Field asked,
"Where is your lord?"
"As far as I know, every border fortress has at least one Chosen stationed there."
"The Death Fog shouldn't have been able to enter."
"Our baron and the Chosen went out to investigate traces of a cult."
"Only the baron's son remains in the castle."
Field nodded.
"Alright."
"Let's go meet the master of this place."
After the group finished reorganizing, Field mounted his horse.
If he wanted to reach Nightfall Territory, he would first need permission from the local baron.
When Field finally arrived at Kasha Fortress, he was genuinely stunned.
The massive fortress stretched across the mountains like an iron wall.
Towering stone ramparts and round towers formed an enormous defensive network together with the surrounding cliffs.
The walls were wide enough for horses to run across.
Ballistae, catapults, boiling oil cauldrons, and fire braziers were stationed everywhere.
With such defenses, even an army of one hundred thousand soldiers would struggle to breach the fortress.
Griffin banners fluttered violently in the wind.
They symbolized the majesty of the Holy Griffin Empire.
But the biggest problem was—
Field looked around in confusion.
"Where is everyone?"
The entire outer wall was completely empty.
Not a single soldier could be seen.
Connor's face instantly turned pale.
"Don't tell me the orcs launched a surprise attack!"
"If the orcs break through Kasha Fortress, the entire province will fall overnight!"
"Probably not," Field said calmly.
"If that were the case, it wouldn't be this quiet."
After moving forward a little further, they finally saw torches burning atop the inner fortress wall.
"Stop right there! Who are you?!"
A shout came from above.
Under the torchlight, numerous figures could be seen moving along the walls.
Clearly, the fortress still had plenty of soldiers.
Which made Field even more confused.
Why abandon the outer defensive wall?
"I am Baron Field of the Ross family."
"I am traveling to Nightfall Territory to assume my post."
"Open the gates of Kasha Fortress and allow us to pass."
The officer on the wall hesitated.
After a moment, he called over a young man.
It was the son of Baron Bull.
"Absolutely not!"
The young noble shouted immediately.
"My father hasn't returned yet. No one opens the gates!"
"Leave now, or we'll start shooting arrows!"
Field's mouth twitched.
He could already guess what was happening.
The young man had probably been scared half to death by the Rot Corpses.
So he shouted back,
"It's me—Field!"
"I even donated money to this fortress before. Remember?"
"I'm not your enemy."
The reply came instantly.
"Just a few lousy coins."
"The entire Empire sends money to the frontier. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"You expect me to remember you?"
"Get lost, outsider. Don't come embarrassing yourself in Bull Territory."
Field's teeth nearly cracked from grinding.
"So that's how it is…"
"Seems like most nobles really are bastards."
The original owner's last act of kindness had completely gone to waste.
If Field had soldiers right now, he might have considered storming the fortress.
But he restrained himself.
"These villagers were people I rescued on the way," Field said patiently.
"You—"
He hadn't even finished speaking when furious shouting interrupted him.
"Damn it!"
"Do you think my castle has food to spare?!"
"Who told you to save those useless idiots?!"
"You meddling fool!"
"If you bring them one step closer to the fortress…"
"I'll order the archers to fire immediately!"