Emperor Of Steel [EN]: Chapter 132

10. The Crisis of the Holy Empire

Around the time the Symphonia Kingdom army was attacking Sherwood Castle, a terrible event was unfolding in the Holy Arternia Empire.

An unidentified disease was spreading through the Saxon region in the northern part of the empire.

People afflicted with the disease, which caused their skin to turn blue and their flesh to rot, died within a week, and those who died were resurrected the very next day.

They became undead monster zombies, not humans.

‘Kieeeeeeek—!’

‘Aaaah! Everyone, get away!’

‘Run!’

The rural village, suddenly attacked by neighbors who had turned into zombies, was thrown into chaos.

Some residents hastily tried to defend themselves with pickaxes and plows, but they were no match for the zombies’ brute strength and speed.

In the end, the village was devastated in less than an hour.

The residents who were bitten and killed by the zombies were resurrected as zombies themselves.

Even those who managed to shake off the zombies and escape to the lord’s castle found their skin turning blue and their flesh rotting.

They too became zombies before long and began attacking the living.

‘This can’t be happening!’

A group of people entered the lord’s castle, which had become a den of zombies.

They were priests and about 30 holy knights who had been dispatched after receiving a magical communication from the lord’s castle.

At first, they thought that the undead had been summoned by a black magician or had naturally arisen from a graveyard with strong yin mana [a concept in East Asian philosophy referring to the passive, dark, and feminine principle].

But they never expected the castle to be filled with zombies!

‘Kkkkkkk!’

‘Kikikiki!’

As soon as living beings appeared, the zombies’ gazes turned to them all at once.

‘Priest Malion, we must retreat from here at once!’

The holy knights grabbed his sleeve and urged him to retreat.

They knew they couldn’t defeat so many zombies with their current strength.

‘Oh, Elkasel, the master of all my faith and the one I respect with my life! Please grant the blessing of rest to the people of this territory who have become cursed monsters!’

As the zombies rushed toward them, Priest Malion recited a prayer and then turned to leave.

The holy knights poured oil and set the place on fire before fleeing.

The only way to eliminate zombies was to use divine power or purify them with fire.

As they were about to exit the castle gate, after setting fire to various parts of the lord’s castle, they discovered a group of children being chased by male and female zombies.

‘Please save us, Priest! Our mom and dad are trying to kill us!’

At Malion’s signal, the holy knights infused their swords with divine power and struck down the children’s zombie parents.

‘Kieeeeeeek—!’

The children, seeing the zombies turn to ash, burst into tears. Just a short while ago, these were their parents who had loved them unconditionally.

‘Hwaaang, Mommy…’

‘It’s alright, it’s alright now. The gods will watch over your parents’ souls.’

Priest Malion comforted the children and left the lord’s castle.

They hurried without rest and finally managed to take a break as the sun was setting.

‘What should we do now?’

After a moment of thought, Malion answered a holy knight’s question.

‘We must meet with Archbishop Bremen and discuss this. It seems like this is no ordinary matter.’

‘Indeed, I heard from the children on the way that people who died from the disease became undead.’

‘Because of a disease?’

Malion tilted his head at the holy knight’s words. He had never heard of anyone becoming a zombie because of a disease.

‘The children must have misunderstood something.’

Perhaps they were bitten by a zombie when the children weren’t looking.

As he thought this, he noticed the children scratching their faces and arms.

They must have fallen or scratched themselves somewhere, but the wounds were festering, and the skin around them was turning blue, indicating a very serious condition.

‘Hoo, I was so focused on hurrying that I didn’t take care of you.’

With an apologetic expression, Malion recited a prayer and drew upon his divine power.

Then, he ran his hand, imbued with divine power, over the children’s wounds.

‘My divine power doesn’t even reach the tip of His Holiness’s toes, but these wounds should be…’

‘Aaaah!’

The moment Malion’s divine power was absorbed into their skin, the children screamed and writhed.

Suddenly, flames erupted, and their entire bodies began to burn black.

‘Save us! Please save us, Priest!’

‘It’s hot! Please…!’

Malion and the holy knights were petrified by the unexpected and absurd situation.

What had they done wrong?

While they were in shock, the children’s bodies turned to ash and collapsed in an instant.