Chapter 188 – The Barrier (1)

The Empire.

It was the term used to refer to the massive nation that occupied one-third of the continent beyond the northern mountain range.

Of course, there were other names for the Empire, but neither people from other countries like me nor even the citizens of the Empire used them.

Every time a new dynasty was established, the king would occasionally change the name of the country. In a place without the internet, there was no way to remember those names.

Eventually, people continued to call the vast northern kingdom, which had endured through changing dynasties, the Empire.

It was only natural, as there had been only one nation worthy of being called an empire on the continent—no, in Ea—for a long time.

And now, a crisis had come to that great Empire.

Even when the Demon King’s army swept across the continent a few years ago, the Empire hadn’t considered it a crisis. But this time was different.

Back then, nearly half of the continent had been overrun by the Demon King’s army, but it was mostly the southern kingdoms below the northern mountain range that suffered. The Empire and its satellite nations had remained untouched by the Demon King’s reach.

But now, the satellite nations that had served as a buffer had fallen, and hundreds of thousands—no, even more—undead were attacking the Empire’s borders.

“My God.”

Even Hoffmann, who had fought against the Demon King’s army for years, was left speechless at the sight of the zombies filling the area below the barrier.

Yerim, the priests, the apprentice knights, and I were all the same.

“It must be several kilometers away from here…”

As Yerim said, the border barrier was several kilometers away from the hill we were standing on, but the horde of zombies below it was so vast that it was impossible to take in at a glance.

Like an endless swarm of ants, the zombies stretched across the horizon, filling the land in front of the barrier.

Moreover, the zombies were climbing over each other, scaling the barrier.

It was a sight I had never seen during the war against the Demon King’s army.

The zombie movies I had seen in my past life weren’t exaggerations.

“This is the violence of numbers.”

Of course, each individual zombie was weaker than the skeletons we had fought before.

Even now, the zombies would pile up to form a mound, only to be cut down by a single swing of a knight’s sword from atop the barrier.

The soldiers could also work together to create a slope and stop the zombies from climbing over the barrier.

That was why the barrier was still holding.

But unlike the skeletons, which had a limited number, the zombie horde seemed endless.

Even if we knocked down the mounds of zombies climbing the barrier, new mounds would form right beside them. Even if we shot arrows or cast spells to reduce their numbers, there was no sign of them decreasing.

That was because more zombies were rushing toward the barrier than we could kill.

“From here, they really look like a swarm of ants heading toward food.”

As Yerim said, the zombies rushing toward the barrier were no different from a swarm of ants.

Multiple long lines stretched across the wide plains on either side, all of them made up of zombies.

“Still, it’s a good thing. If the zombies were moving mindlessly like in that other world, we would have been caught by now.”

At Zahina’s words, the priests and apprentice knights turned pale and looked behind us.

Behind us, at the foot of the hill, nearly a thousand people had gathered.

Soldiers and refugees.

They were people who had joined our group on the way here.

We helped soldiers fighting zombies, and they joined us. We saved civilians, and they followed us. It was inevitable that our numbers would grow.

Of course, some people chose to stay behind when they heard we were heading toward the Empire, which was being overrun by undead. But still, many people moved with us.

As our numbers grew, it took longer to move.

The people following us couldn’t move quickly, and we had to avoid areas with many undead. The fact that we had made it here safely was nothing short of a miracle.

“It’s all thanks to Sir Egar’s magic pouch.”

At Yerim’s words, I let out a sigh.

The large amount of food I had stored in the spatial expansion pouch, even giving up gold bars for it, was almost gone.

But since it reduced the danger and allowed us to get here quickly, I could let go of my regrets with a sigh.

Besides the spatial expansion pouch, there was still more gold.

In Yelena’s subspace.

I had no intention of giving up that gold.

I was determined to keep the oath I had made to Yelena.

The fact that the people we had brought here were safe in this place filled with undead was thanks to the undead’s formation.

They moved along paths that were easy to traverse, instinctively following the roads. Thanks to that, the undead had created paths across the fields.

As Zahina said, it didn’t seem like they were moving with any particular purpose, but it allowed us to hide on the hill between the paths.

Of course, simply hiding wasn’t enough to avoid detection.

Zahina had created earthen barriers to block their line of sight and scattered the wind to prevent human sounds and smells from reaching them.

Finally, Yerim’s divine power, which was still being spread around us, kept the undead at a distance.

Still, it was truly a miracle that we had managed to bring so many people here safely and hide them.

But relying on luck ended here.

Now, we had to break through that undead horde and get inside the barrier.

“There’s no way to do this as it is. Is there no gap?”

If it were just me and my party members, we could break through the undead army and enter the barrier even now.

The numbers were terrifying, but they were mostly ordinary zombies, not skeletons.

There were elite undead scattered among them, controlling the zombies, but avoiding them wasn’t difficult.

But now, I had nearly a thousand people behind me.

Moreover, most of them were ordinary civilians, so there was no way to break through the undead horde with them in tow.

On the other hand, it was also difficult to keep hiding here, so we had to find a way as quickly as possible.

‘Zahina can’t lift all these people, and we can’t dig a tunnel all the way to the barrier.’

In another place, such methods might have been possible, but this massive, long barrier had been fortified with magic by the Empire for hundreds of years.

Only those authorized by the barrier could fly over it or pass beneath it.

Thanks to that, this long barrier had protected the Empire for centuries, but it also eliminated any way for us to get inside.

“Should we create a base underground and wait for the situation to change?”

“Wait for the situation to change?”

“Either the zombies retreat, or…”

Yerim couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. Even without her saying it, I could guess what she was going to say.

If the zombies didn’t retreat, the only way the situation would change was if the barrier fell.

However, there were apprentice knights and priests from the Empire here.

Even as a joke, such words couldn’t be spoken.

But it seemed others had also realized what she was about to say.

The undead attacking the barrier.

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the movements of the undead attacking the barrier changed.

The zombies remained the same, but the skeleton soldiers scattered among them began to gather in one place.

Skeleton soldiers armed with swords and shields.

And skeletons with guns.

The skeletons began climbing the mounds created by the zombies.

The zombie mounds reached the top of the barrier again, and as before, a knight came out to cut down the zombies that had climbed up. But this time, it was different.

Smoke rose from the arms of the skeletons climbing the zombie mounds, and blood spurted from the body of the knight on the barrier.

The sound of gunfire followed.

Bang. Bang.

Perhaps because of the distance, the gunshots were heard only as the knight fell from the barrier.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Smoke continued to rise from the skeletons’ hands, and the gunfire continued.

One by one, the soldiers and knights on the barrier fell, bleeding.

Zombies and skeletons began to climb onto the barrier.

Seeing this, Yerim’s face turned pale.

“Huh? This isn’t right. This isn’t what I thought would happen.”

Yerim stammered in the face of the sudden crisis, but I stood up and looked at the people.

“The situation has changed. We’re moving out now.”

“What?”

This time, others were also surprised and looked at me.

Unlike them, Hoffmann, who was accustomed to the battlefield, immediately moved at my words.

“Understood. I’ll inform the people behind us.”

Hoffmann ran off, but the others were still looking at me with puzzled expressions.

“But isn’t it dangerous to move now? The fighting will only get more intense. The barrier hasn’t fallen yet.”

Did she think I was moving because of what she had said?

Yerim grabbed me and spoke urgently. For someone speaking in a hurry, her words were quite logical, but she still lacked experience in war.

The problem was that the apprentice knights and priests here seemed to share her thoughts.

This wasn’t a school.

Faced with their sudden naivety, I sighed and pointed toward the barrier where the undead were climbing.

“Look there.”

As people turned their gaze, a sword aura shot up from the barrier.

It was over ten meters tall.

The sword aura, soaring into the sky, quickly moved and began to shred the skeletons that had climbed onto the barrier.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Bones were sent flying into the sky.

Ting. Ting.

The sound of gunfire continued, but this time, instead of the sound of armor being pierced, the sound of bullets ricocheting could be heard.

As the skeletons were being destroyed, dark clouds gathered in the sky above the barrier.

And then, lightning struck down.

Flash!

The rapidly growing zombie mounds were shattered by the lightning.

“If the barrier could be breached by such attacks, it would have fallen long ago.”

The Empire, which had lasted for a thousand years, was known for many things.

The massive barrier we were looking at now.

The Empire’s hundreds of thousands of soldiers, countless knights, and magical corps.

Its powerful economy, vast territory, and loyal citizens.

All of these were things the Empire prided itself on.

But the most famous were the ten or so superhumans.

The great ones known as Sword Saints.

Two of the Empire’s asymmetrical weapons were here.

“Hurry up. With two Sword Saints, they can easily turn the situation into chaos.”

At the sudden change in the situation and my words, people quickly moved.

“Everyone, hurry! Travel as light as possible! Follow Sir Egar at the front. If you lose sight of him, it’s over.”

At Hoffmann’s shout, the apprentice knights who had run down began to yell.

“If you can’t see Sir Egar, follow Lady Zahina floating in the sky!”

“O goddess, watch over us.”

The priests quickly recited prayers, drawing out divine power.

Those who had abandoned their luggage prepared to run with grim expressions.

Nearly a thousand people, carrying children and supporting the injured, looked at me.

After confirming their expressions, I spoke to Yerim.

“Take care of the people.”

“Leave it to me!”

Perhaps because of what had just happened, Yerim nodded vigorously with a flushed face.

And so, we rushed down the hill and ran toward the barrier.

The two Sword Saints had caused chaos among the undead forces, but tens of thousands of undead still remained in front of us.

Moreover, nearly a thousand people who couldn’t fight were following me, but I was confident.

There weren’t just two Sword Saints here.

There was one more knight who, though not officially recognized as a Sword Saint, was on their level. And there was also a high elf archmage.

Finally, there was a saintess from another world.

Even though many undead still lay ahead, this was enough to break through.

A thousand people running toward tens of thousands of undead.

As surprised voices rang out from the barrier and the undead’s movements began to change.

Magic, divine power, and sword aura shot into the sky.