Chapter 10: Survivors - Let Me Communicate with You through Blood and Iron

The loud noise of the wooden door being kicked open echoed far in the gray fog, breaking the silence of the city walls. The surrounding corpses began to emit eerie wails. Seeing the skull markers quickly gathering on the minimap and hearing the faint roars in his ears, Field couldn't help but sweat nervously.

Inside the house, the corpses didn't have time to attack. Asheena, holding a long knife, slashed at the neck of one, sending a spray of blood onto the walls, filling the room with black-purple blood light.

Another corpse immediately lunged, its entire cheek torn, stretching to the ear. A bite from this creature would definitely tear off a large chunk of flesh. However, Asheena casually dodged and simultaneously flipped her long knife.

With terrifying strength, half the corpse's head was gone, and foul blood gushed from the opening, quickly pooling into a blood puddle.

"Roar!"

Hearing the sounds of the fight, a group of corrupted soldiers suddenly poured out of the passage, their eyes rolling back grotesquely as they crowded through the passageway to attack. The slaves, holding farming tools, waved them around but dared not advance. The monsters were terrifying enough, and they were also clad in heavy armor.

"Damn, how many people got infected?" Field cursed under his breath.

"Fire!"

Asheena released her dragon-wolf mount, its massive body nearly blocking the entire passage. Magical energy quickly gathered, resembling a rushing star river. The dragon-wolf opened its mouth, spewing a huge mass of blue flames. The corpses in the passage were instantly engulfed, leaving only a few struggling, twisted silhouettes visible.

"What terrifying power."

The slaves, who were hesitating between fleeing and fighting, saw the sudden burst of combat ending in an instant. A few witnessed the consumed figures, while others could only stare at the ashes on the ground.

"This is the power of The Chosen? Unfortunately, the loot is gone too." Field felt emboldened. It was time to be more daring. "Make as much noise as possible to attract nearby corpses and eliminate them."

Following Field's orders, the slaves cooperated, banging and smashing to draw the corpses, which Asheena and her dragon-wolf swiftly eliminated. Soon, Field had cleared the area around the barracks, giving him a better understanding of The Chosen's power.

"Now, let's look for valuables," Field said with a greedy smile. "Especially weapons and gold."

Just as he sent the slaves to search, one came running excitedly, shouting.

"Master, we found survivors!"

"Ah?" Field didn't feel happy. Instead, he looked around with a complex expression.

"Asheena, recall your wolf. Now's not the time to reveal our strength."

Without enough time to grow stronger, revealing his The Chosen would be asking for death. His stepmother would definitely send assassins after him and try to take Asheena as her own.

Revealing this to the slaves wasn't a big deal; they were under his watch and he could easily send them to their deaths if necessary. Field thought, "Survivors might know where important supplies are."

The survivors were hiding in a dark fort within the city walls. They had sprinkled purification potion on the door, barely holding off the gray fog. Hearing the voices of living people, they finally dared to open the door.

"Thank the Valkyrie, I thought we'd be stuck here for a week, eating each other's excrement to survive," joked the bearded officer, tidying up and smiling at Field. "Uh, let me guess, you're a new knight? I'll report your deeds to Bull Baron."

"You're too kind. It's just a small effort."

Field tilted his head to see inside the dark fort, but two soldiers blocked his view. The bearded officer had ten soldiers inside the fort.

"Where are your attendants?" the officer asked, glancing at Field's slave soldiers, dismissing them as unworthy.

Field shrugged. "I'm not a knight. I'm Baron Field."

"Oh? Baron Field, the one without a single guard? Your name came up when they mentioned donations." The officer's expression grew more peculiar, his face changing several times before signaling his men with his eyes, smiling mockingly. "Baron, I've heard you're kind-hearted. Can you do us a favor?"

Something's off here.

Field raised an eyebrow, playing dumb. "What is it?"

"We got drunk and forgot to light the fog lamps, letting the fog into the barracks and losing control. Bull Baron is ruthless. He'll have us executed."

Like I can listen to this for free?

"So..." Field grinned playfully, "You want to defect to me?"

"Hahaha!" The soldiers laughed, gripping their weapons. "We're escaping! But we need all your wealth, and killing you means no one will know we're here."

"This is how you treat your savior?"

Field was furious. Although he intended to recruit the survivors for supplies, he didn't mind killing them if they resisted. Being provoked outright was infuriating.

The officer scoffed, "If we had fog lamps, we'd have killed our way out. You're nothing!"

Field chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" The officer raised his sword, puzzled by Field's calm demeanor.

"Actually, I intended to loot this place. Now I can kill you all without witnesses. Asheena, attack!"

The soldier next to the officer lunged with a short knife. In a flash, a blue shadow darted by, and the soldier's arm was ripped off like a pulled insect leg.

"Clang!"

The air seemed to freeze until the knife hit the ground. The soldier fell, clutching his bleeding stump, screaming in agony.

"My arm! My arm!"

The blue dragon-wolf blocked the passage, its armored body resembling a tank, intimidating the soldiers.

"Monster!" The soldiers, terrified, wet themselves.

"What the hell? I heard Baron Field was a useless waste!" The officer was dumbfounded, regretting listening to rumors.

"Asheena, disable them all." Field licked his lips. The original owner was kind, but that had nothing to do with him. "Slaves, here's a chance to prove your courage! Kill one, and you get a silver coin."