- Qingming College

"Weilin! Fall back, gather a squad of spearmen, and form up right behind the main gate. Be ready to support Calon!" Yara shouted at her foolish brother. "I'm the head of the family now, don't order me around!" Weilin snapped back, but his body instinctively followed Yara's command. Soon, Weilin rounded up eight robust family guards, all armed with spears. Four people per row, with Weilin at the forefront, gripping a sword and shield. Yara observed Weilin's actions and felt a touch of relief, then turned her gaze outside the gate. "Throw this entire barrel of fire oil out there, burn those corpses!" Yara commanded, joining the nearby people to douse the oil. Suddenly, Yara spotted a familiar figure. It was her father. He had fallen at the gate holding his ground, ensuring her safe return to the manor. Now, he too had become a manipulated corpse, attacking the main gate. She hesitated for a moment, but then resolutely took the torch and hurled it down. 'Boom!' A wave of heat surged forth, igniting the oil in an instant and quickly spreading, engulfing everything within five meters beyond the gate. Creaking and banging noises followed as the blazing light revealed a watchtower platform dropping down from the mill, slamming into the ground. "Rooooooar!" Calon's roar rang out, and then the heavily equipped warriors charged down, audible with the sounds of flesh meeting steel. "Get ready!" Yara watched as Calon and his men charged in from the mill, visibly slowing. He was still not a knight. Yara sighed inwardly. If Calon were a knight, with two squires and a handful of elite, he could clear these corpses in just a few charges. "Open the gate!" With Calon and his team drawing near, Yara cried out. 'Squeeeeak' The gate opened, allowing burning bodies to flood in. "Ha! I'm the head of the Daniels family now!" Weilin shouted, raising his shield and advancing, with the spearmen right behind him. "Fool! Don't rush out there!" Yara scolded. "Don't order me!" Despite his words, he halted his steps, swinging his sword under the spearmen's cover to cleave the bodies apart. Soon, Calon and his men, their charging strength nearly spent, rushed in through the flames. With the two-pronged assault, they swiftly dismembered the dozen or so manipulated corpses that got inside. "Calon, report casualties." After the gates were closed again, Yara turned to Calon, who was busy snuffing out the flames on his body. "Two dead, the rest are all wounded, and the wounds feel unnaturally cold, which could affect combat. This might be necromancer corruption," Calon informed Yara gloomily. "Weilin, you idiot, how are you?" "I'm fine, I can still take down ten more!" Weilin boasted shamelessly, though he was clearly panting as he spoke. Their iron swords, controlled by strict regulations, were 'cast-offs' from the guards, and though Weilin possessed brute strength, hacking through flesh was still laborious. "…" This idiot. Yara rolled her eyes and gazed worriedly beyond the walls. Calon's charge had indeed cleared a batch of the dead, but others swiftly filled the void, and the overall pressure hadn't diminished. They would need to clear the dead twice more at least, but given their losses, organizing another charge was unfeasible. Moreover, the downside of using fire oil was evident: the wooden walls had caught fire. Though they were sturdy and treated, wood is wood, and even a slow burn would eventually compromise it. She looked up at the sky. White stars brightened the heavens, the twinkling stars signaling that the night was only halfway through. Yara felt lost. Would the Daniels family's five generations of legacy be extinguished in one night? "Yara, I'm all set to fight again!" Weilin exclaimed. "..." Yara couldn't help but glance at her foolish brother adjusting his armor and taking up a spear. Sometimes she wished she could ask her father why she was born a woman; if only she had her foolish brother's physique... "Since you're ready, get back up there, and don't use that spear. Take Calon's; it has a sharpened blade, making it easer to cut through them." "Don't order me, I'm the head now!" Weilin yelled, but he swapped spears with Calon nonetheless. "Be careful, don't get pulled down." "Don't order me, I'm the head now!" "…" Once more, Yara worried about her foolish brother's brain. Still, watching his undistracted, battle-centered focus, Yara managed a faint smile. Oh father, why did you make me so weak? Yara tightened her grip around her sword. "That... that is!" someone suddenly exclaimed in shock. Hmm? Yara looked over, her eyes narrowing sharply. A somewhat familiar figure charged into the swarm of manipulated dead, wielding a spear in a wide arc, severing the beasts waist-high like cutting wheat. It was George, the one she had recruited on short notice. She thought he was merely a skilled fighter, but to be such a powerhouse?! Even a knight couldn't easily slash through these corpses, especially with an unmodified oak spear! "Yara! Look! Am I seeing things, or did a mage cast an illusion on me?" Weilin gawked at George. Though stunned, Yara couldn't help but berate her foolish brother amidst the chaos, "Idiot! Give him your spear already!" "I said it, I'm the head now, don't order me!" Weilin tossed the spear over as he spoke. George caught the weapon mid-swing, narrowed his eyes, and, with a fluid motion, spun around and hurled the spear back. "What's he doing?" Weilin wondered aloud, puzzled at the returned spear, especially since it was better suited for combat. "Idiot, he's telling you to go out there and deal with those corpses too." Yara scolded, ignoring Weilin's retort that he was the head, and looked towards Calon scaling the high platform. "Can you still fight?" Yara asked. "Following this great figure, no problem." Calon replied, eyes filled with admiration. "Form the ranks, call on whoever can still fight, and help George clear out those corpses." "Yes!" However, by the time they'd gathered and charged outside the walls, George had already finished the job. Weilin, who had jumped the wall, had only snagged two corpses to dispatch. "Phew..." George exhaled hard. Cleaning up those corpses had left his arms a bit sore. "Sir, which order of knights do you hail from?" Weilin fervently approached him. "I'm not a knight. I'm a monk from the Church of Blossoms," George replied. "Church of Blossoms? What's that place? And what's a monk? Is it stronger than a knight?" Weilin babbled a stream of questions. George was about to answer when Yara arrived. "Ignorant fool, York Land doesn't have other churches." Yara mildly chastised Weilin, whose face flushed red with anger, but he only dared to softly rebut since an outsider was present. In such situations involving external affairs, Yara always took the lead, requiring the family's acknowledgement of her authority in these matters. "Thank you for your help, George. Without you, we might have perished here," Yara said, bowing slightly. She had hastily wiped the grime off her face. "No need to thank me. It's my duty as a servant of the Lord to cleanse this evil," George responded, clasping the cross at his neck. This time, Yara didn't overlook the small cross. "But you've saved the Daniels family, too. I'll contribute a sum to the Church of Blossoms as thanks," she solemnly pledged. "Moreover, George, you've earned lifelong friendship with the Daniels family. If you ever need it, we'll unconditionally support you." Yara declared sincerely. George hesitated. His faith urged him to refuse wealth, yet recalling the church's condition, he hesitated but eventually spoke, "The wealth should go to Priest Corian, but could you also send guards to protect the villagers?" George noticed several people behind Yara wearing guards' armor. "I've cleared the village's corpses, and there are none nearby." The blue glows in other village parts had vanished, leaving just a lingering azure light around the pile of corpse scraps slowly fading away underfoot.