Elsa’s appearance was like a silent signal.

  “Hhhh… hhhh-hhhh—!”

  The zombies that had been wandering around the bakery, drawn by the commotion inside, seemed to be pulled by an even stronger sound source. They turned in unison, their empty eye sockets “gazing” in the direction of Pandora and the others.

  Their target had changed.

  Hearing the roars drawing closer and clearer, Betty’s body began to tremble uncontrolbly, her little face pale. But she just bit her lip hard, clutching a short, thick rolling pin she’d produced from somewhere, forcing herself not to retreat.

  Aurora, on the other hand, didn’t overthink it.

  Having confirmed Pandora was safe, the heaviest weight in her heart had been lifted. As for killing zombies? It was Lady Pandora’s command. As a knight, all she needed to do was execute it, to cut down every enemy. The danger… that wasn’t something she needed to consider when her sword was in motion.

  ………………

  Meanwhile, inside the bakery.

  “Did you… did you hear that?” a boy cowering behind a flour sack asked, his voice trembling.

  “I heard… it sounded like… a girl’s voice?”

  “What’s… what’s going on out there?”

  Patrick didn't answer. He was bracing the wooden door, which was still being battered from time to time, his forehead slick with cold sweat.

  But that clear, female voice had reached his ears as well.

  Curiosity, surprise, and a sliver of hope, so faint it was almost non-existent, sprouted in his heart.

  Who? Who could be out here, at a time like this?

  “Open the door… let me see.”

  As the impacts on the door grew less frequent, until there was no more sound from outside, he finally made up his mind.

  He gestured to the two boys beside him, and together they pulled away the flour sacks barricading the door. Then, carefully, he pulled it open just enough to peek through.

  The next moment, his breath hitched.

  He saw a scene he could never have imagined in his life, one that was both absurd and shocking.

  Outside, four girls were fighting those terrifying zombies…

  One was a lightly armored knightess, her movements agile. Every swing of her sword brought a spray of blood, precise and fatal.

  Another… was it the little kitchen maid?! She was swinging a long spear taller than she was, one she’d picked up from who-knows-where. Her movements were clumsy, like a duck’s, but every time, at the st possible second, she would manage to stab the spearhead into a zombie’s brain!

  But how was that possible?!

  Patrick’s gaze instinctively shot further into the distance. He understood in an instant. It wasn’t the kitchen maid’s doing alone.

  Not far from the maid stood a girl in an ornate handmaiden’s uniform, a demonic greatsword in her hands. Her stance was as solid as a rock. She barely moved, just watched the battlefield with cold indifference, like a high-and-mighty judge. Her combat prowess was unknown, but she radiated a heart-stopping aura.

  And the most crucial, the truly terrifying one, was the noble girl standing beside the handmaiden.

  She looked to be the youngest, her figure the most slender, but she was covered in dark red, nauseating bloodstains, making her look like an evil spirit that had crawled out of hell. She held a small, single-handed sword. She didn’t seem to be using much strength, but every time, with the ft of her bde, she would use an incredibly clever angle and force to “push” a zombie lunging at the maid perfectly into the path of the fatal spearpoint!

  One stab, one kill!

  Anyone watching could see that this girl was the one with the truly terrifying power! Behind those seemingly casual movements was an absolute control over the battle! Her strength was perhaps… no less than that of the knightess, who was cutting through the zombies like a tempest!

  “Patrick… what’s wrong? What’s really going on out there?”

  The boys behind him couldn’t help but press when he didn’t speak for so long.

  Patrick snapped out of it. He threw the door wide open, letting them see for themselves.

  “My god…”

  “That… that’s…”

  The boys in the bakery, one after another, squeezed to the doorway. When they saw the scene outside—the corpses littering the ground, the four girls fighting like Valkyries—they were all so shocked they were speechless.

  Their murmurs grew louder without them realizing.

  The door was pulled open wider.

  And this sound successfully attracted the attention of a nearby zombie that had been wandering.

  “Hhhh—!”

  The zombie whipped its head around, roaring, and lunged toward the wide-open bakery door!

  “Aaaah—!”

  The boys inside panicked, screaming as they moved to shut the door!

  However—

  the next moment, a fsh of sword light, swift as lightning, shot in from the side!

  Shunk!

  The zombie’s head flew into the air. The headless body, carried by its momentum, tumbled into the bakery, crashing heavily to the floor.

  At the doorway, the knightess retracted her sword. Not a single drop of blood stained the bde.

  She didn’t even spare a gnce for the boys inside, simply turning and rejoining the fight.

  Soon, the battle was over.

  The street was littered with corpses. Except for the handmaiden, who stood as still as a statue, perfectly clean. The other three were covered in blood, looking terrifying.

  But, if you looked closely, you would discover an astonishing fact—none of the bloodstains, not a single drop, belonged to them. It was all… from the zombies they had sin.

  In the air, the aftermath of the battle had not yet completely dissipated. The thick smell of blood mixed with the aroma of baking bread and the scent of the boys’ sweat, creating an indescribable, chaotic, yet real atmosphere.

  Patrick, the “king of the kids,” was the first among the terrified group to calm down.

  He took a deep breath. The nauseating stench of blood made him want to gag, but he fought it down and took a step forward, walking up to the knightess who had just finished fighting, her body covered in blood.

  “Ma’am,” Patrick’s voice was hoarse, but it held the sincere respect unique to a young man. “Thank you for saving our lives. I’m Patrick. From Calfskin Vilge… formerly… well, in any case, thank you. May I ask for your name?”

  Aurora sheathed her sword, the afterglow of battle still on her face, but her gaze had already passed over Patrick, nding on the small figure not far away who was smiling at her.

  “Aurora.”

  Her voice was clear and firm, with a hint of a knight’s pride.

  “Aurora, knight to Viscount Dougs.”

  “A knight of Viscount Dougs?!”

  Patrick jolted.

  He whipped his head around, his gaze falling on the noble girl who had stood at the center of the battle, as if everything was under her control. Though she was the smallest in stature, no one could ignore her presence.

  She was…

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