After the full course meal, Calma returned to the Church of Solne. He gathered enough information about the ghoul infestation. The clues divulged by Corbin and Rez were important to the church. He wondered how the church would react to his report.

“What have you gathered from the adventurers, Calma?”

“According to the adventurers, there is a ghoul infestation in the northwestern mines.”

"Looks like an old case of necromancy. Filthy necromancers hole out at any abandoned places. Nobody would suspect their illegal activities.”

“Before we send the whole temple and priests, Father Brindles, we should take a few. Remember, there should be few clergymen remaining in the city. Better be safe than sorry.”

“Let’s destroy that insidious dastard before they raise more ghouls!”

“Would you please mind your language, we’re inside the church.”

“You’re not even my mother to lecture me, you're two-hundred years younger than me!”

“You’re getting too excited again. Here, have some sponge cake that I baked earlier.” Calma sighed deeply with Brindles’s boasting. The old dwarf munched the cake until he profusely choked. The cleric gave him a mug of water and gently stroked his back.

“I’ll let Father George know about the ghoul infestation. In the meantime, let’s call it a day.” Brindles cleared his throat.

The following noon, a group of templars, priests, and clerics marched towards the northwest mines. Unlike their usual outfits, they wore blessed armor and divine magecraft. Some civilians cheered and praised them. The citizens were anticipating their victorious return.

The clergymen arrived too late at the mines. The kobolds had already fled. The wild tusker was also gone. Only the remains of dead kobolds and arachnids lingered inside. Fortunately, no signs of the necromancer existed. A typical necromancer would use nearby corpses to reanimate them as guards.

Venturing further to the mine’s second layer, the templars captured the ghouls. The priests on standby purified the ghouls, pacifying them into meek beings. The rest of the purification process was at the city hospice.

After the operation, carts full of pacified ghouls enter the city. Civilians were too terrified to stay near the ghouls. Out of ignorance, an angry mob threw stones at the ghouls. Calma shielded the ghoul, but he got stoned instead.

“Why, you nitwit!” Brindles was about to clobber the angry mob with his staff, but the young cleric stopped him.

“This is but a minor scratch. Let us go back instead.” Calma prevented Brindles from assaulting the angry mob while holding his bleeding forehead.

“Alright Calma, just head to the infirmary once we get back and get yourself patched up.”

Back at the Church of Solne, Brindles insisted on doing the report. He persuaded Calma to get some treatment by the church’s nurse.

“The extraction at the mines was completed. We have wrangled those ghouls. The rest of the priests should be handling the purification. Unfortunately, those were only a few citizens. More citizens are still missing. The necromancer is still at large and we can't detect him.”

“Father Brindles, thank you for the update. How was Brother Calma?”

“The nurse has treated him. His injury is no longer bleeding and throbbing. Those hooligans needed some bonking.”

“No need for that, Father Brindles. We can’t achieve anything with violence.”

“Greetings fathers. The nurse has patched me up. What else can I do?” Calma joined Father George and Brindles at their meeting.

“Take your time, Brother Calma. You might still not be feeling well.”

“Thank you, Father George, for your concern. I would like to visit the adventurers again and keep them updated.”

“Don’t strain yourself too much, young man.”

Calma returned to the adventurer’s lodge to look for Corbin and the group. He began to trust them as his gut-feel dictated. Race or origins no longer bothered him.

“What happened to your head?” Milas worried about Calma’s injury.

“An angry mob threw stones at the ghouls. We were about to purify the ghouls back to their former selves. I’m fine by the way, don’t worry”

“It should have been Brindles.”

“Rez, don’t wish ill intention against others. Even if they have treated you poorly. Ill intentions tend to return tenfold or even hundred folds.” Nia reprimanded Rez for his harsh comment.

“Well, we have successfully purified the mines and buried the dead. Unfortunately, our suspect is still missing. So are the citizens.”

“Maybe you should rest here. That head injury looks bad.”

“Our nurse already treated it.” Look, no scratches or bruises at all.” Calma patted his bandage, but he still feels the stinging pain.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.” Corbin advised the young cleric.

“Thank you. However, I would like to join you with your night patrol. I wish to get to know you better.“

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“That would be appreciated. The city guards will be with us as well.” Milas ensured Calma that their group was safe.

“Stay safe adventurers.” Nia bid farewell to the adventurers.

Compared to the previous evenings, the city went silent. City guards and adventurers patrolled around to find suspicious individuals. So far, nobody appeared sinister. They also carried the homeless to the hospice for protection.

On the city’s southwest outskirts, a bunch of mysterious figures slowly treaded. The city guards can’t see them well so they approached them. Only their strangely glowing yellow eyes floated in the darkness.

“We’re sorry, but you have to go back to your homes. Today is the implementation of curfew.” Suddenly, one of the mysterious figures lunged at the city guard and bit its neck. Blood spewed to the other guard’s face.

“Help! The ghouls have returned!” A city guard screamed from a distance. They lit their torches and blew their horns. Screams of terrified citizens filled the streets. Citizens barricaded their doors with everything they own. The adventurer’s lodge was left with only the maids.

“I’ll protect you, everyone. Stay safe.” Nia used her magecraft to envelop the adventurer’s lodge. The maids blocked the main door with benches and tables. They hid in their sleeping quarters, waiting for the invasion to end.

Corbin, Milas, Rez and Calma headed out to the ongoing assault. Various undead occupied the southwest outskirts and nearby streets. Some were decomposing while others were the missing citizens.

“That’s no longer a ghoul, that’s a walking corpse!” Rez loaded his newly forged firearm. He has no plans to allow the undead roaming.

“Any difference?” Milas asked with skepticism.

“Their souls are no longer here. Only malicious energies remain from them.” Calma relayed to the adventurers. They have no choice but to desecrate the undead bodies. Even if it means they were the missing citizens.

“Eww, they smell worse than Corbin’s underarms!”

“You’re not helping Milas.” Corbin angrily stared and judged at the playful lady.

“Keep yourselves away from them. Their bites and scratches are very lethal. You might even turn into an undead if you are not careful.”

At first, the other adventurers confidently slain the undead. Their numbers outnumber the ghouls. But for every slain undead came more. The undead arrived in endless waves.Their contagious bites, vomits, and scratches were very potent to turn an adventurer into an undead. Some novice adventurers get injured because of their recklessness. Nearby priests attended the wounded and purified their infection.

During the invasion, everybody converged at the city crossroads. Several adventurers, priests, and city guards got infected, turning them to the mindless undead. Their sheer numbers overwhelmed every priest to purify them back to the living.

“Hey there, kid, good timing!”

“Father Brindles, good to see you!”

“Time to crush some undead skulls!” Brindles planted his staff on the ground. He clasped his hands to enchant himself with divine magecraft. A glowing blue aura radiated below him. His fists shined with warm, divine light.

“May the souls of the damned and suffering find eternal peace.” Calma recited a pious prayer before melding a divine light into his fists.

Both Brindles and Calma used close-range magecraft against the undead. Brindles’s small stature allowed him to dodge the infected’s claws. He pulverized the undead with jabs and thrusts. Calma assisted the senior dwarf by augmenting his agility. He also threw bolts of divine magecraft and lightning spears. The undead disintegrated upon contact with the divine bolts. The two clergymen made sure not to get hit by the infected.

Corbin used his new sword against the undead. His slashes cleanly beheaded the undead and they fizzle back to dust. He took advantage of his sword’s length to avoid getting infected.

Milas tested her new gauntlets against the foes. The gauntlets withstood bites and scratches without injuring her. The gauntlets’ impact pulverized the undead into pieces. She took advantage of the gauntlet’s lightweightness to avoid the undead’s vomits.

Rez kept shooting at the undead. He climbed on the building's rooftops for a better shooting range. His shots hit harder and were more precise than before. Each bullet from his firearm pierced the undead.

Elsewhere, Prince Randor and Fuji cooperated to cut off the undead. Solus stayed beside Randor. He neatly folded his waistcoat and drew his hidden firearms from his vest.

“It’s nice to battle again with your side, young master.”

“En garde!” Prince Randor brandished his saber and elegantly cut down the undead.

“This is supposedly my day off, but I have no choice.” Fuji made a focused stance with his sword. He swiped waves of undead with his massive sword. The undead fell one by one like leaves in autumn.

Coming from each corner of the city, the clergymen, adventurers, and city guards converged to the middle district. The undead were encircling them, seemingly more coordinated and smarter. The usual undead roamed and scattered around. But this horde was way too efficient at infecting everybody.

“There’s too many of them. Retreat!” Fuji commanded everybody to head towards an open space. The most practical place for retreating was the bazaar. The adventurers, clergymen and city guards evacuated to the bazaar. It was barren compared to the busy morning. Their owners barricaded the stores. There are no signs of life on the streets.

“The undead are swarming us. What should we do, captain?” An elven city guard demanded Fuji for some tactics.

“We watch our backs and push them away. Slow but steady wins the battle.”

The undead swarmed the whole bazaar. From their wake came the undead adventurers, clergymen, and city guards. It was too late for the priests to recover their comrades.

Out of the nearby rooftops, Rez threw explosive to the surrounding undead. He decided to sacrifice the undead comrades. It was a bitter choice for that moment. Saving the lives of the living mattered more than recovering the undead. He knew at that moment that the citizens would resent him for his unjustified means.

“Here comes mister showoff!” Milas was glad to see Rez well and nimble. He threw the explosives on the pileup of the undead. The undead noticed him and ran in the western direction.

“Are you trying to blow us up?!” Brindles yelled at Rez, who leaped across rooftops.

“You’ll be fine. Just stand on your guard.”

“Prepare for impact!” Calma and the other clerics concentrated very hard to project divine walls. The magical walls pushed back the undead and the explosives. Undead giblets and appendages flew up in the streets. They went back to dust immediately. Remaining priests prayed for the fallen adventurers, clergymen and city guards. After the series of explosions, Fuji ordered everybody to plow the remaining undead. The series of explosions whittled somehow their massive numbers.

“Charge!”

The combined efforts of the clergymen, adventurers, and city guards decimated the undead. It was the first time in years to experience an undead assault. They spent the whole evening fighting against the impossible. The dawn broke, and the city was finally clear of the undead. The streets were in ruins.

“That was a terrible scenario. We lost some city guards and adventurers. The city is in disarray.” Calma was worried about what had happened. It was a total carnage that the Capital City experienced.

The remaining city guards cleaned up the streets. Despite their best efforts, the peasants can’t wipe out the purple blood which the undead left behind. Priests performed prayers for the fallen. Templars burned the corpses to avoid reanimation of the undead. The city was still closed, and no civilians tried to get out.

“We are here in the midst of a crisis. The undead may have outnumbered us and took lives. But fear not, we adventurers shall vanquish them. We’ll put an end to this invasion once and for all.” Prince Randor made a dramatic speech at the bazaar. The few passersby clap for his bravado.

While the remaining survivors gather to reorganize, Rez and Brindles bickered. Some adventurers and city guards who were not at ease sided with the dwarven templar.

“Look what you did sonny, you just destroyed the bazaar! You also killed the other adventurers and city guards! We could have at least turned them back alive!” Brindles shouted at the infernal.

“The templar’s right, you fiend!”

“We would expect nothing good from an infernal!”

“That’s what I can only do! You’ll all end up as dinner for the undead if I don't blow them up! It’s either us or them!”

“I better get myself eaten by the undead rather than cooperate with you, vermin!”

“Fine, do as you please!”

“Not before I punch that sorry-arse face!” Brindles winded up his tiny but heavy fist.

“SHUT UP!” Corbin drew his sword to separate Rez and Brindles. The two dodged the swoop of the blade. Nearby adventures, clergymen and city guards get shocked by the commotion.

“Don’t you dare mob at my friend! We have no choice but to defend ourselves!” Milas reprimanded the angry mob who were about to gang up Rez.

“The lady right here is right, petty arguments won’t bring back what we lost. Instead, we must work together and resolve our differences.” Fuji stood up at the middle of the mob.

“Okay, okay! I’ll stop. But remember what I’ve mentioned earlier: he’ll eventually stab our backs.”

“That’s enough, Father Brindles. You are making a terrible example for everybody.” Calma pushes the dwarf away before he encouraged the mob. He murmured a pacifying magecraft and the angry mob dispersed. A glint of light pierces from the sky, cooling the heads of the adventurers and city guards.

“But he started it!”

“Just keep quiet Rez.” Milas elbowed Rez on his stomach. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Brindles.

“We need to gather more adventures from nearby towns and settlements. I’ll alert the Ministry of Defense and Justice to send letters. The hunting avians should deliver them before the moon rises. In the meantime, all of you need to recuperate. It was really exhausting physically and mentally.”

Fuji tried to lighten up the tension. He was also contemplating Rez's actions. He sacrificed tens of city guards and adventurers just to save hundreds of them. That was a cold-blooded decision for an adventurer. However, accusing him of murder would leave a bad taste for the other survivors. He also got acquainted with Rez. He might be quite questionable, but Fuji can see his genuine goodness.

The adventurers, city guards, and clergymen went in separate ways. The tension was felt by everybody. It would bring more trouble if there would be more infighting among themselves.

“I want to take a bath. I got too sweaty yesterday.” Milas complained while trying to divert Rez’s attention. She notices that he was still upset with the incident.

“We get back to Nia.” Corbin looks at Rez who remained disturbed. He knew what it’s like to be ostracized by society. Other than infernals, society irked half-breeds like him.

“I hope she’s fine. Her magecraft should be enough to protect the adventurer’s lodge.” Rez pretended nothing happened. His brows were furrowed despite trying to look unaffected.