The days passed by with hardly anything of note occurring.

Everything was calm, the sun’s abusive rays had even decreased in intensity as of late.

The numerous spices added to the soup helped to somewhat alleviate some of the stress and anxiety the soldiers had.

Though what truly helped to stop them from being so tense was the zombie attacks, which had now slowed down to a steady trickle compared to the continuous assaults they had to endure in the beginning. They were still getting attacked, it was just at a lesser intensity.

Even if the attacks by the basic zombies caused no actual damage, it was eating away at everyone’s morale.

There was just something deeply unsettling about watching an enemy throw away hundreds of lives a day for no gain.

If the watchers had just gathered all the zombies and sent them forward alongside the adaptors they had, they very well may have gained the town.

Even now, after days of fortification, during which the command section had been properly refashioned into a minor fortress, Bertrand remained unsure about their chances of survival against such an overwhelming number of zombies.

At this point in time, there had to be at least over ten thousand scattered and rotting bodies surrounding the town.

It was almost like a scene from the olden days, back when castles and towns used to get besieged by an invading force which would create a wall around their target to prevent any escapees.

Only instead of wood or stone, this wall was made out of the gore of the hundreds of hordes sent to attack them.

Ruined arms, fragmented bone, viscera from liquefied organs and the coagulation of a lake's worth of blood, had all merged together to form a horrific and eldrich stretch of land.

If you looked out into the horizon, your gaze would be stopped by the stumpy hills and ridges.

If you looked to the start of the plains though, you would see dry but lively green grass.

Around the middle of the plains, a mile or so from the wall, if you strained your eyes, you could see small craters caused by musket shots. If you really looked closely you could even spot the occasional bush.

And if you were to look at the end of the plains, a few hundred yards from the wall, then you would see a nightmarish amalgamation of flesh and bone.

It was a barrier of horror that stretched around the whole wall, occasionally broken up by a small patch of green where there was a far enough gap between where the hordes had perished so that their corpses hadn’t melded together.

Seer was it demoralising and disgusting. It was also reality defying.

Zombies had been killed as far out as five hundred yards and yet there were little to no corpses that far away, the remnants of their carcasses having somehow oozed their way forwards to join up with the mockery of a wall that stood against both them and God.

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For there was no way that terrifying thing was a product of the Seer’s plans.

Though was thinking that heresy?

Everything was apart of the Seer’s plans after all.

If Bertrand got the chance he would have to ask Olivier about it.

Though he doubted he would get that chance considering just how busy Olivier had become.

He was leading a full on prayer group now, dedicating the entirety of his days and most of his nights to it.

It was actually rather heartwarming, Olivier had even gathered everyone else who go infected with that weird toxin and formed a support group.

It was a bit depressing that they actually needed a support group though, the medic had said they would be better in just a few days, but those days had come and gone and still they showed no signs of improvement.

Letting out a yarn, Bertrand idly rubbed at his eyes.

Even though the gore wall was nightmarish and a disheartening thing to have to look at every day, he had grown used to it.

And the horrors of that watcher he had encountered far outweighed the fear that the viscera wall evoked in him.

Plus after a while you got used to it, and with the lack of zombies lately he didn’t really have the drive to stay alert at all times.

It was unprofessional and could potentially prove fatal, but it was an unfortunate and undeniable fact that you could only stay focused so long before burning out.

Well, without the addition of medical enhancements that is.

If the rumours were to be believed then that was something the grand marshal was investing heavily into.

Channelling money from just about every other project into the enhancement one.

Bertrand didn’t place much weight on that rumour though, Seer nobody even knew the name of the project, they just knew that it was about medical enchantments.

Plus if it was real, wouldn’t the rumours have spread earlier, why did he only hear about it now that they were desperate for a distraction and stuck in town waiting for reinforcements that were taking their sweet time?

So Bertrand figured it was all a bunch of shit, when given the choice between talking about how one forth of their legion was dead and their lost friends, or about some new advanced research that could transform everyone into a gold buttoned legend. Well, most people chose the latter.

Though there was likely an element of truth to it.

It was the age of the common folk, and if Bertrand were to pull a Césaire he would make a bet that human enchantments were something the higher ups would be keenly interested in.

Seer, it could even be something the Coalition was interested in.

Sure their laws forbid actual research into human enhancement but there was bound to be some way that their scientists could skirt around the law.

Not that they would actually do direct research into human enchantment but Bertrand bet they would try to come up with a way in countering it at least.

Just like the waves of a sea, Bertrand’s thoughts appeared and disappeared. Moving on to another topic before he even finished thinking about the one he was on.

He hadn’t been like this at the beginning, back when he graduated boot camp he had been incredibly driven and focused.

If he had to guess, he would say that ever since his first encounter with the zombies his sense of self got warped.

He had become an actual soldier and his mindset had changed accordingly, all thanks to the battle exhaustion he had experienced.

Glancing up at the sky he felt some relief, it was just about time for his shift to end and then he could have a nice long rest and, Seer be willing, recover some of his motivation.

The Seer was not willing though, for just as the sun was starting to retreat and the daylight was beginning to fade, one of the linemen let out a panic filled screech.

“ZOMBIES!”