Chapter 183 Enemies from a Past Life
A guard looked out and noticed a group of people rapidly approaching. Their faces were illuminated by the firelight, becoming visible.
"Cecil!" one guard recognized a familiar face and felt a surge of terror.
Why had the base been on lockdown? Why were guards posted at the city gate every day? It was all to prevent Cecil from being rescued!
Everyone thought the danger had passed after a few days. But here was Cecil, back with a group!
A small leader recognized Cecil too, turned, and ran back, signaling the guards on the wall, "Tell Stuart..."
A flash of white light and a long knife pinned the small leader to the ground.
Michelle looked furious, clearly in a bad mood.
Under William's influence, they avoided being overly sympathetic to survivors in the apocalypse. But they weren't heartless; they had some humanity remained.
Michelle and William had been here before and knew about Stuart setting the city on fire to get the Magic Crystal. Thousands of people were trapped, bitten by zombies, and died.
Michelle hated the person who made that decision and had no sympathy for the guards who helped. She killed them directly.
The guards were stunned, then scattered and fled.
Confronting death, duties and courage counted for nothing.
The guards on the wall saw the commotion below and sent someone to notify the leaders. The rest grabbed their weapons and nervously watched the approaching group.
Earlier, when asked what to do if they entered Redwood County, William said to fight their way in! Seeing the thick city gate, everyone frowned. Were they supposed to cut through it bit by bit with Edge of the Moon? How long would that take?
William quickly answered. He drew Edge of the Moon and used Seal: Flame Blade on the ancient city gate.
Soon, the gate was split in half. William then struck it several times with The Light of Full Strength, completely destroying the metal gate that could have withstood a zombie attack.
The guards on the wall were losing it, watching in disbelief. What kind of power could shatter a gate that heavy?
Some guards maintained their composure and began throwing stones and debris down. One captain even pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at the base of the wall.
Before they could continue, they saw Cecil pick up a large golden dog and, with a roar, throw it into the air. Pill used the momentum to reach the middle of the wall, clawing its way up and leaping onto the high wall in one go.
There was only one Evolving person among the guards. Facing a second-level mutant dog, especially one trained by William, they were doomed.
Screams, chaotic gunfire, and Pill's roars threw the top of the wall into chaos.
Survivors outside the city were shocked by the dramatic turn of events, which they had believed would be another quiet night of starvation.
They had come here, enduring daily torment. Some who couldn't get into the city left to try their luck elsewhere, while more stayed, hoping to one day save enough to enter and gain the protection of the tall walls.
They wandered around every day, hunting zombies in groups. Every day, some died, either eaten by zombies or killed by their own kind.
Every night, they fought and argued over spots near the city gate, as it was the safest place. If zombies or mutant animals came, those on the outermost edge would suffer first.
Outside the small Redwood County, it was a bloody little world.
No one wanted to live like this.
Few were lucky enough to save enough Magic Crystals to enter the city. At any moment, a knife from a fellow survivor could stab into your body, taking your belongings and your chance.
Today, the opportunity to enter the city, which they had dreamed of, appeared before them, and many felt it was unreal.
After a long moment of stunned silence, many suddenly cheered and rushed toward the city gate.
Then, all the survivors outside the city gate went crazy and swarmed toward it.
Walking down the streets of Redwood County, looking at the surrounding filth, Candice couldn't help but ask, "I don't get how a base without production and creation can sustain long-term survival, let alone develop."
"Pillage and exploitation," William responded.
He had seen many bases like this, reverting to their most primitive state. The leaders exploited newcomers by offering cheap, unreliable protection while secretly plundering resources from residents and surrounding survivor teams with a gang of thugs.
They were parasites, impossible to eradicate because human nature is inherently greedy. In an apocalypse without faith and rules, this greed exploded in uncontrollable ways.
Humanity's overall weakness, compared to other evolved life forms, was closely tied to these parasitic bases.
"Today, we'll face some enemies... our own kind," William told his companions as they walked.
He continued, "We've always fought against mutant life forms, but that's not the whole apocalypse. We also have to fight our own kind."
He explained, "Our kind are more cunning, ruthless, and opportunistic. When facing zombies and monsters, we can use strength. But against our own kind, strength isn't the only measure of victory."
"Today, we'll face an organization called the Royal Guild. They're like us, all Evolving persons. This guild has many professionals, making them formidable and strange."
He reminded them, "To survive in this dangerous world, you need to learn how to deal with these people. They're far more dangerous than zombies and monsters."
The team listened silently as William taught them survival skills. They might have doubted before, but not now. They had seen that no one lived better in the apocalypse than William and themselves.
William announced, "Today, we're here to avenge Cecil, but it's also a great training opportunity. If you can overcome these obstacles today, it means you've truly adapted to the apocalypse."
William suddenly stopped and pointed to the darkness ahead, saying, "Look, they're here."
Everyone looked and saw four people emerging from the darkness, staring at them with cold eyes.
William felt a bit stirred. These faces weren't unfamiliar; two of them were even unforgettable.
The guy on the far left, always fiddling with a white-grade willow leaf knife, was Philip. In his past life, William had a run-in with him at a base bar. They clashed, and if it weren't for the base's no-kill rule, William might've died at Philip's hands.
The one in the middle, Archer, was also familiar. This young man later became the vice president of the Royal Guild and was known as one of the top five strongest. Before William's rebirth, Archer was rumored to be an eight-star powerhouse.
After Philip taught William a lesson, William's team captain tried to avenge him but got his leg cut off by Archer. It took two months' income to hire a Dark Wizard to help the captain walk again.
The two young people, Dariu Guise and Lancaster Guise, were siblings with some twisted habits. The apocalypse only made them worse. They died relatively early in a conflict between the Royal Guild and a warband.
The Royal Guild was a behemoth, a secret organization that existed even before the apocalypse and grew rapidly after it began.
Later, Cecil sought revenge and, with the help of a warband, killed everyone in the Ulan warband, which was under the Royal Guild's protection. This angered the Royal Guild. They didn't openly confront the warband but constantly caused trouble in secret.
Often, tasks near completion were thwarted by the Royal Guild, hindering William and his team's progress.
In his past life, the Royal Guild had a grudge against William and his team, but it was always William's team that suffered.
Having been reborn, William came here not only to find Cecil but also to take revenge, to teach the Royal Guild a lesson, and to show them that their nightmare had begun.
In his past life, William lost to Philip, who had the same evolution level. But now, Philip was no longer qualified to be his opponent.
"You've really come to die, you short-sighted trash. Today, I'll teach you a lesson and show you that some places aren't for you, and some things aren't for you to do!" Philip said, licking his lips, showing no fear despite William's larger group.
