Lowly Ascent

Inside the Union's HQ, Elder Discussion Hall. The 5 Elders of the Union discussed the army on their doorstep. 

"What the hell! Didn't you say it would be a decade? What's going on!"

"We all agreed it would take at least a decade for them to become a threat! Don't go and blame me, hypocrite!"

"Both of you shut it. There must be a reason for this. But for now, we must focus! We were not prepared for a siege and we're surrounded!"

Defeated on how to proceed, the Elders looked to the end of the table where an old man sat. Moonlight streamed through a window above the hall, illuminating his features.

He was wrinkly and frail, with parts of his body gleaming metallic. Half his head lacked hair, replaced by a metal plate with a screen displaying random numbers scrolling across it.

"I…believe… putting the city on high alert…should be our first course…of action."

One of the Elders jumped to agree. "The First Elder's right! We should start the defense; they're so close to the walls! We have to tell the people and go into lockdown!"

"Alright, but I say one of us should oversee the defenses. I'll volunteer." Another spoke up. 

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

...

Sirens rang throughout the city by unknown means, a blaring noise sent everyone awake, no matter how pleasant the dream. 

These sirens had only sounded once before in the city's history.

Siege. The city was under siege.

Cain was jolted awake by the sound like many others. Beside him, Luna too came upright in banal. 

Confused, a look of worry and dread seemed to register on their faces. 

Having no idea what was going on, Cain took Luna and went to John's manor. Whatever was happening, it was an emergency.

…

"Master! Master! Are you there?" Cain was banging on the manor doors.

It was seconds later that they creaked open to reveal John, wearing a serious expression—something Cain had long forgotten could plaster itself on his Master.

"Do you know what this sound is? Do you know what's happening?"

It took John a second to understand what he meant before realizing his student was not of this place, and young. 

"Siege... we are under siege. The time this last happened... was during the Zimo outbreak."

"Zimo..." Cain's face contorted into a grim viscus of horror.

The Zimo outbreak was a major historical event that struck fear into the hearts of all in Netherane. It was the disease that spawned monsters that seemed to have unity, creating an undying army that could wipe out empires.

John understood what Cain was thinking, due to the years they spent together. "Don't worry. We have the five elders, and there can't be that many—maybe 10,000 at most, which is manageable."

Cain didn't feel any better. "So what do we do? Wait it out?"

"As members of the Union, we have to go to the walls to help with the defense. Come on, I'll show you it's not that serious." John got on a jacket and came out of the manor.

"Alright."

Deep down, Cain didn't believe him. 'I'm sorry master, but I have a feeling it's far beyond 10,000.'

...

Atop the southern main wall, near its gate, Cain stood, surveying the scene before him. 

'This…how in the world am I going to survive this? It must be the end of days…'

All he could see were dead, living dead—an endless horde, covering everything in sight. The once-golden rolling fields were now obscured, replaced by the stench of death and rotting flesh.

Even on these tall walls that seemed to pierce the sky, the stench seemed to be the only thing anyone could smell. 

Looking over to his master, he watched the subtle trembling of John's facial muscles. 

John turned to his apprentice, showing a hollow smile, "It appears we can't leave even if we wanted to."

"I see," Cain responded, gloomy. The undead had surrounded the city and were closing in. Some were wandering around mere millimeters from the gate. They were gathering. 

But just as John said, not all hope was lost.

In the distance, atop the black stone walls, an old man led multiple soldiers, many of them wearing plague doctor attire.

"Get ready! Those bastards will start climbing soon! Prepare for a siege! Don't let them enter your homes. Fight with everything you have!"

The old man seemed to garner immense respect; there was almost reverence for him. After a moment of thought, Cain figured out why.

"An Elder!"

John confirmed, "Yes, it's the third elder, Edmund, Darius's grandfather. He must be leading the defense."

Luna gazed at the distant old man with a worried expression. He was her master's grandfather, and even though she hadn't met him, he was family. Luna was close to Darius, he was like a father figure to her, as her own family treated her more like a prize than a daughter.

She disliked her family so much that she and Cain hadn't contacted them at all. They might not even invite them to their wedding.

John's tense expression lightened. "Since you're both Grade 2, you should be given a high position rather than just being regular infantry. Maybe even better, considering your status." He pointed to a large tent with a long line of normal-looking civilians. 

"That's a command center, go there to get registered, without it, you won't be getting paid. I have other duties"

Atop the wall was massive, almost three streets wide. Cain and Luna even had carriages whiz past them.

Cain surmised that ancient alchemic magic could have achieved such results, no amount of humans could achieve such grand and large creation.

The couple entered the command tent and proceeded to get recorded down. They were to be field commanders on the wall, overseeing soldiers and assisting when needed. 

Looking at a board, Cain scoured until he found his position.

'Nice and high up on the ladder I see.'

Cain received an officer uniform fitted with Runes, was paid 10 contribution points per hour, and got to command over 1,000 people.

The pay alone was a significant amount, compared to regular soldiers who got around 1 contribution point per hour. 

Cain and Luna were going to be separated, they were each placed in a different segment of the wall.

All that remained was to await the commencement of the undead siege.

Stepping back out into the fray, Cain went to go find his superior to officially be instated as a Commander. Walking along the wall, he noticed the majority of the defense was made up of Plague Doctors, including apprentices.

'Seems that there is one downside to power I guess. Obligation.'

Meanwhile, the rest of the city's military and militia were implementing martial law and assisting with domestic matters to ease the burden on those involved in the defense. 

Cain was stationed near the main gate of the Southern segment of the wall. To pass the time, he watched the horde brush against the wall. 

There was nothing they could do at the moment. The zombies couldn't break the wall so they instead had to climb, and the only way to scale such a large structure was on top of one another.

'Attacking now would be a waste of resources. The damn monsters are starting to get riled up.'

Growing bored, Cain watched the higher-ups bustling about the wall, handling administrative duties to keep the defense together.

He couldn't help but chuckle when he pictured John darting around in his new role; he even broke into laughter for a moment. However, he regained his composure. He had to give his all to protect the people he cared about; there was no room for mistakes.

Having such high-level people work as busybodies seemed stupid, but in truth, no one would work harder or faster than them. 

Cain witnessed one such higher-up, they were moving so fast only a streak remained.

'Wonder how much it will take for me to get that fast...maybe I can find a virus for it?'