I'm Fighting a Zombie Horde... I'm Fighting a Zombie Horde?!

"If you're nervous, how about we have a battle?" Rita suggested to Bianka with a smile.

Bianka was pleasantly surprised, but then she spoke with some hesitation, "But this is the front line, and Senior Theresa has things to do. Who will train with me?"

After saying this, Bianka stared at Rita with expectant eyes.

She had been looking forward to sparring with Rita for a long time.

Rita smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lady Durandal, but I am not your opponent."

The sentence was a double entendre, but Bianka only understood it to mean that her opponent wasn't Rita.

Disappointed, Bianka scratched her head. "Then who is my opponent? Is it those exoskeletons?"

Rita looked off into the distance, toward the place they had just left. "Lady Durandal's opponent is, of course, the zombie horde we have to cross tomorrow..."

A zombie horde... that means lots and lots of those zombie Deadwalkers, right?

Bianka nodded in understanding. It took a full two seconds before she realized that what Rita had said was a bit off.

"Wait, my opponent is a zombie horde?!" Bianka's voice unconsciously rose, sounding rather abrupt in the darkening camp.

Luckily, no one was passing by. Otherwise, Bianka's shout would have attracted a lot of attention.

Realizing this, Bianka lowered her voice, but the surprise on her face was still plain to see.

"Ri... Maid, that's a zombie horde! You've read the Honkai manual, right? The danger level of a zombie horde is four stars. A Chariot-class Honkai Beast is only two and a half stars..."

Now that Rita had said it, Bianka was clearly even more nervous.

The opponent she would face tomorrow was probably a Honkai Beast. In Otto's Honkai danger ranking, an Seraph-class was one and a half stars, a Knight-class was two stars, a Chariot-class was two and a half stars, and a Catapult-class, due to its special nature, was given a danger level of three stars.

Currently, there were only a few threats that had reached four stars.

A zombie horde, a pack of Seraph-class Honkai Beasts, and an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

Dealing with these dangers required at least Himeko's entire Titan squad, plus the combat power of at least one other special squad just to barely hold the line...

Remember, just hold the line. On a real battlefield, this would at most be a delaying tactic. To kill a four-star threat, on top of the aforementioned lineup, you would also need a Fu Hua going all out.

And now Rita was saying her opponent was a zombie horde?

Hiss... Bianka's gaze toward Rita became a little strange. She suspected Rita was just messing with her.

"Of course I've read it." Rita didn't mind Bianka's stare and continued to explain with a smile, "There are many reasons for choosing the zombie horde as Lady Durandal's opponent.

"The enemy Lady Bianka is most familiar with right now is zombies. While the number of zombies in a horde is large, with the defensive line as our base, Lady Durandal can fight on the edge of the horde without facing too much pressure.

"Secondly, Lady Durandal currently needs an outlet for her stress. Whether I or Lady Judah act as your opponent, you would have to hold back your strength, making it somewhat difficult to release that pressure.

"But if the opponents are zombies, Lady Durandal won't have such concerns. You can go all out, and all your stress can be vented on these zombies.

"And finally, the difficulty of a zombie horde is high. If Lady Durandal can emerge unscathed from a zombie horde, that combat record should be able to form the basis of your self-confidence, right?"

Rita finished listing the advantages with a smile. The more Bianka listened, the brighter her eyes became. By the time Rita posed her final question, Bianka had almost instinctively nodded vigorously.

"You're amazing!" Bianka exclaimed with heartfelt admiration, immediately rolling up her sleeves and turning to find some zombies to vent her inner stress on.

Rita quickly grabbed the excited Bianka. "Wait, Lady Durandal. We still have to eat, and we don't have our gear on. Let's wait until we set out tomorrow. It's on the way."

Bianka came back to her senses and nodded seriously. "That's right... going into battle on an empty stomach is not a wise move."

Rita sighed in relief. After spending so many days together, she had gotten a good grasp of Bianka's personality.

A very straightforward person. Her reactions were a bit slow except when in combat, but her daily observations were very keen. Bianka could notice many details that everyone else missed.

And what impressed Rita the most was that if Bianka set her mind to something, not even ten bulls could pull her back.

Unless there was good food involved.

Looks like I'll have to brush up on my cooking skills... Rita thought with a helpless sigh, though she had never actually let her culinary skills get rusty.

Before long, the call for dinner came. Bianka and Rita quickly made their way to the camp's cafeteria and saw a dinner that wasn't rich in variety but made up for it in quantity.

Theresa must have specifically informed the kitchen of their appetites. Aside from Rita's small plate of food, both Theresa and Bianka were using basins.

In comparison, Rita was the one who didn't look normal.

All three ate quickly. The rate at which the two large basins of food disappeared was almost in sync with Rita's slow and elegant movements. At almost the same moment, all three put down their cutlery.

Bianka and Theresa let out satisfied sighs in almost perfect unison. Rita unhurriedly pulled out two napkins and handed one to each of them, then elegantly folded her own into a small square and used the corner to gently dab her lips.

Bianka really wondered if Rita's mouth had actually gotten oily. After all, the way Rita ate left no chance for any sauce to touch her.

Rita's little habits are really pleasing to the eye...

With this heartfelt sigh, Bianka stood up and stretched.

Their accommodations had been arranged. They would be turning in early tonight. After a bit of digestion and a quick wash-up, they could go to bed.

With this in mind, as she walked out, the twilight had quietly said its farewell. The moonlight hung over Sapphire City. The camp was finally much quieter at night. If you listened carefully, you could even hear faint roars from the distance.

We're really close to the zombie horde...

Bianka looked up, following the moonlight to the most eye-catching sight in Sapphire City right now.

It was several buildings that had been half-melted by high temperatures and then solidified into grotesque shapes.

They looked like unshaped plasticine.