An hour passed, and the horde was slain, turning the scenery that lay ahead into one strewn with a sea of corpses, their heads plastered with gaping bullet holes.
"We're low on ammunition, sir." Stahl reports the situation of his 'First Rifle Battalion' to me, Victor, who was standing beside him and observing the situation unfold.
"Switch your position with the 'Second Rifle Battalion' and take some rest." I command with a caring tone, my eyes glancing toward my troops to gauge their condition.
They're just a bit tired but could still fight. Their ammunition supply situation, on the other hand, is in a dire state since it's really hard to aim for the head in the middle of the night and hit it accurately at long range, and so a lot of ammunition has been spent.
As the battalion of riflemen switches position with one another and the ammunition is resupplied, something appears over the darkened horizon under the moonlit night.
A black tide slowly reveals itself for what it is, a wave of corruption of sacred human lives, another undead horde of unknown origin.
What exactly are they, where did they come from, why are they here, and most importantly, how were they created?
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lifeless bodies shamble across the field at an absurdly slow speed. They aren't exactly hard to kill if you know their weakness, but they drain a rain of bullets like a sponge soaking water. Basically a drain on our limited ammo supplies.
I express my concerns to Valeria, who's currently standing beside me. She's smiling without any hint of concern in her mind.
"Don't worry, we could resupply later." She waves away my concerns with a smug smile. I didn't even tell her what my concerns were about yet, but it seems like she could predict what I wanted to say even before I uttered a single word.
"Well, that seems a bit reckless, Lady Valeria. We still have to fight something else after this." I express my next concern.
"Yeah, now that we know how to kill them again, my cavalry should be able to just run them down. That could save us a lot of ammo." Elena chimes in, proposing that she go out with her force again.
"No need to do that, Elena, I got this! I swear on the good side of my face!" Valeria affirms with a jest as she lifts her hand up to touch the half-mask on her face.
"Yeah, that's right, be more humble, Miss Big Red Kitten!" Arina speaks out of nowhere, causing Elena to snap at her.
"My lord, I request authorization to charge out with my cavalry again... I kinda have a plan." Elena says, her eyes glinting fiery red like bloody rubies reflecting blazing fire.
I reckon her demand to be both personal and reckless and shake my head in refusal.
"I really do have a plan, please trust me, Sua Maestà." she speaks, her tone and temper radiating pure determination to win.
I nod at her words. "If your plan sounds good, that is." I respond, while both Arina and Valeria stare at her with the purest form of doubt twinkling in their respective emerald-green and amber-gold gem-like eyes.
"My plan is...
-----
"Those who died shall rise again to serve their rightful sovereign." The Prince's quiet whisper flows through the midnight wind like a devil's hymn, as the undead horde marches relentlessly through the field, gnawing down even the marquis's fleeing soldiers whose routing sequence led them straight into the marching dead. And as their lifeless bodies fall to the ground, they join the ranks of the unliving horde.
More than ten thousand corpses make their way through the now desolate field of northern Middenland, causing the marquis's men who survived the storm of bullets to gamble their lives and run northward to seek salvation from their supposed enemy that they've just fought a moment ago.
Surprisingly enough, the lowly baron's infernal army does not open fire at them, and in fact, they decide to take them in and treat their wounds.
"We humans should take care of each other, for our true enemy is not human." That's what their supposed enemy tells them while treating their wounds.
An hour passes, and the next thing they know is that their enemy somehow won against the horde of undead, and now they're asking them to switch sides.
Which they gladly accept, after they hear from their now savior about a plot of land that shall be given to them and their family, only if their new ally wins this war.
-----
Upon the field that reeks of death, the light cavalry runs through the veil of the night, bows in hand, scabbarded blades slung at their hips. Behind them are a group of the finest riflemen in the army, 'The Sharpshooter'.
Elena's plan is simple yet brilliant, use light cavalry as bait to lure and distract the enemy while the sharpshooters, whose rigs are loaded full with spare ammo, are ready to shoot accurately at the zombies.
Every bullet and arrow must hit its mark. If not, the army's ammunition supplies are going to get drained real quick. And thus a slow process of chipping away at the undead horde begins, as the first arrow is fired and the first bullet is shot.
Thousands of the undead die through this time-wasting process, and the guns must be replaced constantly due to jamming from their unending use.
Then thousands of the undead fall before a slew of arrows and bullets, yet now even the horses and men are tired, causing accuracy to dwindle minute by minute.
So the improvised chaotic troop rotation process begins, as Valeria and her advisor organize the rotation process, while Elena and Arina funnel out their respective troops to refill the ranks.
After hours upon hours of battle, the horde is crushed as the new dawn approaches the desolated battlefield, which is completely strewn with piles of corpses.
Yet even with all of that, the "Bullet Drain" is complete, and around twenty percent of the overall ammunition is spent, causing an absurd level of anxiety for Baron Victor amidst the cheering crowd of soldiers and his smiling confidants, except Valeria, who does not smile nor cheer, for she is also engulfed by anxiety as the army's 'Supply Overseer'.