Chapter 158: A Weird Atmosphere Around East Yamanashi Stronghold

Getting into the Yamanashi Stronghold, the group’s collective thought concluded that the stronghold was better than before. After all, the four strongholds became an alliance, with two other strongholds merging due to the unfortunate incident.

"What happened here?" Tris asked as their assumption was broken into little pieces. The border of the Yamanashi Stronghold had become a wasteland.

As it turned out, the relationship between the East and West Yamanashi Stronghold wasn’t on good terms as expected. An infighting was going on, that much was obvious.

Kazuichi felt his every being tightening as he sensed something that shouldn’t have existed in strongholds. He wasn’t sure what it was, but for some reason, he felt a certain sense of danger that lurked within the area.

"We’re on the east side of Yamanashi, right?" Kazuichi asked as Jurou and the others looked at him weirdly. It was such an odd question to ask since they were most certainly on the east side of the prefecture.

Without further ado, the group delved deeper into the stronghold. Although the walls built around the East Yamanashi Stronghold were reduced to rubble, there were no sights of zombie attacks, as well as dead people.

It was a little strange, considering that the Yamanashi Prefecture is much just like Tokyo— a city saturated with people.

A little further into the stronghold, there were tents and makeshift homes wherein residents lived. Curious gazes landed upon the group as they continued heading deeper into the stronghold.

Tug. Tug.

Kazuichi felt a little tug on his sleeves. At first, he thought it was Tris expressing her anxiousness. However, when he turned back, he noticed that a little child was causing the tugging.

The child’s eyes were sunken, and it was evident that he was hungry. Kazuichi instantly understood the assignment, reaching into his bag and giving the child a bag of bread. The child’s eyes immediately lit up, and he he opened the bag before running towards a makeshift tent.

There, two eyes peeked outside, belonging to a husband and wife. With a nod of gratefulness, the husband and wife closed their tents as they silently celebrated their blessing.

Clearly, others were struggling in the vicinity, but Kazuichi knew he could only give as much. That’s why, without turning back, the group continued their traverse.

After finding a good open spot nearby, Kazuichi and the others set up camp, not minding the stares they received from the residents. Of course, anyone could camp here, that’s why no one cared whether newcomers arrived in the territory or not.

"So... how do we proceed with the plan?" Kojiro whispered as soon as all of them entered the oversized tent that Jurou quickly set up.

"We infiltrate at night," Captain Satoru said, assuming the position of the leader even though Kazuichi was in candidacy for that role.

"No, we can’t risk it. We should infiltrate them at a normal time, blend in with the men, and then strike the head before anything else. We can cause strife between them, of course, but that would take needless lives." Jurou let out.

Ultimately, the end goal of the plan was the same, it just didn’t sit well for Jurou that they would cause a pseudo-civil war that might end up in a massacre.

"That’s riskier. If we cause an infighting, we can just wait for them to fall into ruin." Satoru responded. One could tell that Satoru was a big fan of war, and it showed in his words.

"H-how about we surveil the area first?" Tris calmly suggested as she bit on a mouthful of bread.

Meanwhile, Kazuichi kept silent all this time. He could still feel the strange aura that surrounded the place. There was something wrong, he just couldn’t wrap his finger around it.

Jurou noticed Kazuichi’s far-off gaze, and he knew exactly what Kazuichi was thinking about. The moment they stepped foot inside the territory of the Yamanashi Stronghold. He too sensed the odd atmosphere that radiated within the place.

"You three can stay here. Kazuichi and Tris will accompany me for surveillance." Jurou said out of nowhere.

"Let’s go," Kazuichi said as he immediately got out of the tent. He knew what Jurou meant. After all, he had served him as his butler for many years.

"Excuse me." Clueless, Tris also got up, following right behind Kazuichi as soon as he exited the tent.

"Ahh... all right?" Kojiro let out, looking at Satoru and Ryota who were both left in the tent with him. Then again, at least they could prepare food while the others were out.

The moment he got out of the tent, Kazuichi activated his Blood Art, enhancing his senses before looking around. He could more or less tell where the weird aura concentrated, thanks to his Blood Art.

With his eyes turning bloodshot, he turned towards Jurou. "I’ll go first. Give me a headstart." Kazuichi let out before sprinting in a certain direction.

Nodding his head, Jurou turned towards Tris. "We follow." He said, jerking his head towards Kazuichi who was already a couple of meters away from them.

Jurou didn’t bother activating his Blood Art since Tris wouldn’t be able to keep up with him if he did so. Instead, he followed Kazuichi’s command of giving him a headstart while he and Tris discreetly tailed him.

As for Tris, she still had no idea what was going on. She was just a human after all, and even if her senses were above-average, there was no way he could detect what Hybrids could.

A couple of seconds passed, and Kazuichi finally reached the area where the aura emanated. It felt like a miasma, and it intensively reacted with the virus within his body.

When he reached the center, he felt the entirety of his body shaking. Goosebumps crawled up and down his body while his eyes became even more bloodshot. He felt as if he was turning into a mindless zombie but he was able to regain his composure after a couple of bated breaths.

"A trapdoor... that’s a little too cliche, I guess?" Kazuichi said as he noticed the wooden trapdoor on his feet.