Chapter 2503: Story 2504: The Fall of Dusthaven

The first rays of dawn stretched across the desert as Victoria Kane, Cole Mercer, and Father Gabriel Ward rode hard toward the rising columns of black smoke.

Midnight charged through the rocky wasteland with tireless determination, his hooves striking sparks against the stone. The screams carried by the wind grew louder with every mile.

Victoria’s heart sank.

"We’re running out of time."

Cole urged his chestnut horse faster.

"Dusthaven is surrounded by cliffs. If they’ve breached the gates..."

He couldn’t finish the thought.

Minutes later, the settlement came into view.

Dusthaven had once been a thriving refuge built inside an abandoned mining town. High wooden walls, reinforced watchtowers, and steel barricades had protected hundreds of survivors from wandering infected.

Now the walls burned.

The eastern gate had been torn completely apart.

Smoke filled the sky while terrified civilians fled through the streets.

Dozens of zombies flooded into the settlement.

But these were unlike the infected Victoria had fought before.

Some wore battered armor scavenged from fallen soldiers.

Others carried rusted farming tools, axes, and broken spears as if they remembered fragments of their former lives.

"They’re organized," Victoria whispered.

"No..." Father Gabriel replied grimly.

"They’re evolving."

A loud explosion shook the settlement.

One of the watchtowers collapsed, crushing both defenders and infected beneath its burning remains.

Victoria drew her revolver.

"We help whoever’s still alive!"

Midnight leaped over the shattered gate and landed inside the town square.

Chaos surrounded them.

Cole’s rifle thundered repeatedly, dropping infected one after another with deadly precision.

Victoria fired from horseback while Midnight kicked aside every zombie that came too close.

Father Gabriel knelt beside a wounded survivor whose leg had been crushed beneath fallen timber.

Instead of reaching for a weapon, he placed his silver cross against the man’s forehead and calmly whispered,

"You still have strength. Stand."

The frightened survivor somehow found the courage to rise and help others escape.

Victoria noticed a little girl trapped beneath an overturned wagon while three infected staggered toward her.

Without hesitation, she spurred Midnight forward.

One precise shot shattered the first zombie’s skull.

The second was thrown aside by Midnight’s powerful front legs.

The third lunged.

Victoria drew her hunting knife and drove it deep into the creature’s temple.

She pulled the trembling child into the saddle.

"Hold on!"

The girl wrapped her arms tightly around Victoria as Midnight galloped through the smoke.

Suddenly every zombie stopped moving.

Not one.

Not ten.

Every single infected froze where they stood.

An unnatural silence settled over Dusthaven.

Even the flames seemed quieter.

Then the survivors heard slow footsteps.

From the burning eastern gate emerged a towering figure wrapped in a crimson coat.

Its silver mask reflected the firelight.

The Crimson Rider.

Victoria immediately pointed her revolver.

"You control them?"

The mysterious rider remained silent.

Instead, he slowly turned toward the surrounding zombies.

With one deliberate motion, he raised his right hand.

Every infected in Dusthaven bowed their heads.

Then, just as suddenly, they began retreating from the settlement.

Within moments, the streets were empty.

Only the dead remained.

Cole lowered his rifle in disbelief.

"They just... left."

The Crimson Rider looked directly at Victoria.

Though his face remained hidden behind the silver mask, she could feel an overwhelming sadness in his silent gaze.

Without speaking a single word, he mounted a magnificent crimson horse waiting beyond the shattered gate.

Before disappearing into the drifting smoke, he left behind a single object lying in the center of the road.

After the rider vanished, Victoria cautiously approached it.

Half-buried in the ashes was an ancient sheriff’s badge forged from black steel.

On its surface was the same crowned symbol they had discovered beneath the Whispering Canyon.

Father Gabriel’s face turned pale.

"The First Marshal..."

He looked toward the empty desert with growing dread.

"The legends were true."

Far beyond Dusthaven, beneath the blazing morning sun, an army of thousands marched silently toward the western frontier, following the unseen command of the Hollow King.