While Gregory was busy betraying those who were his allies and group companions, George and his group had left Hilltop's grounds and were heading straight toward the Kingdom.
Inside the military truck.
George was busy with the radio in his hand, trying to contact Jason, while the others analyzed the current situation.
The contact process didn't take long, and Jason was back at that moment. After more than three months of exploration and searching, he had finally discovered the Commonwealth outpost without them noticing. And as far as he knew, only a few people could be safely sent to that place.
On the way back, he was in a good mood when he suddenly received a message from George, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew very well that the Saviors had finally arrived—although later than expected, they had still reached Washington.
However, due to signal issues, he only had a general idea of the situation. What made him feel a little relieved was that the Alexandria community didn't seem to be involved for the moment, so Merle sped up his journey and gradually drifted into thought.
Would there be complications, or would everything turn out fine since he knew so much about the future?
...
The modified RV, a truck, and two Humvees with machine guns were heading toward the Kingdom at extremely high speed. The scattered walkers on the road were sent flying in the direction of the impact angles, and their shattered bodies were left on the road, staining the ground with dark blood.
The torn flesh and filthy blood splattered across the iron bars of the front windshield and stained the glass, turning the view ahead blood-red.
Merle, who was driving this time, calmly played with the wipers to clear the blood. At that moment, they weren't far from the Kingdom.
"Zz… Team stationed in the Kingdom, respond."
"Zz…"
A man looked at Jason and shook his head, signaling no response. Although there were only twelve soldiers currently in the Kingdom, they were skilled soldiers, and even if outnumbered, at least they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
...
Jesus, who was in a truck closer than Jason's group, was the most worried at the moment, watching carefully for any detail on the road.
And just after the convoy turned a corner, suddenly a path opened, and everyone pointed to the sky. "Look at that!"
George's group got off the truck and gathered around the Kingdom, and black smoke could be seen floating into the sky not far from their position.
Anger flared in Jesus's eyes, and he said through clenched teeth: "We're late, those people already attacked the Kingdom."
The trucks following Gregory had stopped in front of the Kingdom's gates. The gate that had always been closed before was now shattered into a thousand pieces. When everyone entered inside, they could see dozens of corpses of unknown people, and many noticed that the houses had been set on fire.
Large-caliber bullets had left marks on the ground; apparently at least more than fifty people had been killed. But it seemed this all ended due to a special incident—it was known that one of Jason's squads was protecting this place, so something must have happened for them to surrender.
"They couldn't do anything…"
Two bodies lay in the middle of the compound, both wearing standard combat uniforms, and everyone present knew them—they were the two guards of the Kingdom, Daniel and Kevin.
Both had been shot more than once, and the ground around them was stained with blood. The people who killed them hadn't intended to stop their transformation into walkers and hadn't given them head wounds.
Michonne approached the two of them and drew her samurai sword with a heavy heart.
"They're both good people, and Kevin helped me once. Before the end of the world, Kevin was a farmer and Daniel was a teacher. May there be no pain in heaven!"
Puff! Crack!
There were two sounds of sharp weapons piercing flesh, and Michonne's sword was sheathed again.
Everyone behind them also felt a little sad—whether they had known the two or not, all felt sorrow for what had happened to them.
Michonne's eyes suddenly froze, and she asked in a panicked tone: "George, did you say on the way that Hilltop was the first community they discovered?"
"Yes, but now it doesn't seem to be the case—they must have passed through the Kingdom before reaching Hilltop… They already knew about the existence of other communities."
"That can't be! Let's go back to Alexandria!"
...
In the suburbs west of downtown Washington, a convoy was driving fast down the road, with Merle leading the advance. After the news, the group that had originally planned to return to Alexandria tomorrow didn't rest and traveled the entire way without stopping.
"Jason, this group that appeared doesn't seem ordinary like the others. Do you think the soldiers we left behind are enough to defend the Kingdom?"
"They must have at least died in battle—I doubt they surrendered knowing they could be killed. But we need to go back as soon as possible and know exactly what happened. If the enemy this time is too powerful, we don't need to fight them directly. If it doesn't work out, we can return straight to our safe zone. Since we don't have tanks in Alexandria and the few Humvees we have left are already in service, we won't fight for territory that hasn't given us anything."
Daryl, who was sitting behind them, was cleaning his crossbow and said with some disdain: "They killed our men? Probably just some bastards, but most likely a lot of them."
Merle said: "Hey, don't you think that group kind of fits my tastes?"
"This is very strange…" Jason, who was sitting to the side, murmured quietly, still thinking.
Alicia was next to him—she was about to set out on a mission to the Commonwealth, so during this time they had spent it together, also having to endure Daryl's jokes about their stiff relationship.
"Is that the direction leading us to the Kingdom?" Merle spoke in a slow, deliberate voice, then pointed with surprise: "Look, brother, could it be that the idiot King was taken out?"
Daryl squinted for a moment, then said uncertainly: "Maybe it's just a fire somewhere…"
Jason was also a little puzzled. Logically, even if the Kingdom was attacked, there was a protocol. If the enemy wasn't hostile in the sense of harming the Kingdom's civilians, no one would attack until they had full control of the situation.
"Drive faster."
"Got it!"
...
Back to Rick's group.
A group of six people had arrived at the nearest town on foot. At this moment, the sky was already darkening, and the walkers around seemed to sense that night was coming. The group formed a defensive circle, protecting everyone.
Elen also took a weapon. She was an optimistic girl who saw things very openly. Even though she had just lost someone special that morning, the people still left by her side needed her help. Seeing Rick and the others doing everything possible to protect the weakest, she also intended to contribute.
Searching along the street to the end, most of the shops on both sides were open, and it was already dark, so it was impossible to be sure of the situation inside.
Rick intended to find a house still in good condition, so he could only move forward, hoping to find a residential area in town as soon as possible.
Walking down another street, the few people finally found a residential area. The houses on both sides were all small two-story wooden buildings. They quickly cleared the walkers in the street and ran toward the door of one residential building.
"Damn it, it's locked!"
"Can you open it?"
"Forget it, let's go across the street."
After searching, they finally found a house with an open door.
"Morgan, you and Guillermo take the first floor, Elen and I will go upstairs, while you protect Katia and wait at the door." Rick whispered a few words and led Elen upstairs. As soon as they reached the second floor, four rooms were visible at a glance—they should be three bedrooms plus a bathroom—and the two began checking the rooms immediately.
Soon some people regrouped on the first floor, but Rick frowned slightly.
Seeing Rick's expression, Morgan at his side noticed something was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
Looking around again, Rick shook his head uncertainly.
"I can't say for sure, but I feel something strange…" Elen didn't see anything, but she trusted Rick's instincts and asked: "Then, should we try another place?"
Looking at the sky outside the window, Rick still shook his head. "Forget it, it's too late and it's easy to get into danger."
The last of the people still chose two rooms on the second floor to sleep in. In the middle of the night, Rick always felt uneasy lying in bed, so he got up quietly, and Morgan at the window gave a signal and left the room.
The hallway was very dark, but Rick's eyes had already adjusted. He walked slowly through the first floor, then went back up to the second floor where he had checked earlier, and inspected the rooms he hadn't checked personally.
Slowly he passed through the living room, the kitchen, and reached a hallway at the back. He drew his machete and entered slowly.
Just after he entered the first room, suddenly a gap opened in a wall beneath the stairs on the first floor, and a figure emerged from within.