The Kingmaker System Chapter 719 - 718. Vanguard: Prince (4)

A relentless downpour drenched the devastated town as knights continued their grim work, felling the shambling undead that haunted the streets.

The initial panic and hesitation that once gripped the forces led by Eric and Miri had long since given way to sheer exhaustion – the kind that sinks into your very bones after hours of ceaseless combat.

The thoroughfares were a grim tableau of fallen bodies, a mix of vanquished undead and unfortunate souls who hadn't survived their arrival. The rain, flowing like a macabre river, had dyed the streets a murky red. Yet, the purification mana within the precipitation persistently cleansed the land, fighting back the encroaching dead mana.

Eric, with a flash of his fiery sword, dispatched another undead creature lunging at a knight before swiftly wheeling his horse around.

"Escort the survivors to the medical camp!" he bellowed.

The knights promptly complied. Miri, perched atop the wreckage of an overturned carriage, unleashed her sand magic, shattering the legs of undead attempting to reach the fleeing civilians.

"Third platoon, advance west!" she commanded sharply. "Prevent any incursions into the alleyways!"

Her soldiers immediately acted on her orders.

From the rear lines, Carlos observed the coordinated efforts in silence, his horse stepping gingerly over the mangled corpses strewn across the path. Sir Hopkins and a handful of knights remained close, while Ruel, through Carlos's senses, silently scanned the chaotic battlefield.

For a fleeting instant, the battle seemed contained.

Then, a brilliant crimson flare streaked into the darkened sky, originating from a town several miles distant.

A hush fell over everyone.

The signal erupted above the rain-laden clouds, a solitary, blood-red star that slowly began to dissipate.

Miri's eyes immediately narrowed.

"An emergency signal?" a knight murmured, his voice barely audible.

Eric's brow furrowed as he gazed intently at the direction of the fading crimson flare, its light swallowed by the rainclouds.

"It originated from the west," Drac stated from his horse, his sharp eyes fixed on the distant horizon.

The surrounding knights instinctively turned their attention to Eric and Miri, awaiting direction. Amidst the drumming rain and the distant moans of the undead, a palpable tension settled over the scene.

Eric's gaze flickered briefly towards Carlos.

Carlos, meanwhile, remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the disappearing signal. Rain cascaded down his blond hair, dripping from the edges of his cloak.

It appeared Duke Esmertia had finally grasped the severity of the situation and was calling for aid. Whether they were overwhelmed by the undead or faced an even greater threat remained unknown. However, one fact was undeniable: the western front could not be ignored.

Reinforcements from the capital or nearby territories would arrive far too late.

And their current force was the closest available.

"I will go," Carlos declared with quiet resolve.

Sir Hopkins immediately spurred his horse forward, halting beside Carlos, his face etched with evident concern.

"Your Highness-"

Carlos simply raised a hand, motioning for him to cease.

Eric and Miri exchanged a swift glance.

Neither appeared reassured.

The current Carlos was not entirely himself. Ruel's presence introduced a significant complication, and any harm befalling him in this state would trigger repercussions far beyond the immediate battlefield. With the kingdom already descending into widespread chaos, neither Eric nor Miri desired to add another catastrophic event to the ensuing aftermath. Furthermore, who would stand in for Ocean should the worst occur?

After a brief, pregnant silence, Eric finally turned his head slightly.

"Drac," he commanded with firm authority, "you will accompany him."

Drac's brows twitched almost imperceptibly.

It wasn't a matter of disliking Carlos or doubting his abilities, but the prospect of separation from Eric during such a critical juncture left a disquieting sensation in his chest. This was especially true now, as the surrounding environment felt increasingly precarious.

Nevertheless, a direct order was a direct order.

"Understood, Your Highness," he replied, inclining his head without objection.

Miri moved closer to Carlos, her sharp gaze studying him for a moment as if trying to discern something hidden.

"If the situation appears perilous, retreat immediately and inform us first," she cautioned. "Do not overextend yourselves."

Carlos offered a slight nod in response.

Eric's eyes met Carlos's for a fleeting second before he spoke in a low tone.

"Be cautious."

Carlos paused for the briefest of moments before returning the nod. He then turned, mounted his horse with fluid grace, and tugged on the reins.

The selected knights quickly formed ranks behind him, with Drac taking up a position at his side.

Without wasting another moment, the small platoon charged through the rain-soaked streets, rushing farther west toward the source of the emergency signal while the thunder rumbled heavily above them.

Duke Esmertia’s knights were exhausted beyond their limits and they were taking turns in the battle. Duke Esmertia had taken a chance and decided to create a hurricane but quickly stopped as he noticed that the undead if thrown away from here would rain down on the entire kingdom or beyond, who would take responsibility for that exponential number of casualties then?

He had just realized his mistake of refusing Ocean’s help when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he lifted his head and saw the dark shadows leaping from the trees above him racing towards the horde of undead.

Sir Redwood watched in shock for a moment as he noticed that these black figures were actually humans and they were none other than the part of Ocean’s guard who were fighting the undead before.

"He sent help." Sir Redwood muttered.

Duke Esmertia felt a bitter aftertaste as he saw those dark figures jumping into the battlefield and if they had more than one life.

The exhausted knights quickly retreated watching the thirty or so black-clad assassins easily slicing through the undead.

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of blades cutting through the bodies and the squelching and thudding sounds of the heads and other body parts of the undead falling on the ground.

"My heavens... How did he even create such an army?" Sir Redwood wondered aloud.

"They’re monsters like him." Duke Esmertia muttered.

But even with the assassins already there he knew they would still not be enough because the undead had reached the Emerald Harbor and there were even more people there which had made the number of these undead grow to several hundred already.

Just as he thought of what could be done, Sir Redwood spoke up.

"Reinforcements are here."

Duke Esmertia turned his head to see a small platoon rushing towards the battlefield and at the head was Carlos. Duke Esmertia didn’t have high hopes of his grandson who had rarely displayed any groundbreaking talents and him even being in this place somehow gave him a bad feeling. If he died here, it would bring all of his and Katherine’s efforts to waste.

Still what happened in the next few minutes made him rephrase his last thought.

Carlos, as per his imagination who would have been cowering in fear while facing the undead, was surprisingly level-headed.

Duke Esmertia watched the graceful arc of Carlos’s longsword, the crimson blade moved like flowing fire as it sliced through the undead. Several of the undead were impaled at once and he charged through the battlefield leading the knights.

Sir Redwood was equally shocked watching Carlos display such skill or fight with such ferocity. He was so taken that he could only stare at the red blade that moved with blinding speed cutting through the undead.

"Marvellous." He whispered.

Drac and Sir Hopkins flanked Carlos’s sides to keep any undead from catching him off guard and were also equally surprised to see him fight. Drac knew the reason for this sudden upgrade but Sir Hopkins’s mind was blown.

Ruel hadn’t fought undead everywhere but considering that he was known for being the strongest alive in his time, this wasn’t a big deal. Moreover, he was just holding back a lot since Carlos’s body wasn’t yet accustomed to the kind of violence that Ruel was normalized to and it was also because Carlos’s mana capacity was weaker. His body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the speed that Ruel was expending his mana.

Ruel took it easy and then glanced around, watching Ocean’s assassins who had already cleared up more than a hundred undead all by themselves. His eyes particularly rested on one figure which looked familiar and somehow he felt Carlos tremble in his mind.

"What’s wrong?" Ruel asked.

The figure was of a woman and despite the lower half of her face being covered, her short olive green hair were visible and he couldn’t help but stare at the weapon in her hands. The chains that danced over the area around her and the sickle-like blade at the end of it cutting through the heads.

Carlos still remembered the terror he felt when she stood in front of him after killing the ones who had come to attack him.

Ruel noticed her stopping for a moment before her eyes turned and met with his and Ruel felt a chill run down his spine.

The murderous intent was alive in the entire battlefield but this woman’s presence was probably the most vicious of them all.

Ruel turned his attention towards the undead that seemed to be pouring towards him. The undead rushed towards him like waves and he had no chance to catch his breath, if not for Eric’s guard and Sir Hopkins who were giving him a hand, he would be overwhelmed.

Still, he found it a little strange.

His eyes scanned his surroundings, and he observed that the vast majority of the undead creatures were now converging directly toward him. The assassins and knights who had been engaged in combat nearby also began to notice the drastic shift; the undead assaulting their positions suddenly turned in unison and started rushing towards Carlos.

"What is happening? Why are they solely attacking Prince Carlos?" Sir Redwood questioned aloud, bewildered.

Duke Esmertia pressed his lips together, equally baffled and without any explanation for the strange phenomenon.