The rain poured relentlessly over the ruined town as the knights continued cutting down the undead that staggered through the streets.

The earlier panic and hesitation had long vanished from the forces under Eric and Miri’s command. What replaced it instead was exhaustion.

The kind that settled deep into the bones after hours of nonstop fighting.

The streets were littered with corpses. Some belonged to the undead they had put down while some were of those who hadn’t been fortunate enough to survive till their arrival. The rainwater that flowed through the streets had long turned murky red and yet the purification mana infused within the rain continuously washed over the land, preventing the overwhelming dead mana from settling properly.

Eric swung his blazing sword through another undead that lunged at one of the knights before he quickly turned his horse around.

"Take the survivors toward the medical camp!" He shouted.

The knights hurried to obey while Miri, who stood atop the remains of a collapsed carriage, used her sand magic to crush the legs of the undead attempting to crawl toward the civilians.

"Third platoon, move west!" She ordered sharply. "Don’t let them enter the alleyways!"

The men immediately followed her command.

Carlos watched the coordination silently from the rear lines while his horse stepped over the mangled corpses scattered throughout the road. Sir Hopkins and a few knights remained close to him while Ruel quietly observed the battlefield through Carlos’s eyes.

For a brief moment, the battlefield seemed manageable.

And then, a bright crimson flare suddenly shot into the dark sky several towns away.

Everyone paused.

The signal exploded high above the rain clouds like a blood-red star before slowly dispersing.

Miri’s eyes narrowed immediately.

"An emergency signal?" One of the knights muttered under his breath.

Eric frowned deeply as he stared toward the distant direction of the crimson flare that slowly faded behind the rain clouds.

"That came from the western side." Drac spoke from atop his horse, his sharp gaze fixed on the horizon.

The surrounding knights instinctively turned toward Eric and Miri, waiting for orders. Amid the rain and distant groans of the undead, the atmosphere grew taut with unease.

Eric’s eyes briefly shifted toward Carlos.

Carlos, meanwhile, remained silent as he stared at the fading signal in the sky, the rain sliding down his blonde hair and dripping from the edges of his cloak.

It seemed Duke Esmertia had finally realized the gravity of the situation and called for assistance. Whether it was because the undead had overwhelmed them or because they had encountered something worse, none of them knew. But one thing was certain, the western side could not be ignored.

Reinforcements from the capital or neighboring territories would take too long to arrive.

And they were the closest force available.

"I’ll go." Carlos announced calmly.

Sir Hopkins immediately urged his horse forward until he stopped beside Carlos, his expression carrying clear concern.

"Your Highness-"

Carlos merely lifted a hand slightly, stopping him before he could continue.

Eric and Miri exchanged a brief glance.

Neither of them looked reassured.

The current Carlos was not entirely Carlos. Ruel’s presence complicated everything and if something were to happen to him in this state, there would be consequences far beyond the battlefield itself. And with the kingdom already collapsing into chaos from all sides, neither Eric nor Miri wished to add another disaster to the aftermath that would follow tonight. Moreover, who would answer Ocean in the worst case scenario?

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

"Drac," he spoke firmly, "you’ll go with him."

Drac’s brows twitched faintly.

It wasn’t that he disliked Carlos, nor did he doubt his capabilities, but being separated from Eric during such a situation left an unpleasant feeling in his chest. Especially now, when everything around them felt increasingly unstable. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Still, a direct order was a direct order.

"I understand, Your Highness." He inclined his head without protest.

Miri stepped closer to Carlos, her sharp eyes lingering on him for a moment as if trying to gauge something.

"If the situation looks abnormal, retreat immediately and inform us first." She warned. "Don’t overextend yourselves."

Carlos simply gave a small nod.

Eric’s gaze met Carlos’s for a brief moment before he spoke quietly.

"Be careful."

Carlos paused for the briefest second before giving him a nod in return. Then he turned, mounted his horse in one smooth motion, and pulled at the reins.

The selected knights quickly gathered behind him while Drac moved to 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 realised 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 covering 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 of 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 normalised 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 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.

He shifted his gaze looking around and noticed that the majority of the undead were all converging towards him. The assassins and knights from around had also started noticing that the undead who were attacking in their direction had suddenly all turned and started rushing towards Carlos.

"What’s going on? Why are they all only attacking Prince Carlos?" Sir Redwood wondered.

Duke Esmertia pursed his lips, unable to understand himself.