Chapter 191
Sullivan was stating simple facts: if they had to fight, they should fight with all their strength to prevent the battle from spreading to other lands.
“The details haven't been announced to the public, but the Undead surpasses 100,000 in numbers. There have been too many victims because we didn’t properly deal with it in time.”
“What did you do? How did the situation become so bad?”
“What do you mean? Sir Galio of the Slaughtering Army, do you think we were playing around when we sacrificed our soldiers to increase their army?”
“You never knew. Ahem!”
It was a natural provocation from someone of the Contas Empire, which had a bad relationship with the Pallan Empire. However, unlike the knights of the Pallan Empire who stared at Sir Galio coldly like they were about to pull out their swords at any minute, Prince Sullivan did not react to the provocation at all.
Prince Sullivan said, “An astonishing number of 50,000 Undead have crawled out of the ancient ruins, and that number is still increasing. Furthermore, 20,000 residents were sacrificed before the army arrived. And the other 30,000…”
“Monsters…”
“Undead monsters…are quite difficult to deal with.”
Right now, high-rank monsters were charging toward the army without rest. They were also difficult to deal with, since they had seemingly forgotten what pain and fear were.
“There are seven mountain fortresses surrounding the places that the Undead army had taken over. And that has been desperately stopped by the White Bird, the Pallan Empire’s army. I assume you all know that my younger sister is commanding the army, desperately fighting on the frontlines.”
“This doesn’t seem like the right answer… To hold out and fight when a fallen soldier only ends up joining the Undead army,” one of the wizard tower’s mages mentioned cautiously.
“That’s correct, but if we retreat, how will we stop the movement of the Undead army?”
“That…”
“Right now, Illyna de Pallan, my younger sister, is maintaining the situation in such a way that she is blocking as much access as possible rather than direct conflict. We are requesting help with that situation, and we must take them by surprise to put a quick end to this war.”
As Prince Sullivan gave his speech, people began to voice their agreement.
“However, rushing over in a disorganized fashion will not work. As such, I have decided to divide the group up and assign them certain roles.”
The people from the Contas Empire raised their hands and declared, “The proud Slaughtering Army of the great emperor will lead. We will stab scimitars through the enemies’ skulls.”
“With their support, the Blue Tower, Green Tower, and the Red Tower will provide firepower. A war like this will require massive assistance with regards to firepower,” the wizard towers suggested.
The Holy Empire quickly said, “I will go in place of Lady Lena, the other Saintness candidate who will remain here, and provide overall assistance. In addition, I will form a separate team of holy knights and put a stop to this battle.”
Davey just crossed his arms and sat back. He calmly watched everyone step up like they wanted to solidify their authority by accomplishing something great.
—Grand Duchess Kathryn is staying silent.
‘She’s probably thinking of something again.’
“What do you want to do, Sir Davey?” Yulis, who was standing near him, suddenly asked with a smile. “To be honest, I am a little surprised that you decided to participate in this.”
“Why do you think of me as garbage?”
“Ahahaha, I am not sure.”
Davey couldn’t help but click his tongue at how Yulis was staring at him like he knew the answer to his own question.
“Alright. You have come alone without any soldiers, Sir Davey. You will be of great help as you possess a stigmata, but it would be necessary to select people to protect you in case…” Prince Sullivan said.
Davey mumbled disappointedly, “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Pardon?”
“Put me on the frontlines. I came to slaughter; I have no intentions of playing a war game.”
Davey had to clean the enemies up as soon as possible and leave with restored food supplies to his territory.
Having heard Davey’s statement, everyone looked dumbfounded. The others would have to make a fuss about how this was a continent-wide crisis and prepare a careful strategy; that was the more effective and realistic option.
However, Davey didn’t care about any of that; all he was focused on was decapitating that unlucky necromancer fella as soon as possible. There was no need for him to hide his powers if he was not going to do anything terrible enough to start a new war. He actually thought that it might be a good thing if he took this opportunity to make a flashy debut so that the opponents would not view the Heins Territory as an easy target.
Of course, there were a lot less people who took Davey’s proposal seriously than he expected; some scoffed, saying he was being ridiculous, and others whispered that all the praise had gone to Davey’s head and he was being too arrogant. That was when…
“No. I have heard many stories about you, Prince Davey, but all battles have roles that are more suited and effective for each individual,” Alice, the Saintess candidate who was staring at Davey, said cautiously.
As Davey turned and glanced over, Alice stared at him with a cold expression. He could only feel jealousy and envy from her gaze.
“I heard that you have outstanding abilities in the art of medicine and recovery, is that correct?”
‘Look at this girl.’
“That’s right.”
Listening to Davey’s confident answer, Alice frowned slightly. She and the others had a hard time believing it even though Davey had the evidence to back it up.
Alice, who was beating around the bush, stared at Davey calmly and said, “We are more than enough for the slaughtering of evil. So, I think it will be more effective for you to stay back and take care of the many plagues affecting the soldiers who are being transported back.”
“Are you trying to claim territory right now?”
“There is an agreement for our church to take care of the Undead. Please remember this.”
Alice was basically saying that Davey, who was considered to be a Saint, was not part of the Holy Empire. Therefore, he should focus on his medical skills and stay back to cure diseases.
Fighting the war and healing the injured were both crucial aspects, but it was clear that this was some stupid tug-of-war regarding power.
“Can you handle it?” Davey asked.
Alice tilted her head in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”
“The necromancer that is marching forward; they don’t feel like an ordinary one. Do you think you can handle them?”
Alice smiled coldly. “If everyone here combined forces, even the Demon Lord won’t stand a chance. And please be careful of your remarks. It is true that there are many grand stories about you, but your remark right now sounds so arrogant. It is as if you can get rid of that monster’s army at once.”
The reality was that even the strongest Swordmasters would lose their power against tens of thousands of soldiers. Alice was telling Davey to judge the situation before acting like he was the strongest in the room.
“What will you do if that is true?”
“That is amusing. I do not want to joke around with you, Prince.”
“And do I…”
As soon as Davey spoke, the air in the room went cold.
“Look like I am joking?”
Yulis looked at Davey, who made the atmosphere in the room go south, like this was expected of him, and Kathryn looked at Davey like this situation was amusing. However, Alice, the Saintess candidate, just glared at Davey as she grit her teeth.
“We will be able to slaughter them without your help. Do not forget that this is the Pallan Empire, not the Rowane Kingdom. Do not think you can do anything you want just because you are powerful and a prince.”
Their confidence came from the possibility that they would be able to slaughter their enemies. It could be seen as arrogance, because they did not truly understand the level of power their opponent had. If the opponent was truly an overwhelmingly powerful being, they wouldn’t be able to propose such a thing unless they wanted to commit suicide or something. Of course, their disbelief in Davey even with the stories and information also played a big part in their decision-making.
As Alice spoke, Davey silently glanced at Prince Sullivan, who was the battle’s Chief of Staff.
“I agree. Like the rumors say, you may be of great help if you participate in the battle, Prince Davey, but the injured soldiers are also precious lives. I think it is wise to save them if we are able to. As such, please remain here and treat the soldiers; we will be in charge of fighting,” Prince Sullivan said.
At last, Davey nodded. It was fine, whether it be a war with the World tree or a bothersome necromancer; whoever irritated Davey and bothered him would definitely die. However, he wondered about what he should do in this crappy situation.
Thankfully, he did not have to think about it for long. He smiled as he glanced at the status window in front of him. He suspected that something would come up if such a big event was happening, and a deal that perfectly fit this situation was just offered to him.
“I will stay back. However, as a doctor, I will not ignore the sick. I will treat the soldiers.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you? You know you’re going to regret it, right?” Davey asked. As Prince Sullivan stayed silent, Davey went on to say, “I am warning you that I will do nothing even if those damn Undeads swallow the Pallan Empire or the continent whole unless I receive your apology and acceptable compensation.”
Thud!!
The pressure of death, which could not be obviously noticed by the others, slowly creeped over.
—Huh?! Death Fear?! The place where the battle is happening is pretty far from here, but why?!
If these people could not even sense the enemies’ monstrous kind of power, the result of this battle was obvious.
* * *
“Ballista!! Shoot!”
With Illyna’s command, dozens of thick and long iron spears flew up and covered the sky.
Pshuck!!
As the thick arrows rained down on them, the Undead that slowly limped over to the fortress began gathering at once. The monsters and humans that had turned into the Undead flew back upon being penetrated by the iron arrows. They couldn’t even defend against the attack.
Several dozens of the Undead were ripped apart with each explosion, but they kept swarming toward the army. It was as if their numbers simply kept increasing.
“Your Highness!!! You must leave!”
“Your Highnessss! The east door of the mountain fortress is about to fall!”
“The west door has fallen! Reinforcement! We need reinforcement!”
The mountain fortress was a mess as the hundreds and thousands of Undead restlessly climbed up the fortress walls and made their way in.
Illyna roughly ripped out the flimsy hair piece that held her hair together. She ground her teeth before yelling, “What about the additional soldiers of each kingdom?! Why is there no news of the reinforcement that is on their way here?!”
“Currently, a large force has been formed at the command headquarters. They have departed, but they will still take a long time to get here!”
“Damn it! I will lead the army! I am not going to lie and say that nobody is going to die! But you have to fight with your life on the line! If you die, take five of those bastards with you!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“You have to kill more than five Undeads before dying! Do you understand?!”
“Understood!”
Illyna quickly swung Caldeiras to slash the flying Undead and clenched her jaw. Then, she flew through the sky and stared at the Wyvern, which grabbed and threw soldiers onto the ground. She could also see the giant skeleton soldiers riding them.
The giant skeletons wore the uniform of holy priests with the holy knight order’s chainmail. They were seemingly boasting their status of having been a part of the Holy Empire. These monsters did not set foot on the battleground once; they appeared at the beginning of battle but did not fight, disappearing from view after wandering around the battlefield.
“Something is off… It’s making me anxious.”
Illyna could feel the monsters’ power through her skin. She also noticed the eerie clouds transforming this tropical region into an extremely cold one. Her kingdom knew the Undead as slightly dangerous beings that had escaped from an old dungeon, but Illyna, who had been in battle for a long time, could tell that the monster controlling the Undead was far superior than these skeleton knights.
“Adjutant!” Illyna called out to a man who swiftly slashed the Undeads. When he came over, Illyna added, “Tell Big Brother Sullivan! Tell him to request for Davey’s help at whatever cost necessary!”
If the monsters appeared to be servants of one true commander and were already as strong as Masters, this was no light matter. Illyna thought that if this opponent was as strong as the giant dragon she had seen during the Alpha Reinforcements’ battle, this war may just be a game to that monster.
Even though she felt shameless for always asking for Davey’s help, Illyna could not ignore the soldiers giving up their lives by the minute; war was a horrendous thing.