CHAPTER 8 - III -

 

***Huirot***

 

Prince Simon stayed on the lookout towards the outside walls of the town.  On his hand was a replica of an hourglass, which he would check from time to time.

 

“Sire…our food supplies would soon be depleted.” a soldier reported to him, “Would the coalition come?”

 

“Yes…” Simon answered, quite exhausted.  He perfectly understood the sentiments of the remaining men under him.  So far, he had lost not only the Duke of Savoy but a good number of soldiers in defending the town proper…now limited to the keep at the northeast section of the town.

 

He was now forced to arm the civilian population to counter the undead threat, while the rest of the surviving women and children were confined to the dungeons of the keep.  The Imperial soldiers who survived the initial undead attack were also taken in, now defending the town side by side with the men from Nerfes and Savoy.

 

But not everything is bleak…

 

It’s actually a good thing that someone eventually arrived in Huirot that knew how to counter the undead.  Sir Simon immediately put him as his second-in-command, when his tactics in countering the undead proved to be effective.

 

“Sir Lange, do you think we could still hold out until the coalition army arrives?” Sir Simon asked this fellow, who stood beside him.

 

The silent, brooding man named Sir Lange replied, “Well, as long as we keep our food consumption low, I think we could last for a while.”

 

“But Sire, I guess we’ll be dead before the coalition comes.” the soldier resigned to his fate, “We couldn’t even put up lights to let them know we’re still alive.”

 

“Well, you know the undead will be attracted to sounds and lights.” Sir Simon could only say.  

 

Sir Lange was quick to back him up, “So much as we wanted to break out and fight, all that we could do is to hope until the end.”

 

The Prince, Sir Lange, and the soldier just remained at the walls, trying to look for any changes from the east, where their only hope for rescue lay.  The yellow-green glow from the eyes of the undead could be seen scattered around the fields of Huirot, but it didn’t bother them anymore…they were already used to the horrific sights and sounds.

 

For quite long they stayed.  However, nothing happened.

 

That is until…

 

“Sire!  Something’s in the sky.”

 

“Yes, I think I’m seeing moving yellow lights!” Simon excitedly said, “Is that gryphon?”

 

“I think it is Your Highness!” Sir Lange excitedly announced, “And it was not alone!”

 

“Quick, rouse the defenders!  Our rescue has come—”

 

“!!!”

 

The first explosions from the bombardment of the Gryphon Knights rocked the walls of the Huirot keep to its core.  However, instead of cowering from fear, Prince Simon even welcomed the sight of the incinerate spells being rained down on them.

 

 

***The Gryphon Knights***

 

“Sir!  We’re seeing signs of life on that tower over there!” a knight reported to his commander, Sir Dane.  Since they were flying, they were instructed by Kuro to move ahead and scout for their forces.  They also had instructions to fire at will when they so decide.

 

“Hold your fire on the town itself.” Sir Dane told his men, “Burn the surrounding forest instead, to destroy the undead hiding inside.”

 

“Yes, sir!”  His knights quickly followed and lit up the trees around Huirot, bombarding it relentlessly with incinerate spells.  Soon the entire fields outside the town were illuminated, and they could very well see the scattered undead.

 

“Don’t let up on your fire!” Sir Dane gave his orders, “The army is about to arrive!”

 

 

**Kuro**

 

We already went past the deserted town of Gebrei, so I had the army form a long column with some of the shield-wall facing either their left or right, to prevent the undead from flanking us.  It was a long, arduous march to Huirot, but so far we have been successful in keeping everyone alive.

 

“Kuro, the town of Huirot is ahead!” Griffyth reported to me.

 

“Yes.  Tell the magicians to stop their fire, or we’ll hit our allies.”

 

By this time, we’re still several distances away from Huirot, and no matter how much we wanted to rush and relieve the garrison, the safety of our men comes in first, for the lesser of the soldiers killed, the greater our chance of driving back the undead hordes.

 

“Kuro, I think now’s the time that I use my ‘Bloodbath’ skill,” Lily told me.

 

I nodded, “Yes, the men on the shield-wall are getting tired.  They need a break from marching soon.  Tell the others to get ready to attack.”

 

Lily then went on her way.  Maddie, who was walking beside me, then said, “If you’re planning to fight with them, then you better stay.  You’re the commander of this army and the last thing that we need to have you injured while fighting.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Maddie.” I reassured her, “I’ll be behind Lily and her group, directing the fight from there.  The area around Huirot is small compared to the wide fields of Jeveneria and Gebrei, so the shield-walls will be severely limited in their capacity in close combat…not to mention, the men are getting tired.”

 

“Alright.  I’ll stay here with the soldiers to heal them.  I think I still got a few manas left before I get extremely exhausted.”

 

“Okay, but be careful and rest when time permits it.”

 

And with that, I prepared myself to fight together with Lily and her Mahan Swordsmanship Style companions.

 

 

“Alright, Lily!” I reminded her of our plans while I reload my matchlock gun.  Griffyth, as well as the other mercenaries, were with me, “10 paces apart from each other!  Let’s roll over the undead filth and clean them up!”

 

“Yes!”

 

“1, 2, attack!”

 

The shield-wall was opened, and the magic barrier that protected our formation was temporarily lifted as we began our attack on the undead outside the fields of Huirot.  The battle was pretty easy, since the forests around the town were already burning because of the Gryphon Knights’ aerial bombardment.

 

It was a one-sided massacre in favor of us.  Lily led our offensive, and very few among the zombies ever reached the students of the Mahan Swordsmanship school, who marched behind her, and seldom do the undead could get past them to be ‘killed’ by us, who were the last in the formation.

 

So that is the full power of Bloodbath…

 

Lily attacked as freely as she could, like a berserker on a mad fighting revelry.  She swung her war hammer with deadly precision, crushing the heads of the undead even before it could bite her.  She also used her armored limbs to bash the teeth of her ‘victims’ so that they could do nothing but wait to be killed.

 

The undead were trying to swarm us, but their numbers were constantly being shredded by the bombardment of the Gryphon Knights as well.

 

“We’re almost at the town gates!” Griffyth cried out, “Push those fuckers back!

 

Learning that we’re almost near our goal gave us another morale boost, and our attacks intensified.  Without the leadership of Seirna, this undead became fodder for our swords, maces, guns, and war hammers.

 

A few minutes later, Lily finally broke through Huirot’s eastern gate and we cleared the town of the remaining undead.

 

 

Once the smokes of battle cleared, Sir Simon was the first one out to greet us.  He was followed by the remnants of his command, as well as a group of Savoian, Imperial and civilian men-at-arms.

 

“Kuro!  You didn’t know how happy I was to see you guys!” he exclaimed to me as he gave me the warmest welcome I had seen for a while.

 

“Yeah, we hurried as much as we could, but we got delayed by the events at Gebrei.”

 

“Yes, I know about that.  Some Imperial legionnaires survived Gebrei and the recent undead attacks who were now fighting with me.” Sir Simon explained, “And, luckily, we were joined by someone who knew how to fight the undead.”

 

“Oh?”

 

A man with a serious expression on his face came forward and bowed before us.

 

“This is Sir Lange, he’s one of the squires trapped in Gebrei that could escape here during the rising of the undead.” Sir Simon introduced him, “His knowledge is the sole reason for our survival.”

 

“Thank you for your help, Sir Lange.”

 

The man answered me with a bow.

 

“Anyway…”  Sir Simon was about to ask, “About the war with the Imperials…”

 

“Don’t worry about that, Your Highness.” I told him, “Maddie and the emperor finally agreed to a truce.  There were now legionnaires fighting on our army as we speak.”

 

“Hoh…Maddie’s really great.”

 

“SIMON!”

 

“!!!”

 

It was Lily and Maddie, running towards their friend.  I stepped aside to let them be, and they both threw themselves at him.

 

“You don’t know how much we’re worried about you!” Lily had tears in her eyes.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m okay now, thanks to you!”

 

“You better treat me to a cake later, Simon!” Maddie jested.

 

“Oh!  I could treat you all to the mountains of cakes!”

 

The atmosphere was pleasant, even though there was blood and carnage everywhere.  Sir Simon narrated their story of survival, as well as introduce to Maddie and Lily, those who contributed to it.  Well, it’s a good thing that these friends could unite once again.  

 

But, as for me, I still must avenge Luisa…