Duke Pendragon

Chapter 363

Fwooosh!

Soldrake protected Raven by stepping out in front of him. However, even her Spirit of the Dragon could not withstand Elsaroa’s gaze of the dead. Soldrake was the Queen of the Dragons and an olden brother of the gods, but she was not immortal.

In the end, it was difficult to completely overcome the authority of Elsaroa for any living creature.

“Sol!”

Raven called out in an urgent voice. The pain she was feeling was being transmitted to him.

[I will take care of Elsaroa. Ray, you do what you need to do.]

However, Soldrake did not move an inch. The power she faced was almost too much for even herself, and she knew Raven and the warriors of Pendragon could withstand it.

“Oh-hohohohohoho! I don’t know about back then, but you cannot stop me now! Soldrake!”

Elsaroa uttered in a coquettish voice.

Kiyaaaakh! Kieeeeehk!

The evil spirits covering the sky responded to her words and started flying down towards Fort Bellint. The army of the revived undead in Fort Bellint had been observing the forces of the Pendragon Duchy. When the evil spirits started moving, they also started to march towards the warriors of Pendragon.

“Maintain formation!”

Raven shouted while taking his place in front of the troops.

The Spirit of the Dragon soared from his body.

Kuwuuuuugh!

The evil spirits and the undead crept toward the survivors with bizarre screams. Naturally, there were other ‘survivors’ besides the troops of the Pendragon Duchy.

***

“Uaahh…”

Knights and soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice stood outside the fortress, trembling with fear in their eyes. The lifeless bodies filling the moat slowly stood up and were approaching them. There were thousands, and each retained the same horrific appearance as when they were killed. There was a single feature shared among the dead – all of them were emitting a strange green light from their eyes.

The scene caused something beyond fear.

The evil spirits covering the sky began attacking the imperial griffons that accompanied the White Dragon.

Kiyaaaahk!

Even griffons struggled against the evil spirits. They were immaterial beings, and they could only be dealt with weapons containing spirit. Unfortunately, most of the griffon riders were incapable of producing spirit to fight off the spirits.

“Uwaaahhh!”

“R, run away!”

The first to flee after turning their backs were the mercenaries belonging to the army of the Great Territory of Alice. Hundreds of mercenaries deserted and ran for their lives without looking back.

Pupupuk!

“Agh! Save me…!”

“Kuagh!”

There were quite a few who were crushed under the frenzied steps of their colleagues, but the mercenaries turned a blind eye and continued running for their lives. Not even a hint of loyalty could be found, and the desire to live had consumed them wholly.

“U, us too…”

The knights and soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice were also completely deprived of their fighting spirit.

Their commanding officer, Baron Stones, had been killed already, and their high lord had entered the fortress. The entirety of their commanding structure had collapsed completely.

Most importantly, they had no courage to face the army of the dead. All of them were already thoroughly consumed by fear.

“Uahh…!”

Tututututu!

The cavalry and the infantry began fleeing, but their attempt was not successful.

Kiheheheheh! Kiyahahahahah!

Evil spirits blocked the escape of the mercenaries. The men scattered in all directions after their retreat was blocked. Unfortunately, it failed miserably due to the troops of Alice who fled after them.

“Huagh!”

The eyes of the mercenaries were completely dominated by fear, and the evil spirits pushed their sharp teeth and nails toward the mercenaries with greed.

Then… the feast of death began.

Kyaaaahhk! Kiheeehk!

The evil spirits indulged in the soft flesh of humans after tearing apart their armor and breaking their helmets. The fearful screams of the living were their dessert. No, rather, the screams stimulated their taste buds even more.

The evil spirits fed on the fear emitted by the living.

“Keugh!”

A soldier’s head was pulled out along with his spine while he was still alive. An evil spirit looked at the head voraciously, then swallowed it in one gulp. On the other side, an evil spirit with a wide mouth like a monkfish was chewing on three or four soldiers at once. Blood and intestines continued spilling from its mouth.

The soldiers were being consumed while they were still breathing, and their eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Huah! Huaagghh!”

The remaining survivors were driven crazy with fear at the sight of humans being devoured alive. They attempted to distance themselves as far as possible while soiling their garments in fear.

But the dead were already waiting for them.

Uwuuugh!

The dead rushed toward the soldiers. They were filled with hatred toward the living. The soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice instinctively wielded their weapons in response.

“Kuaggh!”

“Argh!”

However, it was of no use. The enemy was already dead. Even if they were pierced by a spear or stabbed by a sword, they rose again and continued attacking the living. No, they did not attack, but rather ‘ate’ the soldiers like the evil spirits.

“Heuuuu… Heugh!”

Three of four of the dead rushed to a fallen soldier. They tore apart his flesh and feasted on his organs. The dead rushed to sink their teeth into those whose necks were sliced, and limbs were torn.

Banquet.

A magnificent banquet was held for the evil spirits and the dead under the rising moon.

***

“Heu…”

Count Seyrod drooled with dismay.

The scene unfolding in front of his eyes was not of the world he knew.

Yes. This place was hell.

Or he was dreaming.

Something like this… could not, should not have been occurring. The dead bodies and evil spirits flocking toward him could not be real.

“Huaaagh!”

However, although he desired to deny the sight in front of him, his body reacted instinctively. He was once an outstanding knight. He wielded his sword with spirit. The escorting knights of the Great Territory of Seyrod and Alice also confronted the dead.

“Die! Die!”

Parts of dead bodies exploded after being struck with sword containing spirit. But they did not collapse. Even if their arms and legs exploded, they continued crawling toward the living.

“Huwaaagh!”

Eventually, a knight fell.

The solid armor was dismantled by the hands of the dead, and his exposed body was perverted by their yellow teeth, which was dripping with pus and saliva.

“Go away! G, go… Uagh!”

A knight stumbled backwards with a frightened expression, then crumpled.

Kieeeek!

The dead rushed towards him like a pack of starved dogs. They were once soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice and Fort Bellint, but now they were hostile to all living beings.

“Kuaagh! Kuaa…”

The scream slowly subsided, and the sound of chewing, tearing, and swallowing took its place. Soon, dozens of knights were reduced to meals for the dead.

There were only two remaining survivors – Count Seyrod and Count Louvre.

“Heu…”

Count Seyrod had already lost himself to fear. His gaze turned to Count Louvre.

But something was strange.

The dead were hostile to all living beings, but they appeared disinterested in Count Louvre.

“S, sir Louvre!”

Count Seyrod jumped towards Count Louvre. He saw a glimmer of hope. Perhaps he could escape from this hell and return to his castle alive.

“S, save me! Please get me out of here!”

Count Seyrod begged. He was filled with fear in front of death, and he had already forgotten about Luna.

“Kekeuk!”

Count Louvre reacted with a cold laugh.

“You were going to die anyways. Think of this as going a little earlier than planned. I will also join you when this feast is over. Keheuheuheu!”

Count Louvre shoved Count Seyrod while laughing.

“Ah…!”

His body was pushed toward the rushing corpses.

Crack! Craackk!

“Kuaaaghhh!”

A scream resonated with the sound of his armor tearing and breaking. Just like those before him, the scream soon died down, and only the bizarre sound of chewing flesh and drinking blood could be heard.

The high lord faced a miserable end after making the wrong choice for his daughter.

“Kehehe… Now, it’s your turn.”

Count Louvre remained the only living being in the ongoing feast of the dead. His gaze was headed to a certain place – it was the place where the surviving troops of the Pendragon Duchy were fighting against the dead.

***

“Their heads! Break their heads!”

Soldiers held up shields to hold back the dead, and spears pushed forward from the gaps between the shields.

Pupupuck!

The sharp blades of the spears stabbed into the corpses’ heads without fail.

“Heuap!”

Rumblee!

Raven’s spirit-filled sword headed for the dead rushing towards him with their mouths agape.

Boom!

Five or six heads exploded into dark green ash and disappeared.

Kiyaaaahk!

Kuwugggh!

The centaurs and the orc warriors also fought against the dead, erupting the last bit of spirit they had. The ones they fought against were none other than the dead from their own tribes.

Some warriors of the Ancona Orcs and the centaurs had been killed while fighting bravely, but then were revived by the witch’s malicious spell. They were attacking their own kind.

“I will not forgive you! I will never!”

Arios wielded his large spear while shedding tears of blood. When centaurs perished, their souls took rest in the forest. They became spirits and grew as trees.

However, the souls of the ones who perished in this place were eroded by evil. He had to extinguish the souls of his comrades without ever returning them to the forest.

Anger…

Indescribable anger filled the heads and hearts of Arios and the surviving centaur warriors.

- Kuwuggghh!

“Did you come back to life because you wanted to fight some more, you damned orc!?”

“I will kill you until you die! Kuwuughh!”

The Ancona Orcs also swung their battle axes and steel rods at their own kind. The revived orc warriors were slow and unable to utilize Orc Fear. Their heads were crushed one after another.

- Kuwugh, Kuwugh…

But the surviving orc warriors numbered less than a dozen, including Kratul, and they were faced against thousands of the dead.

It was fortunate that the evil spirits did not descend to the ground due to the power of Soldrake. But it was unknown when they might start launching an offensive.

As time passed, everyone became increasingly exhausted.

Soon after, soldiers of Bellint, the centaurs, and the orc warriors began to fall one by one at the hands of the dead.

“Uagh!”

“Sir Lauren!’

A knight screamed after being surrounded by the dead.

Papapack!

Raven charged towards the knight and drew his scimitar and longsword.

Shuack!

The blue-white spirit dismantled the bodies of the dead.

“Y, your Excellency!”

The knight expressed his gratitude towards his monarch.

“Save it! Fight! And endure! We will survive!”

He shouted harshly. In the face of hell, he was no longer Duke Pendragon, but Raven Valt of the demonic army.

“…..!”

The surrounding knights and soldiers were taken back at his words, but they soon clenched their teeth with determination. Their stern lord, who was like the sky to them, was fighting with all his might.

For ‘all’ to survive…

“Uaaagh!”

Their morale, which had been dampened by fear, ignited once again.

And it was then.

Booooooooo…!

A long trumpet sounded from outside the fortress.

Kiyaaaaahkk!

Along with the sound, hundreds of griffons roared and flew over the fortress in the sky filled with evil spirits. A few departed from the group and quickly approached the troops of the Pendragon Duchy and Raven.

“My lorddddddd!!!”

“…..!”

“I am hereee!!!”

Raven unknowingly clenched his hand at the heaven-shaking cry.

Mark Killian, the head knight of the Pendragon Duchy, had arrived with the griffons.