novelnext Chapter 257 257: Courting Death?
Chapter 257 257: Courting Death?
With every Montgomery soldier who fell, the enemy's forces grew larger and more formidable, as the dead rose to join their killers like some sick game.
At this point, the morale of the soldiers had already completely disintegrated. The pride of the Montgomery army had been replaced by a growing fear that made some men drop their shields and try to flee, but of course they couldn't, and were systematically killed to join the undead ranks.
Some who couldn't accept such a brutal death, took their own lives. Such a scene naturally began to cause panic amongst Henry's forces.
' No! This absolutely cannot be happening!' Henry thought, his mind a mess as he refused to accept the reality of his situation.
He had been so patient, waiting for this precious opportunity to prove his worth and solidify his place as the true and only heir of the Montgomery household.
He had planned for every contingency, calculated every risk, and yet some unknown, nameless necromancer was ruining everything in a single afternoon!
He felt a hot, searing rage boiling in his chest, a frustration so deep it threatened to choke him.
If only he knew the full truth, that this very same necromancer was the individual who had systematically destroyed his wicked experiments and set back his secret agendas, only God knew what kind of twisted, horrified expression he would have then.
But for now, he only saw a thief of glory, a shadow in the sky who was stealing his future.
"You blasted coward!" Henry suddenly screamed, his voice echoing with a manic edge of vexation that cut through the sounds of clashing steel.
He reached down and unsheathed his own blade.
"My lord, please, you must calm yourself," Sir Godfrey said, moving quickly to his side. The knight placed a heavy, metal-clad hand on Henry's shoulder, attempting to physically anchor the nobleman before he did something entirely suicidal.
"We need to reorganize. If we stay here and lose our composure, we lose everything."
"Your highness, listen to Sir Godfrey!" his other nearby soldiers pleaded, surrounding him in a protective but frantic circle. "We can still find a way out of this if we keep our heads!"
The soldiers were obviously aware of how the situation was playing out, and they knew that the odds were stacked impossibly against them.
Yet, even in their desperation, they didn't think that provoking the powerful man in the sky was the best decision for their continued survival.
Judging by the way the winged figure hadn't personally intervened until now, but had merely watched the battle from a distance, they clung to a sliver of hope.
They believed it meant he had no direct intention of killing the heir to the Montgomery viscounty.
They knew the unwritten rules of their world; killing the primary heir of a major house was a sign of a total war that could not be stopped or negotiated, a blood feud that would burn both provinces to the ground.
While the Montgomery and McClain lands were currently at each other's throats, the conflict hadn't yet reached the level of an all-out bloodbath.
The real reason for this border fight was for both parties to test each other's strength and resolve while maintaining as little permanent damage as possible.
After all, besides the two rival viscounties, there were other ambitious lords and outsiders watching from the shadows.
If both sides were to be significantly weakened or their leadership decimated, it would give those opportunists an opportunity to extort them or invade their lands at will.
"Unhand me this instant!" Henry roared, his face turning a dark, mottled purple as he shoved his advisors aside with a strength born of pure hysteria.
He forced his way forward to the very edge of the encampment's inner circle, pointing his gleaming sword directly at the silhouette hovering above the clouds.
"Listen here, you blasted coward!" he yelled, his eyes filled with a toxic mixture of resentment and arrogance. "You hide behind these rotting puppets and stay out of reach because you know you are nothing without them! As a dog of the McClains, it is only natural for you to be this cowardly! Your master isn't here to hold your leash, so you think you have the right to act so presumptuously before me? Do you even know who I am?"
The soldiers behind him went silent, their hearts sinking as they realized Henry had bypassed all reason. He was no longer a commander; he was a cornered animal snarling at a hunter.
"If you are really as strong as you act, and if you truly possess the power you are flaunting, then you wouldn't disagree to duel me properly, now would you?" Henry challenged, his voice dripping with a sneer that defied the reality of the thousands of undead surrounding him.
"Come down and face a true noble in single combat, or forever be known as the spineless shadow that hides in the mist!"
The heavy silence that followed Henry's outburst was almost more suffocating than the dark fog itself, pressing down on the remaining Montgomery soldiers.
"Your highness... perhaps this isn't the right way to approach this situation," Godfrey stated, his voice hushed but carrying a desperate edge of warning.
He reached out as if to physically pull Henry back from the precipice of his own arrogance, knowing all too well that the worst possible move they could make was to continue antagonizing a figure of such overwhelming power.
To give such a being a personal reason to truly kill the young heir would be to sign the death warrant for every living soldier left in the village.
"Shut up, old man!" Henry snapped, his head whipping around to glare at his commander with eyes that were bloodshot and wild.
He shoved Godfrey's hand away with a violent jerk of his shoulder, his chest heaving as he struggled to maintain his footing.
"Do you truly expect me to just sit back and watch in silence as my own men are slaughtered before my very eyes? Am I supposed to endure this humiliation by a vagabond who hides behind a shroud of mist and a flock of rotting corpses?"