Chương 317: Chapter 316: Horde At The Gates

"They came," I said, with my voice quivering as I looked at the tide of undead, that seemed unending. My soul shook, and panic built in my heart. Till now, I had only imagined the scale of the enemy we would face, but I had far underestimated the horde and the sheer scale of it and it is only slightly bigger than the smallest war horde. The unending tide is making me want to throw away my sword and hide in my establishment, without care for the city.

It took a lot of willpower for me to control my emotions and glad that binoculars were hiding my face. I remove them from my eyes and the tide becomes just a black spot. I stared at it for a couple of seconds, before turning back to the army gathered in front of me. There are twenty-four thousand people in front of me. If yesterday, someone had told me, we would be able to gather so many people. I would have slapped that person.

In the army in front of me, nine thousand and four hundred are from the city's army, four thousand and three hundred are men Colonel Cardin had brought from the mirador hold. Nineteen hundred are mercenaries, four thousand and two hundred are volunteers. People of the city, who had chosen to fight to protect it. All of them have combat classes aside from their main classes. Some had combat classes as their main classes but were working in different professions.

If we had taken everyone who had volunteers, we would have over thirty thousand volunteers, but we don't want people who never held the sword in their lives. We would have accepted them if we had a few weeks, but unfortunately, we do not. Untrained people are useless in the battle. Especially against the undead, where they might freeze in fear and demoralize the entire army. Three thousand and six hundred are prisoners, with over 80% of them being orcs. The last group is the smallest.

It is only four hundred people. They are from the Panar, who volunteered on their own. I looked at them, before opening my mouth. This time, I didn't have a skill from Bell; I had replaced it with other skill. I didn't even hide my emotions. I showed them everything, I was feeling. From barely contained panic and fear to a kindle of hope.

"The enemy had come, and it is powerful. There is a big chance, we will not be able to defend against it and it will kill us all."

"Well, you all; I will be fine, thanks to the legacy," I said and regretted it instantly. I don't know why, I had said that. It is a thing, I shouldn't be saying. I need them to know; that I am in the same boat as them. Their fate is my fate, but those words have thrown a fucking wrench on it. It is not like they didn't know it; they did, but it was the back of their mind, and now my words had brought them to the front. I also said those words at the worst time possible.

It was time they could desert and if one deserted. Hundreds and thousands would follow immediately. I looked at them and for a second, there was no change on their faces, before a small smile appeared on one person's face and soon, it spread across the whole army. It is not a laugh, but a small smile, filled with the understanding of reality. Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Yes, the undead army is huge, but we are not without hope. A small one, but it is there, and that is enough for us to face this colossal enemy. Show them, what a grave mistake, they made in attacking our beautiful city," I said. Thud Thud Thud… Immediately, they started to kick the ground, till the earth began to shake under them. I smiled and turned to the undead. That dot had become bigger, and it was getting bigger every second.

"How do you think they will attack?" I asked Stone beside me.

"We will know soon enough," he replied. He didn't answer the questions, which he wasn't sure of. There are two strategies that the undead could use. First is directly attacking the single point with the whole horde or dividing it and attacking the city from all sides. We have prepared for both. Whether what we have prepared will work or not will depend on how many Level 30+ powerhouses they have. According to the latest intelligence, there is at least a three-level 30+ powerhouse in the horde.

They had kept at least one in the two cities they had conquered, and one was leading part of the horde toward Norke. The first of the three is a knight from the order of Ebon Veil; he is the commander of the horde. The second is Necromancer Esalya; Stone had seen her on the Mayhurst island. Though he never fought against her. The merchant state had provided a lot of information about them. Including their strength and the spells they use. The third is the lich and there is no information about it.

It is very hard to keep track of them, seeing they change bodies as they die. It also didn't take any action since leaving Ashton Harbor. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. So, they couldn't guess its identity either. I know it will be dangerous. I still remember the lich; I had fought in the Namdar's island. We had needed a High-Mage and the knight to fight it and even then, it had nearly escaped. If not for a protective amulet. It would have escaped.

It still did, since it is a lich, but with only a soul. Stone said that there might be more hiding. We didn't have a single Lv. 30 to fight against them directly. We are much better when compared to pre-level 30. There are, over thirty such powerhouses. From the officers, mercenaries, mages, clerics, orcs, and people from Panar. It is a number; I didn't even dare to dream about when I got this responsibility yesterday.

"If the Count hadn't run away, we would have a great chance of winning this battle," said Colonel Cardin, without care for the consequences. I sighed hearing that; it is the truth. The bastard had escaped taking seven Level 30+ powerhouses with him. Three were the high mages, Atticus, and two mercenary captains. There was also his hidden guard, who was the most powerful of all. Aside from that, he took several pre-level 30 powerhouses.

If we had them, we would have a huge chance of victory, but the bastard had run away. Taking those chances with him. Time passed, and the horde got closer and closer till we could see the huge number of it without needing binoculars. It was massive, that even men like Colonel Cardin shook, seeing them, before walking out of the gate. It is terrifying with zombies and skeletons as far as the eye can see. They are the stuff of nightmare that scared even a seasoned warrior like Colonel Cardin.

He won't be fighting due to his weakness. He would have been a great help. He is, after all, a Level 30+ powerhouse. The horde stopped at nearly five hundred meters away from the city gates. For several seconds, there was no sound from it. It just stayed there and looked terrifying. It was over a minute later; a single rider came out riding a skeletal horse. It is an undead, and it is following the white line, the only place safe from mines. It is called the peace line. It is drawn for the movements of envoys.

The rider came closer and closer, till it had finally stopped and craned its neck to look directly at me. I was shocked to see the face. The undead sitting on it is a middle-aged man with an expensive suit. I know the man; he had come to the celebration of my legacy. The Governor of Almin. Rupert Brass. It is for this very reason; the bastard Count had run away. Nowhere in the continent, anyone would do such a thing.

If they captured a governor of the city, they would execute them or arrest them while providing them with respect according to their station. Vris'alud would turn them into the undead.

"Governor of Greltheaven, greetings," said the heavy voice through the undead mouth. He had not spoken loudly, but I could hear it as well as the thousands of people behind me.

"Greetings to you, Knight Commander Bartram," I replied. The body may belong to Rupert Brass, but it is being controlled by the Scalis Bartram.

"Open the gates and surrender the city. I promise you, no harm shall come to you," he said, and I could see many stirrings.

"I have no problem in surrendering the city Knight Commander. I will only need a lawful promise that you will not touch, even a single soul of the city, after its surrender," I replied and immediately, I felt his eyes blazing in anger.

"You are overestimating yourself, Governor. It won't take more than a few hours for me to capture this city," He threatened.

"You do that. Knight Commander," I said. I could have discussed things further and tried to convince him, but I am already aware that it is useless. I won't give the undead what they want, and they won't give me what I want. There was always only one option in front of us from the beginning.

"Since you want to fight. We will give you a fight you will never forget in your life, but before that, accept this small gift from me," he said, and the undead took out a wooden box from the bag and threw it toward us. Mage Ravill caught the box in the air and cast a couple of spells, checking it for the traps before bringing it in front of me, encased in a shield. Click! The mage's hands appeared and opened the box. Gasp! A loud gasp rang out from his mouth, while my eyes widened.

The box contained a human head in it. Head of Count Darrow. He is dead. The head is real. Now, I could see why there wasn't a reply from him. The undead had killed him, which couldn't help, but make me wonder about the fate of his son and others.