Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 225

“This way, please hurry!”

Max was distracted from the ongoing battle, when Garrow’s urgent voice pulled her out of it. She was shaken from her distraction and quickly fled across the uneven dirt terrain. Right now, their priority was to escape to a safe place and get out of the battle’s harm. She gathered the hem of her dress in one hand and ran across the chaotic plaza at once. They headed north and soon she saw a large barrack where all of the food supply was being protected by several soldiers.

Garrow ushered Max into the makeshift storage house. “The priests have casted a shield around this place so that no ghoul can enter.”

Max looked around the warehouse, sacks of grains were piled on top of one another like mountains, she then found the priestesses at the heart of the place, sitting close to each other. Max ran to them at once and Idcilla jumped from her seat upon seeing her.

“Madam! You’ve made it safe!”

“I-Idcilla... were you hurt?”

“I’m fine. But... Se-Selena... I can’t find her anywhere.”

Idcilla chewed on her lip, tears started welling up in her eyes like she was about to cry. Max tried to comfort her as looked at the fear-filled priestesses’ faces. Looking through them, there were quite a few missing from the group. Idcilla sobbed softly as Max held her.

“The wounded who were in the infirmary... Only half of them were evacuated... only those who could move...”

Max felt her head begin to ache dreadfully as counted the number of wounded lying on the ground like corpses and held her forehead. Yulysion was quick to help her regain her balance.

“Don’t worry m’lady. Those who couldn’t get to safety would have found some place to hide. We will search for them as soon as the chaos subsides.”

“Why did such a thing happen? I heard the alarm signaling that there’s an invasion. Haven’t the trolls been driven towards the north? Perhaps, have the allied forces been defeated?”

Idcilla, who has lost half of her right mind, rushed to interrogate Yulysion. Yulysion quickly waved his hand to try to calm the hysterical girl.

“I doubt it! If that’s indeed the case, then they don’t have any reason to go back around and invade us through the south gate. It must have been an ambush, a plan to attack when the knights are not here.”

“Then what will happen to us now? Will the remaining troops in the castle be able to stop the monsters invading us outside the walls?”

Idcilla’s frantic screams echoed throughout the warehouse. Some priestesses began to sob, unable to overcome their fear. When the situation inside began to spiral out of control, the knight leading the soldiers outside yelled loudly.

“Stop making a fuss! We’re doing our best to drive these monsters out immediately. Once we have defeated all the ghouls, we’ll immediately reinforce our defenses. So don’t lose your mind, keep calm and follow our instructions!”

The loud crying gradually subsided at his commanding voice. Idcilla, barely managing to regain her control, muttered an apology under her breath, then sat back down with the other priestesses. Time passed agonizingly slowly. A minute felt like an hour; an hour felt like a day. The howl of the ghouls and the screams of the soldiers continued endlessly. Only when they thought that this nightmare had no end, two soldiers jumped into the barracks.

“We have been successful in cornering the ghouls in one place.” Just when they were able to sigh in relief, the soldier continued to speak urgently. “However, there are a lot of injuries. We need to have them treated right away.”

The knight ordered the priestesses to immediately heal those who were injured and they headed out with wary but determined expressions. Max refused Yulysion’s dissuasions and followed the priestesses. The aftermath unfolded before her eyes: the barracks were in ruins and the soldiers busily weaved through them.

The soldiers were pushing piles of wreckage to one side, making space to build makeshift beds and carrying the injured to lie on them. Along with the other priestesses, Max went straight to aid the injured soldiers. There were a total of 32 patients: it was a high number, considering that there were only about three hundred of the troops left in Ethylene Castle.

After examining the patients’ conditions, she prioritized casting healing magic to those who had minor injuries. Right now, having even one of them up to their feet and capable of helping defend the castle was most important.

“I will not be left behind in disgrace!”

As Max was in the midst of healing the wounded, she heard a loud and familiar voice scream. She immediately raised her head to see. Just a short distance away, Hebaron was holding his claymore in his hand, exclaiming loudly.

“Stop your nagging! You’re not my wife to nag me, wizard!”

“Sir, stop acting like a stubborn brat! How in the world are you going to fight with that kind of injury?” Ruth was standing in front of him, yelling back at him with an equally angry face. “You must have gone crazy, seeing how you’re practically jumping to your own death!”

“Bloody hell! This injury is nothing! I’ve been resting in bed long enough!”

Seeing their fight, Max hurriedly ran towards them. The two growling men immediately stopped their fights when they saw her approaching. She looked at Hebaron, unable to believe that he was wearing his armor and all on. Before either man could say anything, Max scolded the great knight.

“W-what in the world do you think you’re doing? Your injury hasn’t healed yet.”

“Damn, the lady too?” Hebaron made an annoyed gesture and sheathed his sword, which was longer than Max’s height, on his back. “I’m completely fine. I have the medicine that the lady gave me so it’s alright.”

“T-The medicine I gave you... is just soothing the pain! If you keep moving recklessly... your wound...!”

“Right now, we are in a state of emergency. When the battle is over, I will rest and get treatment.”

Hebaron interrupted in a sour tone and turned to head toward where the fighting was taking place. Seeing this, Ruth cursed out loud.

“The question is, will you still have the chance to get treated? If you go ahead and fight in that condition, you’ll be the first one to die, Sir Nirta!”

“Then you better pray fervently.” Hebaron glared back at him, his teeth gritted tightly. “You said so yourself! There is a high possibility that the monster that cursed me is outside the castle walls. It will be faster for me to get rid of this curse by cutting off its head instead of waiting for you to break my curse.”

“Fucking bastard... fine! Sir Nirta, do whatever you want then!”

Hebaron shrugged his shoulders and strode towards the castle gates. Max hurriedly went to chase after him and try to stop him, but Ruth grabbed her arm.

“He won’t listen to anyone. Let him be.”

“B-But... he won’t be able to fight with that kind of injury. Ruth, you know it as well. If he wields a sword in that condition...”

“That damned man will wield that damn thing without blinking an eye even if his wound rips open.” Ruth spat out as he took in a deep breath. “Best pray that the defensive magic tools withstand for a long time.”

Hearing the bitter tone to Ruth’s voice, Max looked anxiously at Hebaron. The knight mounted his horse so effortlessly that it was hard to believe that he was suffering from a bad injury. Then, he went to approach the Grand Duke Aren, who was forming the battle lines. Their conversation grew more grim as they saw them prepare for battle.

“The monster that cursed Sir Ni-Nirta... that it’s out there, what do you mean?”

“...it means that it’s out there.”

Ruth rubbed his face roughly and pointed at an area inside the castle. Max turned her head following his hand and held her breath. The ghouls’ corpses that were in a pile wriggled and twitched slowly. Ruth spoke in a calm manner as he gazed at the creatures still moving despite the long spears impaled through them.

“The high priests have casted a purification spell on them and yet, they keep resurrecting. The most reasonable explanation is that a necromancer is controlling them outside the castle gates.”

“A necromancer...”

“A necromancer. There are certain monsters that are capable of high-level black magic. There is a high probability that it is the black lizardman who cursed Sir Nirta.” Suddenly, Ruth had a grim expression on his face. “The monster we are dealing with is far from the norm: a monster lurking outside the walls that contains tremendous magical power, capable of commanding thousands of monsters.”

Max shuddered. For one of the best wizards in the world to say such a thing, they had to be in a very eminent, dangerous situation.

“The a-allied forces... h-how long until they come back...”

“I have already sent a messenger pigeon, but for them to arrive in time...”

Before Ruth could finish, a thunderous roar shot through the skies that seemed to break their eardrums. Max covered her ears and a flash of fire blazed from outside the walls accompanied by a blast of wind from the pressure. Ruth spat out curses.

“We need to strengthen our defenses, now!”

He screamed fiercely, and all the wizards who were tending to the wounded rushed to climb the castle walls. Max followed them, thinking that she might be of help even with her weak mana, but she barely took two steps before Ruth resolutely stopped her.

“Please remain here, m’lady. It’s dangerous.”

“N-Now... is not the time to say that. If the barrier is breached... then it will be more da-dangerous! If I could help... even a little...”

Ruth didn’t bother to hear a single word of what she said. He called over his shoulder for Yulysion and Garrow.

“What are you two doing not bringing Lady Calypse to safety right now?”

Yulysion immediately ran over and grabbed her arm. Max looked at Ruth, but the wizard turned and joined the other wizards up the wall. As she stared in a stupor at him, Yulysion began to lead her away in the opposite direction. Max’s eyes widened as her consciousness returned and she realized that the boy was rudely dragging her away.

“N-now where are you taking me? Let me go!”

Despite her protest, the young man silently led her to an empty place. Max struggled and pulled with all her might, while glaring at him.

“Ca-can’t you hear me... Let go!”

“Please forgive my insolence, but we must leave Ethylene now.”

Max looked at him with eyes full of disbelief and horror. The two young men quickly navigated through the remote forest and towards the wall. And in front of them, the soldiers were standing with three horses and Yulysion quickly took the reins from them.

“Please hurry and get on.”

“Wha-what in the world are you talking about? Are you planning... to run away by ourselves?”

Yulysion’s face darkened at Max’s shocked voice. He avoided her eyes and spoke in a firm tone.

“We are not running away. There is a possibility that reinforcements will not arrive in time. We are going to find the Remdragon Knights and inform them of this invasion.”

Max, unconvinced by his explanation, frowned. “B-But why am I...”

“Please excuse me for this moment, m’lady.”

Garrow held her waist and swiftly mounted her on the horse’s saddle. “This is an emergency situation. Right now, please, you must do as we say.”

Max couldn’t ask any more questions seeing their sheer stubbornness and determination. She took the reins and looked at the soldiers as Garrow and Yulysion mounted their respective horses. Once they were ready, the soldiers pushed a part of the bricks on the wall, the bricks were then pushed back, and a small hidden doorway was revealed. Yulysion took the initiative and first moved forward, then ordered the soldiers.

“After all of us have gone in, seal the passage completely.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Max reluctantly followed the two through the dark path, she looked behind and saw the light gradually disappear as the soldiers on the other side resealed the entrance. They were trapped in complete darkness. Garrow sensed her anxiety and tried to comfort her with a calm voice.

“This secret path leads to a hidden exit. The monsters are probably unaware of this passage. Please, follow us without worrying.”

“I-it’s too dark.”

“Please give me your reins, I will guide you. Hold onto the saddle for support.”

Max handed over the leather reins and allowed him to guide her. They traveled through the dark tunnel in silence, hearing only the sound of clopping horseshoes for around 10 minutes. Yulysion, who was leading them, stopped and pounded on the wall when they reached the end of the passage. Then, Max finally saw a speck of light and soon, a narrow opening emerged through the brick walls.

“When we first arrived in Ethylene, Lord Calypse ordered us to conduct a thorough investigation of the fortress, and we were able to find this secret passage.”

The sudden glow of sunlight on the other side made Max narrow her eyes. In front of them, a bumpy road full of dense trees greeted them. Yulysion went out of the passage and urged her.

“We have to get out of here before the sun goes down. We’ll be riding in speed so please follow carefully.”

“The a-allied forces... how long will it take to get to them?”

“...If we hurry, we can get to them tomorrow.”

“U-until then, will Ethylene be able to hold?”

“Since there are wizards defending the castle, it won’t fall so easily.”

There was something unusual about Yulysion’s tone, but Max didn’t probe further. The three of them traveled in silence, but it was all too strange. When Max could no longer suppress her nagging suspicions, she finally spoke.

“D-did you get me out of there... because there is a high probability that Ethylene will fall?”

The young man’s shoulders visibly shook, and he looked at her with a pale face. Max bit her lip. She knew something was going on when they rushed to take her away from the castle, and when she saw the truth for herself on Yulysion’s face, her heart dropped to the ground. Max was quick to protest.

“I-if the situation is really that dire l... th-then shouldn’t we all evacuate everyone through the secret passage?”

“The monsters will quickly discover us if hundreds of people escape at once, and we cannot bring the wounded with us.” Garrow chimed in, his tone firm. “For now, the best course of action is to inform the allied forces of the monster invasion as soon as possible.”

Unable to counter his strong words, Max had no choice but to spur her horse and follow them. They rode through the winding forest road in great hurry. After a while, a steep rock wall emerged through the dense trees. Yulysion, who was in the front, turned to its direction and Max, riding her horse after them, stopped at once. Garow, who was protecting her from behind, brought his horse to a stop and gave her a confused expression. She looked at the sun’s direction through the trees, and when she realized it, her face hardened.

“This is not the direction to the n-north. Right now... where are we really going?”

“M’lady...”

“Please tell me the truth. We are not going to the allied forces, a-are we?”

Yulysion’s face paled at her question. He kept his mouth shut and lowered his head down, but that was the sufficient answer. Max spurred her horse to turn around, but was immediately intercepted by Garrow.

“We’re heading southeast of this rock wall, towards Baron Gideon’s territory. The territory is yet to be invaded by monsters. It is a bit of a distance from here but for now, it’s the safest place. Lord Calypse has directly ordered that if anything happens, the lady should be immediately brought there.”

“T-Then... who will notify the allied forces of the invasion?”

“A messenger has already been sent.” Garrow replied calmly, but blood rushed to Max’s face.

“I-if there’s no reason to go to the allied forces... th-then I’m going back to Ethylene. I can’t ru-run away by myself! Ruth, Sir Nirta... and the priestesses are still in there...”

“Lady Calypse.”

Yulysion quickly led his horse to block their path and spoke in a low, heavy tone.

“Do you know who were those ghouls buried inside the castle?” Before Max could say anything, Yulysion continued to speak. “When the corpse of a human is contaminated with black magic, it becomes an undead. Those ghouls that attacked us are humans who used to live in Ethylene Castle before it fell. The monsters have turned human corpses into ghouls and buried them beneath the ground. If we go back to the castle now... we will meet the same fate.”

Max covered her mouth in disbelief with a trembling hand. As she began to understand his words and realized the situation, she felt a bile coming up her throat.

Note – LF: DANG. SHIT WENT DOWN. ☹ But really, author-nim’s writing is superb. How could she think of this, just pure brilliance!