The Prince's Storm
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Storm's Truth**
The wind was unusually brutal.
“Follow the prince's orders.”
The scarred man grabbed my shoulder, tied with rope, and roughly pushed me to my knees.
The man standing before me now was Prince Frederick of the Gilorian Empire—the first prince.
He had led soldiers through countless battles against monsters for decades, staring death in the face every single day.
“Kyle.”
The prince's voice was low and deep.
The scarred man, a Barbarian with a massive scar across his face, lowered his head and answered. He was definitely a barbarian.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Have you ever been to Clovan City, the capital?”
“No. I was born and raised here.”
“They say it's overflowing with mana and ether there.”
“Yes, that's correct.”
They were exchanging bizarre, non-answers.
“They live a prosperous life blessed by the Dragon on that land, without a single night worrying about being killed by monsters.”
“Yes, that's right. I heard the same thing.”
They were lying through their teeth.
“Because they are a blessed existence?”
“No. It's because we have the capital defense force like us.”
“Then why do we have to be here?”
“Our mission is our fate.”
Kyle swept his hand over the sword hanging at his waist and answered solemnly.
I watched them in silence.
Nora was doing the same.
I couldn't understand why they were having this conversation.
Even the citizens of Clovan City couldn't escape the terror of monsters.
Even though it was stabilized now, Clovan Dungeon was still the densest and most savage monster nest in the empire. The dungeon that had never been fully conquered.
Sometimes, the nights in Clovan City when monster waves erupted turned into nightmares.
No place in the Gilorian Empire was safe from monsters.
And Prince Frederick had to know that better than anyone.
“Then I'll ask the guest who came from the capital this time.”
He murmured and turned his body.
His pale white cheek, almost translucent, was marked with two sharp scars from a sword.
“How many believers of the god you trust are here?”
A cold raindrop fell onto my cheek. Heavy clouds hung low in the sky above my head.
“I don't know.”
“Eighty thousand. That's the number of believers on the Hermitia Plain.”
The flagpole on the watchtower swayed violently in the fierce gust of wind.
A storm was coming.
“This place is where those who lost their lives to monsters become believers of the gods. Otherwise, they couldn't accept such a horrible death.”
His blond hair whipped in the wind.
It turned into a wild tangle.
“What god do you believe in?”
I looked up at him.
His golden eyes were staring down at me.
A clear golden eye that represented the bloodline of the Gilorian royal family.
I slowly opened my mouth and said,
“As long as it's a god that promises prosperity and perpetuity for the Gilorian Empire, I'll believe in him.”
It was a blatantly heretical statement.
The golden pupil of the golden eye shrank rapidly.
The Gilorian Empire worshipped only the goddess Eria.
A heavy silence fell.
“Hahaha ha ha ha.”
Suddenly, Prince Frederick's wild laughter split the air.
“The stationer of the capital defense force isn't half bad.”
After stopping his laughter, Prince Frederick returned with a cold expression.
“I heard my subordinates rough you up. Sorry about that.”
I couldn't understand the intention behind his question. I simply answered as I sensed he had no intention of performing a heresy trial on me.
“Because I don't have the experience of welcoming guests from isolation.”
A thorn pricked my words.
Born into the bloodline of the imperial family, you must live your entire life surrounded by smelly men while blocking monster invasions.
The luxurious life you should have enjoyed as the imperial family's heir is nowhere to be found.
All that's been granted is the pretense of a strategic fiefdom, and in reality, you've been abandoned to the frontier.
“Do you see them?”
At his words, Kyle roughly pulled me up. He still hadn't given the order to loosen my bonds.
I knelt and looked down at the city below.
Beyond the long city walls stretched an endless open plain.
A vast plain where I could see the beginning and end of a storm at the same time.
There, faint movements of monsters were visible.
They weren't particularly aggressive, but they looked like creatures that had been embedded there permanently.
Prince Frederick looked up at the sky.
The sun was tilting past the horizon.
A purple color slowly spread across the endless plain.
“Now it's their time.”
A horn sounded from somewhere.
“All units, prepare for battle!”
Soldiers began to move.
“It seems it's time to show our real face to the capital defense force friends on this Hermitia Plain.”
Prince Frederick walked into the cooled purple waves.
---
The unnatural sound began to fill the space.
Boom-boom-boom-
The sound of drums reverberating throughout the castle.
A golden dragon flag symbolizing Gilorian was raised alongside the resonant sound that struck the heart.
Next to it, a red flag with blood-red cloth fluttered.
And not long after, a gloomy monster's howl came from the open plain that had been just a storm.
To handle the situation that was growing more dangerous, I helped Nora to her feet.
The ropes binding our bodies remained as they were.
The ropes bound by 'unbreakable chains' made from dragon tendons.
At that moment, a purple whirlwind rose from outside the city walls, and hundreds of monsters appeared in formation inside it.
Beyond the purple sunset where the sun was hiding itself in the dark.
The first to appear was a Drake with the shape of a giant lizard.
With fangs spitting yellow poison and massive claws raised, its body was covered in bronze scales.
A monster I had never seen before twisted its body and rushed toward the city wall.
“Front line is Drake.”
“First and second artillery units, prepare to fire!”
“Third infantry battalion, formation ready!”
“Magic battalion, deploy ward!”
Shouts erupted one after another from below the city wall.
In an instant, thousands of soldiers formed battle lines.
“Front 9 o'clock. Over 30 alpha-class, over 50 beta-class!”
“Delta-class approaching from the rear!”
“Artillery commander, adjust firing angle! Target distance 800 meters!”
These well-organized soldiers were classifying monsters by type and preparing counterattack units accordingly.
Alpha-class meant Drakes, Troll Lords, and Wyverns that covered the sky like black clouds.
“First magic artillery unit, suppression bombardment start!”
Prince Frederick commanded with fierce eyes toward the front.
The moment his order fell.
The first magic cannon fired with a vibration that shook the earth.
A red streak cut through the darkness and struck the monster horde.
“Hit!”
“20 alpha-class eliminated.”
A Troll Lord that was hit directly by the magic cannon's iron ball the size of a carriage broke apart. Drakes piled on top of it.
“Wyverns, above us.”
Suddenly, the Wyverns that had covered our heads began to rain green poison like raindrops.
“Magic battalion, third ward deploy!”
“Deploy ready!”
Hundreds of mages on the city wall raised their wands at the same time.
Whoosh-
Golden magic burst from the tips of the mages' wands.
The light streaks that climbed the city wall met in the sky and created a massive web, instantly covering the entire castle.
Swooosh-
Green poison collided with the golden ward. The sky roared with the sound of boiling.
“Third magic artillery unit, anti-air bombardment start!”
“Anti-air bombardment start.”
Cannonballs placed on the city wall spat fire.
Boom-boom-
Red flashes struck the center of the Wyvern horde.
Kyahaaaaak-
Wyverns burning in flames screamed horribly.
But they scattered immediately, as if intelligent.
Then arrows aimed from the left side filled the sky.
At the tip of each arrow was Prince Frederick's golden magic.
Golden arrows like a meteor shower poured down.
Screeech!
Wyverns pierced by arrows writhed in the sky with screams.
The scales on Wyverns that arrows hit instantly burned away.
“Second and third magic battalions, prepare chain explosion!”
“Ready.”
The moment Prince Frederick's order fell, a new magic circle began to be drawn in the air.
Points of light appeared around the corpses of the Wyverns floating in agony.
Whoosh-
The air vibrated, and the explosion began.
Like dominoes, when one exploded, the blast continued to the next corpse.
Chain explosions painted the sky and swept away the remaining Wyverns.
“Wow... amazing.”
Nora opened her mouth wide and watched the exploding Wyverns in the sky.
I silently recorded every scene of the battle with deep eyes.
‘They've been trained meticulously.’
The command system was precise.
They classified monsters by type and prepared attack units accordingly.
They positioned each unit at their assigned locations.
When the order came, they moved without confusion or hesitation.
It was high-efficiency combat that only a well-coordinated fighting group could achieve.
The same went below ground.
When Drakes fell, Dark Wolves and Cave Ogres poured out with roars.
Kyahaaaaaaa!!!
Hundreds of pairs of red eyes filled the dark space beyond the fierce storm.
“Beta-class is flanking from the side!”
“Mounted unit, sortie!”
The Dark Wolves and Cave Ogres that had been pouring out were moving toward the right side of the city wall within the barrage.
Prince Frederick noticed immediately and gave orders.
“Second unit, suppression fire start!”
With one gesture of his hand, hundreds of soldiers moved.
Cannon muzzles on the city wall spat fire.
Armored cavalry charged through the city gates.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The red flashes of magic cannons painted the sky, turning 300 meters in front of the cavalry into a sea of fire.
It was an introductory tactic to prevent losses before the cavalry engaged in open battle.
As beta-class leaders were eliminated by magic bombardment, the Dark Wolves and Cave Ogres that had been moving in unison scattered.
The cavalry quickly dealt with the wandering Dark Wolves.
When the leader of the pack was removed,
“Ogre slayer, deploy!”
Prince Frederick's order to sweep away the ogres came.
Immediately after his words, cavalrymen with 20-meter long steel chains attached to swords grabbed the ankles of the Cave Ogres.
Two cavalrymen with unusually long spears then sliced the ogres in half.
Kwoooar.
Prince Frederick changed his gaze and looked far away.
“Deploy the wards!”
“First magic artillery unit, aim point rising 30 degrees!”
Soldiers swiftly rearranged according to his orders.
“Magic battalion, third ward ready!”
“Tower reloading complete!”
They were executing tactics like machines in front of the rushing monster horde.
Kwoooaak!
The magic cannons with raised aim points burned the delta-class monsters—Goblins and Werewolves—filling the rear.
And golden chains were thrown, pouring indiscriminate bombardment onto the bodies of captured monsters.
Kwaaang!
“Report the situation.”
At Prince Frederick's order.
“Alpha-class extermination complete.”
“Beta-class eliminated.”
“Delta-class remaining individuals being pursued.”
Victory reports continued one after another.
The monsters' howls quieted. Everything in the surroundings seemed to have lost its sound and gradually sank into silence.
And then the next report.
“Pursuit complete. Total extermination.”
The report officer removed his helmet.
“Wow!”
“We won!”
The battlefield was filled with cheers.
The soldiers' happy shouts echoed.
But Prince Frederick only watched the battlefield with a cold gaze.
“Report damage.”
One commander contacted somewhere at his order.
Soon, a smile spread across the commander's face.
“Total casualties 42. Burns from Wyvern poison, but not serious. No deaths. Total victory, Your Highness!”
Only then did Prince Frederick slowly remove his armor.
The golden magic flowing inside the black armor subsided.
“Check if there are parts of the city wall that need repair and provide solid meals to the troops.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The flag on the city wall was lowered.
The victory shouts reverberated throughout the city.
The soldiers patted each other's shoulders and shared the joy of victory.
Especially the soldier who looked like an okay guy near me seemed to be a rookie who had just fought his first battle, his face showing a mix of relief and excitement.
“Haa... I'm alive.”
He muttered as he took off his melted helmet from Wyvern poison.
I recorded the act of neatly gathering the arrows that had been aimed at us.
But the soldiers didn't stop.
After briefly expressing the efficacy of joy, they quickly dispersed to their assigned tasks.
The monster processing team was dismantling the huge Drake corpse.
Scales were material for armor, fangs and claws for weapons, and the rest were all burned to prevent poison spreading.
On the other side, a repair unit made up of dwarves was busily moving.
“Check remaining magic power.”
“First magic battalion 80%, second 75%, third 85%!”
“Ward strength normal! Next battle ready!”
“F*ck. Come again, you monster bastards. This time I'll completely cut you all down.”
They were cursing, but pride that only victorious soldiers could feel was overflowing on their faces.
Then.
“How was it? Your direct impression?”
Prince Frederick's low voice came.
“Well-trained soldiers.”
It was an honest opinion.
Commanding an army in unison was never easy.
Especially moving over 10,000 large-scale troops stationed at this major strategic base of the Gilorian Empire required countless hours and commanders' excellent ability.
He watched his soldiers moving busily and then looked up at the distant horizon.
“Monsters don't stop for even a single day.”
Monsters moving with blind hatred toward humans.
They didn't know the cause of monster outbreaks or a complete removal method.
They just kept killing the monsters that kept pushing in.
“What do you think? Living with monsters that keep coming to eat your life right in front of you, no matter how much you block them?”
A heavy weight was felt in Prince Frederick's words.
‘Insane.’
But I didn't say it out loud.
There was meaning that could be conveyed without being said.
“You're not ordinary either.”
I stared at him.
“While monsters were rushing, you were still analyzing the situation. Analyzing the next expected attack site. Even while being bound, right?”
He still suspected me and was on guard.
It could be a spy sent by the third prince or an inspector.
Prince Frederick was someone who suffered the flux of life and death on the border with monster legions while also being unable to escape the intrigue of the distant capital Clovan City.
Maybe the question he was waiting for an answer to.
“Now you can loosen the ropes.”
Prince Frederick smiled faintly and said.
I stared at him.
“You could have loosened the ropes anytime, right?”
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