Chapter 309: The Escape Continues With An Obstacle

Darion didn’t interrupt.

"They tore through everyone." Caef’s eyes were wet now, but his voice didn’t waver. "My brother tried to fight. He tried to protect the village. And when it was over..." He paused. His eyes became red with rage. "You put his head on a spear."

The words hung between them. Darion didn’t interrupt. He could explain. He could say why he attacked. He could explain that Gonnb had attacked first. That they had been a threat. That he had been protecting his people. But none of that came out. Because Caef wasn’t telling him about a strategic decision. He was telling him about his brother.

Caef took another breath. "You know what happened after that?"

Darion remained silent.

"We left." Caef’s voice was quieter now. "We came here. Months ago." He gestured toward Vrethka. "We came to Vrethka because we had nowhere else to go."

Darion’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Caef continued. "We told Dross everything. The attack. The messenger. My brother. What you did to Gonnb." His voice became steadier. "We asked for his help."

Darion realized what he was hearing. So that’s how they ended up here. The Gonnb survivors had come to Vrethka. They had found Dross. And together, they had started planning.

Caef continued. "We spent months preparing. We learned everything we could about Percvale. We sent scouts. We watched your territory. We learned about your soldiers. We learned about your undead." He paused. "And we waited."

Darion’s stomach tightened. Those scouts. The ones he had discovered near Percvale. The ones he had chosen not to kill. Everything suddenly connected.

Caef’s expression darkened. "We were supposed to move sooner. But then Harrowhold happened."

Darion knew about the war. Vrethka had been involved in it. Their forces had been pulled into another conflict.

"So we waited." Caef clenched his jaw. "We fought. We lost people. We gained warriors. And through all of it, I kept thinking about Gonnb."

He looked directly at Darion. "My brother. My people. My home."

His voice lowered. "And then we finally came back. Dross told us the time had come. The scouts had returned. The information was ready. Percvale was our target."

Caef’s expression became almost calm. "And you were the target."

Darion’s eyes remained fixed on him.

Caef smiled bitterly. "We finally had our chance."

Caef stepped closer. "You took everything from me."

The words were quiet now. Far more dangerous than his shouting. "My brother. My home. My people. Everything I had."

Darion listened. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t defend himself. Not because he believed Caef was completely right. Not because Darion suddenly regretted everything. But because he understood something. There was nothing he could say that would change what Caef felt.

To Caef, Darion wasn’t a Baron. He wasn’t a ruler defending his territory. He wasn’t a man making difficult decisions. He was the person who destroyed his home. And Caef was the person who had spent months waiting for revenge.

Caef’s eyes hardened. "And now..." He looked past Darion toward the undead fighting in the street. "...I’m going to take everything from you."

Darion remained silent. For a moment, he had words. Plenty of them. He could argue. He could tell Caef that Gonnb had chosen to fight him. He could tell him that Percvale was his home too. That he had people depending on him. That he had been protecting them. But none of those words would matter. Caef wouldn’t hear them.

And Darion knew it.

Suddenly, Caef looked past Darion. His expression changed. More warriors were arriving. A new group poured into the street from behind the building. Darion glanced back. His undead were still holding the others back, but more and more warriors were entering the fight. Too many.

Darion looked at Caef again. The man was unarmed. No armor. No mask. Nothing that suggested he was capable of fighting Darion directly. And Darion realized something. Caef wasn’t trying to stop him. Not anymore.

He stepped aside.

Darion’s eyes narrowed. Caef looked at him one final time. There was no mercy in his expression. Only hatred. Thing was, he couldn’t take Darion on a fight one on one, that would be suicide.

Darion could kill him. He could summon one of his undead. He could order Ghet Ulg to crush him. But he didn’t have time. Not with the warriors closing in. Not when the gate was still ahead.

Darion turned. And ran.

He didn’t look back. He didn’t stop. He left Caef standing behind him as the warriors flooded into the street. The outer gate was still ahead. And Darion pushed himself toward it.

Darion ran.

His boots pounded against the dirt road as he pushed toward the outer gate. Ahead, he could finally see it. The walls. The gate. The guards stationed above it. The way out. For the first time since the meeting room, Darion felt like he might actually escape Vrethka.

Behind him, his undead continued tearing through the settlement. Ghet Ulg was holding back a group of warriors, his massive frame blocking the street like a wall of bone and armor. Edric Vorne and the undead knights pushed through another formation, their weapons rising and falling in steady rhythm.

The wolves darted between enemies, disrupting their movements and creating openings.

Darion kept running. But his mind was racing even faster than his legs.

’So that’s why.’

The thought suddenly came back to him. Gonnb. Caef. The scouts. Dross. The planned attack. Everything began falling into place. Vrethka wasn’t simply some settlement that decided to attack Percvale. They had a reason. They had been preparing for him.

Darion’s eyes narrowed.

’They knew about me.’

They knew he was a Necromancer. They knew about his undead. They had sent scouts to study Percvale. They had spent months preparing. And now he understood why they were so confident.

’They aren’t just trying to overpower me. They’re trying to make sure my greatest advantage doesn’t matter.’

Darion kept running. His mind went over everything he had heard inside the meeting room. Dross had spoken confidently. The warriors weren’t afraid of fighting Percvale. They were afraid of fighting him. But even then, they had sounded confident.

Why?

Darion had wondered about it ever since he heard them. How were they planning to fight fifty-something undead knights? Even if Vrethka had thousands of warriors, Darion’s undead were still terrifying on a battlefield.

They didn’t get tired. They didn’t feel pain. They could keep fighting after taking injuries that would cripple ordinary soldiers. And Darion could summon them wherever he needed them.

If Vrethka simply charged Percvale with an army, his undead could cause massive damage. So there had to be something else. Something they were relying on.

Darion’s expression hardened.

’They’ve been preparing a counter.’

He didn’t know what it was yet. But he knew it was there.

And then—

A voice cut through the chaos.

"Move the warriors toward the eastern road!"

Another voice answered. "Keep the gate sealed!"

Darion slowed slightly. The voices were coming from nearby. Several officers were standing in the middle of the street, shouting orders while warriors rushed around them. Darion kept moving, but his attention shifted toward them.

Then he heard something that made his entire body tense.

"We can’t take him now!"

Darion’s footsteps slowed.

An officer shouted over the chaos. "We haven’t gone to the Kulidii yet!"

Darion froze.

For a moment, everything around him seemed to become distant. The fighting. The shouting. The weapons. Everything.

His eyes widened.

’Kulidii?’

Then—

[Ding!]

A system notification appeared before his eyes.

[Kulidii — A person who grants magic that neutralizes Necromancer abilities.]

Darion’s blood ran cold. His breathing stopped for half a second.

’What?’

He stared at the notification. He read it again. And again.

’Magic that neutralizes Necromancer abilities.’

His fingers tightened around the sword. Suddenly, the entire situation made sense.

Darion looked toward the officers.

’That’s it. That’s what Vrethka has been preparing. That’s why they weren’t afraid. That’s why they were so confident. That’s why Dross had spoken as if Percvale was already going to fall.’

They weren’t planning to fight his undead normally. They were preparing something specifically designed to counter him. The Kulidii.

Darion’s thoughts raced.

’Without it, they have to fight my undead. With it...’

His stomach twisted.

’I’m powerless.’

If the Kulidii could actually neutralize his Necromancer abilities, then everything changed. His undead. His summons. The army that made him dangerous. Gone.

And suddenly, the thousands of warriors surrounding him weren’t just thousands of enemies anymore. They were thousands of enemies he might have to face without the thing that made him strong.

Darion’s face became serious.

’They’ve been preparing for me specifically. Not Percvale. Not just my territory. Me.’

Then another thought hit him.

Darion looked back toward the officers.

’Wait. The officer said—’

"We haven’t gone to the Kulidii yet."

Darion’s eyes widened slightly.

’They haven’t.’

Vrethka hadn’t obtained the magic yet. They hadn’t completed the final part of their plan. Which meant—

’They’re still vulnerable.’

Darion’s mind started working rapidly. The attack on Percvale wasn’t ready. Not completely. They had their warriors. They had their supplies. They had their scouts. They had Dross. But they didn’t have the Kulidii.

Not yet.

Darion looked toward the outer gate. Then back at the settlement.

’A small window. Maybe. A very small one. But it’s there.’

Darion slowed to a stop.

His undead were still fighting nearby. Warriors were still rushing toward him. The gate was close. He could keep running. He could force his way through the gate. Get back to Percvale. Warn Garren. Prepare the territory. Strengthen the defenses. Maybe even evacuate some civilians.

But then what?

Darion closed his eyes. For two seconds. Only two. Yet inside his head, it felt like half a minute.

’Should I run?’