Chapter 310: The Escape Ends

His mind immediately answered.

’If I escape, they’ll go to the Kulidii. They’ll get the magic. They’ll come to Percvale. And when they do...’

Darion imagined his undead disappearing. His strongest advantage erased. His knights surrounded by thousands of warriors. Percvale’s walls being breached. His citizens running. The farms burning. The castle falling. His people losing everything they had built.

’I’ll be cooked.’

Darion’s eyes remained closed.

Then another thought came.

’But if I fight now...’

He slowly opened his eyes.

---

Darion looked around.

The settlement was in chaos. Warriors were everywhere. His undead were fighting. The gate was right there. Freedom was only a short distance away.

But Darion didn’t move toward it.

Instead, he turned.

Back toward Vrethka.

Back toward the army that wanted him dead.

Back toward the people preparing to obtain the one thing that could make him powerless.

His expression hardened.

’If I run, they get stronger. If I stay...’

Darion raised his sword.

Golden light began crawling along the blade.

FWOOM.

The glow intensified.

One by one, his undead began gathering around him.

Ghet Ulg turned toward him. Edric Vorne raised his weapon. The undead knights reformed around their master. The wolves stopped chasing their enemies and turned toward Darion.

The warriors nearby began realizing something was wrong. The Baron wasn’t heading for the gate anymore.

Darion gripped his glowing sword. He took one step forward. Then another.

He wasn’t running anymore. He was going back in.

———

Darion stood in the middle of the street.

His undead formed a loose perimeter around him. Ghet Ulg stood near the front, towering over the surrounding warriors like a monument of bone and armor. Edric Vorne and the undead knights spread out beside him, their weapons ready, their green eyes glowing in the darkness.

The wolves moved between them, growling silently at the approaching enemies. And all around them.

Vrethka’s warriors were closing in.

From the streets. From the buildings. From behind. More warriors continued pouring into the area, their footsteps a rolling thunder that seemed to shake the ground itself. Torches flickered. Weapons glinted. Voices shouted orders that overlapped and tangled into a wall of noise.

Darion slowly turned his head. Behind him was the outer gate. The way out. Ahead of him was the settlement. And somewhere beyond all these warriors was Chief Dross.

He took a slow breath.

’This is insane.’

He was completely surrounded. He was inside enemy territory. His disguise was gone. Everyone knew who he was now. The Baron of Percvale. The Necromancer. And there were far more warriors here than he could ever hope to fight by himself.

Darion gripped his sword. But he didn’t run.

He looked over the warriors surrounding him. There were too many. Even with his undead, this wasn’t going to be easy.

His undead knights were strong, but they weren’t an endless army. Every enemy they defeated was replaced by another. And if too many warriors overwhelmed his undead at once, even they could eventually be buried beneath sheer numbers.

Darion knew that. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe otherwise.

His disguise was also useless now. The entire settlement was aware of him. There was no sneaking out. No walking through the gate. No pretending to be one of them. If he tried to escape now, the entire settlement would chase him. And if he somehow managed to get away...

They would continue with their plan.

The Kulidii.

Darion’s expression darkened. ’That’s the problem.’

His thoughts drifted to Percvale. The farms. The castle. The people. All the things he had built.

It hadn’t started as much. A dying territory. A broken castle. Weak soldiers. People who had little reason to believe their lives would improve. But slowly, things had changed.

The castle had become a home. The farms were growing. The people had begun to believe that tomorrow could actually be better than today.

Darion remembered the expressions of the citizens. The way they looked at him. The trust. The hope. He had given them that. Maybe he hadn’t realized how important it was at first. But now he did.

If Vrethka attacked Percvale with the Kulidii—

Everything could disappear. The farms could burn. The castle could fall. The people could lose everything. And that hope? That could disappear too.

Darion lowered his eyes for a moment.

’I can’t let that happen.’

Then he remembered Caef. The man standing in his path. The hatred in his eyes.

Gonnb. The village Darion had destroyed. The brother Caef had lost. The people who had died.

Darion had never really thought about what happened afterward. Not deeply. To him, Gonnb had been an enemy. A threat. Something that needed to be dealt with. But Caef had seen something completely different. His home being destroyed. His brother dying. His entire life disappearing. And that pain had driven him here. To Vrethka. To Dross. To this war.

Darion looked around at the warriors surrounding him.

’That’s what revenge does. It turns grief into hatred. Hatred into purpose. And purpose into war.’

Caef had spent months waiting for this moment. And now Darion was standing in the middle of Vrethka, surrounded by the people who wanted revenge against him. Darion didn’t know whether Caef’s hatred was justified. But he understood it now.

Then Darion remembered the notification.

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

His expression became cold.

’That’s the real danger. Not the warriors currently surrounding me. Not even Dross. The Kulidii.’

If he escaped now, Vrethka would go there. They would obtain the magic. Then they would come to Percvale. And next time, Darion wouldn’t have the same advantage. His undead could be neutralized. His entire fighting style could collapse.

’If I run, they win.’

Darion looked toward the gate. Freedom was still behind him. He could run. He could survive today. But tomorrow would be worse.

’If I fight, I might lose.’

He looked at the warriors. There were so many. Even with his undead, victory wasn’t guaranteed. He could die here. Percvale could lose its Baron. Everything he built could fall apart.

Darion took another breath. Then his grip tightened around his sword.

’But if I don’t fight now...’

He looked toward the settlement.

’I’ll never get a better chance.’

Darion finally understood what he had to do.

This wasn’t about whether he could defeat every warrior in Vrethka. He didn’t need to. He didn’t need to destroy the entire settlement. He needed to disrupt their plan. He needed to weaken them before they could reach the Kulidii. And if he could reach Dross...

Maybe he could change everything.

Darion looked toward the center of the settlement. His eyes hardened.

’This is my chance.’

It was dangerous. It was stupid. It was probably the most reckless thing he had ever done. But waiting meant giving Vrethka time. Running meant giving them time. And time was exactly what they needed.

Darion raised his sword. Golden light spread across the blade. It grew brighter. Brighter. Until the street around him was illuminated by its golden glow. The warriors hesitated.

Darion’s voice was quiet. "Come."

His undead moved.

Ghet Ulg took the first step. Then another. The undead knights raised their weapons. The wolves lowered their bodies, ready to sprint. Darion stepped forward with them.

For a brief moment, neither side moved.

Then—

A Vrethkan warrior screamed. "CHARGE!"

The entire street erupted.