Chapter 311: Escalation

Seren was bored. Very, very bored.

She sat beneath the cover of the trees, one knee raised while she rested her arm against it. The forest around her was quiet, the only sounds the rustle of leaves and the distant murmur of the night. It was peaceful. It was calm. It was driving her insane.

In front of her, the Slitherer moved slowly through the undergrowth. The undead serpent had been doing exactly what Darion told it to do. Patrolling. Watching. Protecting the area. Its armored body slid between the roots, its movements smooth and silent, its eyes scanning the darkness for any threat.

Seren watched it slide between the roots. Then around a tree. Then behind another. Then back again. She sighed. This is so boring.

Darion had told her to stay here. That was it. Stay hidden. Wait for him. Don’t do anything stupid. So she waited. And waited. And waited some more. She glanced toward the direction Darion had gone. Nothing.

Seren leaned her back against the tree. What is he even doing in there? She had no idea. He had gone inside Vrethka disguised as one of their guards. That alone was insane. But somehow, Darion had managed to get inside. And now he had been gone for what felt like forever.

Seren looked toward the Slitherer again. The undead serpent stopped. Its head slowly turned toward her. Seren stared at it. The Slitherer stared back.

"Don’t look at me."

The serpent remained completely silent.

Seren sighed. "I’m bored."

Nothing.

"Very bored."

Still nothing.

"Seriously, how long does he plan on taking?"

The Slitherer simply continued its patrol. Seren rolled her eyes. "Of course."

---

Eventually, Seren couldn’t take sitting still anymore. She carefully moved closer to the edge of the trees. From there, she could see part of Vrethka. She looked through the branches. Nothing. Just buildings. Wooden structures. Stone structures. Roofs. Walls. A few torches. Nothing interesting.

Seren narrowed her eyes. She tried to find any movement. There were warriors somewhere inside, obviously. But from this distance, she couldn’t see much. The settlement was surprisingly quiet from where she stood.

So this is Vrethka. She had expected something more. After everything Darion had told her about the place, she’d imagined a settlement crawling with warriors. But from here? It was mostly just buildings.

Seren pulled back. Meh. She returned to her spot. A few minutes passed. She checked again. Nothing. More waiting. She sighed.

Darion better have a good reason for taking this long.

Then...

A sound reached her ears.

Seren’s head lifted. She stopped moving. At first, it was difficult to make out. A distant voice. Then another. Then several. She slowly stood. "What?"

The sounds grew louder. Shouts. Lots of them. Seren’s expression changed. She stepped toward the edge of the trees again. The settlement was no longer quiet. Voices were rising everywhere. She couldn’t make out the words. But she could hear the panic. The anger. The chaos.

Something was happening.

Seren’s hand instinctively moved toward her bow. What happened? More shouting. Then another distant cry. Seren’s heart began beating faster.

Did they discover him? The thought immediately came. She froze.

Darion. Her eyes widened. Darion.

Everything suddenly made sense. He had gone inside alone. Disguised as one of their guards. And now the entire settlement was erupting. There was only one reason that could happen.

Seren’s face tightened. "Darion..."

Seren immediately grabbed her bow. She pulled it into position and checked her arrows. Her mind raced.

Did they catch him? Is he fighting? Did something go wrong?

She didn’t know. And that uncertainty bothered her more than anything. Darion had told her to stay hidden. He had specifically told her not to come after him. But that was before the entire settlement started shouting.

Seren looked toward the Slitherer. The undead serpent had stopped patrolling. It was facing the settlement. Watching.

Seren hesitated for only a moment. Then she started moving.

The Slitherer followed.

Seren looked back. "Huh...Wait?"

It continued following.

She frowned. "I said stay."

The Slitherer kept moving.

Seren stared at it. "...Fine." She turned back toward Vrethka.

The Slitherer didn’t respond.

Of course. It wouldn’t, it was a lifeless Undead.

Seren moved quickly through the trees. She stayed low, using the darkness and vegetation for cover. The closer she got to Vrethka, the louder the shouting became. Now she could hear individual voices.

"GET HIM!"

"DON’T LET THEM THROUGH!"

"THE UNDEAD!"

Seren’s eyes widened. Undead? She moved faster. The trees began thinning. She reached the edge of the settlement. Then she looked out.

And froze.

Her eyes widened. There were people everywhere. Warriors. Dozens of them. Maybe more. They were surrounding something in the middle of the street. Seren squinted. Then she saw them.

The undead. Ghet Ulg. Edric Vorne. The undead knights. The wolves. And in the middle of all of them—

Darion.

He was fighting. His sword was glowing with golden light. His armor was stained. Blood covered parts of the ground around him. Warriors were attacking from every direction. His undead were desperately holding them back.

Seren simply stared. For a moment, she couldn’t even process what she was seeing.

What the hell...?

Seren watched Darion cut through another warrior. The warrior fell. Another immediately took his place. Darion blocked. Turned. Struck. Moved forward. His undead fought around him, creating a perimeter while more warriors continued pouring into the street.

Seren’s mouth slowly opened. He’s actually fighting them. Not escaping. Not hiding. Not retreating. Fighting. All of them.

Seren’s eyes moved across the battlefield. There were too many. Far too many. She looked back at Darion.

Did he actually think fighting all of them was a good idea?

Her grip tightened around her bow. She knew Darion. He wouldn’t willingly choose something this reckless without a reason. At least... she hoped he wouldn’t.

Another warrior charged him. Darion’s golden sword flashed. Blood hit the ground.

Seren’s expression became serious. Darion...

She raised her bow. Her fingers moved toward an arrow. For the first time since she arrived near Vrethka, the boredom was completely gone. There was only one thought in her mind now.

"What the hell did you get yourself into?"