Chapter 364: Green Fire

Seren remained beside the horse, staring at Ghet Ulg’s empty eye sockets. Examining the flames dancing in the undead’s eyes.

The green fire burning inside them looked different from before. It wasn’t just the normal eerie glow of an undead, the cold, lifeless light that marked him as something unnatural. There was something intense about it now, something that made Seren instinctively feel that Ghet Ulg had completely changed gears.

That made it seem like Ghet Ulg wasn’t the same undead he was after taking on those wolves alone and killing them. With this green fire burning in his eyes, it felt as if he had gone through something.

Some kind of change. Some kind of shift. It wasn’t just the light, it was the intensity of it, the way it seemed to burn brighter, seemingly hotter than before.

She wondered what could possibly have caused it. She thought back to the entire journey. Ghet Ulg had been protecting her the entire time. Whenever a wolf approached, he intercepted it. Whenever one tried to circle around him, he repositioned himself between Seren and the threat. He wasn’t trying to hunt the wolves. He was trying to keep Seren alive.

Then Seren suddenly remembered Darion’s exact instructions before she left. He had told Ghet Ulg to protect her. At all costs. She realized the importance of those words. Darion hadn’t ordered Ghet Ulg to kill every enemy, to hunt down every wolf or to destroy anything that attacked Seren. His command had simply been: Protect Seren. At all costs.

And Ghet Ulg had been following that command exactly. Until now.

During the earlier fights, Ghet Ulg had been defensive because Seren was capable of killing the wolves herself. He blocked attacks, created openings, and prevented Seren from being overwhelmed. He didn’t need to destroy everything because protecting her didn’t require it.

But when that wolf knocked Seren from the horse and nearly killed her… the situation changed. Seren realized that Ghet Ulg must have interpreted the threat differently. There was no longer any reason to merely defend her. If protecting Seren meant eliminating every possible threat around her… then that was exactly what he was going to do.

Seren slowly looked back toward the wolf tracks. Then toward Ghet Ulg. The undead knight stood completely still. His weapon was still stained with blood. His armor was covered in dirt and gore. The green fire in his eyes burned intensely.

Seren finally understood what she was looking at. Ghet Ulg wasn’t simply guarding her anymore. He was hunting anything that could threaten her.

Her earlier fear about continuing into the forest suddenly felt almost ridiculous. A few moments ago, she had been wondering whether they should turn around. Now? She looked at the massive tracks ahead, then looked at Ghet Ulg. Her expression slowly changed.

‘Wait… why am I scared?’

She had already seen this before. She remembered the battle at Vrethka. She remembered watching Darion fight. The moment he stopped holding back. The moment he summoned his entire undead army. The moment the battlefield effectively stopped being a battle.

Darion had entered what Seren could only describe as god mode. She had seen that terrifying transformation before. But now she was seeing something similar from someone else. Not Darion. Ghet Ulg. And Ghet Ulg wasn’t even alive. He was a corpse. An undead knight whose entire existence was built around obeying Darion’s commands.

Seren looked at him again. The realization settled in: Darion gave this thing one simple command. Protect me. And now it was going to take that command very, very seriously.

Seren looked back toward the tracks. More wolf footprints. Larger ones. Numerous tracks leading deeper into the forest. Earlier, that sight would have immediately made her nervous. Now she almost found it reassuring.

She thought about what just happened. Four horned wolves had attacked them. One had nearly killed her. Ghet Ulg had gone from defensive protection to completely overwhelming the wolves. And if there were more wolves ahead… Well… Good luck to them.

Seren let out a small breath and shook off the remaining tension. Going back would mean taking the longer route. It would waste time. Darion and Garren were waiting. She had a mission to complete.

More importantly… she no longer believed she was traveling alone.

Seren climbed back onto the horse. She adjusted herself in the saddle and took hold of the reins. Ghet Ulg approached. Without needing to be told, he climbed onto the back of the horse behind her. His massive body settled behind her like a living shield. Except he wasn’t alive.

Seren didn’t feel uncomfortable this time. Earlier, she had wondered whether sitting in front of an undead knight was a terrible idea. Now she felt strangely safe. Almost absurdly safe. She knew that if anything came charging out of the forest, Ghet Ulg would be there. And judging by the look of those green flames… whatever came out probably wasn’t going to enjoy what happened next.

Seren looked toward the path. The wolf tracks disappeared deeper between the trees. She gave the reins a small pull. The horse started walking. Ghet Ulg remained behind her, silent and motionless except for the subtle movement of his body as the horse traveled.

Seren watched the forest ahead. More footprints appeared. More than before. Enough that a normal traveler would probably turn around. Seren didn’t. She simply kept riding. Her earlier fear had been replaced by confidence.

Footprints? Pfft. Let them come.

She had Ghet Ulg. And apparently… Ghet Ulg had decided that protecting her meant annihilating anything stupid enough to try.

The horse carried them deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser. The daylight became harder to see through the canopy. Somewhere ahead, something probably moved. A branch snapped. Seren’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t stop. Ghet Ulg’s green flames burned brighter behind her.

Seren rode deeper into the forest. She no longer felt afraid. Because whatever was waiting ahead… Ghet Ulg was ready for it.