Hidden Falls Camp was the nearest vampire camp to the borders of the north and east regions. It was located between two high mountains, which is why it was almost hidden from everyone. The vampires used it as a scouting base, patrolling along the borders. They also often use it as a training camp. Along with these facts, a dark secret lies within this camp.
Craig and Meslisha were almost near their meeting place, the Hidden Falls camp. Even from far away, they heard loud screams of battle. They quickly ran where the noise came from, worried about the situation at the camp. When they were nearly there, they noticed an army of skeleton warriors heading to the camp. The vampires stationed at the camp tried their best to stop their enemies.
"We have to help them; this camp must not fall!" Melisha ordered Craig.
"If you say so," Craig replied.
They rushed to the battlefield and beat every skeleton warrior they met. Craig wields his blade against the enemy flawlessly, while Melisha uses her fist to shatter every foe made out of bones. The morale of those with them increased, causing them to easily defeat the army that tried to occupy their camp. When they were about to celebrate their victory, the ground suddenly shook, which put everyone in panic. A large hole appeared, and the skeleton of a mythical creature, a dragon, rose. Everyone was terrified by what they saw; they couldn't even move out of fear.
"No way; I never thought of anyone who could summon a creature like that," Melisha uttered with surprise.
Craig just came close to the skeletal dragon, so he was noticed by it. It moved its tail, trying to smash Craig, but he perfectly dodged it. Everyone was amazed at Craig's mobility until the dragon opened its mouth and breathed fire. He barely dodged it; the attack was almost everywhere. He attempted to severe one of its wings, but his weapon could not cut through its toughness. Almost everything nearby flew away as the dragon began to flail its wings. Craig got on its back, then thought of a way to stop the huge foe. Something was glowing around the dragon's neck. It's just a hunch, but he assumed it was its weakness. Craig jumps into its neck and pierces the glowing part with his blade. The dragon shrieked, like it was hurting so bad. Craig continued piercing it until it finally broke. The giant dragon instantly turns into dust. The whole camp has cheered since their final opponent disappeared. Thanks to Craig Snow, the new ally of the vampire colony.
"Good job. So this is the power that might kill the nameless, huh? "Melisha flattered Craig.
"Yeah, and that's not all that I've got. . ." Craig replied, then he suddenly collapsed.
"Hey! What happened? Someone help me! "Melisha shouted and asked for help.
They carried Craig inside a room, hoping that he'd wake up soon, the savior of the Hidden Falls camp.
In the meantime, in the east region, where the Horkhun tribe resides, Zaptan and his two generals finally arrived.
"Where's your chief? We need help! "Gaurdon shouted.
"He's at his cabin; please follow me," one villager answered.
"Meeting the chief can wait; we need your greatest healer. This is an emergency," Hekharold uttered in panic.
"Ok, this way, lady Curhelia can help you," the villager said, then he escorted them to where the healer was.
Hekharold couldn't maintain his chariot anymore; he was almost out of mana. So Gaurdon carried Zaptan on his back and followed their escort as fast as he could. They stumbled upon a large house full of herbal plants; no doubt it was a healer's home.
"Lady Curhelia! Someone needs your help! It was an emergency," the villager shouted. Then a young girl came out.
"What kind of emergency? "The young girl asked, who turns out to be the Lady Curhelia who was the villager talks about.
"A kid? We will rish our emperor's life on a kid?! "Hekharold confusingly said.
"You better watch your mouth, you fool. I may be young on the outside, but I'm older than you think," Curhelia furiously responded.
"Enough! Please help us; the emperor needs treatment right away," Gaurdon asked Curhelia desperately.
"It's okay; he won't die from that kind of wound. However, he needs other kinds of treatment. Lay him down in my room," Curhelia said.
As Gaurdon walked inside Curhelia's room, he saw a lot of healing equipment and herbals. He laid down the emperor on the bed and sat next to him.
"You can wait outside." Curhelia ordered Gaurdon.
"I can't leave the emperor's side with his current state," Gaurdon replied.
"Then I can't perform any of my healing techniques," Curhelia said.
"But why? "Gaurdon asked.
"Our method of healing has been passed down by my ancestors since the beginning. I need to protect it from anyone, even the likes of you," Curhelia explained.
"I see, then if you need anything, I'm just outside," Gaurdon said, and he stood up.
"We are under attack! "Someone shouted outside.
"Gaurdon, let's go; we should check it out! "Hekharold opened Curhelia's door and told Gaurdon.
"Right! Please take care of the emperor," Gaurdon told Curhelia.
"I will," she replied.
"We should hurry; the Horkhun people weren't a fighter!"Hekharold told Gaurdon.
"What makes you think that we can't fight? "An unfamiliar voice suddenly arose, and then a man walked closely to them.
"Who are you? "Hekharold asked the stranger.
"Estrow Eubhit? What are you doing here? "Gaurdon surprisingly asked.
"You know him? "Hekharold asked Gaurdon.
"Yes, he's from the Dalish tribe. We were together when we entered the imperial force during the late emperor's reign. He was the best fighter the empire ever had, until he suddenly disappeared," Gaurdon answered.
"I didn't leave the empire because I wanted to, but I needed to. My tribe suffered from the witches' raids, so as the son of the chief, I must lead my people in defending our land," Estrow explained.
"Then why did the Dalits never answer the empire's summons?" "Gaurdon asked.
"Well, that's another story, but for now we must face the enemies first," Estrow answered.
"He's right. We have to go," Hekharold said.
The three of them headed towards the front gate, and they saw a lot of summoned demons trying to push their way inside the village. Gaurdon and Hekharold were astonished when they saw the villagers defending their home.
"I never thought the Horkhun tribe had an army like this," Hekharold uttered.
"It took a while before they'd fought like this; I trained them," Estrow said.
"You trained them? What about your tribe? "Hekharold asked.
"The Dalish were almost impenetrable now. They don't need me anymore; that's why. . ." Estrow answered.
"Save your sob stories; we should eliminate the enemies first," Gaurdon said as he prepared himself for battle.
"If you say so," Estrow replied, then cast buff spells at himself.
"Alright, let's do this," Hekharold said, then summoned a few large wolves that could fight for him.
Gaurdon charged first, and he instantly took down a lot of demons when he used his howling attack. He continued smashing the remaining demons on the ground, resulting in their turning into dust. Hekharold, on the other hand, needed to distance himself from the enemies so he could freely control his summoned wolves. His summons can also use a couple of battle skills, so the demons have no match for them. Estrow's battle style was almost perfect. He dodges every attack from the enemy, then follows it with a counterattack using his claws. When all of the demons were defeated, they'd heard terrifying music. A portal suddenly appeared, and a burning giant demon with large horns came out of it.
"It looks tough; I don't know if my wolves could take it down," the frightened Hekharold said.
"No doubt, that's a creature from hell," Estrow uttered as he backed off a bit.
However, Gaurdon fearlessly came closer to the massive enemy. He cast a couple of spell buffs, and his right claw glowed with purple light. The demon saw him; it growled so loudly that it rushed towards him. Gaurdon just raised his right hand as he slowly walked towards his enemy. When they're close to each other, both of them unleash a powerful blow, and their fists collide. The impact caused a strong shockwave that traveled all over the place. Everyone around them felt great pressure, an overwhelming power contradicting each other.
"It looks like I've been left behind," Estrow said, admiring the power shown by Gaurdon.
"I never thought he had this kind of power inside him," Hekharold surprisingly said.
Neither of them wanted to lose; they continued giving all they'd got until Gaurdon finally overpowered the opponent. His fist knocked the demon down to the ground, then he followed it up with consecutive punches. His foe couldn't do anything but scream from the pain. After a while, the demon finally turns to dust, and Gaurdon wins the fight.
"That was amazing. I couldn't believe you were this strong! HAHA! "Hekharold told Gaurdon while laughing.
"You become stronger, maybe stronger than me," Estrow said.
"I don't want to fight that way if possible. That's exhausting; I need to replenish my energy right away," Gaurdon replied breathlessly.
"Why don't we go inside? I'll prepare a feast." Estrow invited them.
"Thank you. Here, Gaurdon, I'll help you," Hekharold said as he gave Gaurdon a hand.
"Thank you," Gaurdon replied, then reached Hekharold's hand.
They went inside the village and went to Estrow's home. Gaurdon took a rest as the village prepared a feast for them. For the Horkhun tribe, successfully defending their village is worth celebrating.
Going back to the Hidden Falls camp, Craig was still unconscious, but he was already treated by the camp's healer. Melisha sat beside Craig, waiting for him to wake up. Then she heard a footstep coming close to them.
"Welcome to the camp; it looks like your friend will not wake up any moment from now," said the unfamiliar voice.
Melisha just took a glance at her, then looked back at Craig.
"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself; I'm Fellise, the camp master here," the stranger said.
"I know you; you're Fellise Pyurad. You've been a candidate for becoming an elder once. Now you're here as a camp master? "Melisha replied.
"That was long ago; I think my skills are a little bit rusty now," Fellise said.
"Is that so? Are you the one who treated Craig? "Melisha asked.
"That's right. His body's durability is quite impressive for a mortal. I think I know the reason for his passing out," Fellice answered.
"Tell me," Melisha curiously replied.
"The blade he was wielding was cursed. It's not an ordinary weapon. I believe it was devouring its owner's life force in exchange for a tremendous amount of power. For a normal mortal, using that blade once is suicide, but for him to last this long, I can say it's a miracle," Fellice explained.
"Cursed, you say? So if I hold it, the blade will also suck my life force, right? "Melisha asked, then she grabbed Craig's blade.
"I can't say it works that way. I've also held it myself, but it doesn't affect me. Maybe the curse only occurs to the owner," Fellice answered.
"I see," Melisha said as she put down the blade.
"Just a little advice: if you have the chance, stay away from him. That blade brings nothing but death. Not only to the owner himself, but to the people around him," Fellice warned Melisha.
"Thanks," Melisha responded.
"If you need anything, just ask anyone on this camp. I will leave you two," Fellice said, then she walked out of the room. "What a cold-hearted bitch," Fellice told herself.
The two of them were left alone in a room. Melisha was looking at Craig's face, sleeping. Her head suddenly felt pain, like some memories flashed back in her mind. After a while, the pain stopped. She was relieved, and she wondered what happened to her.
The feast at Horkhun village finally started. The people were dancing, singing, eating, and drinking to their hearts's content. Gaurdon also recovered his strength from his previous fight. They're on their way to meet the chief.
"What does he look like? "Hekharold asked Estrow.
"The chief? He was the kindest and smartest leader I've ever known. He might be a little intimidating, but it's just because of his looks," Estrow answered.
"I've heard he was the last one of the Horkhun bloodline, but he refuses to get married and continue their lineage," Gaurdon said.
"Actually, that's half the truth; you can see it for yourself," Estrow responded.
When they arrived at the chief's house, they heard people shouting like a fight was about to begin. When Estrow opened the door, they saw a lot of kids and women.
"You're right, the chief didn't want to get married, but the real reason was this. He wanted to have a lot of wives and kids in order to keep their bloodline," Estrow explained as they watched the kids play with each other.
"Who's with you, Estrow? "A woman asked.
"They're Gaurdon and Hekharold, the two generals of the empire," Estrow answered.
"I didn't know we had important guests; you were looking for the chief? "The woman asked Gaurdon and Hekharold.
"Yes, where is he? "Hekharold replied.
"Please follow me; he'll be glad to meet you," the woman invited them.
They followed the woman all the way to where the chief was. The woman opened the door of a room, and then they entered.
"Hon, Estrow and his friends wanted to talk to you," the woman told the chief.
"Friends? I never thought Estrow had any," the chief replied.
"That's funny, chief, haha," Estrow sarcasticly responded. "I want you to meet Gaurdon and Hekharold; they're both generals of the empire," he added.
"I know them; they're the emperor's general, right? "The chief replied.
"Yes, you're right. Now they want to talk to you about something," Estrow said.
"Whatever it is, I know you can do the talking better than me," the chief uttered.
"This is urgent; we need to know more about the blade prophecy," Gaurdon impatiently said.
"The prophecy, huh? It will be a long story; are you really prepared to listen? "The chief asked them.
"For the sake of empire, yes, so please tell us more about this prophecy," Hekharold said.
"Very well, then I will tell you a tale that was passed down a thousand years ago. I am Djelkaro Horkhun; the chief will narrate the story," the chief said confidently.
They're ready to listen to the tale that might reveal the truth about the prophecy that might kill them all.
In the meantime, in the dark region, Serefina and Heimdilfir shared their frustration about their failed attempt to invade their enemy's territory.
"Who would have thought that a mortal could defeat a mythical creature dragon raised from the dead so easily? "Serefina uttered it in disappointment.
"Same as me, I can't imagine my summons could be easily taken down by those dogs," Heimdilfir replied.
"Both of you were such losers; hahaha, if you really wanted to take over those places, why don't you get it yourselves? "Ambersoul teased them.
"You know that I can't; I'm protecting our queen here, and no one can do this job better than me," Heimdilfir responded.
"Fair enough, what about you? "Ambersoul asked Serefina.
"Shut your filthy mouth or else you'll never be able to talk again," Serefina angrily answered.
"Fine, I'll leave you too. I have something better to do. See you later, losers." Ambersoul teased them once again.
The witches finally made their move, but will they ever succeed?