Free Web NovelChapter 269: [269] The Price For Treachery
Baldwin felt his heart tighten like a vice as he stared into Eliron’s cold eyes. The world around him seemed to close in, he reached for his sword... then stopped.
It would be useless, everything he could possibly do right now would be useless.
They were so deep in the forest that he couldn’t even call for help. Was this the Elven Lord’s plan? Lure him into the forest and gut him like a pig?
Eliron suddenly laughed, causing Baldein to raise a brow. "Why the long face my friend? It looks like my joke may have been perceived wrongly."
Baldwin blinked. "Excuse me?"
Eliron chuckled. "All I meant is that you must have balls of steel, walking into a forest like this. I hear the undead are prowling these parts..."
Baldwin felt the pressure in his chest drop.
’Does that mean he does not know?’ He thought. Was it possible that Eliron had just spoken casually?
If that was the case, then he could carry out his original plan and get him to his side.
But there was a chance this was all a game, and Eliron knew of his relationship with the undead.
Maybe he was already having suspicions, and the question had been a test. Baldwin bit the insides of his cheek.
If that was the case then it was likely his reaction had all but confirmed his suspicion, and in that case, the moment they returned, he would take permission to take action!
Baldwin’s thoughts raged in his mind, the possibilities swirling in his head like a thick mist.
What should he do? Work on the assumption that it was a mere joke? Or act as though the elven lord was truly on to him...
Baldwin’s gaze darkened as he sat straighter. There were no two ways about it, the chances that the elven lord knew was too great to ignore.
It was better to pull out a thorn before it swole, treat an infection before it festered.
There was only one way to solve his current predicament. Eliron had to die.
"Why should I be afraid of a few measly undead when I have you by my side?" He laughed, doing his best to calm his racing heart.
He was playing with fire. When handling fire, one must fully be prepared to be burned.
"A sound decision Lord Baldwin. Now back to our earlier decision..."
Baldwin could not hope to kill Eliron himself, and neither could any undead, save for the generals.
But that was in normal situations, if he was able to tip the scales in their favour, have them set up and ambush...
Then they might just be lucky enough to deal him a mortal blow. And even if they didn’t, Baldwin could always act as though he knew nothing about the ambush.
He smiled internally. ’Perfect, absolutely perfect..."
Baldein stuffed his hand into his pocket and discreetly pulled out a small orb. He crushed it, allowing the powder to drift into the air.
It was nearly impercivable to regular people, but with the right tools, the tools the undead possessed, they would get the message.
He steered his horse deeper into the forest, their lively chatter warming the atmosphere around them as they trodden through the snow-ladden lands.
<••>
After walking for a few minutes, they were finally approaching their rendezvous point. Baldwin was on edge, his hands idly laying by the side of his sword.
It did not help that Eliron had become a lot more quiet, perhaps tired of their conversation. Now he just enjoyed the stroll, a small smile curving the edges of his lips as the wind played with his long hair.
’Anytime now...’
The meeting point was just a few paces away, through a thicket of bushes, the place that would be the elven lord’s grave.
He purposely slowed down a step, allowing the elven lord to ride through first.
Then his face twisted into a wicked smirk. "Bingo!"
Baldwin waited, expecting to hear the sound of swords being drawn, of steel slicing through flesh, of the elven lord being disemboweled. But there was nothing, nothing but an eerie silence.
Maybe that should have been his cue to leave, to turn his horse around and ride till the beast’s heart failed.
But instead, Baldwin marched forward.
The moment his face passed through the bushes, and he saw a glimpse of the horror that lay in front of him, fear grabbed Baldwin’s heart like a vice, freezing him in place.
Bodies of the undead piled up to the sky, black blood flowing down the corpses like a waterfall.
And standing in the mess, his greatsword dripping blood was the Dullahan, the messenger of the second apostle.
He stood still like a sentinel, black steel armour gleaming like obsidian, his crimson eyes shining through his helm like embers.
He was atop a black steed born from shadows, and held his own head as though it were a trophy.
He had killed them.
Why?
What was going on?
What is this?
Baldwin’s cunning mind could not think up an answer, no matter how much he agonised over it.
"So? What do you think, Lord Baldwin? Pretty isn’t it?"
Slowly, as though he would die if he moved too fast, Baldwin twisted his head to the side, his eyes wide as it met those sinister azure orbs.
There was a small smirk on his face, a look of satisfaction that he tried so hard to keep buried.
He knew.
He immediately dug his foot into his horse’s side, but the horse would not take a single step. The horse was trembling, its head bowed low to the ground.
"LORD TRAJAN! KILL HIM, HE IS THE ONE YOUR MASTER DESPISES!!" He screamed at the top of his voice, trying to save himself.
The Dullahan turned his eye to meet his, and then his horse moved, racing towards Eliron, sword gleaming viciously by his side.
Baldwin felt a faint glimmer of hope in his heart, maybe he would survive this? But that hope burned away the moment Lord Trajan bowed before Eliron.
"My lord, your humble servant has done his duty. I hope it is to your liking..."
Eliron nodded casually, as though a Dullahan was not bowing before him. "You were a little too messy. But although it is a copy, I have to say, undead look better stacked up like this." freewēbnoveℓ.com
He flicked his finger at the tower and it was suddenly consumed by a gust of black fire, the unholy flames eating at flesh and bones.
"Now as for you..."
Clang!
The moment Eliron turned towards Baldwin, he launched his sword, coated with mana right at his neck.
The sword struck through, making contact right underneath his jaw, but the blade shattered on impact, as though it had met a steel wall.
Not that Baldwin waited to see the result. He had long jumped off his horse and took off into his forest, using everything in his being to run.
He had to make it to his army, with the ten thousand men under his command, he would be able to negotiate.
"I-I can’t die like this!" He growled, spittle spilling out of his mouth as ran.
His heart thundered like war drums, and each branch that brushed past him felt like a knife on his hot skin.
He was frantic, terrified by what would happen if he didn’t make it out.
His wife, his daughters... what would happen to them if he died here? They were already being looked down upon because of his wife’s common upbringing.
If he were to die, they would do to them what he did to his siblings. His eyes burned with tears. For the sake of his wife, for the sake of his children, he must survive! ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
A light glimmered in his moist eyes. He was at the edge of the forest, closer to his soldiers than he had ever been.
He reached for the light, his eyes widening with joy, when suddenly—
Plop!
Baldwin fell into a barrel row, his face meeting the ground before he was carried forward by the momentum.
He blinked, rubbing away the dirt from his eyes, his senses foggy.
"W-what the hell happened?" He thought, his vision blurry as he stared at the spot where he had tripped.
There was something there—
’What is that?’
He finally managed to blink away the murk, and his eyes widened as he saw what stood some feet away from him.
’Legs?’
Then his eyes widened as he stared at his legs, or rather, where his legs should have been, just before a guttural scream tore through his throat...
But he was not even allowed the liberty to scream for long, because before the words could fully come out, a set of cold fingers wrapped around his mouth.
There was a groan of steel, and wisps shadows brushed against his body.
Baldwin was lifted off the ground by his head, his blood splashing down on the floor in a wave of red.
His eyes met the crimson orbs of the Dullahan, just before it pulled him along with it, taking him back to that place...
The place where the Elven lord lay.... The place where death awaited him.
