Chapter 255: [255] The Stench Of Death (3)

Chaos had made its bed in the center of Donia’s port.

Eliron saw it from the moment he arrived, staring at the horrific scene with wide eyes. Hundreds of people ran helter-skelter as they were chased down by maddened men. Some were tacked, ripped apart before they ever reached the ground.

The lucky ones were disfigured to the point that there was little, if anything left of their corpses. But the unlucky ones rose up seconds later, mending into the crowd of madmen.

A cacophony of screams rang into the air, accentuating into the sky alongside the thick black smoke.

Even from up in the sky, Eliron could see the nasty blood stains far below, he had never loathed the sharpness of his elven ears up until this point...

He heard everything in far too much detail, the gurgling blood, the screams of men, women and children alike.

"Eliron..." Yennefer whimpered, her face buried in his back, her fingers digging into his shirt. Even Jade had gone quiet, staring down at the scene with a look he could not place.

A darkness flashed in Eliron’s eyes, but he didn’t allow himself to remain phased for too long.

They had to contain the port, no one could leave, even if they had to burn it and everyone there down to ash. If not... the city would fall long before the war even began.

’That cunning bastard!’ Eliron’s fingers tightened around the marble scales on Jade’s back.

Cavil had been nothing but one huge distraction, Sataen took their time, entertaining them while his curse spread like a plague.

The problem was not that Cavil had entered the palace, no, he had them checkmated from the moment Cavil arrived at the capital.

The King had tried so much to keep the war against the undead a secret, just so he could preserve public sanity. But now, the fragile peace they enjoyed in Donia had shattered like glass.

Today’s losses would not end at the port...

Eliron spotted a group of knights trying to push back any undead that raced towards the exit, their white shields raised up, their swords drawn.

They were getting overwhelmed, in a few seconds, they would be compromised. But it seemed that they were managing to hold them back for now.

Eliron did not have to utter a word, Jade knew his will as she nose dived down like a comet, her wings tucked to her sides.

The knights that were on the floor raised their faces as a shadow washed over them, and once they saw the sight of the colossal beast, their faces blanched white.

Vwooosh!

The force of her landing sent the knights flying back, dozens of undead crushed beneath her scaly feet.

"Create a barrier!" Eliron barked as he stared at the approaching undead.

Jade took a large breath, and then she unleashed a rush of flames, one so hot that Eliron felt sweat creeping from underneath his skin.

The fire bubbled on the floor, and then as though they had a mind of their own, they raced across the borders of the port, until the entire place was enclosed in a tall, impenetrable wall of fire.

Luckily for them, the port was already somewhat isolated since it was built on an outcropping of land, surrounded by water at almost all sides.

Eliorn slid down Jade’s back, the fire burning behind him as he stared at the man that must have been the knight captain.

The knight captain’s terrified gaze moved from horrifying dragon to Eliron, darting from his pointed ears that drooped down, to his azure blue eyes that glowed so fiercely, that they could have as well the flames that burned so vividly behind him.

Eliron’s voice came out cold, his rage barely contained. "I am taking charge of this operation."

The man swallowed, not a word of complaint uttered. Sweat was dripping down his face, but he was not sure if it was due to the fire, or something else... 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Eliron glanced at Yennefer. "Once we go in, you will create a dome where you will heal any one that managed to survive the curse." He explained in haste.

"Jade will scour from the skies and bring them to you as well as any survivors."

For the first wave that started this, all they had to do was touch the crate Cavil was shipped in for the curse to slowly take hold. But that spell had fizzled away the moment Cavill died.

Now, the undead had to bite them to transfer the curse.

Although most regular humans would fall the moment they were bitten, the mages, the knights, or anyone that had a considerably strong mental resistance would be able to stay it. At least for sometime... up until they hopefully reached Yen.

He glanced at the knights. They were not bad, there were a few skilled people among them. But what could a few port knights do against a horde of a thousand?

Besides, they would never have the stomach to stomach what was to come, what needed to be done.

’Three of us should be enough...’

Eliron did not have to worry about anyone in his group getting cursed. As a dragon, Jade was immune to the spell’s effects, and Yennefer’s mana was basically toxic to the curse.

Since the curse affected the core of mages and Swordsmen, powerful people like him were also immune.

The purity of his mana would wipe out the curse before it could wrestle control of him.

Eliron walked up to the fire, and the moment it parted, a dozen heads snapped to him. He stared at their pitch black eyes, purple skin and a throat that could now only hiss and gurgle.

But none of them dared to step close to the fire. Fire was lethal to the undead, they knew it.

Eliron unsheathed his blade.

"Wait!" The guard captain screamed. Calling his attention, had probably been the bravest thing he had done all his life.

As a captain in the docs, they rarely saw any real combat, rarely met men like Eliron who had been thoroughly soaked in the bloody dance of battle.

Yet, his eyes hardened with resolve.

"What are you going to do?" His eye flickered towards Eliron’s black blade. Briefly, enough to make his question clear.

A darkness nestled in Eliron’s eyes as he parted his lips. "Only what must be done."

The captain’s hand tightened into fists, his words dying in his throat...

As Eliron stepped through the fire.

<•••>

Eliron barely had less than two seconds before the first wave of undead pounced at him. But even in that time, his eyes took in far too much detail.

The first undead was in a summer dress, and a sun hat that had somehow stayed on her head even after the ordeal.

Her stomach had been ripped open, bite marks scattered all around, dried blood splayed all over like a morbid artwork.

A shopper? Or a business owner that had come to check on her goods.

The second was a burly man with a thick beard and meaty arms. His uniform was still mostly intact, but his mind was long gone.

And the last one... Eliron felt his heart clench.

She was not even up to nine. A child with blonde hair, wearing a bubblegum pink dress.

The three of them leaped at him and Eliron swung without thinking, he could not allow himself to think, to give himself even a second to hope that just maybe, just maybe they could be saved.

They were long gone, he had to accept that.

Splash!

The blood coated his sword, spewing down the edges, still red, still human...

Eliron stared up at the dark clouds that had begun to form above. The thought it how many more undead’s he had to kill, people who had been human minutes ago—

It caused something bitter to rise up his throat.