The Prince in Question Is Not Stable

Chapter 58: The Hoard.

[Crescenda, capital of the Amavelle Dukedom]

One of the most beautiful cities to exist in the Kingdom of Lunar, Crescenda is the home to some of the finest Luthiers and Flowerists the world has ever seen and witnessed. An estate known for its music, scent, beauty, not just of the estate but its people and women too.

The Dukedom of Amavelle has been ruled by Valentes for generations. A duke’s household that has been one of the coldest strategists for the late king of the Lunar.

Valentes are mind-mages. They never excelled in barbarian battles, but no one can hope to match them in terms of strategies and manipulation.

But two days have passed since this beautiful estate was turned into utter chaos.

"What’s the status?" Jose asked the Knight commander stationed in the centre of the capital, Crescenda.

The knight wore a dusk suit with opulence of gold that displayed the prestige of lavender silks. A velvet petal was drawn on the heart of his inner armour, signifying that he served the house of Valante.

His gaze remained on the sloping street ahead, where a line of knights held formation at a narrow avenue; only after issuing a brief hand signal did he respond.

"Outer districts have been cleared," he said. "Civilians are being redirected toward the eastern conservatories and lower vaults. Evacuation is at ...sixty percent."

A stretcher passed behind him, carried by two cadets wearing the white uniform of warriors. A healer intercepted them midway, already issuing instructions before the body even lowered. There was no magic for healing in this world, except for the divinity of saintesses. So the healers here were scholars, not magicians.

Jose’s eyes shifted once, then returned to the field. "And the breach?"

"Contained to three streets," the commander replied. "We’ve created a primary perimeter and two fallback lines. Third years from your academy are holding very well. Because of them, the inner arc is keeping up with the knight support."

A flare of pale blue light erupted at the far end of the avenue, a wall of ice surged upward, sealing off a side street just as something collided against it from within.

The impact reverberated through the stone, but the structure held it pretty well.

"Good placement," Jose murmured.

"Second rotation just went in," the commander added. "First line was starting to fatigue."

Down below, the formation shifted as a row of shield-bearing knights stepped back in unison; a fresh line of mages and knights took their place.

"Left flank, tighten spacing, intervals maintained... the usual protocol for containment."

Jose exhaled, and his attention moved across the layers of the field.

Beyond the immediate avenue, the estate stretched outward in fractured segments, smoke rose jaggedly, and the bells tolled in steady intervals, marking evacuation routes.

On a parallel street, a group of civilians was being guided forward by two mind-mages and knights. All of the civilians were calm, even though chaos surrounded them. Chaos they might have never witnessed.

"Keep moving, do not look back. Just stay together, and you’ll be safe," the mages spoke. Mind mages were actively keeping a spell to negate any panic civilians might cause in fear.

The crowd followed, as their fear had been softened.

One woman stumbled on the pebble, but she simply paused, blinked, and continued walking as her house and city were barely holding up against the horde of demons.

"Quite efficient," Jose said.

"It has to be," the commander replied. "We cannot let panic spread, because if it does, we lose more than the streets."

Another impact echoed from within the inner perimeter; this one was heavier. The ground trembled faintly.

"Inner zone?" Jose asked.

"Still holding, we’ve requested reinforcements from neighbouring dukedoms. D’Arterris have agreed to provide the support; their blood-mages are on the way. Valante’s are hiring more and more mercenaries by the second, and utilising the majority of their resources in containment, but the more effort we’re putting in, the more retaliation we’re facing from the open rift," The knight replied.

"I’m telling you, Ser Jose, this one’s different. We’ve sent a flyer to Fulcrum, but clearance six mages are not allowed to move unless the threat is a calamity itself; besides, she’s always hated the mind-mages for some reason."

Jose nodded in agreement.

"Can we reach out for Professor Marcus? Would they help?" The knight asked.

"We’ve sent a request in the matter, but I’m not sure...from what I’ve observed of him, he should’ve been here by now the moment cadets were involved, but it appears that he’s out of our reach for the moment," Jose replied.

"Well that just puts us in a tough spot! There are rumours that he might almost be a transcendent Knight, and he’s the only one who has the powers that can take the place of the clearance six without official authorisation channels."

The knight commander’s jaw tightened as another heavy impact slammed against the ice wall further down the avenue. Cracks spiderwebbed across the pale blue surface, but it still held its ground.

"They’re putting on a tough defence, gotta hand it to the kids. If my child is born an awakener, I’m sending them to Lunar Academy for sure," he scoffed.

"We’ve already lost two veteran squads, so we have to be careful and protect the children to the best of our abilities. It’s like a cobweb of support, pretty efficient."

A fresh wave of screams erupted from a side street that had just been sealed.

"There are still survivors in these marketplaces; the team is holding well with perimeters, but it won’t suffice if you have to tackle the horde that crossed the inner layer before support was even deployed," Jose said.

"I’ll help them, you take care of the children, they’re with Professor Roxana, so you just need a mild surveillance, meanwhile I’ll take a move to the depths along with a team of top-ranked cadets, assign me some of your knights." He said.

"Build strike teams that eliminate the trespassers... don’t just focus on the perimeter strategy, that would not hold off long," he added.

The commander nodded sharply and began signalling the runners.

But before Jose could move, a new sound cut through the chaos.

From the shattered ice wall, the first true horror of the horde emerged.

These creatures that took the front were not large in the way beasts were large. But they did tower for intimidation. Their torsos were broad and dense, but their limbs were too short and thick.

Skin made of black scales, a head that barely popped out. They were underdeveloped, big, fat humonoids that looked as if they were meant to tank, and devour.

"What in the sumo fucking – what kind of creatures are they?" Jose asked.

"Beats me, I’ve never encountered the likes of them. They’re probably B-ranked. But tough builds, those are not even the worst ones," The knight commander replied.

"The ones that carry the dead are the worst kind; these guys have a formation..." He continued.

"The tanks tear the shields, and within the seconds that cadets rebuild another, a quick horde crosses over without making contact with the strike and defence division. They look like cunning foxes, but humanoid...lean, hunched, with elongated snouts and far too few joints for a spring-like mechanism. They hunt the civilians and drag the bodies back into the rift."

"To create a diversion for the fox demons, there are the Blade limb demons. These fuckers look like children of a sommelier, but instead of a crown, they have a head with eyes in all directions, and instead of needles, they have blade limbs made of their deep red scales. They dip their limbs inside the hole of their stomach to drench them in the poison their stomach carries."

As if to prove his words, a group of fox-like demons burst through a gap. They moved with horrifying speed, low to the ground, snatching a screaming civilian who had lost touch with the mind mage.

Behind them, the blade-limb demons scuttled forward, their multi-eyed heads swivelling constantly. One raised a dripping red blade-limb and slashed at a shield-bearer.

"..." Jose was left speechless. These creatures weren’t mindless.

"Now you know why I am insisting on a perimeter strategy." The knight commander said.

"They’re not just attacking...they’re farming. The tanks break the line, the foxes harvest the bodies, and the blade-limbs sow chaos and poison to keep us pinned."

He put his hand on Jose’s shoulder.

"With the strike team, focus on the inner layer, and not the outer one. Because they’re just foils that can be taken care of, but if the inner layer takes damage, the outer layers suffer ten times more."

"Understood," Jose nodded.

"Give me eight knights, not the strongest, but the most consistent ones,"

The commander nodded once.

"And cadets?" he asked.

"I can’t risk taking the second-years within the inner layer," Jose replied.

The commander didn’t say anything further.

Within moments, a small unit began assembling behind Jose. Eight knights in the dusk and gold-crested armour of Valente.

"I’ve heard the legends of Ser Jose. And I trust your judgement too. That is why I’m assigning you, my men. Men that I care about. Make sure you place your trust in them as they place theirs in you," The commander said and looked at his knights.

"If you fall out of formation, you’ll make your own survival difficult. If you hesitate, the person next to you might face the consequences. So don’t improve unless Ser Jose tells you to. He’s a fine warrior who’s been in many historical battles," the commander said.

"May the Goddess bless us!"