The Crown's Fire - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: His Slaves
The army personally led by the crown prince rode their horses to the northeastern part of Ebodia’s borders, planning to intercept another attack.

There were already Ebodian soldiers stationed at their destination. On top of the request for reinforcements they got, they also received reports about Devon’s appearance, which was the reason why they were headed there in the first place with Ezekiel as the lead.

At the moment, Tarah was riding her own horse, keeping her distance close to the prince. As much as possible, she wanted to stay close to him, ready to make a move just in case Vulcan once again tried to take over Ezekiel’s body. Although she couldn’t figure out the spell she chanted earlier, the moment she managed to recall the words, she wrote them down in her journal to make sure that she wouldn’t forget them.

The weather was starting to get cold as winter neared, but Tarah could feel the cloud of fire hovering over Ezekiel’s body. He was burning to kill Devon, but she knew that such a thing wouldn’t happen this soon… She wasn’t even sure if such a thing would happen since none of her visions or dreams had shown Devon’s demise yet.

After a smooth, continuous ride, they finally reached their destination. They were now in a safe area, away from the ongoing battle between Ebodia and Helion.

“Your Highness,” a man on his horse approached and greeted Ezekiel.

“Report…”

“King Devon escaped through a black portal,” the man replied. “His warlock, Sibil, took his place on the battlefield.”

Standing from the side, Tarah watched as Ezekiel cursed. She stared in the opposite direction and took out her looking glass, surveying the battlefield with it.

Sibil looked in her direction and waved at her, letting her know that the warlock knew that she was watching him. In an instant, she gritted her teeth.

She quickly pulled her gaze to another direction and soon stopped what she was doing.

‘That bastard!’ Tarah cursed the moment she saw Devon once again use his so-called slaves as his shield. Aware of her raging nerves, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.

This wasn’t her first time on the battlefield, for Devon had always brought her with him on his conquests. But no matter how familiar she was with such a setting, she still wasn’t used to the gruesomeness of war.

After their kingdom had been conquered, their status was reduced to slaves, leaving them no choice but to follow Devon. The Demon King’s mark of slavery was all bore into them… so it was either they followed him or they perished.

“They… are innocent people,” she couldn’t help but voice out her frustrations. Most of them were wounded, and some of them were already dead.

“They are Helion’s soldiers, Milady,” Cora commented beside her.

“Soldiers forced to side with Devon. He marked all of them as his slaves, and they have no choice but to follow his orders,” Tarah informed her. “They’re all practically under his spell… all of them have a glowing red serpent on their body, and are fighting in this battle against their free will.”

“How do you know that?” the man who gave his report to Ezekiel a while ago asked.

Tarah looked him straight in the eye and firmly stated, “I am a Seer, and I can see things beyond anyone else.”

Cora clicked her tongue at the man and said, “Please excuse this fool, Milady. By the way, he is Elijah-”

“The head of the prince’s Dragon Royal Knights and left-hand man…” Tarah interrupted.

“Wow, she’s truly our new Seer, huh,” Elijah chuckled. “I guess there’s no need for formal introductions then. Anyway, it’s nice to be introduced to you, Milady.”

He curtly nodded at her, and so she reciprocated as courteously, ignoring the fact that she had just lied to them. She knew about the mark, Devon’s tactics, and his plans because she used to stay by the Demon King’s side all the time.

“But we have no choice but to fight them. Otherwise, our men will be the ones at a disadvantage,” Ezekiel grimly remarked. “If only there’s another way to free them from their marks…”

Tarah pressed her lips together. Ezekiel was right. The only way for everyone to be freed from Devon’s mark was for Devon to die…

“Devon… He will not show himself to fight you…” Tarah sighed.

“I know. But he won’t be able to hide himself in safety forever,” Ezekiel grunted. “One way or another, I will find him and take his life.”

Tarah turned to face him, and she saw how red his face was as he looked at the ongoing battle before them.

“Lurio, Elijah, and Cora, the three of you will stay here with Tarah,” Ezekiel commanded before he moved and led his men down to the battlefield.

Reining in his horse, a few men followed after him, and Tarah gritted her teeth as her eyes moved toward Sibil’s direction.

‘Your doom may not be today, but you will have a taste of pain from the man to whom you will soon meet your demise,’ Tarah satisfyingly mused.

With mood boosted after that thought, she got off her horse, with Cora and Elijah doing the same.

She then passed by wizard Lurio and stopped in front of him. “I know he instructed you to look after me, Milord, but Cora and Elijah will be enough. Prince Ezekiel will need you now on the battlefield,” she informed him. “For now, let me tell you everything about Sibil’s spells and techniques…”

From there, she wasted no time relaying a few important details to wizard Lurio. From the sidelines, she could hear Cedric whispering to Cora.

“Is that even possible? I haven’t heard of Seer Beirut seeing detailed versions of spells and magic techniques in his visions or dreams.”

For three years, Tarah didn’t just stay still being Devon’s toy. She made sure that she had a precise plan for everything. Realizing the point she had reached now, she couldn’t help but thank her little brother for fueling her determination to free both of them from the hell they were in, under Devon.

Armed with new information, Lurio quickly moved and drove his horse onto the battlefield. Having done her part, Tarah sat down on a big rock and pulled out her journal from her magical purse. She then looked in Ezekiel’s direction with a solemn look before starting to write in her journal.