Chapter Twelve: Garlic Poison

It shouldn't be much further now.

Kana calculated that they were less than half a day’s journey from the Earl’s territory. Suddenly, a ringing sound pierced his ears.

"Stop! Nobody move!"

Kana shouted at the top of his lungs. He had warned them yesterday that such a ringing sensation might indicate enemy scouts. Many of them halted immediately, though one could hardly expect such discipline from the refugees.

Nicum reacted the fastest, shouting, "Prepare for battle!" As he spoke, he drew the garlic-herb venom from his pouch and smeared it onto the spearhead in his hand.

Kana spotted the enemies rapidly approaching from the distance.

"A squad leader? That’s troublesome."

Leading the charge was a Blood-Kin Squad Leader, formed from the reanimated remains of an elite soldier. Its complexion was a sickly, pale blue, and its expression was vacant. It still wore its original armor, though now it was adorned with bits of bone and raw flesh. In its hand, it gripped a long spear festooned with a skull. Behind it followed two blood thralls in leather armor, several ghouls, and a giant bat.

Seeing this lineup, Kana let out a slight sigh of relief. There were no Blood-Kin soldiers, only the squad leader and two blood thralls. According to the game's leveling system, a squad leader was a Level 3 elite monster, while the two blood thralls were Level 2 common monsters. But this was reality, where a single level’s difference meant a crushing disparity in stats.

"Alirise, do you see the Blood-Kin dressed as a soldier? Leave him to you."

Among their group, only Alirise could go toe-to-toe with him. She nodded, gripped her sword, and charged forward.

Seeing the enemy force, many of the refugees panicked and began to scatter. Kana sensed clearly that the squad leader was heading straight for him.

"Pursuers?" Kana wondered. After all, every member of the Safro royal family had been captured and turned into Blood-Kin, save for the Earl.

"Your Highness, please return with us. His Majesty is looking for you," the squad leader said, clearly recognizing Kana.

"Then go back and tell him I’m out here having too much fun," Kana retorted.

"Then I have no choice. Kill them, but do not harm the Prince."

Alirise instantly intercepted him, while one blood thrall and a ghoul surged toward Kana. When the guards and mercenaries realized the enemies were targeting Kana, they prepared to flee, but the ghouls ignored them, charging toward the group regardless.

Kana drew his crossbow from his back and pulled the trigger on a ghoul. The bolt pierced straight through its skull. The venom on the tip caused the creature to feel a long-forgotten agony, and it began to roll wildly on the ground.

"It seems my aim hasn't dulled."

Kana felt the difference of his digitized body once more; as long as the physical stats were there, one could perform at the level those stats demanded. It was an indescribable sensation, but one immensely beneficial for combat—he was practically born for war.

He had taken the crossbow from Nicum, a piece of gear belonging to a fallen guard. Unfortunately, there were only a few bolts left, so Kana hadn't bothered using mana to convert it into a permanent piece of equipment. He tossed the crossbow aside, drew his longsword, and raised his shield to face the blood thrall. The shield was no longer a simple wooden plank, but a sturdy buckler scarred from battle—a vast improvement.

He slashed his own arm to feel the pain, which in turn brought him strength. "I hope I don't develop some strange attribute from this," he muttered, raising his shield to block an incoming attack.

A heavy blow struck the shield. Such immense strength! Even with his own stats boosted, he felt he couldn't quite match it. He lunged back with a sword strike, but the blood thrall dodged. As expected, these blood thralls couldn't be handled like mere ghouls.

He pulled back, sidestepped, and slammed the edge of his shield into the side of the enemy's weapon. As the weapon was knocked aside, Kana ducked his head.

"Ptoo!"

He spat a glob of green liquid directly onto the blood thrall’s face.

"Aaaah!" The creature shrieked in agony, as if doused in sulfuric acid. It lost all capacity to fight, clutching its face and doubling over.

Kana spat a few more times to clear his mouth. "That is truly a garlic stench. Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo."

Despite his complaints, his movements remained swift. He stepped forward, kicked the thrall in the abdomen, and sent it sprawling. He drove his sword into the enemy’s chest. Coated in garlic juice, the blade drew a more wretched wail from the creature. As it instinctively moved its hands from its face to its chest, Kana drove his sword through its skull.

Having defeated an enemy above his level, Kana turned to look at the others. Nicum and his men were no match for the other blood thrall; even three of them couldn't hold it back.

"Use the juice! Throw the juice on him!"

Hearing Kana’s reminder, one of the soldiers finally reacted, pulling the liquid from his waist and splashing it onto the thrall. The creature shrieked in pain. Seizing the opportunity, the men swarmed it, knocked it to the ground, and turned its head into a honeycomb.

On the other side, Alirise had the upper hand, though she hadn't yet finished off her opponent. She, too, had heard Kana. While the enemy was busy dodging her attacks, she hurled her entire bottle of liquid at him.

"Argh! What is this?!" The enemy felt the searing pain, retreated to a safe distance, and cried out in agony. Alirise didn't bother answering; she pressed her advantage. The pain had rendered the enemy’s movements clumsy, and within a few strikes, she had decapitated him.

Before they could catch their breath, the giant bat in the sky was pierced through the head by an arrow from afar. The remaining ghouls were similarly dispatched by incoming arrows.

Everyone turned to look. A troop of cavalry was galloping toward them, surrounding them with the thunder of hooves. Kana looked at the flag they carried—one both intimate and familiar. It depicted an arrow piercing a bat, a banner he had seen constantly when the game first launched.

It was the flag of Earl Vanshax.

"You are brave to protect the refugees and dispatch these monsters," the cavalry captain said, removing his helmet to praise them. Then, he spotted Kana and frowned. "Are you the Fourth Prince?"

At those words, the surrounding cavalry leveled their weapons at him.

"Wait, he doesn't seem to have been turned yet," the captain said quickly.

Kana raised his hands slightly to show he was no threat. "I'm not with those disgusting things. I escaped from the royal capital."

The captain didn't believe him immediately. After a moment of thought, he said, "Come with me. I will take you to the Earl’s territory; all the refugees who escaped are gathered there. Your Highness, the Earl will want to see you."

Kana nodded, offering no resistance. He exchanged a look with the wary Alirise, and the two of them followed the cavalry troop away.