ALL NOVEL Chapter 15: Reinforcement
8 Days Later,
William and Sir Dolven were on the eastern wall gate, staring at the far distance with a dark cloud slowly covering the sky. With William's helmet, he could see a glimpse of Fort Stormfist in the distance until clouds block the scene. While Fort Stormfist is covered by the dark cloud, the City of Deron is clear with sunny days as if two places in the same region have completely different weather patterns.
"It seems vampires are gathering their forces in the fort. The gathering of dark clouds seems supernatural and will slow down our army's mobility. " William said to Sir Dolven, but the old commander remained silent as if he was expecting an upcoming dire future soon. Before William can speak, a single long horn can be heard from the western side of the wall, which indicates a friendly approach to the city.
"Seems, our reinforcement is finally here. Took them long enough, should have been here two days ago." Sir Dolven finally said to William with a small smile as he started to take the stairs to greet the incoming army. William, seeing this, follows the commander after checking his bolter pistol.
"Sir Bullen, welcome to Deron. We were expecting you and your troops a few days ago." Prince Benton welcomes the Lord and his minor nobles first as Sir Dolven and William arrive at the western gate. Sir Bullen is a large fat man with a small goatee mustache, dressed in expensive-looking armor. Minor nobles are also wearing somewhat expensive looking armor and cloaks but their troops were in rough shape as basic troops had nothing but outdated armor and weapons on them.
"Thank you, Crown Prince Benton. I was delayed due to fighting the undead army's remnants, they might probably from your victory against the vampire lord's army." Sir Bullen gave a large smile and explained why he was late. Before Prince Benton could speak Sir Dolven stepped forward to interrupt the conversation.
"Well, it seems your men fought well, to survive the remnants of the vampire army it requires courage and bravery. Prince Benton, I believe Sir Bullen and his men should rest and continue our talk tonight after dinner." With that, Sir Dolven's men guide the reinforcement to their quarters and barracks. Meanwhile, Sir Dolven, William and Prince Benton went to a secured meeting room to discuss a few things.
"Sir Dolven, why are we here? We should be preparing for the evening briefing on the second part of the mission." Prince asked the old commander with a question as William stood in the door to prevent anyone coming in.
"Your highness, we believe there is a traitor among the Counsel of Nobles. I believe vampire lords were well prepared and set up an ambush for us. There is no way they would know of this unless someone from our side informed them." Sir Dolven explained to the prince about his concern and the reason why.
"Sir Dolven, that is a serious accusation. A member of Counsel siding with the vampire is a crime against the crown and will end in the execution of the entire family line. But if you are wrong, it could turn against you the same way." Prince said as he looked at Sir Dolven and then to William.
"Don't look at me, I don't have any family line," William said to the prince. Hearing that, Sir Dolven gave a small smile as he learned something new about the black knight.
"Your highness, Sir Bullen, mentioned the remnant of the vampire army delaying their match. This is impossible since William destroyed all three armies and slain the three vampire lords. As you know if a vampire lord dies, his or her army also dies with it, this means either Sir Bullen was lucky to survive a fourth undead army or he is lying about his late arrival." The reasoning makes sense to the prince as he heard and knew of the destruction of three armies and an epic duel between William and a vampire monster.
"Ok, fine, but how will we confirm this before we arrest Sir Bullen and his men for treason against humanity?" Prince said with concern as he will be the judge to say the final say on the sentence.
"Let me handle that," William said to the prince and Sir Dolven as he opened the door and left the room.
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In the Banquet Hall of the City Castle,
The banquet hall is full of veteran soldiers from both Sir Dolven and Sir Bullen as Sir Bullen's men took most of the hall as guests of honor. The foods were supplied and made by the cooks from Prince Benton's army as the prince brought more than troops with him.
"So, how did you manage to survive the ambush?" William asks Sir Bullen at the table as everyone turns their head, focusing on Sir Bellen.
"Well, you see. We were only a day away from the city when we got ambushed by the large groups of undead. With diligence and a calm mind, I gave quick orders to my men and vanquished the enemies. Of course, we dispose of their remains to prevent them from rising again, this is why I was delayed." Sir Bullen said with a proud tone as his men cheered with mugs in their hand.
"So, how did you slay the vampire commander?" Sir Dolven asks with interest since the undead army means there is a vampire lord around during the battle.
"Well, he was injured, so it was easy for us to kill it without heavy casualties. I heard of your deed from others, how you slay the vampire beast and destroy their armies. It seems you missed one." Sir Bullen said to William with a mocking tone. Hearing this, many of Sir Dolven's men show resistance as they fully know what William did for their survival during the last battle.
"You are right, Sir Bullen. I slay the vampire beast and its army, I also can confirm that two other vampire lords are dead as well." There was a silence in the hall when William spoke. Sir Bullen breaks the silence as he slams the table.
"Are you calling me a liar? You are nothing but an adventurer and peasant who earned the spot on this table because you killed some beast. You should shut your mouth when you are in the presence of his highness and us, nobles." The shout from Sir Bullen echoed through the hall and the rest as soldiers from both sides looked at the main table.
"You are a liar, Sir bullshit. I know for a fact that there was no ambush or undead army as I'm the one who killed all three lords. Also, there is this." William pulls out a black pouch and puts it on the table, inside there is a letter with insignia and stamp of a noble house in it.
"This is the pouch of the vampire lord who transformed into a beast. Lucky for me, his possessions were ripped from his clothes as he turned into Vargheists, a giant bat beast. This letter tells critical information about the Crown Prince's troop movement schedule and numbers. Also, for information exchange, the person who sent this will be rewarded with the city and its resources. So, tell me, Sir BS. Why does this letter have your house insignia?" William slams the letter on to the table, this revaluation causes the banquet hall to divide in half as soldiers draw their weapons at each other.
"That's impossible, there is no way that letter is genuine, it is fake!" Sir Bullen protests as he and his men stand up with their weapons drawn.
"No, this is real as it can get. I also intercepted a second letter from the undead messenger bird that was headed to Fort Stormfist yesterday. It contains information about your arrival with your name on it. You should have been anonymous with you penpalling with vampires." William gave an evil smile, which his side is full of soldiers with their weapons pointed towards at Sir Bullen.
"No, there is no way you could have seen the messenger bird in the middle of a night. You are bluffing." Sir Bullen showed a panicking face when William informed him about the second letter but returned to normal when he realized that it would be impossible to intercept the messenger bird in the night sky.
"I didn't say I found the bird in the middle of the night. Now, how would you know that?" William said to a now sweating noble.
"You… you dare to accuse me of betraying Crown? No matter, you all are surrounded by my men the moment this banquet started. Surrender your weapons and I will spare you from turning into undead after your execution." Sir Bullen said with anger in his voice and weapon pointed it at William, Sir Dolven and Prince Benton but they seemed relaxed instead of scared for their life.
"Sir Bullen, at this very moment, your men are all captured by my knights. Only you and your men here are what's remaining as we speak." Sir Dolven said as he showed his disappointment to the fallen noble.
"No… no, no, no. All of you suppose to die in the battle, but when I heard of victory, I had to act quickly. Now, I just have to kill you all since my men outnumber yours."
"No, you are at disadvantage." William pulled out his bolter pistol and fired four rounds, killing four men from Sir Bullen's side. At the same time, a large group of riflemen appeared from the upper deck and pointed their weapons at the traitor's men.
"This is your Red Dinner, Sir Bullshit."