While Prince Enric, Silverie and Marcus enjoyed the company of new friends, Prince Zarius plundered villages around Grimfell, hoping that the defence would make a counter-attack, but nothing happened.
Zarius himself joined another attack on the temple. A part of the artefact from the Forbidden Territory is in his sword, the whole is in the Fortress Fear. Therefore his sword cannot be broken and is much stronger than the average sword of the Dark Ones. The monks could not resist his attack, the Dark Ones attacked them continuously, supported by fire from their bows. The monks were slaughtered. But the artefact was no longer in place. Then they returned to the Fortress of Fear.
One of the traitors told the Prince about a castle whose captain knows the secret road to Grimfell, and he immediately went there with his army and besieged the castle. Although the castle was twice as large as the original Glowpeak, the garrison fell after two hours of being overthrown by the armies of the Dark Ones.
Prince Zarius fought his way to the top floor of the castle, a small park overlooking the village, where the castle commander and his soldiers took up their last stand. A girl with a dark blue hood, two swords and a bow on her back fought alongside Zarius.
They reached the park, two knights lunged at Zarius, and the girl killed them both in the blink of an eye.
"What are you?" the captain stared at the girl.
"Hahaha, she's an elf, you idiot," Zarius laughed.
"No, this isn't an elf..." one of the soldiers refused as he looked into her red-glowing eyes.
"Dark Elf, you wretches, their hatred of your Empire made them murder machines, and of course our little help..." Zarius laughed, and a man appeared beside him.
"He! He knows where the road to Grimfell is!" he told Zarius and pointed at the captain.
"You nasty rat! Yes, I know it! I'm the commander of this castle. Let the others go," The captain exclaimed.
"Tell me first... Where is your Emperor?" Zarius asked.
The soldiers took a blank look at each other.
"Emperor Gregorian is more than five years dead," one of the soldiers replied.
"What?! You lied to me, you worm!" Zarius grabbed the traitor by his neck.
"Ahh... my... lord I didn't lie..."
"You told me Gregorian would be at Glowpeak!"
"No... e... I didn't say G... Gregorian, you wanted the ruler of the Empire..."
Zarius released him. "And who is the ruler of the Empire?"
The traitor breathed. "Emeric, but Enric he calls himself, my lord, he must have been on Glowpeak, you had to... miss him..."
"So the boy didn't pull me, and I let him go..."
"Sir, the boy can't threaten you," a treacherous man crawled in front of Zarius.
"If Gregorius the Great's blood circulates in him, be sure he can... but back to you commander, will you tell us right away or after torture?"
"Never," the captain replied.
"Hmm... Kill them," Zarius nodded, and the girl killed the captain's guard.
"If you say that now, you won't lose honour, no one will hear you," Zarius said.
"I'd rather die," the captain replied.
"Of course you will die, but you are the one who will tell who dies next. Look at that village, so many innocents, no defence. How long it took us to conquer the castle, how long it would take us to slaughter those down there,” a girl walked around him.
The captain glanced at the village, and the girl noticed his gloom for the second.
"Oh... you have a family in that village, don't you?"
"That little bitch paid off well right?" the captain laughed, after which the girl punched him.
"Hmm... what do you say, captain? If you tell us, we'll let the villagers leave," Zarius said.
"Why should I believe to monsters like yourself?"
"You have no choice," Zarius told him.
ns 15.158.61.37da2
