A well-fed army was a happy army, and this was especially true for these Imperial Troops who had never gone without a meal in years.King Reginald had never marched his soldiers out of Magaravia, even for scouting missions. Most of the rebellions were suppressed by Count Gressil and his Elite Knights, while the Gunners from Dragon Claw were tasked with handling the rogue sorcerers and monsters.Marquis Desmond knew that these greenhorns had probably never endured the harsh conditions of war, and the psychological stress of watching their brothers die in battle was already starting to get inside their heads and manifest in the form of jitters and night terrors.To ease their problems, Marquis Desmond ordered all foot soldiers to move into the nearest lodgings and rest for the night. The warm food was just what they needed to get them going, and Count Gressil threw in some of his old wine from the castle’s special cellar.Only the Imperial Cavaliers and a handful of Imperial Paladins wer

Riding out into the night was never a good idea when dealing with the undead, but the arrival of the Plague Bearer forced their hand.Ezra and Aurelia ditched the armored stallions, choosing fresh mares instead to cover the ground quickly and move without stirring up a storm.It had been many months since Ezra had ridden with a partner, and with Aurelia by his side, he felt confident of tackling any danger that lay ahead.“It’s good to ride with you again after so long. Just like old times,” Ezra said as he spurred his horse while keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of decay.Aurelia chuckled back at him. “You know this reminds me of your first mission for Dragon Claw. That night, we were hunting a Night Walker, and this time it’s a Plague Bearer.”“Not much has changed I suppose. The same old undead as always,” Ezra huffed, his voice rife with irritation.Aurelia, however, saw the funny side. “I would not say nothing has changed. You have climbed the ranks quite quickly. Now, you ar

A Gunner without magic was nothing more than an ordinary gunslinger. Despite having access to some of the most powerful enchanted firearms, Ezra had no way to fire enchanted bullets without using magic power.The Plague Bearer towered over Ezra, its branch-like arms hanging loosely by its side as a slimy green liquid dripped incessantly from its mouth. Ezra knew he could not rely on his damned shotgun any longer since he was all out of magic power, so he quickly switched to his father’s enchanted musket.Equipping the Gremlin Silver-barreled Musket, Ezra fired a steel pellet at the Plague Bearer. The round pierced its chest, puncturing one of its many swollen blisters.A stream of putrid yellow bile oozed from the Plague Bearer’s bullet wound as it grumbled like an ancient troll. But the shot had barely scratched the surface.Raising its enormous arms, the Plague Bearer let out a hollow growl. As its guttural cry echoed through the forest, it attracted all the wrong kind of attention.

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief as the Plague Bearer’s curse was lifted, allowing him to access his skills again. His magic power quickly surged and reached its threshold as his body absorbed the magic energy from the fallen enemy.Although the grueling encounter had finally ended, Aurelia was still missing.Ezra put his musket away and equipped his damned shotgun in one hand, and pulled out a Dark Sight potion with the other.The overhanging canopy of sickly green leaves blocked all moonlight, turning the heart of the forest into a pit of darkness. Despite the potion empowering his sight, Ezra could only hazily make out the shapes standing in the distance.“Aurelia, can you hear me?” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Where are you, sister?”But instead of any replies, only his own voice echoed back.Ezra trudged through the darkness, blasting his way through the tangled mass of Rot Vines and withered branches blocking his path. Even though the Plague Bearer was dead, the forest was

Despite losing many men to Lorelai's blood magic, Marquis Desmond had entered Ignar with a sizeable force. However, the sudden appearance of the Plague Bearer had dealt a crippling blow to their forces.Those who had come into direct contact with the infected scouts or their belongings had contracted the Rotting Plague and died within minutes of each. Meanwhile, the troops who drank the contaminated water were suffering from necrotic rot and black fever.Marquis Desmond had a dismal look on his face. He knew that with their current forces, they barely had enough strength to attack a small village, let alone lay siege to a modern city like Stonewell.“I am sorry, but our forces are stretched too thin. We entered Ignar with three thousand soldiers, but now only a thousand are in marching condition. The rest are either dead or sick with black fever. There is no way they can fight,” Marquis Desmond informed Ezra and Aurelia. “Did you consult the healers and priests?” Aurelia asked.“I did