The Demon King's First General
Chapter 50: Ice Princess

Chapter 50: Ice Princess

"What the hell is this thing?" Kreigster exclaimed while staring at the strange smoke surrounding the whole city.

He was observing it from an aerial point of view as soon as he arrived at the walls. Hundreds of people were also watching the phenomenon below.

The crown prince threw a small fireball to test what it really was. However, his attack vanished as it passed through the smoke. Then he tried another method; this time, he turned himself into flame and dived towards the area.

But all that he could see inside were gray particles.

’This smell, it’s tobacco!’ He thought while moving deeper into the smoke.

Then, after a couple of minutes, he made it past the smoke; however, he was surprised upon seeing that he was still outside the city. The only thing that changed was his location.

"How am I supposed to enter?" He asked himself, curious.

Then he decided to land and approach the people. Those who recognized him with a single glance kneeled on their knees to show respect.

"Stand up; it’s not the time for this! Tell me what happened while I was gone," he ordered.

Afterward, the people stood up, and a mercenary came in front of them and spoke.

"We were on our way to enter the city when a man puffing a cigar walked out of the gate. We didn’t pay any attention to him. But as time went on, the smoke coming from him started to envelop the walls," he recited.

The crown prince knitted his brows before questioning what happened to the man after that; however, he got no reply from them as they all lowered their heads upon hearing him.

"W-we d-don’t know. All of us had fallen asleep, and the moment we woke up, he was gone, and the city looked like this," a woman explained.

Kreigster took a glance at the smoke once again, and he couldn’t help but worry about the Herish’s princess.

’I hope you are safe somewhere inside,’ he thought while biting his lips and thinking of a way to enter.

. . . . .

A man was sitting in an abandoned house while leaning on its wall. His face was a mess, his black armor had cracks almost everywhere, and he was catching his breath while his hand was covering the wound on his stomach.

Then a bulky man with a beard sat in front of him and checked his injury. He was not in good condition either; his clothes were torn, and he had a few scratches on his body.

"Your wound is not getting close; that crazy prince got us good," the bulky man said.

They were Kreigster’s guards. Despite the fact that their prince had been missing since the evening, they didn’t think about it as a serious problem; after all, the grand mage vouched in his name that the prince was safe and would definitely return on this day.

Then they proceeded with watching the duels, they even thought to collect information to help Kreigster in his upcoming battles.

However, as one of the contenders disappeared from the area, the second prince, who turned into a demonic being, wreaked havoc and attacked all the people in the vicinity.

The representatives ran away to flee; after all, some of them were important figures in their respective kingdoms, and for them, dying would be a great loss. But to make their escape successful. The representatives’ guards chose to stay and block the demon’s path.

However, as the battle went on, Lex’s power grew even more powerful. Even though they had the strength to subdue him, no matter how many times they blew his head off, he kept getting stronger and fiercer than before. They landed hit after hit, but his abnormal regeneration made them drop their morale.

Soon after, they realized what kind of creature the prince had turned into. His exaggerated speed, monstrous strength, and regenerative capability were similar to those of a vampire. Though he didn’t have fangs like such beings, his sword acted as one.

They cut off his head, pierced his heart, purified him, and even ground him to mincemeat, yet he always returned to the way he was. And unlike him, the guards were getting tired; their energy was almost exhausted, and soon after, one by one, they fell down. And the group decided to retreat with their tails tucked between their legs.

But Lex didn’t give them the chance to escape from his clutches. He hunted them until they were the only ones who remained alive. They gritted their teeth as they fought again with the prince.

But they realized that his strength increased once more; they had the advantage in terms of power earlier, and they did believe that they could crush him in a duel if his healing ability wouldn’t be triggered.

However, Lex was trashing them with his unpolished sword skills, and he even managed to wound one of them.

At that moment, they believed that it would be their final battle together, but a miracle happened. The prince halted his attacks and looked towards the castle. Then he flew in its direction, leaving the two knights without any words.

"Hang in there, Soltice; I’ll try to find a healer. I’ll be back!" The man said.

He gritted his teeth upon seeing his friend almost die. Then he stood up and went to the door to search for someone who could heal his comrade.

The man named Soltice was left there, agonizing in pain. Every second was torture for him. His complexion had already turned pale due to blood loss.

’So, that’s what he is pointing out,’ he thought as he remembered the words of the butler who greeted them when they arrived.

’Wait, once equipped with the right weapons,’ he repeated the old man’s words.

"C-come to think of it, the prince never let go of his sword..." He coughed a mouthful of blood and chose not to speak any further.

’Instead of blocking some of our attack with its blade, he dodged,’ he articulated inside his mind.

"A-as i-if he was protecting it from receiving damage," he uttered, stuttering.

Then he coughed another mouthful of blood, which flowed from his chin down to his neck. His eyes became blurred, and he felt his head spinning in circles.

’Manchester needs to know about th...’ he couldn’t finish his thoughts as his eyelids started to close.

. . . . .

Not far from where the castle was located, several people were hiding like mice in an alleyway. They were the representatives who were on the run. Their breaths were shallow, making sure not to make any sound to indicate their location.

"Where are they?" Said a man’s voice that came from the main street. Based on the sound of the footsteps, he was not alone.

After almost a minute, the chatter dissipated along with their strides.

"Are they gone?" One of the representatives asked in the lowest tone possible without looking at his companions.

Then, upon sensing that the people chasing them were gone, the man from the Pelleles Kingdom deactivated the hardened dust particles that had acted as their cover.

"Let’s find a safe place to stay first, and we’ll build a plan in there," the prince from the Heartfall Kingdom suggested.

The rest of the group nodded at his suggestion, excluding Arctic.

"They are just normal bandits; why do we need to hide from them?" She voiced her concern.

"Listen, Princess! They have the advantage in numbers, and we still don’t know what’s going on." The man from the Sandbeige Kingdom denied the woman’s’ thoughts.

"Indeed, don’t let your guard’s sacrifice be in vain," the Heartfall’s prince affirmed.

After seeing that the majority of the group were on the prince’s side, Arctic had no choice but to listen. Though she still rolled her eyes to show her disagreement.

The prince let out a sigh while shaking his head upon noticing the princess’ action.

’Too hot-headed despite having an ice-cold Legacy,’ he thought.

Then they started to move while doing their best to conceal their presence, but when they passed several alleys, one of the representatives shouted, which caused them to halt in their tracks, and the rest realized that the Frostbloom Kingdom’s princess was missing.

"She didn’t listen at all." The Heartfall’s prince sighed.

"What are we going to do, Czyrille?" asked a man.

The prince contemplated if they would go back or let the princess be, and after almost a minute of thinking, at last, he gave his answer.

"We stick with the plan to search for a place, then we’ll discuss our next step," Czyrille replied.

"Let’s continue to move," he added while gesturing his hand to make the others follow his lead.

. . . . .

The princess of the Frostbloom Kingdom ran away from the rest of the representatives to return to the castle. She wanted to prove that they could handle the bandits’ invasion and save the city.

And she was not wrong about it; the enemies she met turned into frozen solids the moment she unleashed her energy. In those few moments, the prey became the hunter.

"What are you doing? She’s just one person! All of you, charge!" a man yelled.

Then people dressed in black clothing attacked the princess with all their might.

Arrows flew straight into her, coming from the side, while most of the bandits dashed at her with their swords.

Arctic Jean waved her right hand, and a wall of ice materialized to protect her from the arrows. Then a sword made of ice appeared on her left hand before she deflected several blades. Those swords that got into contact with her weapon were slowly covered with ice, and her enemies had no choice but to let go of them.

’I don’t even need to use my domain to eradicate them; it’s pathetic,’ Arctic thought while evading the blade of an axe from cutting her neck. She used her elbow to push away his opponent before giving him a huge slash on the chest.

Then, ice bloomed from the man’s wound before covering his entire body, turning him into a huge chunk of ice.

Upon seeing that his men fell due to one woman, the group leader decided to make his move and leap at the back of the princess. Then he stabbed her from behind.

"Fool," he said while laughing.

However, he felt his insides burning and chilling at the same time, then blood came out of his lips. After that, he lowered his eyes and saw an ice sword protruding from his stomach.

"H-how?" He uttered, then looked at the person in front of him, but it turned into ice and crumbled in an instant.

Then he died in a miserable way as Arctic pulled her sword upward, making the man’s upper body split in half and enveloped with ice.

"So who’s the fool now?" She asked.

. . . . .