Chapter 11- Long Night!

The suns rays were not hindered by any clouds in the sky. A slight breeze tickled our noses as the wooden carriages behind us creaked and groaned. The marching of feet and clopping of hooves interrupted any silence. The dirt path underneath us was flattened further as we crossed over it.

I took in everything. This was the first time I had left my home and ventured into this new world! There was so much that I couldn't find answers to in that cramped library. Most importantly I wanted to fight again!

The exhilarating feeling of combat. I had grown numb to fighting through my years as an immortal, but now that I spent six years in a peaceful enclosure I felt like I wanted to let loose again.

However there was a glaring problem. That was that no monsters attacked us due to our large group. Jared said that only strong ones or ones in large packs would even try to attack a group of our size.

Sighing I quickly regained my wits and returned to walking. I reassessed my equipment since I was bored. I was given a light weight combat suit that fit tightly over my body. It was a reddish brown color, that mother had said came from a powerful magic monster. I had a short iron sword that was slung on my hip by a well made leather belt.

"How're you holding up Prince?" Jared came over and undid his helmet to talk to me.

"Not bad, where are we headed by the way?" I shrug my shoulders and continue the conversation.

"We're going to Rivensdale. It is a small village, but it still has many supplies that we need for our journey. It is about a half day journey normally, but the size of our group can complicate some things so we'll play it safe and camp out for the night."

"Wait, didn't you and your subordinates go with mother to the village everyday?"

"Ah, well the Queen certainly went everyday, but she traveled much faster than us. We were in separate groups because of this." Jared gave a wry smile that looked quite menacing with the scar on his face and gave a couple of glances at the carriage. We ended the conversation there and got back to trekking towards our destination.

The winding path brought us away from the dark forests and further into a vast expanse of grasslands. I conversed with several knights I trained with and Jared on the way. Night quickly took over our day and we had to set up camp.

I sat furthest away from the campfire that they had set up and a extremely small ball of multicolored flame danced between my palms. My meridians had matured enough for me to run mana through them without any immediate harmful effects. However if I started to run a massive amount without tempering them first the results could be disastrous.

"I see you're working hard." Mother's voice comes to me as I was absorbed in controlling the flame. Her expression goes through a great change as she sees my multicolored flame, and a depreciated smile comes over her face.

"I guess there's a reason you're away from the group..." mother's voice trails off and I quickly extinguish the flame.

"I wanted to test the spell Harold gave me, so I tried incorporating my own flames to it. However I don't seem to be able to be able to use it offensively yet." I share my thoughts with mother and she gives off an enchanting laugh.

"Oh, if any mage heard you they would've believed you are crazy. I guess I should tell you the 'spell' that Harold gave you is just a method for control and nothing more. It can barely be counted as a spell." Mother kept laughing as she explained. I make a note in my head to smack Harold the next time I see him.

I bid mother goodnight after we finished talking about the journey. She said it was a two month trip to Thant and that we will pass through many small villages on the way to minimize camping out. I had asked her a little bit about how our kingdom was doing, but she said she wasn't that well versed in the politics of our kingdom.

The rest of the knights were retiring for the night, so I decided to join them. Mother had gone back to her carriage to sleep, and I found a nice place away from the snoring knights. I had my back to the campfire that they built. I had originally questioned them whether or not it would attract monsters, but they said it was better to deter them than attract them.

The calming atmosphere drove some into a quick sleep while I kept my senses on my surroundings. I crossed my legs and closed my eyes as I began to absorb the mana in the air. My meditation was halted when I heard a slight rustle ahead of me. I opened my eyes to only find the darkness staring back at me, and closed them believing it was just the wind.

Then the rustle came again. My eye lids shot open again to find nothing once more. However I put my right hand on the hilt of my iron sword while holding my left hand out behind me. The campfire suddenly raged and a ball of flame about the size of a head separated from it. My heavenly body allowed me to control any flame in existence; a simple flame such as the one from a campfire easily bended to my will.

The ball of crude fire traveled to me and rose above my head. It shined on my immediate surroundings, but still nothing was found. I sent the ball of flame further away from me and it lit up the dark grasses in front of me.

Like a tide of insects that feared the light a disgusting mass of bodies swarmed away from the fire that roamed above them.

"ATTACK!!" Before I could yell out I heard Jared's voice beside me and he was already preparing his armor and sword. His eyes were locked onto the swarm of bodies that writhed and squirmed under my light. The Knights reacted to Jared's yell quickly and each of them took up a torch to illuminate their surroundings.

It revealed that we surrounded by these creatures! I couldn't tell how big the pack was, but it was already a massive swarm! They had a black coat of fur that was pretty much invisible in the darkness of night. Their beady black eyes shone in the light of the fire that illuminated them. Each one of them had a body the size of a small dog and sported large black front teeth and small black claws. Everything about them was designed to hunt in the night.

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An annoying clicking noise was sung out after they were discovered and it slowly rose into a deafening crescendo as more of them joined in. The Knights all held nervous expressions and as they put on their respective equipments.

"Captain! Why is there a massive Nightstalker horde out here?!" A knight who was closest to Jared screamed over the clicking noises.

"I don't know?! Their kind normally don't group up in this large of groups!! Hey Prince Glen, can you move that ball of fire over here!!? They are afraid of light!!" Jared shook his head at at the knight and I moved the ball of fire closer to us as Jared asked. The massive tide of Nightstalkers all avoided the light that the ball of fire produced. However the swarm started to crowd around the edges of darkness. They obviously had no intention to run even when they were found!

"Shit! Why aren't they running?!! Captain, these Nightstalkers are acting very abnormal!!" The knight that spoke to Jared before swore when he saw the actions of the Nightstalkers.

"Jared! What's going on??!!" I grabbed the arm of Jared and got his attention.

"Nightstalkers! They normally group up in small packs of only 10 or so, but they only group up like this in a couple of cases!" Jared yelled back and commanded two knights to got and get mother, Harold, and Cade. I stood by and watched the swarm of Nightstalkers.

They all moved and herded erratically. I forgot to ask what Jared meant when he had talked about the couple of cases. However I could give some good guesses due to the knowledge from my previous life.

I know that packs normally have an alpha. And the bigger the pack the stronger the alpha. Based on the size of this pack I can only give blinds estimates on this alpha.

Mother and the fat noble, Cade, both rush out from their respective carriages. Harold hurriedly came out from another compartment of mother's carriage as well and Claire was standing by the entrance to it wearing a nightgown. I give a small laugh at Harold's appearance and turn my attention back to the swarm. Mother seems to be talking with Jared and Cade. I sense the urgency in their conversation as Jared is making many exaggerated movements.

Then a loud scream silenced everyone. It had come from tide of Nightstalkers and everyone turned their attention to a large figure moving about in the shadows. It stood roughly 10 feet tall and walked on it's hind legs unlike the creatures below it. It was too dark to make out any defining features as it stopped right before the light hit it. I felt a nauseating amount of mana gushing from it that wouldn't fall behind mother's in the slightest. I knew right then that that was the alpha.

It screamed again and suddenly a couple Nightstalkers charged at our group unafraid of the light. It happened so suddenly when everyone was cautoff guard by the alpha that we weren't grouped up effectively. Jared hurriedly started to command his knights as the swarm closed in. Their features were clearly seen as they resembled large rats with extremely black fur and abnormally large black teeth. They reached me instantly and I brought up my sword as I struck the closest one's neck beheading it before it even touched me.

Despite easily killing one, two more jumped right up and replaced it. The ball of crude fire that was floating above me was now circling around my body. It burned any Nightstalker that approached and the ones that did get through were easily beheaded. The continual slaughter didn't deter the the horde in the slightest as they all rushed and flooded onto us. I made my way towards Jared's influence.

I felt a heat lick my back as I saw mother casting a large ball of fire and sending it crashing to the unending swarm. I backed up from my position and regrouped with the knights. They were all fending off the swarm as they easily handle several Nightstalkers at once. I sent the ball of fire to the grass and tried to start burning the fields, but the bodies of the Nightstalkers would put it out before it even began.

My sword was constantly moving as I stepped in between two Nightstalkers and beheaded them in one stroke. I stopped fire that I had circling me and wrapped it around my left arm. Jared saw me handling the swarm and trusted me with three other knights guarding part of our right flank. I couldn't keep the ball of flame moving around me, so I wrapped it around the arm my sword wasn't with.

I tilted my upper body to dodge a jumping Nightstalker and caught it with my left hand allowing it to burn then threw it away at the swarm coming at me. The light of the fire on my left arm illuminated my blood covered sword. Every so often I saw a bunch of ice shards swirl in Harolds area and decimate the surroundings. Mother was still sending massive balls of flames, but now the 10 foot shadow was sending the swarm away from the point of impact, reducing the damage she could deal because she couldn't cast that flame into the knights.

My group of four, including myself, were one of the stronger squads and we held out quite well. If one of us grew tired they would be covered by the other three till they were ready to go and fight again. However the same couldn't be said for some, as the night grew longer, more and more injuries occurred when knights fell tired. We felt as if there was no end to the swarm. It was just an endless endeavor!

I sidestepped an incoming Nightstalker and beheaded it while catching another with my left hand and fatally burning with the fire surrounding my arm. The fire was losing it's luster from continual use and no fuel to supplement it, but I didn't have the luxury to sustain it as more Nightstalkers were already upon our group. They came in droves, but seemed to be more focused around mother, Cade, and Harold due to the danger they presented.

Then a loud scream came from the large shadow lurking in the darkness, and the unrelenting horde retreated. It happened as quick as they came, and we all exhaled long, tired breaths. I suddenly felt a pair of eyes lock onto my position and a chill ran down my spine. I turned to find the 10 foot tall shadow turned towards me before leaving. I put the thought of what that could mean out if my head as I looked over the aftermath of the fight.

There were bodies of the Nightstalkers littering the fields as plentiful as the grass on it. It seems that we had lost three knights in the swarm, but over half of us were injured. Harold and Cade were laying on the ground panting. I could feel the mana inside them had dwindled down to a minimum. Mother was returning to her carriage, but I could see a trail of blood coming from between her lips signifying her condition was none the better.

Mine wasn't any better as I had many gashes and cuts scored onto me. I was exhausted and gasping for breath. I extinguished the remnants of the flame that was surrounding my left arm while dressing my wounds. I did it without muttering a single complaint. The Qi inside of my cells hadn't completely settled, so I had to sit down and calm it.

"Jared! What the hell was that?!" After I had made sure everything was ok I went over and furiously questioned Jared. He had a large cut that gouged the armor on his chest and he was stanching the blood flowing from the wound. He had fought the most Nightstalkers, and the alpha seemed to deem him dangerous as stronger ones attacked him periodically.

"That was probably a new species. Nightstalkers don't group under the orders of a singular entity, so a monster that can influence a pack of this size is a terrifying existence." Jared spoke while gritting his teeth. The monster had confused him as much as it confused me. I looked at his wound. He could have avoided his injury if he had stayed with his men when the attacks of the stronger Nightstalkers came, but he jumped into the horde instead of risking the lives of his men. This action alone had won him my respect.

The sun was rising in the sky by the time everyone had treated the wounded and packed. It was a long night for everyone, and we all heaved a sigh of relief knowing that the Nightstalkers will only attack at night. It was only my first night away from home and we already ran into an extremely dangerous situation!

"It's definitely been a long night..." I spoke out loud and my words shared the feelings of several others around me. We then continued our journey towards Rivensdale with tired steps.