Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

"Sir, Roderic… do you think I did everything I could have?" Hearing Althea question, Roderic's stomach began to ache.

He coughed awkwardly before replying.

"The city had been under siege for too long, we didn't receive any amount of help, be it finance or more manpower… it is a miracle that we managed to hold out for so long." Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Silence befell the carriage that was transporting the two people. Under normal circumstances, they should have used a teleportation circle, but considering that it was destroyed because of the surprise attack, there wasn't much to be done about that.

Leaning forward, Althea clutched her head with both of her hands as tears began to fall.

"It is frustrating, so many people died for this meaningless war… while I am unable to help my people in any way, shape, or form."

Roderic gritted his teeth, in situations like this, he was supposed to comfort the grieving person… but he had a wife who was soon going to give birth. So, he wasn't going to risk touching Althea, even if there was a one-in-a-million chance that touching her could infect him with her curse. He wasn't going to take the chance.

In the end, he could only shift his gaze to the small window and observe the once-proud city that was now engulfed in flames.

That was until the driver of the carriage shouted, his voice filled with terror.

"We are being followed!"

Not hesitating even for a second, Roderic exited the still-moving carriage and shifted his gaze to their pursuers.

There were five soldiers riding atop horseback.

His eyes darkened for a moment. There were fewer than he expected, and as such, he wasn't going to have trouble getting rid of them.

In less than two minutes, their pursuers were already dead. So, Roderic, running full speed ahead, managed to catch up to the carriage and sit back in his spot.

Less than a second was needed for observation to conclude that Althea had managed to get her emotions sorted.

She was back to sitting calmly in her seat, with her back against the carriage's wall.

"I must thank you again, Sir Roderic, if it wasn't for your involvement, then I doubt I would have been able to survive."

He studied the queen for a second before replying, "As I told you, I am not the one that should receive your gratitude, but Elysia."

A faint smile appeared on the queen's face as she replied, "Yes, you are right."

It seemed that she would still need a bit of time to process the reality.

The Draconian Empire had lost yet another city, and the Crimson Sun Empire was slowly advancing.

*****

He couldn't help but smile, standing atop the corpses of the dead soldiers of The Draconian Empire. In that moment, he felt like he was on top of the world. That was until a male voice broke him from his trance.

"General Hadrik," the soldier spoke firmly as he bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

It wasn't because he was scared, on the contrary, everybody had nothing but respect for their general.

"So? What happened with the men we sent after what we suspect to be one of their queens?" the general asked, not shifting his gaze from the corpses.

"Sadly, we have lost contact with them."

"They were skilled men, meaning they had someone much more skilled to get rid of them… only a queen would be able to have such strong bodyguards, so our theories were correct."

"I am sorry, sir! We are going to send another, much larger—"

"No need," the general cut him off as he took a step forward.

With a confused look on the soldier's face, he followed.

"If there was a queen in a city that was under siege, this meant that it was no doubt Althea… why would we waste our men to try and kidnap a defective woman?"

The soldier grimaced for a moment. Most people in the continent knew about Althea and her condition, which in time had earned her the term 'defective woman.'

The soldier knew that his general was right, but nevertheless wanted to voice his opinion on the matter.

"Even if she is defective, if we managed to kidnap her, wouldn't that give us a chance to trade her with Princess Solara Virelia?"

The general stopped and abruptly shifted his gaze to the soldier, there was a clear anger in his eyes, one that he rarely displayed against his soldiers.

In turn, the soldier could only freeze in fear.

"Listen to yourself," the general began as he took a few steps toward the man, stopping an arm's length away from him.

"To make an exchange would mean that two sides offer things of equal value."

The general's voice grew even colder, "There is nothing in this world that will be equal to Princess Solara. Did I make myself clear?"

Gulping audibly, the man managed to nod slightly.

With a sigh, General Hadrik returned to his usual voice.

"You don't have to worry about our princess, she will be fine."

"Even if you say that, sir, I can't help but worry!"

The general scoffed as he stopped and pointed with his finger.

Following the gesture, the soldier's gaze fell upon the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of men were lying dead on the ground. There was so much blood that a small river had begun to form from it.

The smell of ash lingered in the air as countless of the city's houses burned.

And all of it was illuminated by the beautiful sun at the top of the sky.

"We did this, in less than a month," the general began.

"We made our enemies fear us, resent us, hate us. As we killed them, their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and everybody they knew and loved."

Hadrik's eyes brightened up as he met his soldier's gaze.

"We are capable of such destruction! And yet this isn't even our main army!" His voice was so loud that the other soldiers in the vicinity had stopped what they were doing as they shifted their gazes to the general.

"Our main army is still back home, getting ready to deliver a devastating strike, one that will put a stop to The Draconian Empire! And all of this because they dared to kidnap Solara Virelia, our princess and the future queen of our empire. She isn't a woman that could be intimidated in any way, shape, or form. At this moment, she is waiting, waiting for our arrival!"

The general glanced around the area, looking each and every soldier present in the eyes.

"We have already proved that we don't need the main army to bring The Draconian Empire to its knees! I say we are enough to conquer the capital on our own!"

Moved by the words of their general, the soldiers began to chant in unison.

"Let the crimson river flow!"

The general smiled as he extended his arms to the side. He couldn't help but express pleasure of the highest degree. How could he not? After all…

"We thirst for their blood, and the Sun shall drink!"

They were soon going to take their princess back.