Chapter 11 - The Landslide
The carriage pressed onward through the rain-soaked mountain roads, accompanied by only a small escort.
Partway through the journey, they encountered a supply convoy from the capital.
Wagons laden with food, medicine, and other provisions stretched along the road.
They exchanged brief reports—the condition of the roads ahead, the situation in the disaster-stricken regions—and were preparing to part ways when it happened.
"Don't move!"
The shout rang out across the mountainside.
Armed figures suddenly emerged from the cliffs overlooking the road.
Their weapons lacked any uniformity.
Farming tools.
Hunting spears.
Axes.
Yet every face was taut with desperation.
No one needed to ask who they were.
They were survivors from the devastated regions.
Antonius leapt from the carriage.
"Wait!"
All eyes turned toward him.
"Not only the Nikēphoroi Knights, but countless other orders are working themselves to exhaustion trying to save you!"
Rain lashed against his face as he shouted.
"Rescue will come! The roads will be rebuilt! Order will be restored!"
His voice rose even higher.
"The kingdom must stand together and overcome this disaster! I know you suffer, but this lawlessness cannot be tolerated!"
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then an old man stepped forward.
"We have no more time left, Your Highness."
His voice trembled.
"We have found infants wrapped in cloaks stripped from dead grandparents—only to discover them cold by morning."
The old man's eyes were bloodshot.
"What would a prince who speaks of hardship while fleeing back to his comfortable palace know of our suffering?"
For once, Antonius had no answer.
Beside him, steel hissed from its scabbard.
Theodoros drew his sword.
"Watch your tongue."
The old man shouted back immediately.
"Call me what you will!"
Rain streamed down his face.
"Kill me if you must! Then tell everyone you put us out of our misery because no rescue was coming!"
The eyes of the gathered men had changed.
There was no fear left in them.
Only desperation.
Only despair.
And that made them dangerous.
Theodoros tightened his grip on his sword.
There were not enough men.
Not enough time.
The supply convoy carried only minimal protection.
The escort was small.
Meanwhile, Antonius still stood frozen, shaken by the old man's words.
Letting them go was impossible.
Taking them alive seemed equally impossible.
There might be only one option left.
Then—
The distant sound of hoofbeats echoed through the rain.
The Nikēphoroi Knights.
One of the convoy soldiers had ridden ahead to summon help.
"The knights!"
Despair spread across the faces of the would-be bandits.
It's over.
Everyone thought the same thing.
But one desperate man refused to give up.
"Then the Crown Prince dies with us!"
He charged.
Straight toward Antonius.
Theodoros reacted instantly.
But not quickly enough.
He wouldn't make it.
Then—
"Your Highness!"
A familiar child's voice rang out.
The next moment, a gigantic monster leapt between the attacker and Antonius.
Its tail had been severed.
The monster threw back its head and roared.
The sound echoed through the mountains.
The earth trembled beneath it.
The bandits screamed and swung hoes and axes at it.
The ash-brown scales answered with metallic clangs.
Not a single blow pierced them.
The monster swept one massive arm.
Bodies flew through the air.
Antonius stared.
His breath caught in his throat.
Ash-brown scales.
Those scales—
"Andri!"
Theodoros spun around in shock.
"Your Highness!?"
But the monster did not stop.
It attacked everyone.
Bandits.
Soldiers.
Guards.
Even the knights rushing to the rescue.
"Andri!"
Antonius shouted again.
"That's enough! Stand down!"
Only another roar answered him.
"Andri!"
Antonius drew a breath and screamed with everything he had.
"Do you not recognize me?! Andri Chaire!"
For a single instant—
The monster froze.
Golden eyes locked onto him.
Then a thunderous roar shook the mountains.
"The slope is collapsing!"
Someone screamed.
The mountainside, weakened by days of relentless rain, finally gave way.
A torrent of mud and rock crashed down directly above the monster and Antonius.
"Your Highness!"
Theodoros's scream echoed through the chaos.
Then the world turned brown.
