Alexander had been careful with his words. He wasn't trying to force her into it. That would only breed rebellion. Rather, he wanted her to make the decision.
His cards had been revealed, everything carefully laid out. Now it was her turn.
What he had said was the truth. Her brother's crime was real. He had cooked up the plan of killing his father all for the throne.
A power-hungry freak. His actions after claiming the throne were all Alexander needed to know he was a madman.
He had no use for such kind of people. So, he needed to die.
Of course, he hadn't guessed this truth on his own.
He'd read it in the book. After all, Freya was part of the cohort of the main character.
"Ahh... Thinking about that... I wonder when they will arrive." Shaking his head, his gaze landed on the confused Freya.
He felt a tinge of pity for her. This wasn't how she had learnt the truth in the book. Everything was revealed to her at a later time when the main character journeyed to the north.
A pity.
'Well... it's best she knows the truth and gets everything sorted, right?'
Maybe it was better this way.
Alexander watched as her expression slowly shifted. Her conflicted mind hardening into conviction.
"Fine." She said. "Agreed."
Her voice was cold. Steady.
"But only on one condition."
Her eyes narrowed as she stared hard at Alexander.
"If everything you said is true... if he did kill Father..." she said, breathing deeply.
Then her aura flared like a storm, and the temperature around her plummeted.
"... I want to be the one who gets to kill him." She said with a firm voice.
Alexander let out a faint smile. "Fine by me. But you'll follow my plan. And no scheming behind my back."
His tone darkened.
"I don't take kindly to betrayal."
With that, he nodded to Ren. The ropes binding Freya dissipated into particles.
Her pale face slowly regained colour as the magical restraint vanished.
Just then, Varick approached with a quick bow.
"My Lord. Preparations are complete. We are ready to depart." He said, then paused, hesitating.
"M–My Lord... have you reconsidered joining us back to Valeria?" He finally asked.
Alexander shook his head. "No. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Return and pass the news. That's more than enough."
Varick bowed once more. "As you command. If that's all... We'll be leaving now." He said, though concern lingered in his eyes.
When Varick was gone, Ren stepped up beside Alexander.
Don't want to see the troops off? He asked casually. Y'know... that will do a lot of good."
"Not now," Alexander replied with a sigh. "We shall meet again soon. For now... I have work to do."
"Take me to the captives."
Together, they walked across the field towards what remained of the once–mighty Drakarhold force. Now reduced to a broken company.
Bodies slumped in surrender, expressions hollow. The last spark of resistance was gone from their eyes as if accepting their fate.
"A few escaped." Ren said. "These are the ones we caught."
"It's fine. This will do." Alexander murmured. "Time to test out that skill." His eyes shimmered with an eerie glow as he stepped forward.
He stopped before the prisoners, his voice loud and firm.
"The war is over." He announced. "Drakarhold has fallen. Your comrades scattered across the region in a bid to escape the wrath of the Eternal Dynasty."
"But..."
His voice sharpened, laced with energy.
"... Join me now, and I'll offer you safety!"
Not just survival but purpose. A chance to become something greater!"
The [Subjugation] skill was in use.
[Subjugation: Instinctively influence the will of living beings]
A pulse of energy rippled through the air. Conflicted emotions stirred inside the broken minds of the soldiers.
Then their eyes drifted towards Freya. Now standing freely beside Alexander.
She gave a silent nod.
That was all they needed.
That brief action and with the [Subjugation] skill active, one by one, they dropped to their knees, head bowed.
"We swear allegiance to Prince Ivan of the Eternal Dynasty!"
"Good." Alexander muttered with a calm expression. Though he was brimming with excitement inwardly.
His cool grey eyes drifted toward Freya, who stood beside with an unreadable expression.
"I leave the preparations to you two. We march back to Drakarhold in an hour."
With that, Alexander was finally freed and could now focus on his task. With the Valeria soldiers gone, the once chaotic area was shrouded in silence.
Walking away from his new army, he finally stopped, standing in the middle of the battlefield, both hands slightly raised above the ground.
Wisps of blood began to rise from the ground and bodies, swirling towards him.
A large formation blazed to life above him, absorbing part of the blood into its core.
Once again, his blood storage began to rise.
At the same time, from the swirling vortex, summons began to form.
He moved around the field with purpose. Extracting blood fallen soldiers and beasts alike. With the number of corpses, he would have been able to create enough warriors of his own. But his power was limited... for now.
Across the field, several vortexes of blood opened, causing the air to ripple.
The blood getting consumed to create the summons was getting refilled at the same time.
Finally, close to an hour later, he was done.
His summons stood before him.
A mix of humanoid beings, monsters, and towering constructs.
"Beautiful." He whispered, staring at his creation with silent pride.
"Let's see."
Summoning the system, he was able to see his blood summons broken down.
[Blood Summons]
[Blood Revenant: 1] [Grade: Rare]
[Blood Hunter: 3] [Grade: Rare]
[Blood knight: 5] [Grade: Rare]
[Blood Golem: 8] [Grade: Uncommon]
[Blood wraiths: 27] [Grade: Common]
[Blood hounds: 6] [Grade: Common]
Alexander let out a satisfied sigh as he glanced through. Plenty to work with. He would fully go through later. For now... it was enough.
Far away, Ren watched the spectacle with a strange expression. His eyes flickered as he let out a faint smirk.
"Interesting..."
Freya, meanwhile, stared in awe. She had watched as the blood moved as if alive, forming those strange beings from thin air. A sudden realisation entered her head.
'If he could create forces like this... won't he be able to form an army of his own?'
The Crippled Prince was a bit strange. Nothing like she had expected.
With everything concluded, Alexander and his new legion finally began their march to Drakarhold...