Chapter 11 - Identity of Secret Weapon

The crown prince Benton made an entrance with the excitement of gaining recognition after winning this war. To be king, he must earn the respect of the king's court and nobles, this meant that he must achieve something extraordinary before taking the throne when the time comes.

"Sir Dolven, who is this giant knight behind you? Is he one of your finest men for tomorrow's battle?" Prince Benton asked as he looked at the giant man with black armorer, he was certain that none of his men could do against this mountain as he could feel the presence of veteran warrior within.

"No, your highness. This is William the Hero of Greenhill and the slayer of the undead. I hired him as part of a military escort and will take part in your campaign." Sir Dolven spoke quickly and tried to change the subject back into tomorrow's battle.

"So, he is the adventure I heard about. No wonder he could defeat the army of undead all by himself, tell me, slayer, is it true that you end up using your fist to fight off the undead? Prince asks William as everyone turns their head toward a giant adventure.

"...Log," William said

"What? Log?" Prince said with confusion.

"I used the logs on the camp to kill the undead. Much faster and effective when gravity does all the work." William said to Prince Benton as he turned his head towards the prince. As everyone remained quiet, Sir Dolven broke the silence.

"Let us start our battle plan, we don't have all night after all." After Sir Dolven spoke, the prince and everyone returned to reality and proceeded to start the meeting.

The meeting was rather boring, the one who talked most was Sir Dolven, who has the most experience in battle as his order has a long history of fighting against undead and monsters. It turns out, Sir Dolven isn't just lord commander of the Order of Black Flames but also Count who governs his land given by Prince Benton's father, King Benton Pius Amadeus the 3rd. When Sir Dolven was a young noble, he managed to defeat a savage beastmen tribe from the kingdom. King Benton rewarded him with higher status and the same land that Sir Dolven fought to protect.

"I got it, Sir Dolven, we will follow your strategy and surround the town before sieging it," Prince said with a tired voice as the meeting was going on nearly an hour and a half.

"Thank you, your highness. We will prepare the troops and get ready for the battle in the early morning." Sir Dolven ends the meeting and everyone proceeds to leave the tent but just as William was about to leave Sir Dolven stops him to talk to him in private.

"I want you to keep your eyes on Prince Benton. He tends to… act first before thinking. I know I'm asking a lot but he is the crown prince and he will one day rule but right now he is just a young man seeking glory and recognition from everyone." There was a heavy concern in Sir Dolven's voice as he knew there was trouble coming.

"I will do what I can," William replies and steps out from the tent to get ready for tomorrow's battle. Managing the army and fighting against the undead is stressful enough but babysitting a prince who can't think of the bigger picture is just pushing it.

'I guess I will do what I can. Still, I don't like the idea that we will siege the town wall with full force. Not to mention, Prince kept the information on his so-called secret weapon secret during the war meeting.' Had enough with politics, William went to his camp area to relax next to the campfire.

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Next Day,

As William stands next to Sir Dolven as the army marches, Prince Benton and his guards approach them with a smile on their face.

"I see your troops are ready for a long battle, but with my troops, we will end the battle by the end of the day," Prince said to Sir Dolven as his troops marched behind the front army. They had much better armor, weapons and fancy clothes than Sir Dolven's troops and knights but what got William's attention was the weapons particular troops were carrying.

"Those weapons, what are they carrying?" William asked.

"Those are our secret weapons. Court Mages managed to produce a flaming powder in which engineers designed the weapons to combine it. It is called 'gun', effective and much more powerful than arrows or bolts." Prince proudly explains to Sir Dolven and William, the latest weapon against their enemy and next potential breakthrough to fight against enemies of his country.

While Sir Dolven and the rest of his retainers watch with surprise on their face, William on the other hand was just dumbfounded by how basic the weapon is. The gun troops are carrying is a matchlock rifle, an ancient rifle single fire weapon that uses metal or lead ball but requires a lit match to ignite the gunpowder.

On Earth, these kinds of weapons were used until the flintlock rifle was later introduced which took almost 200 years of ingenuity to reach modern-day weapons. Comparing Prince's gun to William's bolter is like comparing a baby's toy car to a supercar with the latest engine.

'So this is their secret weapon. I can see a few ways to improve them and make the Emperor and Omnissiah proud.' William thought to himself as he watched the two armies slowly move towards the City of Deron.

It only took one hour for the entire army to make it to the outskirts of Deron. The Prince and Sir Dolven expected the undead to take defense on the walls of the city but for some reason, there was no sign of any vampires or undead within the walls. What is more ridiculous was that the main gate of the city was wide open as if it was abandoned.

"We should send scouts to check the city. It could be a trap or vampires just abandon it but better to be safe than sorry at this point." One of the knights heard Sir Dolven's word and sent 8 scouts to check the city. Within 10 minutes, all 8 returned and reported that the city is empty and there is no sign of living or undead.

"Hahaha, I guess vampires ran away with their tails between their legs. Move the army into the city and secure it. If you find enemies, kill them on sight." Prince gave the order as everyone started to give orders, Sir Dolven protested that it could be a trap but it was useless as Prince overruled it with his authority.

The main force of the army secured the city within 30 minutes and when Prince Benton, Sir Dolven, William and the rest of the leaders entered the city, Prince declared a reclaim of the City of Deron back into the kingdom. The troops cheered as it was an easy victory and there was no bloodshed but this celebration ended short as loud horns can be heard beyond the wall.

"This is bad, supply wagons not only have food supplies for our troops but they also have our repair shop and ammunition for our guns." One of the Prince's retainers shouts as people around him start to panic.

"Prepare the knight cavalry and ready my horse. We are going out there to give the supply wagon enough time to escape the undead. I will take the minimum knights as it could be a trap and we need speed than large numbers." Sir Dolven gave the order as troops formed up within the walls.

"Prince Benton, please stay here and guard the wall until we can get our supply wagons back to the city. We need…" Sir Dolven turned around to see the prince but he wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, royal cavalry charged out from the gate as Prince Benton led the men into battle.

"Are you freaking kidding me! He just left without hearing the plan at all?" William yells with rage as the useless prince leads his entire 360 royal knights cavalry right into a vampire's trap.