Prologue

The Nohzan Kingdom was located on the northern continent, separated from the

Rhoden Kingdom by the bay of Bordeaux to the east. The two countries enjoyed an

amicable relationship and regularly engaged in trade.

Nohzan was surrounded by three other kingdoms: the Delfrent Kingdom to the north,

the Salma Kingdom to the south, and the Holy Hilk Kingdom to the west. Over the

generations, these kingdoms were constantly uniting, breaking apart, and uniting

once more. Their borders were constantly in flux.

Saureah, the capital of the Nohzan Kingdom, was located at the center of the country,

among the highlands looking over the relatively flat plains that dominated its

landscape. Atop the hill sat a large castle with a town spreading out from its base,

followed by two formidable walls to keep out any invaders.

The castle itself bore little in the way of decorative touches, focusing on defensive

capabilities rather than aesthetics. It looked more like a military fortress than a castle.

However, the royal crests and other accoutrements decorating the halls of the castle

would quickly rid the casual observer of this belief. The difference between the stark

exterior and beautiful inner halls was like night and day.

Early morning light glinted off the dew accumulating on the carefully manicured lawns

of the castle grounds, the only outward source of beauty that hinted at the splendor

within.

A young girl, around ten or so, could be seen on the other side of a large window

overlooking the garden. Her skin was fair, the color of fine porcelain, and her curly,

shoulder-length blonde hair splayed about on the bed where she lay. The canopied

bed was massive, despite her small figure, betraying the luxury in which this girl lived.

The day had started with the clanging of distant bells—first with one in a far corner

of the town, followed by more and more throughout the streets, until the sound finally

reached the castle. This was quite the departure from the girl's usual morning routine.

She scowled at the loud racket that had interrupted her sleep and glanced drowsily

around her room.

"Hyaaaaah. I wonder what they're going on about?"

She propped herself up on an elbow, rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the palm of

her hand, and let out a loud, bellowing yawn. If not for her fragile appearance, the

sound could easily have been mistaken for one that a man three times her age might

make.

After battling with her mussy hair for a bit, trying in vain to bring it to order, she rolled

off the bed and made her way to the window to take a look outside. All she could see,

however, was the courtyard beyond—there was no clue as to the source of the bells.

She gazed across the entire courtyard before sleepily reaching up toward the handle

built into the window's frame.

Right at that moment, a figure came running into the room and called out her name.

"Princess Riel! Excuse my sudden intrusion."

The young girl—Princess Riel—turned to face the familiar figure and cocked her head

in confusion at the woman's panicked expression.

"What's all the fuss, Niena? I woke up on time today, I'll have you know." Riel clenched

her jaw and fought back another yawn.

The brown-skinned, black-eyed woman with long, black hair tied back in a waistlength braid was Niena du Avroah, the daughter of Viscount Avroah. She was dressed

in the garb of the royal knights and wore a gleaming sword at her waist. Though a

member of the upper crust of Nohzan society, Niena was also a knight and the personal

bodyguard of Riel Nohzan Saureah, the young girl before her.

Riel was the third child and youngest daughter of King Asparuh Nohzan Saureah. Ever

since the loss of her mother, she had become the king's pride and joy.

"The castle is under attack! Hurry up and change! I'm taking you to the cellars!"

"What?! Are you sure?" Riel's eyes went wide in surprise. "Wait a moment. I'll be ready

in a flash. Nmph."

She tried to toss off her nightgown, only to get it caught around her neck. Riel flapped

her arms about wildly in an attempt to free herself. Niena stood dutifully by until the

young princess asked for help.

"Could you give me a hand, Niena?"

Niena dropped to a knee and bowed her head.

"Certainly, Your Highness."

Dressing the princess in one of her many elegant gowns was usually the job of her

many servants, so it was more than a bit of a struggle for the inexperienced guard to

help Riel into her clothes, but eventually she got the girl into a simple dress.

Riel hurried out of her room and into the hall, where she found a man waiting for her.

"Oh, Zahar's here, too? We need to go get Papa."

The young man responded with a curt nod before falling in line with Niena behind the

princess.

Zahar Bakharov was around twenty years old and a hulk of a man, towering at an

impressive 190 centimeters tall. He wore his light brown hair cropped short and

exuded an air of toughness. Though also one of Princess Riel's bodyguards, like Niena,

Zahar had risen up from the ranks of the commoners to assume this role, unlike Niena.

The young girl paid no mind to her two bodyguards as she marched purposefully

down the halls toward her father's study, where he could usually be found. Inside the

study she found King Asparuh Nohzan Saureah, along with the other key leaders of

the Nohzan Kingdom: Riel's two older brothers, Prince Terva and Prince Seyval, the

prime minister, who oversaw all civil matters in the country, and the generals who

managed the kingdom's military affairs.

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, as evidenced by the tense

expressions worn by the room's occupants as they stared down at a map spread out

over a large table. Riel spotted multiple wooden tokens placed at various points across

the map. Riel didn't know what to make of the intense look on her father's face. She

was craning her neck to get a better look at the map when a man ran into the room to

deliver a report.

"Your Majesty! Large bands of invaders are charging from the forests at the base of the

Sobir Mountains, and the numbers piling up at the outer reaches of the capital only

continue to increase! They don't seem to be organized, so we can't get a clear count,

but there are at least several tens of thousands! I've never seen so many people at

once!"

Several people in the room groaned, the looks of surprise on their faces betraying how

dumbfounded they were at this report.

The king spoke up over the other voices to address the messenger.

"Where do the invaders hail from? Only the empire could muster a force of that size,

but we don't share a border. Has one of the neighboring kingdoms fallen as well?"

The young king fixed his stern gaze on the messenger. All eyes focused on the man,

awaiting his response. Even Riel's bodyguards swallowed hard as they waited.

His response, however, took everyone by surprise.

"There's nothing to indicate where these invaders hail from. In fact, they aren't even

human! Though outfitted in metal armor, they're all undead! Even their commander

is undead!"

"Are you mad?! I've never heard of such a vast army of undead, much less one that was

fully armed!" The general was absolutely beside himself.

The messenger averted his gaze. "Unfortunately, what I say is true, sir. The expeditionary

forces that engaged with the enemy have reported that all they found under the armor

of the soldiers they slayed were corpses. The invaders swarmed from the plains and

descended upon the capital at daybreak."

The others in the room swallowed hard at this.

"What's more, not only are there undead humans, we've spotted other freakish

creatures as well. There was even one report of a massive human-spider creature that

struck down an entire squad all on its own!"

The clanging bells in the distance were the only sounds that interrupted the heavy

silence enveloping the room. Everyone present struggled to wrap their minds around

what they'd just heard, even if they didn't understand the true ramifications.

King Asparuh, lord of the entire Nohzan Kingdom, finally broke the silence. He turned

to look at each and every person in the room.

"I, too, have seen the oncoming menace with my own eyes from the lookout. Whether

human or otherwise, this doesn't change the fact that our capital is in grave danger."

The lookout was a tall tower within the castle that gave a commanding view of the

surrounding area. It was built to allow anyone to survey all of Saureah. There was

always a guard keeping watch, though Riel would occasionally go there to play and

look out at the lands surrounding the castle.

"How many men do we have at our disposal?" The king turned his attention to the

general.

The other man sputtered for a moment, as if caught off guard. "I, um, well! Counting

the resident knights and those serving as castle guards, around 4,000 or so. If we hire

mercenaries, we can probably add another thousand to that."

After looking around to make sure everyone in the room understood what the general

had just said, the king nodded gravely. "Fortunately for us, they attacked early in the

morning, before we had a chance to open the gates for the day, so we'll essentially be

holding out while under siege, as we've done before. Even so, facing several tens of

thousands of enemies is no mean feat with what little might we have to bear."

The king looked up from the map, glanced at his two sons, then turned his gaze on

Riel.

"The invaders are coming from the forests at the base of the Sobir Mountains to the

southwest, meaning that the capital is not surrounded… at least, not yet. There isn't

enough time to get all of the citizens out. Terva, Seyval, I want you to depart from the

east gate. One of you will head north and the other east to summon supplemental

forces to come to our aid."

The princes nodded firmly as they accepted their orders.

Riel looked up at her two much older brothers as she took a step toward her father,

feeling the full responsibility of being a member of the royal family. She awaited his

orders.

Both brothers glanced at her before turning back to their father inquisitively, as if to

ask what should be done with her.

A gentle smile graced the king's lips as he looked at Riel. "As for you, Riel, I want you

to head south and ask for reinforcements from Count Dimo. His soldiers are known

for their bravery."

The other adults in the room exchanged knowing looks.

"Leave it to me, Papa! I, Riel Nohzan Saureah, will fulfill my duties and save our country

from this menace!" Riel puffed out her chest and clenched her fist as she spoke,

eliciting a smile from the king.