Mated To The Cruel Prince novel Chapter 902

Chapter 902: Failure Was Not An Option

The battle was far more brutal than Aldric had anticipated. His face, arms, and armor were soaked with blood with some of it his own, and most of it his enemies’.

The monstrous horde, which had been waiting for them, was better prepared than they had expected. Clearly, their element of surprise from yesterday had tipped off the monsters, who now seemed almost tactical in their onslaught.

Maxi as expected was with him. They fought like they shared one mind; their movements were perfectly attuned to each other. Where he struck, she guarded; where she advanced, he cleared the path.

Though the soldiers fought bravely, it was Maxi’s fierce instincts and experience that turned the tide, even if only slightly. She knew his every gesture and could read his movements as naturally as her own. Without her presence, Aldric would have been forced to fight with much less coordination and precision.

As he fought, Aldric took a grim look at the battlefield around him. The general had severely underestimated the enemy’s numbers. They were overwhelmed, and any semblance of order between the offensive and defensive teams had dissolved; everyone was fighting to survive. What had begun as an organized sweep had devolved into a brutal struggle to hold their ground. Even so, Aldric and Maxi pressed forward, leading the charge to protect those fae who remained.

Yet, his heart grew heavier with each fae they failed to rescue. Just as he’d feared, there were fewer and fewer survivors. Most were dead, and many were simply gone, likely taken hostage. Aldric knew that, even before the barrier’s final collapse that the monsters occasionally slipped through small gaps, raiding nearby villages and towns.

However, those smaller attacks had been manageable, the monsters quickly dispatched by him whenever he was available or fae soldiers. But this... this was different. There were more of them, and they were organized, even strategic, as if they were following orders. freewebnøvel.coɱ

The realization crept over Aldric with a chill: these monsters were no longer just mindless beasts. They were moving like soldiers, executing strategies, and rallying under some unifying force. It was as if they had a leader, a king.

The possibility unsettled Aldric to his core. A king meant intelligence, ambition, a single purpose uniting all these creatures in a shared cause. A true king would only conquer or die trying. If these monsters were being led by such a figure, there would be no easy end to this war.

Thanks to that realization, Aldric felt an uneasy pang gnaw at him, growing with each passing moment. He scanned the battlefield, heart hammering as he searched for Islinda. She was somewhere up ahead, buried in the thick of the fight.

As the general wanted, he confronted the monsters head-on. While he admired her strength and courage, right now, Aldric longed to have her close, where he could protect her. Unfortunately, the chaos swirling around him made it impossible to watch her so he had to keep fighting, even as dread clawed at his insides.

Suddenly, a shout rang through the din, and he saw the witch Ava raise her hand, murmuring an incantation. The air thickened with shimmering, blue magic as she began to open a portal. Ava poured all her energy into maintaining the gateway, and the strain was visible on her face as the portal grew wide enough for escape.

"Go! Go! Go!" Maxi shouted, her voice cutting through the clash of steel and snarls of the monsters.

She waved at the huddled fae who had been freed from the monsters’ grasp, urging them to move. The survivors, many of them bleeding and exhausted, didn’t wait for further encouragement. They staggered, limped, and crawled toward the portal with desperate urgency, clutching wounds and supporting one another.

For someone who was not supposed to care,

Aldric was relieved when he saw the fae pouring through it. But then, something happened.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify