My nose began bleeding. I feel like my body is at its limits, but I need to try a bit harder.

"Stop running away and fight me like a real man." Priest shout.

I am not in good condition and, this guy is probably the second most powerful person I encountered, right behind Arthur.

"You are breaking my heart." I mocked him. "I am still alive as ever!" I tried to taunt him.

"Your words are meaningless. I am not blind, and I can see how bad you are doing right now!" He became more aggressive than before.

Without using Crimson Blade, it will be impossible for me to keep up with him, but I used it too many times, and if I use it more, my body might explode.

Still, I should at least try. "Crimson blade," I whispered. "For the glory."

A red aura is covering my body, and my senses are getting sharper.

"Now." I raised my weapon to the air, but I lost control over my limbs at the second.

Blood is flowing out from every hole inside my body, my eyes, ears, nose. From everywhere it can.

"Alert your body is overloaded."

Voice began repeating the same sentence again and again.

I wish I could say I knew that, but I cannot even open my mouth to speak.

The priest stopped his aggression.

His eyes were calling me pathetic.

Who can blame him? I'll probably react the same way as him if my enemy also destroyed his own body in the middle of the fight.

"And just as I hoped for a good battle." He grumbled, "You hyped my hopes after my holy lights didn't hurt you, but what can I say. No one gets what they want in this world."

My enemy didn't even hit me once, but I am bleeding to death. Can a human be more pathetic than right now?

But the absolute worse is neither my troops nor a volunteer knight will come to help. Everyone is too busy fighting.

And I doubt if even the council can save me from that.

"Let me end your suffering." The priest raised his maul to the air, ready to smash my skull.

"May your sinful soul found redemp- What the name of holy one's!" A skeleton flew up to the fortress walls and landed on the priest's face.

He effortlessly threw the skeleton away with his arm. "Where did you come from?" He is confused as I am.

But I might know where that skeleton arrived.

The giant skeletons were grabbing and throwing other skeletons inside the fortress.

It is a hard fly, but it seems like a skeleton's somehow surviving the landing and creating chaos inside.

I wish I knew this ability of the skeletons before.

"Such a creative way." I only managed to whisper.

I can not move without help from outside, and I know the best place to find that help I need.

New waves of flying skeletons were coming and attacking the priest. I tried to call some of them, but I squeaked rather than whispering or talking, but skeletons understood me.

Two of them grabbed me from my arms, and the other two supported me from my hips.

Now I can command giants on the ground with moves of my head.

I moved my head to tell them to keep throwing troops. One of them nodded with his head and threw the skeleton he was holding.

Then he grabbed an explosive barrel and began trying to light it. I tried to shake my head as a no, but stupid bonemeal wasn't looking at me.

I tried to order skeletons holding me took me somewhere, but they weren't fast enough.

The Giant threw the barrel barrels towards the priest. I doubt if either of us manages to escape from that barrel.

Just before the explosion, I heard the priest saying. "Huh?" Then barrel exploded with an incredibly high voice.

I escaped from the explosion, but pebbles I put as shrapnel scattered around, killed or injured everyone on their way, including me.

Two stones pierced through my right arm, and one more stone penetrated my chest plate and almost injured me but stopped by thick clothing I wore inside.

I wasn't dead, but I might die because of the bleeding, and the worst thing is my eyesight is getting darker, and I can't even order my troops to carry me somewhere.

"Fuck."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Welcome back." I heard a familiar voice. "Before you talk or anything, let me explain certain things. You were in a coma for four days, and we are directing mana inside your body to keep you alive."

One who talked was Leia, a semi dragon girl who once was a lich like me.

Thanks to my past experiences, I know I am on the brink of death, and that's why I am here.

"But, I will survive, right?" I asked.

"Well. Technically yes, but I can not say that is a good thing." She said that nervously.

"Directly tell me what is happening. Am I dying because of lack of medical supplies or something?"

"No, I wish it was something like that. After all, you are still a lich. You can recover from wounds mortals cannot, but even a lich can't escape from treason."

Treason? Wait? Does that mean Arthur stabbed me in the back! I was expecting something similar, but not this fast!"

"I don't know everything, but from what I heard while you were in a coma. Arthur managed to capture the fortress and took you into the medical room of the fortress."

"Wait, I didn't say anything? Anyway, if it isn't Arthur, then who?"

"Do you remember the old guy who visited you and Arthur in the first fortress you captured?" She stopped for a second. "Well, I heard footsteps of heavy cavalry and skulls getting crushed."

"Then it was him who stabbed me in the back" But why? "I was helping him to win the civil war, and he stabbed his ally from the back."

"As a lich, you should get used to getting stabbed from the back, even if we try to act kind. People will still see us as monsters and nothing else. He saw an opening to get rid of you and used it."

"One more question, why the hell I am still alive then?"

She inhaled. "That silver knight tried to convince him to spare your life, but the old guy threatened him with the life of a certain little girl that I can't remember her name."

"So that old bastard managed to get his hands on Maria, that means they raided the castle inside the forest! That could only mean one thing, someone learned where Maria was, told that to the old guy, so he raided the castle and kidnapped her, so now he doesn't need us!" Stupid Arthur. He thought that guy was the savior we needed for this war.

Elia sarcastically applauded. "You got the point, but now comes the bad news. Which one do you want first, bad or the worse?"

"Say the bad one." I inhaled.

"They needed to amputee your right arm."

"And worst new?" What could be worst than losing one of your most crucial body parts?

"They won't kill you, but after learning the place where they will send you, death doesn't sound too bad."

"Where?" I asked nervously.

"To a mountain, where an ancient dwarf city is currently used as a forge and prison to feed Empire with weapons, etc. Prepare yourself to eat one meal a day, working in mines and workshops all day."

"Wait? Weren't dwarfs were allies of humans?" As I remember, both humans and dwarfs fought side by side against the last Lich King.

"Someone is coming towards your room. I can't explain that, but try to avoid cleaning assignments much as you can."

"Wait! Avoid what?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Get the fuck up." A soldier grabbed me from my left arm and threw me to the ground.

"Wait. What is hap-

I got kicked to my face before I realized what was happening.

"Necromancer Edward, you are accused of kidnapping princess Maria and trying to stab your allies from the back. Normally, we should execute you right here, but our grand general is merciful today, and you will send to the Glazov for your crimes instead. Now get up!"

That was another man in somewhat luxurious clothing who talked right now.

With a few seconds of breathing time I got, I looked around. I was inside a room full of beds.

The room was full of soldiers. Arthur was there too, but he was waiting at a far corner. He is evading his eyes away from me.

I tried to get up from the ground but collapsed to the floor before I even managed to get up. I am not strong enough to do even something simple as getting up from the ground.

"You heard the prosecutor, get the fuck up!" The same soldier kicked me from my stomach. I spat some blood to the ground.

Some of the blood touched the boots of the prosecutor and made him angry. "It looks like traitor is still not listening to my orders. Give him a nice beating."

Soldiers began gathering around me like flies to beat the shit out of me.

"Stop!" Arthur shout. "He is in serious condition for four days and just lost his right arm." He pushed the soldier who kicked me back and pulled me from the ground.

With his help, I finally managed to get up, but there was some tension between Arthur and the prosecutor.

"I hope you are right about your words and not trying to help a traitor young knight," the prosecutor said.

"You can believe in my words, honorable prosecutor," Arthur answered him.

They looked at each other for seconds, but the prosecutor lost the game of dominance and took a step back.

"Take this piece of trash away from my eyesight." Prosecutor looked at me.

"Yes." Soldiers answered and began forcefully pulling me out of the room.

"I hope you like Glazov, you animal." Prosecutor laughed.