[ Name: Not Given ]
[ Species: Undead ]
[ Power Rank: Elite -1 ]
[ Loyalty: 100% ]
[ Abilities: Undead Recovery, Intermediate Greatsword Mastery ]
---
The Elite Undead was already at Elite Rank Power when Igaris acquired it.
Maybe that's why, when he tried to name it, the attempt failed due to his insufficient internal energy.
Nevertheless, Igaris was happy to have another Elite Undead Knight under his command.
He glanced at his undead soldiers, which had now grown to 33 in number, enough to be called a hunting group of his own.
He no longer needed anyone to lead him. He was now the leader of his own group.
Then his gaze turned upward to the sky, sensing the sun had already passed overhead and was beginning to set in the west.
It was just past noon.
He now had only a few hours left. He couldn't afford to stay here after nightfall, as the undead would become more active and the slumbering ones would awaken from their rest.
With that reminder in mind, Igaris finally began heading toward the Sacrifice Altar to secure some food for his family.
Slowly, steadily, Igaris marched toward the center, his undead army in tow.
Dred, Alpha, and the other skeleton knights remained silent, but the clattering of bones and armor created a strange, eerie symphony.
But it wasn't long before they sprang into action once more as another horde was incoming.
Igaris could also see one Elite Knight among them.
But he only grinned now. Because he already had two Elite-rank undead under his command.
Subduing another would be easy.
And so, another round of battle between bones and iron ensued.
Meanwhile, while Igaris was busy growing his army, Blaze's group encountered an unexpected danger.
Just like yesterday, Blaze's team had reached the Sacrifice Altar safely.
Under Blaze's leadership, they were even taking down the twelve Guardian Knights one by one.
But then, a sudden entrance froze them in place. Their hearts pounded with fear as they felt an invisible aura brushing across their skin.
"Leader!"
"Leader!"
Someone called out to Blaze, their voice trembling with fear.
But Blaze didn't respond.
His gaze was locked on the approaching figure.
It was a Skeleton Knight like the others. But the black and gold shining armor and tall, sturdy frame made it clear this one was no ordinary undead. Not even an Elite. It was something far more powerful than anything they had faced so far.
The undead held a long black sword in its right bone hand, and a small golden shield in the other.
A dark cape fluttered behind it.
It wore no helmet, revealing a polished white skull that made the entire figure even more chilling.
Each step it took sent invisible shockwaves through the vicinity, making the hunters' hearts tremble with fear.
"RUN!"
One of the hunters bolted without hesitation.
But suddenly—
Swoosh!
They heard the sound of wind rustling, followed by a blur of darkness flashing past their vision.
"Ahhh!"
The next moment, a head, cleanly severed, flew through the air with a terrified scream, landing on the ground with a sickening thud.
"It's a Commander!"
"Run, everyone!"
Blaze snapped out of his daze and shouted loudly.
He was already fleeing frantically, not giving a damn about his team.
The others grew panicked, and desperation kicked in.
They scattered in all directions, each trying to save their own life.
Swoosh, swoosh...
Slice, slice, slice!
But alas, not everyone was fortunate.
Five more hunters, including two females, met gruesome ends, sliced cleanly in half by the black longsword.
As the surviving hunters fled into the distance, the Commander Undead Knight stood still, an amused smile playing across its skeletal face.
It didn't pursue. It simply stood guard over the Sacrificial Altar, bound to its duty for all eternity.
A heavy silence draped over the Sacrificial Altar like a death shroud. The remaining twelve Guardian Knights moved into place with unnatural precision, their hollow eyes glowing dimly in the gloom.
Then, without signal or command, they began to chant.
The sound was jarring and guttural, reverberating in tones that defied understanding, echoing off the broken stones like a forgotten language torn from the depths of time.
Each word they spoke felt like it gnawed at the edge of reality, scraping something ancient and restless from beneath the surface.
The dead Carcasses of beasts on twelve circles also began to shrink with each second, as if the very essence was being sucked away.
In the centre of Sacrificial formation, the statue of the Female Monarch, carved from blackened stone, pulsed with an intermittent glow.
A ghostly sheen coated her face, which bore a serene, yet sorrowful expression. From time to time, a faint whispering sound came from her direction, barely perceptible, as though the statue itself was breathing.
But at times, it remained absolutely silent, like how a statue should be.
No one knew whether the dark summoning ritual to bring back the dead would succeed or not.
But the sky offered no comfort.
In the Sky, a mass of crows spiraled endlessly, their wings slicing through the clouds in ragged formations.
The birds were unnatural. Their feathers were soaked in shadow, and eyes glowed with an eerie red gleam. They circled the statue without rest, as if drawn by some unseen force. Each caw they let loose was shrill, bloodcurdling, and layered with an uncanny mimicry of human despair.
Caw... Caw...
The cacophony of screeches created an unsettling atmosphere, growing more intense, more harrowing.
After an hour or so, at that same place, Igaris arrived. He peeked from behind a broken wall, slightly puzzled by the sudden change of atmosphere.
"Yesterday, the environment wasn't like this..." Igaris murmured in confusion.
Regardless, he had to do what he came here for: to retrieve those carcasses.
And now, he had about sixty undead under his command.
Dred and Alpha stood obediently behind him, while the others waited in the shadows, awaiting further orders.
With them by his side, Igaris was confident he would be able to retrieve the carcasses easily.
Yesterday, they had managed to do it with just twenty people. Today, he had three times that number.
Naturally, he assumed this shouldn't be that difficult.
But very soon he would find out he couldn't have been more wrong.