So ti later, back at the zoo.
[Your horde is under attack.]
[3x Grade-1 Twisted Walkers were slain.]
[2x Grade-0 Dribblers were slain.]
Blaze was in the middle of important construction when those notifications appeared before him.
"What’s this?" he asked, stopping midway.
The system had been erratic for a while now. It perford basic functions, but then refused to communicate with him as if their connection had been severed.
He was aware it had sothing to do with his deceased status, but this was sothing different.
The mbers of his horde had been slain many tis before. Yet, it was the first ti he had received such a notification.
It must be the effect of the maxed horde managent trait.
Even stranger was that he could feel the place where the zombies had died.
North-east, right inside the spire’s range.
Intrigue filled him.
This was the reason he spread the zombies everywhere. They were his makeshift radar system, informing him not only about stray groups, like the ones that killed them, but also human camps.
"At least they served their purpose," Blaze smiled.
His smile didn’t go unnoticed by Marrow and Chira. They both rushed to his side, eager to know what had happened.
Marrow was standing closer to Blaze, but Chira was much faster and reached there first.
"Reh! Reh! Reh?" he asked, dancing around Blaze.
"Reh, reh, reh," Marrow scoffed as she got closer. "Can you even speak properly?"
"Skree!" Fester chid in, agreeing enthusiastically.
"What are you nodding for?" Blaze retorted. "You’re in the sa boat as him."
"Skr..."
"And you. Stop dancing around and stay still."
Chira imdiately stopped and turned all serious. Finally, it was Marrow’s turn, but Blaze had a better plan in mind.
If his scolding wouldn’t make Marrow and Chira get along, then he had other ans to achieve that as well.
"We have so uninvited guests," he said, pointing north-east. "Marrow and Chira, go welco them in my stead."
"My lord... I think it would be if Fester accompanied —"
"Leave now, take your skeletons and other undead with you."
Blaze interrupted her before returning to the construction. The conversation ended, leaving no room for debate.
Neither Marrow nor Chira were pleased with the decision. Yet, they couldn’t do anything. The Horde Master’s word was absolute.
They turned to leave when Blaze uttered sothing.
"Marrow will lead the operation. Chira, make sure she has nothing to complain about."
Marrow’s frown disappeared as soon as she heard those words. She turned to Chira, wanting to one-up him, but strangely enough, the creature was smiling as well!
It all ca back to Blaze’s wording.
He gave Marrow the control she craved while handing his trust to Chira. Both of them felt their master had given them more importance and were happy to work together for the sake of not upsetting Blaze.
Soon, Marrow gathered an army of three hundred personnel, excluding herself and Chira.
Half of them were her skeletons. A hundred undead soldier ants, and the rest were grade-2s under Blaze’s command.
They didn’t need such a big army to subjugate what could be a small group of ragtag adventurers. However, she wanted to make a statent and also prove Blaze right for giving her the command of the operation.
They set out and, not long after, stumbled upon the remains of the zombies.
However, sothing felt off.
Usually, the humans left the corpses behind after killing the zombies, as they had no purpose for them. But this group of thirty humans was strange.
They were led by a cloaked figure, who seed to be interested in zombies as much as Blaze. That’s why they were storing the corpses in a strange device after killing them.
"Reh?"
"Yes," Marrow nodded. "They are stealing Master’s servants."
"Reh!"
"Get down!"
Chira was itching for so action and almost charged at the humans, but Marrow pulled him down by the tail.
He was about to lash out at the thought of soone stealing Blaze’s property, but rembered the master’s parting words and sat back down, hiding in the bushes.
Marrow felt sothing was odd about these humans.
She scanned them and noticed ten of them carrying shields as big as themselves. Five were ard with ranged weapons, while thirteen held lee weapons. The last two carried staffs. But only one of them wore a robe that slled of a freshly killed human.
"Strange," she mumbled. "Why would a human wear the skin of another human?"
"Reh! Reh."
Chira quickly chid in, pointing at him and then at her.
"Infighting?"
Chira nodded.
Marrow found it odd. It made sense to her when the undead fought amongst themselves. They could spare the ti and strength to do so since they were the dominant species.
But humans?
They were weak as is. Why would they fight among themselves and weaken themselves more?
Either way, she felt more presences around the humans.
The thirty of them weren’t all. More humans were hiding around, probably waiting for soone or sothing.
The only ones they could be were... Blaze’s horde.
As for where they were hiding, it was difficult to say.
Since Marrow had authority over both life and the undead, she could sense humans, although vaguely.
Yet, this ti, it felt as if sothing was tampering with her ability to pinpoint their location.
She quickly instructed the ants to spread out and search, as they could relay information faster than the rest of them.
As for the zombies, she gave the authority of half of them over to Chira. She then patted the undead beastman and pointed to the other side.
Chira nodded and departed to sneak behind the humans by going around in an arc.
She waited for five minutes. The ants relayed the information she needed, and Chira also got in place.
It was ti to attack.
"Go."
On her signal, the Grade-2 rushed out of the bushes.
"More of them!" a woman yelled.
The humans surrounded the man in the cloak as he clasped his hands as if praying.
Marrow sensed familiar energy building up around the human.
It was like her golden wisps.
"Stop! Retreat!"
Marrow gave the command, but it was too late.
"Begone, heretics!"
The cloaked figure yelled as a golden aura burst out of his palms.
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