Chapter 60: Sevenus
“The monster skeletons will be led by him and will attack the two villages furthest from the city, the monkey village and the boar village, while I will lead the human and animal skeletons to attack the closest ones, the horn village and the village from the rock. You will probably finish before , so co et in the rock village after you finish. Rember, kill all the people and animals that live in the villages. We will only have a chance against Faltra if they don’t know that will be attacked.” Athos spoke, looking at the leader in the eye sockets.
Suddenly, the leader’s orbit gave a dark glow for a mont, before a change took place. The bond between Athos and the beast skeletons moved towards the leader, while the bond between the leader and Athos beca stronger.
Athos was startled by this change, thinking for a mont that he had lost control over the undead, but soon realized that he could still feel them under his control. It seed that the change had taken place because Athos had given command of the monsters to the leader, making him a sort of sub-commander.
“This was unexpected, but very welco. I was a little apprehensive if the monster skeletons would obey him if I walked away, but I don’t have to worry about that. In addition to the human skeletons and cattle, I’m also taking two of the mages with , to make up for the lack of firepower. I’ll take what has an affinity for fire and what has an affinity for ice.” Athos said, pointing to two of the skeletons behind the leader. The last mage had an affinity for the wind and wouldn’t be that necessary.
He turned to give orders to the other skeletons, but a voice from behind interrupted him.
“Ahh...ahh...” The leader’s skeleton was slamming its jaw while making wobbly sounds, as if it was having trouble speaking. He continued babbling incoherently for a while, until coherent words finally ca out.
“My...na is...Sevenus.” The leader’s skeleton spoke, looking Athos in the eye.
.....
“You can talk?” Athos asked in surprise, looking Sevenus up and down, as if seeing him for the first ti.
‘Shit, can he talk?’ That’s what Athos really thought. The idea that every enemy he killed in the future and turned into a black skeleton could speak was a headache. Even if Athos could still control them, it would be a headache to have to listen to the complaints and hateful words directed at him.
“Yes...my lord...I can...talk.” Sevenus’ words were inarticulate and difficult to speak, but Athos understood perfectly what he said. Sevenus did not speak with hatred or rancor, but service.
“Don’t you hate ? I know you don’t have a brain, but you know I killed you, don’t you?” Athos asked surprised once more.
“How could I... could...hate the...my lord? You didn’t...kill ...but you...freed ...from my prison...of flesh.” Sevenus spoke, a light of fanaticism shining in his eyes. When Athos gave command of the monster skeletons to him, the dozens of chains that bound their minds and connected them to Athos moved towards him, crushing what little was left of his mind.
It destroyed her mind and rebuilt her. Now, he was no longer a slave against his will, but a servant willing to do anything for his master. Sevenus had been reborn as an undead in body and soul and soon so were the other skeletons.
‘Given the timing, I can only assu that this change was caused by the bond between us getting stronger. If that ans your loyalty has increased I won’t complain, but I feel like I’m going to have a headache talking to this guy.’ Athos thought, sighing ntally.
“My lord...there is sothing...you...must know. An enemy...mighty...may be...after...you.” Sevenus spoke, catching Athos’ attention. He slowly narrated the events before and after Athos died, explaining who the man in the white robe was and their motives, as well as the reason they kept Athos’ corpse in the forest.
“So that motherfucker killed Khali, tried to capture alive to turn into a lab rat, and when he failed, tried to sell to an old mage?” Athos asked furiously, a swirling black aura surrounding him.
“Yes...my lord. I believe...that he...must still be...looking for...you. And I fear that...in your...present state...you are. ..unable to...kill him...my lord.” Sevenus spoke, his bones trembling in fear of Athos’ wrath. Despite being a layer above him, the amount of mana Athos possessed was greater and the chains prevented him from making any kind of resistance, but what scared him the most was the idea of Athos’ anger being directed at him.
“I don’t need to fight alone. I can use the skeletons as cannon fodder and kill him using numbers. If he’s an assassin like you say, he shouldn’t be strong against numbers. I could also use wind magic to transform the air in toxic gas. He’s still a living being, so he needs to breathe.” Athos was already formulating plans to kill the mage slayer.
“My lord...the mage...slayer...move...in groups. If there is...one of them...in the city...there must be...more hidden...in sowhere.” Said Sevenus.
“Tsk! Shit, shit, shit!” Athos kicked the gate in frustration, not knowing what to do. He wanted to run and dismber the bastard limb by limb, but he would be killed if he did. He could also follow his original plan and destroy the villages and then the city, quickly building up strength, but he ran the risk of being found by the mage-killers and destroyed.
Athos doubted they would recognize him as the corpse they seek, but they would destroy him anyway. An undead was a natural enemy of all living creatures and he would also be the perfect scapegoat to explain to the order why they didn’t take his body. It would suffice to claim that he was among the reanimated skeletons and they not be refuted.
...They could read their minds and find out the whole lie, but Athos had no way of knowing that, so his paranoid mind made him imagine the worst cases.
The other option would be to abandon your current plans and flee beyond the human frontier, into the territory of the demihuman empire. His current forces were too small to survive in such hostile territory, but he could hunt monsters and demihumans and slowly gain strength, but he chose to carry on.
“There’s no use running away. I don’t know how things work in the demihuman empire, but I’m sure there are countless beings more powerful than out there. I’m still weak after all. If I’m going to fight to the death, so be it against the man who killed , not just any orc.” Athos shrugged, pausing to worry unnecessarily.
Athos decided to continue, even if he risked facing the mage slayers. If Athos found them, he was determined to use everything in his power to kill them, but if he failed anyway, he would at least hang on to the motherfucker who killed Khali and detonate the core itself, killing the motherfucker along with it.
His sense of self-preservation was dulled even when he was alive and had totally disappeared after death, so he didn’t think it was such a bad idea to kill himself to take the enemy with him. The only drawback is that he couldn’t keep killing. Feeling lighter after coming up with this suicidal plan, Athos began sorting the villagers’ skeletons.
“Human skeletons, grab anything you can use as a weapon. Makeshift spears, rakes, scythes, knives, even spades and hoes. Arm yourself with anything you can use to kill soone. It’s daylight, but we’re going to attack anyway. We leave as soon as everyone is ard. Go.” Athos ordered, causing the skeletons to scatter.
“Are you sure...that this...is the best...choice...my lord?” Sevenus asked worriedly.
“I don’t. But it’s the choice that allows to kill most people, so that’s what I’m going to choose.” Athos spoke.
“I would never...dare. My will...is your...will.” Sevenus said, kneeling on his right knee.
“Then go and fulfill your mission. And in case you et with the mage slayers, kill at least one of them, even if you have to blow yourself up with it. I am determined to do this, as my soldier, you must have the determination to do the sa, n?o é?” Athos spoke, looking inquiringly at Sevenus.
“As...you...order.” Sevenus responded without hesitation, his empty eye sockets burning with the urge to kill. He got up and jumped on the back of a rock bear, ntally ordering the monster skeletons to march.
“...I forgot to ntion that I wanted one of the bears to use as a mount, but I would feel bad if I sent him back after leaving so animated.” Athos spoke, giving up the idea and ordering his army to march as well. He had gathered around 240 soldiers if cattle were added and was eager for more.
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