Godforsaken land, in a hidden valley.
Succubus Elder Desdemona awoke from darkness to find herself staring into Lilith's ravishing face.
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"So, even in the boundless blackness of death, dreams can still exist?
I… I really saw Lilith!"
Desdemona murmured in a low voice, but what she heard in return was a husky rasp mixed with crackling sounds. The air suddenly grew oppressive. Desdemona couldn't believe it was her own voice—so coarse and rough.
"Elder Desdemona, death isn't the end—it's just another beginning."
At the sound of Lilith's voice, Desdemona snapped out of her confusion. She peered closely at Lilith.
"You… you really are Lilith?"
Lilith nodded calmly.
"Take a mont to feel out your own body. Then you'll understand what happened."
Desdemona nodded and instinctively examined herself. The very next instant, bones sprouted from her body, wrapping around her completely.
"I… died… then was transford… into a Skeletal Knight?"
She sounded totally stunned—unsure whether to be happy or bewildered. She stood there, mouth open, at a loss for words.
"It was Orion who transford you all!"
"All of us?"
"Yes—all of you!"
Lilith raised her hand, motioning behind Desdemona. There, the clanmates who'd fallen in battle were rising to their feet, one after another. A total of two hundred and two, all turned into Skeletal Knights.
Desdemona spun around, gazing at the familiar faces. She opened her mouth but couldn't think of a thing to say.
"Skeletal Knights co with heavy restrictions. If you die again, you'll be gone for good, with your souls completely obliterated.
Elder Desdemona, this incomplete path of evolution was obtained with countless sacrifices."
Lilith's voice grew louder, loud enough for the newly awakened clanmates to hear:
"You are still bathed in the Horde's glory, shining under Orion's radiance."
There was a fevered passion in Lilith's tone—mixed with a subtle excitent.
Three days later, Orion's army gained a new contingent of armored Skeletal Knights.
"Lord Orion, I didn't expect you to get your hands on a resurrection array from my master," Rumbold remarked when he sensed the presence of the Skeletal Knights.
He could hardly miss sothing that obvious—plus it confird how close Orion must be to his master, Arthas.
"Skeletal Knights are basically an incomplete evolutionary path," Rumbold continued. "In the Necro Realm, we've never seen a veteran Legendary-level Skeletal Knight make it that far.
But for those lacking innate talent, or anyone with regrets in life, this path sure beats the alternative."
Rumbold wanted to emphasize the shortcomings of Skeletal Knights as a friendly heads-up. Orion nodded; Arthas had warned him about this back when he provided the sacrificial ritual.
Honestly, for these horde mbers, simply reaching 'lord' status (Legendary level) could have been a dream they'd never fulfill on their own.
"Lord Orion, we've cleared out the entire eastern region. Ti to head for the central region and help out."
Orion lifted his gaze, looking toward the center of the land. After a brief pause, he nodded to Rumbold.
Originally, based on Orion's agreent with Leonidas, finishing this sweep would fulfill his mission—he could leave the godforsaken land early and get a world's core as compensation. But bailing right in the middle might seem a little cold.
Besides, he wanted to see for himself how old-school Legendary-level entities fought. That was the path he'd soon be walking, so it wouldn't hurt to watch and steel his resolve.
"All right. Let's head for the central region."
It was precisely the decision Rumbold hoped for. His master, Arthas, was in the central region, and Rumbold wanted to do his part there.
An arch lord might not consider a lord-level fighter worth losing sleep over, but from Rumbold's perspective, if things went south, at least he'd ensure Arthas went down later than he did.
And so, their entire force changed course and set out en masse. Orion, seated astride his Abyssal Dragon, sank his consciousness into the Survivor's Platform to update Leonidas and Arthas on current events.
Hulk: "Hey, bros—east side is done. All three lords who were holed up here are killed."
Arthas: "Nicely done."
Leonidas: "Wahaha… Lil' bro, not bad! Thought you'd get stuck fighting them for a while!"
Hulk: "Just luck. I had Rumbold's help—no telling how it would've gone otherwise.
Bro (Arthas), that subordinate of yours is seriously aweso!"
Leonidas: "Boney McBoneface's guy is pretty legit, all right. Upper Legendary-level, basically on the brink of arch lord status."
Hulk: "Bro Leonidas, I'm heading for the central region with Rumbold to assist. Think we can make it in ti for the final showdown?"
Leonidas: "If you get here within half a month, I'd say yes!
Hey, Squiddy (Kraken), how're things on your end?"
Kraken: "Just about finished. So random lord popped up but I already took care of 'em."
Leonidas: "No worries—that must've been the only oceanic lord in this godforsaken land. Better off dead."
…
Godforsaken land, on a lone island in the northwest.
Kraken sprawled out, its colossal body draped across a massive shark as it tore off huge chunks of flesh. That shark was precisely the lord Kraken had killed.
"Scored a Lord's Stone. This trip's already paid off!"
A Lord's Stone isn't just for building your own territory—you can trade it for all kinds of rare goods. Whether on the Survivor's Platform or back ho, Kraken stood to profit.
"Too bad it's one of those polluted Lord's Stones… gonna need so hotshot to purify it," Kraken muttered between bites of shark at. "Figures that guy Hulk's still a beast. Three lords down… guess he's bagged at least one Lord's Stone, maybe all three!"
Kraken sighed. "What to do… the more I think about it, the more jealous I get…"
He had a little quirk: whenever he ate, daydreaming made him feel extra amped and happy.
…
In the central region, atop a certain tower.
Leonidas disconnected from the Survivor's Platform and blinked, glancing reproachfully at Arthas with big, soulful eyes—there was sothing endearingly naive in that look.
"Once our commander wakes up and ets Hulk, I bet Hulk'll get even stronger.
Boney McBoneface, you gotta teach
how to pick out talented survivors. I'm sick of all my 'promising' newbies ending up dead."
Arthas didn't bother responding to Leonidas, instead gazing south, clearly trying to gauge the situation over there. After a long mont, he finally lowered his head to give Leonidas a glance.
"I've ntored plenty of survivors who had tons of 'potential,' but only Hulk made it to Legendary.
If you want your eyes opened, maybe wait 'til our commander can teach you."
Leonidas perked up at the ntion of "commander," but just as quickly, his excitent evaporated.
"h, our commander's snoozing all year long—there's nothing to learn that way!"
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