Rise of the Undead Legion

"Alright, we’re stopping here," Dave decided as Tiny reached a spot barely a few hundred miles beyond Icathia. He was flying over an open field of grass, where there was nothing but some low-level creatures roaming about.

"Isn’t this way too far from the Wilds?" Jeffery asked.

"Yes, but we’re not going to go all the way there, it’s gonna take ages. We’ll take Moria’s Teleportation gate." Dave informed his travel companion.

"So was there any special reason why we couldn’t have done that when we were back in Icathia?" Jeffery wondered.

"Are you kidding me? Did you want us to miss the perfect chance to have a flashy Exit? Sorry, bud, but Skelly doesn’t work like that! Besides had we done that we wouldn’t have met the Dragon" Dave grinned as he gave Tiny the order to descend.

Once Tiny was on the ground, Dave handed Jeffery a teleportation scroll to Moria before he tore one himself.

A few moments later the two of them found themselves in the heart of the city.

Jeffery appeared a few seconds after Dave, but because he hadn’t considered the possibility of the Undead staying where he stood, Jeffery ended up walking right into Dave’s armored back.

"Dude!" Jeffery called as he rubbed his nose. Failing to see the reason why the Undead had not moved once he got out of the gate.

"I should deal with this soon," Dave mumbled.

"Deal with what?" Jeffery asked, then he noticed Dave’s affixed gaze on the people in front of them. "Uh, why are there so many Qin Soldiers here?"

"Well, Moria belongs to the East after the Guildies tried to raid the East and failed," Dave explained nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I know that, but that does not explain why there are more than a few hundred of them surrounding the gate?" Jeffery pointed out.

"I guess they planned on throwing us a party," Dave suggested jokingly.

"It’s you, isn’t it?" Jeffery sighed. "Well, I never believed this would be a cakewalk."

"Obviously, they have so much love for me," Dave added sarcastically and drew out his sword and shield. "Let’s show them a bit of our ’appreciation’."

"Guess we can share," Jeffery agreed and drew his bow.

"Hands-on approach... I suppose your Mecha has a timer limit?" Dave speculated.

"Yeah, four hours for each activation."

"Right then. Let’s deal with these guys first, and keep your Mecha for the real fight. Stay behind me, and enjoy the magic tricks."

Jeffery stuck his back to Dave and aimed his bow at one of the many soldiers surrounding the gate.

One of the soldiers gathered his courage and dove into Dave. However, the much higher level draugr simply struck him down where he stood. Durandal, too heavy for the thin iron plating the soldier wore, managed to slice the man in half.

"Summon your Undead, they’ll be helpful here man," Jeffery advised and shot one of the soldiers in the eye causing the man to scream in pain and reel back stumbling and disturbing the formation.

Dave smashed one of the soldiers aside with his shield; "Unfortunately this is gonna be more of a duo mission. They’re busy doing their own thing, but don’t worry, we won’t need them."

the Undead stomped hard on the ground with one of his feet, causing the entire area to shudder.

It was the condition to cast [Blot the Sun] a Skill that caused the clear weather above Moria to turn into a dark atmosphere. Black clouds gathered over the city, causing whatever courage the soldiers of Qin had to become ephemeral.

"Kill as many as you can, and stay within my [Aura]" Dave ordered.

" [Aura], what’s that?" Jeffery asked, but to be safe kept near the Undead.

"You’ll see," Dave replied and activated his [Infernal Tyrant’s Oppression].

Flames darker than the abyss spread from around Dave and spun in a spherical domain, circling the two of them. An enormous ethereal skull appeared over the dome of black fire. The skull, disdaining life and all too weak to stand its gaze, looked at the Qin Soldiers with derision.

Flames roared and raged, burning their armor and clothes asunder. The weak Qin Soldiers were hit with the powerful black flames first, then the secondary passive, of the Horror effect struck.

Mass panic struck the army of Qin, causing the soldiers to give up their weapons and run away.

"Enjoy the slaughter!" Dave laughed and followed after the meek soldiers. Slashing and dicing for the free EXP that these soldiers gave.

Soldiers fell at Dave’s cleaving strikes. And some of them began reviving as undead, all thanks to [Blot the Sun]’s passive effect.

Once the soldiers noticed their own brethren turning their weapons against them, many of them thought that all hope was lost.

Jeffery didn’t want to miss out on the chance of grinding the sweet EXP, so he struck at any stragglers that were fleeing from Dave’s aura. He used the revived undead as barriers to shoot at the Qin Soldiers from safety.

The two fought and culled the lives of the soldiers for what seemed like ages, but the fight eventually ended once all soldiers were either dead or had escaped from the battle.

Dave looked around. There were no more soldiers left around the city plaza, nothing but some of his dispensable undead created by [Blot the Sun]. Too bad he couldn’t add those to his ranks. In just a little while they would pass on.

But just because there were no soldiers left in the plaza, it didn’t mean that more wouldn’t come after them.

Dave checked his EXP bar only to notice that it barely rose.

"Guess that’s it," Dave mumbled dejectedly. He understood that any good thing would eventually run out, but it was still a bit of a downer that his precious bead was no longer useful to him. Sure he was the highest level player, but at the same time, it meant that now he would have to grind just like everyone else.

His companion, on the other hand, was happy with the outcome: "That was fun, I leveled up once!"

"Great, once we get where we’re supposed to, you’ll start leveling like crazy. Alright, we better head out now" Dave said.

"Right, we wouldn’t want them to call reinforcements," Jeffery added.

"They wouldn’t be a problem, they’ll just make us waste time. Tiny, you’re up again." Dave called and the small blob of slime appeared from his inventory.

"We’ll need you to take us deep into the East!"

The small slime understood and began enlarging himself to become a dragon.

Dave and Jeffery rode its back again while the creature began walking through the skies of Conquest. Moving toward the East.

Dave guided Tiny away from Urburg. It was too early to reveal the existence of the city. In the future, Dave planned to develop it into a hub for players to enjoy high-level content. Yet that was for the future, right now he had to ensure that he was able to protect it down the line.

No one would just let him enjoy the benefits of Urburg, just because he might have founded it. The promising tax income alone should be enough to entice bigger guilds into action. Whoever owned it, would be raking in the cash...

Owning such a treasure long term is only possible for whoever has enough power to deter and punish anyone coveting this treasure.

The Hunter didn’t notice the subtle change in Dave’s direction and calmly continued enjoying the scenery from above Tiny’s back.

"Man, I can’t believe that we’re simply going over the Wilds. The entire player community was having enormous trouble crossing this place, while you have your own mounted ride to do the job for you."

"Believe me when I tell you, it wasn’t easy for me to cross it the first time either," Dave grinned when thinking back. The Wilds was a danger zone in the world of Conquest that not many players dared venture through. And up there from Tiny’s back it wasn’t hard to see why.

Enormous monsters were roaming the area, some Dave hadn’t even met before. Some of them were the size of hills, while others were hidden. Unless one had an ability to see through their stealth, it was entirely possible to get killed without knowing by whom.

The Wilds was teeming with all kinds and types of monsters that Jeff didn’t wish to encounter anytime soon. And this only added to the awe and respect he felt for the draugr who mowed through them and had managed what a hundred thousand players failed to do. He had crossed the Wilds, alive and well, and currently was ’single-handedly’ waging war against the most powerful kingdom in the world of Conquest.

Some uneventful half an hour later, Tiny began descending. "Jeff, ready up, we’re here."

"Right," Jeffery replied automatically being spooked by the draugr’s sudden voice. He had been too absorbed with the scenery and making a mental map of interesting looking places he may want to explore. Awakened from his stupor he leaned to the side to see what the Undead was referring to when he had previously mentioned owning an army.

The sight was shocking... So many Undead! No matter where he looked, it was teeming with Undead like the black plague. Jeff was beginning to feel like the protagonist in Skelly’s very first teaser video.

The Hunter couldn’t help but take a deep gasp in awe. Unable to get an exact number, but his feeling told him that this at least a hundred thousand strong army would be enough to match any army in the world.

"These ... are all yours?" Jeffery asked.

"Every single one," Dave answered with pride.

Once Tiny came to the ground, the two players dropped off.

"Em, they won’t attack me, will they?"

"As long as you stay next to me, no one should bother you. But once you’re too far... I can’t guarantee your safety," Dave said. Of course, it was a small lie. He just didn’t want to keep Jeffery away from him in case he might do something that would ruin Dave’s plan.

Jeffry stuck even closer to Dave: "Great, I’ll stick to you like your shadow then."

The High-Orc Chieftain, Singund approached Dave, "Your Lordship, we have been waiting for your arrival."

The orc’s booming voice caused the Hunter to wince. Something the orc didn’t appreciate.

"Who’s the soft skin?" the orc did not even try to hide his disapproval.

"Someone who will help us in this raid."

"I can’t see much muscles under that white skin of his, I bet he’ll run away. Unlike your other soft-skinned friends, this one scares easily," the orc complained in a snort.

Jeffery frowned, was the orc belittling him?

"Muscles aren’t always the way to win a fight Singund, sometimes, overwhelming firepower is the way," Dave argued.

Singund nodded, but Dave doubted the orc had understood what he meant.

Dave shook his head, "Alright, get everyone ready. Jeffery, come with me."

Jeffery followed Dave and made sure to stay as close to him and as far away from the orc as possible.

"He doesn’t like me does he," Jeffery whispered.

"The orcs and especially Singund respect strength the most. Show him what your cannons can do, and believe me you’ll be best friends in no time," Dave encouraged the Hunter.

"Alright then, when can we start?" It appeared as if Dave fully succeeded in motivating his helper. The light in Jeffery’s eyes revealed that he was ready to go this instant.

"In a minute," Dave was looking forward to the other’s performance, but he planned to do things properly. Next he turned to his army.

"Legionnaires!" Dave’s voice boomed through the ranks, "Today, we march against the Qin Army!"

Dave went silent, but his army didn’t, they all boomed in the same voice, seething with rage against those who dared belittle them.

"They dared assault us in our lands! Today we shall pay them back a hundred fold!" Dave’s voice roared once again and his army followed, sending shivers down Jeffery’s spine. "Today they dine in Hell!"

"Now! Legionnaires! WE MARCH!" and in response Dave’s words, the Undead Legionnaires all shouted at once!

"FOR THE LEGION!"