Chapter 75: Eight-Legged Freakout: How to Lose Your Nerves and Raise the Dead in One Easy Step
Karl rushed out of the dungeon core room. He said to Rook, "Prepare yourselves! There’s a hostile force incoming from the lower floors!"
Rook nodded calmly. He shouted, "Men! Assume battle formations!"
The twelve skeletons tapped their spears in unison and chanted, "Awoooh! Awoooh! Awooh!" The sound was a rhythmic, rattling beat that seemed to vibrate through the very stone of the dungeon.
They moved to a distance away from the bridge, their formation flawless. Rook however, ran through the narrow bridge onto the other side, positioning himself between Karl as they stared at the dark pit below. Karl gulped waiting for the enemy to emerge.
Behind him, the orc brothers, Schalezusk and Simon, appeared. Schalezusk’s massive battleaxe rested easily on his shoulder, his tusks curving into a predatory grin.
"Mr. Karl, what is the problem?" he rumbled, his voice a low bass.
Karl replied with a serious expression, a cold mask over his internal panic. "Hostile forces are coming from below. We don’t know their numbers yet."
Schalezusk’s smirk widened. "Then, let me in on the fun, Mr. Karl."
Karl smiled and nodded. "I appreciate all the help we can get."
He then pointed at a random soldier across the bridge. "Hey you! Call the other soldiers in here and be quick." The skeleton soldier nodded and dashed off, its bony feet clattering against the stone floor.
A tense silence descended, broken only by a low, scraping sound from the depths of the pit. It was the sound of dozens of chitinous legs, a chorus of clicks and scratches against the sheer rock walls. Then, the first of them appeared. Large spiders, each one half the size of a man, their red eyes glowing malevolently in the dim light. They swarmed the walls, climbing with unnatural speed towards them.
Rook’s voice boomed, cutting through the eerie sound. "Remember your training!"
As the first spiders reached the top, the soldiers, who had formed a shield wall, stood ready. Their spears became a deadly, synchronized attack, easily piercing the incoming spiders. The chitinous exoskeletons cracked and splintered with sickening sounds as the spears found their mark.
Rook and Schalezusk, working in brutal tandem on the other side as they moved with a grace that belied their immense power, slaying the spiders on their side with precise, crushing blows.
Simon, however, let out a terrified whimper. He took one look at the sheer size of the spiders and their glowing red eyes, turned on his heel, and bolted. He scrambled back into the dungeon core room cowering in the corner.
Karl watched the carnage, a sense of helplessness building within him. He was a master of logistics, an executive, a planner. But a fighter was never in his books.
He cursed inwardly. Shit! I don’t know how to fight! The last time I fought anyone was that dumb kid in middle school and that was seventeen years ago! How do I lead them if I’m cowering myself?
He clenched his fists, his phalanges clicking together. I can’t show fear. I can’t show any weakness. How exactly do I do this?.
From Rook’s perspective, his lord stood behind him, a faint swirl of dark energy gathering around his form. He smiled behind his helm. My Lord... he’s holding back his true power. Rook was waiting for this moment, a true test, to witness the glory of his lord’s true power. Rook gripped his katana, ready to witness a display of force beyond anything he had ever seen.
But Karl’s thoughts were the opposite. Karl was panicking, hiding it with every ounce of his will he can. The spiders kept coming, a relentless tide of endless horror.
"Damn it! How can I call myself a lich, when I myself don’t even know how to use these damn powers? All I have is a system. If only I had waited for the elemental rifles to finish, I would’ve done this easily. Shiiiiit! If this goes on, the entire dungeon is gonna be overrun by these insects!"
Then, in what seemed like a desperate, last-minute intervention, the system panel appeared with a gentle shimmer of blue light. It was a lifeline in the middle of a storm.
[ Priority Task: Completed ]
[ Rewards: ]
[ Skill: Dark Mana-Infused Bone Armor ]
Cost: 80 Mana | Cooldown: 20s | Duration: 1m
Description: Weaves dark mana with bone to form a protective exoskeleton. Provides a defense buff. Can be shaped with Blueprint Creation.
[ Skill: Necrotic Bolt ]
Cost: 10 Mana | Cooldown: 2s
Description: Fires necrotic energy at a target. Deals direct damage, with a chance to briefly stun organic foes.
[ Skill: Soul Weave ]
Cost: 50 Mana | Cooldown: 30s | Duration: 2m
Description: Binds a fallen enemy’s soul to its corpse, reanimating it as a temporary combat echo. The minion retains a sliver of its original prowess before it disintegrates.
His hollow eye sockets widened, taking in the descriptions. "Skills... real combat skills. Finally!" The words were a quiet exhalation of relief. He smiled, a genuine, skeletal grin. Then his eyes widened further as a final, monumental skill appeared.
[ Summon: Cadaverous Abomination ]
Cost: 200 Mana | Cooldown: 1h | Duration: Permanent (until destroyed)
Description: Consumes a significant amount of mana and corpses to construct a single, powerful golem designed for direct combat and demolition.
The realization hit him like a physical blow. He didn’t have to fight. He could summon a fighter. A manic, triumphant laugh ripped from his throat, a sound fitting an undead arch-lich. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY!!" It was a sound of pure, unadulterated release.
Even Rook and Schalezusk were taken aback by the sound. They looked at each other, a shared look of awe and foreboding.
Karl then shouted, his gestures befitting that of an undead arch-lich, clearly enjoying his moment. He raised his hands high over the pit. "Answer mine bid from the depths of the eternal hell, as i summon thou, corpse king"
The air grew heavy, and a sense of necrotic energy surged into the other side, as he used the Cadaverous Abomination skill. The massive mana deduction made his undead form feeling momentarily drained, but he knew it would be worth it.
On the other side, a large, dark-purple vortex illuminated the ground, swirling like a gateway to a charnel house. A vile and ominous scream tore through the dungeon, a sound that made everyone nearby, and even Rook, pale in fear. A large, muscular hand, resembling decaying muscle and sinew, appeared first from the vortex. It heaved itself up, revealing a thirteen-foot-tall abomination. It looked like a hulk, its eyes glowing with a sinister purple light, but more dead and more decayed.
Every skeleton around it, as well as Rook and Schalezusk on the other side, paled as it let out a guttural roar, a sound of pure, unthinking rage. With its feet, it casually squashed several of the small spiders. Then, it picked one up, its massive fingers tearing the creature apart with a sickening squelch, before biting into another with a horrific, wet crunch.
Karl, having experienced such raw power firsthand, laughed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Show them the power of the undead, corpse king!" Its purple eyes glowed brighter, roaring loudly as if acknowledging its master’s orders. A newfound rage and motivation seemed to animate it. It smashed its fist into the ground with the force of a battering ram and the shockwave knocked back the soldiers behind it, sending them scrambling for respectful distance. The spiders nearby were also blown back, falling towards into the dark, endless pit below.
As everyone watched the slaughter, the scene turned bizarre. The golem wasn’t exactly smashing anymore, but eating the spiders, enraged by Karl’s orders. Karl continued to laugh, a wild, unhinged sound. "HAHAHAHAHA! That’s right! If they’re not worthy as an opponent, they are FOOD!" He laughed again, the sound now a high-pitched cackle. "KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Rook watched the unbelievable scene unfold. He himself muttered in his head, ’I really can’t comprehend my lord’s power.’ He glanced at Karl, who was still laughing maniacally, a sight that was both terrifying and inspiring. Later on, the reinforcements, along with Leo who arrived to assist, also watched, stunned in amazement, finally saying, "What in the world is that?"
Every skeleton soldier in their minds, was asking the exact same thing. They instantly realized what it was when they heard Karl laughing. Leo laughed in disbelief and shook his head, a wry, almost relieved smile on his face.
He thought to himself, ’This is the first time I’ve witnessed my lord’s power, and it’s terrifying. I don’t know if he’s actually fighting or simply playing.’
Karl, having decided to test the other skills and continue his fun, scrolled among the list of rewarded skills and chose the Soul Weave skill. He shouted again, fully embracing his role as an undead overlord. "I summon thee, forces of the dead, serve thy lord and in eternity shall ye serve him!" A shockwave of light green passed through, and every dead spider’s soul arose. Their souls, now bound to Karl’s will, floated in a ghostly horde.
Karl ordered them, "Slaughter them all and bring them unto the eternal paradise of the undying!"
Everyone who witnessed this could not believe what they were seeing.