Five figures dressed entirely in black assassin-like attire stood at a distance, silently observing the battlefield.
"The mission has half failed," one of them said in a low voice. "With that insect beast involved, the Empire will now believe the Beast Empire is connected to this monster tide and the goblin army."
"That is the Empire’s original assumption anyway," another replied calmly.
"But I never expected someone capable of controlling a monster army to appear here," a third person said, curiosity evident in his voice.
"Should we kill him?" the last member asked coldly.
The person standing at the front turned sharply, his gaze freezing the man in place.
"We cannot expose ourselves yet."
"My apologies, Leader," the man immediately said, lowering his head.
"Let’s leave," the leader ordered before casting one final glance toward the direction Luke has headed.
After putting a considerable distance between us and the village, I ordered my undead army to begin gathering every nearby resource.
We would need far more supplies if we wanted to defeat large enemy groups efficiently in the future.
First, I decided to check the condition of my undead army.
"Vargan is heavily injured and currently resting inside the Death Realm."
"Vorak is still fine, though he suffered moderate injuries."
"Twenty E- rank undead were destroyed during the battle. Ten undead wolves and the remaining ten were Vine Serpents," I said in a heavy voice.
"Luckily, we gained new undead to replace them."
I then reviewed the enemies we had killed during the battle.
"Thirty thousand F- monsters, eight thousand F, two thousand F+ ranked monsters, fifty E- rank monsters, five E rank , and finally two E+ rank monsters..."
A grin slowly appeared on my face.
"The saying really is true. Without war, no one can become strong."
’System, calculate all the points.’
[CACULATING....]
[HOST HAS GAINED:30,000 + 16,000 + 6,000 + 500 + 75 + 40 = 52,615P.]
[PREVIOUS BALANCE POINTS: 2,371P.]
[TOTAL POINTS GAINED: 54,986P.]
[I have already deducted the cost of the previous three skills from the total balance, so there is no need to thank me.] the system said cheerfully.
"Whatever. I’m rich now," I muttered while thinking about my next move.
To rank up, I would need either 500,000 points for E- rank cores or 150,000 points for E+ rank cores.
"Well, I hope I can reach the next rank before arriving at the next town."
Without wasting more time, I began resurrecting monsters to refill my undead slots with E rank monster.
’System, show me the status of the two E+ rank undead.’
[UNDEAD STATUS: HOB GOBLIN WARLORD (E+) ELITE]
NAME: NONE
RANK: E+
SKILLS:
[Root Armor (F)]
[Root Bind (F)]
[Forest Giant Form (E)]
I looked toward the undead hobgoblin warlord standing before me.
The creature possessed dark green skin, glowing amber eyes, and a massive greatsword resting on its shoulder. Even at six feet tall, its presence alone felt intimidating.
Yeah, I have retrieved the greatsword from Vargan’s stomach earlier.
"He only possesses one E rank skill. No wonder he isn’t as strong as Vorak or Vargan," I muttered.
Then I checked the second status screen.
[UNDEAD STATUS: CENTIPEDE (E+) ELITE]
NAME: NONE
RANK: E+
SKILLS:
[Venom Fang Bite (F)]
[Thousand-Leg Rush (F)]
[Tail Impaler (F)]
[Exoskeleton Fortification (E)]
[Death Venom Frenzy (E)]
In front of me stood a massive ten-foot-long elite undead centipede with a dark purple exoskeleton, countless razor-sharp legs, glowing violet eyes, and venom constantly dripping from its massive fangs and armored body.
"His skill set is pretty good," I muttered in satisfaction.
"As elites, both of you deserve names," I said.
The moment they heard my words, both undead became unusually serious and expectant, as if I were about to grant them something incredibly precious.
"You will be called Grathmok," I said while looking at the hobgoblin warlord.
The undead immediately kneeled before me, showing its appreciation.
"And your name will be Dreadcrawler," I said while turning toward the centipede.
The giant creature began rapidly moving its countless blade-like legs, almost as if expressing excitement.
"Hah... this is exhausting," I sighed.
The side effects of my previous buff skill were still lingering throughout my body, leaving me mentally and physically drained.
"Go. Show me your worth. Hunt every monster you find," I ordered while waving my hand dismissively.
All the undead departed immediately except for one undead wolf and Vorak, who remained behind to guard me.
"Wake me up if something happens," I muttered before quickly falling into a deep sleep.
After I woke up, I checked status of my undead.
I activated my **Ruler of Eyes** skill.
My eyes turned pitch black as my vision merged with that of a red-eyed crow soaring high in the sky.
From above, I could clearly see Westwatch Village bustling with activity, along with several nearby villages appearing as small dots scattered across the land.
Without wasting time, I began searching for E+ rank monsters to add to my undead army.
For a while, I found nothing worthwhile—only small herds of beasts and scattered goblin groups.
But after a few moments, I finally spotted something useful: a herd of wild bison led by an E+ rank beast.
I immediately marked it as my target and ordered a nearby group of E rank undead to hunt them down.
Soon after, I continued discovering more groups of monsters, some E rank and others E+, and I kept issuing orders for my undead to eliminate them one after another.
As night approached, I finally stopped.
When I checked my Death Realm, I saw that I has gathered more than **100 E rank monsters and 20 E+ rank monsters**.
A wide smile formed on my face.
Even though nearly half of them were bison, the rest consisted of gorillas and wolves.
I then checked the status of one of the bison.
**Earthback Bison (E+)**
A massive beast with rocky plates growing across its back. It possessed two abilities: **Quake Stomp**, which created powerful shockwaves, and **Stone Skin**, a passive ability that greatly enhanced its defense.
After about an hour, I replaced my vine serpent undead with an E+ rank unit.
Then I headed toward the village’s Adventurer Guild.
This time, I decided to ride an Earthback Bison. The experience was incredible—it moved faster than expected, and anything small in its path was instantly crushed beneath its heavy steps.
Within a few hours, I reached the village and entered the Adventurer Guild.
The guild is still filled with adventurers, many of them frustrated and angrily cursing the "the wolf rider," since they has returned from the monster tide with nothing to show for it.
Seems like higher ups didn’t tell them my identiy.
I shook my head and head toward front.
"Hello, Rose," I said as I approached the receptionist desk.
Rose is still seated there.
"Are there any quests available for the nearest town?"
"There is a large caravan heading toward the capital city of the Ironvale Kingdom," she said after a brief pause.
Then she added, "I’m also returning that way. Would you like to come with me?"
"Huh? Sure. I just need to reach any town along the way," I replied casually.
Rose’s expression brightened slightly after hearing my answer.
I noted the departure time and left the guild shortly after.
For the rest of the day, I trained inside the forest, continuously hunting creatures and refining my skills.
The next morning, just as I was about to head out, a system notification appeared regarding my gains from the previous day—