A week passed faster than anyone expected.
The mine never stopped. The forges burned day and night. The sound of hamr striking tal echoed through the camp without rest, until even the air itself seed to carry the weight of iron and ash.
And now, it was ti.
The open ground outside the town had been turned into a silent war camp. Rows upon rows of undead stood in formation, unmoving, their weapons held steady, their armor catching the faint morning light. Two hundred of them were fully equipped, covered from head to toe in newly forged gear. Blades, spears, shields, even crude but effective plating. Not elegant, but deadly.
Behind them stood the rest.
Five hundred undead in total.
Aiden’s army.
Mixed among them were his personal summons. Nineteen basic-grade undead, standing quietly but far from weak. And twenty bronze-grade undead, their presence heavier, each one carrying the strength of body tempering. Even without moving, they gave off pressure that the others could not match.
At the center of it all was Aiden.
This ti, he was not riding in a carriage.
Instead, he sat atop the back of his undead beast.
The creature was massive, its body towering over the others, its dead flesh reinforced by dark energy. Each step it took pressed deep into the earth, leaving clear imprints behind. Its hollow eyes glowed faintly, scanning the horizon as if waiting for sothing to kill.
Aiden rested one arm on his knee, looking over his army.
Graveknit stood below, its uneven, stitched body still as ever. Carrion was not far, silent and imposing, its armored form blending into the ranks of the stronger undead.
Aiden exhaled slowly.
"So this is what we have now."
Graveknit tilted its head slightly. "Five hundred undead, my lord. Two hundred fully equipped. The rest can still fight, though not as efficiently."
Aiden nodded. "It’s enough."
Carrion stepped forward, its heavy presence drawing attention without effort. "The army is ready, my lord. We can march at any ti."
Aiden looked at it for a mont, then gave a small smile.
"Not bad. From nothing to this in such a short ti."
He leaned back slightly on the beast’s back, eyes drifting toward the distant horizon where the human city lay.
Graveknit stepped forward slightly. "My lord, the scouts have returned."
Aiden glanced down. "And?"
"No movent from the city. Their defenses remain, but they have not advanced since their last attack."
Carrion spoke next, its voice low. "Then we strike them."
Aiden’s gaze sharpened.
"Yes. We do."
He slowly stood up on the beast’s back. The movent alone was enough to draw every undead’s attention. Five hundred empty gazes turned toward him at once.
For a mont, everything was completely still.
Then Aiden spoke.
"We’re done waiting."
His voice was not loud, but it carried across the entire field.
"They attacked us first. They thought we were weak. Easy to wipe out."
His eyes hardened.
"They were wrong."
The undead did not cheer. They did not shout.
But the silence itself felt like a response.
Aiden raised his hand slightly, then lowered it.
"Move."
That was all it took.
The army began to march.
----
It took them almost a full day to reach Virel City.
They did not stop.
They did not slow down.
The undead marched without rest, their movents steady and unchanging from the mont they left until the mont the city walls ca into view. The ground had long since turned uneven beneath their feet, marked by hundreds of footprints that stretched far behind them like a trail of death.
By the ti they arrived, night had already fallen.
Virel City stood quiet under the dark sky, its walls tall and solid, torches burning along the ramparts. From a distance, it looked peaceful. Guards walked their usual patrols, their voices low, unaware of what was coming.
Aiden sat atop his undead beast, looking down at the city from a nearby rise.
"So this is it," he muttered.
Graveknit stood beside the beast, its stitched body barely making a sound as it shifted. "The sa city that sent n to attack us, my lord."
Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah. Looks calm."
Carrion stepped forward, its armored form almost blending into the darkness. "Shall we begin?"
Aiden didn’t answer right away.
He watched the walls.
The guards.
The torches.
The quiet.
Then he gave a small nod.
"Wake them up."
That single word was enough.
The army surged forward.
Hundreds of undead moved at once, their footsteps crashing against the ground like a wave breaking against stone. Armor clattered. Weapons shifted. The silence of the night shattered in an instant.
On the walls of Virel City, a guard froze.
At first, he thought it was thunder.
Then he saw them.
A dark mass moving across the land, growing larger with every second.
His eyes widened.
"The skeleton monsters...!"
His voice cracked as he turned.
"THE SKELETONS! THEY’RE HERE!"
The alarm bells rang almost imdiately.
Loud. Urgent. Desperate.
The entire city was jolted awake.
Inside the walls, lights began to flicker on one by one. Doors opened. People rushed into the streets, confusion quickly turning into panic as the sound of marching reached them.
"What’s happening?"
"Why are the bells ringing?"
"Is it them?"
Voices overlapped, rising in fear.
At the gates, soldiers scrambled into position.
"Get the archers up! Now!"
"Close the inner barricades!"
"Move, move!"
Boots slamd against stone as n rushed to their posts, hands shaking as they grabbed weapons, adjusted armor, anything to prepare.
On the wall, one young guard gripped his spear tightly, his breathing uneven.
"They’re really here..." he muttered.
Beside him, an older soldier narrowed his eyes, trying to steady himself.
"Hold your ground," he said, though his voice lacked its usual strength.
The alarm bells had not stopped ringing.
By the ti Caelus reached the outer wall, the noise had already spread across the entire city. Soldiers rushed past him, so still fastening their armor, others gripping weapons too tightly. The air was thick with tension, every step filled with urgency.
Rhett arrived just behind him.
Neither of them spoke at first.
They stepped onto the wall together.
And then they saw it.
Below them, stretching far into the darkness, was a sea of skeletons.
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