Chapter 263 : The Eve of War

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Eve of War

During the introductions, the bearfolk, dwarves, naga, and other tribes were all quite courteous toward her, but when it came to the beastman Oleg...

"I saw Queen Serea's undead warriors at the foot of the mountain. I have to say, that truly is a formidable force."

"Thank you for the compliment, chief Oleg. The warriors of your tribe are equally brave and extraordinary."

"Heh, I wasn't simply flattering you."

"Oh?"

Seeing all the orcs from the Blood Eye tribe turn their attention toward her, Serea sensed a certain tension in the air.

"Since the meeting hasn't formally started, if Chief Oleg has something to say, please say it directly."

"Then I won't hold back. This sort of thing isn't usually said on such an occasion, but since I probably wouldn't get the chance to see Queen Serea otherwise, I'll be candid."

After a brief pause to organize his words, oleg raised his hand, pointing behind Serea at Little Black and Little White.

"Those two powerful undead—and all the undead in your tribe—follow your command. As an undead mage, when you arrived here, a large number of zombies and skeletons from the jungle came with you. Queen Serea, do you have anything to say about this?"

"You suspect that the undead in the jungle are connected to me."

"Yes, because you can control the undead, and you arrived here at an extremely coincidental time. But the things that happened afterwards can hardly be called coincidences."

After Oleg's words, everyone exchanged glances but no one spoke.

Indeed, the ability to control the undead would naturally attract some distrust, especially with Serea's appearance at such a sensitive period.

But Serea was unfazed.

"Chief Oleg, first, let me correct you—it's not that the undead followed me here, but that I was forced to migrate here because of pressure from the undead."

"Someone who can control so many powerful undead, and yet you were driven out by them?"

"Haha, it's just like you, Lord Oleg. Despite leading so many valiant cavalry, didn't you also get injured?"

Serea said this as Oleg looked at his own arm, which bore a blackened wound that had only just healed.

Undead poison!

Obviously, when they came here, they suffered attacks from the undead, and many of them had wounds.

"......"

Oleg remained silent, so Serea continued.

"Besides, not all our tribe members are undead. We have werewolves from the Bloodthirsty Fangs, elves from the Darkmoon clan, and blood slaves who later joined us. They're all part of our tribe."

"I see. That's a reasonable explanation; perhaps I misunderstood."

Oleg glanced at Lola and the others beside Serea. He had originally thought that those elves and werewolves were just subordinate tribes; he hadn't expected them all to be her tribespeople.

What a peculiar tribe...

"Still, I hope the Queen won't mind. I've always been straightforward—it was only to quickly identify the perpetrator of the recent sudden attack on our subordinate 'Carlo Merman Tribe'."

Oleg's words caught Serea's attention.

"What did the attackers look like?"

"A group of undead and some monsters—those monsters were like ogres with tentacles."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Serea showed a subtle smile.

"Then perhaps I can help you find the culprit, chief."

"Are you certain?"

"I can't guarantee it, but I'd say it's highly likely."

On hearing this, oleg's eyes shifted thoughtfully, as if he'd realized something.

"Then I must trouble you, queen."

"No need to be so polite. Since I called everyone together today, and since you all suffered injuries because of me, I feel a bit responsible. So please, accept this."

As she spoke, Lola retrieved several bottles of Spring of Life.

When distributed, bearfolk Clan Elder Yegor immediately recognized what was in the bottle.

"Spring of Life!"

Hearing this, everyone turned in surprise to Yegor, then looked at the potion in their hands. When opened, a surge of life power wafted out. Oleg shouted in excitement.

"It really is the Spring of Life!"

What was the Spring of Life?

Even without any processing, it was equivalent to some intermediate or even advanced potions. Its purification effect rivaled that of holy water from the human church.

And now, when the undead plague was rampant, this was exactly what they needed most.

"To be able to offer something so precious... does this mean..."

Yegor eyed Serea excitedly, four words flashing through his mind:

Elf Royalty!

"Thank you so much, queen Serea."

Dibek spoke up. Since the naga were not good at land combat, they had many wounded, but with the Spring of Life, they could soon recover.

Moreover...

There was actually an elf royal in the jungle. If they could get on her good side, they might get a continuous supply of Spring of Life, which held great appeal for every tribe currently afflicted by undead poison.

For a moment, everyone looked at Serea differently. Serea, of course, knew exactly what they were thinking—or rather, this was all part of her design.

After they used the Spring of Life to heal and purify their undead poison, and realized its formidable effects, everyone was now considering how to win Serea over.

So, as everyone watched, half an hour passed, but the meeting's central figure still hadn't shown up.

"Hmph, making so many of us wait for him—Maregof is getting gutsy."

Dibek commented. Although he was attending as a junior, after learning from Serea that Maregof had captured their tribe members and transformed them into monsters, dibek and the other naga had lost all liking for Maregof—not that they ever had any, since Whirlpool Tide was the only tribe to reject his alliance.

"Send someone to call again."

Vandock waved for a dwarf, but before he finished instructing, slow footsteps were already heard outside.

Step, step, step!

"Reporting, clan Chief—the representatives from the Silver Ear tribe have arrived."

"Let them in."

As the words rang out, under everyone's gaze, two goblins entered the meeting room, leading an ogre.

"Apologies, apologies. We were delayed by an undead attack."

Their leader was Friesen.

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't Maregof come himself?"

"Our lord fell gravely ill suddenly, so he cannot come. Desellin and I can represent the Silver Ear tribe."

As Friesen spoke, they stood outside the roundtable. Vandock pondered a moment.

"Take a seat."

"Thank you."

Friesen and Desellin took their seats. Seeing that Maregof hadn't come personally, Serea couldn't help but wonder what trick he was playing in private.

"Since everyone's arrived, let's begin the meeting. As convener, queen Serea, please state the purpose."

"Of course."

Serea got up and fixed her gaze on Friesen.

"I trust you all received my letter, so here, I wish to accuse Maregof of secretly ordering the kidnapping of other jungle tribes' members, turning them into monsters, and wantonly slaughtering our kin. The victimized tribes include the Whirlpool Tide naga, jawfang lizardmen, and Makaria beastman tribes. Lord Friesen, please give us an explanation on Maregof's behalf."

All eyes fell on Friesen, who looked uneasy under such scrutiny.

"Where's your evidence? If you can't provide it, I won't respond to this question."

"I have it."

With that, teusha brought the naga, stro brought the beastmen, and Tifia brought the lizardmen all forward.

"Th-they're yours... can we trust their words?"

"Wrong there. Chief Stro's Makaria tribe is a trading partner of Maregof, mind you."

"Damn it, stro! Maregof treated you well. Why are you siding with them?"

Friesen shouted at Stro, but Stro responded coldly.

"My people were slaughtered by those monsters. I will find the culprit no matter who it is."

His tone was icy, but Friesen still tried to argue.

"Heh, so do you have evidence those monsters were sent by our Silver Ear tribe?"

Stro, tifia, and Teusha fell silent, for they didn't—but that didn't mean no one else did.

"Here, take a look. I had people track those monsters—they all gathered in your tribe's cave, and their first appearance was within or near your territory. All the victims were your neighboring tribes."

Serea tossed out a projection crystal, which Vandock, as arbiter, activated.

The projection showed what Serea described: all the evidence pointed to the Silver Ear tribe. With such a large force of monsters, hiding it wasn't possible.

"This intelligence can be used as evidence. Lord Friesen, what's your opinion?"

"The monster nest is in our abandoned camp, and the rest only shows we're suspects. There's no direct proof we sent the monsters. Besides, why would we attack our own allies? We have no motive."

Friesen replied, so everyone looked again at Serea.

"Indeed, queen Serea, your evidence only increases suspicion. Do you have any more conclusive proof?"

"No, but I believe if we search the Silver Ear tribe, we'll find something."

Serea said, which made Friesen nervous.

"Absurd! You're just trying to frame us!"

"I can refrain from participating in the search; let the other four main tribes do it."

"This..."

Friesen tried to argue, but Vandock said:

"Motion valid."

"I object! She's targeting us!"

"Objection overruled. If you have nothing further, let's vote."

"Damn it..."

Friesen hadn't expected them to have so much evidence, cornering him and rendering all his excuses useless.

Seeing Friesen at a loss for words, vandock said:

"Prepare to vote. As the initiator, the Darkmoon clan does not vote; as the accused, the Silver Ear tribe does not vote. Those in favor of searching the Silver Ear tribe, please raise your hands."

Dibek raised his hand first, followed by Vandock. Yegor glanced at Oleg, and slowly raised his own. Finally...

"Anyone who dares attack the 'Carlo Merman Tribe' or our kin in the Makaria beastman tribe—no matter who the culprit, our Blood Eye clan will never tolerate it!"

Oleg shot a fierce glare at Friesen and raised his hand. All four votes passed—the trading alliance of Maregof was dismantled!

NICE!

Blame yourself, maregof. What do you have left to fight me with now?

"All votes in favor. Lord Friesen, do you have any objection?"

"......"

Friesen gritted his teeth in silence. Faced with the evidence and the chiefs of the other great tribes, he couldn't object.

But if they were allowed to search, it would all be over! There's no way to hide those things from their eyes—they must warn Lord Maregof at once.

"Seems Lord Friesen has no objections. Queen Serea, do you have anything to add?"

"Go directly to Maregof's camp by Lake Nos during the search, so everyone doesn't have to wait too long."

"Good. We'll take this suggestion."

At this point, friesen felt utterly cold inside.

"Then we..."

"We ask everyone to remain, and to come with us for the search."

With that, several dwarf guards came to stand beside Friesen and his group.

It's over. The intel can't be sent out, and when they search, everything will be exposed.

Thus, Serea's plan came to perfect fruition. Once it was confirmed no one had anything else to add, vandock detained Maregof's envoys and guards.

"Queen Serea, since you initiated the meeting, you cannot participate in the search. Please wait for the result."

"No problem. I trust Clan Chief Vandock's character, and believe you all will stand with the jungle."

"Thank you for your trust."

"If there's nothing else, I'll go back and await your good news."

"Safe journey, queen Serea."

As she led her people out of the meeting room, Serea's face was full of confidence. But as soon as she left, diberu immediately followed.

"Queen Serea, please wait."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Stopping, dibek spoke directly.

"My father asked me to give you this."

Diberu offered her an invitation.

"This is..."

"If you have time, please bring Brother Teusha to visit us. Perhaps he'll remember something, and we would like to thank you, queen Serea."

The stated topic was Teusha, but Serea understood that she herself was the real focus.

Looks like they've taken the bait too...

"Alright, I'll visit when I get the chance."

With their farewells exchanged, Serea returned to the outpost, with Lodran tagging along.

"Aren't you going to stay a bit longer?"

"Hehe, no, learning forging skills is more important right now."

Serea just smiled. With that, the party set off. After three hours, they returned to the Darkmoon clan's camp.

...

Inside the treehouse, just back at camp, Serea immediately called a team meeting.

"Immediately recall all hunting and activity parties—we're entering wartime preparation. Doluka, you're in charge of camp defenses. Lead the blood elf troops and the First Blood Slave unit to guard the camp."

"Yes",

Doluka accepted the order.

"Chief Aruka, I'll trouble you with security around the camp."

"Leave it to me."

Aruka agreed.

"The rest should prepare for battle. All Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton units are to be on standby. Order the engineering platform to build 'simple barracks', and make sure supplies are replenished in advance."

"Yes!" xN

The group answered sternly in unison.

"All right, everyone with an assignment, go get ready."

They split up, realizing that a tough fight might be coming soon.

Serea didn't think Maregof would sit still after his plot was exposed; war was certain—no matter the scale, she had to prepare. Meanwhile...

"Lola, how's the mine excavation going?"

"Only about fifty percent complete."

"Fifty percent, huh? Fine, it'll do for now."

Serea was ready to unlock the 'Dragonbone Catacomb' at 50% compatibility. The quality would be lower, affecting structural stability at most—as long as the produced troops weren't defective.

After confirmation, the group hurried to the mine's location.

...

Before the cave, staring at the pitch-black tunnel, Serea attempted to unlock the 'Dragonbone Catacomb'.

System: 'Dragonbone Catacomb' blueprint sync rate is 50%. Spend 1,500 Death Crystals to unlock construction?

"Exactly fifty percent. Even slightly less, and it wouldn't be enough."

Serea muttered, then checked her remaining Death Crystals.

2,430!

Indeed. It was terrifying: in order to save up enough Death Crystals to operate the catacomb, her Skeleton Warriors had mostly been put into slumber, and even the nearby zombies and skeletons had contributed significantly.

"Today's the day—after all the trouble I've gone through, please don't disappoint me."

Muttering, Serea gritted her teeth and chose to unlock.

At this time, only Serea and her trusted followers were present, so only they saw the spectacular scene.

Swish, swish, swish!

Death Crystals flew out one after another, densely filling the air, then turned into pure death energy pouring into the cave. Instantly, Serea felt a sharp drop in temperature around her.

Frost!

A chill condensed to the extreme erupted from the cave, causing everyone to quickly back away.

Crack!

Within a gray magic circle, dragon bones emerged, fusing with the cave as a massive dragon head snapped open to form the entrance. Seeing this...

"A dragon!"

Everyone looked in astonishment at the dragon bones. Before they could calm down, the chill faded, and a layer of frost formed over the bones.

Construction: Dragonbone Catacomb (Gold)

Level: 40

Sturdiness: A

Durability: B

Magic Power: S

Description: Death Altar Tier 3 building. Can evolve higher tier undead units and warbeasts. Controllable count (0/100), upgrade required to expand capacity.

The description was simple, but the effect was immense!

"Queen, this is..."

Feeling the cold air wafting from the icy cave, Lola asked hesitantly.

"You'll know right away."

Serea opened the construction management panel. Several unit icons appeared inside.

Bone Yan (Purple): Spend 20 Death Crystals to evolve a Carrion Beast into a Bone Yan. Daily maintenance costs Death Crystals x2.

Shadow Drakehawk (Purple): Spend 10 Death Crystals to evolve a flying bird corpse or a Raven into a Shadow Drakehawk. Daily maintenance costs Death Crystals x1.

Bone Dragon (Purple, locked): Spend 100 Death Crystals to summon a Bone Dragon using bones. Summoning with dragon bones grants all-attribute bonus of 20%. Daily maintenance costs Death Crystals x15.

Skeletal Dragon (???): ???

"This 'locked' and '???' stuff really bugs me... System, what do you mean?"

System: Dragonbone Catacomb compatibility insufficient—cannot house ultra-powerful units.

"Why didn't you say earlier? Actually, no—even if you had, I wouldn't have been able to dig a hundred percent compatible prototype."

System: Please continue increasing compatibility to unlock higher-level units.

"Fine, I'll keep digging. For now, bone Yan and Shadow Drakehawk are usable."

After all, the strength of Bone Yan was obvious—so...

Evolve twenty!

"Chips, you too."

"Aw~"

Chips obediently led ten higher-level Carrion Beasts into the cave, the big cats licking their black claws in the cold wind.

"Evolve: Bone Yan!"

Four hundred Death Crystals spent, Death energy enveloped the Carrion Beasts.

"Awoo!"

A howl full of power—but then it turned into...

"Sha~"

Black flesh sloughed off, leaving only bones as the Carrion Beasts' bodies rapidly swelled.

Crack, crack, crack!

Bones creaked and stretched, great white skeletal beasts appeared, white bones tight and powerful, with ghostly blue flames burning in their eyes. Excluding tails, they were 2.5 meters long and 1.5 meters tall.

Skills learned: Shadow Spit (Tier 3), toxic Claw (Tier 2), Death Gaze (Tier 3).

Bone Yan after Bone Yan appeared. Once evolved, they swung their bone tails and returned to their masters. Everyone was enamored with the new Bone Yan.

Although their form changed, their personalities had not—they were still just a bunch of big, bony cats and dogs.

However, not all Bone Yan had completed their evolution; one last was still growing.

It was Chips!

Looking at the 'juvenile' Bone Yan, then at Chips—whose form was still swelling.

"Sha!"

Suddenly, a pair of bone wings sprouted, opening to a span of four meters. Three bone tails swung behind, body length 3 meters, height 2 meters—a massive beast, making Serea realize it was an adult Bone Yan!

Evolution complete; Chips jumped straight to level 25, Gold Elite!

The other Bone Yan averaged level 20, Bronze Elite, but with time and more levels, they too would become adults. For now, however, only Chips could fly.

Clap clap!

Serea excitedly applauded. Hearing it, chips pounced at her like a giant cat.

"Sha sha sha!"

Still the same old big cat—no change at all.

"Good boy, well done."

Chips sat, standing head and shoulders above the other Bone Yan—and crucially, it could fly. That made everything much easier.

"Queen, your power just keeps growing!"

"Hm, but this is just the start."

Next, looking at the Shadow Drakehawk unit icon, Serea wondered what surprises they would bring her—

(To be continued...)