Chapter 836: The Shadow Harvest

Chapter 836: Chapter 836: The Shadow Harvest

The silence inside the Control Center lasted a second before being shattered by screams of agony.

The base Captain didn’t have time to reach for the hilt of his sword. Ethan’s figure vanished in a flash of purplish mana, reappearing inches from his face. A clean sweep of the Black Chaos Sword severed the Captain’s head, causing his body to collapse over the central console.

"Kill them all!" said Ethan in a cold voice.

The undead lunged at the remaining operators and engineers like a starved pack. The strikes of necrotic claws and dark blades painted the holographic displays with blood, extinguishing every panic-stricken scream inside the command tower.

Outside, across the plaza and the hangars, the slaughter was equally devastating and methodical. Trapped beneath the isolation dome Crul had raised, the thousands of soldiers at North Crest Base had nowhere to run. The wave of skeletons and undead marched in tight ranks, butchering every squad attempting to form up.

Ethan strolled to the shattered viewport, drawing the Orb of Death. The relic glowed with a pale purple light that swept through the fortress, channeling his Void Amethyst bloodline power to devour the vitality of the fallen. As he consumed the soldiers’ power, Ethan felt his strength growing.

[Necrotic absorption in progress...], reported Crul. [Fifty-two thousand souls integrated into the undead army. Eight thousand high-quality corpses prepared for assimilation.]

As the souls of the fallen were devoured, the lifeless bodies scattered across the pavement began to rise. Their eyes ignited with the signature purple glow of Ethan’s hosts, clad in the Divine Wind armor they had worn in life.

Vaelen ascended the command tower, picking his way through cauterized blood.

"General, the fortress is entirely secured," reported the veteran warrior. "We have captured forty-five intact medium and heavy warships docked in the lower hangars. Not a single one had time to launch."

"Excellent," replied Ethan.

Ethan felt the power within his sea of consciousness continue to swell as he devoured the fallen soldiers.

"Crul, integrate the captured vessels’ cores into the central control network. Copy this base’s tactical logs and add this Captain’s credentials to our system," commanded Ethan.

[Linking in progress...], said Crul. [Warships successfully integrated. Our total fleet now stands at over two hundred combat vessels. The convoy’s offensive output has increased by two hundred percent. What are the next coordinates, Master?]

Ethan brought up the holographic map of the imperial perimeter hovering above the console. North Crest Base was already marked with a black icon, signifying its fall.

"Next target: Wind Canyon Fortress," declared Ethan. "We will advance along the western border. We will slaughter every garrison, devour their souls to strengthen ourselves, and claim every ship until the Divine Wind Empire has no choice but to tremble before our arrival at the Capital."

"At your command, General!" said Vaelen.

With a roar that shook the mountains, the engines of the expanded fleet ignited once more, rising above the collapsed dome as the tide of undead readied itself to engulf the next stronghold.

The fleet glided across the border mountain range when, parting through the clouds, they spotted a colossal city nestled in the valley below. Upon checking the tactical data on the bridge’s display, the computer confirmed it was a bustling commercial metropolis belonging to the Divine Wind Empire.

Vaelen stared at the city lights sprawling to the horizon and approached Ethan with a grim expression.

"Sir, why restrain ourselves and attack only military fortresses?" asked the veteran warrior. "We should slaughter everything in our path. If we wipe out this city, we will gain millions of undead for our army in an instant."

Ethan remained silent, contemplating the urban expanse as the temptation of power echoed in his mind. However, before he could make a decision, Crul’s voice intervened sharply in his consciousness:

[Negative, Master!], warned Crul. [If you commit such an act, the accumulation of negative karma upon your soul will become too dangerous to bear. The Dao severely punishes the unprovoked slaughter of civilians. You must never kill innocents unless you wish to destroy your own cultivation path.]

Ethan pondered it for a moment and inquired mentally to his assistant:

"Crul, what if I don’t kill innocents and only exterminate the imperial army deployed within the city, while sealing the metropolis so no one can escape to raise the alarm?"

[In that case, there would be no karma issues, Master], answered Crul after a quick data analysis. [Eliminating strictly enemy military forces is considered a legitimate act of war, and the seal will keep the information contained.]

Ethan carved a cold smirk and turned toward Vaelen.

"Only the army dies today," said Ethan. "Seal the city, Crul."

Crul executed the order. Over two hundred warships deployed into a colossal ring above the valley. The runic transmission towers mounted along the battleships’ hulls emitted a mana pulse, and within seconds, a translucent containment dome descended from the sky, enveloping the commercial metropolis and isolating all communications and spatial transport nodes.

Below, in the city streets, sunlight was abruptly eclipsed. Thousands of citizens paused their activities and looked up at the sky, gazing at the giant shadow blanketing the city with fascination and awe.

"Look at the sky!" shouted a merchant in the central market, pointing at the aerial formation. "It’s the imperial fleet! They bear the high command insignia!"

"How imposing!" whispered a woman among the crowd. "It seems the mobilization toward the border is truly massive..."

Cheers echoed through the plazas as the inhabitants marveled at the majesty of their empire’s military force. However, on the command bridge, Ethan’s gaze remained cold.

"Listen to me well," said Ethan, activating the host’s internal communication array. "Not a single civilian is to be touched. If any of you attacks an innocent, I will destroy their soul myself. Our sole target is the military garrison."

"Assault formation," ordered Ethan, pointing to the barracks complex gleaming at the city center. "Annihilate every imperial soldier. Leave the civilians no time to react."

The landing hatches of the hundreds of warships opened as the fleet dove through the clouds.

Below, the citizens’ awe morphed into paralyzing horror. The spectacle of the ships turned into a nightmare when, from the upper decks, a black tide of undead leaped straight into the abyss.

Screams of panic tore through the air in neighboring districts as the spectral mass rained down like a necrotic storm onto the earth. However, to the bystanders’ shock, the host of undead completely bypassed the commercial streets and civilian homes, sweeping past toward their sole objective.

The tide of skeletons and shadows crashed onto the walls and grounds of the army headquarters, sowing death and destruction exclusively among the imperial troops before they could sound the city alarm.