Chapter 86: Skeleton Berserker and Skeleton Shaman

Cerulean light spread across the battlefield.

​At first, it was only a few flickers among the corpses. Then it became a tide, an endless sea of blue soul-fire washing across the ruined Kragmar Dominion.

​Every corpse reacted: the fallen warriors, the berserkers, the hunters, the captains, the elders, and even the massive four-meter behemoth Nyxara had slain.

All of them answered the call of [Undead Summoning].

​The ground trembled as soul energy seeped from the corpses like mist.

​Cassian watched the process with intense interest. Unlike a traditional Summoning Gate, this skill didn’t require cards, nor did it require waiting for soldiers to step through a portal.

​The corpses themselves became the medium, the vessels, and the bridge between the Nether World and reality.

​Considering the sheer number of bodies involved, the process wasn’t instantaneous.

Over one hundred thousand dead orcs was not a small number, and even with infinite mana, the conversion took time.

​Yet eventually, the transformation began.

​One corpse after another floated into the air. Flesh detached, rotting muscle peeled away, blood evaporated into wisps of dark energy, and skin cracked and shed like discarded parchment.

​Soon, only skeletons remained,thousands, tens of thousands, over a hundred thousand bones hovering above the battlefield.

​The sight was magnificent... and utterly terrifying.

​Cassian’s sky-blue eyes narrowed slightly. What surprised him wasn’t the success of the skill, but the result: every single one of them had become a Soldier-type undead.

​Not a single Worker. Not a single Support unit. Not even the chief shaman. The old orc had spent his entire life casting hexes and supporting others, yet even he had been raised as a skeletal warrior.

​Cassian found that immensely amusing...

​"It seems the true nature of the orcs is completely tied to battle."

​No one argued, not even Nyxara. After witnessing the Kragmar Dominion, everyone knew the statement was absolute truth.

The entire tribe had existed for war, lived for war, and died for war.

​And now, even in death, they would continue waging war.

​Cassian’s attention shifted toward the newly raised army as system windows immediately unfolded before his vision:

​[Skeleton Soldier]

​[Potential: D-Grade]

​One notification after another appeared.

​Cassian’s expression gradually stiffened. Then it twitched. Then it nearly cracked altogether.

​"D-Grade..."

​"D-Grade..."

​"Still D-Grade..."

​His eye twitched again. Over a hundred thousand summons, and every single one possessed D-Rank potential.

​Cassian suddenly felt a bizarre urge to laugh in exasperation. The Eternal Serpent had gifted him a grand Boon, a skill capable of turning battlefields into recruitment centers, yet somehow his [D-Rank Lord Seed] still found a way to drag the floor.

​A D-Rank seed truly lived up to its reputation for baseline stat limits.

​Cassian let out a sigh, long, deep, and filled with mild resignation.

​Fortunately... there wasn’t actually a problem.

​Because unlike ordinary Lords, he possessed [Fusion], a Divine Blessing capable of turning raw quantity into terrifying quality.

​The moment that realization surfaced, his expression brightened instantly.

​The Deathmark Commander noticed the shift immediately. Whenever their Lord smiled like that, something absurd usually followed.

​Cassian looked at the endless skeletal army, then at the veteran legion already under his command, and finally back at the newly summoned soldiers.

​A dangerous grin slowly spread across his face.

​"Well... if quality is lacking..."

​His eyes gleamed with dark ambition.

​"...we’ll simply forge it."

​The skeletons stood motionless in the air, completely unaware of the mass-synthesis awaiting them.

​Cassian rubbed his hands together as the familiar, addicting surge of anticipation filled his chest.

Thousands of D-Rank skeletons, an infinite reserve of mana, and [Fusion].

​The ingredients were absolute perfection.

​Without another word, Cassian got to work.

....

There had been exactly 150,000 orc corpses scattered throughout the Kragmar Dominion.

​A terrifying number. Yet under the effects of [Fusion], raw quantity rapidly transformed into elite quality.

​Cassian spent the next several minutes fusing the newly summoned skeletons.

Soul flames merged, bones compressed, and undead warriors disappeared in groups of three before stronger variants emerged in their place.

​By the end of the process, only 1,851 S-Grade Elite Skeletons remained alongside a few unfused remnants.

​The results were far more impressive than Cassian had expected.

Not only had he acquired a large legion of elite troops, but he had also unlocked two entirely new elite specializations: the [Elite Skeleton Berserker] and the [Elite Skeleton Shaman].

​The third specialization produced was the [Elite Skeleton Archer], though Cassian already possessed that troop type within his army.

​What surprised him most was the shaman. He had expected shamans to belong to a pure support classification much like the Death Chanter and Death Speaker.

​Instead, the Lord’s Domain classified them as soldiers. Apparently, the Kragmar orcs had managed to turn even traditional support roles into front-line combat positions.

​Cassian shook his head with a faint smirk before opening their system descriptions:

​[Elite Skeleton Berserker]

​Classification: Elite Soldier

​Race: Undead

​Grade: Common

​Potential: S-Grade

​[Description:]

​A fearsome undead warrior forged from the souls of battle-crazed berserkers. These skeletons thrive amidst carnage, treating pain as fuel and injury as inspiration. Their unnaturally high vitality allows them to continue fighting long after lesser warriors would have fallen. The closer they are to death, the closer their enemies are to meeting it first.

[Skills:]

​[Berserk]: Converts received injuries into increased physical power. Strength, speed, and vitality rise proportionally with accumulated damage. Mental faculties gradually deteriorate as the skill remains active.

​[Crimson Slash]: Damage suffered by the user is accumulated within their soul flame. The stored damage can be released through their weapon as a devastating crimson energy slash. Greater accumulated injuries result in far greater destructive power.

​[Elite Skeleton Shaman]

​Classification: Elite Soldier

​Race: Undead

​Grade: Common

​Potential: S-Grade

​[Description:]

​A soldier too frail for the front lines yet gifted in the arts of curses and spiritual manipulation. Though their bodies lacked the strength of warriors, their devotion to battle never diminished. In death, they continue to wage war through hexes, omens, and malicious blessings. A battlefield cursed by their presence rarely favors the living.

​[Skills:]

​[Hex]: Increases the likelihood of negative events occurring to enemy units by 2.5%. Effects may manifest as missed attacks, poor timing, equipment failure, misfortune, or other unfavorable outcomes.

​[Favor]: Increases the likelihood of positive events occurring to allied units by 2.5%. Effects may manifest as fortunate strikes, successful defenses, advantageous timing, lucky discoveries, or other beneficial outcomes.