NOVEL WEB Chapter 446: Invitations
After some time, Asad stood amidst the wreckage; his army was obviously victorious, and the enemy was completely defeated.
The seven Necromancers were bound by his magic, their mystical staves shattered, and their powers were currently sealed.
'This Tome of the Dead is really awesome…' Asad thought as he felt really powerful right now. He didn't even mind if a Zombie Wave suddenly targeted his territory.
Looking at the seven Necromancers, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself.
Asad knew that even if he wasn't the Rank 1 Survivor, it might be because of his own strength. He might have lower strength, agility, and vitality compared to Shadow Strider. However, he believed that he should be the strongest in terms of their army.
He believed that Shane or Shadow Strider shouldn't have any ability like him to create an unlimited army of creatures.
'I wonder who will win if we fight against each other.' He mused.
Anyway, Asad shook his head to erase his random thoughts and wickedly smiled at the Necromancers.
"You dared to challenge a Necromancer in his domain," Asad spoke mockingly. His voice was cold as he was about to do something that should be forbidden.
"Now, you will serve me—or be consumed by my legions." Asad said. Although his Tome could brainwash the Necromancers forcefully, he would have to spend a lot of effort or Spirit Points to do that.
The captured Necromancers, beaten and on the verge of death, had no choice but to bow.
Thankfully, these Necromancers somehow had a desire to live. No, to be exact, it seemed as if they only accepted his spell since he was a fellow Necromancer.
The only thing he didn't like about this Tome's effect was that they would forget most of their past and only knew how to serve him better.
It means that he couldn't ask them about their origin or other things that weren't related to Necromancy.
With his enemies subdued, Asad returned to his fortress.
The map to Sector 20 lay on his desk… He stared at it for a while before closing his eyes…
Then, as soon as he opened his eyes, his decision was already made.
'I should move and get more achievements recognized by the system… I also have to find those Treasure Chests.' He thought.
On the next day, Asad called for his most trusted recruits and undead generals.
"We are leaving the desert to conquer another territory." Asad announced. None of them were surprised as they simply awaited his instructions.
"But this fortress will not fall in my absence."
He turned to the five strongest of the captured Necromancers. Each one was already bound by powerful oaths of servitude thanks to his Tome, so he wasn't worried about leaving them here.
These individuals had shown skills and commanding abilities—traits Asad could mold and use.
"You five will remain here," He said, pacing before them.
"You are to maintain the defenses, manage the resources, and ensure that no one, living or undead, breaches these walls. Fail me, and your souls will fuel my legions." He spoke coldly. However, he couldn't really do that if he was too far away from them.
The five Necromancers bowed their heads without showing any reluctance. Well, they were certainly happy not to have a boss supervising them every day.
Of course, these five Necromancers may be capable of summoning undead creatures but they weren't comparable to the ones he had.
So to bolster the fortress further, Asad left behind a significant portion of his undead forces, including Blight Hulks to guard the gates, Bone Spires strategically placed as defensive artillery, Soulbound Phantoms to patrol the perimeter for intruders, and some Undead Laborers to keep production and maintenance ongoing.
After arranging this, he believed that his fortress was still impenetrable. Unless he was attacked by huge and powerful Survivor Clans like Drakeheart Vanguard, New Haven, Blue Moon Clan, and Shane's Eclipse Revenant, he believed this Shelter would still be fine until he returned.
For the journey, Asad chose a smaller but highly mobile army since he could just save enough Spirit Points for huge and slow-moving undead and summon them once needed.
Anyway, he took a dozen Shadow Stalkers for stealth and reconnaissance, four Blight Hulks for brute strength that will protect their backs, a handful of Soulbound Phantoms for support, and others…
Accompanying him were two of the seven captured Necromancers. They were those who were at least capable of summoning a Lich. After all, he believed that he needed the elemental abilities of the Lich in his journey.
"You two will prove your worth," Asad said, his gaze locking on them. "If you falter, you'll join the ranks of my undead. Do not test me." Asad said sternly. After all, even if they were brainwashed to just follow him, it doesn't mean that they would not fear their enemies.
"Yes, Master Asad," they replied in unison, their voices trembling slightly but steady enough to show their determination to survive.
***
Soon, the desert stretched endlessly before them as Asad and his chosen forces departed the fortress.
"I hope my decision is correct." Asad muttered to himself as he wasn't sure what kind of challenges he would face to reach Sector 20.
After all, he was fully aware from the chat that the New Haven Clan was expanding its territory and was also advancing to Sector 20.
The New Haven Clan was the worst opponent for him since he knew about one of their Survivors with Legendary Talent called Archbishop… Enjoy new tales from empire
This Survivor's talent could actually allow them to give blessings to a limited number of people to make them priests. In short, this Clan led by Natalie was capable of defeating his undead army since he believed that they had plenty of Priests among them.
'There's no point worrying about that. Since they're fellow Survivors, they might even choose to join me instead of making me their enemy.' Asad thought to himself as he looked at above him.
The blazing sun reflected off the sand, creating an almost ethereal glow.
But Asad was ultimately unbothered by the heat; his dark robes and necromantic aura seemed to repel the oppressive climate.
Then, he observed his group with more than two hundred creatures… Although there was a lot of them, they were really organized as the group moved as a seamless unit.
There were no chatters or whispers as their path was marked by an eerie silence.
Well, it wasn't surprising, considering the nature of his summons.
Shadow Stalkers scouted ahead, vanishing into the sands to ensure the way was clear.
The two Necromancers walked a respectful distance behind Asad, occasionally raising undead sentries from buried remains they could find to secure their flanks. Most of the remains were already skeletons, so they could only animate them.
They weren't strong, but just enough to act as sentries in case the enemies approached.
The journey to Sector 20 would take several weeks, and none of them knew what kind of obstacles they would face.
They could be hostile Survivors, wandering zombie hordes, Wild Shelters, and others… But Asad somehow felt excited about this journey.
Asad then checked his Chatboard as he recalled the people he had chatted before. Apparently, he was searching for an advanced Shelter Crystal since the Necromancers he captured only had Beginner Shelter Crystals with them.
Soon, he saw a message from Lesley Cotton, one of the strongest survivors, who had a Legendary Talent called Petrifying Gaze.
[ Lesley: My friends noticed that you're leaving your territory. What's going on? ]
Asad smirked after seeing this. He knew about the Desert Eagles that were flying above his fortress. They were the familiars of Lesley's subordinate. He could do nothing about it since they could fly too high, but nonetheless, they could only observe things outside the Shelter.
Anyway, he had a friendly relationship with Lesley and two other powerful Survivors.
[ Asad: I'm heading to Sector 20… I think there's something good there. ]
Asad said. He didn't mind revealing this, considering several other survivors seemed to be heading there.
[ Lesley: This item in Sector 20 seemed popular. I heard it was a Diamond Treasure Chest. Some said it was a Vaccine… I even learned from a wandering merchant that the strongest Zombie is out there. It's filled with opportunity but also danger… You have to be careful. ]
[ Lesley: Anyway, do you think there's a vaccine there? ]
[ Asad: What I think is irrelevant. Whatever treasure is there, if it exists, I will claim it. ]
On the other side, Lesley couldn't help but smile after seeing this confident reply from Asad. Now, she had finally decided to head over to that Sector…
Since some of the strongest Survivors are trying to move there with various clues that they found, she couldn't just allow them to take all the opportunities.
'If I'm thinking of this… I guess even the Shadow Strider is heading to that place as well…' Lesley thought as she couldn't help but frown at this unfriendly Survivor who wouldn't reply to her messages or invitation to an alliance.