[March into the Abyss]
The cold wind howled as Damien Valerian stood at the temple's entrance, his undead knights assembled in perfect formation behind him. Their glowing blue eyes flickered like eerie torches in the night, their blackened armor whispering as they shifted.
Before him, the wasteland stretched endlessly—a land devoid of life, a cursed territory where even the gods dared not tread.
Noxhaven lay ahead.
A city once ruled by a legendary Necromancer, now a decaying ruin infested with mindless undead, forgotten horrors, and whatever secrets the past had buried.
But Damien didn't fear the dead. He commanded them.
"Move out." His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of absolute command.
The ground trembled as the hundred elite undead knights moved in unison, their skeletal warhorses emerging from the shadows to accompany them.
They marched toward their first conquest.
And the world would remember the name Damien Valerian once more.
---
[The Gates of Noxhaven]
Hours passed as they crossed the desolate landscape, the looming silhouette of Noxhaven growing larger with each step. Towering black walls, cracked with age, stretched across the horizon. The gates stood ajar, rusted and broken.
Something waited inside.
As Damien approached, a new notification flashed before him.
Ding!
[Warning! Entering Noxhaven—Domain of the Forgotten Dead]
[Host has encountered a Field Dungeon: The City of the Dead]
[Threat Level: High]
Damien's eyes narrowed. A dungeon?
He had assumed Noxhaven was simply an abandoned ruin. But if it was categorized as a Field Dungeon, it meant the creatures inside weren't ordinary.
That only made this conquest more interesting.
His hand tightened into a fist.
"Forward."
His knights obeyed without hesitation, their movements precise and synchronized. As they crossed the threshold into Noxhaven, the gates creaked violently—and then slammed shut behind them.
A cold whisper swept through the streets.
They were not alone.
---
[The Wraith Lord's Challenge]
The city was a graveyard. Crumbling buildings loomed on either side, their skeletal remains jutting out like rotten teeth. Shadows moved in the alleys, eyes gleaming from the darkness.
A deep, guttural voice echoed through the ruins.
"Who dares trespass in my domain?"
A figure emerged from the mist—a towering wraith clad in spectral armor, its body shifting between solid and ethereal.
[Boss Monster Detected: Wraith Lord Kaelgor]
[Level: 25]
[Abilities: Phantom Blade (A), Soul Drain (B), Wraith Dominion (S)]
Damien barely had time to process this when Kaelgor raised his hand. A dozen spectral warriors materialized, their swords drawn.
The wraith's hollow eyes locked onto Damien.
"I have waited centuries for a true challenger. Show me your strength, or be consumed!"
Ding!
[Subjugation Mission Activated: Defeat Wraith Lord Kaelgor]
[Rewards: Wraith Lord's Oath + Shadowfang, the Cursed Blade]
Damien's lips curled.
"So be it."
---
[The Battle for Noxhaven]
Kaelgor's wraiths charged, their ghostly blades cutting through the air with unnatural speed.
Damien raised his hand. "Shatter them."
His undead knights surged forward, their dark weapons clashing against the spectral warriors. Blue flames flickered as steel met phantom essence.
The battle erupted into chaos.
Kaelgor moved like a storm, his Phantom Blade striking with lightning speed. Each slash cut through Damien's undead, dispersing their bodies into black mist.
But Damien's soldiers did not fall permanently.
Ding!
[Eternal Summoning Activated! Fallen undead will reassemble in 10 seconds.]
As fast as Kaelgor cut them down, Damien's soldiers rose once more.
The wraith lord growled. "Impossible!"
Damien raised his hand, black energy swirling at his fingertips.
"You misunderstand, Kaelgor." His voice was calm, controlled. "You cannot kill what has already died."
And then he unleashed his power.
"Soul Reclamation."
A vortex of black energy erupted from his palm, latching onto Kaelgor's spectral body.
The wraith screamed as his very essence was torn apart, his energy siphoned into Damien's growing power.
The moment Kaelgor's form collapsed, a final notification appeared.
Ding!
[Subjugation Complete!]
[Rewards Acquired: Wraith Lord's Oath + Shadowfang, the Cursed Blade]
A dark mist coalesced where Kaelgor once stood. And when it cleared… a new figure knelt before Damien.
A spectral knight, his form now bound by unseen chains.
"I… serve you now, my lord."
Damien smirked.
Noxhaven was his.
And this was only the beginning.
[End of Chapter 2]