Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Gravebound Sentinel Wall

“…Three failed.”

Aiden looked down at them for a moment, his expression calm, but there was a faint trace of disappointment in his eyes.

“Too bad.”

He straightened and waved his hand slightly.

“Throw them in.”

Carrion didn’t hesitate. He grabbed one of the corpses by the arm and dragged it toward the Flesh Reclamation Pit, while the other two were hauled along by nearby undead, their bodies scraping against the ground before being tossed in one after another.

Aiden watched them fall.

There was a dull sound as they hit the bottom.

Then the pit began to move again.

The same process.

When they came back out, they weren’t the same.

The three Body Tempering practitioners that failed to become his direct summons climbed out slowly, their movements stiffer, their presence weaker, their once solid aura now faded into something far more ordinary.

Aiden clicked his tongue.

“Such a waste.”

He turned away from the pit and looked toward the rest of the bodies that Carrion had brought back.

Around three hundred dead warriors lay scattered nearby, piled in uneven heaps, their armor broken, their weapons either snapped or missing entirely.

“Throw all of them in as well,” Aiden said.

Carrion raised his hand slightly.

The undead moved immediately.

They dragged the bodies forward in groups, lifting, pulling, and tossing them into the pit one after another, the sound repeating over and over until the ground was cleared.

Aiden stepped closer again, looking down as the last body disappeared.

Then he spoke.

“Begin.”

The pit responded instantly.

The dark mass below churned violently as the process accelerated, consuming everything, breaking it down faster and faster until the first skeleton climbed out, followed by another, and another, until hundreds began to rise again, forming ranks almost instinctively.

Aiden watched in silence.

His army was growing fast.

He let out a slow breath.

“…Good.”

Behind him, Carrion stood quietly.

Vermis remained still, her swarm shifting faintly around her.

Aiden then turned to face both of them.

His gaze was steady now.

“We don’t stop here.”

Neither of them spoke.

They didn’t need to.

“Move again tonight,” Aiden continued. “No rest. No delay.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Hit the next towns before word spreads.”

He looked toward the distance, beyond the villa, beyond the lands he already controlled.

“They won’t even know what’s happening until it’s too late.”

Carrion and Vermis bowed thier heads.

“As you command, my lord.”

—-

Aiden didn’t stay to watch them leave.

He turned and walked back toward the villa.

The difference was immediate.

Outside, everything reeked of death. Blood, decay, and that faint, ever-present necrotic energy that clung to the air like a second skin.

Inside the villa grounds, it was different

The garden greeted him first.

Green.

Alive.

Rows of carefully maintained plants lined the stone paths, leaves swaying gently under the night breeze, untouched by the corruption outside, as if the place itself rejected death despite being surrounded by it.

Aiden slowed slightly as he stepped onto the path.

A strange contrast to everything he had built.

“…Heh.”

A faint smirk crossed his face.

“Doesn’t fit at all.”

Still, he didn’t change it.

Instead, he walked deeper into the garden and stopped near a stone bench, his gaze lowering slightly.

“Status.”

The familiar screen appeared in front of him.

[Gold Coins: 9023]

Aiden’s eyes lingered on the number.

“…Nine thousand already.”

His fingers tapped lightly against his arm.

Carrion and Vermis had each brought back around two thousand coins from their raids, not counting what he had already accumulated before.

His eyes shifted.

“Building system.”

The screen changed immediately.

New options appeared, lines of text forming one after another, each one representing a structure, each one requiring gold, materials, or both.

Aiden’s attention moved slowly across them.

Barracks.

Storage.

Expansion structures.

None of them interested him.

“…Defense,” he murmured.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he filtered through the list, ignoring everything that didn’t directly increase his survivability.

Then one entry caught his attention.

He stopped.

Read it again.

Then leaned forward slightly.

“…This one.”

The blueprint expanded.

[Blueprint: Gravebound Sentinel Wall

Description:

A defensive structure forged from condensed necrotic essence and reinforced bone. This wall is not merely physical. It is alive in a dormant state.

Once constructed, the wall passively absorbs ambient death energy and stores it within its structure. When hostile entities approach, the wall activates, releasing bound skeletal constructs from within itself to intercept intruders.

The more death energy in the area, the stronger and more numerous the constructs become.

Additional Effects:

Self-repair through necrotic absorption

Can generate Bone Sentinels during sieges

Increases the strength of undead units fighting within its range

Construction Cost:

6000 Gold Coins]

Aiden stared at it for a long moment.

Then slowly smiled.

“…Now that’s useful.”

Not just a wall, it’s a living defense.

Something that could fight on its own.

Something that would only grow stronger the more he killed.

Perfect.

He leaned back slightly, eyes still on the blueprint.

“If they try to retaliate…”

His voice was quiet.

“…they’ll walk straight into their own graves.”

The night wind passed through the garden, rustling the leaves softly, while beyond the villa walls, his armies moved once more, spreading death across the land.

Aiden didn’t confirm it right away.

He stood there in the garden, the soft sound of leaves brushing against each other filling the silence, while the faint glow of the system screen reflected in his eyes.

“Six thousand…” he murmured.

Not a small amount.

Even with how fast his gold was increasing, that kind of cost wasn’t something to throw away carelessly.

His fingers tapped lightly against his arm as he thought it through, weighing it not just as a structure, but as a foundation.

Right now, he was expanding fast.

Too fast.

If someone stronger decided to strike back, if a clan or a city actually organized a counterattack, his current defenses wouldn’t be enough to hold them off.

His army was growing, yes.

But his territory was still exposed.

Aiden exhaled slowly.

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