Chapter 4

Leon could not contain his excitement over his newfound powers. These were true (SSS) Skills.

Through Necromancy, he could summon deathbound warriors at least at Low Tier 1 or at the peak of Amateur Tier 4. Before zombies learned to consume one another and evolve, even the most dangerous among them capped at Amateur Tier 1.

In other words, this power already placed Leon in a dominant position in the apocalypse. Even better, the skill's cap would continue to rise alongside his own level.

Undead Hymn was just as overpowered. It allowed Leon to enhance the already high-level deathbound warriors he summoned, pushing their impressive stats even further.

With abilities like these, he could dethrone the Zombie King and crown himself ruler.

He let out a long, cathartic breath as the full extent of his gains settled in. Then he muttered, "Arise."

A spell formation adorned with skeletal motifs materialized beside him, glowing with an eerie green light. The air was filled with the distant howls of underworld creatures. A silhouette began to take shape at the center.

The green light faded, and the afternoon sun illuminated the figure Leon had summoned.

A humanoid skeleton warrior stood before him, roughly 6'5" tall. Two flickering green flames burned within its eye sockets. It held a greatsword and remained perfectly still.

[Skeleton Blade Warrior (Low, Tier 2): A fallen sword-wielding warrior that still retains a drive to win every battle. The lowest-level soldier in an undead army.

Strength: 20

Speed: 20

Spirit: 20

Constitution: 20

Skill: None]

Eight more skeleton blade warriors appeared one after another. Leon assumed this was his current limit until a towering silhouette began to form within the circle, this time surrounded by vibrant, shifting colors.

A skeleton knight emerged atop a towering skeletal horse, a skull dangling from its javelin. Pale green flames flickered in its eye sockets.

[Skeleton Knight Captain (Amateur, Tier 2): A low-level captain of the undead army with an even stronger drive to fight and far greater durability.

Strength: 70

Speed: 70

Spirit: 70

Constitution: 70

Skill: Charge: When leading a team, all members receive double stat boosts.]

Leon felt weak in the knees from sheer exhilaration. Their ranks alone were already overwhelming for the current stage of the apocalypse, but Charge functioned as a group buff. If he enhanced them first with Undead Hymn and then activated Charge, their stats would nearly quadruple.

50 points of Strength could surge to 200, alongside multiplied elemental effects. At present, there were only 100 or 200 Amateur Tier 2 zombies in total. With both buffs active, the skeleton knight could crush them with ease.

Leon gasped at his fortune.

At that moment, his phone rang, intrusive and unwelcome.

Camilla was about to press him further when he answered, "I'm coming. I'll be there very soon."

He ended the call immediately. There was no need to spoil the surprise. This would be the most unforgettable day of their lives.

He glanced at the 10 undead units under his command and gave his order. "Clear out the zombies until we reach the ground floor."

Before reaching the roof of Reunis Tower, Leon had nearly exhausted himself clearing zombies from the corridors. He had come close to injury several times, saved only by his makeshift protective gear. Plenty of zombies still lurked inside the rooms throughout the tower.

Before awakening, killing zombies yielded no rewards. For those who had Awakened, however, each kill granted EXP. Once zombies began attacking and consuming one another, triggering their evolution, there was also a rare chance of obtaining an orb.

The skeleton knight took command and led the squad in systematically clearing each floor.

While zombies posed a real threat to humans, they were nearly harmless against the skeleton warriors. The undead cut through them with ease, slicing them apart as if in a game of Fruit Ninja. Zombies could only bite or infect, and bites caused negligible damage to skeletons, while infection had no effect on the already dead.

[A Skeleton Blade Warrior defeated a no-level zombie. EXP +5.]

[The Skeleton Knight Captain defeated a no-level zombie. EXP +3.]

The EXP gains were minimal due to the zombies' low level, but steady grinding could still yield results for the blade warriors.

After some time, Leon noticed a discrepancy. The skeleton knight and the blade warriors gained different amounts of EXP. The knight's rank was too high to benefit from fighting such weak enemies. As such, Leon recalled it and allowed the blade warriors to continue.

Soon, Leon and his undead squad reached the 18th floor. Camilla and Jean were somewhere below.

Reunis Tower had poor sound insulation. With his enhanced hearing, Leon could make out their conversation clearly.

"He's still not here, Milla. You don't think he's just messing with you, right?" Jean said.

Camilla's insecurity flared. "That's impossible. He's always done everything I asked… Maybe he's just…"

She paused, then shifted abruptly. "Whatever. We don't need that useless simp. Logan's on his way. He'll bring us food, so who cares if that wimp doesn't show up?

"And if that coward actually backs out of bringing us food, I'll take Logan to his house and raid his pantry. We'll eat everything and then throw him to the zombies. That's what he gets for making me wait this long."