Lucas Nightveil stood atop the ruins of what had once been David Chen's camp, his eyes scanning the battlefield with cold calculation. Eighteen hours. That was how long it would take before the Northern Coalition arrived with their one hundred and twenty-seven units.
Most Lords would panic. They would try to flee or prepare for a desperate, passive defense. But Lucas Nightveil was not most Lords.
"Commander," he called to the Death Knight who stood in the stillness of a deathly statue. "How long will it take to reach their position?"
"Six hours' march, Master," the Death Knight replied in a voice that sounded like the night wind.
"They are moving in slow formation. Too many units for efficient coordination."
Lucas smiled—an expression that made even the ghoul David Chen standing nearby look uneasy.
"The first weakness. They think that numbers are strength. A mistake they will pay for in blood."
[TACTICAL ANALYSIS ACTIVATED]
[ENEMY WEAKNESS IDENTIFIED: SLOW MOVEMENT SPEED]
[STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE: SUPERIOR MOBILITY]
[RECOMMENDATION: GUERRILLA TACTICS]
The system confirmed his instincts. Lucas opened his inventory and studied the resources he had just collected. Four hundred gold, two hundred wood, one hundred and fifty stone, and most importantly—various materials he had taken from fresh corpses.
"Time to hunt," he muttered as he took out a small vial filled with a thick green liquid. Extracted Nightshade Essence—a poison he had obtained from killing the Poisonous Crawler in the previous area.
[CRAFTING MENU ACCESSED]
[AVAILABLE RECIPES: POISON TRAP, BLADE TRAP, EXPLOSIVE MINE]
[MATERIALS SUFFICIENT]
[PROCEED WITH MASS PRODUCTION?]
"Yes," Lucas whispered in a tone that made the air around him feel colder.
For the next four hours, Lucas and his legion worked with terrifying efficiency. Skeleton Warriors dug small holes along the Northern Coalition's likely path. Death Knight Commanders set nearly invisible blade traps, metal bars that would rise from the ground when stepped on.
And Lucas himself? He was working on his masterpiece.
[POISON TRAP CREATED x24]
[BLADE TRAP CREATED x16]
[EXPLOSIVE MINE CREATED x8]
[CRAFTING MASTERY INCREASED]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: TRAP SYNERGY]
Ghoul David Chen approached him with stiff movements. "Master, will this strategy work? They have overwhelming numbers."
Lucas stared at his old creation with a look of sadistic amusement. "David, David. You still think like a human. In war, numbers only matter if you can use them. But if your enemy is divided, panicked, and bleeding... well."
He pointed to a newly completed trap—a construction that looked like ordinary dirt, but beneath it hid a blade coated in poison.
"One small wound from this, and they will die in excruciating agony. The poison will spread to their nervous system, making them feel every second of their death."
[TRAP SYNERGY ACTIVATED]
[EFFECT: CHAIN REACTION AVAILABLE]
[PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT: +150% FEAR GENERATION]
Three hours later, Lucas received a notification that made him smile with dark satisfaction.
[ENEMY MOVEMENT DETECTED]
[DISTANCE: 2 KILOMETERS]
[COALITION COMPOSITION CONFIRMED]
[LORDS IDENTIFIED: 4 ACTIVE LEADERS]
[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 90 MINUTES]
"Showtime," Lucas whispered as he took up position on a small hill that gave him a perfect view of the battlefield he had prepared. "Skeleton Warriors, take cover. Commander, be ready to attack from behind when they are trapped. David..."
The ghoul ex-Lord turned, his eyes shining with an unearthly light.
"You will be the bait."
The Northern Coalition looked imposing as they appeared on the horizon. One hundred and twenty-seven units moved in neat formation—dozens of Militiamen, Archers, Spearmen, and even a few Cavalry units. In front of them, four Lords marched with painful confidence. Lucas could see them from a distance through his detection system. Marcus Webb, Level 3 with Heavy Infantry focus. Sarah Kim, Level 2 with Archer specialization. Tom Rodriguez, Level 3 with Cavalry units. And most interestingly, Jennifer Walsh, Level 4—the only real threat among them.
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT COMPLETE]
[OPTIMAL TARGET: JENNIFER WALSH]
[RECOMMENDATION: ISOLATE AND ELIMINATE]
[PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ADVISED]
"David," Lucas whispered through the comms linking his units. "Show yourself. Make them think you're the only threat."
Ghoul David Chen emerged from behind the rocks, standing alone in the seemingly empty field. Even from a distance, Lucas could hear the Coalition's shocked voices.
"Just one unit?" Marcus Webb shouted dismissively. "This has to be a trap!"
"Or he's desperate," Sarah Kim replied, raising her bow. "Just kill him and get this over with."
Jennifer Walsh, the most experienced looking, raised her hand. "Wait. Something's not right. Why would he stand alone like that?"
But the decision had been made. Tom Rodriguez spurred his horse forward, Cavalry units following close behind. "I'm going to finish him! Charge!"
Lucas watched with almost sexual anticipation as the horses approached the death zone he'd set up. Three… two… one…
CLANG!
The first blade trap burst from the ground, slicing through Tom's horse's leg with perfect precision. The beast fell with a bloodcurdling scream, sending its rider crashing to the ground.
But that was only the beginning.
[TRAP SEQUENCE INITIATED]
[CHAIN REACTION: ACTIVE]
[ENEMY UNITS AFFECTED: 12]
One by one, the other traps began to activate. Poison spread through the air from the shattered vials, causing the surviving Cavalry units to vomit blood. Explosive mines exploded in their formations, creating beautiful chaos.
And then, Lucas gave the signal.
The Death Knight Commander emerged from behind the hill with his six Skeleton Warriors, charging the broken formation from behind. Meanwhile, Lucas himself dismounted from his position with fluid, predatory movements.
"Welcome to my domain," he shouted in a voice that echoed across the battlefield. "I am Lucas Nightveil, and you will all be my next lesson in the hierarchy of power!"
The fight that followed was no battle—it was a systematic execution.
Marcus Webb, trying to rally his troops, fell with his throat slit by Lucas' sword before he could even finish his command. Sarah Kim managed to fire a few arrows, but Lucas moved like a shadow, dodging the projectiles with terrifying grace.
[ENEMY ELIMINATED: MARCUS WEBB]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 180 XP]
[FEAR AURA ACTIVATED: ENEMY MORALE -40%]
The most satisfying was Tom Rodriguez. The man was still alive, but the poison from the trap had spread throughout his system. Lucas approached him with slow steps, savoring every second of the terror in his enemy's eyes.
"Do you know what the most painful thing about this poison is?" Lucas asked in a conversational tone as he knelt beside the convulsing Tom. "It doesn't kill you quickly. It makes every nerve in your body scream in agony... for hours to come."
Tom tried to speak, but all that came out was foaming blood.
"Don't worry," Lucas whispered as he placed a hand on Tom's chest. "I will give you a choice. Die slowly in agony, or..."
Dark energy began to flow from his fingers.
"Join my little family and serve a nobler purpose."
[NECROMANTIC CONVERSION AVAILABLE]
[TARGET: TOM RODRIGUEZ]
[SPECIAL UNIT TYPE: GHOUL CAVALRY]
[COST: 75 MANA]
[PROCEED? Y/N]
Tom nodded desperately, and Lucas smiled with dark satisfaction. The conversion process began, and within minutes, Tom Rodriguez rose as a Ghoul Cavalry—the first unit of his kind that Lucas had ever had.
But the most surprising was Jennifer Walsh. The Level 4 woman had managed to escape with a small group of survivors, disappearing into the night.
[BATTLE CONCLUDED]
[ENEMIES ELIMINATED: 89 UNITS]
[ENEMIES CONVERTED: 12 UNITS]
[ENEMIES ESCAPED: 26 UNITS]
[TOTAL EXPERIENCE GAINED: 2,340 XP]
[LEVEL UP! LUCAS NIGHTVEIL NOW LEVEL 5]
Lucas stood amidst the carnage with deep satisfaction. The battlefield was littered with mutilated corpses, pools of blood, and an intoxicating metallic scent.
But as he was basking in his victory, the ghoul David Chen approached him with a strange expression.
"Master," he said in a voice filled with something almost like excitement. "While I was chasing the escapees, I discovered something. An ancient structure... hidden within a grove of dead trees."
Lucas turned with sudden interest. "A structure?"
"A crypt, Master. But no ordinary crypt." David pointed eastward. "There are symbols carved into the entrance. Symbols that… whisper."
Lucas felt something unfamiliar—a sensation that almost resembled genuine anticipation. In the Global Lord world, ancient structures often held secrets that could drastically alter the balance of power.
"Show me," he commanded.
The journey to the crypt took twenty minutes. And as Lucas gazed upon the structure, he felt something he had never felt before—a primal, terrifying recognition.
The crypt was made of black stone that seemed to absorb the light around it. The entrance was covered with symbols that moved in the margins of his peripheral vision, as if they were alive and breathing.
But what made Lucas pause was the inscription carved above the entrance:
"SEALED ENTITY WITHIN"
And below it, in smaller but no less ominous letters:
"THOSE WHO WAKE THE SLEEPER SHALL INHERIT ITS HUNGER"
[ANCIENT STRUCTURE DISCOVERED]
[TYPE: FORBIDDEN CRYPT]
[DANGER LEVEL: UNKNOWN]
[ENTRY RESTRICTED: LEVEL 10+ RECOMMENDED]
[WARNING: ENTITY DETECTION ACTIVE]