The sun hung low above the horizon, its last golden rays bleeding over the waves as the island came into view. The soft hum of engines and the faint buzz of drones filled the air—a calm before the storm of creation.
Kane stood on the highest ridge of the island's command terrace, wind brushing against his coat, eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of the old library complex—the one that once belonged to the pre-fall civilization. That place, once the heart of knowledge, had turned into a graveyard of monsters and forgotten experiments.
It was perfect.
"Begin the sweep," he ordered through the comm-link, his tone sharp, calm, and commanding.
His team—now veterans of the first dungeon ever cleared by mankind—snapped into motion.Lena led the forward unit, Maya on overwatch. The fighters spread out into flanking formations, while the scout drones streaked across the skies in quiet arcs.
Every soldier carried a reinforced harness pack with thick rope coils.The order was simple—but monumental.
Collect the fallen. Bring them home.
They moved across the ruined outskirts of the library complex, a place half-swallowed by vines and shattered glass, where bones of beasts lay scattered under layers of moss and ash. The air smelled of old mana and burnt earth.
And scattered across it all were the remains Kane wanted.
Some were massive—a three-meter serpent-wolf hybrid with cracked scales and bone wings.Others were smaller—feline predators and humanoid constructs reduced to shattered fragments.Each one radiated faint mana residue, a sign that they once lived with power.
"Sir, confirming energy traces," reported Lena through the comms. "At least fifty viable bodies in Sector A, another thirty-five in Sector C.""Good. Secure them," Kane replied. "Drone unit, mark and tether for transport."
The scout drones descended like silent hawks, their mechanical claws attaching thick nano-rope lines to the corpses.Each drone then activated its thruster ring—lifting, hauling, and ferrying the remains toward the island one by one.
By the time the sun began dipping below the ocean line, the sky above the island shimmered with glowing trails of light—each drone streaking through the dusk with cargo dangling beneath.
Reina watched from the terrace near the operations deck, her small hands clutching a mug of warm milk, her bright eyes reflecting the scene.Beside her, Elysia stood like a silent guardian, her expression unreadable.
"Big brother's… bringing them back," Reina whispered softly."Yes," Elysia replied with a faint smile. "He's building something… greater."
By evening, the central courtyard of the island was transformed.Over a hundred corpses—beasts, creatures, constructs, and half-metal abominations—were stacked in orderly rows.Each was marked by a faint blue rune, inscribed by Kane's own hand as he walked past them.
The air shimmered faintly with an eerie anticipation.
The team watched in silence as Kane stepped into the center.His armor gleamed faintly under the torchlights, and the runes across his left arm pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"This is where the Warlord and the Commander meet the Necromancer," Maya murmured, unable to look away."No," Lena corrected, her eyes locked on Kane. "This is where a leader of the dead… earns his crown."
[Skill Activation: Necromancy (Pure Variant)]
[Subskill Activation: Soulbound Command – Ironbound Synchronization]
The runes along Kane's arm ignited like molten metal. The ground beneath him split with faint, glowing cracks, and the mana-laden air began to swirl violently.
A pulse of black and crimson energy spread outward.
Then—silence.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
And then… the first corpse twitched.
A wolf's skeleton reassembled itself, bones snapping into place like puzzle pieces. Its hollow sockets burned with deep crimson fire as sinew-like shadows wrapped around it.
A second form rose—a goblin brute, armor reforged by dark mana, standing taller than before, clutching a jagged spear made of fused bones.
A serpent construct followed, its scales reforming with metallic sheen, half-flesh and half-steel.
Within minutes, dozens of shapes stood upright, forming orderly ranks before Kane.And when he finally opened his eyes——they all dropped to one knee, perfectly synchronized.
[System Notification]— [Soulbound Command Link Established]— [Ironbound Legion: 107 Units Created]— [Legion Tier: Proto-Class I]— [Legion Trait: Adaptive Evolution | Command Integrity: 100%]
Their aura wasn't of mindless undead—it was of soldiers.Their eyes glowed not with hunger, but with obedience. They carried the faint glimmer of discipline.
"Stand," Kane commanded.
The entire legion rose as one.
"You are my Ironbound," Kane declared, his voice echoing across the island. "Bound not by death… but by will. You will serve, protect, and adapt—until the end of all wars."
The System pulsed again.
[Special Unit Created: Ironbound Legion][Integration Bonus: +10% Command Efficiency | +5% Legion Growth Rate | Compatible with Warpath Dominion]
Reina clapped her small hands, eyes wide in amazement as one of the reanimated toy soldiers—her favorite—stood beside the towering wolf skeleton, both saluting in the same way.She giggled, the sound soft and innocent amid the unnatural sight.
"Big brother made new friends!" she said, smiling.Kane chuckled faintly, his tone gentle."Yes, little one… and they'll keep you safe."
Elysia turned slightly toward him.
"They are bound to you, Kane. But remember—every creation reflects its creator's heart. As long as yours remains human… they will remain pure."
He nodded slowly.
"Then I'll make sure it never falters."
The night wind carried the sound of metal scraping softly as the Ironbound Legion took its first synchronized step—an army of death and discipline reborn under the banner of their living Warlord.
The Age of the Undying had begun.
The Ironbound Legion marched.
Their metal bones clanked in unison — a hundred soldiers of rust and ruin, each reborn through Kane's command. Hollow eye sockets glowed with deep crimson light as their synchronized movements echoed across the forested outskirts of the ruined city. The corpses Kane's team had dragged back were now armored in iron and reinforced with mana-infused bone plates, forming a disciplined undead army forged not in darkness, but in purpose.
Kane stood upon the observation deck of the command structure, his drone feeds projected before him in shifting holographic panes. Reina sat beside him, sleepy-eyed but curious, clutching a half-eaten ration bar. Lena and Maya were nearby, both monitoring the telemetry from the forward scouts.
[Mission Directive: Ironbound Legion – Assault Type – City Town Hall]Objective: Purge the infestation and secure the Town Hall perimeter.Status: Marching. Estimated Engagement in 07:12 minutes.
Kane's eyes flickered with faint red under the dim light — the aftereffect of his awakened "Warpath Dominion."He could see through their eyes now, feel their heavy footfalls through the pulse of his mana.
"Keep their formation tight," he ordered through the command channel. "Rows of ten, overlapping shields. Archers behind. If anything over level 15 appears, fallback and report."
[Acknowledged: Ironbound Legion – Command Synced.]
He leaned back, arms crossed. "We could have just used the missile drones," Lena commented from behind him, voice calm but curious.
"I know," Kane replied. "But I need to test their performance — reaction time, formation cohesion, and kill efficiency. If they can handle a town-level threat alone, we'll have a scalable unit for mass engagement."
Maya nodded, adjusting the energy readings on the control panel. "Their mana signatures are stable. Necrotic reinforcement is consuming 2.4% of your total pool per squad. Manageable."
"Good," Kane muttered. "Then let's see what they can really do."
[Field Feed – Ironbound Legion | Town Hall Sector]
Through the visual feed, the city was chaos. The streets were littered with broken vehicles and ash, the smell of rot lingering like a curse. The moment the Ironbound Legion arrived, a horde of creatures emerged — malformed humanoids, some crawling, some sprinting, their eyes burning with hunger.
The Legion didn't hesitate.
Frontline units raised their tower shields, forming a wall of steel. Behind them, the archers and spear units unleashed a barrage of ethereal bolts. Arrows whistled through the smoky air, piercing skulls and limbs. Each impact was precise — guided by Kane's link through the Dominion skill.
[Ironbound Unit #11 Eliminated: Mutant Gnawer – Level 12][Ironbound Unit #4 Sustains Damage: 23% Structural Integrity Lost]
Kane observed everything. "They're adapting faster than I expected," he muttered. "Formation shift in 12 seconds without direct command. Impressive."
Reina smiled proudly, swinging her small legs. "They're like big skeleton soldiers! They listen to you just like I do!"
Kane chuckled softly. "Something like that, yeah."
Then, from another channel—
[Squad Delta – Mission: Dungeon Clear Attempt – Status: Entered Dungeon.]
The secondary team — eight of their best fighters who hadn't joined the dungeon expedition — had now entered the new rift Kane discovered. He'd briefed them carefully earlier that morning.
He had gathered them all — faces tense, some eager, others nervous — and explained:"The dungeon operates on rotation mechanics. Every seven days, new creatures spawn. Traps reset. Each one of you must maintain full communication with command. Do not split. The instant you sense a mana fluctuation, report. You're not here to be heroes — you're here to come back alive."
Now, their progress appeared on a secondary screen beside the Legion's feed.
[Delta Team | Dungeon Entry Level 1 – Status: Engaged.]Detected Threat Level: C-Class (Average Monster Level 13–16).
Maya adjusted the comm frequency. "Their vitals are steady. One's taken minor damage. Nothing critical."
Kane nodded. "Good. They'll gain experience — and we'll confirm whether dungeon clear protocols function properly without my direct presence."
Lena's gaze lingered on him. "You're testing systems, drones, and undead… and now people. You really are building a war machine."
Kane's expression hardened slightly. "A civilization's survival is a war machine now. Either we adapt or we end up like the rest."
Silence followed. Only the sounds of mana hums and distant drone whirs filled the air.
By dusk, the Ironbound Legion's assault was complete. The battlefield was covered with twitching corpses and shattered stone. The once overrun town hall now stood silent — secured, cleared, and burning with the crimson torches of undead sentinels.
[Mission Complete: City Town Hall Cleared.]Total Hostiles Eliminated: 483]Ironbound Losses: 14 Units (Reconstruction Possible).Resource Recovery: 920 Units of Bone, 300 Iron Fragments, 27 Monster Cores.]
Reina clapped her hands excitedly as she saw the report appear on the holo-screen. "They did it!"
Kane's lips curved slightly. "Yeah… they did."
He deactivated the feed and turned back toward the others."Get the reconstruction drones started. We'll use the recovered materials to reinforce the southern perimeter. Tomorrow, we'll expand the island defenses again."
Lena and Maya exchanged a knowing glance. His tone — that calm, commanding edge — was the same one he used before every major operation. But behind that, they could sense something else growing within him. Not just power… but ambition.
Kane's eyes shifted toward the distant horizon, where the broken skyline shimmered under the faint orange sun.
"The Ironbound Legion is only the beginning," he whispered. "Next… we forge an empire of the dead that protects the living."