The Ascension

Chapter 83 was mistakenly released as Chapter 82 last week.  Please read chapter 82 to fill in the gap I unintentionally left.  Chapter 84 will be released this week in order to keep the story continuing.

"Report." The guardsman said to the scout.

"Krull, the army of dead soldiers have left Somlis City, and approach from the east." The scout said, and looked around uncomfortably. The guardsman frowned.

"Spit it out. What bothers you?" The krull said angrily.

"The soldiers, sir. They are former guards of Somlis! All of them!" The scout said quickly. The krull waved his hand.

"They are just zombies." He growled. "We'll send out a few squads of body reinforcement realm soldiers, flame attribute, and destroy the entire group before they can approach." He said with disdain. He knocked on his desk and dismissed the rattled scout at the same time.

"Sir." A guard said as he saluted.

"Gather five squads of flame attribute Ninn level soldiers. I want those low zombies destroyed before they can even get close to Damlare's walls!" The krull ranked officer, usually awarded to those above body reinforcement realm, slapped the table. This krull was assigned to the position, not for his ability, but for his bloodline.

"It shall be done." The soldier left, also not taking any precautions, or taking the threat of the dead soldiers seriously. Any zombie they've ever encountered were unreasoning, and completely uncoordinated. All zombies were considered weak, and unimpressive.

It wouldn't be until the five squads of fifteen soldiers encountered a focused and disciplined set of armored zombie soldiers would they understand their mistake.

Their arrogance would turn them all into victims of the Queen of Death and her army.

* * *

"Have they returned yet?"

"Negative, Krull Rahn. There has been no word about the five squads of Ninn ranked guards." The soldier said. "There have been some sightings of armored soldiers near the walls, but those sightings never amount to anything."

"This doesn't make sense. Why haven't they returned? They are only zombies." Krull Rahn said in confusion. "Zombies are the lowest of all threats out there."

"Shall we send out a few scouts to locate the squads? They might be having a drink before they come back." The Ninn rank guard said. Krull Rahn thought for a moment.

"That would seem to be the prudent choice. Ready two more squads, and include some Rath ranks to lead them." Squad leaders, normally referred to as Rath ranks, were seldom sent out on clean up missions. They were usually peak Body Reinforcement Realm soldiers, and sometimes at the level of early Core formation. They were high priced assets that cities would not waste on these kinds of missions.

"Understood. We'll get them ready to sortie when the scouts come back." He left, while Krull Rahn finally started to feel an instinct for strategy begin to kick in, and one he did not possess before.

"Is it enough?  Am I missing some crucial information?"  He asked himself quietly.

It truly was a day for regrets for Krull Rahn. The talent required to fill the position of a garrison leader would have served him well in the past.

It was long past the time where it could be deemed useful, as he was about to face a force of nature that was akin to a natural disaster.

The Dead Soldiers were the hands of the Queen of Death, and she used them to punish the ones who shed innocent blood in such quantity that it could fill a lake to overflowing.

For every scout and soldier they sent out, it only added to the number of dead soldiers in the Queen's hands.

* * *

Sol smirked as she walked up to the gate and turned it to dust. The soldiers within the walls paled in fright.

"Death elements can turn wood into dust as dust is the end of the life cycle of a tree." Sol said and turned towards her daughter, Salia, as she spoke.

"Mother, are we destroying the Empire?" She asked. Sol shook her head.

"No, just weakening it. These cities have death pits, and they are filled with the corpses of the innocent that the nobles have murdered for pleasure." Sol's eyes hardened. "Master gave me a mission, and though it will take time to fulfill, I have plenty of time." She looked at the dead soldiers.

"Capture each soldier and bring them to me." Sol smiled. There was so much malice in that smile, the guards shivered in fear.

Damlare City was exactly like Somlis, filled right to the brim with murder and corruption. There would be plenty of nobles that would fall under her heel and be ground into the dust.

The Dead Soldiers rushed into the city, quickly subduing the guards that manned the two towers on either side of the gate, and any that responded to the calls for reinforcements.

Arrows rained down with no effect.  The living crossed swords with the dead, and joined the Dead Legions for their foolish attempt to stand their ground.

Damlare City's gates were breached, and the lead garrison overrun within a few hours of the gate being destroyed. The city was completely overtaken by the Queen of Death within a week, and her army grew to over ten thousand members strong.

Any noble families that were considered to be of high noble birth, and ones that murdered with impunity, were executed and turned into food for Sol and her daughter. Some of the lesser nobles were allowed a continued existence in order to prolong the life of the city.

Once evidence of a capital crime was discovered, even the lesser nobles were executed without mercy.

As Sol and her army left for the next city, peasants and merchants cautiously made their way towards Somlis City, and far from the Queen of Death's grasp.

Once it was found to be in the same condition as Damlare City, the merchants and remaining citizens of some importance, started to formulate some sort of plan to ensure their continued existence.

The death pits were filled in. Murder, whether at the hands of a noble or a commoner, was a capital offense and would be punishable by death. They had no choice but to stiffen the laws regarding the treatment of bodies, and the way they handled their laws.

Death elements gathered much faster than before, and zombies would rise within a day of death, whether from sickness or murder.

These were the least powerful of the citizens of the empire, and had no choice but to actively pursue a harsher stance than what was previously enforced. Their strongest guards and soldiers were already dead.

If they didn't want to join the ranks of the dead, they had better pay attention to the laws of the empire, and exempt no one.