052 Undead Transformation

With the eruption of Ayero's fury, subtle changes began to ripple through his body.

For instance, his anger was so intense it was nearly solidifying, and he was gradually breaking free from Karen's control. These emerging shifts brought immense delight to Karen.

In fact, ever since the lunatic—the spirit of Bailey's wife—underwent undead transformation, Karen had discovered that extreme emotional outbursts seemed to have a profound impact on the process.

The lunatic was a prime example. Originally just an ordinary woman, she had suffered blow after blow prior to her death, plunging directly into madness. The moment she transformed into an undead, her power skyrocketed straight to the fifth tier.

This phenomenon had deeply intrigued Karen. Coincidentally, when Ayero practically walked right into his hands not long ago, Karen decided to use him as an impromptu experiment.

Ayero's current reaction seemed to prove that violent emotional fluctuations indeed heavily influenced undead transformation.

"Not yet. His rage is still insufficient; he needs more fury!"

Karen rested his bony chin gently in his hand, the flames in his eye sockets flickering slightly before he issued an order: "Stop playing with that rabble over there. Crush and rout them immediately. However, do not slaughter them; there are many nobles among them. These are precious captives, and I'm counting on using them to extort a heavy ransom from the Bourbon Kingdom!"

At Karen's command, Song One, who stood beside him, immediately sprang into action.

One had to admit that Karen—oh, or rather, the undead he had now become—was someone who fiercely protected his own and deeply cherished old ties.

By now, his territory had reached the fifth level, and the fourth- and fifth-tier undead under his command were numerous, not quite as common as grains of sand, but certainly not few.

Among them were even many who had been soldiers in their lifetimes and retained a certain level of military competence, yet Karen still arbitrarily entrusted the command of this battle to Song One, a third-tier undead.

From a certain perspective, this act could be considered quite irresponsible, or even childish.

Fortunately, Karen had the capital to be capricious. The military strength he wielded far surpassed that of the Bourbon Kingdom, so indulging in a bit of whimsey would not cause any real trouble.

Moreover, Song One's capability did not disappoint Karen's expectations.

Soon, Karen's army, under Song One's command, began to exert its full might.

Over on the Bourbon Kingdom's side, because Karen's undead legion had effortlessly crushed the Black Cavalry and was now beating the rest of their forces to a pulp, the morale that had barely been cobbled together collapsed once more.

This time, the collapse was more thorough than any previous one, for they knew all too well that they had no chance of turning the tables.

Even if the kingdom possessed the strength to resist or even wipe out Karen, they would never hold out long enough for those reinforcements to arrive.

Under such circumstances, once the undead legion pressed its attack,

it was akin to a robust, grown adult bullying a toddler in kindergarten, effortlessly suppressing the armies of Meda and Oudo City.

Thanks to the noble status of Meda and his cohorts, Karen, who was determined to fleece the kingdom, did not resort to mass slaughter. Instead, he used overwhelming military momentum to force the armies of Meda and Oudo City to surrender.

This group of so-called nobles, these supposedly iron-willed soldiers of the kingdom,

crumbled under the immense pressure, with almost no one able to hold out, save for a tiny handful of genuinely passionate souls.

Before long, Meda—the most fervent of them all, who had successfully seized power in the Moon-Worship City—took the lead in surrendering along with his troops and equipment.

While the armies of Meda and Oudo City were easily beaten to the ground, Karen's game on the other side was only just beginning.

True to their reputation as the kingdom's elite, the Black Legion possessed discipline and combat power far superior to the ragtag forces under Oudo City and Meda.

Even though they had been suppressed by Karen's undead cavalry from start to finish, and even though their vanguard and core striking force—the Black Cavalry—had been shattered during the opening assault, the morale of the Black Legion had not completely fractured.

Their legion commander maintained a remarkable composure, rallying his remaining soldiers to form a rigorous defensive array. Enduring the arrows of the undead cavalry, they advanced step by step toward Oudo City.

Though this tactic was profoundly passive, it was the most effective and rational strategy available to him at the moment.

Once he implemented this tactic, the casualties of the Black Legion visibly plummeted.

More importantly, as long as their troops could push through to Oudo City, their immediate crisis would be resolved.

Alas, it was ultimately impossible for them to reach Oudo City.

Having casually suppressed the forces of Meda and Oudo City with a flip of his hand, Karen deployed his main undead army once more.

Leaving twenty thousand undead behind to guard the prisoners, the remaining thirty thousand marched directly toward the Black Legion.

Crucially, under Karen's orders, Ayero was escorted by an elite squad of undead above the third tier, plunging straight into the heart of the Black Legion.

From the moment Ayero charged into the Black Legion, Karen ceased to care about defeating them.

There was nothing noteworthy in that; victory was certain. His focus was entirely on Ayero's personal transformation.

Ayero did not disappoint. Under Karen's manipulation, as he continuously slaughtered his former subordinates and comrades with the single-handed cruciform sword in his hand, the rage burning within him accumulated relentlessly.

His entire presence grew increasingly terrifying, and wisps of black mist began to shroud his body.

The more people he killed, the thicker the mist became, and Ayero's power climbed accordingly.

Everything was unfolding precisely as Karen had anticipated. Barring any accidents, this battle would net Karen yet another formidable undead subordinate.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Ayero's identity was finally exposed.

After all, the Black Legion was his home unit, and it did not take long for soldiers familiar with Ayero to recognize him.

It must be said that Ayero commanded immense prestige within the Black Legion.

The moment his identity was exposed, the Black Legion went wild, charging forward recklessly.

In their eyes, Ayero had been ensnared by Karen, that wicked necromancer, and they were determined to rescue their beloved general.

Seeing this, the flames in Karen's eyes danced, and a chilling smile curved his lips.

The frantic charges of the Black Legion yielded astonishing results. Under the onslaught of these first- and second-tier soldiers, Karen's elite undead—none of which were lower than the third tier—began to be driven back step by step.

And Ayero, who had been slaughtering indiscriminately, let out a thunderous roar as if snapping some invisible bond, standing frozen in place.

Capitalizing on this opening, the Black Legion quickly overwhelmed the elite undead guarding Ayero, pulled him out of the fray, and escorted him to the rear of the Black Legion's formation.

Seeing Ayero successfully rescued, the morale of the Black Legion surged.

The soldiers who had saved him and escorted him to the rear offered continuous words of comfort to the stubbornly silent Ayero along the way, telling him not to harbor any guilt over the slaughter he had just committed, as they all knew he had been helpless, controlled by that evil necromancer.

Yet, just as Ayero was brought safely to the rear of the Black Legion, the hitherto silent man finally spoke.

"Controlled by an evil necromancer? Helpless? Stop joking around. I am who I am; no one controls me!"

Accompanied by these chilling words, Ayero raised his single-handed cruciform sword and, amidst the disbelieving stares of the soldiers around him, began a frantic massacre.

As he swung his longsword, Ayero's fury peaked, and the black aura enveloping him reached an unprecedented climax.

Karen's lips curled upward as he ruthlessly erased the last lingering shreds of Ayero's consciousness while letting go of all restraints to allow the final undead transformation to take place.

The next moment, what could arguably be described as the most powerful undead under Karen's command was born!