I, Necromancer Chapter 7

A.N. I decided to start posting directly from the chapters ahead instead of moving the whole fic here first. Mostly cause i am lazy, nyehehehehe...

Enjoy!

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Grafting is as hard as I thought it would be.

I've already gone through fifty Bodkin Archer corpses, all fused into mangled blobs of flesh that just don't… Work, or stick well. Or move at all, other than the weird pulsing they do.

The stench of blood, rot and decay had grown thick and heavy after so many constant failures, but I just ignored it all, though I reminded myself to take a long and nice bath after this.

The soldiers had long since stopped paying attention to what I was doing and started fighting my Undead monsters for training, and I have to admit… They are quite strong.

I've seen a woman German Suplex a fucking Hacksaurus into the earth, while another dude was throwing down with a Troll, both beaten and bloodied to insane levels yet not crumbling.

So far, the only monsters that haven't been defeated yet are the Gigantes, due to their horrendous toughness and sheer strength. Even in groups of one-hundred, the soldiers get trashed horribly, but they still put up a nice fight and come back ready for another round after getting healed by Rhapthorne.

After a while, Zani came down to train too, and I gave her fifty Gigantes to train with. She didn't really struggle even against that many beasts, but even her physical strength wasn't on par with theirs.

The courtyard and surrounding area had become a makeshift battlefield filled with thousands of soldiers training, yelling and fighting until they crumbled, their teamwork improving with each passing fight.

Later on I'll probably improvise some makeshift large scale battles so that the soldiers can coordinate better, but I believe Rating Games will be better for this type of training.

I shake away those thoughts and focus back on my practice. I fear the advancement quests for my next Class Advancements will grow harder and harder, but right now I'd rather get all the power I can.

Right now I am far too limited, carried by the way my Necromancy is so unique and by the enormous amounts of Gates that surround us, giving me an endless amount of corpses that can be useful even if they expire rather quickly.

So far, I have few permanent Undead under my rule. Rhapthorne is my Undead Minion for obvious reasons, the Flood Dragon is one of the permanent one, and then the Undead Ancestors together with the Archdemons are the rest.

And these few dozens basically occupy all of my reserves, though Rhapthorne as an ungodly amount, thankfully enough.

The good thing is this constant drain on my reserves helps them increase. Slowly, but clearly at a much faster rate than when I was human.

Devils and their biological super weapon genes…

I sigh and toss aside another writhing ball of flesh and arms and feet and call over two more dull Bodkin Archers to be my next unwilling victims.

And I also have a Gigantes move in the way so I won't get distracted by Zani's sweating body battling them. She's so damn sexy…

Alas, as a man, once I taste a delicious fruit, I keep wanting to savor it. Never been so lustful in my life…

I shake away those alluring thoughts and images of a naked Zani writhing beneath me and lean forward, resting my hands on the heads of the two Bodkin Archers.

Their flesh melts and their muscles and ligaments come loose, their bones are separated, then their melted forms start joining together.

I fuse the muscles, pouring Necrotic Mana through them to make them stronger than steel and still maintain their flexibility, then do the same with the bones.

Using all the materials on hand, I make the body taller. As tall as a person, forming feet and legs and everything else, then rewire the muscles around the body.

And this is the part that is giving me problems; Recreating the whole nervous and muscular system. Fleshcrafting gives me a basic knowledge of this, but knowing and doing are two different things.

But after doing it more than a dozen times already, I've started to get the hang of it.

Yet, as I go through the process, I get a brazen idea. More bones soon flow into the mass of writhing flesh, and soon three additional arms sprout over the right side of the creature's body.

The left arm remains alone, yet from its palm a pair of reinforced bone stretch out and curve like a bow, then it is reinforced with tough tendons, with a lone string attaching two ends as the bowstring.

Necrotic Flames light up over the string as I finish up work there, then move onto the face. There… I add additional eyes. A lot of eyes, all around the head.

I pull back with a hum, then command the flesh monstrosity to move around.

It does so, taking slow steps left and right as I study it. Its… Stiff, meaning that I likely messed up somewhere, but much better than my previous tries.

Calling over an Hacksaurus, I forge a large arrow made of bone and flesh, then give it to my new archer.

All three hands hold the arrow and visibly struggle to pull back the reinforced bowstring, with the bow bending more and more until- The release is followed by a sharp sound that makes me wince, but the result is more than worth it as the arrow punches a hole clean through my Hacksaurus and kept going.

It actually is a good result, but it still requires improvements.

I messed up the muscles and bones in the legs, making them too stiff, so I fix that while flooding the body with Necrotic Mana, making it stronger and stronger.

More bones and flesh are used to upgrade the bow, making it one of those massive human-sized bows, bright Necrotic Flames burning along the bowstring.

Then, towards the end, I open a flesh sack on the back of the abomination. Through Fleshcrafting I can 'code' a corpse into generating a type of resource.

Be it the Necrotic Bile I have given to countless Undead by now, or other things.

This abomination instead will be different. Its ribs will regenerate slowly over time, using my own Mana, and then they will detatch and straighten themselves, turning into arrows covered in blood that will come to rest in the flesh sack on its back.

Like so, this archer will have infinite arrows, and its blood will catch on fire and be covered by Necrotic Flames the moment it comes to rest on the bowstring.

...Wouldn't an army of these fuckers be absolutely insane, now that I think about it?

I could probably remove the whole bone regeneration and turning into arrows thing for the next ones, since making arrows out of flesh and bone takes just a few seconds for me.

But still… This is quite good-

[You created a Grafted Monstrosity!]

Huh? That gets a pass? Well, I won't say no to that.

[Class Advancement Requirements have been met!]

[Your Class has Advanced yet again!]

[You have gained another Spell Slot!]

[You can raise another Undead Minion!]

[Adept Necromancer]

A Necromancer who has started blooming with their art, growing better after each passing day, and after each resurrected corpse.

And this is where the majority stop, either due to lack of creativity, or for getting a big head and dying because of that.

Receive a Blessing from a God of Death. (0/1)

I blink at all the new information.

I also instantly felt a rather huge increase in my reserves. An increase of fifty percent, I dare say.

I dare not imagine how much my reserves will grow after my next Advancement.

Still… I already have the Advancement Quest, and it is quite the hard one too. A Blessing from a God of Death, huh? I have no idea how to go about achieving that just yet.

This may take me a while.

I shake away those thoughts and focus on the other things I gained-

[Grafting]

The vile art of stitching together two beings to fuse their strengths, or join their different capabilities.

It can be simply Grafting the arm of a master swordsman to possess their art, or the hand of a Sorcerer to cast their Spells. Or fusing both together to create an even more terrifying abomination.

This Skill doesn't guarantee success in Grafting, just makes the process much easier and faster.

I glance down at the surrounding blobs of flesh that pulse with a strange heartbeat, all previous failures.

The Necrotic Mana within them went out of balance, collapsed, and turned their bodies into mush, which I cannot repair and return to their original state.

[Necrotic Miasma]

Your Undead can release cursed Necrotic Miasma, either under your order or after they are destroyed.

This Miasma burns the skin of those that stand within it, and ruins the inside of those that breathe it in.

The thicker the density of Necrotic Miasma, the deadlier it becomes.

Huh, this one is insanely good for the prolonged battles caused by the wave type Gates.

Definitely a good haul. I get another Spell Slot, and I can make another Undead Minion.

Part of me wants to turn the Undead Flood Dragon into my second minion, but I'll hold onto this slot for a while, see if I find something more valuable in the coming events.

As for the Spell Slot… I require an attack Spell to protect myself just in case, even though the reason I picked the Necromancer Class is because I want others to do the fighting for me.

Oh well, I have time to think and let the creative juices do their thing. For now, a shower is a must.

I go to stand, but a sudden bout of dizziness nearly sends me to the floor, and the only reason I don't make-out with the ground is a hand that reaches out to grab my chest.

I shake the dizziness away and turn to see Zani standing beside me, covered in sweat but otherwise fine despite training with the physical powerhouses that are the Gigantes.

"You okay?" She asks gently, worry in her lazy gaze, and I offer her a light smile as I straighten myself with her help.

"Must've overused my Mana." I did draw upon Rhapthorne's reserves to keep going with my Grafting, but I didn't think using so much Mana would hit me so hard and so suddenly. "I just need a good rest, and a shower, of course."

Zani relaxes, and a smile soon spreads across her face, "Yeah, you reek of blood." She states, still having me lean against her as she helps me walk inside.

I roll my eyes at her words, "And you are literally dripping with sweat. Not that I mind." I have weird kinks, alright? I'd lick it off her if I could.

Zani laughs softly and shakes her head, a faint flush on her cheeks as her gaze grows more… Soft. Vulnerable, even. "Thank you. For healing them." I blink at her words, then I offer a tired smile right back.

"No need for that. It didn't really cost anything, plus… They are partly my subordinates too, so I gotta take care of them." Zani shakes her head, her thin smile brighter than ever.

"It is still priceless. Especially for those like us, who used to struggle for every little scrap we could grasp with our hands." Yeah, Phoenix Tears cost a lot, and even then they cannot regrow arms.

Maybe fix scars and old wounds, but regrow entire limbs that were lost years ago? Yeah, no.

That healing Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing or something, might be able to do that once it reaches its strongest form, but I don't know.

Still… "Hey." I start, giving Zani's shoulder a shake and making her eyes meet mine, "We're partners. If you need help, you just gotta ask."

She blinks, then huffs out a gentle laugh as we enter my room. Then my bathroom.

And I blink when Zani starts stripping, while making her way towards my shower.

Turning on the hot water, she throws a sensual look back towards me that makes my blood boil, "Are you going to join me, or will you just enjoy the view?"

Damn Devils and how stupidly sexy they are.

Never have I ever took my clothes off so damn fast in both of my lives.

~~XXX~~

The large, human-sized Pill Furnace rumbles, trembles, then booms, indicating yet another failure as flames spill everywhere.

The medicinal fragrance faded away into the stench of ashes and smoke that lingered for but a moment around the ruby red Pill Furnace that looked like a phoenix hugging itself with its wings, the beak working as the entrance for the medicinal ingredients and the exit of the refined Pills.

A gentle sigh echoes from a stunning pink haired and golden eyed woman kneeling down before the Pill Furnace, her white and black robes hugging her curvaceous figure in ways that left nothing to the imagination.

Her golden eyes flick down to the scroll laying before her knees, her brush drawing another line among a line of text. A recipe. Yet another one that was crossed out and joined the dozens of other ones.

"The Yang energies of Dragon Blood, Yang Root Ginseng and Yang Fire Water cannot reach balance through the usage of Yin Eternal Ice Flower Extract. Yet another failure." The beautiful woman muses softly, not discouraged by the dozens of failures that she has gone through so far.

Instead, they only motivated her further to find the right balance for her recipe. Her soon-to-be masterpiece. "Yang Root Ginseng helps connect the Yin energies of the Yin Eternal Ice Flower Extract, while the Yang Fire Water tempers away the Ice Poison that comes from it."

"The Dragon Blood is the problem, it seems." The pink haired beauty muses softly, gaze narrowed as she taps her brush on her scroll, "It is too weak, but loud. It gets targeted at the very start and doesn't survive the process, getting destroyed instead of tempered and quelled so that the formation of the Pill can start."

And this was the blood of a Middle Class Dragon that she used. It already was quite expensive, yet it ended up being too weak for her uses. Perhaps even the blood of a High Class Dragon might be unable to survive the refinement.

But then that of an Ultimate Class one might be too strong. Too overbearing, so… Maybe the blood of a Dragon subspecies?

"Enjoying yourself, Changli?" The young woman startles out of her thoughts at the gentle voice that reaches her ears, and she turns towards the entrance to her private Cultivation quarters to regard the hunched over elderly woman that had spoken up.

"Master!" Changli smiles and stands up, offering a bow while cupping her fists towards her teacher, "Had I known you were coming, I'd have prepared some tea!"

The elderly woman with a face covered in wrinkles just laughs gently and waves her hand in a dismissive manner, "No need for that, child. I just came here on a whim." The old crone states, her aged gaze flicking towards the large furnace in the middle of the room, "More failures?"

Changli nods without shame, a small smile on her lips, "Yes, but I feel like I am getting closer to achieving what I want." Her golden eyes sparkle with excitement, earning a small warm smile from the old crone.

"Ah, if only all Alchemists would accept failure like you do… Too many succumb to Heart Devils like arrogant fools." The aged Alchemist sighs deeply before shaking her head, "Still, I eagerly await your first successful refinement of your Dragon Body Pill."

Changli nods happily, then tilts her head curiously, "Is there a reason for why Master came to visit me?"

The old crone nods and waves her hand, sending a small letter flying towards Changli, who receives it with both hands, "A letter from your family just came in. The boys were fighting on who should deliver it, so I stole it while they weren't looking just to cause a brawl!" The old crone cackles, turning around to leave the private chambers under the amused gaze of her student.

Shaking her head out of amusement, Changli lowers her gaze towards the golden paper of the letter, the Magic Crest of the Phenex House imprinted onto its back.

With a flicker of her Devil Energy, the seal fades away once it confirms her identity, allowing her to open the latter and pull out its contents.

The first letter was from her parents. Both dearly missed her since it was close to a year since she visited last, but expressed how proud they were of how hard she was working to pursue her dream.

The other letter instead was from the Lady of the Phenex House, who is actually Changli's very aunt, as the Lady originated from the Branch Family of House Phenex and was pivotal in bringing together the Main Family and Branch Family.

Sitting back down, Changli gently opens the second letter to read its contents.

"Dear Changli, I hope the Alchemy Sect is still treating you well. I know how hot-blooded the youths in the Chinese Faction can be, so just let Aunty know if anyone gets too pushy, alright?" A laugh ripples out of her lips, always adoring how over-protective her dear Aunt is.

"Things have been going well here, especially since you assisted us in creating those diluted versions of our Phoenix Tears."

"I do not know if you've been keeping up with the news, but a very old friend of your dear Aunty recently woke up from the Devil Sleeping Disease and has been making huge waves. She is quite ambitious, seeking the best for the Devil Race, and is currently striving to achieve this goal no matter the costs."

Changli raises a brow at that. The amount of times a Devil woke up from the Devil Sleeping Disease could be counted on one hand and have fingers left-over.

Not even Pills from the Chinese Faction Alchemy Sects could assist in waking a victim up.

"I bring this up because this friend of mine is looking for members for her Peerage. People she can rely on. And by coincidence, she has expressed interest in a possible Alchemist and Formation Master from the Chinese Faction. I am not saying you should join her yourself, but offer her assistance in finding someone who might be interested and is capable enough."

"She has also expressed interest in offering her assistance in clearing the Eternal Forest that has been troubling you all for a while. Her Queen is a terrifyingly powerful Necromancer who can raise massive armies of monsters to fight for him, so her assistance might prove to be valuable."

"I hope to see you soon, and that you aren't overworking yourself like usual. With love, the best auntie ever!"

Humming, Changli folds the letter in thought. She had never thought about joining someone's Peerage, mainly for she did not wish to just support their whims and be a tool to be exploited due to her years of study at the Alchemy Sect.

But she was willing to at least give this Devil a chance and meet them, especially since her Auntie vouched for them.

As for assisting with the Eternal Forest… That wasn't something Changli could decide herself, but she could bring it up to her teacher and seek her opinion.

The Eternal Forest was an immense opportunity but also a massive thorn in the side of the Chinese Faction.

All the land the Eternal Forest sweeps through becomes immensely fertile, able to grow crops and medicinal ingredients within a third of the time, sometimes even faster.

At first, the Chinese Faction allowed it to spread on purpose, so to obtain far more fertile land to make use off, but their greed soon turned upon them when the Eternal Forest just kept going and going.

Any tries to stop it ended in failure afterward, especially since countless other Gates opened within the Eternal Forest, feeding it nutrients and allowing it to turn countless monsters into puppets that guard its insides.

The assistance of a possible Undead army could be very valuable indeed…

Shaking her head, Changli pockets the letter and stands, turning to leave her private chambers-

"I, Yun Che, am the one chosen by the Heavens to deliver the letter to Lady Changli!"

"Arrogance! I, the master of the Nine Revolving Pill Art, shall be the only to lay his eyes upon the Phoenix Princess' Jade Beauty!"

"You dare! You are but a frog at the bottom of a well coveting swan meat!"

"Courting death!"

Changli sighs and closes the door to her private chambers.

First, she had to wait for the chaos her teacher started to quell.

Why does she always do this…?

~~XXX~~

I push the door to Fleurdelys' office with my shoulder and walk in holding a tray with plates of food and warm coffee, my gaze instantly landing on the beauty behind the desk.

Her figure was leaning back against her chair, her gaze distant as she gazed out of the window, her clothing back to her usual black and white robes that are quite revealing, and leave her long legs out to be stared at.

She blinks and focuses when I approach, her face lighting up at the sight of me, a warm smile spreading across her glistening lips, "Always spoiling me with morning breakfast, my dear Scaith?"

I shrug, placing down the tray of food on her desk, "I enjoy cooking, even more so if it is for a breathtaking woman." She huffs out a light laugh, a small dusting of red on her cheeks.

"It truly is dangerous to be around you." She playfully drawls out as she draws the chair close to the desk, then takes a double-take towards me, "You… Feel quite a bit stronger."

I blink at that. Huh, she can feel it? "It is likely due to the constant drain of recharging my Undead Ancestors and the fat guy above." I state with a small shrug, "My reserves have been growing quite fast since I've become a Devil."

Fleurdelys muses, no suspicion within her gaze, "It might also be the effects of the Mutated Queen Piece." She points out before turning her gaze back to her breakfast.

Well, that went well. Had she questioned me further it would have turned out troublesome, as I physically cannot talk about the System. Not even when I am alone.

"I've been meaning to ask…" I perk up as Fleurdelys speaks up again, "Why did you never bring up this Boosted Gear wielder as a possible Peerage Member for me?"

There's no accusation within her voice, just curiosity, yet I still give a mostly nervous laugh, "I would have trouble controlling my manners if I had a very rude pervert blatantly spouting obscenities towards you while leering at you."

Fleurdelys startles at my words, her cheeks and pointy ears turning a hot red, "O-Oh, I see…" She nearly squeaks out before shyly averting her gaze and turning back to her breakfast, much to my amusement.

I do hold in my chuckle so to not embarrass her further, though. Which is quite hard to do.

Honestly, since I've become a Devil I've started to feel… Different. More prone to lust, more greedy, even quite possessive.

While I still wouldn't have wanted the literal sex offender brat around beforehand, the reason went from being second-hand embarrassment to not wanting him anywhere near Fleurdelys.

And Zani too, now.

I feel like Devils here are closer to Sin than it was ever stated in Canon, but it hasn't really been a problem so far.

"The Devil from the Shaxx House has surrendered his hold over the territory." Fleurdelys reveals, clearly bringing up another subject so to not stew in her embarrassment.

I hum softly at that, "It was expected." He wasn't a High Class Devil, so he lacked a Peerage and only had a small army. He was still capable enough, though.

He used his territory and Gates to form connections, allowing other Devils to come assist him to defeat Gates and earn bigger shares of the loot, while he earns some favorable points with these Devils.

"I say right now we only need to give our soldiers some proper practice against living and thinking people, and we'll be good to go." The next batch of recruits will be gathered after we hopefully manage to strike a deal with the Chinese Faction and deal with the forest.

The horned beauty nods, taking a sip from her warm coffee before speaking up, "We could take part in the tournament. Have the army fight by themselves for the preliminaries, and share the victory money between them."

That's… Actually quite the good idea. "I am sure that will motivate them quite a bit." I chuckle out, "I dare say that the majority of them are around High Class in terms of strength. No Low Class, and all of them are quite skilled."

"They work well together, and I believe their shared troubles of struggling to survive and being treated as expendables has helped bringing them together without problems arising."

Fleurdelys nods, then stretches with a content sigh, making her massive chest stand out proudly, "It will also make them understand that we will not always rely on your capabilities as a Necromancer."

I nod, then pause, "Oh right, I almost forgot; I've had them start skinning the giant Flood Dragon for its scales, claws and teeth. If negotiations with the Chinese Faction go well, we should have be able to equip the entire army with armors and weapons made from these materials rather quickly."

I mostly gave them this work because I did not wish to waste time to do this myself. The good thing is that they work fast and well, and that they are quite skilled at skinning.

Gotta make them feel useful, else if I keep doing everything I might cause some unrest or feelings of inadequacy.

"Then let us improve as much as possible." Fleurdelys' sighs out as she goes to stand, "As I believe the Chinese Faction might give us quite the hard task, then blame us in case of failure." That's fair enough. Escape accountability and seek remuneration from the ones offering hell, cause why not.

I blink and turn to Fleurdelys, who had stopped herself from rising fully from her chair, her gaze locked onto me in a rather intense way. "What?"

She narrows her eyes and… Pouts?

I trace her gaze to my neck- Ah, the hickey Zani left on me last night. "Hmph! My Queen is getting closer with my Knight, instead of his King!" Fleurdelys huffs out, dropping heavily on her chair and crossing her arms with a huge, adorable pout on her face.

Despite myself, I grin at her adorable jealousy, "I mean, I could do to you what I do with Zani." I offer, making the ashen-haired beauty's face and pointy ears go a blazing hot red.

"H-Hmph! I demand a shoulder massage!" So my adorable King can also be a tsundere, eh? I adore her more and more.

"Your wish is my command."

Funnily enough, she barely lasted a minute before running away from how embarrassed she was.

Oh dear… She's the type of innocent woman to find even hand-holding to be extremely lewd, isn't she?

I struck fucking gold.

I shake my head and leave the office with a smile on my face. Now I am partly looking forward to the tournament, even if won't take part in the full thing.

Our soldiers should manage to push us through a few rounds…

Right?

….

"Welcome back, Ladies and Gentleman!" A voice roared over the stadium speaker, evoking another cheer from the spectators, "It is your favorite and handsome Naud Gamigin here again with you all, for yet another round of the preliminaries!"

"This time, the beautiful Leviathan scion battles once more!" Another round of loud cheers shook the spectator stands as the arena swiftly changed before their eyes, "She has already earned nine wins out of ten, with no losses! And hear this; She and her Peerage never fought ONCE! Her army did all the fighting, and thrashed all opposition!"

A large forest appeared within the arena, a large mountain standing within the middle of it and reaching into the cloudy sky.

"Standing against her this time is Gragg Forneus and his weird band of scallywags cosplaying as pirates! In a forest!"

Flashes of lights erupted in the north and south points of the arena as the armies and Peerages were teleported in, with the a horn blaring each second for the ten second countdown.

"This time, Lady Leviathan's army of three-thousand might have some trouble, for they are facing a massive force of ten-thousand! This is sure to be a long and hard-fought battle!"

The battle was, in fact, not a hard-fought one. At all.

"And Gragg Forneus' Knight is out after getting German Suplexed from a hundred meters in the air! That had to have hurt a lot!"

"Lady Leviathan's army lacks weapons, but not options! They are using the damn trees to beat people up! The trees! Who in hell uses trees and swings it around like a war-hammer while laughing!? The soldiers under Lady Leviathan's employ, that's who!"

"Gragg Forneus' Pawn is made to bite the curb in front of the army! That gruesome scene has lowered the morale of his army!"

"Gragg Forneus was hit by a random tree hurled through the air! He is now screaming obscenities that should not be heard!"

"Are we sure these guys were former mercenaries?! They are playing rock-paper-scissor on who gets to beat up Gragg Forneus' Queen!"

"This is just torture at this point- Are they burning Gragg Forneus at the stake?!"

Needless to say that Fleurdelys won that battle too with her soldiers doing all the maiming- Work.

The Devil that was supposed to fight the tenth battle against her forfeited on the spot.

Like so, Fleurdelys achieved her goal – somewhat – and retired from the tournament, not willing to fully commit to it just yet.

Only Zani knew that the reason the mercenaries turned soldiers were so violent is because they let out their anger and hate towards the Nobles and soldiers that would always treat them as expendables.

At least they did it where there could be no consequences.

Aside from burning the Forneus Heir at the stake.

~~XXX~~

Moving between the territories owned by each Faction would usually be quite the arduous task.

Not only because of the distance, but also because of the numerous Gates that have opened in-between the two territories, filling the land with tens of thousands of monsters of all kinds.

Building transport routes is also out of the question due to the same issue, hence why the majority of times someone must move between Faction territories, they go back to Earth and move to that Faction's respective country, then seek transport to the Underworld there.

But me and Fleurdelys did not have a problem with crossing such long distances to reach the Chinese Faction once we received word that they wanted to meet with us.

My Flood Dragon is capable of moving great distances with ease, and I just brought along a few Archdaemons in case I require their magical bombardment to clear out large clusters of monsters.

Zani remained behind to guard our newly expanded territory after the Devil from the Shaxx House signed the contract, and I left Rhapthorne there just in case too.

I can't really store his massive fat ass, nor could I bring so many powerful monsters to the border of another Faction that isn't yet allied with us.

We also managed to catch a glimpse of the so called Eternal Forest during our approach.

It was filled with colossal trees that reached the clouds above, shifting mounds of vines and grass and earth, and colossal plants with mouths. And that's what we could make out from a distance.

So far, the Eternal Forest has become rather massive. Roughly three times the size of New York itself, and it is still expanding.

We also crossed abandoned remnants of the Chinese Faction territory, some currently being swallowed by the Eternal Forest.

Entire buildings and what appeared to be large Sects, all having to be evacuated because this existence just keeps pressing forward.

It took a few hours of travel, but in the end we finally approached the new perimeter of the Chinese Faction territory.

Large walls surround a seemingly endless city, the air quite rich and thick with a form of energy that I couldn't touch.

"They haven't change since I fell asleep, huh?" Fleurdelys muses as we enter the city, my giant Flood Dragon being left beside the main gates with a pair of very nervous guards.

I perk up at her words, "You've visited the Chinese Mythology before?"

She nods, gaze distant as we walk down the street. The buildings were old fashioned, and stalls littered the left and right side of the street, with vendors shouting to draw attention to their wares.

Could be Pill Bottles, ores, weapons, talismans or even food. All kinds of things were being sold, even stuff from other Mythologies, it seems.

"Mother took me. We came to buy medicine for Aunty Lilith, for she was starting to fall sick due to how many Devils she was creating." Right, that happened in canon too, and she fell into a coma.

She still might be, in fact. Just in the hands of her ungrateful son.

I turn my gaze to the people walking us by. Cultivators of all manners.

Some were Yaoguai's of all forms. Fish people, tiger people, fox people, all wearing long robes and weapons on their back.

The male humans had their long hair tied behind them in a low ponytail and walked in a dignified way, but the majority failed to even keep a straight face when Fleurdelys walked by them, her arm in mine.

Jealousy, lust, greed- All kinds of emotions flash past the faces of these Cultivators walking among us, with quite a few of them flying above our hands while standing on top of swords.

It is fascinating to see, as I used to read a lot of wuxia and xianxia novels. So seeing Cultivators and walking among them is quite the novel experience. No pun intended.

"I believe the meet-up spot is…" I pause and stare down the large street to our right, "Down that way." I turn and lead the way, and a commotion soon draws our attention.

The large street is short, ending in a large circular square with a stage in the middle of it. The majority of people seem to be focused upon the stage, where a beautiful pink haired woman was kneeling before a rumbling cauldron resembling a phoenix.

Two braids of white hair rested on her shoulders, and her left forearm was covered in a strange reddish-orange mark that covered her whole hand too.

"That's her." Fleurdelys states, an approving smile on her lips as she fixed her gaze on the kneeling woman.

I hum and keep watching as the Alchemist forms another pair of hand seals, causing the Pill Furnace to still even as the air around it warps from the immense heat radiating from it. Heat that I can feel washing over me and the entire crowd, together with a fragrance that makes my body nearly melt.

"As expected of the Phoenix Princess, her Alchemy Dao must've progressed even more since her last public refinement."

"Aah, if only I could have a Dao Companion like her, I could die happy."

"Keep dreaming, fool. A Jade Beauty like her can only be coveted by those Chosen by the Heavens."

More and more chatter filled the air filled with near fanatical praise, making my expression twitch from second-hand embarrassment, but also amusement.

"Looks like she is quite famous." I joke with Fleurdelys, who turns an adorable pout my way.

Her free hand rises and gently pinches my cheek, "You best not bed her like you have with Zani if I manage to recruit her." She chides adorably, making me laugh softly.

"I appreciate the compliment to my looks, but I don't make it my hobby to seduce my coworkers." I joke, earning another cute huff from the beautiful giantess, her close proximity to me making it hard for me to keep my head straight.

And my gaze focused when I have a pair of giant peaks bouncing so close to me.

The furnace rumbles once more, releasing an explosive bang that rattles the whole square before the heat starts dying down.

The beak of the furnace opens, and out of it flow out nine glowing golden Pills that release a potent, near addictive fragrance that I can taste even from so far away.

I watch as the pink haired woman stands up, then gives a playful smile towards the crow… Before flicking one of her fingers, sending the nine golden Pills flying in nine different directions across the city.

A sudden quiet falls over the square, before the Cultivators surge in alarm and start chasing after the Pills like mad dogs, much to my amusement.

And soon, just me and Fleurdelys were left within the square, drawing the attention of our possible recruit.

With a step, the beautiful woman descends down from the stage, her gaze warm and welcoming as she bows towards us, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Fleurdelys, Sir Scaith."

I shudder and speak up instantly, "Just Scaith, please…" I nearly beg, earning a cute giggle from the Phenex woman.

"Then just Changli for me too."

Fleurdelys smiles and nods at the shorter woman, "Your aunt spoke greatly of your skills in Alchemy, but they are clearly far better than I thought."

Changli gives a bashful smile at the praise, "I tend to focus a bit too much on my studies…"

I snort at that, "Better to be diligent than to be jealous of others, no?" I always found the lazy types being jealous of the hard-workers weird.

They could reach that level too if they just tried hard instead of doing the bare minimum, but nope… Do little and be jealous of those that stand above you because they work harder.

"A fair point." Changli smiles, then shakes her head and turns, waving her head towards a large building on the other end of the square, "Come along, I am sure the Sect Masters are awaiting your arrival."

We both nod and move to follow along Changli, who leads the way. As we do so, Fleurdelys speaks up, "Who might we be meeting, if I may ask? I was not informed."

Changli perks up, then smiles gently, "You will be meeting with the three Sect Masters of the three main Sects within the Underworld. The Alchemy Sect, Sword Sect and the Formations Sect."

I hum, then speak up myself, "Which of these Sect Masters will be hard to impress and might make things hard on us?"

Changli giggles, "The Sect Master of the Sword Sect, obviously. He will take your offer for help as a slight against them. My master, the Alchemy Sect Master, will be the mediator while the Formation Sect Master will be the neutral party."

I see… So impress the Sword Sect and we get an assured pass, if not impress the other two to still get a pass within the negotiations.

Should be easy enough, after all the information gathering I've done.

The inside of a building is a restaurant, completely empty and devoid of life aside from the scent of cooking and the gentle clattering coming from the kitchen in the back.

Changli leads us to the second floor, which is clearly reserved for important figures seeing how few tables there are.

At the center of this floor are four tables set in a square pattern, each made so that those sitting down can face the others even by looking forward.

Sitting at three of the tables are the Sect Master. An aged old crone with white hair tied in a bun and a wrinkly green robe, and a gentle smile on her face.

The other was a towering old man with a bald head, bushy brows and a long beard, brass-like skin, and robes that had their sleeves torn off to show muscular and scarred arms. His face was set in a perpetual frown that did not look healthy.

The last Sect Master was another old woman, with long gray hair but a more youthful face, her back bent and her face more neutral as she held a cup of steaming tea in her hands.

"Sect Masters, I've brought our guests." Changli announces, stepping to the side so to let me and Fleurdelys take the seats at our tables. Not after giving each Sect Master a greeting bow with a cup of our hands.

It harms no one to be polite.

Our actions do earn a modicum of approval from the Alchemy and Formation Sect Masters, so it was good I instructed Fleurdelys to go along with this.

"Thank you for having us." Fleurdelys speaks up, her face serious, "And thank you for agreeing to this meeting."

The Alchemy Sect Master nods, the gentle smile on her face never changing, "You have our thanks for offering your assistance on this matter that has been plaguing us for a while. Though some are too prideful to seek assistance" She states the last part while throwing a playful glance towards the Sword Sect Master.

The giant doesn't twitch, but he does shoot a warning glance towards the old crone, who blatantly ignores him. "Now, may I ask why you have offered us your assistance? No one in the Supernatural World does things out of the goodness of their heart, after all."

I chuckle at that, and Fleurdelys smiles and gives me the go ahead to speak in her place. "Well, we seek three things as rewards for our assistance with the Eternal Forest." I start with a relaxed smile, folding my hands on top of the table.

"First is an alliance with your Faction, so to gain access to some of your Sects. Like the Forging Sects to sell materials to and have custom made armors and weapons forged for our army, or the Alchemy Sect. Even the Formation Sect."

"The second is to stop the expansion of the Eternal Forest, for if we do nothing, then it may reach the borders of our territory within six months. Maybe less."

The old crone nods several times while humming softly, "And the last one?"

I smile at that, "Access to No Man's Land." All three Sect Masters startle at that, "We have no desire for the Eternal Forest's territory and fertile soil. We simply wish to gain a foothold behind it so to start diving into No Man's Land."

The Sword Sect Master speaks up, his face set into a frown, but his eyes also sparkle with interest, "That is suicide." He points out, his voice deep and powerful.

I nod, "It would be… If I wasn't a Necromancer that could entire armies of dead monsters on my side." It might be arrogance, but I can afford it with how my form of Necromancy is quite unique. "Loss of real life will be minimal, and the Chinese Faction will be the priority when we sell any precious resource we find while diving through No Man's Land."

The Formation Master perks up at that, "The priority, you say?" She raises an intrigued brow towards us as she speaks, "What about your Race?"

I shrug, "A difference of opinion and management has led to us deciding to split up from them. They'll get the bare minimum from us, as we seek to assist the minority instead of fattening up the Nobles like the current government does."

The Formation Master hums softly, swirling her warm tea with a pensive look on her face, "I see no problem with such an alliance. We only stand to gain if their endeavors are successful." And we have one on our side already.

The Sword Sect Master grunts, "And if they fail?" He probes, to which the old crone shrugs.

"Not like we haven't failed plenty ourselves." She offers back, "I'd rather do this gamble that may help us waste less lives, than just sit on our wrinkly butts and shoo off those that can help us." And that's another on our side.

The old Sword Sect Master grunts once more, but does not refute her words and instead settles his intense gaze on me, "You stated that you do not covet the land and soil of the Eternal Forest?"

I blink at his question, then nod slowly, "Yes. I believe it would be wasted to grow food and fruits when the Underworld offers plenty of space to do exactly that." It is best if such fertile soil is used for things that can benefit us, like growing medicinal plants for Alchemy.

The Sword Master nods, "Then ask for another reward." I raise a brow at that, "We stand to gain more than you do, and I cannot stand for that. If we succeed and we get so much while you only get access to our facilities, it will leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Huh… And I was worried this guy was going to be rude or a hardass. Guess he is nice and fair deep down.

"Huh…" I sag my shoulders, then glance at Fleurdelys. She shrugs and once more gives me the go-ahead, meaning that I can ask for a reward that goes to me.

And what can I ask for? A corpse, obviously.

A corpse worthy of being another Undead Minion.

"May I ask for a corpse, then?" I probe, a smile on my face, "Only the corpse. I do not touch or desecrate Souls." I quickly add, just to be sure.

The three Sect Masters share a look, before the old crone looks at me with interest, "What corpse might interest you?"

I grin, and I can barely hide the greed within it, "The corpse of the one man known as the strongest beneath the Heavens…"

"Lu Bu Fengxian."

A.N. Cultivation Waifu appears, maybe another one will in the next chapter.

Also, am still confused on why this story is doing so damn good, y'all are weird.

Either way, hope y'all enjoyed this chappy!

Toodles!