Several died instantly from the impact alone.

Even Gorn’s expression changed completely.

He crossed his axe in front of himself just before the shockwave hit.

Boom!

His body was blasted backward through an entire wooden structure.

The building exploded apart behind him.

Dust filled the battlefield.

Silence followed briefly afterward.

Then slow, heavy footsteps echoed through the destruction.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Dragmar walked out from the settling dust calmly, giant mace resting against his shoulder.

Not a single step looked hurried.

Behind the cracked helmet, the pale-blue glow in his eye flickered quietly.

And for the first time in years...

Gorn felt fear.

Gorn pushed himself out from the collapsed remains of the wooden building, breathing heavily.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

One arm hung slightly lower than the other.

Broken.

Around him, the battlefield had completely changed.

The bandits no longer looked fierce.

They looked terrified.

Bodies littered the camp. Broken weapons, shattered barricades, and blood covered the ground. Fires had started spreading from the destroyed structures, filling the air with smoke and the smell of burning wood.

And walking through all of it...

Was Dragmar.

Each heavy footstep felt like a hammer striking directly against Gorn’s chest.

The giant undead stopped several meters away from him.

Tower shield planted beside him.

Massive mace resting against one shoulder.

The pale-blue glow beneath the cracked helmet stared at Gorn silently.

Gorn tightened his grip on the axe instinctively.

For the first time in years, his confidence was gone.

"What... are you?" he muttered hoarsely.

His voice finally came out low and calm.

"My next attack will kill you."

The words weren’t loud.

But they carried absolute certainty.

Dragmar slowly lifted the mace off his shoulder.

"I cannot keep my lord waiting any longer."

Above the battlefield, Aiden watched quietly from the cliff.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Below, Gorn’s expression twisted violently.

Rage, fear, humiliation, all mixed together.

"You arrogant bastard!" he roared.

The pressure around his body exploded outward again as he forced every ounce of strength he had left into his body. Veins bulged across his arms while his muscles tightened violently.

This was his final attack.

Gorn roared and rushed forward with everything he had.

The ground cracked behind him from the force of his charge.

His axe rose high into the air, compressed force gathering around the blade so densely that even nearby bandits backed away in panic.

"DIE!"

The axe descended.

At the same moment, Dragmar moved.

Not fast like Kael, not graceful, just overwhelming.

His giant body stepped forward once.

Boom.

The ground shattered beneath his foot.

Then the mace swung downward.

The air itself seemed to explode.

BOOOOOOM!

The two weapons collided.

For half a second, everything froze.

Then Gorn’s axe shattered apart.

His eyes widened completely.

"No—"

The mace continued downward without slowing.

And hit him directly.

Boom!

The impact was horrifying.

Gorn’s entire upper body exploded under the force.

Blood, shattered bone, and broken armor erupted outward violently as the ground beneath him collapsed inward from the sheer weight of the attack.

A crater formed instantly.

The shockwave blasted through the camp hard enough to throw nearby bandits off their feet.

Silence followed.

Complete silence.

Even the remaining bandits froze.

Because there was nothing left of Gorn to recognize anymore.

Only a ruined crater stained red.

Dragmar slowly lowered his mace.

Blood dripped heavily from the black metal head onto the broken ground below.

Then the giant undead turned his helmet slowly toward the surviving bandits.

One bandit dropped his weapon first.

Clang.

"T-The boss is dead..."

Another staggered backward.

"We’re finished..."

Then panic erupted completely.

"RUN!"

The remaining bandits scattered in every direction, abandoning weapons and allies alike as they desperately fled into the forest.

Kael calmly stepped out from the smoke nearby, sword still dripping blood.

He glanced briefly at the fleeing survivors.

"Should I kill the rest?" he asked calmly.

Above them, Aiden finally began walking down from the cliffside.

"Do what you want," he said.

His eyes swept across the destroyed camp.

He thought, ’These guys doesn’t give that much exp at all. So it doesn’t matter whether they die or live.’

Kael moved first.

The moment Aiden gave permission, the black-cloaked swordsman disappeared into the chaos like a hunting shadow.

Shhk.

One fleeing bandit suddenly split apart across the chest before collapsing face-first into the dirt.

Another barely turned around before Kael’s blade pierced through his neck from behind.

No hesitation.

No mercy.

As an undead, Kael felt no pity toward the screaming men trying to escape.

Only satisfaction.

The battlefield became a slaughter.

Bandits ran desperately through the burning camp, but Kael hunted them down one after another with terrifying precision. Every movement of his sword was clean and efficient.

One bandit managed to make it into the forest.

He looked back once.

That was his mistake.

A black flash crossed the air.

Then his head rolled across the ground.

Meanwhile, Dragmar advanced through the center of the camp like a walking disaster.

Bandits crashed into each other trying to escape him.

Some threw away their weapons and begged.

"P-Please spare us!"

"We surrender!"

Dragmar showed no reaction.

The giant undead swung his mace once.

Boom!

Three men exploded apart instantly.

Another tried to stab toward the gaps in Dragmar’s armor.

Clang.

The sword snapped in half.

Dragmar grabbed the man’s face with one massive hand and slammed him directly into the ground hard enough to crack stone.

Blood splattered across the giant shield.

The pale-blue glow beneath his helmet flickered calmly.

To humans, the battlefield was horrifying.

To undead like Kael and Dragmar...

This was natural.

They enjoyed it.

Not through madness or cruelty, but through instinct. Death was part of their existence. Combat felt comfortable to them, almost peaceful.

Aiden watched quietly while walking through the ruined camp.

Burning wood crackled nearby.

Smoke drifted through the air.

Bodies covered the ground everywhere.

The fight had ended almost too quickly.

After several more minutes, the last screams finally disappeared.

Silence returned to the camp. There’s no survivors.

Kael calmly wiped the blood from his sword before returning it to its sheath.

Dragmar stood near the destroyed center of the camp, mace still dripping heavily with blood and flesh.

Aiden stepped into the massive crater left behind by the final attack.

Then he stopped.

Or more accurately...

He stared.

"...Damn."

Even he looked mildly speechless.

Gorn barely looked human anymore.

Half his body had been flattened into the ground from the impact. Broken armor, shattered bone, and blood were mixed together inside the crater like crushed meat.

Aiden glanced back toward Dragmar.

"You really destroyed this guy."

Dragmar lowered his head slightly.

"My apologies, my lord."

Aiden rubbed his forehead lightly.

"We need his head for the mission completion."

That was the problem.

There was barely enough left to identify.

Kael stepped closer and looked down calmly.

"...The face is still mostly intact."

Aiden crouched beside the corpse quietly.

Then his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.

An idea appeared in his mind.

Lord of the Dead.

If he can successfully turned Gorn into an undead...

Then the body would restore itself through necrotic mana.

Aiden raised one hand slowly above the ruined corpse.

"I hope luck is on our side this time."

Dark mana immediately began gathering around his arm.

The air grew colder.

Black mist spread quietly across the crater while faint whispers echoed unnaturally around the battlefield.

Even Kael and Dragmar stayed silent while watching.

Aiden’s eyes darkened.

"Lord of the Dead."

The black mist surged downward instantly.

It poured directly into Gorn’s ruined corpse.

For a moment... Nothing happened, then the body twitched.

Crack.

Broken bones slowly began moving back into place.

Flesh wriggled unnaturally as dark mana stitched the ruined corpse together piece by piece. The crushed chest slowly reformed while shattered ribs forced themselves back beneath the skin.

The sight would’ve terrified any living person watching nearby.

Aiden observed carefully.

Then suddenly, the corpse’s remaining eye opened.

A pale-blue glow flickered within it.

Aiden smiled immediately, succeeded.

Kael watched silently beside him.

While Dragmar spoke in his deep voice,

"Congratulations, my lord."

Gorn slowly pushed himself upward from the crater.

The restored body still carried damage marks and pale gray skin, but compared to before, he now looked mostly complete again.

Even the crushed side of his torso had regenerated through necrotic mana.

The pale-blue light inside Gorn’s eyes flickered weakly as he stood inside the crater.

But unlike Kael and Dragmar...

There was nothing intelligent behind those eyes.

Aiden glanced toward Dragmar.

"Hold him still."

Dragmar immediately stepped forward and grabbed Gorn firmly by the shoulders. The undead bandit didn’t resist at all.

Aiden pulled a blade from his waist.

Then with one clean motion.

Shhk.

Gorn’s head rolled onto the dirt.

Dark necrotic mist leaked briefly from the severed neck before stabilizing again.

Aiden stared at the headless corpse for a moment.

Then he raised one hand slowly.

Dark mana immediately gathered around his palm, thick black mist swirling violently through the air. The severed neck of Gorn’s body began twitching unnaturally as necrotic energy poured into it.

The black mist concentrated around the severed neck.

Then slowly...

Flesh began growing.

Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly while maintaining control of the mana flow. Muscle fibers stretched outward first, followed by veins, skin, and bone forming layer by layer.

Crack.

Crack.

The sound of bone forming echoed faintly through the battlefield.

Then hair emerged.

Facial features followed soon after.

A completely new head slowly materialized above Gorn’s shoulders.

The process looked disturbing.

Like watching death rebuild itself piece by piece.

A few moments later, the pale-blue light returned inside Gorn’s newly formed eyes.

The restoration was complete.

Aiden immediately exhaled heavily afterward.

"...Damn."

Critical damage restoration always consumed an absurd amount of mana.