Aiden glanced around the ruined camp.

Bodies littered the ground everywhere, but more importantly...

Bandits loved hoarding money.

And considering how long the Black Fang Bandits had operated in this area, there was no way Gorn would leave all his wealth lying around carelessly.

Aiden pointed toward the remaining buildings.

"Search everything."

Kael immediately nodded.

Dragmar silently walked toward the larger structures while the three newly resurrected undead followed behind mechanically.

The search didn’t take long.

Bandits were thieves, not organized sects. Most of their valuables were hidden poorly beneath loose floorboards, buried under crates, or stuffed inside locked chests.

Unfortunately for them...

Dragmar solved locked doors by simply punching through them.

Boom!

One entire shack nearly collapsed after the giant undead smashed the entrance apart with his shield.

Aiden rubbed his forehead lightly.

Kael calmly stepped out from another building carrying a wooden chest.

"I found this."

Aiden opened it.

Gold coins immediately reflected the firelight.

Aiden’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Well... not bad."

After searching the entire camp, they gathered roughly five hundred gold coins along with several valuable weapons and supplies.

For ordinary mercenaries, that amount alone would’ve been worth risking their lives over.

Aiden tossed one of the gold pouches lightly in his hand before storing everything away.

"Bandit work really is profitable."

Kael answered calmly.

"Because they steal from the weak."

"True."

Aiden looked toward the ruined camp one final time.

Burning fires illuminated the corpses scattered across the ground while smoke rose slowly into the darkening sky.

The Black Fang Bandits were finished.

Completely erased.

"Let’s go back."

The group immediately began their return toward Valen City.

----

By the time they reached the city gates the next afternoon, the atmosphere inside Valen City was still tense.

Guards carefully inspected everyone entering and leaving while more armed practitioners could be seen patrolling the walls.

Fear still lingered throughout the city.

But the moment Aiden’s group appeared...

A guard frowned slightly.

"Wait... aren’t those the mercenaries who accepted the Fang Bandit mission yesterday?"

The older guard’s expression changed immediately.

"No way."

People nearby slowly started whispering among themselves as Aiden calmly walked through the gate with Kael beside him.

Dragmar followed behind heavily, tower shield strapped to his back like a moving wall.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Every footstep drew attention.

The group continued walking calmly through the streets until they finally reached the Commission Hall once more.

The hall was crowded as usual.

Mercenaries drank loudly around tables while sect disciples gathered near the request boards discussing missions.

The moment Aiden pushed open the doors—

Creeeak.

Several people instinctively looked over.

Then froze.

"...Them again."

"No way..."

"They survived?"

Even the scarred mercenary from yesterday widened his eyes slightly when he spotted Aiden entering with Kael and Dragmar completely unharmed.

The man let out a low whistle.

"Well I’ll be damned." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

A younger warrior nearby frowned.

"You actually came back alive?"

Another laughed nervously.

"Don’t tell me you gave up halfway and returned early."

Several people chuckled.

After all, nobody genuinely believed three people could wipe out the Black Fang Bandits alone.

Especially not without injuries.

The staff member behind the counter looked up tiredly.

"Mission report?"

Aiden walked forward calmly.

"Yes."

The woman sighed lightly while reaching for paperwork.

"Failure or withdrawal?"

Aiden didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he casually reached into his robe.

Thud.

A severed head landed directly on the counter.

The entire hall went silent.

The female worker froze completely.

The scarred mercenary slowly stood up from his chair.

Several nearby practitioners stared with widened eyes.

Because they recognized the face immediately.

Scars across the jaw, rough beard, and half-crushed nose.

Gorn, the leader of the Fang Bandits.

Dead.

The worker behind the counter swallowed hard.

"T-This..."

Aiden spoke calmly.

"Mission completed."

Nobody spoke for several seconds. Then chaos erupted instantly.

"That’s Gorn!"

"No fucking way..."

"They actually killed him?!"

"How?!"

One sect disciple rushed closer and stared at the severed head in disbelief.

"It’s really him..."

Another practitioner looked toward Dragmar nervously.

"...That giant killed him, didn’t he?"

Dragmar stood silently behind Aiden like an unmoving fortress.

The pale-blue glow beneath his cracked helmet remained hidden enough that nobody noticed anything strange.

The scarred mercenary slowly shook his head while laughing under his breath.

"...Three people."

His eyes turned toward Aiden.

"You wiped out the entire Fang Bandits with only three people?"

Aiden gave a small shrug.

"They weren’t that strong."

The reward caused another uproar inside the Commission Hall.

One thousand gold coins.

Even most mid-sized mercenary groups would need months to earn that amount.

The female worker behind the counter still looked stunned while counting out the reward. Her hands moved carefully, almost nervously, as if she still couldn’t believe the mission had actually been completed.

Meanwhile, the entire hall kept staring at Aiden’s group.

Or more specifically...

At Dragmar.

The giant undead stood near the entrance silently, tower shield resting against the floor while people intentionally kept their distance from him.

One mercenary whispered quietly,

"I heard three groups failed that mission before."

Another muttered back,

"And these bastards finished it in one day..."

The female worker finally pushed several heavy pouches across the counter.

"One thousand gold coins. Mission completed successfully."

Aiden stored the gold calmly.

Now combined with the money from the bandit camp, his total wealth had increased again.

Not bad for a single trip.

As they turned to leave, whispers followed them across the hall.

"The Black Fang Bandits got wiped out by only three people..."

----

Aiden and the others didn’t stay inside Valen City much longer.

After collecting the reward, they immediately left through the western gate before sunset.

The guards watched them leave with complicated expressions.

Especially Dragmar.

The giant undead ducked slightly while passing through the gate entrance, drawing nervous stares from nearby travelers.

One guard quietly muttered after they left,

"Those people are monsters..."

Another nodded slowly.

"And the scary part is... I don’t think the young man was even the strongest among them."

The city gates slowly closed behind them.

Night had already fallen by the time Aiden finally returned to the hidden temporary base.

The ruined fortress hidden deep within the forest was much livelier now compared to before.

Undead soldiers patrolled the outer walls silently while others transported supplies between different sections of the base.

More importantly...

Most of them were now equipped properly.

New armor, new weapons, sharpened swords, heavy shields, and longbows.

The difference between the current undead army and the one from several weeks ago was enormous.

They looked like an actual army now.

Torchlight flickered across the dark stone walls as Aiden stepped inside the fortress courtyard with Kael and Dragmar following behind him.

Several undead immediately knelt.

"My lord."

Aiden gave a small nod while observing the surroundings quietly.

The air smelled faintly of iron, ash, and blood.

Training noises echoed from deeper within the fortress as undead soldiers practiced combat movements repeatedly under command.

Then Aiden spotted someone standing near the center of the courtyard.

Graveknit.

The undead commander immediately walked forward and lowered his head.

"My lord."

Aiden looked around briefly.

Only one important person was missing.

"Where’s Vermis?"

Graveknit’s hollow eyes flickered faintly.

"She is making sure they remain occupied."

Vermis was likely continuing attacks and movements across different areas to keep attention away from this hidden base.

Aiden crossed his arms slightly.

"Any problems while I was gone?"

"None significant," Graveknit replied calmly. "The undead army continues to grow stronger. We also finished reorganizing the outer patrol units."

Aiden nodded slowly.

Then his eyes moved toward the undead soldiers training in the distance.

Thousands already.

And still growing.

The pressure his faction could produce now was far beyond what ordinary cities in this region could handle.

Kael quietly stepped beside him.

"The army has improved considerably."

Graveknit looked toward Kael briefly.

For a moment, the two intelligent undead silently observed each other.

Then Graveknit spoke calmly.

"You are newly summoned."

"Correct."

"Your swordsmanship is strong."

Kael lowered his head slightly.

"Thank you."

Nearby, Dragmar suddenly spoke in his deep voice.

"I destroyed the enemy leader."

Graveknit looked toward him.

"...I can believe that.

Aiden almost laughed.

For some reason, Dragmar sounded oddly proud about it.

The giant undead continued calmly,

"My lord praised my strength."

Kael glanced sideways slightly.

"...You are still thinking about that?"

"Yes."

Aiden shook his head lightly.

"You really are proud of that."

Dragmar answered immediately.

"My lord’s praise holds value."

Kael quietly looked away after hearing that.

Even Graveknit remained silent for a second.

Who would’ve thought a giant undead fortress would care so much about compliments?

The courtyard slowly quieted as more undead gathered nearby. Rows of armored undead soldiers stood motionless beneath the torchlight while others continued transporting supplies deeper into the fortress.

The sound of hammering echoed continuously from the forge area.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

Aiden’s eyes shifted toward the direction of the blacksmith area. Several undead and human blacksmiths worked tirelessly near massive furnaces, forging weapons.

Aiden crossed his arms slightly.

"So," he said calmly, "how many more days before the entire army is fully equipped to the teeth?"

Graveknit answered immediately.

"At the current pace of the blacksmiths... around one week."

Aiden nodded slowly.

That was faster than expected.

Undead workers never became tired. Well, the humans even if they got tired, they can only rest for four hours a day. They didn’t dare to complained.

As long as they had materials, production would continue endlessly.

Aiden looked toward the training undead again.

"How many soldiers now?"

Graveknit’s hollow eyes flickered faintly.

"Eight thousand seven hundred eighty-five undead."