Aiden slowly leaned back into his chair again after learning the three new skills.

The dark mana still lingered faintly around his body.

Every breath now carried a colder feeling than before.

Even the shadows inside the room seemed slightly deeper around him.

Aiden lowered his eyes toward his hands quietly.

Then clenched his fist once.

Faint black necrotic energy briefly wrapped around his fingers before fading again.

"...Not bad."

His close combat ability had increased massively in a single moment.

Before, Aiden mainly relied on his undead army to overwhelm enemies.

Now?

Even alone, he possessed enough abilities to kill peak body tempering practitioners directly.

Especially with Death Shadow Step.

That skill was terrifying in close combat.

Aiden exhaled slowly before opening another section of the system.

The familiar golden interface immediately appeared before him.

[Gacha System]

The floating golden screen shimmered softly inside the dark room.

Aiden’s eyes moved downward toward the current cost.

Then his eyebrow twitched slightly.

"...Seven thousand now?"

Still...

He couldn’t deny the value of the gacha system.

Most of his strongest undead had come from it.

Without Kael, Dragmar, Carrion, and the others...

Building the undead army this quickly would’ve been impossible.

Aiden glanced toward his remaining gold coins again.

[Gold Coins: 10,843]

If he spent seven thousand now...

That would leave him with barely enough for something he wants to buy from the building system.

Aiden leaned against the chair quietly while thinking.

"...I can only afford one pull."

The room became silent again.

Torchlight flickered softly across his face.

Outside the fortress, distant hammering noises from the forge still echoed faintly through the night.

This pull might directly decide how smooth that battle became.

Or how badly things could go wrong.

Aiden stared at the golden interface for several more seconds.

Then slowly smiled faintly.

"...Well."

"I’ve come this far already."

His finger moved forward.

[Confirm Gacha Pull?]

[Cost: 7,000 Gold Coins]

Aiden pressed confirm.

The moment he did, the golden screen exploded into motion.

Whiiiiiing—

Massive rings of golden light began spinning rapidly before him while dark necrotic energy suddenly leaked out from the center of the system interface.

The entire room dimmed slightly.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed.

"...Oh?"

Usually the gacha didn’t react this violently.

The spinning rings accelerated faster and faster until symbols started appearing across the floating screen.

Ancient runes.

Broken crowns.

Black swords.

And countless pale-blue eyes opening and closing within the darkness.

The pressure inside the room immediately changed.

Even Aiden’s torchlight started flickering violently as dark necrotic mist slowly spread across the floor.

Aiden’s expression slowly became serious.

"... Oh, something strong is coming."

Every previous summon had powerful energy.

But this?

This felt dangerous.

The golden rings suddenly cracked apart one after another.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

Then suddenly.

BOOM.

The entire room shook violently.

The summoning circle beneath the floor exploded open with dark necrotic energy as black chains erupted upward from the center like living serpents.

The temperature dropped instantly.

Frost started spreading across the stone walls.

Aiden immediately stood from his chair.

The pressure radiating from the summoning circle kept increasing.

Even he could feel danger from it.

Then slowly...

A figure began emerging from the darkness.

Tall.

Not as massive as Dragmar.

But somehow far more oppressive.

Black armored boots stepped onto the stone floor first.

Clink.

Clink.

Heavy dark armor slowly appeared next, covered in faded silver patterns and old battle scars.

A long black cape dragged across the floor behind the figure.

Then finally...

The figure fully emerged from the darkness.

A man.

Or at least something that used to be human.

Long silver-gray hair rested behind his shoulders while half of his face remained hidden beneath a dark iron mask.

One pale-blue eye glowed coldly from beneath it.

At his waist hung a long black sword.

Not a decorative weapon.

A killing weapon.

The moment the figure fully stepped out from the summoning circle...

The dark mana inside the room stabilized instantly.

Like the darkness itself had acknowledged him.

Then the armored figure slowly lowered to one knee.

"My lord."

His voice was calm.

Cold.

Sharp enough to make the room feel even quieter afterward.

The system screen immediately flickered again.

[Name: Duskveil]

[Strength: Half-Step Qi Sense Stage]

[Special Trait: Death Knight]

[Abilities: Abyssal Draw, Phantom Sever, Death March, Soul Pressure]

[Description: A fallen battlefield executioner who continued fighting even after death consumed him. Possesses terrifying close combat ability, overwhelming killing instincts, and combat power approaching the Qi Sense Stage. Specialized in eliminating powerful enemies directly.]

Aiden stared silently at the screen for several seconds.

Then slowly looked back toward the kneeling undead.

Half-step Qi Sense Stage.

That was insane.

Duskveil was now probably one of the strongest beings anywhere near Valen City.

A faint grin slowly appeared on Aiden’s face.

"...You have got to be kidding me."

Even his own heartbeat sped up slightly.

This wasn’t just a strong subordinate anymore.

This was a walking disaster.

Aiden slowly walked closer.

The closer he got, the heavier the pressure around Duskveil felt.

Unlike Dragmar’s overwhelming physical presence...

Aiden stopped directly in front of him.

"Duskveil."

The undead slowly raised his head slightly.

"My lord."

Aiden crossed his arms.

"What do your abilities do?"

Duskveil answered immediately.

"Abyssal Draw enhances the speed and power of my sword when unsheathing."

"Phantom Sever allows my strikes to pass through physical defense and directly damage the target internally."

Aiden’s eyes sharpened immediately.

Internal damage again.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Duskveil continued calmly.

"Death March increases my combat strength continuously as battle progresses."

"And Soul Pressure?"

For the first time, the undead paused briefly.

Then the pale-blue glow in his eye flickered slightly stronger.

"Weaker enemies lose the will to fight when near me."

Silence filled the room afterward.

Aiden slowly smiled.

"...So basically."

"I just summoned a monster."

Duskveil lowered his head slightly again.

"I exist to kill for my lord."

Aiden let out a quiet breath.

Then glanced toward his remaining gold count.

[Gold Coins: 3,843]

"...Yeah," he muttered. "Worth it."

Aiden stared quietly again at the remaining amount of gold displayed before him.

[Gold Coins: 3,843]

Not much.

At least not compared to before.

Still, he wasn’t disappointed.

Duskveil alone was already worth far more than seven thousand gold coins.

A half-step Qi Sense Stage undead subordinate...

That kind of combat power could completely change the outcome of tomorrow’s siege.

Aiden slowly sat back down in his chair while the newly summoned death knight stood silently nearby like a dark statue.

Then Aiden opened another section of the system.

[Building System]

The blue interface shifted immediately.

Rows of structures, walls, workshops, defensive towers, undead altars, and siege weapons appeared before him.

Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...Siege weapons."

Valen City had high walls.

Even with over ten thousand undead, blindly throwing soldiers against fortified defenses would waste too many troops.

He needed something to break formations and pressure the walls.

Aiden immediately adjusted the system filters.

[Available Funds: 3,843 Gold Coins]

[Displaying Blueprints Within Current Budget...]

Several options disappeared instantly before a smaller selection remained floating before him.

Aiden leaned forward slightly.

The first blueprint appeared.

[Bonecrusher Ballista Blueprint]

[Cost: 1,200 Gold Coins]

[Type: Heavy Siege Weapon]

[Description: A large reinforced ballista designed to fire massive armor-piercing bolts infused with necrotic energy. Effective against city gates, defensive towers, and heavily armored practitioners. Bolts can partially ignore ordinary physical defenses.]

Aiden studied the floating blueprint carefully.

A large image formed beside the description.

The Bonecrusher Ballista stood nearly twice the height of a man. Thick black wood reinforced with dark iron supported the massive frame while pale necrotic runes were carved along the launch rails.

The bolts themselves looked more like giant spears than arrows.

Each one was nearly six feet long.

Heavy enough to pierce straight through defensive walls.

Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...Useful."

Against city walls and defensive towers, this thing would be deadly.

Especially against body tempering practitioners standing on the walls.

One direct hit would probably tear them apart instantly.

He continued browsing.

The second blueprint appeared shortly afterward.

[Gravetide Catapult Blueprint]

[Cost: 1,500 Gold Coins]

[Type: Medium Siege Weapon]

[Description: A reinforced catapult designed to launch plague corpses, explosive bone containers, or necrotic projectiles over long distances. Impact releases death mist capable of weakening living enemies and spreading fear among ordinary soldiers.]

Aiden’s eyes sharpened slightly.

This one immediately caught his interest.

Unlike ordinary catapults...

The Gravetide Catapult wasn’t designed purely for destruction.

It was psychological warfare.

He could already imagine plague corpses crashing inside Valen City’s streets while necrotic mist spread among civilians and soldiers alike.

Panic alone could cripple the city’s defenses.

The image beside the blueprint looked sinister.

Dark wood.

Bone reinforcements.

Large skeletal arms connected to the launching mechanism.

Even the bucket holding ammunition resembled a giant rib cage.

Aiden leaned back slightly.

"...Very necromancer-like."

The third blueprint slowly appeared.

[Iron Tomb Ram Blueprint]

[Cost: 2,000 Gold Coins]

[Type: Heavy Breaching Weapon]

[Description: A massive siege ram reinforced with layered black iron and undead bone plating. Designed specifically to break through fortified gates and defensive barriers. The ram automatically repairs minor structural damage using necrotic reinforcement.]

Aiden stared at the image silently.

The thing looked monstrous.

The battering ram itself resembled a gigantic sharpened bone attached beneath a heavily armored mobile structure. Thick iron plates covered the sides while skeletal engravings spread across the entire frame.

Even the wheels were reinforced with black metal.

This wasn’t a simple siege ram.

This thing looked like a moving fortress.

Aiden crossed his arms slightly.

"If Dragmar pushes this thing..."

He almost pitied Valen City’s gates already.

Then another blueprint appeared.

[Widowmaker Scorpion Blueprint]

[Cost: 900 Gold Coins]

[Type: Rapid-Fire Siege Weapon]

[Description: A smaller repeating siege weapon capable of firing multiple necrotic bolts rapidly. Highly effective against clustered infantry and practitioners attempting to defend walls.]