Chapter 72: The Knight Commander’s influence

The familiar cold air wrapped around Zich the moment he entered the graveyard.

Rain continued falling quietly from the dark sky above while rows of tombstones stretched across the black earth in every direction. Spirit mist drifted near the ground, and faint red lights flickered occasionally between the graves.

Zich initially planned to inspect the new tombs quickly before returning outside.

However, the moment his eyes landed on the undead knight graves, his footsteps slowed slightly.

The tombstones were no longer scattered randomly.

Instead, dozens of undead knight graves stood arranged in organized rows across one side of the graveyard. Each tombstone faced the exact same direction while equal spacing separated every line almost perfectly.

They looked less like graves and more like soldiers waiting for orders.

"I definitely did not arrange that," Zich frowned.

Farther ahead, one larger tombstone stood positioned at the front of the formation.

The Knight Captain.

Its tombstone towered nearly twice as tall as the lesser knight graves surrounding it. Black cracks spread across the stone surface while faint red light pulsed slowly beneath the engraved markings.

DUMPF...

A weak pulse spread outward from the captain tomb.

The lesser knight graves trembled slightly afterward.

Zich’s eyes narrowed.

Another pulse followed several seconds later.

DUMPF...

Several knight tombstones shifted almost imperceptibly afterward. Their movement looked subtle, but inside a place like the graveyard, subtle things usually became dangerous quickly.

The Knight Captain was still influencing them.

Even after death.

Zich stared at the organized rows silently for several seconds while rainwater slid across the collar of his new cloak. The command trait from the captain clearly remained attached to the tombstone somehow.

A third pulse soon spread outward again at that moment.

This time, several lesser graves tilted slightly toward the captain tomb before settling again. The movement resembled soldiers responding instinctively toward authority.

Inside the graveyard, authority belonged to Zich alone.

Or at least it was supposed to.

His expression slowly became colder afterward.

Unlike ordinary summons, the graveyard itself responded directly to his will. Every tomb here existed because he allowed it to exist.

Inside this place, Zich stood at the absolute center.

A god of the dead.

Without warning, pressure exploded outward from his body.

BOOOOM!!!

The black earth beneath his feet cracked apart while violent spirit energy surged across the graveyard instantly. Rainwater hovering near him froze briefly in midair before slamming downward again.

"All of you," Zich said coldly while staring toward the knight graves. "Face me."

The atmosphere changed immediately afterward.

Spirit mist twisted violently around the rows of tombstones while the red glow beneath the Knight Captain grave intensified. Several lesser knight tombs trembled harder now as though caught between two competing authorities.

DUMPF...

The captain tomb pulsed again.

This time, the resistance pushed back openly.

Rain started falling heavier across the graveyard afterward. Water hammered against the tombstones nonstop while black mud spread between the organized rows like rivers.

The Knight Captain grave continued glowing.

The lesser tombstones slowly shifted again, several turning slightly toward Zich now instead of the captain. Their movement looked hesitant, almost uncertain.

Like soldiers waiting to see who held greater authority.

"You are dead already," he said flatly while taking another step forward. "Know your place properly."

At his words, a powerful necrotic pressure exploded outward again.

BOOOOOOM!!!!

A crater nearly three meters wide burst beneath Zich’s feet while violent energy surged directly toward the organized knight graves. Several lesser tombstones shook hard enough for cracks to spread across their surfaces instantly.

The red glow from the captain tomb flickered violently.

One by one, the knight graves slowly returned toward their original positions afterward. The slight tilt facing the captain disappeared while the organized rows gradually settled back into silence again.

Only the captain tomb continued resisting openly.

Zich clicked his tongue softly.

"So troublesome."

Despite suppressing the influence successfully, his expression did not improve much. Instead, his eyes stayed fixed toward the Knight Captain tomb with growing interest.

The command trait was strong.

Very strong.

Even reduced to a grave, the thing still naturally tried asserting battlefield authority over nearby undead summons. If something like this was left too long in his graveyard, it might become troublesome.

Or ...

’Good material.’

A normal person probably would have hesitated after seeing this much resistance already. The safer option would have been absorbing the spirits or avoiding fusion entirely.

Unfortunately, Zich was not normal.

Instead of backing away, excitement slowly crawled into his expression.

The stronger the resistance became, the greater the summon potential clearly was.

Rain continued pouring across the graveyard while he slowly approached the captain tomb directly.

Zich stopped barely two meters away.

His gaze slowly moved across the organized battlefield graves surrounding the captain tomb. The fusion possibilities already seemed obvious because of the nature of Monsters.

It could become an undead commander knight capable of naturally controlling lesser summons.

Or maybe something even more powerful.

His fingers twitched slightly as several ideas immediately surfaced inside his head afterward.

The possibilities felt absurd.

But at the same time, another thought quietly settled into his mind.

If created carelessly, something born from this tomb might eventually challenge his authority directly inside the graveyard itself. The captain already showed signs of autonomous command instincts before even becoming a proper summon.

Which meant future evolution would only worsen it.

Zich stared at the glowing tombstone silently.

His lips slowly curled upward afterward as he made a mental note to himself.

’If it comes to that, then I’ll just get rid of it... though I strongly doubt a summon would go against my orders.’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Without hesitation, his lips parted as he gave the long awaited command.

"Create summon."

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The tombs began trembling fiercely!

Zich’s eyes narrowed with growing anticipation.

"Let’s see... what kind of monster you become."

....

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