It was a night like any other. With little to no clouds and a silver moon high above, It shined down on a small empty mountain valley surrounded by three great mountains and a forest at its opening.  Weirdly enough the forest felt empty. No owls or any other nocturnal hunters skulked among the treetops, no critters silently sneaked beneath the trees and bushes, in fact, the whole place almost felt abandoned,almost.

The only noticeable source of life was a group of people that wore black cloaks. All of them located near the treeline but still far enough inside the forest that any sight of them would be broken by the countless trees. They faced the valley that held nothing but a little river and a bunch of weeds with a twinkle in their eyes. There were no more than eight people in black cloaks. Two members of the group were noticeably younger than the rest, but there were a few characteristics that all of them shared. Pale skin so white it looked like they've rarely seen the sun and a foul stench so bad that it would make most men vomit and make their eyes water.

At the forefront of the group stood a single youth. The youth in question seemed no older than 20 years old. His black robe hid a thin body of average height and waist long, raven black hair. The youth's most noticeable future was his face. It was so beautiful one could swear that heaven itself carved it from jade. This youth was Fang Ming of the undead royalty.

Fang Ming could hardly contain his excitement. By far this wasn't the 1st time he was doing this, but every time he just felt giddy like a child. The only thing that dampened Fang Ming's excitement was the fact that he had to take his bore of a brother Fang Ling with him. " Is everything ready for the test? " Asked another youth in a black robe. One that resembled Fang Ming quite a bit, but one not quite as beautiful, and with a bit more flesh on his bones.

" Perimeter is secure. There should be no outside interference second young master, " Said one of the other clocked figures. One that sounded noticeably older. " Good. So we can finally begin, right? " Fang Ming itched to go wild, but his brother was there to once more put a stop to his fun. The nervous Fang Ling asked, " Will there truly be no interference from the local sects? is it really safe to act? "

Fang Ming couldn't help but mock his brother in his heart, " And this coward is supposed to be my brother. the Fang clan might as well roll over and die if this gutless wench ever gains the role of patriarch. " While Fang Ming kept silent, his disdainful gaze told more than enough. Fang Ling could only keep silent and stare at his feet. None of the elders came forward to reassure him, none wanted to delay any longer and earn the ire of the new rising star of the Fang clan.

Fang Ming could only shake his head. Why waste resources on a coward like that, when he was all that the clan needed? " Enough distractions, the more time we waste the more likely is the risk of us actually getting detected. "

At his words, a glow could be seen in the eyes of the rest of the cloaked figures. Even in the eyes of his little brother, but one that was very well concealed.

One of the cloaked figures put his hands together in a strange seal, and his whole body glowed with a green nearly transparent hue. After the cloaked figure formed the hand seal at first nothing happened but it only took a few seconds for a BOOM to go off in the distance. It was like never-ending heavenly thunder and as the sound came closer it became apparent that rather than a single never-ending BOOM it was thousands of continuous smaller sounds that blurred together. Once the sounds became deafening hundreds and thousands of figures in white robes passed the forest and ran into the valley, all of the figures had skin even paler than the ones in black cloaks. So much so that it looked like they had never even seen the sun and with dull, lifeless eyes covered in fog there was but a single thing they could be. Defilement of natural order and a transgression against life, they were the ones that died and rose up again, they were the undead.

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The stampede continued halfway into the valley when the undead puppets suddenly came to a sudden halt. Flesh tore and bones broke as they crashed into an invisible wall. But it was only a temporary obstacle at best. Once their path was blocked the undead horde attacked the invisible barrier with reckless abandon, each strike accompanied by a ripple in the air and a disgusting crunch. With the unending stream of attacks, the invisible wall finally revealed its form. It was a giant dome that covered a quarter of the whole valley and for now, it admirably held back the unending horde of undead.

Fang Ming looked on with cold eyes and commented, " I never imagined their defenses to be so sturdy. There might actually be someone worthwhile inside, but it wouldn't be good for the cat to play with its food for too long, otherwise, it might be left without a meal at all. And what kind of embarrassment would that be to the mighty Fang Clan? "

Fang Ling nervously interjected, " Is it possible they are calling for reinforcements? It might be safer to retreat. "

While Fang Ming scowled at his younger sibling, one of the figures in black stepped forward. It was an older man that spoke with a noticeable sense of authority. " Young master their defense is still withing our expectations, but if you'd like I can speed up the process." He then faced Fang Ling. " Second young master, I can assure you that we have enough power to wipe them off the face of the world before any noteworthy reinforcements arrive. "

Fang Ming nodded. " I do apologize for being overeager elder Fang Shen, I was a bit too worked up due to certain someone that spoiled my good mood, but I would still like to take you on your offer."

Elder Fang Shen calmly responded, " No harm done, it's good for youth to be active and hotblooded. " After Fang Shen finished speaking, he was surrounded by a hue that was quite similar to the one the previous elder had but one that was much more distinct.

Elder Fang Shen looked like an older man in his sixties with grey hair and a beard, but despite his pale visage he still looked healthy and full of youthful vigor. The youthful elder put his hands toward the ground and two coffins suddenly popped out of the ground. Both coffins were massive in size reaching 10 meters each, after a mental command from Fang Sheng the lids of the coffins opened and two more white-cloaked figures joined the group.

But these were distinctly different from the rest. While they still wore the same simple white robes their height reached 8 meters each with muscular figures and, unlike their smaller brethren, their skin was ash grey.

At Fang Sheng's command, these juggernauts started a stampede of their own. Each time their feet touched the ground the earth splintered, any of the smaller undead that got in their way got splattered. " Sorry! " elder Fang Shen apologetically smiled to the elder that controlled the larger horde, while the latter just shrugged. As the giants closed one to the barrier the world stood still and all sound was replaced with a thunderous.

*BOOOOM*

The ensuing shock wave managed to reach the forest and almost uprooted some of the smaller trees and blew thousands of leaves into the sky. The barrier held admirably but the result was there for all to see. Cracks started to spread throughout the barrier and the wall that kept the hunters from their pray shattered. Finally, the barrier broke and the undead horde continued their mad charge forward.

Fang Ming could only exclaim with admiration,  " Elder your tyrant corpses are truly a sight to behold. Each time I see them my heart beats with excitement. Ooh, I cannot wait until I can refine puppets of similar power. "

Elder Fang Sheng, clearly happy, responded, " I don't deserve such high praise young master. With your talents, it is but a question of time before you are capable of creating high ranking undead puppets on your own. "

As they exchanged pleasantries, the rest of their clansmen bolstered the numbers of their corpse soldiers, with every moment more and more new undead would appear until they numbered no less than 5000.

A tide of death was building up and nothing or no one could stand in its way.