Permission? From him?

“Entity...” A soft voice called out to him. “I am Valkyrie, the Goddess of Spears. I shall parlor an agreement with you.”

So… feminine. Somehow, even without witnessing her figure, Frail recognized the beauty behind the voice. The lack of human desires didn’t enervate his conclusion of her looks.

“I shall impart upon you a boon shall my champion survive the invasion.” She continued. “-but only if he and his beacon survive.”

Arthur’s eyes lay solely on the domain lord. His eyes seemed… annoyed.

Does he know?

“What will I get?” Frail whispered his thoughts.

“A piece of my power for your spear knight. The lancer.” The Goddess answered. “It is not a trivial reward… but you shall obtain it only after you fulfill your part of the deal.”

The offer sounded enticing… But how much help must he commit? His army might be numerous, but if stretched far enough, holes would begin to perforate.

Valkyrie sensed Frail’s hesitation.

“You test me.” She said. A message appeared, dispelling his doubts. “-never understood your kind.”

Whether she was referring to him as an entity or him as a human, Frail could not care less.

[Valkyrie’s Lance.]

[Grants the Grave lancer a unique evolution when it reaches the next tier.]

[This boon grants additional attributes and skills to be determined when it evolved.]

“You shall find out when the right time comes. My gift will not be a waste.” The Goddess sighed.

No room for further negotiation.

Regardless, if she requested his aid… the humans must’ve been in deep trouble. And not only that… She was willing to talk just to ensure Arthur’s future. The part about the beacon hinted at its importance, but… what exactly was so important about it?

After what must’ve been a prolonged awkward silence, Frail finally gave his answer—a simple nod from his lieutenant.

Arthur and Damon relaxed their shoulders and sighed. The draugrs had decided to put their fate into his hands, so they didn’t challenge his decision.

Valkyrie’s presence vanished.

“We owe you one,” Arthur said.

The domain lord raised its arm, extending its hand. It looked at where the Risen watcher drifted.

No time to waste.

“R-right.” Arthur swept his hair back and exhaled. “I know where it is. It is far, however, but the journey will be worthwhile.”

Grimright lurched forward. “Entity… Shall I accompany you?”

I’ll need help with the corpses, Frail gestured those words out. It’d be incoherent to most, but the Draugrs understood what he meant once it tilted its head toward his pedestal room.

“The Entity will need help hauling the corpses over to here.” Grimright acted as his tongue, “Do you have the means to do so?”

“Even better-“ Arthur gave a strong nod. “-I’ll personally help you… and bring a few others.” He directed his smile toward Damon. “Although, we must stop by our camp; that way, I can gather some of my men to help you.

“Hauling corpses,” Damon shrugged, “Not the worst thing I’ve done.”

### Desmond ###

Skeletons and men. And Gray, sunken faced, men. And ladies. Gray ladies.

In his decades spent wasting away on Earth, Desmond never dreamed of coming across this sight. He’d seen a lot—too much, in some cases—but this?

Should he be thankful? Be afraid? What was the appropriate reaction?

And why the hell did Arthur bring them here, out of all places?

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The skeletons were no longer news—their presence during the ritual placated their perception of the walking dead… but draugrs, the closest comparison to those would be… zombies. And everyone knew what zombies were; the movies’ and books’ depictions did not serve them justice.

Wow… Where do I even begin?

“What the hell is that?” Justine was the first to speak up, her brows furrowed, her face a mix of anxiety and hope, “That is one massive brick of a skeleton.”

She referred to the hulking knight wielding a giant shield. Each of its steps, they felt.

“Didn’t see that guy before… Is he new?” Sarah leaned back and whistled. “Strong~”

The foreign presence alarmed them initially… but Arthur’s voice doused their glares to cautious gazes. No men found comfort in walking beside cadavers unless said men had fought side by side with them before.

Arthur approached them. The young man’s eyes seemed tired… but hopeful. A lot had happened since he left. Damon remained with their new guests, hoping to calm the others.

“Long story short; We found ourselves a new friend—or, friends.” He grinned. “But, uh… we’ll need to do him a favor.”

“Him? The draugrs, or the skeletons?” Agil asked, curious. “Both? ”

“Entity.” Arthur interrupted. “The skeletons operated under a single brain. That brain… it’s called an entity. Where’s Judas?”

“Left for levels. Like you asked.” Desmond said. He couldn’t pry his eyes away from the display of power before their gates.

Arthur ruffled his hair, “Right. Forgot about that.”

Poor kid. He was put in a role Desmond should have been in. Leading in this extraordinary situation couldn’t have been easy… but the young man lowered his head and uttered no grievances.

“What’s the favor?” Justin asked.

Arthur placed his hands on the table. “It’s… corpse hauling.”

Corpse… what? Desmond squinted. He glanced to the side, the others held similar expressions; one filled with disbelief, and… disgust.

“What corpses? Our corpses?” Justine stepped forward.

“Remember the dungeon? The scarred venom?” Arthur explained.

Justine’s complexion softened. “Yes… What about it?”

Arthur planted his gaze toward the gate entrance. “He can revive it. Make it fight for him—for us, too, if we’re lucky.”

Desmond’s eyes widened. “Is that true?” Nobody had forgotten the sheer power that thing possessed. Granted, they were weaker back then—a few levels weaker—but should a rematch happen… Desmond wouldn’t be surprised if they lost more men.

Arthur pointed at his eyes. “-seen it live. The thing he brought back… I believe it’s even stronger than the scarred venom. Can’t be sure unless we fight it, though.”

The others shot a knowing glance. To have that lizard fighting by their side… While it seemed comforting, giving the skeletons access to the scarred venom would further bolster their power. What if the undead decided the humans no longer had a place here?

Arthur recognized Desmond’s doubts. “I know what you’re thinking. If they get stronger… we might lose our spot. Especially after the invasion.” He turned toward Justine. “But Justine’s right. Surviving the invasion comes first; We need every help we can get. Every help.”

A collective nod meant everyone came to a unanimous decision.

“Very well.” Desmond leaned on his cane. He was a cripple before he ended up here… a small problem the system fixed with a twist of a finger. Even so, his habits never quite left him. “We’re going now?”

Arthur looked up. The sky had turned one shade closer to Scarlet. “Best we go now. Justine, bring at least twenty with us.”

“Roger that.”

### Frail ###

Grimright and the other draugrs stared at the lonesome beacon. A tall, towering structure sticking out like a sore thumb even amidst the thick forests and mountains behind it.

“Brings back memories.” Grimright said. “-things were… different then. Bonus experience… bonus attributes… it was a better time.” He mumbled under his breath. The draugrs held a similar gaze in unison, their thoughts united. A few draugrs joked about taking the beacon for themselves, ideas Grimright slapped away with a stern warning.

He stepped away from his men and approached Frail’s lancer. “Entity… It is not my place to question your decision. But we must entertain that possibility. It doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

That possibility. He meant betrayal.

“I trust your judgment. Whatever happens, we’ll be on your side.” He said. “But how do you plan to help them? It will be best if we concentrate our defenses inside your domain.”

A battle outside of his domain meant they’d fight without the buffs of his Eldritch lieutenant—a terrible idea. However, if Frail wished to obtain Valkyrie’s reward, he’d need to ensure the human’s survival and their beacon’s safety.

No. He didn’t have to do all that. Their deaths meant Frail would lose access to Valkyrie’s reward—but nothing would happen beyond that.

Frail switched his focus to the confines of his domain. Which paths of upgrades and solutions served him and his purposes best? A construct slot upgrade + any tier two constructs? Or should he funnel all his resources into his domain lord? Or the elite constructs? The unique construct did not possess any upgrades, so that was one less possible choice to make.

More corpses were waiting in the dungeon. Let’s wait until then.

A bunch of decent men approached Frail’s numbers. Frail sensed fear and uncertainty exuding from their tense, upright shoulders and fluttering eyes. A rare few displayed curiosity; Justine, the most loud-mouthed of the bunch, had this strange grin on her face. Desmond—the eldest—he’d never spoken to before, but that old man was rather nonchalant about it all, viewing Frail as a curiosity instead of an alien presence.

“I’ve gathered people that will help us.” Arthur smiled, extending his arms wide. “Best we go now, the sun will set soon.”

The party of fifty-plus entered the vast expanse of trees once more. Neither side chatted with one another—the draugrs were content with watching the human’s muted conversations, while Arthur took the lead beside Frail’s lancer.

Arthur looked back and made sure the rest was far enough before he spoke, “My goddess… Valkyrie, she extended you an offer in exchange for your aid.”

Frail didn’t answer.

The handsome man’s gaze descended onto the roots and dirt beneath. “I… must ask, what are your plans with us after the invasion ends? I hope we can maintain our friendship after that.”

That depends. What about you? He wished he could ask, but skeletons could not speak.

“I must admit… as it is today, we stand no chance against you.” He continued. “Splitting your defenses incurs risk. You must know that I recognize that. And I am beyond grateful.”

Honeyed words… or the truth? Perhaps a little bit of both?

He flicked his eyes back. “The draugrs… Is there a way to ease this uneasiness between us? I do not wish to make more enemies.”

Frail wanted to ignore this tension between the draugrs and the humans. But he couldn’t. Not when one side decided the other a plague to their lives. The draugrs followed his wishes well despite that, but coercion did not mean agreement. Whatever happened between the draugrs and the humans they’d met…

I can’t fix it as it is now. Mediation was a stringent limitation without access to speech. Even if he could… what words would change Grimright’s mind? Saying the wrong things would only exacerbate the issue.

Arthur smiled. “We will welcome them with open arms if they wish to join us. I know that they are capable; even better than us in some ways. What idiot will refuse their help?”

The lancer turned its head back.

There might be a time when the draugrs would accept Arthur’s proposition.

Arthur chuckled, “Seems far-fetched, I know. But we may be more similar than we thought.”

“We’re here.” Damon’s voice cut the tension away.

Frail followed where Damon was pointing. An entrance led to the insides of a glistening cavern. He could see traces of the lizard’s silhouettes sprawling on the cavern floor from the outside.

“This place, huh?” Arthur slumped his shoulders. “Brings back memories.”