Alex was expecting not to be able to upgrade just yet, but seeing that large number was a kick in the coccyx.

It had taken the scouts roughly 4-5 hours to do a round trip to the forest and back. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fast enough to be reliable with how few scouts he had available.

He wasn’t too worried though. Every day he can summon 50 followers with a level 1 summoning gate. If there were indeed other lords who started at the same time as he did, he still had a much better start.

With this peace of mind, he felt a little better. Although he was still unhappy that his territory was in a giant wasteland, at least he didn’t need to build with wood.

Waiting around for his scouts to return was boring, so he wanted to experiment more with his skills.

Pulling up his crafting menu he could see a couple of tabs. Right now he wasn’t interested in any of the buildings, he went right to the follower's tab. Looking through this there was a very long list of things he could create.

Scrolling through the long list there was a lot of great things that stood out to him, all of which had recipes in which to craft them.

[Zombie] 5 bones + 5 rotten meat

[Skeleton Warrior] 10 bones

[Skeleton Archer] 20 bones

[Ghoul] 10 bones + 10 Meat

[Wraith] 10 souls

These were just the basic ones.

[Revenant] 100 bones + 100 meat + Spiteful Heart?

“What the hell is a spiteful Heart?”

[Mummy] 50 bones + 50kg Sand

[Vampire] 200 bones + 1.5 gallons of blood

Then there was the really special stuff which is at the top of the Christmas list.

[Skeletal Dragon] 1,000,000 bones + Dragon Heart

[Lich] 100,000 bones + Soul Repository

[Wight Lord] 500,000 bones + Kings Crown

There are even demons in this list. But those are for much, much later down the line. But he is looking forward to the days when he can have a real undead legion which strikes fear into the heart of the world.

For now, though, he will stick to crafting a [Skeleton Warrior]

The bones which are used as payment for these skeletons vanish from his inventory, and with a swirling black miasma, 10x [Skeleton Warrior] appear before him, with a smile on his face, he also confirms that the 10x multiplier works here too.

Alex isn’t done yet though. Like with the guard before, Alex claps his hands together. “Merge!”

The very same scene happens before him again, the miasma swirls and the skeletons turn to smoke, only to form together and merge into a new being.

Once the smoke clears, he can see his new follower. It hasn’t gotten much bigger, but it certainly gives off a more dangerous vibe. It has a very sharp aura and an equally sharp two-handed sword to match.

[Skeleton Knight]

[Skeleton Guard Life: 350]

[Skeleton Guard Damage: 50-70 (Physical)]

[Skeleton Guard Defence: 30]

[Skills: [Cleave][Whirlwind Strike]]

[Cleave]

[Swing your sword in a large arc dealing 200% damage to multiple targets - cooldown 20 seconds]

[Whirlwind Slash]

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[Swing your sword in a full 360 degrees dealing 150% damage to all enemies in a 3m radius - cooldown 30 seconds]

“Impressive” Alex smiled, thinking of the barbarian class from one of his favourite games and their ‘Spin-To-Win’ gameplay style.

But he still wasn’t done there. Alex wanted to make a true powerhouse to be the basis of his army. And every army needs a commander.

He called all of his [Skeleton Hound] to gather, clapped his hands once more and merged them.

After the miasma cleared, out came a menacing-looking beast. It had grown to be about chest height, with powerful-looking legs, and long sharp claws to match, its teeth now resembling something closer to a sabretooth tiger than a canine.

[Alpha Skeleton Hound]

[Skeleton Hound Life: 350]

[Skeleton Hound Damage: 40 (Physical: 10-20 Bleed DoT)]

[Skeleton Hound Defence: 35]

[Skills: [Rip][Tear]

[Rip]

[Swing your razor-like claws at your enemy dealing 250% damage - Cooldown 5 seconds]

[Tear]

[Bite down and tear off the flesh from your enemy dealing 200% damage with a 15% chance to inflict [Rabies] - Cooldown 30 seconds]

[Rabies]

[Enemies inflicted with rabies suffer from fear and delirium until treated]

[Enemies inflicted with rabies have a 10% chance to spread rabies to another]

“Ok, now that’s badass...”

One more time! Alex clapped and merged together his new [Skeleton Knight] and [Alpha Skeleton Hound]

The miasma was much stronger this time and also took longer to finish. But the results were worth it.

From the miasma walked out a beast. Four legs with razor-sharp claws, two large canine heads one with black eyes and the other with blue eyes, and a long tail which was bladed at the tip.

On top of this monstrosity sat an evil-looking rider with black bones, in its right arm was a lance, which was pointed at both ends and in its left arm was a giant tower shield made from bones.

[Skeleton Crusader]

[Skeleton Crusader Life: 2500]

[Skeleton Crusader Damage: 500-750]

[Skeleton Crusader Defence: 500]

[Skills: [Death Breath][Icy Breath][Charge][Taunt][Triple Strike][Lance Throw][Lance Storm]

[Death Breath]

[Unleash a breath attack dealing 300% Darkness damage in a cone AoE up to 20m - Cooldown 5 minutes]

[Icy Breath]

[Unleash a breath attack dealing 300% Cold damage in a cone AoE up to 20m - Cooldown 5 minutes]

[Charge]

[Increase your speed by 150% for 30 seconds - Cooldown 2 minutes]

[Taunt]

[Taunt all enemies in a 50m radius to focus their attacks on the caster until death and increase defence by 100% - cooldown 10 minutes]

[Triple Strike]

[Strike out in rapid succession dealing increasing damage. Hit 1 = 150% damage, hit 2 = 200% damage, hit 3 = 250% damage - Cooldown 2 minutes]

[Lance Throw]

[Throw your lance at a designated target up to 50m away dealing 500% damage - Cooldown 10 minutes]

[Lance Storm]

[Charge your lance up with necrotic energy and impale your target dealing 1000% necrotic damage and an extra 500% DoT for 5 minutes - Cooldown 24 hours]

Looking at the stats of this monster Alex’s jaw dropped to the floor. (Which he hastily picked up before it got too dirty)

“This thing is an absolute monster!”

After thinking for a while, Alex turns back to his new follower and exclaims “I’m going to call you Bael!”

[Are you sure you want to assign [Skeleton Crusader] the name [Bael]?]

“Hell yes, I do”, confirmed Alex.

[Bael has become your first named companion - All stats are doubled and [Bael] gains extra rewards]

“What the fu-”

Inspecting Bael over again, Alex wanted to find out what was new.

[Bael]

[Title:[First Born][Lord’s Chosen]

[Bael Life: 5000]

[Bael Damage: 1000-1500]

[Bael Defence: 1000]

[Trait: [Undying]

[Skills: [Death Breath][Icy Breath][Charge][Taunt][Triple Strike][Lance Throw][Lance Storm]

[First Born]

[As the first named companion you hold gain additional stats for every other named companion]

[Lord’s Chosen]

[Gain the ability to evolve]

[Gain the ability to summon your own companions]

[Gain the ability to act independently]

[Gain the authority to command the army]

[Gain the ability to teleport to The Lord’s side at any time]

[Gain the ability to use all of The Lord’s skills]

[Undying]

[You may be defeated in battle, but as long as the lord lives, you will never truly die]

Alex is simply blown away by the gains this time. “Plot armour is the best.”

Looking over Bael once more, Alex notices that he now has the engraving of a skeletal fist on his skull.

Maybe clearing out those wolves won't be so difficult after all.