Don’t go around doing things out of your own volition.
Marrow nodded, not saying anything. She thought Blaze was miffed because she could talk, while he couldn’t. In reality, he just wanted to keep her in check.
Her abilities were amazing, but Blaze didn’t like those who acted on their own. It was a trait he had as long as he could remember. The urge to manage everything himself. It hadn’t left him even in death.
Besides, frogkins were his favorite snack, and Marrow just turned one into a skeleton.
Take its flesh to the separator.
Saturn groaned and walked back into the lair, carrying the frogkin corpse.
Her abilities will be very useful.
Blaze thought, staring at Marrow, who was poking the frogkin skeleton’s head.
He tried ordering the skeleton to hit a sprinter. However, the skeleton didn’t move. He tried again, but the result remained unchanged.
Why is the skeleton not obeying my commands?
After saying so, Marrow pointed at the nearby sprinter, and the frog leaped at the zombie, smacking it once.
Blaze raised an eyebrow. He had assumed since Marrow obeyed him, so would the skeletons raised by her, but that wasn’t the case.
The skeleton not obeying him was also a cause of worry. Blaze had planned to have Marrow raise more skeletons and have them fill the void of numbers so he could take the humans head-on.
However, if the skeletons only obeyed Marrow, then she could potentially overthrow him.
They might inherit 70% of their stats, but with numbers, they could overwhelm the horde.
Just then, he saw something that worried him even more. Under Marrow’s status, it showed coordinated instead of tamed, like the others.
Now he understood why she had acted on her own before. She was a horde member, but didn’t view him as her master.
Marrow’s abilities were amazing, but to Blaze, she was a potential threat. The next second, his claws popped out, and he charged towards Marrow.
Marrow saw him, but didn’t move. She stood there completely still as he swung his claws at her neck.
Just as he was about to rip her throat out, she threw a punch. Her attack connected with a sickening crunch.
Blaze stood there, staring at her side. Marrow hit the skeleton, who was about to attack Blaze.
The shattered bones fell to the ground. All the while, she kept staring at him.
"My sincerest apologies for—"
Before she could even complete her word, Blaze had her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.
Do you take me for a fool?
Blaze groaned, and everyone rushed to his side. His grip tightened around her neck. He had underestimated her... severely.
Not only did she had the skeleton attack him, but she also had the gall to act as if the skeleton acted on its own. He might have fallen for it had it not been for the skill info.
The skeletons wouldn’t take a step without their summoner’s permission. Let alone attack anyone. Just a word from him was enough to set his horde on her.
He wanted to do it, but then a system notification stopped him.
[Subject S#026 has changed her allegiance.]
[Subject S#026 status has changed to Bonded. Any harm done to the Horde Master directly or indirectly will lead to her erasure.]
Bonded? Why isn’t she tamed?
[Info: Bonded status supersedes Tamed status.]
Blaze frowned, letting Marrow go. She didn’t say a word, just kept staring at his feet.
"I do not wish to serve a weak master," she said, her eyes staring at the ground. "Forgive me for my insolence, but I had to make sure you’re not... weak."
Blaze crossed his arms, looking around him. He built a lair, had a monstrous horde, and killed so many humans without a shred of guilt. What part of it screamed weakness?
Sensing his thoughts, Marrow pointed at his chest and said, "I do not wish to serve a master who has the faintest inkling of humanity in them."
Blaze couldn’t control himself anymore and laughed. Well, he tried to, only for terrible groans to come out of his mouth.
He couldn’t help but find it ironic that two undead were talking about humanity.
[Subject S#026’s traits have been updated.]
[Raise Skeletons: Can raise skeletons from corpses. The skeletons retain 70% of their stats. The Horde Master has the absolute authority over them.]
"Please accept the symbol of my loyalty, my lord."
Blaze looked at her, kneeling before him like he was some king. Honestly, he felt it was too cringe, even for him. If he had been a human, he would have puked blood everywhere.
Then his eye fell on his throne... suddenly, Marrow’s action didn’t seem so cringe.
What was I even thinking when I made it?
Much like the other installations, the throne had a purpose. It raised loyalty within the undead and helped him control them better. Although he did use it as a prop to scare the humans.
Yeah... let’s not do it again. Breaker, take it back inside.
Meanwhile, Marrow kept waiting for Blaze’s acceptance, which she got in the form of a pat on the head. The sudden kindness irked her, but Blaze’s words immediately eased her mind.
Test me again, and things might not end . Now get up, I have an important task for you.
Marrow nodded and followed Blaze into the seventh circle, where bodies of unawakened humans were laid.
All six of them were beyond raising as undead, and it soured Blaze’s mood. The traps he had placed were too strong for ordinary humans.
Then again, the unawakened humans wouldn’t last in the new world for long, so he didn’t think there was a need for him to change things.
Thankfully, they weren’t entirely useless.
"I won’t disappoint you, my lord!"
Marrow smiled in reverence as the black veins leaked from her body again. The bodies were ripped apart, and six skeletons joined the horde.
Blaze smirked as Marrow’s skill was quite handy. While Marrow toyed with the skeletons, the others hungrily stared at the human flesh left behind.
Go ahead. All of you deserve a treat.
That was all the horde needed to hear before jumping on the flesh.
Even as a zombie, Blaze couldn’t help but frown at their barbaric way of eating. But then again, he wasn’t much different as he eyed the three corpses before him.
The corpses of the chosen humans.
I wonder what kind of secrets you will reveal to me.