Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

After Alduin detected the lich's presence through counter-surveillance, he immediately summoned Grimm to Dragon's Nest and gave him some instructions.

The old goblin knelt on the ground, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, and patted his chest to assure him.

The next day, he led the goblins to the southern mine and brought out all the tools they could carry: minecarts, pickaxes, lighting runes, and stored food—nothing was left out.

Even the entrance to the cave was blocked by huge rocks.

Those kobolds also withdrew from that area.

Alduin planned to rearrange the defenses, since without the suppression of fire, the continuous generation of necromantic power would spawn more undead.

However, things progressed faster than he had anticipated.

The work of setting up the defense line had barely begun when the Hill of Dry Bones was already in motion.

The next morning, the goblin scouts that Grimm had sent out scrambled back to the dragon's lair, covered in bone dust and with sweat or dew on their faces, kneeling in front of the platform, panting heavily.

"Dragon, Lord Dragon! Over at the Bone Hills... fog, fog is coming! Over at the mines... it's all skeletons!"

Alduin opened his eyes, his dark golden pupils gleaming in the darkness.

"Take your time."

The goblin took a few deep breaths and poured out all the words he had mentally rehearsed countless times on the way:

"Before dawn today, the sentries to the south noticed that the fog over the Bone Hills was much thicker than usual and was spreading towards us. There were things moving in the fog, skeletons, and those monsters crawling on the ground. They didn't go into the mine because the entrance was sealed off. But they wandered around outside, crashing into the rocks with a loud clatter. Chief Grim sent me back to report that there were quite a few of them, but they were all low-level. He's keeping watch from a distance with the men, waiting for Lord Dragon's instructions."

After listening, Alduin narrowed his eyes. The fire spirit chick poked its head out from between his dragon horns and chirped, but Alduin understood what it meant.

"You?" Auduin stretched out his tail and pressed the fledgling back down. "It's not even fully feathered yet."

He stood up from the pile of treasure, gold coins tumbling down his back. He stopped at the entrance to the lair and glanced back at the cave.

"Blue".

Heavy footsteps echoed from inside the cave.

The stone giant appeared at the end of the mine tunnel. It was enormous, and the runes on its chest glowed faintly in the darkness. The dark red light flickered with its breath.

After a month of recuperation, and with the continuous nurturing of the embers of the lava crystal, his strength not only fully recovered, but even improved compared to before his injury.

"Boss," Blue said in a deep voice.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard you." Blue clenched his right fist, crimson light swirling around it. "Those skeletons, I'll go smash them."

Alduin nodded.

Be careful.

Blue grinned. "Don't worry, boss, it's just a bunch of skeletons."

After saying that, he turned and left.

When Bru emerged from the mine tunnel, five Emberfang Orcs were already waiting at the edge of the swamp.

They rode on the backs of winged beasts, clad in scale armor, with mithril scimitars at their waists. Leading them was one of the warriors of the Emberfang Orcs, named Riftfang, a peak fifth-tier warrior.

"Lord Blue." Rift Fang jumped off the back of the winged beast, placed one hand on his chest and bowed, "Chief Ironbone has ordered us to serve you."

Blue nodded without speaking, then looked down at the runes on his chest, a dark red light slowly flowing beneath his stone-like skin.

He clenched his fist, and the rune lit up.

"Walk."

Bru strode towards the Bone Hills, with five orcs riding winged beasts following behind him at a moderate pace.

The fog at the edge of the Bone Hills was even thicker than the goblin scouts had described.

A grayish-white necromantic aura surged from the depths of the hills, permeating the air, while figures could be vaguely seen moving within the mist—undead creatures.

Grimm, with three goblins, crouched behind a hill in the distance, clutching the Explosive Rune in his hand, nervously watching the mist. When he saw Bru's figure appear at the edge of the swamp, he was so excited he almost jumped up.

"Blue! Over here!"

Blue did not go.

He vaguely remembered that when he came here a few days ago, the fog wasn't this thick, and there weren't so many monsters.

He stood on the open ground in front of the mine, looking down at the undead monsters wandering in the mist.

The skeleton soldier raised its head, its empty eye sockets flickering with faint will-o'-the-wisps. Seeing the huge figure that had suddenly appeared, the ghoul stopped, turned around, and sniffed its rotting nose, as if trying to identify the newcomer's aura.

Blue twisted his right arm, and the rock on his shoulder cracked.

He then clenched his fist, and the three runes on his chest suddenly lit up. The dark red light pierced through the mist, instantly evaporating the surrounding grayish-white necromantic magic.

The skeletons stopped abruptly, their ghostly flames flickering violently under the red light of the runes. The ghouls let out a sharp screech, took a few steps back, and dug deep furrows in the ground with their limbs.

Blue didn't give them a chance to escape; he strode forward.

Before the first skeleton soldier could even turn around, he smashed its skull with a punch. The bone fragments flew out and hit the second one behind it, causing both of them to fall apart.

Then another skeleton soldier raised a decaying bone knife and slashed at his leg, but with a snap, the bone blade broke, leaving not even a white mark.

Blue glanced down, then stomped down, turning the skeleton soldier into bone dust.

A ghoul pounced from the side, its claws reaching for Blue's neck. Without turning his head, Blue grabbed its head with his left hand and twisted it hard.

With a snap, the ghoul's cervical spine broke, and its body hung limply on his hand.

With a flick of his wrist, the corpse flew out, smashing into the other two ghouls and sending them flying.

"Attack!" Cracktooth roared, and five orcs leaped off the backs of the winged beasts, like five red lightning bolts, rushing towards the ghouls that were scattering and fleeing.

Crack Fang pressed down on a ghoul's shoulder, the explosive runes on his claws flashed, and half of the ghoul's body exploded, scattering rotten flesh and bone fragments everywhere.

Another orc caught up with the fastest one, and his mithril dagger drew an arc, the blade flashing white light as it struck the ghoul's neck, sending the ghoul's head flying high into the air.

The remaining ghouls tried to escape deeper into the fog, but the orcs were much faster.

Two orcs flanked from the front, while another pursued from behind. Within three breaths, the last few ghouls were also wiped out.

Crack Fang crouched beside a ghoul's corpse, using his dagger to slit open its chest cavity. Inside were grayish-black rotting flesh and broken bones, but no blood or internal organs, only a strong stench of decay.

"They're all empty." Crack Fang frowned, rubbing his dagger against the ghoul's skin. "Just like Ironbone Chief said, these things are just empty shells infused with necromancy."

Blue stood amidst the pile of broken bones, looking down at the countless bones scattered on the ground, the runes on his chest slowly dimming.

There wasn't a single mark on his body.

Blue turned around and walked back to the mine entrance. Grim emerged from behind the earthen slope, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

"Is it...is it over?" Grimm stammered.

"It's over," Blue said calmly.

He looked down at his fist, which was covered in bone meal and rotten flesh, and then casually wiped it on the ground.

Grim swallowed hard and looked back at the goblins huddled behind the earthen mound; their expressions mirrored his.