Wizard: I Have a World of the Dead

He took a deep breath and walked to the first pile of bones.

Scattered bones lay silently on the gray-black earth, sharp nicks exposed at the broken ribs, and clear cracks visible on the vertebrae.

Lin Qi crouched down, stretched out his hand, and aimed his palm at the pile of bones.

"Control the dead."

He read it in a low voice.

The moment the skill was activated, Lin Qi felt something being drawn out of his body, very slightly, like a gentle exhale.

That invisible force surged into the skeleton, seeping into every bone, attempting to ignite the remaining... within that body.

There was nothing there.

The skeleton lay there quietly, motionless.

Lin Qi opened his eyes and frowned as he looked at the pile of bones. They were still lifeless, cold, stiff, and unresponsive.

[Domination failed; the target's soul has completely dissipated.]

The system notification sounded in my mind, cold and mechanical.

Dominating the undead requires very specific materials; the soul fire must not have completely dissipated.

Lin Qi pursed his lips, stood up, and walked towards the second pile of bones.

The bones of the shield-wielding skeleton were scattered even more haphazardly, with many fragments flying several steps away.

He crouched down again, palm facing the target, and activated the skill once more.

An invisible force surged in, but it only caused a tremor.

The tremor lasted less than two seconds before stopping completely. The scattered bones remained scattered, showing no sign of coming together.

[Domination failed; the target's soul fragments are insufficient to sustain resurrection.]

Lynch's brows furrowed even deeper.

Although the probability of dominating is not high, failing twice in a row is too unlucky, isn't it?

He stood up and looked at the third pile of bones, which was the tall, giant axe-wielding skeleton.

This is the strongest of the three skeletons. In life, it must have been a burly warrior; even in death, as an undead, it remains more complete and resilient than its kind.

Lin Qi walked over, squatted down again, and placed his palm in the center of the pile of bones—where the chest cavity used to be.

Dominate the dead.

launch!

This time, Lin Qi clearly felt that after the invisible force surged into the skeleton, it encountered something.

It was very faint, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, like embers about to go out, but it was definitely there.

A sliver of a lingering soul fragment.

Lin Qi gritted his teeth and increased his power output.

He could feel that power enveloping that fragment of soul, trying to awaken it, ignite it, and make it burn again—

The skeleton moved.

First, the thickest thigh bone trembled slightly. Then the ribs, one, two, three... they began to tremble, to move, to move closer to each other.

"Click."

With a soft click, a rib connected to the spine.

"Click, click, click."

More bones began to come together. Leg bones joined hip bones, arm bones joined shoulder blades, and the spine was pieced together segment by segment, as if an invisible hand was reassembling a broken doll.

Beads of sweat appeared on Lynch's forehead.

He felt his strength rapidly draining away, a feeling of being emptied out more intense than the previous two times. But he didn't stop, nor could he stop.

"Get up," he said through gritted teeth in a low voice. "Get up."

The skull rolled off the ground and landed with a "thud" at the top of the spine.

Deep within his eye sockets, a faint green light shone.

The light was faint, like a newly lit spark, but it was flickering, burning, and gradually becoming brighter.

Then, the skeleton moved.

It first raised its right arm, the bones making a "crackling" grinding sound. Then its left arm, then its torso. It slowly propped itself up, wobbling as it stood up using its newly reattached leg bones—

"Click."

Its kneecap wobbled, and it almost fell over.

But it stabilized.

It stood before Lynch, two eerie green phosphorescent flames burning quietly in its empty eye sockets, facing him directly.

Dominate undead experience +3

[Dominate the Undead Lv1 (485/500)]

Lin Qi was panting heavily, sweat dripping down his chin.

He looked up at the skeleton that had risen again, at the two green flames in its eye sockets, and then—

Laughed.

"Ha ha!"

He laughed out loud, a hoarse but hearty laugh filled with undisguised smugness.

"We finally succeeded!"

He propped himself up on his knees, walked over to the skeleton, and looked it up and down.

Its skeleton was massive, almost half a head taller than Skull 1, and its shoulder blades were so broad they could support a cow.

Although the cracks from the battle still lingered on its ribs and its kneecaps were a little unsteady, it stood upright, the green flames in its eye sockets burning steadily.

Lynch reached out and patted its shoulder blade.

"From now on," he said, "you'll be called Skull Number 2."

Skull 2 ​​did not respond; it simply stood there quietly, awaiting instructions.

Lin Qi laughed again.

He turned his head and looked at Skull Number 1. Number 1 was still standing in the same place, the crack on its left arm was particularly obvious under the blood moon, but the same green flame burned in its eye sockets, its own green flame.

Two skeletons.

From today onwards, he has two skeletons.

Lynch looked up at the Whispering Hills in the distance, shrouded in the blood-red moonlight. There were more Shadow Stones there, more resources, more… skeletons.

"This is just the beginning," he said softly, unable to hide the smile on his lips.

Two.

Soon, there will be three. Four. Ten. One hundred!

His goal is this entire world of the dead! To become its supreme ruler!

......

Meanwhile, at the border between Riverside Territory and Valen Territory, in the Riverside Forest.

The Hollenfield family's wedding procession is slowly making its way along the forest road.

The caravan wasn't large, but it was respectable enough—three carriages, twelve escorting cavalrymen, plus eight servants.

Margaret sat in the carriage, looking out at the receding trees through the sheer curtains.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the carriage floor. She stretched out her hand, letting the dappled light fall into her palm, watching them sway gently with the swaying of the carriage.

The corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

The scene from that day in Wallenberg flashed before my eyes once again—the young lord, wearing a white shirt soaked with sweat, walked out of the forest, holding a bunch of freshly picked rainbow flowers in his hand.

He looked at her with a calm gaze and a faint smile on his lips, and said, "Beautiful lady, only a beautiful bouquet can complement her beauty."

Margaret's cheeks flushed again.

She lowered her head and looked at the bouquet of flowers she was holding in her arms.

The rainbow flower was already a little wilted, the edges of the petals curled slightly, and the colors were not as vibrant as when it was first picked. But she couldn't bear to throw it away, so she wrapped the flower stem in a wet linen and carefully protected it all the way.

Margaret couldn't wait for the wedding.

She was thinking about what color dress she should wear on her wedding day. She was also wondering what Lin Qi's expression would be when he saw her in her wedding dress.

Will I kiss her at the wedding?

Margaret's face turned even redder.

"Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it..." she muttered softly, but couldn't help laughing again.

The carriage continued on its way.

The wheel rolled over a dead branch with a crisp "crack".

Then--

"Whoa—!"

The horses' neighing suddenly rang out, sharp and urgent. The carriage jolted violently, and Margaret was thrown forward, her forehead nearly hitting the carriage wall.

She reached out to brace herself on the seat, but before she could react, chaos erupted outside.

The chaotic sound of horses' hooves rang out, some people were shouting, some were crying out in alarm. There was the crisp sound of metal clashing, the sharp whistling of arrows piercing the air, and—a scream of agony.

Margaret instinctively looked out the car window, and upon seeing it, her face instantly turned ashen.

Ahead, a group of people dressed in disheveled clothes emerged from the woods.

They rode small horses, brandished scimitars, and howled like wild beasts. The escorting cavalry had already clashed with those at the forefront, swords clashing and sparks flying.

But there were too many of them.

There were at least fifty or sixty people, densely packed together, and they kept rushing out of the woods.

A cavalryman galloped towards them from the front, the rider crouching low, almost touching the horse's neck. He pulled on the reins beside the wagon and looked up—

It was the captain of the guard, the old man who had followed his father through thick and thin for over a decade.

But his face had never been this pale before.

"Miss!" His voice was hoarse and urgent, as if something was stuck in his throat. "We're in trouble."

"They are...the Asdokians!"

For a moment, Margaret's mind went blank.