Only a few scattered players could be seen walking on the streets of the stronghold.

Several hours ago, God Executioner Sword had placed the Brocchi Stronghold on lockdown, barring all outside players from entering. Only a select few were allowed entrance. Even then, they would have to undergo strict screening.

In the conference hall of the guild headquarters at the heart of the stronghold, several hundred players sat in absolute silence. They nervously stared at the front of the room, where Qin Han and the cloaked figure stood.

This was a group of die hard members of God Executioner Sword, who received salaries from the guild. So, when Matchless Divine Sword summoned them, they had hurried over. Whatever he wanted them to do, they would do without question; even if they had to walk through fire.

Qin Han let his gaze wander around the room. His eyes lacked any trace of emotion.

Matchless Divine Sword turned to Qin Han. “Here are 500 of my most trusted people.”

Matchless Divine Sword didn’t know why but he felt a sense of danger whenever he looked at Qin Han. The coldness in his eyes was truly terrifying. After interacting with him for these past couple of months, Matchless Divine Sword gradually understood his character. Even though he acted refined and amiable on the surface, when he wanted something, he wouldn’t hesitate to become a bloodthirsty fiend.

It was rumoured that back in South America the Monet Financial Group had resorted to all sorts of despicable means to get rid of their rivals. Qin Han’s hands were definitely stained with human blood.

This was precisely why Matchless Divine Sword didn’t dare to defy Qin Han. If he were to annoy Qin Han... he could already see the scenes of horror flash before his eyes, a cold chill running down his spine.

“Alright, begin!” Qin Han said in an insipid tone.

A sinister, ghastly cackle sounded from the cloaked figure next to Qin Han. The players in the room felt their hair stand on end as an uneasy feeling washed over them.

Necromancer Vorderman still wore Qin Han’s cloak, so no one could make out his appearance. All they could see was his bony, skeletal hand covered in patches of rotten flesh extending out. A black bone staff with a small skull at the tip in his grap, his entire body ignited with a crimson flame.

Vorderman waved his staff. Three-meter long bone spurs erupted from the ground beneath the players’ feet. PSSFFHT! Cries of agony rang out as blood sprayed everywhere. They were skewered, their bodies left dangling in mid-air. The hall resembled a mosaic from the very depths of hell.

Matchless Divine Sword’s face paled as he felt his blood freeze over. Turning to look at his boss, he discovered Qin Han’s expression hadn’t change at all, almost as if all this were proceeding as planned.

What a scary guy! Matchless Divine Sword quickly withdrew his gaze.

As the bodies of the 500 players hung lifelessly in the air, dark red blood started flowing down from the bone spurs.

Immediately after, their skeletons undid themselves of the flesh and muscles attached to them, until only their snowy white bones were left. They were alive. But rather than players, they were now monsters. They were mostly ordinary skeletons, with a few Elites scattered among their ranks. Weapons—staffs, axes, swords, and so on—formed out of nothing in their hands as they were gifted with matching classes.

This was only the first batch. After the first came the second and then the third. More and more players from God Executioner Sword, Penumbra Empire, and other guilds were sent over to the Brocchi Stronghold. They were all killed and turned into skeletons.

When a player became a skeleton, they would have to wait until it was killed before they could revive. The only other option to escape this hell was if the Necromancer controlling them died. Generally, players who revived after turning into skeletons would drop two to five levels and be in a weakened state for a prolonged period of time. Under normal circumstances, no player would willingly subject themselves to this. However, Qin Han was their boss. So, most of them had no choice but to obey his commands.

More and more skeletons were being raised in the Brocchi Stronghold. Before long, they reached 30,000. Their movements were already no longer limited to the stronghold, and they started spreading out to the surroundings.

At Qin Han’s commands, the skeletons attacked three NPC villages and turned the inhabitants into skeletons as well.

The skeleton army was quickly growing larger and larger. Since Qin Han kept things tightly under wraps, the news didn’t spread. Many players were aware of the skeletons roaming around the Brocchi Stronghold, but they believed these were normal spawns. Never in their wildest dreams did they think another player was behind all this. Some of the slower players ended up being killed by the skeletons and also became members of the undead army. After turning into skeletons, they were confused and dazed, at a loss as to what was happening.

Everything appeared tranquil. No one was aware of the encroaching disaster.

...

Nie Yan had Guo Huai closely monitor any movements around the continent, especially those of the undead. Anything unusual would be reported to him immediately.

On the second day of the assault on Colt, Asskickers United’s catapults and trebuchets continued razing strongholds to the ground. The number of guilds surrendering to them grew with each passing hour. The remaining several guilds had no way to reverse the tide and could only continue to struggle at death’s door. Many of them received orders from Qin Han to fight until the last man standing, to resist until the bitter end. So, they had no choice but to continue throwing their lives away. But the difference in strength between them and Asskickers United was like heaven and earth. All of their strongholds were destroyed under the bombarding of the trebuchets and catapults.

The territory surrounding Colt was turned into ruins. More than 10 guilds fled with their members to the Brocchi Stronghold in Hilderlocke.

Finally, Nisode, Colt, and Calore were connected, and there was no longer a weakness that an enemy could exploit. Originally, many of the recently conquered strongholds would’ve been handed over to the Dragonsoar Financial Group and World Bloc to develop. However, Nie Yan felt there was a huge storm on the horizon. So, for the time being, he delayed the opening of these real world business districts.

After easily sweeping through Colt, Asskickers United entered another period of recuperation and started consolidating their newly acquired territories.

During this time, the Monet Financial Group showed no signs of movement. This left Nie Yan feeling extremely uneasy in his heart.

That aside, after collecting a large amount of rare metals, Nie Yan had finally finished remodeling his Dullahan Cavalry Crossbow. A brand new and improved Cavalry Crossbow appeared before his eyes.