43 Book 3 Chapter 39

However, Lavos stressed demons grew exponentially more powerful the higher their tier. For example, Lavos' lowest level rune was seven. The stat bonuses he received from all his runes was mindboggling.

Over the decades, the minotaur tribe dwindled in numbers, leaving only the battle-hardened elites. Each one could fight one to two levels higher. However, for most demons, it was hard for a tier one to kill a tier two, and almost impossible to kill a tier three. Those that could cross grades were the cream of the crop, and it was because of this Lavos was so impressed.

With no runes, top-grade ascenders were strong enough to kill tier three demons one on one. Above them were Shenlong and the others. Based on the brief spar between them, Lavos concluded Shenlong was strong enough to kill a tier four demon by himself. They shattered the rules of the floor. Lavos looked forward to the day these humans had as many runes as him.

After everyone rested, Andy left the haven under Shenlong's party's protection. Peter spent nearly an hour convincing the coward, and only after guaranteeing his safety did the kid accept.

"Found one." Not long after the party left, Roy spotted a tier one silverclaw scorpion the size of a car. The beast was sleeping under the shade of a withered tree, and based on its lack of movement, it hadn't noticed them yet.

(Mutant) Silverclaw Scorpion - Level 210

Health: 200,000/200,000

Shenlong and the others glanced at Andy. Gulping, the kid inspected the giant scorpion in the distance. His vivid imagination instantly created ten scenarios of him ripped to shreds. He only relaxed a bit when he realized Shenlong could probably kill it in a single hit. With such strong guardians protecting him like he was royalty, he would probably be safe. Probably.

According to Lavos, a demon would only submit to a higher tier demon. This meant Andy had to create a tier two demon at a minimum. However, would a demon strong enough to lead a horde be tier two? Unlikely.

Keeping this in mind, Andy strained his imagination to create a four-armed gorilla the size of a tank. Although the gorilla had four runes, it was only on the surface. Strangely, Andy wasn't able to imagine runes' functions, so he made sure the gorilla exuded a demon's aura. Thankfully, he had gotten a lifetime of such an aura last night.

The gorilla roared as it charged over to the scorpion, crossing twenty feet with every step. Jolted awake, the scorpion prepared to fight, only to freeze upon seeing its aggressor. It let out a soft hiss in deference. There was no need to fight – it had fully submitted to the gorilla's might.

Seeing this, Shenlong asked Andy, "Try giving it a command."

Surprisingly, the scorpion bobbed its head up and down. It appeared to have some degree of intelligence.

Watching from afar, the party broke into smiles. The test was a success. It was only a matter of time before a monster horde formed. At that moment, Andy let out a sigh. "It won't work. My imagination is draining too fast. I can only form this gorilla for ten hours at most; that's nowhere near enough time to gather a horde."

"Hm. What about dropping its tier by one?" Shenlong suggested. Although there was less chance for tier three demons to follow the command of a tier four demon, what other option did they have?

Andy mused aloud. "It'll last around twenty-four hours."

"Forget it." Shenlong shook his head and turned to return to the haven to inform Peter. They'd only be able to gather a few hundred demons in that time, so there was no point in continuing the plan. Before leaving, Andy had the gorilla punch the scorpion. The poor thing died in a few hits, baffled at the sudden attack.

It didn't take long to travel back to the haven. Ascenders packed the place compared to last night. Hundreds of non-combatants repaired the walls, set up traps, or made new engravings.

Peter was standing on the wall. Seeing Shenlong's party return so soon, he wasn't surprised. This was within his calculations. Either the demons didn't consider Andy's illusions authentic, or the energy cost was too high. Peter made his way down to greet the party. Before Andy could speak, he waved his hand. "Don't worry. I have another method to gather a monster horde."

Peter called Ebba over to the group. Everyone knew what Peter was planning, but Shenlong was doubtful. "I thought you could only control around a hundred or so undead?"

As Shenlong was one of the leaders of the alliance, he knew everyone's abilities. Ebba's intelligence determined the size of her undead horde. The greater the strength of an undead, the bigger the strain on her mind. She might be able to control two hundred if the undead were on the weaker side, but what was the point in that?

Ebba rolled up her sleeve. The rune engraved on her forearm was bare for all to see. Her first rune was unfortunately on her cheek, much to her annoyance. Thankfully, the second rune was more hidden. Ebba's expression was smug. "Controlling 10,000 undead isn't a problem for me now."

"10,000?!" Amara was stunned as she reevaluated the young woman. As she was extremely proud, Amara determined the level of respect she gave people based on how easy it was to beat them. If Ebba could truly control ten thousand undead, it threatened her status as the most powerful female ascender.

Ebba still felt a little uncomfortable sharing her abilities, but she reluctantly shared her rune's abilities considering she received everyone else's.

Undead Control Imprint - Tier 1 Rune

You can control up to 10,000 undead by marking a corpse with this rune. The undead will inherit 50% of the stats they had while alive, as well as two skills.

Remark 1: The undead marked by this rune cannot be stored in your inventory.

Remark 2: They cannot share their senses with you.

Remark 3: They can only be commanded verbally.

Passively adds +1% intelligence.

Roy clicked his tongue and remarked. "Doesn't this rune have too many drawbacks?"

"Hmph." Ebba quickly defended herself. "Don't you know the cost to create a rune is doubled for each one you have? If I didn't add some restrictions, the price would have been more than what we gathered last night."

"So, what Lavos said was true," Shenlong's eyes brightened. One of Lavos' tips was to add restrictions to lower the essence cost significantly. Not only did this make creating a rune require some creativity, but it also increased the complexity of a rune itself. Shenlong couldn't help but feel he was too hasty in creating his first rune. The thing was too basic.

Andy almost jumped for joy upon seeing the development of the situation. Thankfully he stopped himself in time, or Peter would have given him a mouthful. Nodding sagely, he thanked the others for their protection and coolly walked away.

Peter held back a chuckle. How could he not know what the kid was thinking? Didn't Andy know his expressions always mimicked what he was thinking? Regardless, Peter clapped his hands. "Okay, it's settled. To make the operation have a better chance of success, Ebba needs corpses in the best condition."

"One shot, one kill," Olivia smirked, immediately understanding what Peter wanted.

Peter watched the party leave and turned his attention elsewhere. If everything proceeded smoothly, the operation would begin on the day before the next blood moon.