Chapter 811 Empty Shells

811 Empty Shells

The fallen fort stood in the quiet of the late evening, its once proud walls and sophisticated structures now crumbled.

The sun had set, and a pale moon cast a silvery glow over the scene, highlighting the devastation. The stone walls, once tall and strong, were broken in many places, with large gaps where the enemy's siege weapons had struck. Shards of unmelting ice littered the area, and broken pieces of technology was scattered all around.

Inside the devastated Fort, the courtyard was cleared of all the debris.

Replacing the sullied flag of the Dwarven Republic, and the broken weapons that had been vandalized to ruin, were the Giants who sat peacefully under the sky's blanket and the dim light of the stars.

They waited there patiently, all of them like dogs.

Their gaze was fixed on a rather tall makeshift tent that had been built for the purpose of their Chief—the one that had given them such an outstanding victory.

—Ater himself.

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"Give me your report." Ater sat on a rather comfortable chair, with Justin and Belle occupying his right and left sides respectively.

Kneeling before him were the five Grand Knights of the Giants, and despite their clear subservience, they all seemed to be in an overly excited mood.

And it was with this smile on their faces that they gave the report he requested.

"... None of our own were killed, but many are currently injured. As for the Monsters, they're all dead. Since they were at the front lines, they were mostly our meat shields and—"

"Yeah, I understand. No need for the details." Ater raised his hand, forcing silence upon the Giant Mage.

She happily complied, returning to her bowed posture.

As Ater saw all of this, he smiled.

'I can already see what's going on in their minds... these simpletons. And it's not just them, either.' Ater glanced at both Belle and Justin, and he was once again filled with amusement.

The two of them were still recoiling from shock.

'I guess they didn't expect it would be that easy to take over the Fort.'

Earlier that day, right after they took down the Walls and began their attack on the Fort, he could hear several Giants sing his praise.

None of that surprised him either.

'They've been trying to tear down those walls for over a century, after all.'.

"This is only the beginning." Ater rose to his feet after uttering this, his gaze resting on the Grand Knights that now devoted everything they had to him.

"I still have more to show you."

They all raised their heads in surprise as he said this—their eyes full with expectation and wonder. Like little children, they drooled at the mere thought of what he desired to do next.

"Come forth... empty ones... Shell Soldiers." Ater whispered with upward curled lips, forcing the entities buried underneath rock and debris.

They all dug their way up—thousands of them.

The fallen Giants of the recent past, as well as the dead Monsters that were lost during the recent assault... all of them were brought back in Ater's glory.

They all had darkness shrouding them, manifesting purple energy around their pale bodies as they rose from their graves.

Everyone's eyes widened in amazement as they witnessed this gloriously perverse sight.

Thousands of Undead were manifest, just from Ater's single command, and the Giants were forced to cheer and bow in worship of their great leader.

"Not yet..." His voice stopped them from going any further.

He glanced at them with amused eyes, revealing something that they had never thought was even conceivable.

"... Your celebrations are premature."

~RUMBLE!~

~RUMBLE!~

~RUMBLE!~

Tremors—much louder and more intense than the ones from earlier—echoed out.

They didn't stop.

Louder and louder, they rang and pierced the night.

Then... from the very depths of the earth... more hands began to claw their way out. This time, they emerged in their tens of thousands—rising from sediments that had formed over decades. They were not the recently deceased, but fallen ancestors whose rotting bodies and bones were now being regenerated by the power that only one man wielded.

"Here at last." Ater said with a satisfied smile.

The battlefield was now littered in a storm of death and chaos, as over a hundred thousand giants stood tall and proud.

Then, they all bowed to him.

Justin, Belle, and all of the other giants felt their bodies tremble as they witnessed all of this. They couldn't believe their eyes, and before they knew it... they all bowed as well.

Ater watched all of this silently, standing above everything like a god.

'All preparations have been made. This should be fun.'

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