A few people shifted at that.

One of the clan leaders clenched his jaw.

"...So it’s true," he muttered.

Ren Kai gave a small nod, as if confirming something in his own thoughts.

"Then we shouldn’t waste time here," he said. "If their strength comes from those bodies, the source is more important than the battlefield. We find their base, and we destroy it."

The words were simple.

Direct.

And for a moment, it felt like the most obvious solution in the room.

But before anyone could respond, a voice came from the side.

"We are already doing that, Young Master Ren Kai."

The speaker was a middle-aged clan leader, broad-shouldered, his armor marked with signs of recent fighting. His tone was respectful, but firm enough to carry experience behind it.

Several heads turned toward him.

He inclined his head slightly.

"Scouting teams were sent out after the second assault," he continued. "Small groups, fast movement, avoiding direct engagement. We’ve spread them across the surrounding routes."

He gestured toward the outer edges of the map.

"We’re waiting for their reports."

Ren Kai looked at him for a moment, then gave a short nod.

"Good," he said. "Then we don’t act blindly."

Because rushing without information would only lead to more losses.

He rested one hand lightly on the table, his gaze returning to the map.

"For now," he continued, "we focus on defense. We hold the town. We minimize casualties as much as possible."

His voice lowered slightly.

"And we wait until we can see where they’re coming from."

Voss watched him in silence for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.

"Easier said than done," he muttered, though there was no disagreement in his tone.

Ren Kai glanced at him briefly.

"I know," he said. "But every man we lose is another soldier for them. That’s the kind of mistake we can’t afford anymore."

The room fell quiet again.

Not out of uncertainty this time.

But because everyone understood the weight of that statement.

One wrong move didn’t just weaken them.

It strengthened the enemy.

After a moment, another voice spoke up.

It was one of the sect leaders, an older man in dark robes, his posture straight despite the exhaustion visible in his eyes.

"But now that the young masters are here," he said, looking toward Ren Kai and the others, "and with the thousands of disciples from the Clear Water Sect on the way..."

He paused slightly, then gave a faint, confident nod.

"We are far more assured than before."

Murmurs of agreement followed.

The presence of the sect changed things.

Not just in strength.

But in morale.

----

Aiden’s carriage rolled to a slow stop at the edge of the clearing, the skeletal horse pulling it letting out a low, hollow sound as it came to rest. Its empty eye sockets flickered faintly, as if something deep within was still watching the world it no longer belonged to.

The door opened.

Aiden stepped out.

His boots touched the ground softly, yet the moment he appeared, the atmosphere around the base shifted almost instantly. The undead that were moving about paused, not out of confusion, but recognition.

Their lord had arrived.

Aiden’s gaze moved slowly across the surroundings, taking everything in without missing a single detail. The positioning of the structures, the concealment of pathways, the controlled movement of the undead, the way everything blended into something that looked abandoned, yet functioned with precision beneath the surface.

"Good," he said after a moment, his tone calm, but carrying quiet approval. "You did well setting this up."

Graveknit stepped forward from the shadows near one of the broken walls, his figure as still and composed as ever.

"Thank you, my lord," he replied, lowering his head slightly.

Aiden walked forward a few steps, his eyes shifting toward the deeper part of the base, where movement was more noticeable.

Far more than before.

"You have been working hard." Aiden said.

Carrion stepped out from the side, his armor still marked from battle, though the damage had already been partially restored.

"We have not slowed," he said.

Aiden glanced at him briefly, then gave a small nod.

"I can see that."

His gaze moved again, this time more carefully, counting, measuring.

"Three thousand two hundred," he said.

Even Graveknit’s hollow gaze flickered slightly at that.

"Yes, my lord," he said. "The growth has been consistent."

Vermis leaned lightly against a broken pillar nearby, her expression relaxed, though there was a faint excitement in her eyes.

"They’re feeding us well," she said softly, almost amused.

Carrion’s tone was colder.

"Too bad," he said, "none of the ones we’ve taken recently were body tempering practitioners."

Aiden didn’t seem bothered.

"That’s fine," he said. "We don’t need to rush that part."

He turned slightly, his gaze shifting to the empty space beside him.

"Also," he added, "there’s someone I want you all to meet."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the shadows near Aiden’s side began to move.

A figure emerged.

Tall, slender, its form slightly unstable, as if it did not fully belong to the physical world. Its edges blurred faintly, its presence hard to focus on, like the eyes refused to settle on it for too long.

Nyxveil.

The air around it felt wrong.

Not heavy.

Not oppressive.

Just... absent.

Like something had been removed instead of added.

Vermis’s eyes lit up slightly.

"...Interesting," she murmured.

Carrion’s gaze narrowed, studying it carefully.

Aiden spoke.

"This is Nyxveil," he said. "From now on, it will handle our intelligence."

Nyxveil did not speak immediately.

His presence shifted slightly, as if acknowledging the others without fully turning toward them.

Graveknit observed it in silence, his hollow gaze lingering longer than usual.

"An assassin," he said quietly.

Aiden nodded.

Carrion gave a small nod.

"That will make things easier."

Nyxveil finally moved.

His form simply shifted, appearing a few steps closer without any visible transition.

"I have already scout the area earlier." he said.

Nyxveil’s voice was quiet, but it carried in a way that made everyone present hear it clearly, as if the sound itself slipped directly into their awareness instead of traveling through the air.

"There are many human scouts moving through the outer routes. Small groups. Careful. They are trying to find this place."

Vermis straightened slightly, her interest sharpening.

"Oh?" she said, a faint smile forming. "And?"

Nyxveil’s form flickered for a brief moment, like a shadow disturbed by wind that no one else could feel.

"I dealt with them," he replied.

Aiden watched him for a moment, then gave a small, approving nod.

"Good," he said calmly. "Keep doing that."

He turned slightly, his gaze moving toward the darker edges of the base, as if already thinking several steps ahead.

"For now, the most important thing is this," he continued. "They must not find this place. Not yet."

Nyxveil’s form shifted again, becoming slightly less defined, like he was already preparing to disappear.

"They won’t," he said.

Aiden’s eyes rested on him briefly.

"I’m trusting you with that," he said. "If even one of them makes it back with useful information, it complicates everything."

Nyxveil gave a slight nod.

"Understood."

Vermis let out a soft laugh, pushing herself off the pillar as she walked a slow circle around Nyxveil, studying him openly.

"You’re quiet," she said. "I like that. Makes killing easier, doesn’t it?"

Nyxveil didn’t react.

Didn’t even look at her.

"If they are unaware," he said, "they are already dead."

Vermis’s smile widened.

"Mm. I like you."

Carrion ignored the exchange, his attention already returning to Aiden.

"If their scouts are increasing," he said, "then it means they are getting desperate."

Aiden nodded slightly.

"They’ve already figured out part of it," he said. "They must already knows we’re using the bodies."

Graveknit spoke from behind them, his voice low.

"But they still don’t know where."

"Exactly," Aiden replied.

He took a few steps forward, looking out across the base, where the undead moved in silent coordination, some standing guard, others carrying materials, others remaining still like statues waiting for orders.

"Let them search," he said. "The more people they send out, the more chances Nyxveil has to thin them out."

Nyxveil’s form flickered again, already fading into the surrounding shadows.

"They will not reach here," he said one last time.

Then he was gone.

Vermis clicked her tongue softly.

"...That’s unfair," she muttered. "I didn’t even feel him leave."

Aiden remained calm.

His gaze steady.

"Good," he said quietly. "Everything is moving the way it should."

Behind him, the growing army of the dead stood in silence.

Aiden stood there for a moment longer, watching the empty space where Nyxveil had disappeared, as if measuring something that only he could see. Then he turned away without another word.

There was nothing more to say outside.

Everything was already in motion.

He walked deeper into the base, past the silent ranks of undead, past the ones standing guard like statues and the ones hauling materials without rest. None of them spoke. None of them needed to. The moment he passed, they simply adjusted, making way, their hollow gazes following him until he was gone.

His quarters were simple.

Deliberately so.

A reinforced structure hidden within the false base, nothing flashy, nothing that would draw attention if someone ever managed to get close. A table, a chair, a bed that had barely been used, and a few scattered items that only he would recognize the purpose of.

Aiden stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

For the first time since arriving, the noise of the outside faded.

Silence settled.

He exhaled slowly, then sat down.

With a thought, the familiar transparent screen appeared in front of him, floating quietly in the air.

His status.