Chapter 198 - Rebuilding [1]

The sun rose high over the Cursed Forest, shedding a warm, golden light across the shattered settlement.

The morning air was crisp and clear as the surviving villagers, now reinforced with vampiric vitality, gathered in the central square, waiting for their leader’s instructions.

Verc stood at the center of the ruins, his posture tall and unyielding.

With a single glance across the flattened landscape, he took charge of starting everything from the ground again.

"Let’s begin."

FWOOOOSH~

Verc used [Dungeon Genesis] to reshape the castle once more. But this time around, he didn’t fully build it using his skill.

He just created a foundation and the shape for it.

Verc’s mana seeped into the soil, and as he did so—the ground and minerals moved on his command.

He established a sprawling, multi-tiered foundation designed to anchor a massive stronghold, complete with reinforced inner chambers, emergency vaults, and wide support pillars.

Then after that, he used one of his newly acquired abilities—[Terrain Manipulation].

SWAAAAAAAH—!!!

With his enormous mana, Verc controlled everything around the village! Be it the ground, stone, or other minerals!

It was like [Dungeon Genesis], but instead of being stuck in a single place; he can control everything in his surroundings as long as his mana can handle it!

GRRRR—CRACK! CRACK!

The earth groaned and vibrated violently under his absolute command. Massive jagged rocks buried deep under the dirt shifted upward, melting and fusing together like heated wax to form thick, thirty-foot outer perimeter walls that wrapped around the entire perimeter of the settlement.

SHHHHHHHHHK!!!

Broad trenches dug themselves into the dirt outside the walls, while wide stone platforms emerged at key vantage points to serve as watchtowers.

Sweat didn’t even form on Verc’s brow; the sheer density of the demon king blood he had absorbed allowed him to manipulate tons of rock and soil without draining his core.

And then, once the heavy structural foundations and boundary walls were carved directly out of the landscape...

Verc lowered his hands and turned to his subordinates.

"The frame is set."

Verc spoke, his voice carrying clearly over the rumble of settling stone.

"Now, we turn this foundation into a proper fortress."

Aodh, the lead dwarf, stepped forward, his eyes wide with amazement as he ran his heavy hand over the perfectly smooth, fused surface of the newly raised stone wall.

"By the ancestors..."

Aodh muttered, a proud, toothy grin spreading across his bearded face.

"Look at the density of this rock! There ain’t a single seam or weak crack in the whole structure!"

"Aodh."

Verc called out, walking over to the dwarf master.

"You and your people, along with Kuma and the gnolls, are in charge of structural planning, architectural reinforcement, and trap placement. I want this base designed to withstand a siege from high-tier threats."

Aodh slapped his heavy chest, laughing boisterously.

"Leave it to us, Lord Verc! With a stone foundation this solid, my boys will reinforce the gates with iron-reinforced alloy, craft ballista mounts for those towers, and carve hidden runic conduits throughout the inner walls. No army’s walking through the gates alive!"

Kuma bowed his head respectfully, his sharp claws tracing a map onto a piece of parchment.

"We will assist in mapping out subterranean choke points, Lord Verc. We will integrate pit traps, trip-wire mechanisms, and hidden escape tunnels beneath the stone floor."

"Good."

Verc nodded.

"Groo, take the Orc Tribe. You are the primary labor force. Work directly under Aodh’s blueprint instructions to move iron timber, set up structural beams, and complete the upper quarters for the villagers."

Groo raised his massive war axe high into the air, letting out a deep, chest-rattling roar that echoed off the stone walls.

"LOUD AND CLEAR, LORD VERC!"

Groo bellowed, turning to the eager orc warriors behind him.

*****

"YOU HEARD THE MASTER’S ORDER EARLIER! MOVE THOSE BEAMS! SET THE STONE BLOCKS! WE ARE BUILDING A CITY FOR OUR KING!"

-GRAAAAAAAHHH!!!

The orcs moved in full force, their newfound vampiric physical strength making light work of tasks that would normally require heavy machinery.

Huge wooden trunks were hauled over shoulders like simple twigs, and massive iron-hard timber beams were slotted into the stone sockets Verc had carved out with his mana.

Meanwhile... near the northern perimeter of the inner wall—Grainne and the agriculture team were hard at work setting up their own defensive layer.

Her whole team helped in the defense as well by planning placement of mutated plants they had controlled as a defensive system.

"Plant the thorn-binders right along the outer trench!"

Grainne ordered.

"We need the vine roots to anchor deep into Lord Verc’s stone walls. If any intruder falls into the ditch, the vines will automatically drag them under!"

The dryad knelt beside the freshly tilled soil, her hands glowing with a soft, green magic as she guided thick, razor-sharp ivy and poisonous flower beds to weave tightly along the base of the perimeter wall. The mutated plants reacted instantly to the dark mana in the soil, growing rapidly into a living, thorned barrier that secreted paralyzing sap.

"This living fence will react to any hostile intent, Lord Verc."

Grainne reported, walking over to Verc with a satisfied expression.

"Anyone trying to scale the outer walls without permission will be entangled and paralyzed before they can even reach the top walkways."

"Excellent work, Grainne."

Verc said, looking over the rapidly growing green defenses.

"How is the situation with the medical wing?"

Grainne’s face brightened, and she nodded quickly.

"We have great news, my lord. We’re taking care of the patients, and using the knowledge we acquired after experimenting on mutated plants, we started creating medicine that would help the others turn successfully!"

"What kind of ingredients are you using?"

Verc asked, genuinely interested.

"We accidentally created a mutated herb that helped with the transformation, we don’t have a name for it yet—that’s what we’ve been using for the medicine, my lord."

Grainne explained enthusiastically.

"By combining it with the sap of the night-shade lotus with crushed mana-root stems, we’ve created a concentrated tonic that stabilizes the violent internal mana of those undergoing transformation. Since we started administering it this morning, the survival rate among the struggling villagers has shot up dramatically! Even the newly turned vampires are recovering their stamina twice as fast!"

Verc let out a quiet sigh of relief, the cold tension in his chest easing slightly.

"Good. Keep administering it to everyone who needs it. Give it to Nara and Onyx as well."

"Understood, Lord Verc!"

Grainne bowed deeply before rushing back to guide her team in refining more batches of the herbal tonic.

... ... ...

... ... ...

... ... ...

As the afternoon progressed, the entire settlement buzzed with unprecedented energy and purpose.

TINK! TINK! TUNK!

The sound of hammers clanging against iron, stone being carved, orcs chanting in rhythm, and the rustling of growing magic flora filled the air.

There was no trace of despair or lingering fear left in the hearts of the people; the tragedy of Morcant’s attack had forged their unity into something completely unbreakable.

"..."

Verc walked through the bustling construction site, watching as dwarves, orcs, gnolls, dark elves, humans, and beastkin worked side by side seamlessly. The foundations of his new stronghold were rising rapidly from the earth, stronger, taller, and vastly superior to the simple wooden village that had stood before.

He stood atop the central stone platform of his rising castle foundation, looking out over the reinforced walls that now guarded his domain.

The re-building had truly begun, and from the ashes of the ruined village, an absolute fortress was taking shape—one that would soon command the respect and fear of the entire world.