Chapter 1033 - 628: Bloody Battle Advancement Ceremony, Special Ops Infiltration Mission

Chapter 1033: Chapter 628: Bloody Battle Advancement Ceremony, Special Ops Infiltration Mission

A thousand or two Skeletons were gathered together; they were the lucky ones from this battle.

The one overseeing their promotion ritual was not Hecarim, but some Vampires, Resentful Spirits, and other Middle Tier Undead.

These Middle Tier Undead looked at the Skeletons before them with uncontrollable disgust in their eyes.

The promotion of Lower Undead is something all Upper-level Undead despise.

Not only because it might threaten their status, but also because hosting the promotion ritual is a drain of power for them.

Thankfully, this time was after the battle, with enough spoils to make up for these losses.

The real cost of the promotion for these Skeletons was borne by the dead Demons and Hecarim, the Undead Ruler.

Hecarim stood on a high platform within the fortress, where the walls had no defensive capabilities but, after some simple repairs by the Undead, could be used temporarily.

He sat on a makeshift stone throne and said, "Begin."

With Hecarim’s command, hundreds of Middle Tier Undead began to move.

Each Middle Tier Undead was surrounded by several Skeletons.

A Silver Tier Vampire held a Demon Heart Core of the Silver Tier in hand.

As he began the promotion ritual, chanting in the Soul Language, many Undead Runes appeared on the Skeletons’ bodies.

The energy source for these Undead Runes was the Vampire’s Demon Heart Core.

Of course, a Demon Heart Core is not a necessity in the Undead’s promotion.

What Undead need for promotion, besides authorization from Upper-level Undead, is simply power.

This power can come from Blood Moon Coins, a Demon Heart Core, or the Upper-level Undead’s own strength.

As Death Energy increased, the Skeletons below began to change in size.

Some Skeletons developed various skeletal armor, advancing to become Black Iron Tier Skeleton Warriors.

Another lucky group of Skeletons tore through their bony shells, and new bodies emerged.

These newly-born Undead were Skeleton Bats, a mutant species among the Lower Undead with flying ability.

As newly promoted Skeleton Bats, their strength was all at the Black Iron Tier.

This group of Skeletons was undoubtedly fortunate.

During this time when Hecarim lacked manpower, they managed to skip the Skeleton Warrior stage.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, Skeletons should first advance to Skeleton Warriors, accumulating enough merits at that stage before advancing to mutants.

Now, it was with Hecarim’s additional funding that they could skip the Skeleton Warrior stage.

Due to severe losses in Hecarim’s forces, he needed more combat power and labor to go further afield to gather Skeletons for him to deploy.

After the promotion ceremony, the Skeleton Bats prostrated themselves on the ground, saluting towards the Terror Knight on the high platform.

On the high platform, Hecarim stood up, looked at the Skeleton Bats below, and raised the Terror Lance shouting, "Fragile Undead, now go and gather more Skeletons for me!"

"As you command, sire!"

The Skeleton Bats flapped their wings in salute, then circled away into the distance.

In the stage of the Skeletons, although they lacked consciousness, after they advanced, they would awaken with memories of that period.

The form of the Undead changes after each promotion, and even their personalities change with each advancement.

But for the Undead, they gladly embrace these changes.

Nothing is more important to any Undead than advancing.

After the Skeletons’ promotion ritual, it was the turn for the advancement of many Zombies.

The Zombies that survived the previous battle were undoubtedly lucky as well.

The promotion for these Lower Zombies would be conducted by Hecarim for them.

This time, these Lower Undead would advance to the Middle Rank.

Two or three hundred Zombies knelt on the ground below, waiting for the promotion to begin.

They had absorbed enough energy in the previous battle, with their strength at the Bronze Tier.

On the high platform, beside Hecarim, lay a large number of Demon Heart Cores.

Likewise, hosting the promotion ritual for so many Undead at once was a huge test for Hecarim.

However, with the Demon Heart Cores, the challenge was greatly reduced.

Hecarim held his weapon high, loudly reciting the promotion words written in the Blood Moon language, mostly phrases of commendation.

Countless Undead Runes extended like chains from his body, linking with the Zombies.

The Demon Heart Cores beside him began to levitate one by one, then were crushed.

The vast energy within was drawn by Hecarim and transformed into Death Energy.

One by one, the Zombies wailed under the continuous surge of energy.

Advancing was not an easy task; on the contrary, it was an extremely painful one.

The promotion ritual would destroy the original bodies of these lucky ones; their bodies would be torn apart by the overwhelming energy, organs sprayed out, limbs shattered.

And the new body would devour the former, during which time their forms would rapidly grow under the influence of Soul Power.