When the Bouw Boy disappeared on horseback and with enough supplies for their journey, I looked at the dead bodies on the ground and sighed a bit dismayed.

“I probably should have asked him to take care of this before he had left. Wild beasts will devour them while bugs and other insects will infest them. I’d much prefer not to deal with rot and pestilence as of tonight.”

Glancing over my shoulder and judging my immediate surroundings, I took one final look over the bodies and came to a reasonable conclusion.

One breath in. One breath out.

The forest responded in kind, another haunting chill whispered itself in the air, silencing all those around and the darkness of the night—but even blacker than itself manifested and seeped within the fallen ones.

The sound of the living dead arose from within the slumbers of their chest as I perpetuated the death mana at a faster and larger rate than their ordinary feeble bodies could muster.

“Might as well have you clean up yourselves,” I said.

While I was no expert Necromancer—and actually preferred the beauty of recreating my own kind—these folks did not deserve such treatment, so instead, their bodies, donned armor and weaponry were put to further use.

One by one they stood up and gave me a total of seven fresh Ghouls.

Not so bad.

They were much faster and agile than your average Zombie.

Not to mention since they only died recently, their bodies still hadn’t gone under much rot and degradation. Which actually made for a good undead. I could have just used their skeletons, but some flesh didn’t hurt and actually added a layer of protection and weight.

What was left was giving them a directive.

“All of you will be guarding the perimeter of this forest and will make your dwelling here. Take notice of new arrivals but do not attack until I give the signal.”

One of them, the ‘Sir Knight’ which made me wonder if he was actually named Knight—if so, bad naming choice or an excellent one, if his parents seemingly insisted on his career path—made a groan which sounded like a yes, before he proceeded to walk into the forest, followed by the rest which filled me with satisfaction.

Maybe they’d lose an eye or two if there was a nasty owl that they’d disturb and spook, but other than that, it was far better than rot.

Far better to take any unsuspecting visitors by surprise.

And also who knew if I would have more guests?

There should be enough room for hospitality depending on who I may encounter.

There were those who tolerated my kind, allies and others, such that attacking everything on sight did not make sense.

Once I finished giving the rest of the new orders, I glanced at the remaining frightened horses. They had been silent since their owners became undead, but no matter. I had no interest in turning them undead.

Instead, with my mind’s eye, I checked the stables for any stages of decay, and then teleported the horses there, arranged food and water, before returning into the main room where I was first found by those two women.

I sank down into one of the couches and rubbed the back of my neck.

Now that it was all over… I was feeling.

Rather… rather something.

There was a sensation in my chest, which I couldn’t fully express or identify.

It was strange, and I knew that I possibly should have detested it.

Much preferable to hate and rip this ‘sensation’ out of my chest, tugging and yanking it out before it was too late but I allowed it to linger with a grin of disbelief.

“That… that was out of character,” I said but then shook my head, defending myself.

“No, they were trespassers. I would have responded the same way whether or not those two women were under my protection…”

Protection?

“Servitude.” I amended my statement. “And that messenger was to bring back more appropriate enemies to deal with, and make my kind be known again. But mostly to acquire goods…”

I blinked at a silent thump, realized that I was resting a hand on my chest, and quickly dropped it away. “Just because she has shown you an ounce of kindness does not mean anything.” I sneered. “It is because she believes that she can fix you and that you have a ‘heart’—she is not of the right mind.”

Seer or not, that Eleanor was not omniscient enough to understand what was actually happening.

Well, neither did I exactly.

But she was wrong.

My gaze lingered on the floor for a moment, focusing on the golden chains that once encased around my coffin. It was a mystery why they haven’t actually simply tried to burn the entire place down the ground with righteous fire and purification spells—not that it was going to be an easy feat.

What actually happened to the Golden Order?

Whoever used those chains only attempted a half-hearted effort if their intention was to restrict me from entering this realm once more.

I was alive, conscious again and it was time for me to make my presence known again—I pulled up to my feet and decided to walk it off.

“He told me that it would take a couple of weeks, he had no special riding Skills, which would give me ample time to prepare. Do a little inventory check and redo all the wards and even increase security.”

While I could check most of it through sensing alone, and do it from the comfort of my seat, there was still nothing better than seeing things for myself with my own two eyes.

I stepped out of the door and then found a woman seated outside one of the rooms in the corridor. Rose was leaning her back against the door, head bowing slightly as if she was drifting off to sleep.

Until her head snapped up when my presence alerted her.

A deep frown curled over her lips as she spoke to me.

“You…”

Her magic slightly stirred in the air, presumably for my expense.

“...yes, me?”