Spoils of War

Malakai shook his head with a regretful expression. "No, unfortunately, I don't think my power will affect his body since he's still alive. However, it will work if I kill him and then zombify him."

The large goblin continued to tremble incessantly.

Eamon looked at the goblin and said, "Don't be afraid. I've already told you, I'll keep you alive and well."

Then, turning to Malakai, he asked, "Does your power work on the ghouls?"

Malakai replied, "I haven't had a chance to test it yet."

Eamon nodded. "You will practice later with the goblin ghouls. We have more than enough for you to get the hang of it. In the meantime, go to the pile of body parts and familiarize yourself with your power."

Eamon added abruptly, "But don't touch the pile with the intact bodies. Go now; I'll call you with the others shortly."

Malakai agreed. "I'll go right away."

He paused, gesturing to the prostrate goblin. "And what about the goblin chief?"

Eamon responded, "Leave him here with me for a few minutes."

He lowered his gaze to the goblin and asked, "By the way... Do you have a name?"

The goblin replied, looking up to Eamon's knees, "No, no names for us. Only titles or physical descriptions. The others call me chief, but it's madness since no one can be a chief without the great god's permission."

The goblin immediately lowered his eyes to the ground after speaking.

Eamon looked at him and said, "You've been scared ever since I first saw you."

Glancing around at the ghouls and the bloody piles of corpses, he continued, "Which is not surprising given the circumstances. I've decided to call you Scaredy."

The goblin replied, "Thank you, great god."

Eamon turned his attention back to Malakai, who was already moving towards the pile of limbs and organs. He observed as Malakai extended his hands, the power of suture manifesting as dark tendrils that reached out towards the body pieces.

Malakai looked back at Eamon, his expression a mix of concentration and satisfaction.

Eamon smiled slightly before thinking about what he still needed to do.

He commanded, "Don't lie there. Stand up, Scaredy."

The goblin stood but avoided Eamon's gaze. Eamon didn't care.

Eamon asked, "There were others of my kind with you. Where are they?"

Scaredy hesitated before responding, "Your horro..." He stopped abruptly, glancing at Eamon before nervously stuttering, "Your gracious servants have immobilized them along with my kind over there."

He pointed to where the goblins were gathered. Concentrating, Eamon could indeed see several men and women lying face down among the goblins. He approached the prisoners, Scaredy following closely behind.

The ghouls stepped aside for him, and he quickly counted the human prisoners. "There are only eight," Eamon exclaimed.

He called out to Roxy and Fred, who were nearby, "Are there no other human prisoners?"

Roxy spoke in his mind, "No other human prisoners. Four dead. Two full bodies in pile, and only bits left of others in other pile."

Eamon responded aloud, "But that makes twelve people, thirteen if we count their lord. Fred, you told me there were fifteen humans in total."

Fred replied, "Master, we haven't found any trace of the other two humans. Cassandra searched but didn't find any other goblins or humans nearby, so I thought it best to gather all the prisoners here as you instructed."

Eamon nodded without saying anything.

Fred continued, "I will go search for them immediately."

Eamon considered the fact that the missing individuals were mere humans. Capturing them wasn't crucial since he already had human prisoners who could answer his questions.

Eamon said, "No, you did well, Fred. Stay here."

A captive man who had overheard their conversation glanced at Eamon before a goblin ghoul roughly pressed his face to the ground. Eamon quickly looked at the scene but didn't react. He didn't have time to deal with the prisoners now.

He turned swiftly to Scaredy, who dared not stray far from him. "I'll have other questions for you later," Eamon said, "but for now, I have fresh corpses to deal with. Stay close and observe."

Scaredy bowed his head before declaring, "Of course, great god, I will stay here with you. I am at your service."

As he approached the bloody piles of intact bodies, Eamon praised Roxy. "I wanted to thank you, Roxy. You did an excellent job with your ghouls."

Roxy chirped joyfully, communicating in Eamon's mind, "Roxy good!"

Eamon wanted to use the freshness of the corpses to enhance his troops now. He approached the pile of intact bodies and spoke loudly for all his creatures to hear, "Cassandra, Fred, Malakai, Elliott, and Roxy, come and stay close to me!"

They gathered, all looking excited and eager, except for Elliott, who didn't understand what was happening and whose expression remained indecipherable on his skeletal face.

Eamon noted there were at least two hundred bodies. He wasn't sure if his creatures could handle the energy contained in so many corpses. He chose to evolve more troops this time to reduce the risk.

He ordered, "Roxy, command the ghoul eagle to come closer and choose one of the goblin ghouls as well. Pick the one that you consider the most promising."

Without Roxy making any visible gesture, the ghoul eagle positioned itself beside her. Roxy then scanned the ghouls guarding the goblins, her eyes settling on one with a thicker, more muscular body and a more intelligent, vicious look. The goblin ghoul was covered in blood.

A silent exchange took place, and the creature quickly approached and knelt at Roxy's feet. Roxy looked up at Eamon.

Eamon nodded. "Good choice, let's begin."

He had never used his powers on so many corpses at once and hoped it would work. He bent over the pile of bodies and placed his hand on one of the corpses.

A torrent of energy, more intense than he'd ever felt, surged from the bodies like a flood. The energy was almost tangible, coursing into the bodies of his summons.

Their bodies cracked under the power of the energy. Roxy and Malakai, being the most physically robust, didn't move, but Fred fell to one knee. Cassandra and Elliott collapsed, convulsing, while the ghoul eagle and the goblin ghoul lost consciousness as their skin split, releasing putrescent fluid.

Scaredy, watching the scene, fell to his knees.

Several goblins raised their heads, some even trying to flee in terror, but the ghouls guarding them slammed their heads back to the ground, delivering violent blows accompanied by the sound of breaking bones to the few who resisted.

As the energy penetrated Eamon's elite troops, they underwent transformations. The eagle's body grew larger, its beak becoming harder and sharper, and its talons lengthened. Elliott's skeletal frame ignited, then expanded and widened before the flames subsided. The goblin ghoul's body grew to the size of an adult human. Eamon noted she was a female as her muscles and chest developed and her neck, shoulders, and hips widened. Her black hair lengthened to reach her hips.

The other creatures evolved as well. Roxy's eyes enlarged and her jaw widened. The blue reflections on Malakai's body intensified, and his skin appeared more resistant. Fred, who had been kneeling, stood up, his upper canines lengthening and his lower jaw cracking to accommodate the fangs, releasing black blood.

Only Cassandra's body didn't evolve, but her tremors ceased, and she slowly got up.

Eamon, managing the energy flow, was exhausted. He couldn't continue; his body needed rest and energy. He sat down, unable to maintain his transmission power any longer.

He was so tired... But he resisted sleep. Most of the bodies in the pile were withered and dried up, but there were still about fifty intact corpses.

Eamon activated his absorption power and felt the euphoric yet painful sensation of over fifty bodies transmitting their energy and attributes into his own. He cried out in joy as the energy filled him, then screamed in pain as his skin cracked and the ground became stained with his blood.

He saw several messages appear in his field of vision before falling into unconsciousness.

<Congratulations, your creature has evolved.>

<Congratulations, your creature has evolved.>

<Congratulations, your creature has evolved.>

<Your intelligence attribute and your summons are powerful enough for Necromancer rank to be increased.>