18 The Birth of the Spirit Horde
Kael's fingers twitched, his breath steady as he stared down the approaching zombie. Its grotesque, half-decayed body twitched unnaturally, glowing red under the cursed moon's light.
The sound of its rattling breath echoed through the dimly lit building as it dragged its twisted limbs forward, its jaws snapping mindlessly.
Kael's lips curled slightly.
This would be his first true test of a Spirit Summon.
His eyes flickered to his Elite Zombie Spirit.
The hunched figure stood eerily still, its glowing blue eyes burning in the darkness, waiting for an order.
"Kill it," Kael commanded.
The Elite Zombie Spirit moved instantly.
A blur of unnatural speed.
It lunged at the incoming zombie, covering the distance in a second, its decayed hands wrapping around its victim's throat.
Then—
A sickening crunch.
The Elite Zombie Spirit bit into the zombie's skull, its jaw clamping down with monstrous strength.
CRACK!
The entire head separated from the body, flesh and bone ripped apart like fragile paper.
Kael's eyes widened.
The zombie corpse crumpled to the ground, lifeless—completely overwhelmed in mere seconds.
Kael barely had time to process it before his spirit turned toward the entrance, where more zombies poured in.
Without waiting for another order, the Elite Zombie Spirit charged.
The next zombie barely had time to react before it was torn apart.
Its chest cavity exploded outward, its ribs snapping like dry twigs as the Elite Zombie Spirit ripped it open with its claws.
Another tried to lunge, only to be grabbed by the throat and slammed into the floor, its skull caving in upon impact.
Then another.
And another.
Kael stood frozen, his hand gripping the metal rod tightly, his mouth slightly open as he watched.
It was a massacre.
The zombies weren't even standing a chance.
Kael hadn't moved a muscle.
And yet—
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
.
.
.
His system interface flooded with notifications, each one announcing another kill.
Kael's heart pounded in his chest.
He wasn't even lifting a finger—and yet, he was gaining experience nonstop.
"Holy shit…" Kael murmured.
This was insane.
This was beyond efficient.
It was…
"A free farming machine," Kael muttered, his lips curling into an excited grin.
The zombies kept charging into the building, as if blind to their slaughter.
His Elite Zombie Spirit tore through them mercilessly, crushing bones, tearing limbs, and ripping off heads with an unnatural brutality.
Kael watched, amazed—then his mind snapped to another realization.
The spirits… the spirits of these zombies.
He could collect them.
Kael moved fast.
As his Elite Zombie Spirit continued its carnage, Kael knelt beside the freshly fallen corpses.
He reached out, his fingers grazing their decayed flesh.
"Collect."
Immediately, a dark mist swirled from the corpses, vanishing into Kael's hands.
[System Notification: Lesser Zombie Spirit collected.]
[System Notification: Lesser Zombie Spirit collected.]
[System Notification: Lesser Zombie Spirit collected.]
It worked.
Kael grinned.
But then—he noticed something strange.
The living zombies ignored his summoned Zombies first and only attacked in response.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
They didn't react to his summon at all.
I guess they cannot sense them as they aren't alive in the first place and only responds as they are attacked.
A cold realization sank in.
To them, his Elite Zombie Spirit didn't exist.
That meant—
Kael's mind raced with possibilities.
If the zombies couldn't see his summons, then they were perfect weapons.
Kael's grip on his metal rod tightened.
His gaze flickered to the collected spirits in his interface.
"Let's see how many I can summon."
Kael summoned the first zombie spirit.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Soon, a dozen ghostly figures stood beside him, their glowing blue eyes flickering in the darkness.
Kael's heartbeat quickened.
This…
This was incredible.
The Elite Zombie Spirit stood at the front, but now—it wasn't alone.
The zombie spirits Kael had summoned charged forward, crashing into the incoming horde of undead.
A battle of the dead unfolded before him.
The zombie spirits tore through the regular zombies, their movements fluid, their attacks merciless.
Each kill flooded Kael's system with experience.
Each spirit he collected, he summoned again.
Soon—
The undead army Kael controlled equaled the number of zombies still attacking.
And then—
The scales tipped.
Kael's spirits overwhelmed the enemy, killing them twice as fast as they arrived.
His Elite Zombie Spirit led the charge, its strength unmatched, leaving carnage in its wake.
Kael watched in awe.
His small army was winning.
He hadn't even lifted a weapon.
And yet—
His experience was skyrocketing.
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
[System Notification: You have killed a Lesser Zombie! +20 XP]
.
.
.
It only took a few minutes.
Then—
The last zombie fell.
Silence.
Kael stood still, staring at the blood-soaked building.
Corpses littered the floor.
And in front of him—
His zombie spirits stood in perfect formation, their glowing blue eyes locked onto him.
Waiting for their next order.
Kael's breath came slow.
A cold chill ran down his spine.
He had done this.
He had created an army.
Checking His Storage
Kael swallowed, pulling up his Spirit Storage.
[Spirit Storage: 32/100 filled.]
He had collected 32 spirits already.
A third of his maximum capacity.
He could create more.
So much more.
His gaze flickered to the Spirit Synthesis option.
For a moment, he considered it.
But then—he shook his head.
No.
He had limited slots available.
If he was going to combine spirits, he needed something stronger than just basic zombies.
He needed another Elite Zombie.
Or something even stronger.
Kael turned toward the doorway.
As he stepped outside, his zombie spirits followed without hesitation.
Like phantoms of the dead, they moved in unison, their glowing blue eyes flickering in the red moon's light.