57 Chapter 57: Back to Bastion

I sat there, trying to comprehend the new skill bestowed upon me. Tentatively, I stuck my hand out and attempted to will the skill to activate. To my surprise, instead of the familiar clear blue ice, a dark blue, almost pitch-black ice began to materialize, spreading up and around my hand until it fully encased it. 

'This...it's almost alive' I murmured in awe as I felt a profound connection to the ice. With just a simple thought, the ice changed shape to match my desires and intentions. It swiftly transformed from a simple, primitive knife to a stunning recreation of the Statue of Liberty before melting down into a simple ball that fit neatly in my palm.

'Lets see how much I can summon' With that idea in mind, I attempted to create more Soul Ice, but to my dismay, nothing came to be. Initially, I assumed it was due to a lack of mana, but upon checking my status, I discovered that my mana was maxed out. It dawned on me that the reason must be the skill's low level. So, with that realization, I tried to melt the Soul Ice, only to be shocked when I received a resounding "No" in response to my command, originating from the connection between me and the ice.

'The hell?!' Shocked by the ice's refusal, I quickly recovered and tucked the ball of Soul Ice into the inner pocket of my cloak. With a nod to the curious Abadeer, I left him to continue his work and swiftly made my way back to Bastion. My intention was to study the Soul Ice there, but at that moment, I felt a surge of readiness to confront the vampires. It might have been ahead of schedule, but I was determined. If necessary, I would even give Marceline the vampires' essence. I refused to let them live long enough to harm any more people.

I swiftly exited the Nightosphere using the portal. Without wasting a beat, I tapped into my connection with Emma and Duke, asking them to use my summoning circle to teleport me. They acted without hesitation. Similar to the ritual to access the Nightosphere, they drew a face—my symbol, a skull—and then dripped the blood of my servants to activate the Summoning.

A portal opened in front of me, allowing me to step through it and into a large, open stone building. Several of my servants were gathered around, each offering me a salute. Among them were Emma and Duke, both appearing relatively recovered, though Duke still lacked an entire arm. However, that was not my immediate concern as I quickly requested a summary of what had occurred in my absence.

"Commander the attack of the vampires have rapidly ramped up and due to this dozens of smaller settlements and a few larger ones got wiped out but luckily the ones that survived so far quickly accepted your invitation and have moved here the only ones that didn't accept were the larger settlements with similar numbers to ours, but even then our population numbers now 23,000" Duke spoke first his words clear and consices as I soon turned to Emma for logistics who seemed excited and neverous at the same time.

"Sir, due to the population almost quintupling, food requirements were steep. However, thanks to our ranks' abilities, we were able to preserve every harvest from previous years, ensuring we have ample food to last until we can set up more farms to feed everyone. Housing has proved to be a massive problem, though it's being quickly addressed. However, I must ask the commander to address the people, as morale is sitting pretty low. We haven't suppressed the news of the fall of other settlements, and the only thing keeping morale up is the knowledge that our ranks possess magic. Even then, recruitment sits at a high 20%, though we haven't accepted any new recruits as we've just assimilated the guards from other settlements, bringing our fighting rank to 2000..." Emma's report continued, Until she began said something that caught my attention.

"The council? What do you mean by council?" I interrupted Emma upon hearing about the summons by a council I knew nothing of.

"Sir, the mayor accepted your request to become the leader, but the leaders from other settlements couldn't accept having 'someone they've never seen' as the sole leader," Emma explained, prompting me to enter a thoughtful pose before responding.

"I see. Arrange a meeting with the council. I will address their concerns and assure them of my capabilities as a leader. Meanwhile, continue with the current plans to address food and housing shortages. We must also maintain morale among our ranks. And as for recruitment, I'm sure Duke can handle it.

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[Name: Brook. D .Newport]

[Race: Undead]

[Species: Withering skeleton warrior]

[Class: Death Knight{Frost}]

[Rank: 2]

[Level: 43](1,004,332/2,000,000)

[Health: 342/342]

[Mana points: 98/98]

[Stat points: 0]

[Strength: 115]

[Endurance: 114]

[Agility: 114]

[Wisdom: 49]

[Intelligence: 49]

[skills: [Scrutinize: Lv Max], [Frost Strike: Lv Max] [Chains of Ice: Lv Max] [Permafrost: Lv Max], [Cold Breath: Lv Max], [Frozen Fortitude: Lv Max],[Chilled Servitude: Lv 6], [Glacial Dread: Lv 8], [Desolate aura: Lv 1], [Vitality steal: Lv 1], [Soul Ice]

[Note: Finally]

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