Chapter 31: Too Much

Cassian continued staring at the status panel for several moments before finally closing it.

​The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous today’s gains seemed.

​Four Elite units on the first day could perhaps be attributed to luck, exceptional, absurd luck, but luck nonetheless.

​A Commander? That was an entirely different matter.

​Cassian was confident that if one looked across the entire Astral Dominion, and even the neighboring interplanetary civilizations, there was likely not a single newly awakened Lord who possessed a Commander-class unit on their very first day within the Lord’s Domain.

​The reason was simple: Commanders were not merely stronger soldiers. They occupied an entirely different structural hierarchy.

​Every combat unit in existence was categorized into four military classifications:

​Soldier > Elite > Commander > General

​Each step represented a massive qualitative leap in existence.

​Elites could be considered the backbone of an army; Commanders were its tactical officers; Generals were its absolute pillars. The highest classification, General, was considered equivalent to a First-Order Champion in raw battlefield presence and authority.

​The gap between each class was enormous, which was why most Lords spent years trying to cultivate even a single Commander.

​Yet here he was. Day one. And he already possessed one.

​The thought brought a slow smile to Cassian’s face.

​In his previous life, he had never managed to obtain a Commander. Not once. Even after years of bitter development, and even after advancing his territory to Tier Three, the odds were simply too low.

​Even the highest-grade summoning cards did not guarantee one. In fact, drawing a Commander directly from a summoning card was an event worthy of a territory-wide celebration.

​Yet his Deathmark Commander hadn’t even been summoned as one. It had evolved.

​An ordinary Elite Skeleton Archer had risen into a Commander through battle, forced adaptation, and opportunity. Such an organic evolution was rarer than drawing one outright.

​Cassian shook his head with a short chuckle. "No matter how I look at it, that’s absurd."

​He turned his gaze back toward the graves where his injured troops were recovering.

​The Knight’s soul fire had already stabilized, the Assassin’s shattered skeletal body was slowly reconstructing itself beneath the mist, and the Tank was already showing clear signs of recovery. Nyxara herself appeared far more comfortable than before, her breathing steady and deep.

​Everything was progressing exceptionally well, but sitting around waiting wasn’t his style.

​The Graveborn Orcs still remained unconquered in the Kragmar Dominion, and after today’s near-catastrophe in the Bonefang Wastes, Cassian had zero intention of underestimating them.

​The Wastes had nearly wiped out his elite squad, and the Kragmar Dominion was several levels more dangerous. If he wanted to crush them without taking casualties, he needed more troops, stronger troops, more specialized resources, and greater military scale.

​A broad grin spread across his face as Cassian materialized his Vault interface.

​Resting inside were the specialized rewards he had stockpiled earlier from his conquests and chests:

​[Special Summoning Card ×1]

​[Support Summoning Card ×1]

​[Worker Summoning Card ×2]

​His fingers tapped lightly against his elbow as anticipation began building in his chest once more.

​Today’s summons had already granted him a Champion, four S-Potential Elites, and a Commander. Who knew what these specialized cards might bring into the Graveshade Expanse?

​Cassian walked toward the territorial summoning gate, the cards materializing directly in his palm. Their surfaces glowed faintly with necrotic energy beneath the violet light filtering through the Cemetery.

​His smile widened.

​"Let’s see what kind of surprises you’re hiding."

....

Cassian decided to begin with the Worker Summoning Cards.

​Unlike combat units, workers possessed little to no combat capability, their sole purpose was labor: mining, harvesting, construction, and transportation.

Tasks that would normally consume enormous amounts of time and effort could be resolved effortlessly with enough hands.

​Fortunately, he now possessed exactly what he needed.

​The first was a Common ★★★ Worker Summoning Card. According to its description, every single unit of mana supplied would summon nine Worker Skeletons for a duration of one minute.

​The second was a Refined ★ Worker Summoning Card, offering even greater efficiency: fifteen Worker Skeletons per unit of mana supplied, also lasting for one minute.

​Cassian didn’t hesitate, as he activated both.

​The summoning gate immediately roared to life as golden and violet energies surged through its massive frame, endless mana pouring directly into the cards.

​The first card flared.

​A moment later, the gate flashed, and nine skeletons emerged.

​They looked vastly different from his combat units, their frames were thinner and smaller, their bones lacking the dense, hardened quality of soldiers.

Their skulls were smooth and plain, devoid of intimidating features, while their fingers were unusually long and dexterous, clearly designed for handling tools rather than weapons.

​Each carried a simple bone pickaxe, shovel, or hatchet, and their soul flames burned far dimmer than normal undead, granting them a calm, obedient appearance.

​Before Cassian could inspect them further, another batch emerged.

​Then another. And another.

​The process continued relentlessly, nine skeletons, nine more, and nine more, as the gate seemed almost eager to empty its contents onto the stone floor.

​As he observed the process, Cassian noticed a subtle anomaly: the summoning interval wasn’t exactly one second. It was slightly faster, approximately nine-tenths of a second.

​His eyes brightened. "My mana output increased."

​It wasn’t a massive leap; in fact, most Lords wouldn’t even register such a minor shift. Yet Cassian caught it immediately.

​His mana output was one of the few personal attributes that could actually improve despite possessing Infinite Mana.

The volume of energy he could expel at once determined how rapidly he could utilize that limitless reserve, a slight increase today would compound into a massive advantage later.

​The realization pleased him.

​By the time the full minute elapsed, the first card finally burned out, and the gate dimmed.

​[Common ★★★ Worker Summoning Card Exhausted]

Units Summoned: 540 Worker Skeletons

​Cassian glanced over the assembled workforce. Five hundred and forty Worker Skeletons was already a total that would make most newly awakened Lords green with envy.

​Yet before he could fully appreciate the haul, the second card triggered.

​The gate brightened once more, and the summoning rate accelerated noticeably.

Workers began emerging in larger clusters, fifteen, then fifteen more, and another fifteen right behind them.

​The process continued uninterrupted until the second minute ended, and the gate finally fell quiet.

​[Refined ★ Worker Summoning Card Exhausted]

Units Summoned: 900 Worker Skeletons

​Cassian slowly surveyed the assembled workforce.

​Rows upon rows of skeletal workers stretched across the clearing of Lord’s Hollow, thousands of dim soul flames staring back at him in quiet submission, waiting, ready, and prepared to carry out whatever task their sovereign assigned.

​Cassian mentally tallied the total: 540 from the first card, plus 900 from the second.

​A grand total of 1,440 Worker Skeletons.

​The sheer scale of the crowd caused even him to pause. For a few moments, he simply stared, looking at the endless sea of white bones, then back to the number floating in his mind, and back to the workers.

​"..."

​A strange, dry expression appeared on his face.

​"This might be too much."

​The words escaped his lips unconsciously. One thousand four hundred and forty workers for a territory that currently consisted of a small home base and two conquered wild zones was excessive, absurdly excessive.

​Cassian pictured all 1,440 of them trying to mine a single ore vein simultaneously, and the mental image almost made him burst out laughing.

​Then, a broad smile spread across his face.