Chapter 58: Equipping The Army

Cassian ultimately decided against fusing the skills.

​The reason was simple: skill fusion was unpredictable.

​When skills fused together, the original abilities were completely destroyed, and there was zero guarantee what the resulting skill would become.

​The Deathmark Commander was the perfect example of this double-edged sword.

Back when it was merely an Elite Skeleton Archer, it possessed [Deathmark Sight]—an ability capable of identifying structural weaknesses within an opponent. It was an excellent skill: simple, reliable, and versatile.

​Yet after being used as a primary component during fusion, that skill had vanished entirely.

In its place came [Death Shot]—a vastly more powerful ability, but also a far more specialized one.

​Cassian couldn’t deny how absurdly potent it was. The ability to siphon sixty times the life force invested into an attack from a single target was downright broken.

Even for an undead creature possessing only false vitality, the skill bordered on unfair.

​Yet despite its power, it possessed a glaring tactical limitation: one shot, one target.

​Against a powerful individual champion, [Death Shot] was terrifying. Against an advancing army? Its strategic value dropped considerably.

​A war wasn’t always decided by who possessed the strongest single attack, sometimes versatility mattered far more. Which was why Cassian chose restraint.

​Skill fusion would remain an option, a powerful one, but not something he intended to use recklessly. At least not until he understood its exact mechanics better.

​"It’s never bad to have a trump card," Cassian muttered, a small smile touching his lips.

​By this point, he had accumulated quite a few.

​Regression was naturally his ultimate trump card. No matter how desperate a situation became, the blessing granted him an absolute second chance.

Then there was [Last Stand] from the Gravewall Commander, a skill that could pull a unit back from the brink of total destruction once every day.

​And now... there was Skill Fusion: an unpredictable weapon capable of producing results even a regressor couldn’t fully anticipate.

​Dangerous. Mysterious. Potentially devastating.

​It was exactly the kind of hidden card he preferred keeping in reserve. The more he analyzed the possibilities, the more expectant he became.

Fusion wasn’t merely about synthesizing stronger summons, it was about creating wildcards that no one else within the Lord’s Domain could replicate.

​A slow, sharp grin spread across his face. Tomorrow’s war was becoming more and more interesting.

​Still, his organizational work with the summons was finally complete.

​Cassian’s gaze swept over the assembled vanguard one last time: the Workers, the specialized support units, the Special Elites, and the Elite Soldiers led by their new Commanders.

​Every division had been systematically organized, every troop had been strengthened, and the core foundation of his legion had been laid.

​Now, it was time for the next step.

​Equipment.

​Unlike summons, gearing an army was straightforward. There was no need for extensive guesswork, no complicated evolutionary trees, and no difficult decisions.

He already knew precisely what every unit required: weapons, armor, tower shields, spectral arrows, and alchemical potions.

​Everything needed to transform a disciplined army into a terrifying war machine.

​Fortunately, he had prepared for this exact moment. A massive stockpile of bulk-purchased gear waited inside his Vault.

​Cassian cracked his neck, his blue eyes gleaming with quiet intensity.

​"Let’s finish this."

​With a wave of his hand, mountain ranges of armaments materialized across the clearing.

​The final stage of pre-war preparation had begun.

....

After spending 360,000 Lord Coins on summoning cards, Cassian had been left with ∆707,892.

​And he had not hesitated to spend almost all of it.

​By the time he finished purchasing equipment, materials, and raw resources, only a tiny fraction remained. A staggering ∆706,840 Lord Coins had been poured directly into preparing his army.

​Cassian didn’t regret a single coin.

​Strength that remained sitting in one’s account was merely a number; strength placed into an army became absolute power.

​His gaze swept across the assembled undead. Excluding the worker units, his current combat forces consisted of:

​2,006 Special Units

​641 Elite Soldiers

​92 Support Units

​1 Champion

​A total of 2,740 combat units.

​Compared to Chief Morghanna’s force of over a hundred thousand warriors, it was laughably small, barely three percent of the Kragmar Dominion’s total military strength.

​Yet Cassian remained completely unbothered.

​Numbers alone meant very little at this margin. He knew precisely what kind of monsters stood beneath his banner.

​An ordinary Elite Soldier could already slaughter multiple Orc warriors on its own, while the Commanders were exponentially worse. As for Nyxara... she alone was worth a small army.

​And once the Death Chanters layered their wide-area battlefield buffs and debuffs over the entire legion, the combat effectiveness of his troops would skyrocket even further.

​This army wasn’t merely sufficient, it was lethal.

​Still, Cassian had no intention of relying solely on their innate strength. Preparation before war was never excessive.

​So, he began equipping them.

​The fusion process for armaments was considerably simpler than synthesizing summons. Large quantities of Common-Grade equipment were fused repeatedly until they reached the Elite Grade.

​By the end of the process, every single Elite Soldier had been fully outfitted with Three-Star (★★★) Elite-Grade Bone Armor and specialized Bone Weapons:

​The Skeleton Knights received reinforced plate armor and heavy warhammers.

​The Archers were equipped with specialized compound bows and endless quivers.

​The Assassins received lightweight shadow-weave armor and deadly, silent daggers.

​The Tanks obtained massive tower shields and protective plating capable of withstanding tremendous physical impact.

​The Special Units received even more customized loadouts. Unlike standard soldiers, they possessed wildly different physiques, some had claws, some possessed wings, others relied on natural bone weapons, and others still wielded unique forms of combat.

​As a result, their gear varied greatly: specialized body armor, claw enhancements, custom armaments, wing guards, and tail plating. Every piece was tailored specifically to the summon receiving it.

​Yet despite their physical differences, they all shared one thing in common: every single item was Elite-Grade ★★★ Equipment.

​The Special Units immediately became far more intimidating after being fully outfitted, their dark auras sharpening beneath the metallic sheen.

​However, Cassian did not bother equipping the Support Units with the same tier of gear.

​There was simply no point. The Death Chanters and Death Speakers rarely engaged enemies in direct hand-to-hand combat; even if he handed them Elite ★★★ staves, the increase to their casting efficiency would be negligible.

Their abilities had already surpassed what standard Elite equipment could meaningfully enhance.

​Only Rare-Grade Equipment would provide a noticeable boost to their casting output.

​The same was true for the Commanders. Elite ★★★ gear was simply beneath them, their inherent power had already exceeded what such equipment was designed to support.

​Fortunately, Cassian possessed a solution.

​Before this mass fusion session, he had already forged equipment worthy of Commander-Class summons.

Not for all of them—not yet—but for two of his Commanders, he already possessed suitable armaments.

​And those items... were far more impressive than anything the rest of the army currently carried.

....

A/N: And that wraps up the final Chapters of the month!

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