Lilith stood before the dark entrance of the Bone House, feeling the chill radiating from within. She had to admit that Lysandra was right to suggest placing it at the very edge of the territory, near the forest.
Although succubi were demonic beings, their nature relied on life energy and desire, while the undead were their absolute polar opposite. Skeletons required no food or water, but they were not perpetual motion machines. Instead of calories, their bones required constant saturation with necromantic energy.
The Bone House functioned as a gargantuan battery - it generated the dark aura that allowed them to "walk." Had Lilith placed this building right next to the main altar, the blood-chilling atmosphere and the constant rattling of bones would have quickly driven the other units to madness or tainted their own energy.
Lysandra, standing beside Mina and Kala - who had retreated to a safe distance - observed the structure with cold analysis. She knew that as a Succubus Monarch, Lilith was subject to certain restrictions. Because she was summoning units that did not match her primary race, the System had imposed a hard limit of one hundred.
However, that number could grow - the key was synergy. The more necromantic buildings she erected in the future, the stronger their collective bonuses would be and the higher the summon limit. It was a game of building "combos," where the right proximity of structures created powerful buffs for the entire army.
Lilith, however, was not thinking of future synergies now. Her gaze was drowned in the glowing summoning interface.
[AVAILABLE UNIT: SKELETON SOLDIER]
Level 1: Normal.
Summon Cost: 5 Gold / Piece.
Seeing that number, Lilith smiled predatorily, her night-black hair rippling slightly. I didn't imagine it would be so ridiculously cheap... she thought, feeling an almost physical sense of satisfaction.
If any other Demon King had heard those words, they would likely have vomited blood from envy. Most players were stuck in territories where every single coin went toward fighting the hunger of their units, buying food at inflated prices from traders like Lilith. She, however, thanks to her race that fed on energy and a territory full of edible beasts, had amassed a fortune that currently made her one of the richest players in the entire system.
Without a shadow of hesitation, Lilith slid the counter to the very end, setting it to the maximum value.
"Summon: 100," she murmured, clicking the "YES" button.
In an instant, 500 gold vanished from her account, which for her was a mere pittance. The Bone House reacted immediately. The green glow inside the skulls forming the roof flared blindingly, and a thick, freezing smoke began to pour from the dark entrance.
From the interior came a rising sound - thousands of dry thuds of bone hitting bone.
From the dark interior of the Bone House, the first skeleton emerged. Its bones were faded, almost chalky white, and in its bony hand, it brandished a curved, notched saber that looked as if it had been fashioned from hardened calcium. Right behind it came a second, a third, a tenth... the undead emerged slowly, stumbling over the threshold and looking around with empty sockets in an expression of complete bewilderment.
Lilith observed the scene with a raised eyebrow. After about four minutes, a full hundred white skeletons stood before the building. They looked comical, turning their heads in every direction like lost tourists, clashing their sabers together and not knowing what to do with themselves.
"Assemble!" Lilith commanded tentatively, wanting to see if they even understood her.
The effect was instantaneous. As if struck by an invisible wand, the skeleton soldiers abandoned their gawking and immediately began to form ranks. They weren't exactly the perfectly straight lines seen in military parades, but they stood in relatively orderly rows, sabers held vertically.
Well, they certainly aren't burdened by intelligence, Lilith thought, seeing one of the skeletons still trying to adjust its shinbone, which had gone crooked while snapping to attention.
Lysandra approached, her silvery hair shimmering against the backdrop of the dark structure. "While they lack the wit for complex tasks, their greatest virtue is absolute obedience," she explained, measuring the army with a cold gaze. "They do not fear, they do not tire, they need no motivation, and they are ridiculously cheap. On the battlefield, they are ideal cannon fodder, and in times of peace - an excellent labor force for the heaviest physical work."
Lilith nodded, looking at the Bone House interface. A new message regarding logistics had appeared:
[BONE HOUSE MAINTENANCE COST]
[The building generates the necromantic energy required to sustain 100 units.]
Average cost: 5 Gold per day.
[DO YOU WISH TO ENABLE AUTOMATIC DEDUCTION FROM THE LORD'S BUDGET?]
"Five gold a day?" Lilith raised her eyebrows, then quickly clicked "YES." "Lysandra, that's practically for free. A hundred workers who don't sleep, don't eat, and will never ask for a raise or time off... that's a pretty fair deal."
With over four thousand gold in reserve, the cost of five coins a day was like a grain of sand on a beach. She could maintain this army for years without selling a single additional bird.
Lysandra turned from the interface and looked at the motionless, quietly rattling skeletons. A cold, professional expression settled on her beautiful face.
"Now that the logistics are settled, it's time to stop wasting their time," Lysandra said, pointing to the forest wall and the piles of unworked stone in the ruins. "We can assign them tasks now."
Lilith smiled, feeling her role as Monarch had just moved to a higher level. She no longer had to get her own hands dirty with timber.
Lilith stood before her new army, squaring her shoulders and assuming the proud posture of a Monarch. Her wavy black hair shimmered in the gloom as she began to divide the hundred bone soldiers into smaller squads, pointing her talon at specific groups.
"Alright, you fifty!" she shouted, pointing at the largest group. "Go over there!" She waved her hand toward the dense forest. "Look for the largest stones and boulders you can carry, then bring them back here, right to the border of the territory. Understood?"
The skeletons, despite their lack of brains, reacted in sync, moving toward the trees with a hollow rattle of joints. Lilith immediately turned to the next group of twenty-five undead.
"You follow them. Your task is to fell trees. Every tree that stands in your way is to be brought down!" she commanded. The skeletons tightened their grip on their bone sabers and wordlessly marched toward the first trunk that rose before them.
Finally, Lilith looked at the last group of twenty-five, standing motionless and waiting for their turn.
"And you... you follow the woodcutters. Your task is to lop the branches off the fallen trees and bring the clean logs here, next to the stone area. Get to work!"
The last group moved uncertainly forward. Lilith watched their departing silhouettes and suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. One of the skeletons tripped over a protruding root and nearly fell into its companion, while others bumped shoulders every few steps, walking in a strange, uncoordinated formation.
"Are you sure they'll manage?" she asked quietly, watching the shaky procession. "They look like they're about to fall apart just from walking, let alone physical labor..."
Lysandra, standing right beside her, smiled faintly at her Lady's concern.
"They should be fine, Lilith," she replied in a reassuring tone, though a hint of cynicism tinged her voice. "Even if they accidentally kill each other by dropping boulders on themselves or felling trunks onto their own skulls, it's no loss. We can always summon them back for those measly few gold pieces. They are a renewable resource, nothing more."
Lilith nodded, accepting the pragmatic argument. The fact that she could replace any fallen worker in seconds took a massive weight of responsibility off her shoulders.
"You're right. Since they don't feel pain, let them work," Lilith murmured, turning away from the forest.