Necromancer: Kingdom Building with My Legion of Undead Knights

Darion had sent Garren, several senior knights, and the carpenters away earlier that day. Their task was simple: find out how much the timber would cost. Not just timber either, any wood, planks, beams, posts, or construction materials that would eventually be needed for the livestock project.

There was no point discussing construction endlessly if they didn’t know the actual prices. The sooner they got those numbers, the sooner Darion could decide how quickly the rebuilding would move forward.

Until then, there wasn’t much for him to do. For once. Which was a surprisingly rare thing these days. So he decided to rest a bit.

So Darion found himself sitting inside the great hall with a book in his hands. The book itself wasn’t particularly exciting, at least not at first glance.

It had been recommended by Garren several days ago, one of the old books that had somehow survived Percvale’s decline. Most of the books that remained weren’t magical tomes or military manuals. They were records, histories, accounts of previous rulers and events that had happened throughout the region.

This particular one focused on neighboring territories and old alliances.

Darion slowly turned another page. Apparently a Baron two hundred years ago had nearly started a war because someone insulted his horse. Darion stared at the page, then read it again. He had not misunderstood. The man had threatened military action because another noble claimed his horse looked stupid.

”Medieval nobles are insane,” Darion muttered.

Imagine starting a war because someone insulted your horse. If that was the case Darion would have obliterated the Emperor’s castle because of how they treated him there.

He continued reading. Several more pages later, he found himself reading about trade agreements, border disputes, marriages between noble families, and various events that honestly sounded less important than the horse incident.

Which was exactly when footsteps echoed through the castle.

Darion looked up. The sound came from the entrance. A moment later, Seren appeared. She walked through the doorway and headed directly toward the great hall.

Darion immediately brightened, not dramatically, just enough that someone paying attention would notice.

The hunting trip had been on his mind more than he cared to admit. After all, this was the archers’ first proper hunt. The first time they were going into the forest without him. The first time they would be dealing with moving targets, unpredictable terrain, and all the dangers that came with it.

So seeing Seren walk through the door was already a good sign.

His lips curved slightly. ”So you survived.”

Seren immediately narrowed her eyes. For a brief moment, she looked as though she was deciding whether to roll them. Then she answered with a completely straight face. ”Everyone survived.”

Darion blinked, then nodded. ”That’s nice to hear.”

And it genuinely was. For a second there, he had expected something else, something less pleasant, something beginning with ”Well...” and ending with ”We lost someone.” Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

His mind drifted backward. The first hunting expedition he had ever gone on with Percvale’s knights hadn’t exactly been clean.

Three knights had died. He still remembered it like it was today: the venomous snakes, the chaos, the deaths. Of course, those same knights had later become undead and had ended up playing important roles in Percvale’s future victories.

The Venomous Knights had participated in the infiltration of Valdenmoor, helped spread the venomous bats, and contributed to the war effort. But that didn’t change the fact that they had died first.

Hunting wasn’t safe. It never had been. People tended to forget that when hunts went well. When everyone returned carrying meat and laughing around campfires, it was easy to imagine hunting as some exciting adventure. It wasn’t. The forest didn’t care whether someone was a knight or a peasant. A single mistake could kill anyone.

Which was why Darion had been worried when Seren proposed taking the archers. Not terrified, just worried. The archers were talented, but talent didn’t stop accidents. And because this was their first hunt, he had fully expected at least the possibility of casualties. That was one of the reasons he had insisted on sending knights with them. Even then, he hadn’t been entirely convinced.

Yet from what Seren was saying, everything had gone perfectly, or at least perfectly enough that nobody had died. That alone was already a success.

Darion set the book down. ”That’s good to hear.”

Seren shrugged. ”It went well.”

Darion raised an eyebrow. ”Did you manage to kill a Bogart?”

He asked it casually, mostly because he knew Bogarts occasionally appeared in that region of forest. If they had managed to bring one down, it would have been impressive.

Seren gave him a look. Then she scoffed. The sound immediately made Darion suspicious.

”What?”

Seren folded her arms. ”Well...”

Darion leaned forward slightly.

A faint smile appeared on her face, the kind of smile that usually meant she knew something he didn’t. ”Come outside and see what we got.”

Darion frowned. That response alone told him quite a bit. Apparently the hunt had been significantly more successful than he originally assumed. Maybe they had brought back several deer. Possibly even a Bogart. Whatever it was, Seren clearly seemed pleased with herself, which immediately made him curious. Very curious.

Darion stood from his chair. The book was forgotten instantly. ”Now you’re making me curious.”

The two left the great hall together, their footsteps echoing through the corridors as they headed toward the castle entrance. As they walked, Darion found himself making guesses. A few deer? Maybe. A large boar? Possible. A Bogart? Likely, considering Seren’s reaction. Whatever it was, it clearly exceeded expectations.

The closer they got to the doors, the more curious he became.

Eventually Seren reached the entrance. She pushed the door open, and bright afternoon light spilled inside. Then she stepped aside.

Darion walked forward. And stepped outside.

The moment he saw what was waiting in the courtyard, his eyes widened, very widely. He surprised at what he was seeing.