At a manor outside the royal capital, the thick stench of blood could be smelled before one even approached.
This had originally been one of Eight Fingers' operations for cultivating unspeakable herbs.
But now, the entire ground had been dyed red, and an evil, mysterious blood formation lay upon it.
It seemed to have been branded directly into the earth.
Fresh corpses were tossed into the formation one after another. They then turned into bloody mist at a visible rate and merged into it, making its color even more vivid.
"Ha ha, that should be enough! Revive, my precious!"
As the Lord of Bones cried out excitedly and the ground trembled, a Bone Dragon brimming with majesty tore out of the earth.
The boundless dragon's might made the surrounding air seem to freeze solid.
The Reincarnators who had helped the Lord of Bones prepare the ritual also revealed expressions of awe and fervor.
This was their team leader, capable of commanding a Bone Dragon!
"Skeleton, even now, can you only command one?"
At that moment, a somewhat lazy voice drifted over. A cloaked, masked figure appeared beyond the manor.
"Hmph, I can command a second one, but it would affect my own performance. The gains wouldn't outweigh the losses."
The Lord of Bones snorted, yet he still seemed somewhat wary of the newcomer.
"You cleared out too many of the captured Reincarnators at once. That wasn't part of the plan."
The newcomer's tone remained languid, as though he were merely offering a reminder and some advice.
"They would have had to die sooner or later anyway. Better to make use of the trash. Going by the natives' standards, the Kingdom and Crimson Rose won't just stand idly by."
After a pause, the Lord of Bones lowered his voice, apparently compelled