For the next three days, Lark allocated all of his time to creating the Blackstone Knights. There were failed creations every now and then, but by the time he'd used up most of the monster corpses, he'd managed to create almost a thousand living suits of armor.
It was a great success, considering it had been weeks since the monsters were killed in the dwarven mountain range.
Following his orders, the living suits of armor left the basement of the castle's third tower and gathered in the storehouse near the abandoned oratory.
With most of the suits of armor and corpses gone, the basement of the third tower now looked relatively empty.
"Now, all that's left are these," said Lark as he looked at the corpses of the Abyss Lurkers and the Black Puppeteer.
According to the dwarves, the Abyss Lurkers were apex monsters that ruled over the Bottomless Gorge—one of their Forbidden Regions. Each of them was capable of fighting an adult dragonewt; they were monsters capable of destroying a human town on their own.
The Black Puppeteer, on the other hand, was a creature considered powerful even back in the Era of Magic. It was a monster belonging to the nightwalker species. A monster that nearly killed Evander Alaester in his younger years.
Lark decided to use these monsters last, since the stronger the monster corpse, the higher the chance of failing the ritual.
'Kel,' he sent a mental transmission to Kel' Vual, currently residing somewhere within the castle.
'I'll be performing the Essence Animation Spell.' 'Essence Animation Spell?' replied Kel' Vual. 'You mean the Soul Morphosis Spell?' 'That's right,' replied Lark.
During the Era of Magic, due to its semblance to necromancy, the Essence Animation Spell was sometimes called the Soul Morphosis Spell.
'I'll be performing the spell on several powerful monster corpses,' said Lark. 'The chances are low, but in the event that an extremely powerful creature is created and the ritual fails, I need you to protect everyone in the castle.' 'I'll ask my people to protect the humans living in the castle,' Kel' Vual agreed in a heartbeat. 'But… can't you just cast a protective barrier so the monsters won't be able to escape?' 'I will. But one of the corpses I'll be using is a nightwalker,' said Lark.
'This is just a precaution.' 'A nightwalker…' said Kel' Vual. 'I understand.' Kel' Vual had encountered nightwalkers before. Although they were no longer his match when he became a full-grown Arzomos, they were still terrifying creatures capable of easily tearing through simple barriers.
Lark cut off the mental transmission.
Using the mana within the Sword of Morpheus, he cast several protective barriers in the room.
"Let's start."
Using the corpses of the Abyss Lurkers, Lark planned on creating several Knight Commanders for the Blackstone Legion. And using the corpse of the Black Puppeteer, he planned on constructing a lord.
Lark added another small magic circle on the periphery of the formation he used before, increasing it from three to four. Using a simple gravity spell, he lifted a steel suit of armor and placed it in the center of the magic formation. He cast another gravity spell, and four Abyss Lurker corpses floated and gently landed on the magic circle.
Lark channeled magic into the magic formation. Unlike before, the amount of mana being sucked by the ritual was massive—enough mana to cast two grand scale magic spells.
Without the Sword of Morpheus, Lark would have a hard time using such powerful corpses for the ritual on his own. It would take him at least a year, even if he had the monster corpses and resources, to create the Blackstone Legion.
After consuming the necessary amount of mana, the magic formation was activated, and the four corpses slowly melted away, before turning into particles of light. The steel armor at the center of the magic formation quivered as crimson eyes peered through its helmet.
A loud growl was heard.
It's capable of harnessing mana.
Lark could clearly see the mana flowing through the living suit of armor before him. Unlike his prior creations, this one held two cores—the core of its essence at the abdomen, and the core of mana on top of its chest.
It was basically an undying monster capable of using mana to further strengthen its steel body. And by absorbing the ambient mana, it should be also capable of recovering its mana stores.
It was an expected result, considering he'd used four Abyss Lurkers for this creation.
With just a single look, Lark knew it was by far his most powerful creation to date in this life.
"I am your master," Lark recited the same words from before. "If you acknowledge, kneel and bow your head."
The crimson eyes glared at him. The living suit of armor spread its arms wide and roared. Slowly, the mana within its core started covering its metallic body.
"A failure," muttered Lark in a calm voice.
He'd expected to experience a lot of failures during the ritual, the moment he started using the corpses of such powerful monsters. The living suit of armor created using Abyss Lurkers didn't even try to hide its killing intent as it continuously coated its steel body with mana.
The living suit of armor roared. Its eyes glowed. It channeled more mana into its feet and leaped toward Lark at an incredible speed. It pulled its arms back, and with earth-shattering force, punched at him.
Lark willed a barrier of mana to form before him, successfully blocking the suit of armor's punch. A loud thud reverberated, and a small shockwave blew past Lark. Judging by the impact, that single punch was probably strong enough to destroy half the arena in the training ground.
It was a powerful strike capable of destroying stone walls.
Seeing that its attack was easily blocked by the human, the living suit of armor roared in anger. Filled with killing intent, it released an onslaught of attacks, one after another, each as strong as the first. Still, the temporary barrier created with the mana from the Sword of Morpheus didn't budge. It remained strong, unmoving, without the slightest hint of forming cracks.
"That's enough."
Azure chains shot up from the ground and ensnared the living suit of armor's body. The living suit of armor continued growling and roaring as it repeatedly tried breaking free from its binding.
Lark took several steps toward the living suit of armor.
"What a shame."
Although powerful, it was nothing but a mindless, undying creature at this point.
"Go back to your slumber."
Fearlessly, amidst the loud roars from the living suit of armor, Lark gently placed his hand on its abdomen—where the core of the essence was located. Without uttering another word, Lark channeled mana into the creature's core and quickly destroyed the essence residing within. In just a few seconds, the living suit of armor stopped roaring and struggling to free its body from the chains. The glowing light inside its helmet flickered then vanished.
Silence returned to the underground room once again.
"There's no time to waste," mumbled Lark as he gazed at the unmoving suit of armor. "Let's proceed with the next one."
Without wasting time, Lark proceeded with another ritual. The second also ended up as a failure. Like before, his creation tried to kill him the moment it managed to consolidate the mana within its body.
Still, Lark wasn't disheartened by the result. Calmly, he continued performing the rituals, one after another.
And by the time all of the Abyss Lurker corpses had been used, Lark had managed to create three powerful Blackstone Knight Commanders.
"Try to absorb as much ambient mana as you can. Consolidate your mana cores," said Lark. He pointed at the walls. "For now, stand over there and await further orders."
The Blackstone Knight Commanders groaned and trudged toward the place Lark indicated. They lined up next to the wall and stood perfectly still.
Finally, only one corpse was left.
It was time to use the corpse of the absolute ruler of the Death Cavern —the Black Puppeteer.
For the last ritual, Lark modified the magic circles in the periphery of the formation, in consideration of the fact that he'd be using just a single corpse.
After making sure that all the barriers he'd set up to protect the place were intact, Lark started channeling mana into the magic formation. After sucking in massive amounts of mana, enough to cast three grand scale magic spells, the corpse of the Black Puppeteer finally melted away and turned into particles of light. The suit of armor made of pure steel at the center of the formation started moving. A soft, almost inaudible groan escaped its mouth. Its bright crimson eyes calmly gazed at Lark.
Five cores.
The living suit of armor before him had three mana cores and two essence cores. Lark could clearly see the mana from the cores creeping throughout the creature's body, forming numerous roots and branches, covering it completely.
This creature was strong, absurdly so.
Lark had just created a creature worthy of being called the Lord of the Blackstone Legion.
Now, all that was left was the question of whether or not this creation was going to acknowledge him as its master.
"I am your master," declared Lark. "If you acknowledge, kneel and bow your head."
Lark started preparing his spells, in case the last ritual was a failure.
The living suit of armor created using the corpse of the Black Puppeteer was definitely powerful enough to tear through the barrier Lark had set up.
Fortunately, he'd already asked Kel' Vual to protect the residents of the castle, so nothing too serious should happen even if it escaped the third tower's basement.
Seconds passed.
Silently, the creature gazed at Lark. He could feel the creature assessing the amounts of mana he possessed in his body. He saw the creature's gaze landing on the communication crystal on his necklace, then on the Sword of Morpheus, currently in the form of a bracer.
Lark smiled in amusement. It was sizing him up. It was carefully considering whether or not he was someone worthy to be its master.
Eventually, the living suit of armor knelt and bowed its head. A soft groan, which seemed to be saying, I've decided. I will serve you, escaped its mouth.
It was an unexpected conclusion to the ritual.
Lark had successfully created a powerful lord for the Blackstone Legion of the kingdom.