Axton walked deeper into the ruined city, stepping carefully over broken stones and old bones. The air was cold and heavy, and every breath felt like it carried dust and death.

Everywhere he looked, the city was silent. The walls of fallen buildings stood like crooked teeth, and the streets were covered in cracks and rubble.

"Just what happened here?" Axton whispered again, shocked by the level of destruction.

His boots crunched on the ground as he moved forward. Pieces of what looked like old shops and houses were scattered everywhere. Some doors still hung by one hinge. Others were gone completely.

Then, he heard it.

A low growl.

Turning his head, Axton saw shapes moving in the distance — dozens of them.

More zombies, but these ones looked a little different.

Their skin was gray and falling apart, their eyes glowing faint green. They moved slowly, dragging their feet, groaning as if angry that someone was alive.

Axton sighed and drew his weapon.

"Guess we're doing this again," Axton groaned.

He dashed forward before the zombies could react. His sword flashed, cutting through the first one with a clean slice. Another one tried to bite him, but Axton dodged easily and kicked it away.

Bang!

The zombie hit a broken wall and crumbled.

Two more came at him from both sides. Axton spun around and slashed. Their heads rolled away before their bodies hit the ground.

The fight didn't last long. In just a few minutes, every zombie nearby was down.

Axton wiped the blade on his sleeve and looked around.

"These ones are even weaker than before," he muttered.

Still, he couldn't ignore how many of them there were. If this place was filled with this many zombies, then someone or something must be controlling them.

That thought made him tighten his grip on his sword.

He kept walking.

The deeper he went, the darker it became. The sky above looked like a thick blanket of gray clouds, and the buildings blocked what little light there was.

As he turned a corner, Axton froze.

There were more zombies ahead. Hundreds of them, all gathered in one place. They stood close together, facing one direction, as if waiting for orders.

At the center of the group stood something different.

It was taller than the rest, with bones sticking out from its shoulders like sharp spikes. Its eyes glowed bright red, and unlike the others, it held a rusty sword in its hand.

Axton's system window popped up.

[Zombie Commander]

[Grade: 4]

[Level: 28]

[Title: Leader of the Undead Horde]

[Skill: Command Undead, Dark Slash, Zombie Roar]

Axton smirked. "So you're the one calling the shots?"

The Zombie Commander noticed him and roared.

"Grrraaahhhh!!"

The entire horde turned toward Axton at once.

"Here we go," Axton muttered, stepping forward.

The first wave of zombies rushed at him. Axton raised his hand, putting his mastery of the ice element to use.

Boom!

A cold blast exploded from his palm, freezing several zombies where they stood. Their bodies cracked and shattered into pieces.

Another group came from the right. Axton jumped back and slashed, cutting through three at once. His sword glowed faint blue from the ice magic coating it.

Zombies kept coming. There were too many to count.

Axton proceeded to summon the Undead General again.

"Alright, Vorlic," Axton said with a grin. "Your turn."

He raised his hand and summoned his undead general.

Dark mist gathered beside him, and Vorlic appeared, holding his bone blade and looking as fierce as ever.

"Destroy them all," Axton ordered.

"As you command, my lord," Vorlic said in his deep voice before charging ahead.

The Undead General swung his sword, sending waves of dark energy that cut through the zombie ranks like a storm. Every swing took down dozens at once.

The battlefield turned into chaos. The sounds of roaring, slashing, and crumbling bones filled the air.

Axton fought beside Vorlic, cutting down any zombies that slipped through. The two of them worked perfectly together.

Soon, only the Zombie Commander was left standing.

It let out a deafening roar and dashed forward faster than Axton expected.

Its sword came crashing down, and Axton blocked it just in time. The force pushed him back a few steps.

It was strong, but not strong enough.

Axton's eyes glowed faintly as he activated another skill. He vanished from sight and reappeared behind the commander.

Slash!

His sword struck the creature's back, cutting deep.

The Zombie Commander howled in pain and swung wildly, but Axton dodged every attack. He jumped high and brought his sword down with full force.

Clang!

The commander's weapon broke in half.

"End this," Axton said.

Vorlic raised his sword, dark energy gathering around the blade.

"Death Decree."

The wave of death energy swept through the commander, and within seconds, the creature's body began to turn to dust.

The undead leader exploded into dark mist, leaving behind a few shining items and a small chest.

Axton looked at the chest and smiled. "Not bad."

"Perfect," he said, equipping the gloves immediately.

The ruins around him were silent again, the battle over.

Vorlic stood beside him, his blue fiery eyes glowing dimly as he waited for his next orders.

"Well done," Axton said, looking at him. "Rest for now."

Vorlic nodded and vanished into black smoke. As much as the Undead General wanted to fight by his master's side, he knew better than to resist Axton's command.

Axton continued walking through the empty streets.

The silence returned, broken only by the soft sound of his footsteps.

He felt like something or someone was watching him.

After a few more minutes, he reached a wide open area.

The ground here was flat, with a broken fountain at the center.

Axton stopped.

A soft wind blew past him, and suddenly…

Black fog began to rise from the ground.

It twisted and spread, surrounding him like living smoke.

Axton narrowed his eyes and took a step back, gripping his sword tightly.

"What now?" he muttered.

The fog thickened, slightly darker than before, swallowing everything around him.

However, within this black mist, Axton noticed something on the floor — something that carried runic markings that were glowing as he looked at it.

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