Lionel shivered, staring at the cold, deep blue that seemed to consume his soul at any moment. He had never imagined that what sounded like an easy mission would turn into a nightmare.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the rows of skeletons and could not help but despair. "I'm doomed."
That was the only thought in his mind.
Against such an army of skeletons, he did not have a chance to escape. He knew if he called for reinforcements, against an undead army, everything would still fail.
Thoren stared at him coldly, his eyes filled with chilling killing intent.
"I wouldn't ask again." His voice was low but threatening. "Remember, before you choose silence. I'm a necromancer, and I have hundreds of ways to torture your soul until I know everything."
When Lionel heard this, he shuddered, staring at him as if he were looking at a demon.
He considered himself evil, but compared to Thoren, he felt he was part of the good guys.
"I'm from the Slave Trade Faction," Lionel said slowly.
A soul torture? He didn't dare think about it.
"Slave Trade Guild?" Thoren creased his brow in confusion.
This was the first time he had ever heard of such a faction. He knew there were many guilds among the awakeners, but he never expected there would be ones for slave trade.
Although he was confused, he recovered quickly and continued his interrogation.
"Why do you target me? I don't think there is anything special about me."
"What do you mean there is nothing special about you? You're a necromancer; that alone was special," Lionel replied.
"I don't know why, but our guild pays special attention to necromancers. One time, I heard a rumor that necromancers are used for sacrifices, but I don't know how true the rumor was."
"To whom or what?"
The more Lionel revealed, the more confused Thoren became.
"I don't know, but for other occupations, I heard our leaders sell them to the highest bidder."
"This…," Thoren was stunned speechless. He never expected the human race would commit such atrocity.
The Abyss was already a major threat to the human race, and everyone was trying to fight back. Yet some people bought awakeners as if they were commodities.
"Are you not afraid of the federation?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Federation?" Lionel spat, his face filled with disgust.
"To ordinary people, the Federation might look like they are fighting for the human race, but it's all a lie."
"How do you think we know you in detail the moment you arrived at the abyss?"
"To them, common people can be sacrificed as long as it does not affect their hidden agenda and satisfy their greed."
"So, the Federation is in cahoots with you." Thoren muttered, his expression unsightly.
All previous thoughts about the Federation shattered to pieces. They labeled the necromancer occupation a forbidden one. But in the shadows, they supported human sacrifices and the selling of awakeners.
Now he understood. The real threat was not the abyss but the humans themselves.
To abide by Federation law, he had abstained from turning humans into undead and only turned beasts into his undead army, but now—
"Why should I follow the rules when the rules mean nothing?" he thought.
"The label 'necromancer' evil when they were the real evil. They prey on the weak and praise the strong."
"If the rules mean nothing, then I have no reason not to turn humans into undead servants."
With various thoughts running through his mind, Thoren decided. From this moment onward, he would turn every evil human into his undead slave.
He looked at Lionel with firm resolve and asked, "How strong is the Slave Trade Guild?"
Lionel did not respond immediately. He looked at him and could guess what was going on in his mind.
"I heard the guild master is a Level 15 awakener. Also, there are many members above Level 10."
"Level 15?" Thoren mused.
Since the Slave Trade Guild targeted him, he would destroy them and kill every member. He was vengeful and would not hesitate to avenge any slight grievance.
Now, he and the Slave Trade Guild had become life-and-death enemies.
"Where is your headquarters?" he asked.
"Of course it is inside the town, but all the powerful awakeners rarely stay there. They mostly wander around the abyss to grow stronger."
Thoren was not surprised. He knew those closer to clearing the first floor never stayed in the town. They lived in the wild, trying to increase their strength as fast as possible.
"Is there any guild working with you?"
Lionel shook his head. "We work alone, and only a handful of people even know of our existence."
Thoren asked a few more questions before he killed him. Looking at Lionel's dead body, he did not show any change in his expression.
"Slave Trade Guild," he mused, his eyes blazing with fury.
[Undead summoning.]
Instantly, Lionel and the others rose to their feet, their eyes hollow and lifeless.
[Bone manipulation.]
All their flesh fell away, and the six human skeletons walked toward him and stopped before him.