Meanwhile, back in the chambers of the Twelve…

A messenger walked into the circular stoned room, having a tight grip on his parcel as he became nervous.

"M-my lords and ladies. I-I have such dire news!" he said with a stutter.

Representative Kar scowled in annoyance, ordering, "Well, what is it?! Spit it out, good man!"

"The Dark Lord's forces are advancing from the southeast of the continent! They've desolated five towns and are continuing to the nearest one!"

This was very stressful to the council as they began murmuring loudly amongst themselves. Some even breaking down in distraught and terror.

"Oh no! We're doomed! The dark Lord's forces are already making their move!"

"Wait…Isn't the Halfling Leni positioned in the southeast?" said one of the representatives.

Shrugging his shoulders, another representative replied, "Oh well, I guess we'll have to send in another on. Those vermin breed faster, so they're expendable."

"But, isn't the summoned hero somewhere in that area, also?"

A moment later, it became quiet. Then one of the representatives responded.

"…Oh, damn it."

Somewhere in the southeast…

There lied a village. It was burning and was completely in ruins. Bodies littered the streets. Men, women, and children…all of them were dead. Except for only one. She crawled, dragging her mangled body across the dirt road.

"Have to…get help…" she kept telling herself. She was so close to the entranceway. So close to escape from what befell her poor village. However, it was all in vain as she gasped in unbearable pain as a sharp spear pierced right through her back and into her heart.

Gripping the spear was an arm without skin or muscle with the rest of the body having decayed for years. Its' eyes glowed ominous green while its' dried and withered hair blew in the wind. Pulling the spear out of the dead girl's back, the undead soldier continued its patrol around the village, searching for any more survivors, and it wasn't alone. More undead soldiers wandered throughout, dragging each body outside of town and piling them up, one by one, and setting fire to all of the buildings.

"Is that all of them?"

The soldiers turned and trembled

Standing before their presence was a tall, robust knight with withered blonde hair, black eyes, and inhumanly gray skin with a hole on each side of his mouth. He was dressed in beaten and worn out knight's armor with a tattered plaid scarf around his neck and steel chains around his chest plate to hold it all together, two skull-shaped shoulder blades, and chain mailed trousers with steel boots, and leather straps around his legs and waist. On his back was a long cross-shaped spear with a shield made of bones keeping it in from falling off.

The knight looked and flared his nostrils, satisfied at the carnage that had taken place. He turned to the soldiers as he stared down at them from his tremendous height. Then he turned to pile of corpses.

"Is that all of them?" he asked, turning back to his men with a glowered expression.

"Yes, my commander. Every carcass in the village as been gathered and accounted for," one of the soldiers answered in an eerie tone.

The knight sauntered over to one of the piles, lifting the hand of one of the bodies and made sure they were still intact. He says exuberantly, turning back with his hands behind his back, "Excellent. The master will be pleased. These bodies will make perfect recruits for the Dark Lord's Army."

He marched forward and the brigade of the undead followed, heading north to their next destination. The bodies were placed in 3 carts pulled by skeletons that quickly caught up to speed with their group, leaving the village behind as it burnt asunder.