Transmigrated with my corruption system

Soon as the words slipped past his lips, the air around him buzzed violently, shimmering for a moment like liquid light. Before suddenly rupturing, pouring waves of inky darkness that spread out from him.

Slowly stretching across the grand battlefield before him. Encapsulating a radius that continuously grew with every passing second.

A few meters, tens of meters, hundreds of meters, thousands of meters... and before long, the darkness had spread for tens of thousands of meters, covering almost two thirds of the battlefield with no sign of stopping.

The sudden torrents of darkness shooting from his presence drew the attention of the crowd behind him. They stared blankly as multiple questions formed in their minds. Before long, they couldn’t contain them as soft murmurs swept across the crowd.

***

"Woah... that darkness... why does it look so beautiful and deadly at the same time?"

"This... what is the lord doing... I don’t understand."

"At this point... the actions of the lord can’t be contained in that little mind of yours. That’s why I’ll tell you myself. It’s clear the lord is performing a grand feat of some sort."

"Hmph, truly insightful."

"What kind of strength does one need to wield the kind of power the lord does? Do you still think he is at E-rank as everyone else says!"

"What nonsense are you spouting! Do you think even a hundred E-ranks combined could even amount to a tenth of the lord’s power?"

"Yeah, it doesn’t make sense. He’s just too powerful. Peak D-rank strength minimum."

"I agree... he’s just too strong."

"Do you think if I awakened with an S-rank talent, I would be as strong as the lord?"

"Huh? You dare compare yourself with the lord in the same breath? Courting death! Clearly you don’t know what’s good for you."

As the murmurs slipped into gibberish nonsense, the blank stares from the elders slowly shifted with time. Their pupils dilated as a terrifying thought settled in.

He couldn’t be trying to summon the dead so he could use their strength, right? The thought had always lingered in their minds... but they didn’t think his power was vast enough to accomplish such a feat... at least not yet.

Part of the rumors circulating among the elders was that the lord’s seclusion had been lengthy because he had overdrawn himself by bringing back Thunderblade. A couple of insights from a certain old man, and they knew he was an undead.

But this was different from what the lord was trying to do. It was just... impossible! They couldn’t even begin to imagine the amount of energy it would take.

Good thing they didn’t have to wonder for long. A few minutes after the darkness spread to fill the whole battlefield, it sank into the earth. Before entirely vanishing.

A few seconds passed without anything happening. Before a couple of sighs echoed from the elders behind him.

Perhaps they had been mistaken. Maybe he just wanted to use his darkness to scout the magnitude of loss and damage caused by the war. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time they misunderstood him.

Just as they were spiraling, their thoughts were cut short as slowly the ground before them—stretching for thousands of meters—started trembling.

A little at first, but as time slipped by, the tremors grew more violent. Splitting fissures caused microfractures to spread across the ground.

The sight piqued everyone’s attention as their eyes narrowed in concentration.

Before suddenly the ground exploded, sending dust and rubble flying everywhere.

As if something was trying to claw itself out of the earth.

A few seconds later, when the dust stilled to reveal the resulting sight, multiple people in the crowd froze. Eyes widened in shock as gasps tore from their throats.

Shadowy figures with human outlines were burrowing themselves out of the ground... all across the grand battlefield in a terrifying manner.

A few moments later, the stench of blood that once hung across the air vanished without a trace.

Tens of thousands of shadowy figures rose to stand in coordinated formation, allowing their gazes to pierce into their frames. And as they did, some of the worry clouding their faces eased.

Now that they looked closely at the rows of shadowy figures, the only resemblance to humanity was their outline.

Their faces were pure darkness. Where the eyes were supposed to be was... nothing.

Across their bodies, a film of darkness rose to encapsulate them, forming a soft armor. The stronger they were, the thicker and more intricate their armor became.

Peering deeper into them, Ulric could feel a mass of inextinguishable dark energy within them forming a sort of dark flame. Linking each and every one of them to him.

Confirming a thought he had been harboring for a while now. As long as he remained alive, his undead summons were eternal.

The thought caused a faint smile to spread across his face as he finished appraising them. Before he sighed quietly in calculation.

The cost of bringing back an army of tens of thousands of figures had depleted half of his dark energy reserves. He had thought the cost would be more dire... but the process had unfolded surprisingly smoothly.

Almost as if it were natural. He also couldn’t help but notice their features. Even without summoning Thunderblade from his darkness, he could feel his features were far more defined... than these legion.

Like all his previously summoned undead, they contained seventy-five percent of their previous strength. Which caused the smile on his face to slowly fade, before vanishing entirely as it was replaced by a frown.

In numbers the army seemed overwhelming... but in essence it was weak. At least to him.

To the elders behind him, who had watched everything, they shared an entirely different train of thought.

Staring at the seemingly endless army, they all took in cold breaths. An army of the undead! A quick glance could tell they were a little weaker than their original selves... but still.

This was an absolute game changer. It changed entirely how they perceived battle as Ulric’s voice played at the back of their heads repeatedly. Their sacrifice would not be in vain.

With such a massive force, they wouldn’t even need the element of deterrence. Any clan that would think it wise to attack would only suffer one fate: death.

Could the lord summon them as well to join their forces? With each passing thought, their breaths hitched at the magnitude of the power Ulric wielded. It was just impossible... it should have been impossible.

***

As the elders sank into their thoughts, soft murmurs spread across the crowd as they slowly snapped out of their daze.

"Look! It’s an army of the undead. The lord summoned an army of the dead."

"No way. Tell us more."

"I don’t understand... are you being sarcastic or not?"

"What do you think?"

"Is there no limit to the lord’s power? His feats just seem endless."

"Hahaha, I think you’re all missing the point! With this... we’re untouchable!"

"You’re right... no one would ever be able to go against us... even in the lord’s absence!"

"Wait, what did you say?"

"That I’m a supreme heavenly genius only second to the lord?"

"No... before that!"

"That no one would be able to mess with us even in the lord’s presence."

"Do you think the lord is preparing us for his departure?"

"This... I don’t know."

A brief moment of silence fell as part of the crowd paused to process the implication.

At the side, a few girls’ eyes lit up as they watched the sight unfold. They could never grow tired of watching this. Amber and Lyra mused.

Before excitement flushed their faces at the vast depths of Ulric’s power. Curiosity sparking across their eyes.

They rushed forward, eager to inspect the undead legion in close detail.

Passing by Ulric, they suddenly gasped as his words echoed into their ears. The next course of events even more shocking as they froze on their tracks.

"Too weak!" Ulric growled, slipping into his mental barrage. "If only there was a way to make them stronger..."

His brows furrowed in consternation, causing his fists to clench tightly. The thought consuming his mind.

And as if in response to his thoughts, the rows of shadowy figures suddenly burst into wisps of dark energy. Causing his eyes to lift in confusion.

"Huh? What happened?"

He didn’t have to wonder for long. Almost instantly after, the wisps of dark energy coalesced into shadowy figures once more.

But his breath hitched the next moment as the connection between them snapped back. The once terrifying legion of tens of thousands had been cut in half. Reduced to merely thousands.

Still, that wasn’t what concerned him. Of the remaining figures, he could sense their power levels had grown explosively. Probably even doubled or tripled. Their features growing more refined.

A few seconds passed before he let out a slow breath.

"They merged?" He mused, before breaking out into a faint chuckle. A crazed smile spreading across his face.

They merged! He yelled inwardly. Staring at the remaining shadowy figures.

Before he suddenly paused. Nodding his head slightly. They were strong... but still not strong enough!

Staring down at his fists as if they held a gateway to new power, he clenched them once more.

Watching in exhilaration as they burst into dark energy. Before coalescing again... stronger.

The crowd behind stared blankly, at a loss for words, watching the phenomenon unfold repeatedly. Stopping only at the fifth time.

"Huh? Fifth time’s the limit?" Ulric breathed. Feeling a huge strain across his body as he tried to have them merge again.

But it didn’t matter now. Lifting his gaze, his lips curled in satisfaction as he stared at the grand battlefield.

Where a legion of tens of thousands of undead once stood, only fifty remained. Low in number, but their strength was undeniable.

Their bodies were covered with a layer of intricate armor formed from pure darkness as it swirled with runes and sigils, offering unyielding defense.

Their features were exceedingly refined. If it wasn’t for the film of darkness covering them and the shining dark orbs they had for eyes, they looked no different than regular humans.

Waving his hand, the dark orbs burned brighter than ever as waves of overwhelming auras crashed out, rolling toward the crowd and thousands of meters beyond.

Causing sweat to drop from their faces. Only one thought circling at the back of their heads.

Absolute peak D-rank strength!

As the thought formed, Ulric couldn’t contain himself anymore. Bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter as he slowly turned to stare at the elders and crowd behind him.

"Behold... the guardians of the clan."