Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

The plan was simple, they would venture into New Reno, capture some walkers to replace their losses, and equip them with starter gear which Gravestone now had an abundance of thanks to the automation of its labor force being done by the Undead Zane had previously deposited within the town's settlement management system.

It was a simple enough process, and quite honestly a boring one. With anything below a Horde King no longer really being a challenge to Zane and his party, they cut through the enemy like wheat to the scythes. Harvesting XP for his Horde, and more important resources throughout weeks of combat.

At the same time, the Residents of Gravestone prepared for their expansion, and continued doing everything they could to improve not only their personal abilities but also the town they called home.

Meanwhile, the Cult of Elysium continued in their efforts to proselytize to other survivor communities and, in doing so, expand their influence. While at the same time staying away from New Reno and, by extension, Gravestone.

Despite having grievances with the Saintess of the Great Basin, and the mysterious leader of Gravestone. The Crusaders of Elysium stayed their wrath at the behest of their goddess. She alone knew why they were not allowed to make a move against their enemies to the west.

And while Zane had been marked for death by the Remnant, they had larger concerns to worry about. Their initial expansion into the areas surrounding their own bunkers had been quite successful. With a significant amount of ground taken, and many of the wasteland's corrupted population seized as a means of slave labor.

But after flying too close to the sun, the Remnant in Oregon, who was the branch nearest to Zane and the town of Gravestone, had provoked a force they could not deal with. The local Horde King known as Elenor had borrowed the remaining Banshees in Bartholomew's service to deal with the Remnant.

More and more companies of marines fell to their spectral power, to the point where the Remnant had ordered a full retreat back to bunkers, hoping whatever unknown force which was ambushing them would not be able to lay siege to its mighty defenses.

Because of this, the Remnant was in no condition to attack Zane at this moment. Leaving the man free to develop. And while Zane and the girls in his party continued to gather resources, such as blood crystals and crafting materials, as well as gaining experience for Zane's horde. The local Horde King had indeed taken notice.

Bartholomew, while cowardly in the face of superior power, was not the kind of balk at the sight of a mere pest like the living settlements of New Reno and Gravestone. In fact, their population became a source of sustenance for his growth.

And while Zane himself was off limits, due to the belief among the Horde Kings that he was one of them. That did not mean that the other insects who dared to encroach upon his domain were spared his wrath.

It did not take much to deal with the awakened from New Reno and Gravestone, a Stalker here, a juggernaut there, and they were either killed or forced to route. After all, Tier IV and V undead were still well beyond the means of most humans to deal with.

With the exception of those monsters in places like Elysium and the Remnant, that is. But Bartholomew did not reveal himself to these miscreants who dared to provoke him. He had no need to do so. Instead, his focus was elsewhere.

He was currently holed up in a rather lavish building, one that had been spared the violence that followed the collapse of human civilization. In front of him were two Tier V undead of a variety which he personally did have access to.

These two Tier V Undead were peculiar in appearance. Their flesh, while deathly pale, was as silky and smooth as a supermodel's. It showed no signs of decay, nor blemish whatsoever. A feature that was commonly found among the undead.

And in addition to this, these two Tier Undead who were otherwise unmistakable for a human woman wore white shawls which covered their facial features. They were utterly silent, as they were not Horde Kings, and thus not capable of communicating with humans. But the level of intellect they possessed was uncanny.

This was demonstrated by the fact that they bowed respectfully before Bartholomew, despite not serving the man, where they then handed him a small jewelry box. The container itself was made out of the finest jade, and was accentuated with golden hinges.

When Bartholomew saw the two women treat him with such respect, he felt something was off. After all, these two undead belonged to the service of Ophelia and they had come a long way just to give Bartholomew this item.

Bartholomew quickly picked up the box out of the two women's hands and inspected what was inside. A glowing red light appeared once the contained was opened, where Bartholomew's eyes twitched in shock momentarily, just long enough for him to shut the container once more.

After doing this, it was Bartholomew who bowed servile to these two Undead who were significantly weaker to himself. He then thanked them for their efforts, before sending them on their way.

"You will give your master my thanks, won't you? Though I know this precious item was bought and paid for, it was her benevolent offer that made this a reality. Thank you for coming all this way jus to bring this two me."

The two women bowed once more to Bartholomew before heading out of his manor without saying another word. It was only after he could no longer detect their presence within the borders of his territory did Bartholomew break out into a cold set. All while setting his gaze upon the jade jewelry box with a hesitant look in his eyes.

"If I do this, I will forever be in that witch's debt… But if I don't, then it will be some time before I break through this wretched bottleneck and ascend to Tier III. Those two came all this way and evaded a vast network of spies just to hand me this item. Surely there is no going back now, right?"

After silently eying the jewelry box for a solid thirty minutes, Bartholomew sighed heavily before ultimately deciding to go for it.

"Whatever may come, this is the path you have chosen. There is no point in hesitating now!"

After saying this, Bartholomew opened the Jade container, and quickly grasped the glowing item within, snuffing out its light with his fist before shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it. The moment thereafter, he felt as if his nerves had been lit on fire.

In the moment that The Tier II Horde King, who was at the peak of his peer, swallowed this mysterious item from the far east he had finally broken through to the next Tier, and in doing so gained significantly more power than he already had.