Bound To The Dead: The Deceptive Class-E Farmer-Chapter 65: Planted For War

Isaac’s steps slowed.

That scent... it pulled something from the back of his memory.

He took a step forward, then stopped as Corpuz clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Meeting room’s this way. Don’t space out on us."

Isaac blinked, shaking off the strange feeling.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Just thought I smelled something..."

They turned down the hall and headed toward the meeting room.

Around the corner, footsteps echoed.

Mikaela walked forward slowly. Mikha followed just behind her, silent and alert. The hall was quiet. Clean and still.

Mikaela stopped.

She looked down the empty hallway.

No one was there.

She held her breath for a second, then let it out. "Nothing," she whispered, almost to herself.

Then she kept walking.

—------

Inside the meeting room, Princess Aiah was already seated. She wore a clean red robe and her usual calm expression. Elder Peter sat beside her, looking tired. Broner leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Mira stood near the window, flipping through pages of a notebook.

Corpuz, Isaac, and Miss Wesson vowed and stepped forward. The room was quiet. Aiah gave a short nod.

"Well?" she asked. "What did you find?"

"We found something buried deep in the farmlands," Miss Wesson said, laying out the scroll. "Not just soil."

She paused.

"Bodies."

Elder Peter’s brows knit. "Dead bodies?"

"Planted like seeds," she confirmed. "And the mist? Not natural. It’s necromantic. A death spell."

Broner frowned. "What, like a barrier?"

"No," she said. "It’s expanding the land. Feeding off it."

Mira looked nauseous. "Feeding?"

Miss Wesson nodded. "Stretching the land, making room to bury more corpses. And if we hadn’t stopped it..."

She glanced at Isaac.

"They would’ve started rising. In days."

Aiah leaned forward. "And how exactly is it working? What’s keeping it going?"

Miss Wesson pointed to a sketched figure on the scroll. "The creature Isaac killed, the scarecrow puppet that thing was in charge. It was the one burying bodies and maintaining the mist."

Corpuz crossed his arms. "Where were the bodies coming from?"

Isaac spoke up. "Someone was bringing it the corpses."

Aiah looked at him. "You’re saying someone from Bulcan was supplying it?"

Isaac nodded once.

Broner muttered under his breath. "That’s sick..."

Aiah’s voice was steady. "Who’s behind this? What kind of magic is this?"

Miss Wesson took a breath. "Necromancy."

Elder Peter straightened. "You’re sure?"

"Yes. The pattern of decay, the type of runes, the way the mist holds life and death in balance, it’s necromantic magic."

"What is necromancy?" Mira asked softly.

Miss Wesson looked at her. "It’s a kind of magic that controls the dead. Not just summoning skeletons, true necromancy binds death itself. The mist, the bodies, even that scarecrow, it was all part of a death ritual."

Elder Peter spoke slowly. "There’s only one person I know who can do that. Only one who has that kind of power."

Everyone looked at the Elder.

"Azar Mandela. King of the Undead."

Isaac didn’t flinch.

Broner’s jaw twitched. His fingers crept to the hilt of his blade and stayed there.

Aiah went still, too still. Her eyes didn’t just widen; they sharpened, and her teeth clenched so hard a vein in her neck popped.

Mira stepped back, bumping into the chair behind her. "He’s real?" she whispered.

Even Elder Peter looked rattled, like he’d just said something he wished he hadn’t.

"This isn’t good," Peter muttered, his voice low. "You all know what kind of power King Azar holds, right?"

"Everyone’s heard rumors," Aiah said. "But I didn’t think they were true."

Peter shook his head. "They are. Velcro has no human soldiers."

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

Peter looked at her. "It’s not a kingdom like the others. Azar captured three kingdoms that surrounded Velcro. He did it fast. Clean."

He took a breath, keeping his voice even.

"A long time ago, Velcro was the weakest. Just a little kingdom by the river in the west. On the other side were the real powers. Kingdoms like Kingsfall, allies of the Knightdome of Revelore, and Queen’s Reach."

He looked around the room.

"They used Velcro as training grounds."

Mira blinked. "Training grounds?"

Peter nodded. "They sent troops across just to kill Velcro’s soldiers. Not conquer. Just... test strength. Then they left."

"They came back again and again, the Kingsfall, Knightdome and Queen’s Reach, they’re rotating," he added. "Always after Velcro tried to rebuild. They’d return. Wipe them out again. Over and over."

Aiah clenched her fists. "That’s insane."

"But one day," Peter continued, "Queen’s Reach soldiers went in. They didn’t come back. Then Knightdome sent theirs, same thing. No return."

Isaac listened quietly, arms crossed.

"Then Kingsfall sent a huge force. Big enough to wipe out an entire region. And still, nothing came back."

Peter’s voice lowered. "Only one soldier returned. He was screaming. Told the king of Kingsfall what happened. Before they could even send a second wave..."

He stopped.

"Azar was already there," he finished. "Inside Kingsfall."

He stared at the floor.

"And with him... all the missing soldiers. Every one of them. From Queen’s Reach. Knightdome. Kingsfall. All marching behind him."

Mira’s voice cracked. "But you said they were dead."

"They were," Peter said. "That’s the point. They were already dead."

Broner swallowed hard. "You can’t kill what’s already dead."

Everyone went quiet.

No one spoke.

Broner crossed his arms. "My great-grandfather told me the same story. Said it was real."

Corpuz raised a brow. "So... this Azar guy’s over a hundred years old?"

Broner nodded. "Still looks thirty."

Aiah’s eyes narrowed. "But Velcro’s not even close to here. It’s two kingdoms away. First Carreon, then Bishopdawn of Halowyn. Then the river."

Isaac spoke. "Exactly. That’s why it makes sense."

They all turned to him.

"They’re too far from here to march an army without anyone noticing. So Azar didn’t march one."

He tapped the table.

"He’s planting one."

"What?" Aiah asked.

"He’s growing his army here," Isaac said. "One corpse at a time. Starting with Bulcan. Weak. Scattered. An easy place to turn into a base."

His voice lowered.

"Once he secures this place, he’ll move. One kingdom at a time."

Silence again.

The weight of it settled in.

Broner crossed his arms. "Princess Mikaela of Carreon’s in the palace, right?"

Aiah nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"After the ceremony, maybe you should talk to her," Broner said. "Warn her about Azar. What he did in the farmlands. She should take precautions."

Corpuz agreed. "She’s royalty. If Azar plans to move against Carreon next, she needs to know."

Aiah looked thoughtful. "You’re right. I’ll speak to her."

That’s when Isaac froze for a second.

’Mikaela.’

’Here?’

His heartbeat kicked up. Not from fear. From something else.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t ask questions. But his mind started spinning.

’She’s here. In this palace.’

’Does she know I’m here?’

’No. Probably not.’

’But if she finds out...:

His fingers curled into fists before he stopped himself. He made sure no one noticed. His face stayed calm, but inside, something stirred. A storm that hadn’t moved in a long time.