Recently, Ande discovered something interesting—three skeletal mastiffs.
At first, he thought they were just bone wolves, a creature commonly found on the Bone Plains. These plains are populated by numerous undead animals, not just humanoid ones. You'd often encounter packs of bone wolves, herds of rotting corpse horses, or bone rats digging holes everywhere. In fact, undead creatures of animal forms outnumber humanoid ones here.
But skeletal mastiffs? Ande had never come across them before. If it weren't for their mention in the *Kashnikov Notes*, Ande would have likely overlooked them.
According to the notes, skeletal mastiffs have a sturdy and robust skeleton. Their skulls are much larger than that of ordinary dogs, with sharp, well-aligned fangs. Out of the three mastiffs, two were considered top-tier, while the third, though smaller, was still of good quality.
What really intrigued Ande, however, was their hunting abilities. Just earlier, the three mastiffs had attacked a skeletal axe warrior. Two of the larger mastiffs leaped forward and grabbed one of the warrior's legs, pulling in opposite directions until the warrior was thrown to the ground. While it struggled to get up, the third mastiff leaped in and swiftly bit through its spine. The entire hunt took less than three minutes, and Ande was thrilled. His own skeletal minions, when they attacked, usually needed four or five of them to take down a single prey—none were this efficient, though *Magellan*, the freakish soul-eating ghost, was an exception.
Naturally, Ande gave up on the undead modification experiments for a while and focused on these three dogs. He followed them for days, observing their habits. They seemed to treat the skeletal graveyard as their moving food source, constantly moving between their den and the graveyard. Although their routes varied, Ande figured out their daily routine.
One day, when the mastiffs were full and on their way back to their den, Ande made his move. He had prepared a trap—a deep pit—just as the mastiffs were about to make a turn by a pond. He grinned as they fell into his trap.
"Ha, digging pits really is the best way to catch them!" he laughed, watching them struggle in the pit.
But just as Ande celebrated, a gust of wind suddenly descended, throwing him and his minions to the ground. Magellan, the soul-eating ghost, was flung hundreds of meters away, squealing in distress. Covered in dirt, Ande glared upward, ready to curse, but when he saw what was blocking half the sky, he held back.
A massive skeletal dragon, with wings over twenty meters long, flew overhead. The creature's bones were covered in cracks, and its flight was erratic, but it still had the power to knock down undead creatures with every beat of its wings. What caught Ande's attention, though, was the rider atop the dragon.
A death knight in black armor, wearing a large bone crown, was perched on the dragon's back. The presence of this undead king was overwhelming, and Ande instinctively lowered his gaze as the knight's cold, bloodshot eyes scanned the area. The knight then spurred the skeletal dragon to fly off toward the northwest.
Once the dragon was out of sight, Ande climbed back to his feet and cursed under his breath, his anger directed at the undead king.
"He's just an undead king! If I had a few more decades, I'd be the same, huh!?" Ande muttered to himself. He had expected to feel a great sense of oppression from the undead king, but instead, he felt nothing. He even wondered if the undead king had been injured, as the dragon appeared to be wounded, and its tail was missing a large portion.
"Get up! Why are you all shaking like that?" Ande shouted at his minions, kicking them into action. He had no idea that, due to his origins from another world, the undead king's aura had little effect on him. However, for lower-level undead like his skeleton minions, the king's presence could easily induce fear and submission.
While Ande was dealing with his minions, he remembered the three skeletal mastiffs still trapped in the pit. He rushed over to inspect the situation, and to his delight, they were still there, glaring up at him with frustration.
"Looks like I'll have both evil minions and evil dogs now," Ande chuckled to himself, circling the pit. He ignored their silent growls and focused on the task at hand.
After a few days of effort, Ande had finally tamed the three unruly skeletal mastiffs, adding them to his army. The sight of them working alongside his skeletal minions to hunt was a great source of satisfaction.
However, Ande knew they weren't strong enough to face the red skeletal giant that had taken over the graveyard. With the mastiffs tamed, he felt more confident but knew they still lacked something to truly challenge the red skeleton.
He couldn't help but scratch his head, wondering what exactly they were still missing.