Chapter 137: Five Corpse Cores

Chapter 137: Five Corpse Cores

Returning to the neighborhood.

Li Yanhong parked the truck by the roadside.

There was no need to unload, as the convoy would head back to the prison tomorrow, taking everything with it.

No point in wasting time unloading and reloading.

The two stood at the entrance, briefly discussing the next day's plans.

Li Yanhong would lead the convoy and deliver the supplies, while Wu Heng wouldn't go with them, but he would send Big-Head Skeleton and some skeleton soldiers to protect the convoy.

They had traveled the route to the prison several times already.

The chances of danger were minimal.

Sending skeletons along was just a precaution against wandering zombies or any sudden issues.

Humans were still too fragile; even a simple wound or infection could be fatal.

After discussing the plan for a while, they finalized it.

Li Yanhong headed back to the repair shop, while Wu Heng led the skeletons back into the neighborhood.

He directed the skeletons to pile the collected bodies together.

The corpses of the mutated dogs were placed separately.

Although there were no second-tier mutated zombies on this trip, killing so many mutated dogs was still a significant gain.

In terms of attribute boosts, they were comparable to second-tier corpse cores.

After casting a few [Raise Skeleton] spells, five skeleton dogs stood up from the flesh remains.

They shook their bodies, sending blood splatters everywhere.

Over time, the number of skeleton dogs and cats had grown to twelve.

It wasn't a large number, but their lion-sized frames and speed gave them a clear advantage in battle.

Especially the hound-type skeleton dogs, which had the size and build of slender horses.

Wu Heng even considered using these skeleton dogs to pull carts—they'd certainly be faster than horses.

He sifted through the scattered flesh.

He retrieved five first-tier corpse cores and placed them in a plastic bag.

Glancing around, he called over 'Hunter One,' the skeleton with the sniper rifle, and said, "You know how to train hunting dogs, right? Pick one for yourself."

Hunter One stepped forward and pointed at a skeleton dog as tall as a horse.

"Alright, it's yours."

Hunter One bent down, stroking the dog's skull, and a faint white light spread from the dog's head to its entire body.

In the next second,

the skeleton dog joyfully wagged its bone tail, circling around 'Hunter One.'

Wu Heng directed the rest of the skeletons to patrol as planned.

Then, he entered the alchemist skeleton's room, handing over the five corpse cores.

As it turned out,

there weren't enough alchemist skeletons.

Besides crafting corpse core potions, they also had to produce healing potions and mental potions—items frequently needed.

Even though skeletons didn't need sleep, the single gnome skeleton was still overwhelmed with work.

The alchemist also had some skill in treating injuries, as demonstrated by how it removed the bullet and treated Jia Yingying's wound last time.

Now that he had some money, buying two more alchemist skeletons seemed like a good idea.

After briefing Big-Head Skeleton on the plan for tomorrow, Wu Heng opened the portal and returned home.

He went to the first floor and practiced his swordsmanship for a while.

The system notification appeared promptly.

[Sword Technique Unlocked: Grey Hawk Slash (Beginner).]

[Grey Hawk Slash]: Perform a rapid slash on a target within a maximum range of 10 feet. Increases attack speed by 5% upon hitting the target and interrupts spellcasting or charge attacks.

It worked.

Heaven rewards those who work hard. After all that practice, he finally unlocked a sword technique.

"Bagdong!"

Bagdong stepped forward.

"Stand over there; I want to test my sword technique."

Bagdong moved to the other side of the room, while Wu Heng gripped the [Silver Wing Rippled Sword] tightly.

In the next moment, his body shot forward like a diving hawk, closing the distance to Bagdong in the blink of an eye, slashing toward him.

Bagdong slightly sidestepped the attack and grabbed Wu Heng's sword-wielding wrist with one hand.

Damn!

Wu Heng was about to feel cool but ended up with his wrist grabbed instead.

Bagdong released him, and Wu Heng smoothly sheathed his sword with a flourish.

On reflection, it was normal to lose—after all, Bagdong had been a high-ranking elder of the Divine Punishment Sect before. If Wu Heng could injure him with just a beginner sword skill, that would be weird.

Still, the sword technique he unlocked was far from weak, allowing him to quickly close in and strike.

Even if he couldn't kill ranged targets, it could serve as an escape skill if used properly.

After sparring with Bagdong for a while longer, Wu Heng called it a night and went to sleep.

......

The next morning.

Wu Heng woke up early and went to the zombie world.

He organized the skeletons accompanying the convoy as it set off.

After watching them depart, he returned to Rentam City.

The weather in Rentam City was gloomy, with clouds covering the sky, threatening rain at any moment.

Wu Heng prepared an umbrella in his space ring and left for the Guild.

When he arrived at the hall, several squads were already gathering to take on assignments.

The Adventurer's Guild sustained numerous squads and mercenaries.

Approaching the front desk.

The staff greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, Captain Wu Heng!"

After several days, Wu Heng had become a familiar face at the Guild.

"Good morning," Wu Heng responded with a smile and continued, "I have a mid-level item reward to claim from last time."

The staff checked the records. "Captain, what type of reward would you like to claim?"

Mid-level rewards were generally nothing special.

They could be exchanged for low-tier scrolls, decent weapons, or skill books.

Only high-level rewards offered magical items or relics.

Scrolls, being one-use items, weren't worth the trade. Weapons weren't necessary either—Wu Heng mainly used guns to kill enemies now.

Skill books, on the other hand, were more useful. He could learn the skills permanently, making them the best choice.

"I'll take a skill book, mage-oriented."

"Please wait a moment!"

Soon after, the staff returned with several skill books. Most were low-level ones like [Acid Splash] and [Dancing Lights], which Wu Heng had already unlocked.

After browsing through the options,

he selected [Feather Fall].

[Description: Cast within range on up to five falling creatures, preventing them from taking fall damage as long as they land before the spell ends.]

[Feather Fall] was an auxiliary skill.

But in critical moments, it could be a life-saver.

Moreover, it wasn't limited to just himself; he could cast it on up to five people simultaneously.

A pretty useful skill.

After finalizing his reward, Wu Heng turned to leave.

He walked through the hallway and headed to the squad's rest room.

Entering the room, he found Duke, along with a female orc with green skin, wearing leather armor, a dagger and quiver at her waist, and a longbow on her back.

"Captain, good morning," Duke greeted him.

Today, Duke was wearing a different outfit.

No longer the plain armor, this set had more intricate patterns, and the craftsmanship looked much finer.

Especially the helmet—besides being made entirely of metal, there was an additional thick layer on the forehead.

It looked heavy.

Wu Heng nodded, "Morning, Duke. Who's this?"

"This is our new member."

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