Chapter 4, Skeleton Soldier_1
He passed through the lush forest.
Ahead was a flat prairie, scattered with animal bones that had been gnawed clean.
More than twenty prairie wolves were lazily sprawled on the grass, basking in the sun.
A few of them had visible wounds, with not yet dried bloodstains dyeing the grass a dark red.
Behind the pack of wolves was a natural cave.
The inside of the cave was dim and unclear.
According to the previous experience with the tiger's den, there should be more wild beasts inside, possibly a small boss.
Fang Hao hid in the bushes, watching the wolf pack from a distance.
However, he felt an indescribable heaviness in his heart. If he did not have the ability to amplify a hundred times,
Like the other lords with only five peasants,
Would he be able to survive facing these prairie wolves?
It would be very difficult, truly difficult.
"Surround them, then attack all at once," he instructed the skeletons.
But the skeleton army remained aloof, showing no expressions and giving no response.
"Alright, go, kill them all, leave none behind," Fang Hao said helplessly.
Whoosh!
The skeleton army emerged from the bushes, brandishing their weapons as they charged towards the wolf pack.
Without any need for tactical arrangement, the sheer number of skeletons formed a fan shape during their charge, surrounding the wolves and the cave in the middle.
The sudden appearance of the skeleton legion startled the wolf pack.
But it gave the wolves no chance to react.
They were immediately embroiled in a fight.
The prairie wolves, fierce as they might be, were too few in number.
Faced with nearly a thousand skeletons, they appeared particularly vulnerable.
In a moment, they were overwhelmed by the sea of skeletons.
In the blink of an eye, over twenty prairie wolves were hacked to death by the chaotic axes.
Inside the cave, a pair of dark green eyes lit up, flickering like ghostly flames.
An exceptionally strong prairie wolf king, filled with rage, walked out.
It stood at the entrance, emitting a thunderous roar.
Awooo—
[ Prairie Wolf King (Level 2)]
[Skills: Bite, Pounce.]
But the next moment, upon seeing the dense skeleton army in front of the cave, its roar abruptly stopped.
Creak, creak!
The skeletons turned their skulls, all staring at the wolf king.
The next second, they all surged into the pitch-dark cave, followed by another burst of fighting and mournful cries.
Several minutes later.
The skeletons that had entered the cave all came out again.
A few of them were carrying the body of the wolf king and a wooden-colored treasure chest as they walked out.
Thump!
With a dull sound, they threw the chest directly in front of Fang Hao.
"You're not stupid, are you!"
They seemed to show some intelligence by moving the treasure chest out and bringing it to Fang Hao.
However, the few skeletons that carried the chest just turned and walked away, leaving him with the back of their skulls.
He opened the treasure chest.
[Acquired: Tier 1 Barracks Blueprint, Common Wooden Shield Blueprint (White).]
Both blueprints turned into a beam of light and entered the Book of Lords.
Although it was a small and common blueprint,
Fang Hao couldn't hide the joy in his heart.
There was a blueprint for the barracks; as long as it was built, he could recruit soldiers.
Thus increasing his own safety.
"Alright, take all the dropped tools, and carry all these wolf corpses as well; let's head back to our domain," Fang Hao called out loudly.
The skeletons, working in pairs, lifted the wolf corpses high and followed Fang Hao back to the domain.
…
Back at the domain.
The skeletons threw the surplus tools into the warehouse and left the wolf corpses on the open ground.
They turned and went back to work.
Although the skeletons were not highly intelligent, their diligence in working nonstop without food or drink was quite commendable.
[Tier 1 Warcraft Prairie Wolves*24; Do you want to butcher them!]
Confirm butchering!
[Butchering completed; obtained 9600 meat, 480 beast skins, 360 beast bones.]
[Level 2 Warcraft Prairie Wolf King; Do you want to butcher!]
Fang Hao continued and confirmed.
[Butchering completed; obtained 800 meat, 50 beast skins, 40 beast bones.]
After the butchering, the piled corpses on the open ground turned into light and flew into the warehouse.
In the warehouse, the storage of meat was exceeding the other resources.
Even if he could eat a lot, he couldn't possibly consume so much meat.
With the issue of wolf corpses resolved, it was time to build the barracks.
[Tier 1 Barracks Blueprint (Burial Grounds): Required resources; lumber 300, stone 500, rope 60.]
Buildings for the undead faction, consuming less lumber.
The stone consumption was a bit higher.
He chose a spot.
And directly built the barracks.
With a flicker of light, the Barracks Burial Ground was constructed.
[Tier 1 Burial Grounds]
[Recruitable: Skeleton Soldier]
[Skeleton Soldier: White Bone 300.]
(Note: You can recruit troops of your faction in this building, increasing the building level unlocks new soldier types and higher tiers.)
[Upgrade materials required: lumber 500, stone 720, leather 80, rope 240, shadowstone 5.]
Compared to the Underground Cemetery, the Burial Grounds were slightly larger.
Underground Cemetery, much like a cemetery would be.
But the Burial Grounds are more akin to a mass burial mound.
The summoning requirements, astonishingly, needed 300 Beast Bones.
Had it not been for just killing the Prairie Wolves, there would not have been enough bones.
Similarly, someone in the channel had obtained an item called a 'Soul Crystal.'
Hard to acquire, it is an item used for summoning troops.
It had the same function as his own White Bones.
He simply chose to recruit.
After all, they had to be summoned sooner or later—earlier they come, earlier they work, allowing for faster development of the territory.
[Skeleton Soldier (Tier 1) successfully recruited, 101 in total due to the 100-fold amplification trigger.]
A burly Skeleton crawled up from the barracks' grounds.
Light fell around, denoting the additional 100 Skeleton Soldiers generated by the amplification.
[Skeleton Soldier (Tier 1)]
[Faction: Undead]
[Racial Traits: Undead, Hollow Skeleton, Vulnerability to Light.]
[Skill: Shield Bash]
[Innate Abilities: Basic Combat Mastery, Basic Sword Mastery, Basic Shield Mastery.]
[Undead]: This troop is already deceased, unable to possess morale or emotions; immune to toxins, diseases, blindness, and mental magics.
[Hollow Skeleton]: Lacks vital weak points.
[Vulnerability to Light]: Light-based magic causes 20% more damage to self.
[Shield Bash]: (When equipped with a shield) Strike the enemy with the shield to inflict blunt damage, with a chance to stun the target.
(Note: Skeleton soldiers, lifting their rough bone arms aloft with newly found weapons, display a semblance of combat power but remain fragile and unable to withstand continuous attacks from enemies.)
...
The Skeleton Soldiers were slightly taller than the laborer Skeletons, not entirely clad in exposed White Bones.
They wore tattered cloth shirts on their upper bodies, fluttering in the breeze like a bunch of mop strings.
To be honest,
the new combat troop did not bring Fang Hao many surprises.
The first three abilities were the same as those of laborer Skeletons, with just an additional Shield Bash skill.
And it required a shield to be effective.
Right, today's acquired Blueprint was for a shield.
He immediately opened the manufacturing page in the Book of Lords.
[Wooden shield: 3 wood, 2 ropes.]
Manufacture!
[100-fold amplification triggered, 101 wooden shields successfully created.]
A pile of wooden shields appeared next to him.
"All right, everyone pick up a wooden shield and a stone axe," Fang Hao shouted.
The Skeleton Soldiers stepped forward, each picking up the equipment.
"Your task is to patrol the vicinity of the territory, protect the working laborer Skeletons, and gather prey," Fang Hao pointed.
Following the orders, the Skeleton Soldiers turned and left.
The territory was still in the newbie protection phase.
As long as they were within the territory, they would not experience any attacks from wild beasts or enemies.
Therefore, by keeping low, there would be no danger.
Instead, it was the laborer Skeletons that needed some protection to prevent another beast attack.
Disrupt the normal work.
After arranging everything, the sky had gradually darkened.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he was still human.
He hadn't eaten all day.
Inside the lord's cabin, there were flintstones.
He ignited a bonfire, roughly chopped the meat into chunks with a stone axe, speared it on a stick, and roasted it over the fire.
Soon, the delicious aroma of roasted meat wafted through the air.
While waiting for the meat to fully cook, he boredly opened the chat channel.
Without a cellphone, this had become the sole source of amusement.
"Who has food, I'm so weak from hunger, please give me something to eat."
"I'm so hungry too, and I don't dare to go out. Who can save me?"
"Does anyone know how to get back? I'll transfer $5 million immediately if you can get me back."
"Wake up, upstairs, accept reality sooner!"
"Goods for food. The loyalty of the farmers has dropped too low, if I don't feed them, I'm afraid they'll eat me. Who has food, goods for food."
"Seeking food online, I'm the school beauty from the Film Academy."
...
Hmm?
Can still trade goods?
The surplus of food behind him was indeed excessive.
Rather than wait for it to rot, better to exchange it for some needed goods.
No sooner thought than done.
After researching, he found how to trade goods on the Book of Lords.
[Trader: Fang Hao]
[Registered Item: Meat]
[Quantity: 1000 units.]
[Per unit requirement: 50 units of wood, 40 units of stone, 5 units of ore (any one type).]
(Note: For special items, private chat to increase the food quantity.)
...
No sooner had the information been posted than the chat channel exploded.
"Holy crap, someone's put up meat for sale, and it's 1000 units."
"Big boss is awesome… missing any trinkets for your leg?"
"Fang Hao? Is it the one who first upgraded the main city, that boss Fang Hao; damn, it really is..."
"Wow, boss Fang Hao got a god-tier start."
"That's too dark, isn't it? So many resources for one unit of meat, are you even human?"
"Boss, I have a gold tooth, does that count as a special resource? If you want it, I'll immediately pull it out and give it to you."
"Keep your yellow teeth for smoking mosquitoes, upstairs. Boss Fang Hao, I have a gold chain, I'll trade it for two units of food."
"You better keep your gold chain for hanging yourself!"