Chapter 4: Lord's Cottage Upgrade

Not long after acquiring four Skeleton Labors, Fang Jie began his grand undertaking of rushing an army.

Just like before, he moved to the edge of the protective circle and waited for the Goblins to come out on their own. The fact was, Fang Jie couldn't see their position within the forest and was worried about being ambushed.

After all, he was just an ordinary person. It wouldn't matter if a Skeleton Labor's bones were broken, but he certainly wouldn't be okay.

Without any medicine here, even a minor scratch was a concern for Fang Jie; he wasn't sure he could continue if he was injured. This time, when faced with a Goblin, Fang Jie simply didn't lift a hand.

The four Skeleton Labors surrounded and brutally stabbed the Goblin to death. The cost was two broken bones.

Skeleton Labors could slowly heal their injuries at night, so they weren't a concern.

And so, Fang Jie commanded two skeletons to return the corpse, and by the time they returned, there were six Skeleton Labors.

"Why do I feel a bit dizzy? Does Skeleton Splitting consume something?" On his fourth fission, Fang Jie felt something was off. Suddenly, he sensed something from the Skeleton Labors drawing him in.

He grabbed one casually, and a black energy flowed from the Skeleton Labor into his hands, after which the Skeleton Labor fell to the ground, but Fang Jie no longer felt dizzy.

"I'm fine now, wait, I'm not dead, am I?" Fang Jie squatted down to look at the Skeleton.

"It's not dead, but it can't move. It looks like it'll have to recover by itself at night."

Although Fang Jie felt it was a pity, considering the Skeleton's contribution, he decided to just let it be. "As long as there are enough skeletons, I can keep splitting indefinitely." Fang Jie grinned.

As his forces grew, it became easier to clear the surrounding area. From the initial two or three, to five or six later on, Fang Jie allowed the Skeleton Labors to attack.

"So that's how it is. The problem of Spiritual Enemies is a subjective factor."

Fang Jie observed his Skeleton Labors venturing out, and although the Goblins outside saw them, they showed no intention to attack.

Their small brains couldn't comprehend what a skeleton was. A bunch of moving bones, even if you killed them, wouldn't be of any use. They certainly wouldn't bring them back to make soup, especially since there was no meat to speak of.

Only when the skeletons initiated an attack did the Goblins retaliate.

Eventually, Fang Jie stumbled upon a group of about a dozen Goblins and commanded his Skeleton Labors to surround them. They launched a surprise attack before the Goblins could react, killing nearly half of them on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, Fang Jie realized his Skeleton Labor count was nearing one hundred.

"Undead are indeed fearsome; this ability to rush an army is impressive," Fang Jie felt hungry.

"Those of you, go chop wood; you others, bring back some stones. You, go find water sources and other animals. The rest patrol around, and take out any Goblins you encounter."

Fang Jie thought for a moment and quickly distributed tasks. These Skeleton Labors had limited intelligence, functioning almost purely on instinct.

But no matter what, these fellows followed orders.

With nothing else to do, Fang Jie opened the discussion forum to see how others were faring.

"We just went out to explore together and two people died. It's too dangerous out there."

Someone died! Fang Jie's expression shifted, thinking about all those Goblin monsters outside. If he had ventured out from the beginning, he would likely have met a dead end too.

"Guys, is anyone nearby? My coordinates are ***, ***. Whoever saves me, I'll recognize as my boss forever." This was someone's lament.

"I'm a girl, fair and beautiful, and I can 'ying ying ying'. Please take care of me."

Fang Jie scrolled down and saw many pleas for help. It seemed everyone had recognized the dangers of this world. Fang Jie also noticed that many people were together.

There were others who had landed alone like him, but on larger shards, there were quite a few people collaborating. Many hands make light work, and some areas were probably developing very quickly.

"Everyone hurry up and upgrade the Lord's Cottage, as soon as you upgrade the Lord's Cottage, you can engage in regional trading."

Suddenly, a post was made, and the entire discussion area went quiet for a few seconds. No one expected that a player named Dongfang had already succeeded in upgrading the Lord's Cottage.

"So impressive, upgrading so quickly, I worship the big shot."

"Big shot, do you still need any decorations?"

"Does Dongfang big shot have a girlfriend? You wouldn't mind having one more, would you?"

After a few seconds of quiet, the floodgates opened, and a torrent of posts appeared.

Dongfang posted again, "Everyone hurry up with your upgrades. As long as one person in a location upgrades, that's fine. After upgrading, you can trade and allocate resources from different regions, which allows us to do more."

"The big shot is right, everyone support me, and once I upgrade, I'll definitely repay you all."

"I'm just a little short on materials, will be finished soon."

Fang Jie was watching this and felt a pang of excitement. This trading capability, it's a good one indeed. Being part of the Undead Camp, he had to keep a low profile and avoid being seen by others. It seems that trading without face-to-face encounters is quite beneficial.

Stepping out of the wooden hut, Fang Jie saw his Skeletons had already carried over a tree trunk, along with several large stones. With resource detection, these supplies were sufficient.

"Really, isn't there a resource page to mark these? Do I have to check for myself?"

While muttering to himself, Fang Jie confirmed the upgrade of the Lord's Cottage.

Lord's Cottage Level 1: Territory Core Building with a certain production capacity, able to produce Skeleton Laborers.

Upgrade requirements: Wood 10 units, Stone 10 units, Bones 10 units.

Being part of the Undead Camp, his upgrade required bones. Ten units meant wasting the corpses of ten Goblins. If it weren't for the fact that he had an abundance of Skeleton Laborers now, Fang Jie would really be reluctant to use them.

In an instant, Fang Jie noticed his cottage had grown larger; from one room, there were now two. A hall and a bedroom, and the furniture seemed to have gotten a bit more upscale too.

Upon opening the panel, new changes appeared.

Lord's Cottage Level 2: Territory Core Building with a certain production capacity, capable of producing Skeleton Laborers.

Upgrade requirements: Wood 30 units, Stone 30 units, Bones 30 units.

Skeleton Laborer Level 2: Rank (Apprentice)

Recruitment requires: Bones 1 unit, Spirit Points 1 unit.

"The Skeleton Laborer has reached Level 2, although the rank hasn't changed, the strength must have increased. The recruitment cost is still the same, let's make one to try it out."

As Fang Jie thought this, he walked to the back and had the Skeletons throw a corpse down.

"This conversion speed is much faster than before, and it's not just one at a time anymore, seems like two can be done at the same time," Fang Jie had another corpse thrown down by the Skeletons and indeed, two could be converted simultaneously.

If it weren't possible, then they wouldn't have thrown down two corpses.

It didn't take long for the new Skeleton Laborer to climb up. Fang Jie took a careful look; indeed, the bones of this Skeleton Laborer were thicker and the figure taller. Even the tools in their hands looked more refined.

Presumably, whether for work or combat, the tools would be more effective now.

"Continue upgrading, it's just a little material after all."

"Lord Fang Jie, as the third one in the region to upgrade the Lord's Cottage are you eligible for a reward?"