novelraw Chapter 311: Oceans of Blood
Chapter 311: Oceans of Blood
[Experience Points +2000]
[Summoned Entities: Experience Gained +1000]
Looking at the floating notifications before him, Thoren nodded slowly with a pleased expression.
His deep blue eyes shifted toward the fallen Sand Hounds scattered across the crimson dunes. Blood soaked the desert floor while severed limbs lay strewn in every direction.
Without hesitation, he commanded his undead servants to begin cleaning the battlefield immediately.
This was already the fifth group of Sand Hounds that had attempted to ambush him during his journey across the Scorched Outskirts.
Naturally, every single beast had been slaughtered mercilessly. Their corpses had already been sold through the Abyssal Market without leaving anything behind.
"If this continues, perhaps I can level up again before reaching the next town," he muttered while grinning faintly.
[Level: 10 (16,130/32,000)]
That was correct. He was already halfway toward the next level.
For ordinary awakeners, traveling through the Scorched Outskirts represented nothing but certain death. Every dune concealed terrifying beasts waiting patiently beneath the sands.
Yet for Thoren, the endless desert had become a paradise overflowing with free experience points.
With the current strength of his undead legion, he genuinely doubted whether any beast roaming the Scorched Outskirts could threaten him anymore.
While he remained lost within his thoughts, his undead servants had already gathered the corpses of the Level 28 and Level 29 Sand Hounds before him neatly.
Without wasting another second, Thoren transferred every corpse into the Abyssal Market for sale.
"Hm. Another hundred gold coins," he muttered softly. A bright smile slowly crept across his face.
"Now I can finally buy the heavy broadsword."
His fingers moved swiftly across the Abyssal Market interface before selecting the Bronze Grade weapon section.
After searching briefly, he quickly found the black heavy broadsword he had been eyeing for quite some time.
Without hesitation, he purchased it immediately.
[Purchase Successful! Items Stored Within Inventory.]
Thoren barely glanced at the notification since he had already grown accustomed to the process.
Reaching inside his inventory, he brought out the black heavy broadsword carefully.
The instant he grasped the weapon firmly, his body almost lost balance completely. He nearly stumbled face first into the sand before regaining control forcefully.
"So heavy..."
Although he had already read the weapon description earlier, he still never imagined the broadsword would possess such terrifying weight.
"But I like it," he whispered softly.
Most awakeners would likely avoid using such an excessively heavy weapon. Swinging it repeatedly during battle would rapidly drain stamina while slowing movement considerably.
However, Thoren possessed no such concerns whatsoever.
Whoosh!
The undead Guild Captain skeleton appeared instantly before him.
Clad entirely in black robes, the undead figure radiated a cold murderous aura. Inside its hollow sockets, fierce soul flames burned continuously like ghostly infernos.
"Take this. From today onward, this shall become your weapon."
The undead Guild Captain stepped forward silently before taking the massive broadsword effortlessly from Thoren.
The tremendous weight that nearly caused Thoren to stumble seemed utterly meaningless within the undead creature’s grip.
Beneath the black robe, Thoren could faintly see the Peak Bronze Grade armor gleaming brilliantly under the desert light.
Even while alive, the Guild Captain had never possessed equipment of such quality.
Yet now, every piece of gear adorning his undead body belonged to the Peak Bronze Grade category. From head to toe, the undead captain had become heavily armed for slaughter.
Staring at the intimidating undead Guild Captain, Thoren could not help grinning foolishly.
"My vanguards have increased to four now," he whispered excitedly.
"Perhaps it is finally time to test their strength properly."
His heart pounded rapidly with anticipation and excitement.
Previously, his three vanguards alone could crush almost every opponent effortlessly. Their destructive power had already surpassed ordinary awakeners completely.
Now, another terrifying vanguard had joined their ranks.
Thoren genuinely could not wait to witness how much more devastating his undead legion would become.
Quickly, he withdrew every undead servant back into the Undead Space before summoning his mount.
The Undead Iron Roar Komodo emerged before him immediately.
After riding the undead Dust Naga previously, Thoren had discovered an unfortunate problem. Every Sand Hound detecting the Dust Naga’s aura fled instantly in sheer terror.
This realization made him understand something important.
If he truly wished to maximize his farming efficiency during travel, then continuously riding the undead Dust Naga would become counterproductive.
Thus, he returned to using his previous mount instead.
Whoosh!
The undead Iron Roar Komodo surged forward rapidly, leaving massive clouds of sand erupting behind it.
Compared to the terrifying speed of the undead Dust Naga, the Komodo’s speed seemed somewhat lacking.
Truthfully, Thoren even believed he could move faster himself if necessary.
Still, he honestly did not care.
Right now, his primary goal remains farming as many experience points as possible while testing the true strength of his newly strengthened vanguard squad.
Flying beside him, the undead Echo Scarabs released continuous waves of sound vibrations throughout the surrounding dunes.
Within the endless desert landscape, the undead Echo Scarabs had become extremely important for his rapid farming strategy.
No matter how deeply the Sand Hounds concealed themselves beneath the sand dunes, the Echo Scarabs would detect them immediately.
As a result, Thoren never needed to worry about lacking targets capable of satisfying his growing thirst for battle.
After traveling continuously for nearly an hour, Thoren slowly began noticing subtle changes occurring throughout the desert environment.
The colors of the dunes were changing gradually.
The further he traveled, the redder the sand became.
Initially, the transformation remained extremely subtle. The ordinary yellow crimson dunes slowly developed deeper crimson shades resembling dried blood.
However, as he journeyed deeper into the desert, the transformation intensified rapidly. Soon, the dunes resembled vast oceans of blood stretching endlessly toward the horizon.
More importantly, Thoren also noticed something unusual happening to the undead Iron Roar Komodo beneath him.
Its speed had decreased drastically. Every step forward appeared increasingly difficult.
It almost seemed as though the blood red desert itself was gripping his mount tightly while attempting to force it downward.
Thoren narrowed his eyes slowly while observing the surrounding environment carefully.
"This must be the Inner Region..." he whispered softly.
Excitement flashed deeply inside his eyes.
The atmosphere throughout the desert had changed completely.