Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone

Chapter 631 - 429: Corpse Materials, Fang Zhou’s Undead Arsenal

However, all of this would have to wait until he returned to Sea City Military Academy.

「...」

After a half-hour rest, the battlefield—previously littered with corpses and drenched in blood—had been completely swallowed by the Withered Swamp.

After a brief recovery and treating a few unlucky wounded members, the Natural Expedition Team continued to advance deeper into the swamp.

Fang Zhou gathered the other commanders to discuss their next course of action. He started by briefly sharing his findings from dissecting the Mud Spring Banshee’s corpse.

The Forest Centaur guide, Kai, was stunned for a moment before he began to ponder.

"The Mud Spring Banshee isn’t unique to the Withered Swamp. I’ve dealt with them before; they’re a bunch of cowards, even more so than goblins. Never mind a large team like ours, even an ordinary patrol squad could make them too scared to come anywhere near."

"Since they are living beings, it’s possible they were killed by Undead Magic and transformed into the undead. These Mud Spring Banshees already show obvious signs of Undead Transformation. This also implies our target, the Undead Tomb, may have undergone terrifying mutations you haven’t observed before," Fang Zhou suddenly proposed a chilling possibility.

"Lord Ark, your words are terrifying," the Flower Elf, Miliou, shivered. "In any case, we took down that group of Mud Spring Banshees without a single casualty."

"Someone’s approaching!" As everyone chatted, the Forest Centaur on guard duty suddenly let out a low, urgent shout.

The marching expedition members stopped in their tracks and looked around. The thin mist that always floated in the Withered Swamp was now growing much denser, and dark shadows began to converge from all directions.

"So many of them! Werewolves, snake-men, and more Mud Spring Banshees... And that incredibly ugly one is riding a Swamp Slime!"

Having just easily won a bloody battle that proved their combat strength, the members of the Natural Expedition Team showed noticeably stronger composure than before. They raised their weapons and stood on guard, not a hint of panic among them.

However, the monsters this time weren’t just Mud Spring Banshees. There were also mighty, robust werewolves wielding wolf fang clubs, and slender snake-men covered in scales that resembled withered leaves.

The former had a ferocious reputation that far exceeded that of the Mud Spring Banshees. They would dare to charge even a full squad of knights.

The latter, while not as brave as the werewolves, possessed scales that served as perfect camouflage. Combined with the shortbows in their hands, which were made from the swamp’s unique Poison Wood, their poisoned arrows often found their mark before their victims even realized what had happened.

"What in the world? How are these monsters gathering together like this? This shouldn’t be possible!" Kai, who was the most familiar with this area, had a look of stunned disbelief in his eyes. "The werewolf and snake-man tribes are always at odds with each other. And the Mud Spring Banshees have conflicts with all the native tribes of the Withered Swamp. If the monsters here could unite like this, they would have established their own power long ago."

No one paid any mind to Kai’s muttering. Everyone was silently preparing for battle.

Fang Zhou silently calculated whether the Undead Creatures he had summoned were numerous enough to hold a solid defensive line. It looks like we’re in for a brutal fight this time!

As the Magic Professional students began their Combined Spellcasting chant, a dark cloud gradually formed above the team.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding monsters grew restless, but they still did not charge. They stood their ground in an unexpected silence, brandishing their weapons menacingly.

"What are these guys waiting for?"

"Then why don’t you go and ask?"

Inspired by the thought, Fang Zhou took a step forward and called out, "Natives of the Withered Swamp, why have you surrounded us?"

His voice echoed over the swamp, and unexpectedly, a voice responded from among the monsters.

"Humans, you have stepped into our homeland. Of course we must deal with you."

The voice was surprisingly fluent in the common tongue, though its tone was strange, raspy, and unfriendly.

"This Withered Swamp only recently appeared in the territory of the Forest of Nature. This is indeed your home," Fang Zhou nodded in agreement. "But who are you?"

Another voice rang out, accompanied by a hiss like a snake flicking its tongue. "Human whelp, when a sharp arrow pierces your eye sockets and heart, remember it was the Poison Fang Tribe that did it!"

The speaker emerged from the crowd of monsters—an exceptionally thin snake-man holding a gray-white shortbow.

"And the Wolf Howl Tribe!"

An unfamiliar voice came from another direction, this time with a wolf-like snarl in its tone.

Soon, a tall werewolf pushed through its companions and stepped forward. It wore rough armor stitched from Beast Hide and wielded a massive flail. This heavy weapon looked ancient. Its rusted, spiked head was as large as a Little Inferior Demon’s and spun threateningly in the werewolf’s grasp.

"I am Guna, the Shaman of the Demon Swamp Tribe," said the voice that had replied first. As it spoke, a particularly bulky and strange shadow began to writhe forward.

When the fog parted before it, Fang Zhou realized the shadow was actually a ragged Mud Spring Banshee riding a creature he had never seen before. The creature resembled an overly muscular Slime. But Fang Zhou knew that no ordinary Slime possessed such ferociously cold, blood-red eyes, nor did they have the solid, bronze-hued scales covering their bodies.

"That’s a Swamp Slime, Lord Ark," Kai urgently warned from behind Fang Zhou. "When the fighting starts, make sure not to look directly into its eyes. Many people have lost their lives mysteriously that way."

"Hopefully, there won’t be a fight," Fang Zhou tilted his head and answered softly before refocusing his attention ahead.

These three chiefs of the Swamp Natives looked extremely fierce, and they were definitely not kindred spirits with the Lawful Good Flower Elves or the Natural Allies. Yet at least they possessed the intelligence to communicate, which was a vast improvement over the undead-transformed Mud Spring Banshees they had encountered earlier, who were silent and driven only to fight and kill.

"Chiefs of the Withered Swamp tribes, we come from the Flower Elf Queen’s Tribe. We are passing through the Withered Swamp to eradicate the life-corrupting Undead Tomb ahead. Why do you block our path?"

"The Flower Elf Queen’s Tribe? The one waiting to die from the plague?" Guna, the Mud Spring Banshee Shaman, cackled mockingly.

"You’re right," Fang Zhou replied. "Now, Chief Guna, can we discuss the terms for our passage?"

"Ha! You want to pass through the Withered Swamp? Impossible! You can’t take another step unless we let you, isn’t that right?" Guna turned and asked the two chiefs beside her.

"That’s right, you can’t pass! As long as the Wolf Howl Tribe is here, you absolutely cannot pass!"

"Unless we agree... HISS... but why should we let you pass?"

The werewolf and snake-man chiefs both voiced their agreement.

Fang Zhou gripped his Undead Magic Ball, fighting the urge to launch a Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear straight at that damned Mud Spring Banshee’s head. But doing so would make a bloody battle unavoidable.

He suppressed his irritation and anger, saying bluntly, "Chief Guna, let’s stop beating around the bush. We want to pass through here. You can state your conditions for letting us pass. It’s that simple. Tell us what you want and what we can offer. Then..."

Fang Zhou paused, his expression turning serious, "...we will know the outcome of this negotiation."