Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone

Chapter 680 - 454: A New Undead Realm Fragment? Massive Power Surge!

With the blessing of the Corpse Authority and the investment of a large amount of Soul Power, the results were naturally gratifying.

Relying on himself as a template, Fang Zhou successfully reverse-engineered a brand new unit that had never appeared in the Undead Creatures Atlas: the Black Iron-tier Corpse Warriors and the Bronze-tier Corpse Knights.

Corpse Warriors, an elite creation combining the advantages of both Skeleton Warriors and Zombies, required no further explanation. As for Corpse Knights, the name itself implied they were a fusion of Corpse Series undead and Skeleton Warhorses. Under the dual effects of their attribute panels and the Corpse Authority, they had become Fang Zhou’s most perfect creation to date.

It could be said that the Corpse Knight, a Bronze-tier undead creature, completely fulfilled Fang Zhou’s requirements for an assault unit. It also compensated for the lack of a strong, elite frontline among low-level undead. Compared to their Bronze-tier counterparts, the Plague Zombies, Corpse Knights possessed far superior mobility. Furthermore, their undead bodies, formed from bone and flesh, also contained the same Corrosive Poison that Plague Zombies prided themselves on.

Except for a slightly inferior frontal defense, the Corpse Knights could rightly be called the pinnacle of Bronze-tier undead creatures in terms of attack power, mobility, and the devastating destructive power of a massed charge.

After several rounds of refinement to finalize the first-generation Corpse Knight template, Fang Zhou commanded his Corpse Knight Guard to scour the Corpse Hills for all kinds of resources. He especially needed Skeleton Warhorses, the most critical component for creating Corpse Knights, and enslaved every one he encountered.

Fortunately, he possessed the Undead Transformation Altar and the Burial Ground. After much experimentation, he could now mass-produce Corpse Knights. Over this period, Fang Zhou had successfully converted 100 members of his Corpse Knight Guard into Bronze Middle-rank Corpse Knights. The remaining Corpse Knight Guard were still at the Black Iron Upper-rank due to resource constraints. This had almost exhausted all the resources he collected from the Skeleton Castle and the central area of the Corpse Hills.

Further expansion would require either waiting for a long period of accumulation or exploring new fragments of the Undead Realm.

In addition to bolstering his troops, Fang Zhou had also focused on command structure. He had crafted 4 Myriarch Tokens, 47 Chiliarch Tokens, and 477 Centurion Tokens. The 4 Myriarch Tokens were naturally granted to the Corpse Knight Guard who had accompanied him the longest: Tidamia, Yongen, Sain, and Verus. As for the remaining Chiliarch and Centurion Tokens, Fang Zhou generously distributed them at random among the other Corpse Knight Guard.

Although they were called the Corpse Knight Guard, Fang Zhou’s terrifying combat power meant he no longer truly needed their protection. At this stage, it was more important for these powerful undead to master their Commander’s Seals and act as commanders for Fang Zhou’s Undead Army.

The foundation of the Undead Commanders had taken shape; the next step was to continually expand the army. The 477 Centurion Tokens meant that Fang Zhou, through the command network he created, could lead at least 47,700 Corpse Series undead creatures. Although the limitations of the Corpse Authority meant their strength could not exceed Black Iron Upper-rank, this was still a world-changing improvement to his forces. With such a strong and well-equipped army, he could finally be truly called a Lord.

All the preparations were complete; all that was missing was the opportune moment.

As if favored by the will of the Undead Realm, just as Fang Zhou was rubbing his hands in anticipation of a grand conquest, he finally discovered a fragment of the Undead Realm with a significantly higher energy level in the Lord’s Hall of the Corpse Tomb. His own strength had reached its peak, and the resources in the Corpse Hills were nearly exhausted.

It’s time to embark on a new journey!

Of course, with Fang Zhou’s prudent nature, he wouldn’t act rashly. Before building the Undead Teleportation Gate and traveling to the new realm fragment himself, he decided it was best to let his servants scout ahead. With a wave of his hand, Fang Zhou controlled the Energy Concentration of the Undead Teleportation Gate and sent in the four most intelligent Corpse Myriarchs. With their Bronze Middle-rank strength and the racial Combat Power Coefficient of Corpse Knights, they should be able to bring back some reliable information even if they were to die in the process.

He patted Tidamia on the shoulder and watched as his four underlings entered the teleportation gate. Suppressing his eager anticipation, Fang Zhou turned his attention back to his own territory.

...

Now, with the undead network built using the Commander’s Seals, Fang Zhou could command a force of 47,700 Black Iron Upper-rank undead creatures. How to maximize the combat effectiveness of his army with the limited types of undead available became Fang Zhou’s next priority.

The Skeleton Battle Group, under the command of the Skeleton Lord he had previously killed, was a prime example of what not to do. Fang Zhou would be quite disappointed if the Corpse units he created were only that strong. Fortunately, he could rely on the Sea City Military Academy, where his main body resided, to draw upon a wealth of experience and ideas regarding army organization.

Soon, under Fang Zhou’s meticulous design, a powerful Corpse Battle Group was established. As he had previously envisioned, the standard ten-man Corpse Squad served as the most basic combat unit. Each squad included one Skeleton Bat for reconnaissance, a few Corpse Archers for long-range attacks, and the remaining spots were filled by melee-type Corpse Warriors who served as the front-line meat shields.