Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone

Chapter 681 - 454: A New Undead Realm Fragment? Massive Power Surge! (Part 2)

Ten squads form a company. Ten companies form a battalion. And ten battalions form a standard Battle Group.

Above the company level, elite Corpse undead holding Commander’s Seals meticulously crafted by Fang Zhou served as commanders. This made things much easier for Fang Zhou.

In this way, Fang Zhou began training his troops in synchronization with his new round of territorial expansion. The previous batch of elite Skeleton Warriors had been concentrated in the Skeleton Lord’s Skeleton Battle Group, and all of them were wiped out single-handedly by Fang Zhou.

Although the Corpse Battle Group under Fang Zhou now had a very reasonable unit composition, in terms of sheer quality, they were certainly not as strong as the old veterans. For this very reason, after assembling his army to 40,000 strong, Fang Zhou commanded these 40,000 Corpse Warriors to begin dueling each other.

Fang Zhou’s purpose was simple: he intended to reduce the number of his troops, but not at the cost of his army’s overall strength. He had his troops continuously duel one another. The victors would then absorb the Soul Fire of the defeated to become stronger.

Fang Zhou understood the principle of valuing quality over quantity.

Thus, a situation that should have been impossible in the Corpse Hills occurred: troops belonging to the same lord actually began to infight, repeatedly dueling each other.

Low-tier Skeletons, Zombies, and other Undead generally lack any consciousness. To them, their lord’s command was the very meaning of their existence. Fang Zhou’s orders were carried out perfectly.

In just a short time, Fang Zhou’s troops were reduced from a full force of 40,000 to less than 20,000. This was the result of Fang Zhou deliberately slowing the process, allowing the Corpse Warriors who had absorbed Soul Fire more time to grow. Otherwise, his forces might have dwindled to fewer than 10,000.

Of course, this was not the outcome Fang Zhou desired. After ensuring that these 20,000 Corpse Warriors had fully assimilated the Soul Fire they absorbed, he once again commanded them to duel one another.

Naturally, Fang Zhou did not stop expanding his forces. While all the Undead were dueling, Fang Zhou led the Corpse Commanders on a hunt.

Every wandering Skeleton and Zombie in the area caught his eye. Regardless of their strength, as long as they were Undead, Fang Zhou would immediately have the Corpse Knight Guard charge forth and exert soul pressure. He would then use a Commander’s Seal to forcibly seize their Soul Fire, turning them into his subordinates.

At the end of a day’s hunt, Fang Zhou would return with the newly captured Skeletons and Zombies to initiate a new round of duels. The victors would undergo a transformation in the Corpse Transformation Pool, becoming powerful Corpse Warriors. The defeated would offer their flesh, bone, and soul, becoming material for the victors’ growth.

In this way, the number of Fang Zhou’s forces continuously grew, then shrank, then grew and shrank again. The Undead under his command were arguably the fastest-growing and fastest-dying in the entire Corpse Hills. Never before had an Undead Lord in the Corpse Hills commanded his subordinates in such a manner.

The presence of the Corpse Commanders also greatly reduced Fang Zhou’s workload. For many tasks, he only needed to give them a general outline, and they would carry it out.

Under Fang Zhou’s exhaustive approach, the central area of the Corpse Hills became a veritable wasteland. It was extremely difficult to find even one or two wandering Skeletons, and those he did find were usually weak Undead that had just reached the upper tier of Black Iron.

However, the results were obvious.

Every Corpse Warrior under Fang Zhou had now begun to show signs of metallization. Empowered by Fang Zhou’s Commander’s Seals, these Corpse Warriors, whose Tiers remained at the upper tier of Black Iron, began to forge their second piece of Corpse Armor.

Melee Skeletons like the Giant Axe Skeletons, Long Spear Skeletons, and Great Sword Skeletons mostly forged Skeleton Armor or shields to enhance their direct combat abilities. As for the Skeleton Archers or Skeleton Bats, they manifested more offensive weapons or functional equipment.

For instance, some Elite Corpse Archers now had a faint phosphorescent powder covering their bodies. Their bone arrows were no longer ordinary; they were now Phosphorescent Bone Arrows that would adhere to a target and burn continuously. Their destructive power was incomparable to that of ordinary bone arrows.

These adaptations were all optimal solutions, chosen based on each undead’s combat experience and the instincts of its Soul Fire. Regardless of the specific form, their combat abilities were significantly improved.

Fang Zhou roughly calculated that in the past month, nearly 100,000 Skeletons and Zombies had died within his territory. The white bones left behind by the dead Skeletons formed a thick layer, creating a bloodthirsty spectacle.

But even so, he was not entirely satisfied. When faced with the Corpse Knight Guard, the combat power of these metallized Corpse groups was only enough to put up a decent fight.

How could such a result satisfy me, when I want to build an army capable of dominating the Undead Realm? Mere Bronze-tier Corpse Guards can decimate these Corpse Battle Groups. What about the stronger Undead Creatures I might encounter in other fragments of the Undead Realm? Ghosts? Vampires? Even Corpse Witches?

With this thought in mind, Fang Zhou made his decision. He would maintain his Corpse Battle Group’s numbers at about eighty percent of their full strength and continue his endless troop training until Tidamia and the other Corpse Guards sent useful information through the Undead Teleportation Array.

I wonder what the power distribution is like in the Undead Realm fragment on the other side of the Teleportation Array.

In his current situation, it would be best for Fang Zhou to find a weaker opponent to target first. His army currently numbered only 40,000. However, as long as the Energy Concentration in the opposing Undead Fragment was not too high and the resident Undead were not of an overly powerful Tier, his sea of bones could be considered the elite of the elite in any area teeming with low-tier Undead.

After all, disorganized and undisciplined low-tier Undead Creatures were like a mob, completely incapable of following commands. Even a smaller army could easily defeat a mob several times its size. Moreover, every one of Fang Zhou’s subordinates was an elite among Skeletons.

***

In an inn in Beast Fighting City, Fang Zhou suddenly opened his eyes. He had been sitting cross-legged within a Meditation Array, resting his mind.

The strength and influence of his Corpse Clone were steadily increasing day by day. Regarding the recent minor incident, his Clone had already dispatched Guards to explore the newly discovered Undead Realm fragment. All Fang Zhou needed to do next was wait patiently.

Stretching slightly, Fang Zhou washed up and then went to bed.

***

「The next day.」

Fang Zhou purchased some supplies in the Beast Fighting City market, preparing to set off on another hunt. He once again took the train to the outpost base and went to the Adventurer Association. The place was bustling with Adventurers accepting new quests or turning in completed ones.

"Hello. I’m here to accept a quest. ’Clear Low-Tier Fierce Beasts’ and ’Gather Spirit Materials’," Fang Zhou said at the counter, pointing to the two simple quests that were perpetually pinned at the top of the board.

"Which team?" the staff member behind the counter asked without looking up.

These service personnel were mostly Professionals in the Apprentice Stage. However, they likely had no potential to break through to higher Tiers.

"Solo."

Upon hearing this, the staff member looked up at Fang Zhou for a moment, then said nothing more. Anyone daring to hunt Fierce Beasts alone was either exceedingly bold or a genuinely powerful individual. Whichever it was, it was none of their concern.