Volume One: A Hell-Level Lord World, Chapter Ninety: Clearing the Battlefield

“Holy Light Magma, break through those skeleton soldiers. Corpse-Eating Vines, you have fifteen minutes to clear the battlefield. After fifteen minutes, we leave immediately.”

At Chen Gu’s command, the Holy Light Magma, who had been guarding the wagon camp, swiftly leapt to the ground. They plunged into the ranks of skeleton soldiers—no techniques, no strategies, only pure force as they crashed into their foes.

Wherever they struck, every skeleton soldier perished on contact. It was easy to imagine why: the essence of Holy Light Magma is a blend of sacred light and flame—both deadly enemies to skeletons, whether by holy power or sheer heat.

This battle required no special tactics; as long as the Holy Light Magma launched themselves forward, it was enough. Skeleton soldiers, once struck, screamed ceaselessly before being reduced to ashes.

Naturally, the skeletons soon retaliated, hacking at the Holy Light Magma with reckless abandon, willing to perish themselves so long as they could drag the Holy Light Magma down with them.

At this moment, the Bloodshadow Wolves, having finished off all the skeleton archers, returned. They lunged at the skeleton soldiers, crushing them in their jaws, intent on eradicating every last one.

Meanwhile, the Corpse-Eating Vines had already cleaned up the flesh of the walking corpses. All that mattered was to devour the remains; digestion could wait for the journey ahead.

With the addition of the Bloodshadow Wolves and Corpse-Eating Vines, the battle was as good as over.

Fifteen minutes was just right for Chen Gu: ten minutes to eliminate the remaining skeleton soldiers, five minutes to clear the battlefield. There was no need to bring the spoils directly to Chen Gu; it sufficed to deposit them in the wagon serving as a makeshift warehouse.

Various reports quickly reached Chen Gu, and he soon knew exactly what he had gained this time.

[You have received 3,115 gold coins.]
[You have received 116 White Bone Fragments (Common).]
[You have received 71 Complete White Bones (Common).]
[You have received 66 Rusty Swords (Common).]
[You have received 191 Armor Fragments (Common).]
[You have received 6 Complete Armors (Common).]
[You have received 33 Axes (Common).]
[You have received 1 White Jade Phalange (Hero Token).]
[You have received 1 Corrupted Heart (Hero Token).]
[…]
[Undead Hero Token discovered: White Jade Phalange. Can convert subordinate soldiers into Undead Heroes (prioritizing Bone types).]
[Undead Hero Token discovered: Corrupted Heart. Can convert subordinate soldiers into Undead Heroes (prioritizing Flesh types).]

These resources were delivered to the wagon that served as a warehouse, without ever passing through Chen Gu’s hands. He was more than content with this arrangement. After each battle, he no longer needed to worry about where to store his spoils; this freed his mind to focus on other matters.

Now, for instance, Chen Gu was contemplating the situation with these undead troops. Once everything was packed away and he had climbed onto the wagon, his first action was to dispatch all the Fire Spirit Ravens.

“Go scout the surroundings. See if there are any other large undead forces heading our way. If you find any, do not alert them. Find out their numbers and direction, then report back to me immediately.”

After sending out the Fire Spirit Ravens, Chen Gu hurried over to the wagon serving as a warehouse and retrieved the two undead Hero Tokens.

He now needed enough heroes to deal with increasingly complicated threats. Originally, he had planned to act alongside Kabbas, but Kabbas had yet to catch up. The scouting mission assigned to the Fire Spirit Ravens might not yield perfect results either. Clever as they were, these ravens were still far from human intelligence. If they could report back with the enemy’s direction, that was already quite something. Expecting them to count enemy numbers, or even intercept the enemy, was nearly impossible.

Chen Gu pondered whether he should try converting his Hero Tokens, to see if he could synthesize a new hero. He had come to understand the workings of these Hero Tokens: by using the power of holy light or flame, the undead nature of a token could be transformed into one of holy light or fire. What the final product became depended on the token’s original attributes and the resources Chen Gu invested during synthesis.

The two tokens in his hand could be processed this way.

Chen Gu examined them, forming a plan. Using flame was not suitable—they might be reduced to ashes before the synthesis succeeded. So direct burning was out of the question.

Instead, he intended to soak the tokens in holy water to wash away their undead aura, then find a suitable pet for synthesis. Presently, he had no ideal candidates, but that did not mean he would not find any in the future. He resolved that the moment a suitable opportunity arose, he would immediately create a new hero.

Not long after Chen Gu’s departure, two more undead units arrived at the site.

Like the previous force that had blocked Chen Gu, these undead were composed of skeleton soldiers and walking corpses—cannon fodder units. Even their formations were similar: a skeleton hero and a zombie hero each leading their own divisions onto the battlefield.

Upon arrival, they instantly took stock of the situation.

“What’s going on? Weren’t we supposed to have trapped them? Where are they?”

“It seems they lost. Hey, Gray Bones, you’d better be careful. See that? The ones we’re after have dogs with them—the best bone-eaters around.”

The skeleton hero shot a cold look at the bone the zombie hero had picked up. With a snort, he said, “You only see the skeletons’ bones gnawed, but have you noticed? There isn’t a single corpse of a walking dead left here. Where do you think they’ve all gone?”

At this, the green-tinted face of the zombie hero grew even more ashen.

“You mean the enemy has some way to devour or carry off corpses and flesh?”

“I never said that. Maybe their team is specialized against zombies. What do you think?”

“You—” The zombie hero was furious.

But in the end, he restrained himself. With a bitter threat, he spat, “Just you wait. We’re going after them!”