Chapter 74: You Dare Raid My Territory While I’m Away? Your B-Rank Hero Gets Beheaded on the Spot!

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: You Dare Raid My Territory While I’m Away? Your B-Rank Hero Gets Beheaded on the Spot!

Time passed second by second.

Standing on the elevated ground, Gareth kept staring into the mist, waiting for news from inside.

But after quite some time, the Hero he had sent in still hadn’t returned.

"Why is it taking so long...?"

Gareth paced back and forth, anxiously stamping his feet.

Just as he was about to lose his patience—

A figure slowly emerged from the dense fog.

But it wasn’t his Hero.

It was a man.

The man held a longsword in one hand, blood slowly dripping from its blade.

In his other hand, he carried a round, ball-shaped object.

Gareth’s pupils suddenly contracted. The blood in his entire body seemed to freeze.

[System Notification: Your Hero, Splithoof Sunstrider, has died.]

[Hero: Splithoof Sunstrider]

[Race: Centaur]

[Rank: B]

[Level: Lv. 12]

[Status: Deceased]

[System Notification: Hero "Splithoof Sunstrider" has been removed from your Hero List.]

...

When John returned, the first thing he saw was a battlefield littered with the corpses of units and wreckage of mechanical equipment.

There were Centaur corpses, along with several shattered siege weapons.

Sword marks and traces of magic from the battle still remained scattered across the ground.

At the center of the open area, a man was sitting on a bluestone slab.

It was Bladeborne.

He had his head lowered, holding a whetstone in one hand as he slowly and methodically sharpened the longsword in the other.

Blood was still trickling down its blade.

Hearing the sound of dragon wings landing, he immediately raised his head, sheathed his sword, and dropped to one knee.

"My Lord."

Inside the territory, Sylvie also hurried out through the mist to greet him. Her wine-red hair fluttered gently in the wind, and a smile spread across her face.

"My Lord, you’re back."

John’s gaze swept across the battlefield, taking in the corpses, the orderly defensive formations, Bladeborne kneeling before him, and Sylvie coming out to greet him.

He immediately understood what had happened during his absence.

"Well done."

Those were the only three words he said.

Bladeborne lowered his head and reported calmly.

"Someone took advantage of your expedition and brought troops to attack the territory. Sylvie and I have dealt with all of them."

"Mm."

John nodded without asking anything further.

He knew Bladeborne’s style of getting things done. If he had been ordered to leave no survivors, then there would be no survivors.

Bladeborne wasn’t someone who exaggerated his accomplishments.

With a faint smile, John turned around and waved his hand.

Spatial rifts appeared, and Corpse Exploders began emerging one after another, their enormous bellies bulging outward.

"Go. Collect all the corpses."

These would come in handy during his next battle.

"Understood."

The Corpse Exploders immediately got to work. Their massive bodies moved across the battlefield as corpse after corpse was systematically gathered, stacked, and transported away.

And so, another round of activity began within the territory.

...

The first thing John did was distribute the equipment he had obtained.

He opened his Legion Space, which was packed with crates of weapons, armor, and protective gear.

"Mages, Gray Hazelwood Staffs."

"Archers, Dragonbone Arrows."

"Cavalry, Chainmail Armor."

One batch of unit equipment after another was distributed among the various troops.

As the equipment was put on, John casually opened several unit status panels.

He immediately noticed that their attack and defense attributes were steadily increasing.

[Frost Mage (Six-Star): Defense +220, HP +1,800.]

[Sharpshooter (Six-Star): Attack +260.]

[Dragon Knight (Six-Star): Damage +15%.]

"Not bad."

John nodded in satisfaction.

Next, his gaze fell upon the Unit Altars scattered throughout his territory.

He slowly raised his hand as a faint golden light began gathering in his palm.

[Talent: Star Coronation activated.]

This was the talent he had plundered from the Judgment Alliance’s Heir Apparent and subsequently enhanced through his Undead Sovereign class.

There was no way John would let such a powerful talent go to waste.

He slowly channeled the power of coronation into the very first altar he had established in his territory.

Buzz—

The Spearman Altar lit up, golden patterns spreading through its stone crevices and climbing toward its peak.

[Ding!]

[Star Coronation triggered!]

[Target: Undead Spearman Altar (One-Star)]

[Star Rating Upgrade in Progress...]

[Congratulations! Undead Spearman Altar has been upgraded to Three-Star!]

[Updated Attributes: Undead Spearman]

[HP: 50 → 150]

[Attack: 10 → 25]

[Defense: 2 → 10]

[Skill "Pierce" Enhancement: Damage increased from 120% to 150% of Attack. Defense penetration increased from 10% to 15%.]

John glanced at the notification and clicked his tongue.

"That’s what you call an SSS-grade talent."

This was the lowest-tier altar in his territory, and it had just become a three-star altar!

"No wonder Augustus became the Heir Apparent. This talent really is absurdly powerful."

John seemed to get hooked.

He continued activating the talent on his other altars.

[Ding!]

[Star Coronation triggered!]

[Target: Undead Sentinel Altar (Three-Star)]

[Star Rating Upgrade in Progress...]

[Congratulations! Undead Sentinel Altar has been upgraded to Four-Star!]

"It seems there isn’t any usage limit!"

John’s eyes immediately lit up.

Without another word, he went through every remaining altar one by one.

[Ding! Undead Dark Knight Altar upgraded to Five-Star!]

[Ding! Undead Dragon Knight Altar upgraded to Seven-Star!]

[Ding! Undead Frost Mage Altar upgraded to Seven-Star!]

[Ding! Undead Fire Mage Altar upgraded to Seven-Star!]

[Ding! Undead Swordsman Altar upgraded to Seven-Star!]

[Ding! Undead Sharpshooter Altar upgraded to Seven-Star!]

[Ding! Corpse Exploder Altar upgraded to Eight-Star!]

Across the entire territory, the star ratings of almost every Unit Altar had been raised by one or two stars in this single round of coronations.

[Ding! Following the upgrade of the Undead Frost Mage Altar, unit attributes have been updated accordingly: HP 1,000 → 1,500, Attack 1,300 → 1,900, Defense 200 → 340. Skill "Ice Rain" damage increased from 80% to 120% of Attack, and slow effect increased from 80% to 90%.]

[Ding! Following the upgrade of the Undead Fire Mage Altar, unit attributes have been updated accordingly: HP 1,200 → 1,800, Attack 800 → 1,400, Defense 200 → 340. Skill "Fireball" damage increased from 150% to 200% of Attack, and the additional burn damage per stack of "Pyroblast" increased from 50% to 80%.]

...

"Alright, alright. I get it!"

John had only read two notifications before the endless stream of text gave him a headache.

He quickly raised his hand and muted the entire string of notifications.

Only then did the world return to peace and quiet.

Taking a deep breath, he retrieved the newly acquired [Seven-Star Unit Training License] from his inventory.

The card had a dark silver sheen. On its surface was the silhouette of a humanoid figure with a slender build, holding a short dagger in one hand.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Unit Training License: Shadow Assassin.]

"A perfect match for Arno."

Of course, that went without saying.

After all, when Raistlin and Bladeborne had been successfully recruited, he had also obtained unit types corresponding to their respective specialties.

John didn’t give it much further thought.

He walked to the far edge of the cluster of altars, took out the Seven-Star Unit Altar Stone and the corresponding authorization card, and slammed them both onto the ground