Chapter 173 - 172: Soul Summoning Technique Level 4

Chapter 173: Chapter 172: Soul Summoning Technique Level 4

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With his upgrade complete, Gu Su turned his attention back to the battlefield.

In that short time, the green-skinned Lizardmen had already crossed the scorched earth cleared by the flames and were once again closing in on the base of the wall.

Although their numbers were greatly reduced, they were still a dense, teeming mass, surging forward like a tide. The air was thick with the mixed stench of scorched flesh and blood, and his ears were filled with the sharp hisses of the Lizardmen and the sounds of Bone Dogs ripping and tearing.

Gu Su knew he had to act fast, or the recently replenished Bone Dogs would be wiped out again.

Just as he was about to move, he noticed a subtle change—the world before him seemed different.

He could not only see the trajectory of the shells from the cannon tower in front of him, but could also faintly perceive the trajectories from the other two towers to his left and right. They were faint, golden parabolas extending from the muzzles, landing precisely in the densest areas of the enemy throng below.

’It seems the changes from the War Machine weren’t limited to just the Oil Sprayer.’

The thought flashed through Gu Su’s mind, but he had no time to dwell on it.

He turned, strode out of the cannon tower, and ran along the wall’s edge toward higher ground. His Mana was full, making Subordinate Corpse Explosion his most effective means of destruction. The teeming corpses below were all ready-made ammunition.

Just as he stepped onto the stairs leading to the top of the wall, a crisp system notification rang in his ear:

[Ding! The Great Gravepile has automatically used your Soul Summoning Technique (Level 3), creating 300 Bone Dogs (Level 1). Soul Summoning Technique Proficiency +150.]

Gu Su paused, a faint smile playing on his lips.

’More Bone Dogs. Those corpses we just retrieved were converted so quickly. An extra three hundred Bone Dogs should hold the line for a while longer.’

Before he could fully enjoy the moment, another notification sounded:

[Your Soul Summoning Technique has successfully leveled up! Please choose an upgrade path.]

A semi-transparent panel then materialized before him, listing three options:

[1. Soul Summoning Expert: Increases Soul Summoning success rate (from 55% to 65%).]

[2. Battlefield Soul Summoning: Allows for area-of-effect Soul Summoning on a designated part of the battlefield during combat. Success rate is equivalent to your standard Soul Summoning Technique.]

[3. Soul Summoning Elite +1: Undead created via Soul Summoning are now Level 2.]

A wry expression appeared on Gu Su’s face. His Soul Summoning Technique had, once again, unexpectedly leveled up thanks to the mass summoning of Bone Dogs.

This wasn’t the first time. His previous two upgrades were also thanks to the proficiency accumulated from the Great Gravepile’s automatic summoning. This one, however, had come even faster than he’d anticipated.

’It seems the Bone Dog losses in this battle have been staggering. I’ve lost count of how many Bone Dog Bosses and Minions we’ve already gone through.’

He quickly scanned the three upgrade options, his decision made in an instant without a moment’s hesitation.

Of the three, "Soul Summoning Expert" had appeared before, during his very first upgrade. He had decisively rejected it back then, choosing "Soul Summoning Elite" instead to make his summoned Undead start at Level 1.

During his second upgrade, "Balance of the Dead" had appeared, and he had chosen it without hesitation as well.

Now that "Soul Summoning Expert" had appeared again, it held no appeal for him.

However, his eyes were quickly drawn to the second option.

Battlefield Soul Summoning.

Previously, when he used the Soul Summoning Technique, it was either after a battle had ended, when his subordinates would haul the corpses before him to be summoned, or when he was too preoccupied, his subordinates would throw the bodies directly into the Gravepile for the Graveyard Demon to automatically convert them using his technique.

Either way, one step was unavoidable: bringing the corpses back.

After a battle, this step wasn’t particularly difficult.

Gu Su had plenty of underlings to handle it.

But on an active battlefield, sending people down to retrieve corpses was an incredibly difficult task.

In truth, Gu Su didn’t have many corpses on hand.

But if he chose Battlefield Soul Summoning, that step would no longer be necessary.

He could stand on the wall and cast his Soul Summoning Technique directly on the corpses below, raising an Undead Team on the spot.

The freshly fallen Lizardmen, their bodies still warm, could become his soldiers in the blink of an eye, turning around to join the fray.

Imagine it: as the Lizardmen continued to charge, he would cast his Soul Summoning Technique, and the corpses on the ground would suddenly rise as Skeletons, swinging their weapons to cut down their former companions.

The very thought of it was exhilarating.

He glanced down from the wall. In just that short time, dozens more Lizardman corpses had fallen. Some were still twitching, while others had already been trampled into a bloody pulp by their advancing comrades.

Farther out, in the area previously scorched by flames, lay swaths of charred, blackened remains.

’Though most are carbonized, there are definitely still some usable ones among them.’

’All of them are Resources.’

’It’s time to show the enemy the might of a skeleton tide.’

Without further hesitation, Gu Su selected the second option with a mere thought.

"I choose Battlefield Soul Summoning!"

The moment the words left his lips, a warm current flooded his mind, as if something deep within his consciousness had been activated.

He vaguely sensed that his Perception of the corpses had become clearer, as if he could now distinguish which could still be converted and which had lost all value.

He didn’t dwell on the feeling. Instead, he turned and rushed up the last few steps to the top of the wall, placing his hands on a crenel as his gaze swept across the battlefield below.

There were indeed a great many corpses. From where he stood, he could see small, green dots scattered everywhere within a hundred-meter radius. Some were motionless, some were still twitching, and others were being trampled by their comrades charging from behind.

Gu Su took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and traced a circle in the air over the densest pile of corpses below.

Soul Summoning Technique!

An invisible ripple emanated from his palm, spreading out to envelop the area he had designated.

In his vision, a faint gray light covered a circular area roughly ten meters in diameter, sweeping over every corpse within it.

The next moment, however, his brow furrowed slightly.

The Soul Summoning Technique had indeed been cast, but he could clearly feel that the light only covered the circle he had drawn. The corpses outside it were completely unaffected, and the circle’s diameter was at most ten meters.

’In other words, I can only convert corpses within an area of this size at one time.’

What surprised him even more was that there was a range limit. He tried pushing the circle farther out, but beyond one hundred meters, his Perception became blurry, making it impossible to lock on accurately.

"I can only mark a ten-meter diameter circle, and only within a hundred meters..." Gu Su muttered, a little frustrated, but then he relaxed.

’It has its limitations, but it’s still better than before. At least now I don’t need to wait for my underlings to bring the corpses back; I can act directly from right here.’