Chapter 174 - 173: Death Knight

Chapter 174: Chapter 173: Death Knight

POP! POP! POP!

A series of crisp popping sounds echoed one after another.

In the direction Gu Su pointed, a large number of Lizardman corpses simultaneously burst open. Countless wisps of gray energy flowed into them as greenish ichor and bits of flesh splattered everywhere. The cracking of shattering bones was as dense as a downpour, and a thick, putrid stench instantly filled the air.

The bloody remains churned within the gray light, as if something was tearing its way out from the inside.

Then, the soft scraping of Bone Joints could be heard from within the bloody mist.

A ghastly white Skeleton climbed out of the pile of corpses. Its bones were still covered in viscous fluid, and a ghostly green Soul Fire had just ignited within its empty eye sockets.

It glanced down at its blood-stained Bone Claws, then turned, picked up a Wooden Spear left behind by a Lizardman, and stood silently to the side.

A second, a third, a fourth—

More and more Skeletons rose from the exploded flesh. Though their movements were stiff, they showed no hesitation.

They climbed up, picked up a weapon, turned, and fell into formation. The entire process was perfectly synchronized, as if guided by invisible strings.

When the bloody mist and gray energy finally dissipated, twenty-eight Skeletons stood in the depression.

They held Wooden Spears, faced the same direction, and waited quietly for something.

A crisp system notification sounded in Gu Su’s ear:

[You have cast Soul Summoning Technique (Level 4) 1 time, processing 51 corpses. Successes: 28. You have obtained Skeleton (Level 1) x28. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +51.]

[Due to the effect of the Balance of the Dead, you have obtained Death Knight (Level 1) x1.]

Before Gu Su could react, the ground behind the twenty-eight Skeletons began to churn again.

Fragments from several corpses that hadn’t been completely obliterated seemed to be drawn by some force, automatically gathering together.

Bones, shredded flesh, Lizardman skin, and splinters of Wooden Spears—all of it spun, fused, and reassembled in the gray light.

A few seconds later, a White Bone Warhorse pieced together from seven or eight corpses rose from the filth. Its bones were jagged and uneven, with shriveled flesh still hanging from some parts, yet it stood firmly on the ground.

Immediately after, a skeleton noticeably sturdier than an Ordinary Skeleton materialized on the warhorse’s back.

It was haphazardly draped in a few pieces of greenish skin stripped from the Lizardmen, barely covering parts of its frame. Its right hand grasped a scavenged Wooden Spear, but its grip was completely different from that of the Ordinary Skeletons.

The spear was angled forward with the tip pointed slightly up. That wasn’t the stance for holding a spear; it was the stance for wielding a slashing weapon like a Big Saber.

A Death Knight.

Evidently, this newborn Death Knight had nothing to its name. All of its equipment was a "friendly donation" from the Lizardmen—crude, yet practical.

Gu Su stared at the figure on the dilapidated warhorse, momentarily stunned.

[Death Knight (Level 1, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/200), Attack 6, Defense 6, Life 35. Skills: Curse Attack, Lethal Strike.]

[Note: A Death Knight must reach Level 6 before it can choose a class or change classes.]

’This is my very first Death Knight.’

It was nothing like a conventional Death Knight, though.

It had no black Heavy Armor, no massive Cleaver, no warhorse wreathed in ghostly fire—not even a decent set of gear. But its silent, imposing aura and its ready-to-charge posture were more convincing than any ornate equipment.

The corners of Gu Su’s mouth turned up slightly.

He turned and raised his right hand again.

This time, his gaze wasn’t fixed on a single spot but swept across the entire battlefield. Wherever corpses were densely packed, gray light descended.

One circle, two circles, three circles...

Flashes of gray light illuminated the battlefield as swaths of corpses exploded one after another.

Greenish ichor rained down, the cracking of bones rose and fell in waves, and the stench of blood in the air was so thick it was almost suffocating.

And the Skeletons that crawled out from the flesh rose in batch after batch, like mushrooms sprouting after a rain.

In some areas with more corpses, sixty to seventy would explode, yielding thirty to forty Skeletons. In other areas with fewer corpses, twenty to thirty would explode, yielding a dozen or so. Some areas had a high success rate, producing a Skeleton for nearly every two corpses; others had a low rate, where a whole patch would explode and only seven or eight would rise.

But regardless, with every descent of gray light, a new batch of Undead joined the ghastly white ranks.

System notifications spammed Gu Su’s ears:

[You have successfully cast Soul Summoning Technique (Level 4), processing 63 corpses. You have obtained Skeleton (Level 1) x34. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +63.]

[You have successfully cast Soul Summoning Technique (Level 4), processing 47 corpses. You have obtained Skeleton (Level 1) x26. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +47.]

[You have successfully cast Soul Summoning Technique (Level 4), processing 52 corpses. You have obtained Skeleton (Level 1) x28. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +52.]

Occasionally, a different notification would pop up:

[Due to the effect of the Balance of the Dead, you have obtained Death Knight (Level 1) x1.]

[Due to the effect of the Balance of the Dead, you have obtained Death Knight (Level 1) x1.]

Gu Su didn’t have time to look closely. All he did was continue to raise his hand, draw circles, and perform Soul Summoning.

His Mana poured out like water from a broken dam, but the dense clusters of corpses were the best form of replenishment.

With every fall of gray light, a batch of Undead would rise. With every batch of risen Undead, a section of the battlefield was cleared.

The corpses below were diminishing at a visible rate, while the number of risen Skeletons was increasing just as quickly.

When Gu Su finally stopped, he had no idea how many times he had cast the Soul Summoning Technique.

He only knew that a ghastly white column of nearly four hundred Skeletons now stood on the battlefield below.

They had no orderly formation and no unified command, merely gathering together instinctively, all facing the same direction.

And at the very front of the column were eight White Bone Warhorses.

Eight Death Knights stood side by side, eight crude Wooden Spears angled forward, their eight pairs of ghostly green Soul Fires locked onto the surging green tide.

’For some reason, while he’d been obsessed with producing Corpse Witches in the last game, this time he was hell-bent on getting Death Knights.’

In just that short time, Gu Su had cast the Soul Summoning Technique over seven hundred times, raising 390 Skeletons and 8 Death Knights.

Gu Su took a deep breath and looked down below.

’That’s enough.’

Gu Su raised his right hand and pointed it gently forward, toward the ghastly white column.

There was no command, no shout. But as if they had sensed something, the Skeletons all began to march. The eight Death Knights spurred their White Bone Warhorses, charging at the very front.

Across the scorched earth littered with corpses, they began their counter-charge.