Chapter 177 - 176: Spoils of Battle

Chapter 177: Chapter 176: Spoils of Battle

Gu Su’s Soul Summoning Technique was the final straw for the Lizardmen.

Gray light fell repeatedly from the top of the wall, enveloping the mountainous piles of corpses below.

With each flash of light, dozens of corpses simultaneously exploded. Amidst the spatter of blood and flesh, ghastly white Skeletons struggled to their feet. They snatched up scattered Wooden Spears and, without even pausing to shake off the viscous fluids clinging to their bodies, instinctively turned and pounced on the nearest Lizardmen.

Over three hundred and forty Skeletons, like a white tide appearing from thin air, poured onto the battlefield from all directions.

The Lizardmen, who had been putting up a desperate last stand, finally broke completely.

They were no longer facing an enemy of comparable numbers, but a relentless Undead Army that only grew larger as the battle raged on.

Every time a Lizardman fell, its body still warm, it could be caught in the next wave of the Soul Summoning Technique, rising as a new Skeleton to turn on its former comrades.

This hopeless cycle was more than any low-level cannon fodder could bear.

A few minutes later, the last Lizardman crashed to the ground, torn at by three Bone Dogs and pierced by the Long Spears of two Skeletons. Its verdant body convulsed a few times before finally falling still.

At last, the battlefield fell silent.

Gu Su stood atop the wall, gazing down at the corpse-strewn land below, and let out a long breath.

’This has been a long night’s fight.’

He pulled up his system panel and began to take stock of his gains and losses from the battle.

Half of his Bone Dogs had been killed. Of the three hundred reinforcements, only a hundred and fifty-odd now remained, patrolling the edge of the battlefield and warily sniffing the lingering hostility in the air.

He had lost four Death Knights, but the last wave of the Soul Summoning Technique had added three more, leaving him with seven riders in total. They were now slowly patrolling the mounds of corpses on their White Bone Warhorses.

The three van-driving combat squads—Suburban Wolf, Plague Corpses, and Broken Bones—had suffered heavy losses. Fewer than half had survived, and they had already retreated into the Graveyard Demon to recover, awaiting new corpses for reinforcement.

About a third of the Skeletons summoned mid-battle had also been destroyed. Including the newly raised three hundred and forty, nearly six hundred now stood blankly in place, awaiting new orders.

At a rough estimate, the casualty ratio was nearly one-to-one.

However, considering only the combat units Gu Su had committed, he had definitely come out ahead.

Gu Su’s gaze swept over the battlefield, then paused, caught by several unusual figures.

Beside the seven Death Knights stood two new Corpse Witches—unexpected byproducts of his Soul Summoning Technique. It was clear, however, that they had no intention of following the Death Knights.

They stood beside a massive Lizardman corpse, prodding at it with their bony fingers as if studying this new species.

And in the shadows not far behind them stood an entirely new entity.

The creature was emaciated, yet taller than the Corpse Witches. A pair of sharp fangs protruded from its mouth, and it wore a loose black cloak with dark red patterns embroidered along its hem.

It stood perfectly still, almost melting into the darkness. Only a pair of eyes, glowing with a sanguine light, flickered from within the shadow of its hood.

[Vampire (Level 1, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/200), Attack 5, Defense 3, Life 25, Skills: Flying Species, No Retaliation.]

[Note: A Vampire must reach Level 4 to select or change its class.]

A Vampire.

Although this creature was a far cry from the noble vampires of legend—it had no elegant suit, no pale, aristocratic face, and looked more like a scavenger—its chilling aura and instinct for melting into the darkness certainly earned it the name.

A faint smile touched Gu Su’s lips.

The night’s haul was even richer than he had anticipated.

He cleared his throat and issued a command to the forces below, his voice deep. "Skeletons, stay and clean the battlefield! All other units, withdraw! Return to the Graveyard Demon and restore your Life Force!"

At his command, the Undead below moved at once.

The seven Death Knights reined in their mounts, turned, and in a flash had entered the Graveyard Demon, arriving before Gu Su.

The two Corpse Witches ceased their investigation, pulled their tattered robes tighter, and followed the Death Knights back. Once inside the Graveyard Demon, they headed directly for the Dark Erosion Cave, as if instinctively knowing where they belonged.

The fledgling Vampire transformed into a fist-sized bat, flew in over the wall, and came to roost in a room on the second floor.

Meanwhile, the Skeletons got to work.

They moved without orderly ranks or unified command, simply scavenging the battlefield by instinct.

One Skeleton bent down to pick up a relatively intact Wooden Spear, inspected it for a moment, and casually tucked it into its waist. Another squatted, tore a fairly clean piece of Beast Skin from a Lizardman’s corpse, shook off the blood, and likewise fastened it to its belt.

More Skeletons weaved through the mounds of corpses, gathering scattered weapons, shattered Armor, and even unidentifiable scraps into small piles.

Just then, five pickup trucks and two heavy trucks drove out from within the Graveyard Demon, appearing at the edge of the battlefield in a surge of Black Fog.

Bone Ash and Push Tooth had arrived with their crews.

These were the real cleanup crew.

Bone Ash hopped down from the truck bed, the small tools at his waist jingling in the night.

He waved a hand, and his Skeletons immediately fanned out to begin a systematic cleanup of the battlefield. This wasn’t just scattered scavenging; it was a true sweeping operation.

They loaded the small junk piles the other Skeletons had gathered onto the trucks, shoveled blood-soaked earth into sacks, and gathered stray bone fragments. Even the chunks of flesh, trampled into a nearly unrecognizable paste, were scraped up with wooden spades and dumped into buckets.

Under the Ash Squad’s direction, the Ordinary Skeletons also joined the massive cleanup operation.

Some hauled, some sorted, and others dismembered the larger corpses into smaller pieces for easy loading.

The entire battlefield resembled a massive construction site, with countless figures bustling about in the dark.

The most absurd sight of all was a few Skeletons squatting on the ground, scraping at bloodstains with small, bone-carved spades.

They meticulously scraped up the dark red stains that had soaked into the scorched earth, collecting both blood and soil in small cloth pouches.

Nearby, other Skeletons were gathering rocks—not special ones, just ordinary, blood-stained stones from the battlefield—picking them up one by one and arranging them in a small pile.

Gu Su was left a bit speechless by the sight, but he didn’t say anything.

’Well, the Graveyard Demon can digest anything,’ he thought. ’The vines and mycelium will probably absorb the rocks and dirt and use them to reinforce the walls.’

He averted his gaze, walked down from the wall, and approached the resting Death Knights and the Vampire.

The seven Death Knights had dismounted. Their White Bone Warhorses, pieced together from fragments of corpses, stood quietly to the side, occasionally snorting and puffing out a cloud of eerie green mist.

The Lizardman Beast Skins they wore as makeshift armor looked even more tattered now, exposing their ribs in some places. Their Wooden Spears were similarly battered, most of the tips having snapped off, leaving only bare wooden shafts.

Gu Su looked them over, his brow furrowed.

"This is what you’re wearing for Armor?"

The lead Death Knight looked up, the spectral fire in its eye sockets flickering. Its voice was low and raspy. "Sir, this is merely a temporary measure."

"Our gear is all... a ’friendly donation’ from these Lizardmen."

"For what comes next, I’m afraid we will require your assistance, Sir."

Gu Su nodded. That was to be expected.

’What good gear could freshly summoned Undead possibly have?’

"What do you need? Be specific."

The Death Knight glanced down at its tattered Beast Skins, then at the broken spear in its hand. It spoke slowly. "Weapons. Swords or other bladed types would be best."

"Armor... If it’s available, we need Full Body Armor. At the very least, Chest Armor and pauldrons."

"Our warhorses also need barding, though we can do without for now if necessary. All equipment must be at least White Quality."

Gu Su did a quick mental calculation and shook his head. ’This is going to be a hassle.’

"Alright." He nodded. "And you?"

He turned to the Vampire standing in the shadows.

The Vampire lifted its head from beneath its cloak, revealing a gaunt, pale face. Its eye sockets were even deeper-set than the Death Knights’, and a dark red light glimmered within them, flickering in the darkness. It opened its mouth, baring two reasonably sharp fangs, and was just about to speak—

Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded in the distance.

It was not a sound any of the Undead on the battlefield could make, nor was it the roar of any beast.

It was the whistle of a train—long and piercing, it shattered the night’s silence, echoing long over the ruins.

Gu Su spun around, his gaze fixed on the direction of the sound.

At the edge of the darkness, a faint light flickered.