Chapter 259 - 258: Battle Halftime

Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Battle Halftime

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Looking at the three upgrade options that popped up on the system panel, Gu Su ruled out the most orthodox Corpse Explosion upgrade path almost without hesitation.

He knew full well that this path followed a conventional skill progression.

It would first upgrade his current Subordinate Corpse Explosion to Ordinary Corpse Explosion. Then, as his proficiency increased, it could be further advanced to Powerful Corpse Explosion and finally Ultimate Corpse Explosion, its power increasing with each level.

Admittedly, this was the safe choice. If he were unsure about the other options, this path would be a foolproof way to reliably improve his crowd-clearing capabilities.

But at this moment, Gu Su’s thoughts were not on this orthodox path at all.

His gaze immediately locked onto the "Battlefield Shredded Corpses" option, a bright glint flashing in his eyes.

This wasn’t to say that the "Poison Injection" option was bad.

Gu Su simply knew it had obvious limitations.

It wouldn’t allow him to inject poison at will. Instead, it could only use the fixed toxin that came with the Corpse Explosion Skill. This wasn’t the special poison developed by his Corpse Witches, and that stuff had very limited power and adaptability. For the current battlefield situation and his future growth, its practical value wasn’t high.

The effect of "Battlefield Shredded Corpses," on the other hand, perfectly aligned with Gu Su’s current combat strategy. It was practically tailor-made for him.

’According to my calculations, once I master this effect, the shattered fragments from my Corpse Explosions won’t go to waste. I’ll be able to gather them again to launch a second, even a third, round of explosions, effectively reusing them.’

’Later, when my Skill Proficiency is higher, I might not even need whole corpses. I could just toss out a few fragments to trigger an area-of-effect Corpse Explosion bombardment.’

’This kind of flexible and versatile attack method is far more practical than just increasing the raw power of Corpse Explosion. It’ll also be better for adapting to complex battlefield situations.’

His mind made up, Gu Su immediately selected the "Battlefield Shredded Corpses" option and activated the upgraded Subordinate Corpse Explosion effect right then and there.

He scanned the battlefield, his gaze locking onto a dense cluster of aberrations relatively far from the Graveyard Demon. Undead Energy gathered at his fingertip. He pointed abruptly and barked, "Subordinate Corpse Explosion!"

"BOOM! BOOM!"

Two massive explosions erupted in quick succession. The shockwaves, carrying shattered corpse fragments and a bloody mist, swept toward the distant cluster of aberrations. The creatures within the blast radius were instantly blown to smithereens, reduced to pools of flesh and blood before they could even let out a cry.

At the same time, a series of system prompts sounded in Gu Su’s ear:

[You have used Subordinate Corpse Explosion (Level 2). Subordinate Corpse Explosion proficiency +15.]

[You have used Subordinate Corpse Explosion (Level 2), killing 12 Level 5 aberrations and gaining 360 Experience Points.]

[You have used Subordinate Corpse Explosion (Level 2). Subordinate Corpse Explosion proficiency +15.]

[...]

Gu Su’s barrage of Corpse Explosions was a complete release of his combat power, and the ensuing blasts were immensely satisfying.

To his pleasant surprise, the upgraded Subordinate Corpse Explosion could use not only the corpses of his fallen Undead, but also the scattered remains from failed Soul Summoning Technique attempts. As long as the remains were at least fifty percent intact, they could be used as material for Corpse Explosion. This completely surpassed his initial expectations.

This discovery gave Gu Su a virtually endless supply of "ammunition" on the battlefield. He no longer had to worry about running out of materials for Corpse Explosion. He could now strike as he pleased, freely using Corpse Explosion to wipe out the aberrations on the battlefield.

Under Gu Su’s continuous Corpse Explosions, the sustained bombardment from the Artillery, and the precise sniping of the Magic Undead units, the number of aberrations that had been charging in an endless stream began to dwindle, and their assault grew weaker and weaker.

Eventually, there was a lull of one or two minutes where no new aberrations appeared on the battlefield. All that remained was the lingering smoke of battle and the fields of corpses.

If not for the sounds of fighting and clashing weapons still carrying clearly from the distant town center, Gu Su might have thought this difficult siege was finally over.

Since no aberrations were appearing to harass them for the moment, Gu Su shifted his focus from eliminating enemies to immediately adjusting his deployment.

On one hand, he ordered the Graveyard Demon to continue ramming the strange wall, relentlessly suppressing its ability to regenerate and giving it no chance to reform and close the gap.

On the other hand, he deployed his Skeleton Soldiers to immediately begin cleaning the battlefield, clearing away the corpses and collecting usable materials.

Previously, the battle had been too urgent. Most of the corpses on the battlefield were immediately converted into new Undead via Gu Su’s Soul Summoning Technique to reinforce his army, leaving no time to sort through them properly.

Now that the aberrations had temporarily retreated and he had a moment’s respite, Gu Su immediately ordered his Skeleton Soldiers to collect the remaining corpses and use them to fill the empty Tombstones in his Graveyard Demon.

In addition to the currently empty Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Tombs within the Graveyard Demon, Gu Su also planned to use this opportunity to fill the few Empty Tombs in the Withered Wood Forest and the Swamp Forest. This would maximize his use of battlefield resources and further strengthen the Graveyard Demon’s combat power.

Next, he considered the open slots in the Withered Wood Forest and Swamp Forest. In the battle to stop the wall from reforming, Gu Su had placed great importance on the crucial role played by the Corpse Rat Swarm.

It was their frantic gnawing on the wall’s wooden segments, heedless of the burning flames, that had decisively broken the stalemate and sparked a new plan in Gu Su’s mind.

’If possible, I should naturally make full use of the Empty Tombs in the Withered Wood Forest and Swamp Forest. This will further enhance the diversity of my Undead, so I can deploy different types when special situations arise.’

Gu Su’s priorities were clear.

First, he would fully replenish the missing Slime units in the Graveyard Demon.

After that, he would use the Empty Tombs in the Withered Wood Forest and Swamp Forest to prioritize summoning Ghouls. After all, the Withered Wood Forest and Swamp Forest could produce Wood on their own, but the rate was somewhat slow. A production speed of one unit of Wood per hour hardly did justice to such a large area.

Ghouls were a type of Undead Gu Su had never recruited before. Aside from having combat power comparable to Skeletons, the only other thing worth mentioning was their Woodcutting ability.

Gu Su might not have paid it much mind before, but things were different now.

Gu Su glanced at the wall. ’Woodcutting, huh.’

’It doesn’t say they can *only* cut trees, right?’

Once the Ghouls were replenished and he had enough corpses, he would then consider summoning more Bone Dogs, Corpse Rats, and White Crows to round out his different types of Undead forces. After all, this diversity was his main advantage. He hadn’t expanded these units before simply due to a lack of troops.

But things were different now. There were plenty of corpses here, so replenishing his ranks shouldn’t be a problem.

Just as Gu Su was mentally working out the deployment plan for his Undead Team, Bone Ash, who had been tasked with cleaning the battlefield, suddenly ran back over. In his hand, he held a glowing green object.