Chapter 244 : Skeleton Giant Altar

Chapter 244: Skeleton Giant Altar! The Clash of the Five Great Legions!

Netherblood ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍City.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍upper echelon of the Corpse Lich Territory had gathered.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍atmosphere was unusually heavy.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍defeat at Huangmei Hamlet meant that the Corpse Lich Territory's offensive against the human territory had suffered a major setback!

Not ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍only had the Corpse Lich Territory's army been completely annihilated, it had also failed to inflict significant casualties on the enemy.

It ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍was nothing less than a humiliating crushing defeat!

The Corpse Lich Grand Elder, Eroding Bones, whose status was second only to Xie Ming in Netherblood City, said in a deep voice, "I never imagined a human lord would be so difficult to deal with. From beginning to end, he left no openings whatsoever. We couldn't find a single weakness to exploit!"

Indeed.

As unwilling as they were to admit it—

This human not only possessed top-tier ministers and generals, as well as an army powerful enough to contend with the Corpse Lich Territory, but he himself was also an outstanding lord with exceptional overall capabilities.

Ever since the two territories had come into contact,

No matter what strategy they employed—

Whether infiltrating the main base for an assassination, circling behind enemy lines to destroy the population, or even having Lord Xie Ming personally serve as bait—

They had never once managed to lure the human lord into revealing himself.

The Corpse Lich Territory simply could not find any opportunity to take advantage.

Otherwise, had the human lord failed to keep his composure during any one of those operations, they would have obtained intelligence on him and perhaps even launched a surprise attack to wipe out his headquarters in one fell swoop.

Again and again, their meticulously planned schemes had all failed.

Instead, it was the Corpse Lich Territory that had suffered devastating losses.

During this round of offensive operations in the Woniu Mountain region, the Corpse Lich Territory had lost not only eight thousand Dead Bones Skeleton troops and two thousand Corpse Fiend troops, but also several types of special units, for a total of over ten thousand casualties.

They had also lost multiple generals, including Skeleton Gan Ning, Gray Decay, and Huang Zu.

One-third of their Hero Units had been wiped out.

Although Undead Lords were famous for their ability to rapidly mass-produce armies,

Such enormous losses were still enough to severely damage their foundations and vitality.

"Although the Dead Bones army has been wiped out, the main force of our Corpse Lich Territory remains intact!" One Corpse Fiend general stepped forward and volunteered. "This subordinate requests permission to lead the main Corpse Fiend army as the vanguard and decide victory against the human army!"

"No!"

Eroding Bones said, "My Lord, the defeat at Huangmei Hamlet means we must completely abandon the idea of achieving a swift victory. We should rely on our unit advantages and our territorial defensive advantage to confront the human territory. At the very least, we should wait until we have fully recovered and regained overwhelming strength before launching our counterattack."

The proposal immediately won the support of most of the Corpse Fiend leadership.

The Corpse Fiends were naturally sinister and cunning, never fond of reckless actions.

Although the territory's remaining strength was still formidable, it could no longer afford another disaster like Huangmei Hamlet. They had to become even more cautious to avoid suffering a catastrophic upset.

"Exactly!"

"The humans may possess an Undying Legion."

"But its numbers are small, and its strength is limited."

"As long as we proceed steadily, they won't pose any real threat."

"As for the generals and legions recruited locally by the humans, they are indeed powerful, but we've already confirmed they can be killed permanently!"

"Next, we should capture those immortal soldiers and lock them in dungeons, then rely on the strong defenses of Shaxian City to wear down the human forces."

"Once the humans begin to lose momentum—"

"Then we'll launch a new offensive."

"..."

Grand Elder Eroding Bones and the others each presented their own opinions.

These suggestions were clearly both reasonable and practical.

Lord Xie Ming nodded after hearing them.

Although he desperately wanted revenge, launching another reckless offensive was indeed too dangerous. Even a territory with the Corpse Lich Territory's foundation might face extinction if it suffered another crushing defeat.

It would be better to reverse the battlefield.

Lure the human territory into attacking the Corpse Lich Territory instead.

Once the humans became the attacking side, the Corpse Lich Territory could exploit its defensive terrain to maximize enemy losses and turn this lordly war into a prolonged stalemate.

Time would favor the Corpse Lich Territory.

Although the human army possessed a troublesome Undying Legion, the vast majority of its troops could still be killed permanently.

Every elite human soldier lost was gone forever.

The human race's racial talents and initial strength were simply too weak.

Training a second- or third-tier elite soldier from scratch required an enormous investment.

Even if both territories exchanged casualties at a one-to-one ratio, the price paid by the human territory would be far greater than that paid by the Corpse Lich Territory.

The attrition was fundamentally unequal.

Xie Ming possessed not only racial advantages, he also came from a powerful undead faction.

Behind him stood several wealthy investors.

His reserves of resources and Abyssal Magic Crystals were more than sufficient.

In contrast, the opponent was merely a human.

He couldn't possibly have any major force backing him, nor could he have attracted much investment.

How many rounds of attrition could his resources possibly endure?

The longer the war dragged on, the more obvious the human territory's decline would become.

During that time, the Corpse Lich Territory could continue recruiting troops and accumulating strength.

The moment the opportunity arrived, it would immediately launch a counteroffensive, crushing the enemy with overwhelming numbers once and for all.

"Although the human army cannot be underestimated, the Hero Units among them deserve even greater caution—especially that Jia Xu." Grand Elder Eroding Bones spoke with a grave expression.

"Not only is he the strongest Hero Unit in the human territory, but the Fate Ability he possesses is unlike anything we've ever seen. Our Calamitous Corpse Fiend race naturally excels in spellcasting, and Cursed Corpse Arcanists make up sixty to seventy percent of our forces. Once we encounter him, we are heavily countered."

"We must prepare appropriate countermeasures for future battles."

"He poses an enormous threat and must be eliminated as soon as possible!"

The other Corpse Fiends all nodded.

Jia Xu's methods were indeed terrifying.

Calling him the nemesis of spellcasters would not be an exaggeration.

One Corpse Fiend commander sighed.

"It's a pity we lost Skeleton Gan Ning during the battle at Huangmei Hamlet. Otherwise, with his assassination capabilities, we might have been able to devise a plan specifically to eliminate Jia Xu."

Although the battle at Huangmei Hamlet had cost the Corpse Lich Territory massive troop losses, the damage to its core forces had actually been relatively limited.

The greatest regrets were undoubtedly the losses of Gray Decay and Skeleton Gan Ning.

Especially Skeleton Gan Ning.

Though he belonged to the Dead Bones race, he had been the strongest warrior among them.

His unique shadow abilities had provided the territory with numerous tactical options.

"There's no point discussing that now."

"We have to find a way to counter Jia Xu."

"Otherwise, the moment he appears, our army will inevitably suffer devastating losses."

"..."

The Corpse Fiends had already regarded Jia Xu as their greatest enemy.

"There is no need for everyone to worry about this."

Xie Ming suddenly spoke calmly, immediately silencing the discussion.

"I have already devised a method to deal with him. I have also completed the necessary preparations."

The moment they heard this, the Corpse Fiends were overjoyed.

The preparations Xie Ming had made against Jia Xu were actually quite simple.

Since Jia Xu could suppress spellcasting units on a large scale, the territory simply needed to increase the proportion of non-spellcasting units.

Moments earlier, Xie Ming had spent an enormous sum on the Lord Trading Market to purchase a blueprint called the Skeleton Giant Altar.

After the meeting concluded, he led Eroding Bones and the others to Buried Bones City.

A few minutes later, the special Tier-Three undead structure was successfully summoned.

Xie Ming swept his gaze across the barren, icy, deathly city of bones.

Beneath the ground still slumbered tens of thousands of Dead Bones Skeletons.

However, these skeletons were relatively weak, all transformed from ordinary civilians.

Even if awakened, they would possess only Tier-One combat strength and were of little practical use.

But with the Skeleton Giant Altar, everything changed.

It allowed these low-tier skeletons to serve a far greater purpose than merely acting as cannon fodder.

This Tier-Three undead structure was a special barracks-type building.

By sacrificing ordinary Dead Bones Skeletons, every ten skeleton units consumed could summon one powerful Skeleton Giant.

"Awaken!"

"My loyal servants!"

Xie Ming first activated the Great Altar of Dead Bones, awakening every sleeping Dead Bones Skeleton.

He then activated the Skeleton Giant Altar, using those skeletons as sacrifices to create far more powerful Skeleton Giants.

Before long—

The earth began to tremble.

One colossal skeleton after another, each standing over a dozen meters tall, emerged within Buried Bones City.

Xie Ming exhausted every last Dead Bones reserve.

He also spent an enormous quantity of Abyssal Magic Crystals.

In the end, he successfully created fifteen hundred Skeleton Giants!

"So powerful!"

Eroding Bones and the other Corpse Fiend leaders were greatly invigorated.

Every Skeleton Giant possessed the strength of a Tier-Three Elite.

Their average level was around Level 25.

Each one was heavily armored, excelled in close combat, and possessed astonishing survivability that made them extremely difficult to defeat.

Even among Elite Units of the same tier, they ranked near the very top.

The strength of this Skeleton Giant legion alone

Already surpassed the entire force previously deployed to Huangmei Hamlet.

"As expected of our Lord!" Eroding Bones exclaimed. "With such a powerful legion and the advantage of defending our own territory, the human forces will never shake our territory in the slightest!"

Xie Ming was equally satisfied with the new army he had personally created.

Although the cost had been tremendous, it was absolutely worthwhile.

With this legion of durable, nearly unkillable Skeleton Giants standing on the front lines,

The Corpse Lich Territory would possess an exceptionally strong defensive line.

Any human assault would be nothing more than eggs thrown against stone.

At Xie Ming's command, more than a thousand giants marched out of Buried Bones City with thunderous footsteps.

"Eroding Bones!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"From today onward, you will personally guard the Giant Altar!"

Xie Ming explained the reason behind the order.

"The Skeleton Giant Altar seals half of every Skeleton Giant's Soul Flame. Not only does it continuously strengthen these powerful Tier-Three units, but it also allows them to rapidly repair themselves—even revive after destruction."

"But if the altar is destroyed and the sealed Soul Flames are damaged, the Skeleton Giants will be severely weakened!"

So that was how it worked.

Eroding Bones immediately understood.

"The humans possess an immortal army. Our territory now possesses an equally near-immortal giant legion—and our giants are ten, even a hundred times stronger than the humans' immortal troops!"

By creating this powerful army, Xie Ming had accomplished two objectives.

First, he had increased the proportion of non-spellcasting combat units.

Second, he had gained an effective countermeasure against the human territory's bizarre Undying Legion.

Even if a Skeleton Giant was destroyed during battle, as long as its Soul Flame remained intact, it could be revived.

Although doing so required an enormous cost, in a sense, they too had become immortal.

Precisely because of this, buried Bones City and the altar had become exceptionally important.

The territory's second-in-command had to remain here to guard them.

Even then, Xie Ming still wasn't completely reassured.

He dispatched another thousand Cursed Corpse Arcanists to jointly cast a formation,

Using a concealment array that blocked perception and vision to hide the entirety of Buried Bones City.

Even if enemies infiltrated the area, they would never locate the city's true position.

Now they could simply wait in peace for the human territory to come and dash itself against the rocks.

As Xie Ming departed with his subordinates, a mass of shadow energy suddenly stirred atop a nearby hillside overlooking Buried Bones City.

Moments later, an ash-black Extreme Yin Skeleton wielding twin blades emerged.

"Kekeke!"

The Extreme Yin Skeleton let out a bizarre laugh through its jawbone.

"My risky infiltration wasn't in vain. This trip has yielded quite a harvest!"

This Extreme Yin Skeleton was none other than the puppet Jia Xu had refined from Skeleton Gan Ning.

Although it was merely a puppet, it had perfectly retained all of Skeleton Gan Ning's abilities.

Xie Ming probably wouldn't have believed it even in his dreams.

The vicious hound that the Corpse Lich Territory had inadvertently lost

Had now become Jia Xu's perfect puppet.

Not only could it continue to be refined and strengthened, it could also be remotely controlled, allowing Jia Xu to carry out countless missions without ever leaving home.

For example, the Shadow Skeleton was exceptionally suited for assassination.

It could even lead a small elite squad deep behind enemy lines to launch surprise attacks.

Of course, Jia Xu had never attempted to use it to assassinate any targets within the Corpse Lich Territory.

Because he understood very well that the moment the Shadow Skeleton was exposed, the enemy would become vigilant, greatly diminishing its strategic value.

Using it to eliminate ordinary targets simply wasn't worthwhile.

As for assassinating Xie Ming that was even less realistic.

Leaving aside the fact that Netherblood City was under extremely tight security, Xie Ming also possessed extraordinarily powerful perception abilities.

Jia Xu didn't even dare allow the skeleton to approach within five thousand meters.

Even now, It merely conducted reconnaissance from a great distance.

The reason Jia Xu's skeleton puppet had appeared here was because it had entered the Corpse Lich Territory under Lord Hang Yu's orders.

Its mission was to gather intelligence on the terrain, military strength, and distribution of cities and settlements in preparation for the imminent counteroffensive.

So far, The reconnaissance mission assigned by the Lord had proceeded smoothly.

Two of the Corpse Lich Territory's three map regions had already been fully explored.

North of Woniu Mountain lay the Xianshan Region.

Beyond Xianshan lay the territory's main city.

In other words, The Xianshan Region served as the buffer zone between the Corpse Lich Territory's core capital and the human territory.

According to the information gathered through Jia Xu's investigation, the Xian Mountain region had once been part of Jiangxia Commandery, containing the four cities of Xiling, Shaxian, Zhu, and E.

Although the northernmost territory of the Corpse Lich Territory had yet to be investigated, it could already be confirmed that among the three regions, Xian Mountain was the largest. Its area was smaller than the Wan City region, yet larger than Woniu Mountain.

In other words, Wan City had evolved from nearly half of Nanyang Commandery.

The Xian Mountain region had evolved from approximately one quarter of Jiangxia Commandery.

This was an extremely valuable region, with complicated terrain and environment, making it easy to defend and difficult to assault.

Although Xian Mountain was not where the Corpse Lich Territory's main city was located, it had now become its most important territory. As long as the Corpse Lich Territory could hold Xian Mountain during this Lord War, its safety would basically be guaranteed.

On the other hand, if Xian Mountain were lost, their overall situation would collapse, and there would be no turning it around!

After a round of reconnaissance, Jia Xu had obtained the locations of the four cities and more than a dozen Blessing Points in the Xian Mountain region. He had also discovered the Buried Bones City and the Skeleton Giant force.

It could be said that, although the two sides had yet to fight, the Human Territory had already won the intelligence war.

However, Xie Ming and his subordinates were more numerous than expected.

There was also the newly discovered Skeleton Giant force.

None of them would be easy to deal with.

Jia Xu found the situation rather troublesome.

He could not help but sigh.

"Ah, what a hassle. If only I had managed to eliminate that Corpse Lich Lord back at Huangmei Hamlet, I'd probably be lying comfortably in the territory enjoying life by now!"

There was no helping it.

Because the previous job had not been done thoroughly, he could only continue working overtime with no complaints.

While Jia Xu was painfully working overtime conducting reconnaissance and preparing for the upcoming offensive...

…………

Inside Luoshui Main City, the auction for the main city's assets had reached its fiercest stage.

The price of Contribution Points had risen from only a few dozen per point at the start to over one hundred, and even more than two hundred, in just a little over a day.

Every bid made by the major legions and top players was immediately posted on the forums, astonishing countless Cloud Players.

Among all the assets, the competition surrounding the ten commercial shops was undoubtedly the fiercest.

Some wealthy individual players had participated in bidding for ordinary residences.

These shops, however, were a battlefield exclusively for the five great legions.

Other players or organizations were not even qualified to join the competition.

Among the ten auctioned shops, the fiercest contest centered around Lord Avenue Shop No. 1.

After all, it occupied the best location and carried the greatest symbolic significance.

None of the five great legions wanted to miss it.

The price was pushed to two million Contribution Points almost immediately before quickly breaking through the three-million and four-million marks.

At that point, the Twilight of the Gods Legion withdrew from the competition.

Although Arthur King, the Legion Commander of the Twilight of the Gods Legion, had backing from forces and financial groups no weaker than those behind the other four great legions, the legion itself lacked sufficient strength and accumulated reserves.

Although every major legion was frantically raising purchase prices for Contribution Points, the total amount available on the market was actually extremely limited.

This was because the major legions had never stopped purchasing Contribution Points.

The amount ordinary players and solo players could exchange each day was capped, and whatever they could sell had already been sold long ago.

How many new Contribution Points could possibly appear in just one or two days?

Because of this, even if the Twilight of the Gods Legion was willing to spend even more money, the number of Contribution Points they could actually acquire remained very limited.

The overwhelming majority of the Contribution Points used by the other four great legions came from their own accumulated reserves gathered over a long period.

That was something the late-rising Twilight of the Gods Legion simply could not match.

The bidding for Shop No. 1 continued climbing.

Four million.

Four and a half million.

Five million!

After careful consideration, the Wings of Freedom Legion also decided to withdraw.

This was the reluctant consensus reached after discussion between Black-Eyed Sharp Bro and the Wings of Freedom members.

The competition for Shop No. 1 had become far too intense.

At this rate, five million certainly would not be the limit.

Although the price would likely still be worthwhile in the long run, much of it represented symbolic and prestige value.

Rather than spending such an enormous sum fighting over a single shop, it would be more practical to spread their funds across several other shops or residences.

After all, the financial strength of Wings of Freedom still lagged behind Divine Feather Palace and War God Hall.

When Black-Eyed Sharp Bro publicly announced his withdrawal,

the bids continued rising as expected.

Five and a half million!

Six million!

The entire game forum and every major media outlet exploded with excitement!

Because during the past hour, the average market price of Contribution Points had already exceeded two hundred per point.

That meant Lord Avenue Shop No. 1 now had an estimated real-time valuation of 1.2 billion!

Although this was merely an estimate based on the current trading price of Contribution Points, such a figure was more than enough to create sensational headlines, leaving countless people exclaiming that they had lived long enough to witness history.

1.2 billion!

For a single property!

Even in the real world,  that would be comparable to a top-tier luxury hillside mansion in Hong Kong!

Yet now, a piece of virtual real estate inside a game had actually reached such a valuation.

Countless people questioned whether they were dreaming.

However!

The competition still did not stop!

The purchase price of Contribution Points continued climbing!

The auction bids for the main city's assets continued climbing as well!

Six and a half million!

Seven million!

Even War God Hall could no longer keep up!

Although Ye Li Meng desperately wanted to secure Shop No. 1 to boost the legion's prestige, the current price had already exceeded every estimate.

If War God Hall insisted on obtaining Shop No. 1 regardless of cost, it could probably still manage it.

But that would mean giving up many other assets.

That simply wasn't worth it.

In the end, Ye Li Meng also announced his withdrawal.

Now only the Undying Dragon Soul Legion and Divine Feather Palace remained in the contest.

Little Bell had always called herself Lord Hang Yu's number-one fan.

Not only was she driven by faith and emotion, she also had tremendous financial backing.

That was why she had managed to persist until now.

What surprised everyone was that the Undying Dragon Soul Legion had always kept a low profile.

Who would have thought they could outlast both War God Hall and Wings of Freedom?

By now, the market price of Contribution Points had already broken through 250 per point.

7.2 million!

Little Bell gritted her teeth.

She submitted another bid.

Although Divine Feather Palace possessed enormous wealth and considerable strength, the current price had become outrageously high.

Even after exchanging every non-essential resource, the total Contribution Points they possessed amounted to only eleven million.

They could not possibly devote everything to a single shop.

This would be her final bid.

Little Bell could only pray that Toasting the Moon had already reached his limit and would not raise the price again.

However, the outcome she dreaded soon arrived.

Less than a few minutes later, Toasting the Moon, Legion Commander of the Undying Dragon Soul Legion, submitted a new bid.

Eight million!

Absolutely ridiculous!

His offer was swift and decisive!

Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

"Ah, Commander Toasting the Moon truly has courage. Divine Feather Palace is also withdrawing from the competition for Lord Avenue Shop No. 1."

Little Bell had no choice.

It wasn't that she couldn't afford to bid higher.

Rather, continuing this competition had already lost its meaning.

She also had to consider the interests of the legion as a whole.

At last, the dust settled.

The Undying Dragon Soul Legion secured the five-year operating rights for Lord Avenue Shop No. 1 with the astonishing bid of eight million Contribution Points!

The forums and every major media outlet immediately exploded.

No one had expected Lord Avenue Shop No. 1 to end up in Toasting the Moon's hands.

Nor had anyone expected the Undying Dragon Soul Legion to defeat War God Hall, Divine Feather Palace, and Wings of Freedom.

"Holy crap!"

"That's insane!"

"The Undying Dragon Soul Legion is this strong?"

"They've really been hiding their strength!"

"Commander Toasting the Moon is unbelievably generous!"

"Has he gone crazy? Is this really necessary? Even if you're rich, you can't spend money like this!"

"Exactly! Eight million might not be a loss, but wouldn't buying another one or two shops—or even ten more houses—be a much better deal? Doesn't Toasting the Moon have even the slightest business sense? He's just throwing money away!"

"......"

However, behind the scenes, Wang Yue and Zhou Zhengming had both broken into cold sweats.

Securing Lord Avenue Shop No. 1 had been an assignment handed down from above.

The symbolic and political significance of this property was enormous.

No matter what, it had to end up in the hands of the genuine national team.

The entire Undying Dragon Soul Legion had prepared exactly eight million Contribution Points.

It should be remembered that the Special Investigation Department had been the first to recognize the value of the main city's assets and begin preparations.

These Contribution Points represented the combined result of days of secret purchases, together with every bit of the legion's accumulated savings and every resource they had turned in.

Now, they had spent every last point.

This also meant that the Undying Dragon Soul Legion would completely withdraw from the bidding for the remaining nine shops and one hundred residences.

From a business perspective, this was an utterly foolish decision.

From a political perspective, however, it was an exhilarating victory.

Although there were ten shops, there was only one Shop No. 1.

As for the one hundred residences, that mattered far less.

The operating rights of shops could not be resold.

Residences, however, could be bought and sold.

They could simply purchase them from other organizations in the future.

At worst, they would just spend more money.

As long as a problem could be solved with money, it wasn't really a problem.

After the four major legions withdrew from the competition for Lord Avenue Shop No. 1, they redirected their enormous stockpiles of Contribution Points toward the remaining nine shops and one hundred residences, driving all of their prices sharply upward.

By the time this frenzied competition finally came to an end, the five great legions, every major player organization, every wealthy individual player, and nearly everyone else had emptied their reserves of Contribution Points and resources.

Even ordinary civilian players had seized the opportunity to sell all the resources and tradable Contribution Points they could spare, making a huge profit.

It was easy to foresee that, after this battle, the Calamity Army would become impoverished overnight.

Aside from a portion of fixed, non-tradable Contribution Points, most people could not squeeze out another drop of value.

Everyone was so poor they practically howled.

Everyone's eyes were glowing green from poverty.

And once the Calamity Army became poor, it was equivalent to receiving an enormous buff.

Their desire to grind monsters and complete quests would become ten times—perhaps a hundred times—greater than before.

So now, where was the greatest opportunity to earn Contribution Points?

There was only one answer: The Corpse Lich Territory, of course!

These players, now broke beyond belief, wished they could charge straight into the Corpse Lich Territory immediately.