106 Undead Cavalry

The butler died just like that—a fourth-tier being, snuffed out in such a humiliating manner without ever revealing his true strength. Of course, the reason Karen was able to kill him so easily lay in Fleur’s acting and, more crucially, the enchanted crossbow bolt Karen had previously obtained from the Shadow.

…

Venomous Bolt
Category: Special Magical Item
Quality: Excellent
Skill: Arrow of Deadly Poison (can kill third-tier beings outright and render fourth-tier beings powerless)
Note: Cooldown time, one day
…

It was a formidable bolt; once struck, the butler stood little chance of survival.

With the butler’s death, the matter of the Silver Coin Trading Guild was essentially resolved, though the performance between Fleur and Karen had yet to conclude. Glancing at the fallen butler, Karen said coldly, “The corpse is mine. You promised to pay me promptly. If you have another job like this, you can find me again—just make sure to have the body and a ‘Whisper of the Dead’ ready!”

Karen could not allow anyone to discover the true nature of his relationship with Fleur. So, after successfully taking down the butler, the two revealed only their business arrangement and the role Karen played. This made it perfectly clear to Fleur’s subordinates that in this affair, Karen was merely a mercenary working for pay, while the real mastermind was Fleur. It also served to bolster Fleur’s authority, an opportunity he was not about to miss.

“Esteemed Necromancer, there is one more matter I need your assistance with,” Fleur said. “I need you to take control of my guard unit. Of course, I will offer you a reward to your satisfaction—five hundred second-tier corpses and a hundred third-tier corpses.”

At these words, the faces of the guards behind Fleur darkened. But before they could react, Karen snapped his fingers. Hundreds of second-tier undead, dozens of third-tier undead, and thousands of first-tier undead—temporarily summoned by Karen—immediately surrounded Fleur’s hundred-plus guards.

Fleur seized the moment to begin purging traitors from his guard unit.

Karen had little interest in this process. As Fleur set about handling his own affairs, Karen returned to the Tower of Bones to practice his combat techniques.

Only after Fleur finished did Karen instruct his undead to stand down, allowing Fleur and his guards to transport the ore away.

Thus Fleur’s plan reached its conclusion. With Karen’s help, he eliminated the butler and established his authority, and with those fifty gold pieces’ worth of ore, he reassured his guard unit.

With the greatest problem solved, Karen now needed only to wait for Fleur to fully take control of the Silver Coin Trading Guild, at which point he could arrange a meeting between Fleur and Cliff, laying the groundwork to open trade between the Silver Hand and the Bourbon Kingdom.

After Fleur departed with his guards, Karen began assessing his own gains.

From this incident, Karen not only secured the Silver Hand trading channel, but also acquired a vast number of corpses and a significant amount of territory energy.

…

Karen (Lord)
Territory: Land of Death
Territory Level: 3
Territory Energy: 407,280
Territory Buildings: Large Cemetery Lv3 (1), Small Crypt Lv1 (21), Tower of Bones Lv2 (1)
Corpses Available for Conversion: 9,712 (Tier 0), 12,763 (Tier 1), 561 (Tier 2), 32 (Tier 3), 2 (Unknown Grade)
Undead Under Command:
Tier 1 Undead (2,513)
Goblin Skeleton Mages (Tier 2, 150)
Goblin Skeleton Warriors (Tier 2, 506)
Tier 2 Beast Undead (9)
Special Undead: Ironbone (Tier 2, Common), Skeletal Boar (Tier 2, Inferior)
Tier 2 Undead Total:
Tier 3 Undead: 51
Little Green (Tier 3, Elite), Garen (Tier 3, Elite), Shadow (Tier 3, Excellent), Kira (Tier 3, Common)
The Singer (Tier 3, Excellent), Song One (Tier 3, Common), Deathwing (Tier 3, Common)
…

Once everything was settled, Karen opened his territory interface for a look.

With territory energy and corpses in hand, Karen considered meeting the requirements for upgrading his second territory.

Ten thousand first-tier undead, one thousand second-tier undead, one hundred third-tier undead.

He was still short a few third-tier corpses, but now that he had access to both Moon-Worship City and Sand Silver City, obtaining eighteen more third-tier corpses would not be too difficult.

So, without much hesitation, Karen began the conversion.

[System Notification: You have consumed 149,740 territory energy, converting 7,487 first-tier undead!]
[System Notification: You have consumed 41,200 territory energy, converting 333 second-tier undead!]
[System Notification: You have consumed 84,000 territory energy, converting 32 third-tier undead!]

In a single breath, Karen had spent 274,940 territory energy. Except for the eighteen third-tier undead still lacking, all other requirements for the territory upgrade were met.

Karen’s strength soared to a terrifying new height, though his territory energy dropped to 132,340.

But Karen was not overly concerned about territory energy—thanks to Fleur’s supply channel, he expected abundant future gains.

Nor did he worry about housing all these undead. Although he lacked the energy to construct more small crypts, he could station the first-tier undead in the mines as laborers.

While there was some risk that first-tier undead might weaken after half a year in the mines, at least for now, Karen did not have to fret about the massive cost in territory energy.

So, after converting the undead and dispatching the first-tier minions to the various goblin forest mines, Karen turned his attention away from them.

His focus now shifted to a new breed of second-tier undead: those produced from the hundred and one Green Demon Wolves Fleur had brought him.

…

Skeletal Green Demon Wolf
Type: Bone
Strength: Third Tier, Common (0/20,000)
Intelligence: Moderate
Description: Beast-type undead formed from third-tier Green Demon Wolves; highly mobile and capable of wind magic.
Skills:
Gale Force Lv4 (Wind enhancement magic, increases movement speed by 300% for thirty minutes)
Wolf Fang Break Lv4 (Wind-element single-target spell, unleashes four wolf fangs to attack the enemy)
Wolf Claw Lv7 (Attack skill, increases claw strike power by 300% and inflicts a rending effect)
Innate Ability: Not yet awakened
…

Truth be told, the Skeletal Green Demon Wolf was not particularly powerful. As undead made from domesticated magical beasts, they were slightly weaker in all respects than their wild counterparts.

However, their appearance gave Karen an idea for a new undead troop: combining these Skeletal Green Demon Wolves with Goblin Skeleton Warriors to form an undead cavalry unit!