Chapter 274: Territory Status
“What is this?”
Looking at the small squad of well-equipped skeleton soldiers at the gate, the young girl’s cold face became even colder. However, considering the previous misunderstanding about Lei and the loyalty he had shown, Kazumi did not immediately attack. Instead, she asked the lich accompanying her.
After all, she had never given it authority regarding the army, whether it was to mobilize the existing troops within the territory or to use the produced corpse resources to create new undead creatures.
“My Lord, it’s the [Imperial Guard].”
Sensing the hint of dissatisfaction in the young girl’s words, Lei lowered his head even further and gave a concise and clear answer.
“Imperial Guard? Aren’t their activity range only around the Great Graveyard? And these soldiers…”
Recalling the undead soldiers she remembered, clad in black heavy armor and enveloped in death aura, the young girl found it difficult to compare them to the squad of skeleton soldiers before her. It could even be said without exaggeration that the [Imperial Guards] guarding the Great Graveyard were the most powerful combat force in Kazumi’s territory.
The death aura that was so dense it almost rivaled Kazumi’s, the cold and bloodthirsty battle intent, and the disciplined combat style. In a sense, each of those dozens of soldiers guarding the graveyard was essentially a ground combat version of a Death Knight, except for the lack of special abilities and the limited guard range.
But this group of skeleton soldiers? Although they were slightly better than the rotten skeleton soldiers summoned directly from corpses, and their standard equipment made them look the part, at least they could be called skeleton warriors. However, the faint death aura felt within them indicated that they were just ordinary cannon fodder. How could they reach the level of the [Imperial Guard]?
“Without affecting the strength of the Great Graveyard’s original [Imperial Guard], I have expanded the range of the [Great Graveyard] itself. This way, death aura can be consumed to generate weaker skeleton guards around the city gate, who can perform defense tasks before professional siege troops appear. Moreover, their obedience is much higher compared to low-level undead creatures.”
Lei’s cold, hoarse voice continued to sound in her ears. The meticulous and foolproof arrangement made Kazumi unable to feel any anger. The young girl was not the type to be jealous of her subordinates’ talents, especially since their soul fires were in her hands, eliminating any possibility of betrayal. The stronger their abilities, the greater her own benefit.
“Hmm, do they have ranged capabilities?”
“Not yet, but they can control and transport siege supplies. Currently, the territory’s ranged attack power is only poison-exploding corpse maggots carried by Corpse Crows.”
Shifting her gaze away from the round stones and logs neatly arranged behind the city gate, the young girl felt a strange sense of speechlessness. Although she had guessed the purpose of the supplies Lei had requested at the time, she hadn’t expected Lei to achieve this much. Why had it inexplicably shifted from a fantasy style to a realistic historical style?
But thinking back, such an operation seemed to be very useful.
Setting aside those who were as fierce as ghosts among the high-ranking influences, and taking ordinary second or third-tier heroes as benchmarks, as long as they could find a way to lure them into the territory, it would basically be a dead end.
Although in terms of abilities, even second or third-tier heroes were superhumans who had surpassed the limits of the human body, in the case of being alone, they might be able to survive in the wasteland and find the correct path. However, to blast through thick city walls, break into the interior, and destroy the core of the Great Graveyard, Kazumi felt it was impossible. If they had that level of large-scale attack capability, they wouldn’t have fallen to the second or third tier.
In this way, as long as they didn’t provoke those powerful top-ranked heroes, Kazumi felt that her organizational career should be very smooth.
Just as Lei said, even if they couldn’t win, they could simply trap them in the territory and wait for them to starve to death. As long as the other party couldn’t break into the Great Graveyard to destroy the energy core, or directly shatter the spatial barrier at the edge of the territory, it would be impossible to escape from here.
This idea was much more effective than her own plan of luring a stronger enemy into the territory for everyone to swarm upon. She could only say she was worthy of being a sinister undead creature!
Silently praising Governor Lei even more, Kazumi nodded. Through the control of the Great Graveyard, she quickly gained control of the skeleton soldiers at the gate and walked into the territory with Lei.
“Report on the current reconstruction status of the territory.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Listening to Kazumi’s request, Lei took out his thick ancient book again, his entire demeanor visibly changing. He began to report to Kazumi earnestly.
“The territory’s basic reconstruction has been completed, the output of death aura has been restored, and the expansion speed of the territory’s area has returned to normal. However, because the materials you provided were lacking in corpse and flesh materials, there is still a large shortage of troop types and flesh food.”
“During this period, the territory produced twenty-two standard units of corpses. Combined with the three corpses previously transported into the territory by you, a total of twenty-five corpses are all stored in the Graveyard Hill. The Great Graveyard’s [Soul Attraction] ability has attracted thirty souls, successfully converting seven acolytes, all of whom have been assigned to their posts. The Graveyard Hill’s [Wanderer] ability has been triggered twice, but it awakened ordinary zombies with no memory of abilities, and they have been categorized into troop types.”
“The [Great Graveyard] has not been modified. Currently, there are two acolytes working inside, mainly responsible for guiding the operation of death aura and increasing the territory’s death aura output.”
“According to the direction you expected, the location of the [Dark Altar] has been changed. Coupled with the prayers of five acolytes, the sacrifice time has been shortened to three natural days, and the single sacrifice time can be shortened by sacrificing souls.”
“The location of the [Corpse Crow Nest] has been changed according to the area planning, but it has no impact on the building as a whole. Due to the lack of flesh food, the troop types produced by the Corpse Crow Nest will enter a weakened state. It is recommended to feed the Corpse Crow Nest before producing troops.”
“The [Graveyard Hill] has been planned to be outside the city, with dedicated resource transportation routes established. However, the transportation efficiency of skeleton soldiers is too slow. I hope you can produce logistics-type troops. Currently, the operational efficiency of the [Graveyard Hill] is low. By changing the surrounding environment, storing corpses within the Graveyard Hill can improve the output of the building’s various abilities. If there are enough soil resources, I suggest piling up a mountain in the northwest of the city. Although the initial assimilation of rotten soil will consume a large amount of death aura, if it is completely corrupted, it will be of great help to the overall ecosystem of the territory.”
“The territory’s troop types are very scarce. Currently, there are a total of fifty-six [Corpse Crows], two [Corpse Crow Leaders], and due to the lack of flesh food, they are in a weakened state. There is one [Corpse Maggot Mother], and several [Corpse Maggot Offspring]. Two [Zombies] converted from the Graveyard Hill, and thirty-two [Imperial Guards] and one hundred and fifty-six [Skeleton Soldiers]. However, the activity range of both is limited to the [Great Graveyard] and the city, and they are not counted as regular troop types.”
“I suggest increasing investment in military aspects. Currently, the territory’s military strength is so weak that it cannot withstand potential external enemies, and there are also very few troop-producing buildings, only the [Corpse Crow Nest] that can produce aerial units and the unstable [Graveyard Hill].”
“In terms of territory technology, we are currently researching [Death Aura Gathering II], with a progress of twelve percent. Due to the lack of specialized research institutions and acolytes, the research speed is extremely slow, and research buildings also need to be prioritized in the territory’s development plans.”
“In addition, regarding the technological research direction you proposed, your subordinate has a small suggestion…”
(PS: Soliciting names for Little Kazumi’s territory. Hmm, if I can’t think of a good one, I’ll just call it the most cliché Underworld City.)
