Amid a series of gasps and exclamations,
two thousand units of meat vanished rapidly. Within the blink of an eye, all of them were sold out.
As a result, Fang Hao traded for a large batch of supplies.
The piles of resources in the territory grew like mountains, increasing at a stunning pace.
The number of people in the regional chat channel was enormous.
Even with two thousand units of meat, it still wasn't enough to meet everyone's needs.
Messages began appearing in the channel again, asking if more meat could be listed for sale.
Ding!
A private message popped up.
When Fang Hao checked, he saw that it was from the girl who had sold him her shadow stones earlier, Dong Jiayue.
"Brother Hao, are you there?" Dong Jiayue asked directly.
Fang Hao replied immediately, "I'm here."
"Brother Hao, I've got two more shadow stones and was wondering if I could trade them for some food," Dong Jiayue said.
Earlier that morning, the two had completed one shadow stone transaction.
Each shadow stone had traded for thirty units of food from Fang Hao.
*Shadow stones are specialized materials used for buildings within the Undead faction. They're basically useless within human factions and wouldn't sell there either.*
*Getting thirty units for each stone had exceeded Dong Jiayue's expectations, and she'd even cheered with delight after the first deal was done.*
"Sure, list them, and I'll buy them," Fang Hao said.
"Alright, thank you, Brother Hao," she said.
Without delay, Dong Jiayue set up the trade for the two shadow stones.
Fang Hao also kept his word, offering sixty units of meat in exchange and completing the purchase.
With the deal done, both parties felt satisfied.
Fang Hao acquired the unique faction materials, and Dong Jiayue's sixty units of meat would last her several days.
*She could even trade some of the meat for other resources.*
*At the moment, meat was undoubtedly the most sought-after resource and the equivalent of currency in trades.*
...
After finishing everything else,
Fang Hao polished off the remainder of his roasted meat in a few bites.
With his hunger taken care of, he immediately headed to the front of the Underground Cemetery.
[Level 2 Underground Cemetery]
[Recruitment Limit: 10/10]
[Recruitable Units: Skeleton (Free)]
(Note: This structure allows the recruitment of worker units for basic tasks.)
[Upgrade Requirements: 600 Wood, 800 Stone, 120 Hemp Rope, 2 Shadowstones.]
Previously, the cemetery hadn't been upgraded.
This was due to a shortage of shadow stones—though Fang Hao had just traded with Dong Jiayue.
Now, he had three shadow stones in his possession, fully meeting the upgrade requirements.
Upgrade!
A flash of light appeared, and the Underground Cemetery completed its upgrade.
[Level 3 Underground Cemetery]
[Recruitment Limit: 10/20]
[Recruitable Units: Skeleton (Free)]
(Note: This structure allows the recruitment of worker units for basic tasks.)
[Upgrade Requirements: 1200 Wood, 1600 Stone, 100 Leather, 240 Hemp Rope, 5 Shadowstones.]
With the upgrade,
the recruitment limit increased from ten to twenty.
Fang Hao immediately initiated a new round of recruitment.
[Recruitable Units: Skeletons - 10. Confirm Recruitment?]
Confirm recruitment.
A system notification sounded once again.
[Hundredfold Magnification Triggered: Successfully recruited 1,010 skeletons.]
A dazzling burst of light filled the area as 1,010 skeletons crowded around.
Fang Hao then crafted 1,010 sets of stone axes and stone picks, distributing them to the newly recruited skeletons.
Next, he began crafting leather armor and wooden shields.
[Hundredfold Magnification Triggered: Successfully crafted 3,030 Simple Leather Armors.]
[Hundredfold Magnification Triggered: Successfully crafted 2,020 Wooden Shields.]
Currently, the number of worker skeletons was around 2,000, though a few had been lost to beast attacks.
The territory also had about 900 skeleton soldiers, serving as its primary combat force.
Fang Hao called for all skeletons working outside to regroup.
Both skeleton soldiers and worker skeletons were uniformly equipped with [Simple Leather Armor] and [Wooden Shields].
As for weapons, aside from twenty soldiers being outfitted with [Iron Daggers], the rest carried standardized stone axes.
The Gnoll encampment had to be dealt with as soon as possible.
*Clearing away the threat while strengthening himself would only benefit Fang Hao in the long run.*
Fang Hao stood atop a large boulder, gazing at the massive Skeleton Sea below.
"Bone and dog have been ancient enemies since time immemorial. Today, I will lead you to annihilate the Gnoll encampment and reclaim the dignity of the Undead!"
Fang Hao raised his fist, his expression full of determination.
Yet, the surroundings remained completely silent.
The skeletons stared blankly at him, eerily resembling upright Terracotta Warriors, making no movements at all.
"Oh, fine, I just wanted to remind you that this battle isn't only for me." Fang Hao jumped down from the boulder, grumbling under his breath, "You lot are going to drive me into depression eventually."
*Other lords could at least have conversations with their farmers.*
*He, on the other hand, was stuck living with a bunch of skeletons.*
*And this was only his second day—he already felt like he was on the verge of social isolation.*
*Even his self-perception had shifted to "us Undead." Eventually, he'd die from this.*
"Alright, let's go." Fang Hao waved them onward.
The enormous group set out, weapons-wielding skeletons encircling Fang Hao in the middle.
*This arrangement provided him with a certain degree of protection.*
*Even if danger arose, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to reach him.*
The army continued marching toward the Gnoll encampment.
That morning's reconnaissance had allowed Fang Hao to sketch out a rough map.
Since the distance wasn't far, finding the encampment wouldn't be difficult. Soon enough, he could see the bustling Gnoll camp in the distance.
"Get down—everyone get down," Fang Hao ordered, crouching to let the shrubs conceal them.
The skeletons mimicked his movements, crouching down and advancing carefully.
*They tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.*
*This wasn't about launching a surprise attack—Fang Hao's army lacked ranged units. The goal was to minimize the distance to the camp to reduce casualties during the advance.*
Fang Hao led the skeleton army forward quickly.
Even though they were crouching, the rustling branches and foliage caused considerable noise,
which immediately drew the attention of nearby woodcutting Gnolls.
The Gnolls' wide eyes stared curiously toward Fang Hao's position.
"Attack! Take the camp!" Fang Hao commanded.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
At his command, the skeletons surged out of the thicket, charging toward the encampment.
Ooooo!!
Inside the Gnoll camp, a horn blew. Faced with the skeleton army's assault, the village gate began to shut.
Gnolls still outside shouted desperately,
but the gate didn't reopen, leaving them to be cut down into pulp by the skeleton army's chaotic axes.
*As the Skeleton Sea attacked, the Gnoll camp quickly transitioned into defensive measures.*
Gnoll throwers climbed atop wooden defensive walls, swinging stone slings in wide arcs and hurling them downward.
*The force of the stone slings was considerable.*
*Hits against the wooden shields or leather armor could be deflected somewhat,*
*but those that struck worker skeletons fractured bones or, in worse cases, caused outright breaks.*
Fang Hao watched from a distance,
*cursing his lack of ranged units.*
*Still, he had a massive numerical advantage—the skeleton army was already at the base of the wooden defensive walls.*
*Using each other's bodies as leverage, they scaled the three-meter-high wooden walls like human pyramids.*
Seeing this brought a movie to Fang Hao's mind.
*It looked eerily similar to the scene from World War Z, where waves of zombies overwhelmed an obstacle.*