Chapter 36: Other Gains

He gazed at the corpse soul naga standing not far away—a creature clad entirely in gray-white, its body covered in fine scales, with long blue hair like underwater weeds and a pair of slightly red serpentine eyes. Its features were striking, exuding a certain heroic air. It stood upright at a height of one meter eighty, its snake tail nearly one meter fifty long, and it possessed four arms, all empty-handed. Liu Zhi nodded in satisfaction.

By now, he understood what the so-called undead minion truly was. These undead minions were akin to undead troops. Of course, high-level creatures like the corpse soul naga could not be summoned by ordinary necromancy. Typical necromantic spells were limited to summoning basic undead such as skeleton soldiers, zombies, and ghosts. Anything beyond that required specific crafting blueprints and a training base. Some even demanded vast amounts of time and effort to be meticulously adjusted, before a proper undead minion could be created.

The only reason Liu Zhi had obtained a corpse soul naga was due to the reward tailored for V3. The remaining items were more in line with the standard equipment a necromancer would receive at the start.

For instance, there was a model resembling a small burial mound:

[Mass Grave Blueprint: Basic undead city structure, maximum level 3, usable three times. Can construct a mass grave at a designated location.]

[Mass Grave: Depending on its level and the number of corpses added, can produce 10-50 skeletons or shambling corpses, and 5-7 skeleton soldiers or zombies per week.]

There was also a wolf-shaped wooden model:

[Rotting Skin Direwolf Training Manual: Method for training rotting skin direwolves using canine corpses.]

[Rotting Skin Direwolf: A ghoul beast variant, this undead possesses the combat prowess and corpse-consuming recovery of ghouls, combined with the speed and pack tactics of wolves. It makes for an excellent expendable troop.]

Another was a wooden model depicting a giant hauling a cart loaded with corpses:

[Rampaging Corpse Cart: A corpse transport cart pulled by two giants, able to patrol within a specified area, collect all discovered corpses, and deposit them at a designated location. Maximum capacity: 500 corpses per trip.]

These additions were significant supplements to Liu Zhi’s necropolis. He believed that with these resources, his necropolis, shrouded under the crimson moon, would soon flourish.

Beyond these, Liu Zhi had unexpectedly received another training manual:

[Stormwave Fishman Training Manual: Used in specified waters to train stormwave fishmen with food.]

[Stormwave Fishman: A type of ordinary fishman. This training only raises common fishmen, directing them to work, but does not turn them into warriors or hunters.]

Seeing this manual, Liu Zhi couldn't help but reminisce about his days at Tortuga Port, where the various fishmen had provided him with a wealth of experience. He still had over seven thousand experience points, all thanks to his efforts back then.

Armed with these items, Liu Zhi began to study their uses. The corpse soul naga followed him closely as soon as it was summoned. When released, the rampaging corpse cart was immediately dragged about the necropolis by its two giants. The remaining items lacked such visible effects; both training manuals vanished into the pyramid-shaped ornament hanging from Liu Zhi’s waist upon use.

In the next moment, he understood how to conduct the training, but none of the necessary materials were available. Even with this knowledge, he had no way to train rotting skin direwolves or stormwave fishmen.

The mass grave, however, surprised him. Upon activation, a phantom image of the mass grave appeared above his necropolis. Liu Zhi could freely move it. If the grave could be established in a location, the phantom would turn green; otherwise, it stayed red. He wished he could simply place the mass grave anywhere, but recalling what he saw upon entering the city, he knew he shouldn’t act carelessly.

This necropolis belonged to his city; he needed to plan carefully so he wouldn’t have to change things constantly in the future.

After storing away all the items, Liu Zhi finally took the three lightning corals and left the necropolis. As he exited, the blood moon vanished, and the city—utterly destroyed—reappeared before him.

Though the city was still submerged in foliage, it was better than having nothing but rubble and monstrous trees in his necropolis.

Stepping outside, Liu Zhi found that the three lightning corals resembled the thunderstones from those pocket monster games. However, their composition was coral, and they bore lightning symbols carved upon them.

[Lightning Coral: Staff charging item. Can store ten casts of Lightning or one cast of Static Shock. Power range: 1–500. Usage: Place in staff socket and activate with spiritual power. Charging: Conduct current until full.]

Reading this description, Liu Zhi blinked, recalling a certain mage who used light spells on his staff. Was he destined to become such a mage, wielding a staff mostly as a blunt weapon?

He pondered this as he selected a lightning coral and set it at the top of his staff, just behind the feathered serpent’s wings.

Now, Liu Zhi finally understood why there was a designated spot for embedding gems or crystals—it was clearly designed for this purpose, the size matching perfectly.

After embedding the lightning coral, Liu Zhi gripped the staff of death and closed his eyes. His spiritual power had reached 3.3; as soon as his eyes shut, he sensed the lightning coral atop his staff.

Initially, he merely sensed the coral, but unexpectedly, his spiritual power flowed outward through the lightning coral, spreading to a hundred meters around him.

He hadn’t yet grasped what was happening, only realizing he could use his spiritual power to lock onto a tree.

“Is this the staff of death enhancing my spiritual power?”

Before he could finish the thought, his spiritual energy was drawn out, leaping from the lightning coral to the tree. Suddenly, a sharp crack sounded—something had been struck by lightning.

Liu Zhi hurriedly opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the sound. He discovered that the tree he had locked onto with his spiritual power had been blasted down by lightning.

Stunned, Liu Zhi stared at the scene for a long moment before coming to his senses.

“So this is how it works—no wonder.”

He experimented twice more and confirmed his suspicions: the lightning coral allowed him to first lock onto an enemy with spiritual power, then forcibly trigger a lightning attack.

This method of attack was slow, but its power was undeniable. Moreover, within a hundred meters, he could target anything at will—an effective technique indeed.

“Looks like I’ll need to collect more magical gems in the future.”