Chapter 55: The Unexpected

After leaving the Underworld Palace, Liu Zhi remained dazed and disoriented. Even though he had grown accustomed to being immersed in the game and to his identity as a necromancer, he could never have anticipated encountering anything related to divinity. Divinity—a concept so lofty and remote, even if it belonged to a fallen god; the gulf between mortal and divine was unbridgeable.

He sat on a nearby stone, watching the corpse-hauling wagon frantically collecting bodies from the ground, lost in thought. It was difficult for him to fathom that he had actually stumbled into such a situation.

After a brief moment, Liu Zhi sensed something amiss. The sounds of combat from the jungle had suddenly ceased, and the silence felt unnatural. Puzzled, he looked around more closely and realized that the four walking corpses who had remained here now seemed to have vanished.

“Something’s wrong. Where are my followers?” Anxiety gripped him. He sprang to his feet, drew the longsword stuck in the soil, and strode toward the jungle.

Soon, Liu Zhi identified the source of his unease. Along the way, he saw marks left by his undead minions as they slew enemies, but at a certain point, these traces abruptly ended. Only the signs of fleeing native warriors remained.

It was as if his followers had simply disappeared into thin air.

Recalling that the corpse-hauling wagon was still outside gathering bodies, Liu Zhi doubted his undead had succumbed to some irresistible force. So what had happened?

Just then, a rustling sound drifted from nearby. He turned to look and saw the Soul Naga, weapon in hand, slithering toward him.

Before Liu Zhi could speak, the Soul Naga opened her mouth. The air in front of her trembled slightly. As a high-level undead, the Soul Naga possessed intelligence, though speaking was difficult for her, requiring the vibration of air to produce sound. Normally, Liu Zhi did the talking while the Soul Naga nodded or fought. But now, circumstances compelled her to speak.

“Just now… something… happened… It seemed… a powerful force… tried… to drag me back… to the Underworld Palace.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhi was startled. He quickly opened his status panel:

Name: Sandro
Profession: Necromancer
Level: 1
Mana: 9/66
Title: Ide the First
Secondary Profession: Extraordinary Sailor, Level 1
Attributes: Strength 3.3, Agility 2.7, Constitution 1.6, Spirit 3.3
Active Skills: Sailor Basic Swordsmanship, Level 4 (3976+0/9000), Sail Handling, Level 4 (0+0/9000), Z-Slash Secret Sword, Level 1 (113+0/9000), Indigo Windchaser Swordsmanship, Level 1 (79+0/9000), Metalcraft, Level 2 (3/200), Simple Toolmaking, Level 3 (6/200)
Class Skills: Soul Summoning, Level 1 (97/1000)
Passive Skills: Magic Knowledge, Level 3; Undead Lore, Level 4; Basic Science, Level 3; Basic Language, Level 3; Fish Knowledge, Level 1; Jungle Survival, Level 4; Toxicology, Level 3; Cooking, Level 2; Botany, Level 3; Herbalism, Level 2; Occult Knowledge (Maya Civilization), Level 2; Occult Knowledge (Inca Civilization), Level 2; Occult Knowledge (Aztec Civilization), Level 2; Occult Knowledge (Sacrifice), Level 1; Occult Knowledge (Weather), Level 2; Occult Knowledge (Divinity—Kukulkan)...
Special Skill: Master of the Underworld Palace, Level 1 (84/9000)
Training Knowledge: Rottenhide Man-eater, Level 1; Roaring Fishman, Level 1; Eagle Warrior, Level 1
Experience: 6632

“What’s going on? Why is my mana draining so fast? I see now.”

After examining the status panel, Liu Zhi finally understood what had transpired. When he fused the Aztec altar fragment into the Underworld Palace earlier, it hadn’t raised the Palace’s level, but it had expanded its territory. This increase caused the Palace’s daily magic consumption to rise from thirty points to fifty.

All his undead minions depended on his magic to exist in the real world. With the sudden loss of magical support, they were all sent back into the Underworld Palace. Only the recently released corpse-hauling wagon and the Soul Naga, who had always lingered outside, were less affected and remained in the real world.

Faced with such circumstances, Liu Zhi was at a loss for words.

He now worried about how he would manage the days ahead. Based on today’s events and the information he’d gathered from Black Kite, the nearby jungle tribes already regarded him as a demon. This attack had been just the first probing assault—they might send in far larger forces next time.

But he was unable to bring more troops into battle. With only the Soul Naga as his undead, no matter how fiercely she fought, how many enemies could she possibly defeat?

This predicament gave Liu Zhi a headache.

The Soul Naga, after voicing her concern, simply positioned herself behind Liu Zhi, raising no further suggestions.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Zhi made up his mind: “Where have those men gone? We need to hunt them all down. We can’t let them escape the bounds of the Golden City—if the news doesn’t leak out, we’ll be safer.”

The Soul Naga nodded and swiftly moved ahead.

Liu Zhi followed, sword in hand.

Thanks to his jungle survival knowledge, he wasn’t a professional hunter, but he could read many traces. He determined that more than thirty native warriors had fled, splitting into two groups: one group of five or six headed toward the river, apparently intending to escape by water; the other ran toward the pyramid, perhaps thinking its defenses would offer greater safety.

After some thought, Liu Zhi decided to pursue the group heading for the pyramid with the Soul Naga.

It wasn’t that he disregarded those escaping toward the river; rather, he knew the riverbanks were home to giant serpents, and he didn’t want to provoke them at this time.

Besides, Liu Zhi had just gained knowledge related to the divinity of Kukulkan, and he wished to investigate the pyramid, to see if the god’s essence was hidden there.

If he delayed and the divine essence fell into the hands of the native warriors, he would be beside himself with regret.

The Soul Naga had no opinion on whom to pursue, so she glided silently beside Liu Zhi, following him as they tracked their quarry to the vicinity of the pyramid.