Breath of the Undead

Chapter 20: Undead Evolution

Chapter 20: Undead Evolution

Seeing the Shadow Leader dead, Gu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Shadow Leader didn’t initially put much pressure on Gu Xi's front line, its presence still influenced the black shadows significantly.

With the Shadow Leader slain, Gu Xi could clearly feel the pressure on both sides of the battlefield diminish greatly.

“Kill!”

At this point, all of Gu Xi’s troops were already engaged in the battlefield. He had no intention of pulling back any squads for a reorganization but instead issued the order for a full assault.

The second squad, which had surrounded the Shadow Leader earlier, immediately raised their swords and charged towards the rear of the black shadow army.

The black shadows at the rear, still reeling from the attack by Squad One, were caught off guard by the renewed assault from behind.

Amidst the ensuing chaos, Squad Two easily killed over thirty black shadows before the latter even realized what was happening. Turning around, they clashed fiercely with the skeletons of Squad Two.

Compared to the skeletons of Squad One, those wielding two-handed swords had greater melee capabilities. Facing the counter-attacking black shadows, they did not retreat but instead advanced, continuously slashing upward with their swords.

The black shadows did not back down either, engaging in direct combat with Squad Two’s skeletons.

Seeing an opportunity, Squad One pressed their advantage and attacked the black shadows from behind.

The two squads worked like the grinding surfaces of a millstone, continuously wearing down the black shadows' numbers.

On the other side, the black shadows faced an impenetrable defense. The round shields of Squad Four blocked their attacks, while the spears of Squad Three accurately struck any black shadows that paused their attacks.

This side of the battle proceeded much more smoothly than the rear.

With Squad Four providing cover, the skeletons of Squad Three had no need to worry about enemies getting too close.

Squad Four’s skeletons only needed to focus on defense, gaining experience from every black shadow killed.

If the front line seemed threatened, they could simply fall back a bit, allowing new barricades to block the pursuing black shadows, thus reducing the pressure on the skeletons.

Then, they would begin another round of slaughtering the black shadows.

Seeing this, Gu Xi decided not to reposition any troops. Each squad had developed its own strategies and cooperation. With a bit more experience, Gu Xi believed they would only get better.

It’s no wonder people say that once a necromancer has a starting army, subsequent battles become smoother.

Watching the continuous stream of kill notifications, Gu Xi nodded in approval.

Regardless of how much experience the skeletons gained, every enemy they killed awarded Gu Xi with 1 experience point.

While this might not match the efficiency of Gu Xi personally using corpse explosions in small skirmishes, in a large-scale battle, the experience points accumulated rapidly.

In just this short period, Gu Xi had already gained 327 experience points.

Combined with the previous wave’s experience and the Shadow Leader’s kill, Gu Xi found that he was almost ready to level up again.

This was a good thing. One more level and he could learn a new skill, making his future tasks smoother.

Thinking of this, Gu Xi’s gaze shifted to the distance.

Luna had mentioned that Ariado City covered 2.9 square kilometers, and the street area they were in was less than one percent of that.

After clearing these black shadows, he would need to push outward, extending to the edge of Luna's controlled area.

Who knows what they might encounter along the way? Gu Xi needed to prepare for everything.

As Gu Xi was pondering this, a notification sounded in his ear.

[Ding! Temporary Mission: Change in the progress of the Dead City mission. The second wave of enemies has been defeated. The third wave will appear in 15 minutes. Please prepare for battle.]

Gu Xi quickly snapped back to attention.

Another victory.

“Clean up the battlefield, use up all the ghost beads, check for any losses among the squads, and replenish any casualties. Place the fallen skeletons' bodies on the street.”

Gu Xi promptly issued orders.

Another battle awaited.

Judging by the strength of the black shadows just now, Gu Xi could foresee that the third wave would be even stronger.

Though the battlefield was not yet cleared, Gu Xi had already noticed significant losses in Squads One and Two. He needed to quickly enhance their combat capabilities and redeploy the battlefield to ensure they fought on the most advantageous ground.

Receiving Gu Xi’s orders, the skeletons promptly collected the ghost beads scattered on the ground.

Without needing further instructions, the ghost beads were divided equally: half to the squad leaders, and the rest among the other skeletons.

Meanwhile, Gu Xi walked towards where the Shadow Leader had fallen.

The Shadow Leader had left behind the large wooden club it had wielded.

Gu Xi wanted to inspect this weapon.

As Gu Xi approached, another notification sounded in his ear.

[Ding! Through the guidance and enhancement of strange forces, a level 2 skeleton has reached the level of evolution. Please choose the direction of evolution for this skeleton.]

Turning his head, Gu Xi saw a skeleton in the crowd glowing with a faint purple light.

It belonged to Squad Two and was still busy crushing ghost beads in its hands, absorbing the strange energy inside, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

As Gu Xi observed the skeleton, two shadows appeared behind it, representing its two evolutionary paths.

One was the path of the regular skeleton warrior, holding a sword and wearing rusty armor, with a helmet that occasionally slipped down.

The other was the path of the two-handed sword skeleton warrior, standing with a sword planted in the ground, wearing leather armor but no helmet, revealing a skull face.

Seeing these two forms, Gu Xi understood the situation.

Both evolution paths led to skeleton warriors, but with different focuses.

The regular skeleton warrior emphasized balance, while the two-handed sword skeleton warrior clearly had weaker defense but stronger sword skills.

Gu Xi made his choice without hesitation.

[Skeleton Warrior (Level 3, Summoned): Experience (9/500), Attack 3+1 (Two-Handed Sword), Defense 1+1 (Leather Armor), Health 19, Skills: Undead Creature, Swordsmanship Specialization, Decapitation.]