Tidying the Battlefield (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

With Gu Xi's command, his skeletons swiftly shifted from combat mode to labor mode.

They quickly cleaned up the battlefield, mainly disposing of the corpses of fallen skeletons and hauling various furniture over to serve as roadblocks.

As for the Ghoul Shadows, they left no corpses behind after death, only a scattering of Ghoul Qi Beads on the ground. These just needed to be picked up—no further fuss required.

Gu Xi simply had the skeletons place the skeleton corpses on the battlefield or behind the roadblocks. As for the Ghoul Qi Beads they collected, Gu Xi didn't intend to keep them; instead, he had his skeletons and battle squads split them in a one-to-one ratio.

Gu Xi was well aware that holding onto these Ghoul Qi Beads himself wouldn't bring him much improvement. The spells he couldn't use would remain unusable.

It was better to let his undead enhance their combat strength to prepare for the battles ahead.

After all, this fight had already produced a Level 3 Head, and in numbers beyond Gu Xi's imagination. With his own forces suffering losses, if he didn't boost the undead's strength now, the next fight might not go so smoothly.

The skeletons under Gu Xi also understood his intent. After obtaining the Ghoul Qi Beads, they quickly used them to strengthen themselves. The Skeleton Heads focused on upgrading their weapons and equipment.

Because when they got stronger, the skeletons under their command would benefit as well.

The ordinary skeletons, on the other hand, applied the Ghoul Qi Beads to themselves, raising their Life Force and combat power.

After all, these skeletons instinctively sensed what the coming battles would demand.

Once several battle squads had their ranks replenished, Gu Xi got a clear picture of this fight's losses.

Of the one hundred and eighty skeletons he had originally brought, forty-four were lost in this first battle alone.

That meant after the four battle squads were fully restocked, only three scattered skeletons remained on the loose.

If such losses happened again next time, the casualties would come from within the battle squads themselves.

Still, after this fight and the enhancements, the four battle squads had undergone some changes, with many skeletons seeing their strength rise.

Gu Xi glanced at the battle squads' statuses, confident that another fight like this would push their levels up further.

[Battle Squad 1 (Level 0, Unnamed, Trait: Life +3, EXP 45/100): Captain (1/1) Level 0 Skeleton Head, Members (30/30) Level 1 Skeletons (15), Level 0 Skeletons (15)]

[Battle Squad 2 (Level 0, Unnamed, Trait: Attack +5, EXP 56/100): Captain (1/1) Level 0 Skeleton Head, Members (35/35) Level 1 Skeleton Warriors (3), Level 1 Skeletons (19), Level 0 Skeletons (13)]

[Battle Squad 3 (Level 1, Unnamed, Trait: Attack +2, Life +3, EXP 3/200): Captain (1/1) Level 0 Skeleton Head, Members (28/28) Level 2 Skeletons (2), Level 1 Skeletons (26)]

[Battle Squad 4 (Level 0, Unnamed, Trait: Defense +4, EXP 93/100): Captain (1/1) Level 0 Skeleton Head, Members (40/40) Level 1 Skeleton Warriors (6), Level 1 Skeletons (13), Level 0 Skeletons (21)]

Looking at the current situation, none of the four Skeleton Heads under Gu Xi had leveled up yet—which was fairly normal.

For every enemy killed by these summoned undead, Gu Xi could only claim 1 EXP, the battle squad got 1 EXP, and the rest went entirely to the undead that participated in the fight.

Without Killing Enemies, no amount of talent mattered; levels simply wouldn't rise.

And the EXP required for a Skeleton Head to level up was far greater than that of a normal skeleton. Not having leveled up yet was entirely reasonable.

With no scattered skeletons left, these battle squads began hauling furniture and stacking it into roadblocks across the street.

Meanwhile, a few skeletons even lit bonfires on the street to prevent the Ghoul Shadows from sneaking up from the other side.

Just as the preparations were nearly complete, the second wave of Ghoul Shadows appeared in the distance.

When they emerged, the sight startled Gu Xi.

Not because of their numbers or anything—rather, Gu Xi noticed that these Ghoul Shadows seemed to have taken some damage.

Among the advancing Ghoul Shadows, about three out of ten were wounded. The Ghoul Shadow Head at the center of their formation was visibly furious, clearly having been attacked by someone.

Though Gu Xi didn't know who had been kind enough to give him this advantage, the situation was clearly in his favor.

"Hold steady. They're impatient. Don't charge ahead—lure them in and fight. Battle Squad 1, pay attention: flanking attacks are your job. Once the fight starts, circle around to the rear and take out as many as you can."

With the enemies appearing, Gu Xi moved to the front line.

Fifteen minutes had been enough for Gu Xi to arrange the battle squads' orders.

He planned to use the roadblocks to funnel these enemies into the street and split them up for engagement.

Once the Ghoul Shadows entered the long street, Battle Squad 3 would step forward to block the enemy vanguard, using the roadblocks to stall them, while Battle Squad 4 would pull the Ghoul Shadow Head aside.

Battle Squad 2 would then launch the attack.

As for the remaining forces, Battle Squad 1 would handle them—striking from the rear whenever possible. Given their setup, as long as they didn't block the path, they should be able to take down plenty of enemies with ease.

But Gu Xi hadn't expected the second wave to be in this state.

This gave him hope.

It seemed the skeleton corpses laid out on the defensive line could be spared for now.

The Corpse Explosion Mines planted in this wave could be saved entirely for the third wave.

"Move out! Battle Squad 3, pay attention: the enemy is charging hard. If the Head-on Collision is too strong, you can fall back a bit, but don't retreat past the second defensive line."

Hearing Gu Xi's command, the four battle squads quickly advanced, while the three scattered skeletons also dashed forward.

These three skeletons weren't weak—they just hadn't been selected for a squad.

So Gu Xi didn't keep them by his side; instead, he let them charge ahead with the rest.

As long as they joined the fight, their levels would rise, and they could contribute at least a little.

At that moment, the Ghoul Shadows surged into the street.

These Ghoul Shadows moved noticeably faster than the previous wave. As they burst onto the street, they drew their weapons, and even their eye sockets flickered with red light.

But Gu Xi was already prepared.

Battle Squad 3 took the lead, raising their upgraded Long Spears, eyes locked on the enemy's steps. When the enemy was still about two meters away, they thrust out their first strike.