Before the Conflict

As the Snake Ambush tribe gathered the strength of other tribes, Liu Zhi was also strengthening his subordinates.

Although the last battle ended quickly, it did expose the weaknesses of the skeleton soldiers. They were almost invincible against piercing enemies, but what if they encountered blunt force? After all, the chain hammers in the skeletons' hands had smashed enemies' heads quite satisfyingly last time.

While he was smashing enemies and feeling good about it, what about the enemies? The enemies had far better resources than he did. Liu Zhi only had wood and stone, not many materials to acquire. But it was different outside; as long as there was money, all sorts of weapons were readily available. One day, they would come up with all sorts of powerful weapons.

By then, it would be too late to strengthen the skeleton soldiers.

Therefore, after discovering the problem, Liu Zhi had considered several solutions.

Wrapping them with vine fibers like before was no longer feasible. This method couldn't defend against heavy blows at all; the bones would still shatter.

Liu Zhi needed a method like metal, where the original shape remained even after being flattened.

Finally, Liu Zhi thought of a possibility. He pondered whether he could beat the collected gold into gold leaf and stick it layer by layer onto the skeleton soldiers.

To avoid suffering himself, Liu Zhi transferred some of his [Goldware Crafting] skill to some ordinary skeletons, training five skeleton goldsmiths to apply the gold leaf to the skeleton soldiers.

Afterward, Liu Zhi found this method to be quite effective. He then began to use this method extensively. For example, by having ordinary skeletons learn the [Common Tool Crafting] function, he could immediately train skeleton laborers.

These skeleton laborers could perform some repetitive tasks, such as helping skeleton archers make arrows, polishing obsidian, or making simple ropes and traps.

This immediately freed up Liu Zhi, allowing him more time to handle other matters.

For example, learning to make shields using wooden strips and branches.

Liu Zhi discovered that as soon as he learned something, the skeleton laborers could learn it immediately, which would significantly speed up the re-equipping of the undead troops.

After about five days, a new week arrived, and Liu Zhi could already feel that the enemy's first wave of probing attacks was imminent.

At this time, his Mass Grave finally spawned the new undead for the week.

After five days of effort, the Mass Grave had changed once again. First, golden skeletons covered in gold leaf appeared.

These golden skeletons were not directly generated undead soldiers but required the enhancement of existing skeleton soldiers. Based on the speed of the current skeleton goldsmiths and the stock of gold, only five skeleton soldiers could be converted each week.

These golden skeletons had good resistance to blunt attacks, and their resistance to piercing attacks had not weakened, but their speed had noticeably decreased.

Liu Zhi simply equipped them with the wooden shields he had just made and larger stone chain hammers.

Among the undead that spawned, there were also two additional ghouls. Liu Zhi specifically equipped them with large Macuahuitl, making them act as the final decapitating force.

With this, the number of troops Liu Zhi could bring with him increased. He now had 11 ordinary skeleton soldiers (using spears, equipped with small shields), 5 golden skeletons (using chain hammers, equipped with large shields), 5 skeleton archers (with unlimited arrow supply), 2 powerful skeleton soldiers (using Longsword and mastering swordsmanship), and 4 ghouls (equipped with leather armor and Macuahuitl).

In addition to the daily consumption of Corpse Soul Naga and the Mana required by the Underworld, Liu Zhi had no other Mana to bring new undead into the real world.

"I hope these troops can fight the enemy."

As Liu Zhi spoke, he silently set up traps in the cave near the entrance and exit.

At this time, Parker and the others finally confirmed that the troops previously sent to the Golden City were gone.

At the gathered major powers, Parker declared loudly, "You all saw it, right? Something has really happened. The demons have been released. This is everyone's business, not just our Snake Ambush tribe's."

In Parker's tent at this time, besides Edge of the Deer-Eating tribe and the leader of the Eagle tribe, there were four more indigenous leaders with completely different attire.

Among them was an old man whose style and decorations were full of Inca influence. He carried no weapons, and his body was adorned with numerous daggers and medicine pouches.

The remaining three were all middle-aged men. Their heights varied, but their styles were relatively similar, making it clear at a glance that they carried some remnants of Maya civilization.

Listening to Parker's words, they didn't say much. They all knew that half of the reason for this gathering was the 'demon' in the Golden City, but more importantly, it was about the hunting grounds in the jungle.

They all understood that whoever could gain the initiative in this battle would have more territory in future hunting ground matters.

When they came, the three of them had already decided that no matter what Parker said, their three tribes would advance and retreat together.

At this moment, the old man with Inca-style attire said, "How do you want to fight? I know you have a way to enter the Golden City, but how many people can we send in? If we send too many people, your method of luring away the Giant Serpent won't be as effective. If we send too few, it's simply sending them to their deaths."

Hearing the old man's words, Parker was also somewhat angry. He naturally understood the problem. He originally wanted to gain control of everyone here, and then, using the excuse of dealing with the demons and opening the passage to the Golden City, he would lure out and kill the Giant Serpents one by one.

He had calculated that with the cursed weapons provided by the white people, combined with their knowledge, he could probably deal with all the Giant Serpents within ninety days.

Then the army could advance.

As long as the demon inside was killed, the Golden City, full of gold, would belong to their Snake Ambush tribe.

If, in the process, some of the other tribes' strong laborers were also eliminated, that would be even better.

But when the old man brought it up, Parker naturally couldn't reveal such a method. He retorted somewhat displeasedly, "What, do you have a solution?"

"Yes, we can borrow the passage to the underworld and sneak through the underworld. I think this way the demons won't discover our arrival."

Upon hearing this, Parker jumped up, like a maddened lion, pointing at the old man and saying, "Have you taken too much medicine and not woken up yet? The underworld? Why don't you just say you'll kill everyone here and send them to the demons as sacrifices."