"So at a time like this, I still need to go kill monsters."
After sending all twenty-one newly raised skeletons out on missions, Gu Su immediately changed his original plan.
He had planned to investigate the fallen skyscraper alone, but at the last moment, he changed his mind.
In his view, exploration could wait. The most urgent thing right now was to kill monsters and collect corpses, continually turn them into undead, and strengthen his undead squad. That was the foundation a necromancer needed to establish himself.
So Gu Su sent the White Crows that had been scouting the area back out again.
This time, their mission was no longer to investigate a single target. They were to search every inch of the area around the Graveyard Demon for all living creatures they could find, leaving nothing out.
Whether it was a small group of three to five or a larger band of ten or twenty.
Whether they were creatures with simple organization and basic intelligence, like Goblins and Kobolds, or ferocious beasts like wolves, Lions, and black bears that acted purely on instinct.
As soon as the White Crows spotted anything, they had to fly back to the territory and report its location and numbers to Gu Su in detail.
Gu Su would then judge how far away the target was, personally lead his squad to hunt it down, and never pass up a corpse that could be turned into an undead.
There was no denying that Gu Su's approach was absolutely right.
By setting aside an exploration whose outcome was uncertain and prioritizing the removal of nearby threats and the gathering of undead resources, he could quickly strengthen his squad while clearing the way for longer-distance exploration later. His growth rate noticeably increased.
In just over an hour, Gu Su had led five Elite Skeletons and two Spellcaster Skeletons to wipe out several groups of targets.
One powerful Lion, three agile Leopards, and five thick-skinned Wild Boars.
There was also a thirteen-member Goblin squad, each one wielding a crude wooden spear. They looked far more menacing than the Goblins Gu Su had fought the first time.
After this sweep, Gu Su had cleared out every large, threatening creature within a thousand meters of the Graveyard Demon, completely eliminating the dangers around his territory and gathering a large number of precious corpses.
After leading his squad back to the Graveyard Demon, he had the Elite Skeletons and Spellcaster Skeletons rest nearby and recover their health. Gu Su himself didn't sit idle, either.
He immediately began processing all the corpses they had gathered.
These corpses were saturated with blood essence, but they certainly weren't fit to eat.
In Gu Su's eyes, they weren't food at all. They were excellent materials for raising undead. Using them to fill his stomach would be the greatest waste of all.
Under Gu Su's orderly direction, the skeletons carefully carried the massive Lion and Wild Boar corpses, which were richest in blood essence, into the coffins inside the Level 2 Empty Grave.
Lions and Wild Boars were fierce and sturdy, and the blood essence contained in their corpses far surpassed that of ordinary beasts. They were perfect for meeting the core requirements of the Level 2 Empty Grave's Zombie-raising process.
The three relatively small Leopard corpses and twelve ordinary Goblin corpses were carried into the Grave Mound.
Their blood essence was moderate; they were just ordinary corpses, suitable for raising basic Skeletons to fill out the undead squad.
One Goblin was different from the rest. It wasn't an ordinary Goblin but a Goblin Shaman with a slight aptitude for magic. Gu Su picked it out specially and placed it in an Empty Grave reserved for spellcaster undead.
He hoped it would become a Spellcaster Skeleton capable of using magic, making up for his lack of spellcasting strength.
Once all the corpses had been placed, Gu Su clearly saw the earth around the Grave Mound and Empty Graves begin to churn slowly. The soil quickly covered all the corpses, and wisps of black smoke seeped out. Raise Skeleton activated automatically, transforming the corpses in an orderly fashion.
[The Empty Grave automatically used your Raise Skeleton (Level 1), gaining Zombie (Level 0) *6, Raise Skeleton proficiency +12 points.] [The Grave Mound automatically used your Raise Skeleton (Level 1), gaining Skeleton (Level 0) *15, Raise Skeleton proficiency +15 points.] [The Empty Grave automatically used your Raise Skeleton (Level 1), gaining Skeleton (Level 0) *1, Raise Skeleton proficiency +1 point.]
System notifications appeared one after another in his mind. Before long, the transformation was complete.
First, six Zombies slowly crawled out from underground in the Level 2 Empty Grave. They were all humanoid, bald, and covered in grayish-blue skin.
More than half the skin on their bodies had rotted and fallen away, exposing the dark red flesh beneath. Their steps were heavy, and their joints creaked as bone rubbed against rotting flesh. They were nowhere near as fast as Skeletons of the same height.
[Zombie (Level 0, Summon): Experience (0/100) Attack 2, Defense 3, Health 20]
After looking over the Zombies' status panel, Gu Su nodded slightly. They weren't particularly impressive, but their defense was decent, making them suitable as meat shields.
Their strength was also passable, so they could serve as miners or general laborers for carrying things.
The only problem was that they moved far too slowly. A necromancer usually wouldn't bring them along.
Instead, they would simply be assigned to work in suitable locations.
Next, four new Skeletons slowly crawled out of the Grave Mound where the Wild Marsh Wolf corpses had been buried.
The instant all four Skeletons had climbed out, one of them suddenly shuddered slightly, as if something inside it had changed.
A white, triangular battle standard had appeared on its back. A complete wolf skull was emblazoned on the flag, with the numbers "25/25" beneath it.
Gu Su understood at a glance. Since the Grave Mound's ranks were full, this Skeleton had triggered the Grave Mound's transformation and become a new Skeleton Junior Leader. With it in command, the efficiency of any Skeleton Squads added afterward should increase considerably.
Finally, eleven new Skeletons crawled out of the fresh Grave Mound where the Leopards and ordinary Goblins had been buried. They were thin, with bare bones. Apart from a little dirt on them, they looked much like the ordinary Skeletons raised earlier, fit only for the most basic labor and combat.
As for the spellcaster Empty Grave, one Skeleton slowly crawled out of it as well.
Unfortunately, it was only an ordinary Spellcaster Skeleton. Its bare frame, dull star-shaped mark between its brows, and empty hands made it clear that it hadn't learned any spells yet.
Compared with an ordinary Skeleton, its only difference was that it had mana. As soon as it learned a spell, it would be able to use it.
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