Return to Landon

Early the next morning, Green took a carriage back to Landon City.

After last night's battle, he left the Ceramic Factory and returned to the inn as if nothing had happened. First, he took stock of his gains from raiding the Tower of Yin Spirits dungeon. Aside from an enchanted pistol and the Ghost Eye, Green exchanged everything else for Psychic Energy in the Graveyard—a total of 6,513 points. Thrilled, he immediately began spending.

Rubbing his hands together, Green prepared to make a grand sweep. First, he upgraded the crypt into a Rotting Crypt capable of producing Hard-Skin Ghouls and Iron-Skinned Zombies. It cost two thousand Psychic Energy. With a single thought, the stone structure representing the crypt abruptly grew more than a meter taller. A stone lantern appeared at each of its four corners, green ghostfire burning within. From time to time, it drifted out and formed a human shape, only to collapse into nothingness a few seconds later.

Green then spent another 150 Psychic Energy to upgrade all his existing Ghouls and Zombies into Hard-Skin Ghouls and Iron-Skinned Zombies.

After the upgrade, an Iron-Skinned Zombie's combat power reached 9.0, slightly below a Hard-Skin Ghoul's 9.1. However, it was also cheaper, costing only 20 Psychic Energy to recruit one. It was quite a bargain.

Next, Green turned his attention to the Abandoned Tower that produced Ghosts, only to discover gloomily that building it came with prerequisites. He had to upgrade the Town Hall to LV2 and construct a Defense Fortress before he could build the Abandoned Tower.

At the sight of this, Green's face fell. Just moments ago, he had thought earning over five thousand Psychic Energy from the dungeon was pretty good. Yet faced with this situation, he could not help sighing that money truly vanished like water!

Upgrading the Town Hall cost 2,000 Psychic Energy, building the City Defense Fortress cost another 2,000, and together with the earlier cost of upgrading the Rotting Crypt, those three expenses alone came to 6,000 Psychic Energy. Add in the cost of upgrading the Ghouls and Zombies, and in the blink of an eye, Green's dungeon gains had dwindled to just over three hundred Psychic Energy. How could that possibly be enough to build the Abandoned Tower? Green was deeply frustrated, but also helpless. He could only leave it for next time.

Fortunately, he had the Ghost Eye and could convert Ghosts. With a tier-three unit already in hand, his need for the Abandoned Tower was not especially urgent. Instead, after upgrading the Town Hall and constructing the City Defense Fortress, the entire Graveyard felt somehow different. It was like a plant on the verge of withering being watered, recovering from a half-dead state into one brimming with life. Even the undead creatures in the Graveyard were affected, each one full of vigor and improved in combat power.

Only then did Green understand the benefits of upgrading the Town Hall and building the City Defense Fortress. In particular, the great clock atop the Town Hall had actually upgraded along with it!

One had to know that the "Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition" Green cultivated was no ordinary, shallow Meditation Method. The entire method was divided into nine stages. Condensing a meditation object within one's sea of consciousness was merely the first step, and ordinary magic apprentices could only reach that first stage. Only by becoming a Formal Mage could one cultivate the second stage of the Meditation Method.

At the second stage, the Meditation Method became even more useful. Not only could one increase Spiritual Power through visualization of the meditation object, but it could also enhance magic during battle. Whether it was magical power or casting speed, depending on the individual, it could increase them by as much as 10%, or at the very least by 3% to 7%. That was an extremely considerable boost. Any wand capable of achieving a similar effect could sell for tens of thousands of gold pounds; on Earth, that would be worth hundreds of millions of RMB. Thinking of it that way, spending four thousand Psychic Energy at once no longer hurt quite so much.

Furthermore, after constructing the City Defense Fortress, the Graveyard's undead production doubled, expanding Green's forces.

All along, the Graveyard had been miserly when it came to undead production. Time was calculated by the month. Apart from Skeleton Soldiers, whose numbers reached double digits, every other troop type was produced only in single digits. This made Green exceedingly careful whenever he used undead creatures. That was also why, when he obtained the Ghost Eye, he treasured it as dearly as his own life—not for any other reason, but solely for Ghost conversion. With that ability, so long as he had enough souls, he could create an unlimited Ghost army.

Of course, Green would not become so utterly heartless as to kill people and seize their souls for this ability. In truth, obtaining souls in this world was not difficult. Although capitalism had begun and supernatural power existed, ordinary people in this world remained ignorant. Medicine in particular, suppressed by churches that possessed supernatural power, developed even more slowly than it normally would have. So-called hospitals resembled slaughterhouses more than anything else; treating illness basically relied on diluted holy water and bloodletting.

If he wanted souls, all he had to do was visit the hospitals in populous metropolises like Faerun City or the Royal Capital. He would not need to do anything at all—simply sit and wait—and he could swiftly, safely obtain an unimaginable number of souls. Landon City had fewer people, certainly, but with a little more patience, it would not be difficult to gather materials for converting Ghosts. At the very least, Green could multiply his number of Ghosts several times over in the short term.

At this thought, joy appeared on Green's face. In a few more days, the Graveyard would produce another wave of undead creatures. By then, the number of undead troops he recruited would surely exceed one hundred.

Green calculated silently. Skeleton Soldiers alone numbered eighty-five, along with sixteen Hard-Skin Ghouls, fifteen Iron-Skinned Zombies, and an undetermined number of Ghosts.

Such a lineup was already exceptionally lavish for a Necromancer apprentice. What Green looked forward to even more, however, was the cannon he had ordered from Old One-Eye. That was the true great killer. If it could be combined with Skeleton Soldiers to create Cannon Skeleton Soldiers, that would be perfect.

At this thought, even greater anticipation shone in Green's eyes...

A few hours later, when Green returned to Landon City, it was already two in the afternoon. The carriage stopped before Wilson Castle.

Vincent watched Green step down from the carriage, his expression agitated. He immediately came forward and embraced him, whispering, "My brother, I knew you would not abandon the Lineage!"

Green smiled and patted Vincent on the back. He knew that his trip to raid the dungeon had made many people suspicious, believing that he, like Doctor Wilkins, intended to flee when danger loomed. Vincent had actually entertained similar thoughts, but when Green came to speak with him earlier, he did not mention it at all. Instead, he waved a hand grandly and gave Green three hundred gold pounds.

Those three hundred gold pounds were not to be underestimated. They were nearly more than half of Vincent's private savings. Though he knew perfectly well that Green might be leaving, he had still been willing to give them away. That already made his stance clear, and Green had been somewhat moved.

Just moments earlier, Vincent had suddenly heard a servant report that Green's carriage had returned. He had been both shocked and delighted, yet his expression had turned even gloomier as he hurried downstairs to meet Green.

After the embrace, Vincent's expression was complicated. He patted Green's shoulder. "My brother, you really should not have come back!"

Green said nothing. From Vincent's eyes, he saw exhaustion and despair hidden so deeply it was almost imperceptible. He could not help frowning. In less than two days, what on earth had happened to make Vincent feel such despair?