Jason cut a stone slab and used it to make a meal of grilled snake.
This area lay on the outskirts of the Sunset Mountain Range, and there were no powerful magical beasts nearby.
These battles had made Jason realize that Necromancy could have unexpected effects in combat. If he really wanted to search for Mist Valley in the future, Necromancy might play a crucial role.
So he planned to seclude himself here for a while and see if he could break through to become a fifth-rank mage. At the same time, he would expand his undead army. Although he could not summon undead stronger than himself, he could put some effort into diversifying their types.
Jason found a cave. It was the territory of a black bear, but now it belonged to him.
After sealing the entrance, leaving only a ventilation hole, and setting several magical traps, Jason sent his consciousness into the Netherworld.
The Netherworld was as desolate as ever.
With Lumba, a sixth-rank Dark Warrior, supported by six other undead, there was little threat in this region inhabited only by low- and mid-rank undead. The zombie leopard Jason had deliberately subdued before had died unexpectedly. Apparently, when Lumba had taken his underlings into a group fight, a giant undead python had caught it off guard and squeezed it to death.
To replenish the squad's fighting strength, Jason had subdued a skeleton rhinoceros.
The undead squad still had seven members. The two zombie birds and one skeleton snake Jason had asked to keep were not counted among them because they were too weak.
Lately, Jason had not tried to resurrect the magical beasts he had hunted in the Sunset Mountain Range.
There was a limit to how many undead a necromancer could control. Jason's current undead squad was already somewhat over that limit, and he could only keep control because Lumba, as a black warrior, was stronger than Jason himself.
Converting undead on the Yulan Continent would sharply increase the burden on his spiritual power. Afterward, even if he sent the undead back to the Netherworld, he would face the serious consequences of losing control and having them revolt.
Generally speaking, the necromancers who converted undead on a large scale in the Material Plane were seventh rank or above. Only they had enough spiritual power to control such vast numbers of low-rank undead. Undead converted directly from corpses all started at a very low rank and fought relying solely on the strength of their bones.
"I want to take in two more undead," Jason said to Lumba, stating his thoughts directly.
"All right. I can control two more fifth-rank undead." Carrying a black bone sword, Lumba patrolled the surroundings with the undead squad.
Lumba's intelligence had improved considerably at the sixth rank, and he was capable of simple reasoning. After observing him for a while, Jason thought Lumba probably would not evolve into a Dark Knight.
To evolve into a Dark Knight, an undead needed fragments of memories from its previous life related to commanding troops in battle. Dark Knights lived in groups and had the ability to accept the allegiance of other Dark Knights of their own accord. Such allegiance placed very little burden on the soul, allowing a Dark Knight captain to accept the allegiance of more than a dozen low-rank Dark Knights without the undead under his command revolting.
Judging by Lumba's condition, he would probably continue down the path of a Dark Warrior—a "lone wolf." The bone sword in his hand had also turned black. Once he broke through to the seventh rank, his weapon would change into the form he had found most effective in his previous life, and he would awaken the corresponding magical skills.
"Do you remember that undead I told you to keep an eye out for? Have you run into him again lately?"
"That undead skeleton, the fifth-rank one, was pretty strong. I saw him ten days ago, roughly in that direction." Lumba still remembered.
It had been three months ago, when Jason and Lumba had led the squad to hunt down a pack of skeleton wolves.
Skeleton wolves were among the few low-rank undead that lived in packs.
More than a dozen fourth- and fifth-rank skeleton wolves had proved quite troublesome. Lumba and the others had killed more than half of them, but some had still escaped.
In the middle of the fight, a dual-sword skeleton had appeared and snatched the pack's leader, a fifth-rank skeleton wolf, from under their noses.
Both were fifth-rank undead, but the dual-sword skeleton's swordsmanship had been crisp and efficient. He had cut off the skeleton wolf's head in a single exchange.
Jason could tell that he had been skilled in martial arts during his lifetime, and that his exquisite swordsmanship had become instinctive.
Unfortunately, they had been busy wrapping up the battle at the time. The dual-sword skeleton had picked up the skeleton wolf king's head and fled before they could pursue him.
Lumba led the squad toward the area where the dual-sword skeleton roamed.
"There's one more thing," Lumba suddenly said. "A few days ago, I saw a fifth-rank zombie archer. It was my first time seeing one."
Jason had once asked Lumba to keep an eye out for unusual undead in the area.
Having a zombie's body meant he had learned magic in life, and since he was also an archer, he had probably been a magic archer, a fairly rare profession. Most humans tried to choose one path during their lives and advance as quickly as possible. Cultivating both magic and martial arts required not only talent but also courage and confidence.
Jason had killed a magic archer not long ago and knew how troublesome the profession could be, so he decided to try to subdue him.
"We have plenty of time. Once we've subdued this dual-sword skeleton, we'll look for that zombie archer."
The Netherworld was vaster than Jason could comprehend. At the very least, he had not seen any undead contracted to other necromancers in this region.
Without a necromancer's guidance, undead had to reach at least the seventh rank before they could learn to subdue followers. So, apart from Jason's undead squad, there were only a small number of social undead in this region, such as "undead wolves," "undead sheep," and "undead geese." They were far inferior to the undead squad in strength. That was why Jason dared to run roughshod over the region.
After spending some time searching, Jason finally spotted the dual-sword skeleton. He was resting and, judging by his appearance, had just absorbed another undead's Soulfire and was still "digesting" it.
The skeleton's body was still mottled white. Normally, a fifth-rank skeleton would already have begun changing into an Ironbone Skeleton, its color growing darker. It seemed this dual-sword skeleton had not been born long ago.
With his swordsmanship, he had few rivals among low-rank undead, so it was no wonder he advanced quickly. Given enough time, breaking through to the seventh rank would not be difficult.
Two saber-and-shield skeletons and two skeleton archers circled around to block his escape. Lumba and the little zombie then lay on the skeleton rhinoceros's back as it charged forward.
Seeing this, the dual-sword skeleton immediately got to his feet and ran toward a nearby boulder.
A charging skeleton rhinoceros was terrifying. Even at the fifth rank, it could smash Lumba apart with a direct collision. It was also extremely fast, and a humanoid skeleton could not possibly outrun it. Only by putting his back to the boulder could he escape disaster.
Lumba and the little zombie leaped straight off the rhinoceros's back and attacked him.
The dual-sword skeleton was fearless. Since his birth, he had yet to encounter an undead capable of defeating him. Whether they flew or ran, even if their undead fire was much brighter than his, he could still cut off their heads.
His twin swords clashed with the Black Longsword, and Lumba was astonished to find himself at a disadvantage.
After parrying Lumba's longsword, the dual-sword skeleton flicked his left hand and easily left a gash in the little zombie's abdomen.
Jason could see that the dual-sword skeleton's swordsmanship was even stronger than he had expected! He was much weaker than Lumba, and because he had advanced so quickly, his bones could withstand less strain than those of an ordinary fifth-rank skeleton.
Even so, his masterful swordsmanship actually allowed him to gain the upper hand over Lumba.
As for the little zombie, those converted into zombies had all been mages in life. Jason had taken him in intending to nurture him to the seventh rank and make him the undead squad's magical support. He had never expected him to contribute much in the early stages.
Lumba engaged the dual-sword skeleton again, but overall he was at a disadvantage.
The four skeletons and the rhinoceros also came over from the distance. Their opponent showed no intention of fleeing, so there was no need to block his escape route.
The rhinoceros and the little zombie fell back, and the four skeletons pressed forward.
The two saber-and-shield skeletons raised their shields side by side. Although they were only fourth rank, the dual-sword skeleton had no good way to deal with them. With Lumba attacking him head-on as well, the dual-sword skeleton was pinned in front of the boulder.
The two skeleton archers stood on the skeleton rhinoceros's back and fired down from their elevated position.
Although the dual-sword skeleton blocked every arrow, they successfully disrupted his counterattacks.
Lumba seized the opportunity and shattered his left leg bone with a single slash.
As an undead, Lumba felt no shame in joining an attack on an undead one rank below him.
The rest of the fight was straightforward. Jason ordered the other undead to spread out. Unable to move, the dual-sword skeleton faced a continuous barrage of arrows from the skeleton archers until his arm bones could no longer withstand the force and broke, leaving him completely unable to resist.
With practiced ease, Lumba drew out part of the dual-sword skeleton's Soulfire and placed it in his own skull. The dual-sword skeleton officially became a member of the undead squad.
They placed the dual-sword skeleton on the skeleton rhinoceros's back, then killed several more undead and extracted their undead fire to replenish him. The dual-sword skeleton was in miserable condition and would probably need half a month to recover as his Soulfire nurtured him.
As for the zombie archer Lumba had mentioned, they subdued him easily.
The magic archer profession was formidable, but it relied heavily on teammates and terrain.
This zombie archer had yet to awaken his magic. His ranged attacks were good enough for bullying lower-rank undead, but he was completely unable to resist the undead squad's group assault.
Thus, Jason's undead squad expanded to nine members.