Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 463 - 338: Enchantment [Contract], Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer! (Part 2)
The next step was to figure out how to use the Life Crystal to simulate the Troll’s Talent Regeneration Ability long-term and resolve the Energy Rejection Reaction within ordinary Low-Level Demons. If this hurdle could also be overcome, the next step would be to experiment on Human Professionals. If successful, it would mean that the Professional bone regeneration project led by Fang Zhou had achieved an unprecedented breakthrough. This would naturally be the best news for Shen Ziwei, who had lost her left arm and found it difficult to continue her Cultivation. As Shen Ziwei’s adoptive mother, Instructor Shen Hongyu naturally hoped that Fang Zhou could make progress quickly.
The group discussed Fang Zhou’s upcoming schedule for a little while longer before Instructors Huang Qiuyue and Shen Hongyu announced their departure. Fang Zhou escorted the two female instructors out of the laboratory, then turned back to give Instructor Su Xinyan a thorough ’massage.’ The previous tight schedule had left his pent-up enthusiasm unfulfilled. The long night ahead meant that Instructor Su Xinyan was in for quite an ordeal. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
「...」
An hour later, Fang Zhou supported his lower back as he walked leisurely and contentedly toward the Skill Training Ground. Tonight, Instructor Su Xinyan had been particularly open. Her fiery, uninhibited demeanor was a stark contrast to her usual cold and elegant image. As he reminisced about the satisfying feeling during the ’massage,’ he began planning his upcoming itinerary.
With the New Recruits Martial Arts Competition successfully concluded, he was now returning to his intense and busy daily Cultivation schedule. Besides his morning and afternoon military academy courses, Fang Zhou also needed to clear the Shelter Defense Battle on Abyss Difficulty and maneuver strategically in the sandbox simulations of the Demon Extermination Total War. The various projects in the Undead Mage research group’s laboratory would also occupy a part of his energy. There was also the incubation of the ’gold-devouring’ Black Gem Dragon Egg, which required Fang Zhou’s personal involvement to establish an innate bond with the embryonic dragon within.
Beyond that, the most important task was, of course, Fang Zhou’s daily routine of controlling his Skeleton Clone in the Concentration Meditation Room to kill monsters and level up, accumulating Soul Power and Four-dimensional Attributes. This was the foundation of his rapid progress and could not be skipped for even a single day. He also needed to train his Skills diligently in the Skill Training Room, striving to elevate some with potential to an instinctual level of proficiency. Previously, Senior Sister Liu Diewu had mentioned that there was an opportunity to create Solidified Talent Skills during a Great Realm breakthrough, and Fang Zhou was very intrigued. If possible, he also wanted to solidify his first Talent Skill during his advancement from Apprentice to Black Iron.
「...」
「Under the Blood Moon, on the Corpse Hills.」
The Nether Blood Ore resources had already been completely consumed by Fang Zhou. Even the sole surviving Mutated Zombie Wolf, after being subjected to his repeated dissections, had finally perished and found its release. Fortunately, Fang Zhou now had a comprehensive understanding of the Mutated Zombie Wolf, a type of mutated Undead Creature. This provided him with invaluable firsthand research material for creating his own skeletal steed. Now, it was time for him and his Skeleton Army to continue exploring deeper into the region.
After exploring for over an hour tonight, Fang Zhou’s pace gradually slowed. Just now, as his Four-dimensional Attributes increased, he had gained another servant slot! Overjoyed, Fang Zhou sifted through the piles of bones brought by his skeletal minions and ultimately chose a Skeleton Archer with the strongest frame and most vigorous Soul Fire to be his 50th minion.
Looking up at the Blood Moon in the sky, Fang Zhou gripped the Corpse Long Spear in his hand with some disappointment. Although the gains in Corpse Essence and Soul Power were quite abundant tonight, he had yet to make any truly eye-catching discoveries.
Just as Fang Zhou was preparing to redouble his efforts, intense soul fluctuations were transmitted from the No.1 Team through the Skeleton Monarch’s Soul Link. Receiving the No.1 Team’s warning, Fang Zhou’s previously weary Spirit suddenly revived, and his Soul Fire pulsed violently. He wasn’t startled, but delighted. Similar situations in the past had always led to the discovery of some excellent treasures, such as Tidamia, who was now a Middle-Rank Black Iron, or the White Bone Stone Crystal Cluster once occupied by Mutated Zombies.
In Fang Zhou’s Perception, the No.1 Archer—who should have been perfectly safe under the protection of several melee Skeletons, responsible only for drawing its bow and providing long-range fire support—was suddenly struck by an unknown attack. Its Soul Fire dimmed, and its slender skeletal frame came crashing down. The instant the No.1 Archer fell, Fang Zhou immediately employed a Secret Skill of the Skeleton Monarch. An invisible Soul Link, like a Netherworld Bridge, instantly transferred his consciousness to the dried bones of No.1 Giant Shield. Through these hollow eye sockets, Fang Zhou was able to witness the entirety of the sudden battle.
The enemy was a Giant Skeleton Warrior standing on a distant hill, nearly two meters tall. Its bones weren’t the ordinary dull white but glowed with a luster as fine as jade, each line distinct and radiating a sense of formidable strength. In its hand, it held a massive Skeleton Longbow, which it was currently drawing to aim an arrow at the No.1 Great Sword Skeleton.
Fang Zhou’s Soul Fire leaped with even greater joy. This was a Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer. As a ranged Mutated Skeleton, this Skeleton Divine Archer was naturally rarer than Tidamia, the Mutant Beheading Giant Sword Skeleton Warrior. If the two were to face off, the Skeleton Divine Archer, with its ranged advantage, would likely have a higher chance of victory.
Through the eyes of No.1 Giant Shield, Fang Zhou stared intently at the Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer, the thrill of a hunter spotting its prey rising within him. An intense desire to enslave it as his servant bloomed in his mind. Encountering a Mutated Skeleton that could be subdued by the Skeleton Monarch Skill was a rare opportunity he would not miss.
Counting carefully, he had been fighting in the Undead Realm for several months, and this was only the second Mutated Skeleton he had encountered after Tidamia.
At this point, although the No.1 Great Sword fought back desperately, it was ultimately just a fragile puppet under the terrifying long-range attacks of the Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer. It soon collapsed into a pile of shattered bones.
Facing such a formidable opponent, the lone surviving No.1 Giant Shield had no chance of victory in a frontal confrontation. Fang Zhou quickly made a decision, commanding No.1 Giant Shield to retreat from the battlefield. He intended to create distance and find an opportunity to regroup with the main army for a counterattack.
However, the Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer’s speed far exceeded his expectations. It followed like a shadow of Death, each step landing on No.1 Giant Shield’s growing despair. Ultimately, after a short but fierce pursuit, a volley of bone arrows shattered the Skeleton Shield that No.1 Giant Shield barely held before it, then accurately struck its Soul Fire.
At that moment, the Skeleton Clone’s vision plunged into darkness, and the connection with the No.1 Team was completely severed. Clearly, the No.1 Team had been wiped out.
However, Fang Zhou wasn’t frightened; instead, an unprecedented sense of excitement enveloped his Soul Fire. Based on its performance, this Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer seemed even stronger than Tidamia. It would make a perfect second top fighter.
While his aim was to subjugate this Skeleton Divine Archer as his servant, Fang Zhou was more interested in understanding its origin and purpose. After all, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. From Fang Zhou’s experience, whether it was Tidamia, the Mutated Giant Zombie, or the pack of Mutated Zombie Wolves, these mutated Undead Creatures had all occupied rare Undead Attribute resource points. Their formidable combat strength compared to ordinary Undead Creatures was largely due to their seizure and absorption of these resources.
Following that logic, what kind of Undead Attribute resource point could this Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer be guarding?
Fang Zhou felt a surge of excitement. This Mutated Skeleton Divine Archer’s combat power was overwhelmingly superior to others at its level. Of course, given his cautious nature, Fang Zhou wouldn’t act rashly if its strength proved to be too great.
