Chapter 260 - 149: Painfully Expensive (Part 2)
The officers winced, utterly baffled by his outburst. Spreading the news was to get other cities to help them clear out the Undead, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that just asking for help?
"You blockheads! Soul Fire is useful to us—it can increase our Power. Do other places have Undead? No! Only we have Undead here. If they want Soul Fire, they have to come to us!"
"Spread the word to all the surrounding cities. Tell them that if they want to get Soul Fire, if they want to hunt Undead, they have to pay! Understand? They have to trade money and resources for a spot, and only then will they get the chance to hunt Undead!"
White Hair stood up and spoke as he paced.
The officers were stunned, staring at their City Lord with their jaws agape.
’He can do that?’
’We were just trying to avoid hunting the Undead ourselves and minimize our losses. How did that turn into charging people to hunt them?’
’Amazing. Just look at him. No wonder he’s the City Lord. His mind really works on a different level than ours!’
They had been thinking about asking for aid, getting the surrounding cities to help clear out the Undead. But the Lord City Lord’s scheme was on another level: not only would they help him clear out the Undead, but they would also have to pay him for it.
This was what you’d call selling someone and making them count the money for you.
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! Lord City Lord, you’re incredible!" an officer who had caught on exclaimed, immediately starting to brown-nose.
"Indeed! As expected of the Lord City Lord!" Seeing this, the other officers quickly followed suit, and a chorus of flattery instantly filled the City Lord’s Mansion.
"Hmph. Now that you understand, get to it. I want every surrounding city to know about this! Go." White Hair tilted his head back and waved his hand dismissively, as if to say it was all just a basic operation, nothing special. The smug look on his face, however, was impossible to hide.
’There’s no shame in making money.’
...
Fifty summons.
Li Ziyu had fallen into the damn developer’s trap. He couldn’t help himself and summoned another fifty times, receiving... four Triple-Enchanted Skeleton Desert Grey Rats.
Compared to the previous fifty summons, this was obviously much better, but the success rate was still appallingly low. Fortunately, after another fifty summons, the progress bar filled up, granting him a one-time 100% success chance for a "Triple Enchantment."
[Friendly Reminder: Your next "Triple Enchantment" has a 100% success rate.]
Li Ziyu discovered that this opportunity could be used not only for summoning Alien Undead but also in the Tattoo Workshop to apply an Enchantment to a Weapon or an existing Undead.
This was an opportunity earned by spending 1,200 units of Mutated Soul Energy and another 1,200 units of Soul Energy. It hadn’t come easy, so he had to use it wisely.
After weighing his options, he finally decided to summon a Skeleton Ox Demon.
He selected the Tattoos for Constitution, Power, and Frenzy, placed the Skeleton, and summoned!
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the Alien Tomb as a massive figure emerged.
Perhaps because of the Tattoos, the Triple-Enchanted Skeleton Ox Demon was slightly taller than a Dark Skeleton Ox Demon, standing at about 320 centimeters. Its bright white bones were exceptionally thick and covered in fine cracks, through which a fiery red, lava-like liquid flowed.
Compared to the Dark Skeleton Ox Demon, the Triple-Enchanted Skeleton Ox Demon seemed more domineering and wild, exuding a fierce aura. Its bones, in particular, appeared to be specially thickened—likely an effect of the Constitution Magic Energy Rune.
The Totem Pole in its hand was also different from that of a Dark Skeleton Ox Demon. A Dark Skeleton Ox Demon’s Totem Pole is wreathed in Dark Energy, emanating an aura of death and misfortune. This new Skeleton Ox Demon’s Totem Pole, however, was like a volcano on the verge of erupting. It radiated an intense aura of Frenzy, with white smoke constantly rising from its surface.
Li Ziyu’s eyes lit up at the sight of the Skeleton Ox Demon. ’All those resources weren’t spent in vain. It looks incredibly powerful.’
He opened the system interface to check. The creature’s official name was Nightmare·Frenzied Skeleton Ox Demon.
According to the system Introduction, after an update, the Undead produced in the Alien Tomb received a new naming convention. A unit with one Enchantment would have a prefix corresponding to that Enchantment. A unit with a double Enchantment was called "Elite," and one with a Triple Enchantment was called "Nightmare."
’If I could get more Nightmare Level units like this, what would I have to fear?’
Li Ziyu watched the Nightmare Level Skeleton Ox Demon with satisfaction, but he sighed internally. The cost of creating a single Nightmare Level unit was immense. Besides the 1,200 units of Mutated Soul Energy and 1,200 units of Soul Energy he’d already spent, the summoning cost for this Triple-Enchanted Ox Demon alone was a staggering 420 units of Mutated Soul Energy and 350 units of Soul Energy.
In summary, the Nightmare Level Skeleton Ox Demon before him was worth a total of 1,620 units of Mutated Soul Energy and 1,550 units of Soul Energy. The price was high enough to make a grown man cry.
This one unit alone cost the equivalent of fifteen Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors. It was a true money-pit of a troop; creating just a few more would bankrupt him.
’It certainly looks ferocious, but I wonder if its actual combat effectiveness lives up to its appearance.’
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. ’Could this Triple-Enchanted Ox Demon have some kind of hidden ability?’
Given the system’s typical antics, it had probably hidden some key information. If he didn’t ask, it would never volunteer the details—just like what happened with the Skeleton Warriors’ leadership ability.
[Nightmare·Frenzied Skeleton Ox Demon]
[Introduction: A Skeleton Ox Demon that has undergone Triple Enchantment. It possesses tougher bones, greater Power, and the ability to enter a Frenzy. Due to the presence of the Constitution Magic Energy Rune, it can retain its sanity during the Frenzy. However, be warned: if the Frenzy state is maintained for too long, there is still a possibility of it losing its mind.]