Chapter 201 - 129: Problems Exposed (3)
In contrast, while his own losses appeared great on the surface, he could easily replenish his ranks with fresh corpses. The Jackal Wolfmen hadn’t taken their dead when they fled, leaving them all behind. For other City Lords, collecting these bodies would only yield some extra equipment, or perhaps a few resources if they had the means to reprocess them. That was all.
But in Li Ziyu’s hands, corpses were far more valuable than any other resource. Both the Skeletons and the Soul Energy they provided would allow him to develop further.
’That was dangerous. It was almost a disaster,’ Li Ziyu thought, sighing to himself. He sat on his White Bone Throne, chin in hand, as he reflected on the battle.
A battle between Mobile Fortresses was truly perilous. One wrong move, and the entire game was lost—you could even lose your life.
Any City Lord who could survive in the Otherworld, let alone thrive, was no simple pushover.
Take the Jackal Wolfman City Lord, for instance. ’He probably wasn’t from my batch; he must have arrived in the Otherworld with Liu Xingxing’s group. That means he’s had far less time to develop than I have. Logically, with that disadvantage, his combat strength should have been significantly weaker. A fight against him shouldn’t have turned into a struggle where we both suffered heavy losses. Especially since I have the backing of the endless Skeletons from the Wraith Mountain Range. That was the very reason I was confident enough to attack first.’
’But that wasn’t how it played out. The enemy was strong and had many tricks up his sleeve. His final escape—that "golden cicada shedding its shell" gambit—was particularly astonishing.’
’I really can’t underestimate the other Heroes in this world. I can’t get complacent just because I have the Wraith Mountain Range and its vast supply of Skeletons.’
’A dynasty with immense wealth and advanced Weapons, yet internally lazy and corrupt, isn’t guaranteed to win against hardy barbarians from desolate lands who struggle just to eat. The history of my past life is filled with examples of civilization being overthrown by barbarians; it’s proven this point time and again.’
This battle was a good thing. It served as a wake-up call for Li Ziyu. ’If I develop too slowly or get lazy, I’ll be beaten down—I might even get killed. Only by working harder and harder can I ensure my survival, and hopefully, thrive.’
The battle also exposed the shortcomings of his Undead forces.
He had always felt that as long as he had enough Skeleton Undead to form a Sea of the Dead, he could dominate. ’At least in the Wasteland,’ he’d thought, ’there shouldn’t be any powerful Race capable of standing against it.’
But this battle proved otherwise. ’How many Jackal Wolf Warriors were there, really? I mobilized tens of thousands of Skeleton Undead, yet they were completely stopped in their tracks. I only won in the end because the Jackal Wolfman Fortress retreated, causing their morale to collapse. This proves that Low Level Skeleton Undead have severe limitations. Even in massive numbers, it’s difficult to compensate for their individual weakness in combat.’
’I have to find a way to solve this problem.’
’Giving up on the Sea of the Dead is out of the question; it’s the most classic tactic of the Skeleton Undead, after all. But it needs to be refined. Next time, I can’t just send them rushing forward in a single swarm. They get blocked by a line of Warriors and become completely ineffective. Only the Undead in the front can fight, while the ones in the back are just a useless, crowded mob. If the enemy had a unit like the Dogman Grenadier, they could have easily wiped out huge numbers of them.’
’Hmm, I’ll have to give that some thought.’
’Another thing is my lack of unit diversity. I especially need more powerful units like the Skeleton Ox Demon. If I’d had more Ox Demons this time, the battle would have gone very differently.’
There’s no better test than a real battle. This fight had exposed so many of his problems and made Li Ziyu acutely aware of his own inadequacies.
After reviewing the entire battle and picking apart all of his mistakes, Li Ziyu rubbed his temples and breathed a sigh of relief. A smile soon spread across his face.
It was time to tally his gains. The spoils of war were always a welcome sight. ’So many Jackal Wolfmen and Kobolds died this time,’ he mused. ’The Soul Energy I’ll get from them should be substantial. Time for another growth spurt.’