Chapter 33: Reinforced Graveyard
The Oil Sprayer was a nice piece of equipment, arguably Gu Su’s most powerful weapon at the moment.
His fingertips gently brushed against the cold metal, and he could imagine the formidable power contained within the City Defense Weapon.
Ultimately, however, it was a piece of City Defense Weapons, not handheld equipment. It had to be mounted on a turret or defense tower to unleash its true destructive power.
Gu Su didn’t have that kind of weapon mount yet.
However, he was confident. Given the Graveyard Demon’s current Resource reserves and the size of his domain, he believed it wouldn’t be long before he could upgrade and unlock such structures.
So, Gu Su placed the Oil Sprayer in a suitable defensive position as a preparatory measure.
The moment the Graveyard Demon leveled up, he could immediately install and calibrate it, putting it to use in the territory’s defense.
After carefully setting the Oil Sprayer by the fence on the left side of the graveyard, he used a few stones to secure its body and prevent the night wind from knocking it over. Then, Gu Su took the [Polluted Engine Oil] he had brought back from his storage space.
Though this bottle of pitch-black, viscous engine oil looked unremarkable, it had decent fire-resistant properties, making it the perfect material for reinforcing the fence.
Without the slightest hesitation, he slowly poured the engine oil directly onto the Broken Fence.
The graveyard’s fence was made of patched-together sheets of rusted iron, offering weak Defense. Raising its defensive capabilities and fortifying the territory’s first line of defense was exactly what he needed to do.
As the [Polluted Engine Oil] slowly trickled down, the black oil spread like a living creature, evenly coating every inch of the fence’s rusted iron and covering all the mottled patches of rust.
Almost simultaneously, a clear system message flashed before Gu Su’s eyes: [Broken Fence (Level 1) Attributes increased, Fire Resistance +3.]
Glancing at the increased Attributes, Gu Su’s expression remained impassive. He simply gave a slight nod.
A +3 to Fire Resistance wasn’t a massive boost, but it was enough to withstand low-level flame attacks. An ordinary small fire would now have almost no effect on the Broken Fence.
He said no more and turned, walking briskly toward the Yin Fire Heap in the center of the graveyard. More important matters awaited him there.
When he reached the Yin Fire Heap, ethereal blue flames danced quietly, emitting a dense Yin Qi.
Gu Su stopped and methodically took out the [Highly Concentrated Corrosive Oil] and the [Soul-Gathering Candle] from his storage space.
First, he slowly poured the [Highly Concentrated Corrosive Oil] into the Yin Fire Heap.
The moment the oil touched the Yin Fire, it erupted with a WHOOSH. The flames instantly shot up over a meter high, their color growing deeper and richer. The surrounding Yin Qi also grew a bit thicker.
Immediately after, another system notification popped up.
[Yin Fire Heap (Level 1) Attributes increased. Can now produce 750 Yin Qi per 24 hours.]
The effect was a little weaker than Gu Su had anticipated. He paused for a moment, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
But on second thought, he let it go.
’After all, this is a permanent, long-term attribute boost, not a temporary burst of power. Over time, the accumulated Yin Qi will be substantial. For me, who urgently needs Yin Qi to nourish the Deceitful Tree and create more Undead, this is still a decent gain.’
Gu Su didn’t dwell on it. He collected his thoughts and lit all six [Soul-Gathering Candles]. By the dim light of the Yin Fire, he arranged them neatly on a flat stone beside the Yin Fire Heap.
The next second, the system notification chimed again, announcing a temporary buff.
[Yin Fire Heap (Level 1) Attributes temporarily increased. Total Yin Qi production increased by 60% for 72 hours.]
Gu Su accepted this outcome. After all, the [Soul-Gathering Candle] was just a casual purchase. Getting this much of a boost to his Yin Qi was a fairly good result.
After dealing with the Yin Fire Heap, Gu Su acted as if he were pressed for time. Without a moment’s delay, he turned and walked toward the Deceitful Tree behind his tent.
At the same time, he quickly took out the [Chewed Leg Bone], the [Rusted Longsword], and the [Black Digestive Fluid].
These three items all contained dense Yin Qi or Death Qi. From the very beginning, Gu Su had decided they were the perfect choice for nourishing the Deceitful Tree and accelerating its recovery.
He walked up to the Deceitful Tree and carefully placed the items one by one.
The [Black Digestive Fluid] was slowly poured at the base of the tree, allowing the viscous liquid to seep through the cracks in the soil and be fully absorbed by the Deceitful Tree’s root system.
He then took the [Rusted Longsword] in both hands and plunged it firmly into the ground beneath the Deceitful Tree. In the eerie light, the rust-mottled half of the blade seemed to faintly exude a residual killing intent.
Finally, he dug a small pit next to the tree’s roots, gently placed the [Chewed Leg Bone] inside, and then carefully covered it with soil, tamping it down.
This time, the Deceitful Tree didn’t trigger any new special effects, but its recovery speed noticeably increased. Its once dry and cracked branches began to faintly emit a wisp of black energy, and its restoration progress jumped directly to 77%.
Having finished this pile of miscellaneous tasks, Gu Su finally let out a sigh of relief. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and, using a blueprint, constructed a simple hydroponic rack.
He placed the rack right next to the Oil Sprayer, setting it up snugly against the Broken Fence.
This saved space and also allowed the fence to block the night wind—killing two birds with one stone.
To be honest, the rack wasn’t complicated. It was simply divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower.
The base was weighted down with heavy stones, making it rock-solid and impossible for the wind to knock over.
The troughs were made of smooth wood, and small supports were carefully laid inside them. All that was left was to pour in a suitable amount of fresh water.
The design’s purpose was simple: allow the seeds to get water without becoming waterlogged and rotting. After all, a rotted seed was a wasted seed.
Each tier could hold exactly two seeds, or two different types of plants, which was perfect for the four white seeds Gu Su had left.
He placed the four seeds into the troughs. With that done, there was nothing left to do but wait patiently for them to sprout and grow.
Once everything was in order and he was sure he hadn’t missed anything, Gu Su finally set off for the Withered Wood Forest.
The night deepened. In the Withered Wood Forest behind the graveyard, the trees were shadowy figures, exuding a bizarre aura.
In front of the two Empty Tombs there stood a small, simple headstone. The stone was rough and unadorned, with no inscription on it yet.
Gu Su hesitated for a moment before the two headstones, his mind rapidly planning the future composition of his Undead forces.
Gu Su’s biggest problem right now wasn’t a lack of Woodworkers or combat power; it was his complete ignorance of the surrounding area.
Therefore, the most important thing was a scout who could reconnoiter the area for him.
Before, Gu Su had no choice but to use Skeletons. Things were different now; he finally had a unit that could serve as a proper scout.
White Crow!
Having made his decision, Gu Su took a sharp stone and slowly etched onto one of the headstones: [White Crow Squad (0/30)].