Chapter 4: Seizing the Graveyard

Over the next three days, Li Bin and his group made remarkable progress. Within the Graveyard Demon, Li Bin completed the construction of the Necromantic Conversion Array, the Skeleton Altar, and the Necromancer's Research Institute. He was now ordering the Will-o'-the-wisp slaves to build branch structures of the Skeleton Altar—namely, the Skeleton Arrow Towers.

Through a series of skirmishes, Li Bin's skeleton soldiers had been replenished to three squads, one of which had even reached level 2 and was waiting for the completion of the Skeleton Altar’s auxiliary buildings to change class.

Research into other undead units was also advancing smoothly under Li Bin’s guidance. Utilizing the corpses left from the previous wolf pack, he had developed a new level 0 unit: the Ghost Wolf.

Although this new unit was low-level, it boasted impressive speed and a 50% immunity to physical attacks, making it the ideal choice for reconnaissance.

Li Bin only needed to wait until all the auxiliary buildings of the Skeleton Altar were complete before he could begin constructing new facilities to mass-produce Ghost Wolves.

At that moment, the spectral image of a wolf darted in from outside the Graveyard Demon and rushed to Li Bin’s side. Recognizing it, Li Bin immediately set aside his work and placed a hand on the wolf’s head. After a while, he broke into a smile and said, “A graveyard has been discovered—excellent! Graveyard Demon, turn southeast...”

Upon receiving Li Bin’s command, the Graveyard Demon shuddered slightly and changed course.

Before long, Li Bin, standing outside the Graveyard Demon, spotted the graveyard the Ghost Wolf had reported. In truth, it was only a handful of modest graves, and a dozen or so half-human, half-dog creatures prowled ceaselessly around the perimeter, occasionally digging into graves and devouring whatever they unearthed.

At the sight of the Graveyard Demon, one of the creatures roared, “Large... graveyard... fresh... food...”

The monsters then charged toward the Graveyard Demon with reckless abandon, and only then did the system slowly prompt: “You are under attack by a small group of undead units (neutral). Please make a choice.”

“Undead units?” Li Bin glanced at the onrushing monsters, doubting they were truly undead.

Regardless, he responded at once, shouting, “Prepare for battle!”

At his command, all three skeleton squads stepped forward, the level 2 team in the lead, fearlessly charging the monsters.

In the ensuing clash, Li Bin realized just how foolhardy these creatures were. Known as Rotten Gnolls, their highest level was only 2, yet they dared to attack the Graveyard Demon recklessly.

It took only a few moments for the boldest gnolls to be felled by Li Bin’s skeleton soldiers and dragged by Will-o’-the-wisp slaves into the corpse storage chamber.

Just then, the sharp-eyed Ghost Wolves began to howl again. Following their gaze, Li Bin noticed something odd: beneath one of the graves, another gnoll was hiding.

Li Bin was about to order the skeletons to dispose of it when the gnoll suddenly cried out, “Don’t kill me! I have something to say...”

Li Bin waved his hand, instructing two skeletons to haul the gnoll up.

He regarded the terrified creature for a moment before asking, “Are you a hero? A player?”

“No, I’m an elite non-combatant,” the gnoll hastily replied.

“Not bad,” Li Bin said calmly, “You even know about non-combat professions. Tell me, what makes you special?”

Inwardly, Li Bin was already pleased. Non-combat professions were rare exceptions among all races. They didn’t advance through battle, but rather devoted themselves to their vocational pursuits—like dwarven smiths, elven enchanters, or mechanists among the spirit machine folk.

Once a non-combatant reached elite status, they could establish their own workshop without consuming city resources. For this reason, players always sought to recruit elite non-combatants first.

Realizing his life was no longer in danger, the gnoll boasted, “I am an apothecary, skilled in cultivating and refining medicinal herbs.”

“An apothecary?” Li Bin considered this and found it a rather promising profession. “How about joining my team? If you do, I’ll assign a few slaves to assist you.”

“Well...” The gnoll hesitated at first, but upon seeing the murderous gleam in Li Bin’s eyes, he immediately relented. “Very well, I, Lokman, willingly join your ranks and become your subordinate.”

“Excellent. Someone, take this apothecary into the Graveyard Demon and assign him a cave as a workshop,” Li Bin ordered eagerly, summoning two Will-o’-the-wisp slaves.

“Wait, sir, the herbs I planted here are about to mature. Look...” Lokman pointed to the grave he’d been hiding in.

Li Bin glanced down and saw the pit was filled with blue herbs.

“This is Gravegrass, my discovery. It’s deadly poison to most creatures, but for us undead, it’s a precious curative. It restores vitality and can sometimes grant special abilities,” Lokman explained proudly.

“What are its growing requirements?” Li Bin asked coolly.

“It must be planted deep within graveyards.”

“In that case, you there—bring a team and transplant these herbs onto the Graveyard Demon,” Li Bin ordered a squad of Will-o’-the-wisp slaves.

Then he asked Lokman, “Is there anything else you need to take with you?”

“No, as long as I have those herbs, I can continue my research,” Lokman replied, shaking his head.

“Good.” Li Bin nodded. With a wave of his hand, the Graveyard Demon slowly moved atop the graveyard.

At that moment, Li Bin received a system message: “Your Graveyard Demon has come into contact with another graveyard. Please select: 1. Convert this graveyard into negative energy for absorption; 2. Use this opportunity to upgrade the Graveyard Demon.”

“Upgrade the Graveyard Demon,” Li Bin decided. After several days of research, he had gained a fair understanding of its mechanics. Each upgrade required a massive amount of negative energy, as well as the fusion of another graveyard.

Originally, Li Bin had planned to follow the manual and find a neutral city whose cemetery he could use for the upgrade. But after days of wandering without so much as a glimpse of a neutral city, he had to resort to upgrading the Graveyard Demon in the wilds if he hoped to survive.

Otherwise, his newly developed units would never see mass production, and his power would remain stagnant.

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