Another World: When a Necromancer Possesses the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls

"Roar!" The crocodile-skinned zombie roared as it turned around and swung its heavy bone claws in an attempt to attack the Shadowclaw Wolf.

But the Shadowclaw Wolf's agility was beyond imagination! It twisted its waist strangely in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the attack of the bone claws, while its two front claws scratched fiercely at the zombie's arm like a gust of wind!

A sharp, teeth-grinding sound rang out! Several deep cuts were ripped open in the tough, thick hide of the crocodile-skinned zombie, revealing the grayish-white skin and rotting flesh underneath.

The Shadowclaw Wolf landed lightly with the force of its claws, then turned to disappear back into the shadows at incredible speed!

"Stop it! Don't let it get away! Hunters, block its escape route!" Li Xingyao ordered coldly, a thought flashing through his mind at the same time: "This wolf is so clever, it might have a star core!"

The three closest skeleton swordsmen and the other crocodile-skinned zombie reacted the fastest. They immediately abandoned their previous course and turned to surround the fleeing Shadowclaw wolves. The four skeleton hunters on higher ground also immediately raised their bone spears, which whistled as they blocked the Shadowclaw wolves' most likely escape routes.

The Shadowclaw Wolf charged left and right, its speed truly astounding. Its sharp claws not only provided powerful grip and explosive force, but occasionally, when clashing with the swordsman's bone sword, they even sparked a few flecks, demonstrating their astonishing hardness. Several times it narrowly avoided being surrounded by bone swords and intercepting bone spears.

But the encirclement of the undead began to shrink, gradually compressing its space to move. It tried to charge in one direction, but was blocked by a crocodile-skinned zombie. Although it left several more scratch marks on the zombie's body, it was forced back by the zombie's claw.

Just as it was blocked by the zombies, and its body froze for a moment, a skeleton swordsman appeared from its blind spot like a ghost, his bone sword flashing with cold light as it thrust with all its might, precisely piercing its waist and abdomen!

"Awooo!" The Shadowclaw Wolf let out a painful howl, its body trembling violently.

Another swordsman seized the opportunity, stepped forward, and swung his bone sword upwards, slashing hard at the tendon of one of its hind legs!

Wounded, the Shadowclaw Wolf's mobility was instantly and drastically reduced, causing it to stagger. Another zombie caught up, its heavy bone claws slamming down like a hammer, striking the side of its head!

With a muffled thud, the Shadowclaw Wolf howled and collapsed to the ground. The impact to its brain rendered it unable to stand and momentarily incapacitated. A swordsman stepped forward, delivered the final blow, and ended its life.

The battle was over. Li Xingyao drove his motorcycle closer and first checked the wounded crocodile-skinned zombie. The wound was deep, and since undead creatures don't feel pain, it wouldn't affect their movement, only temporarily slowing them down. He then walked to the Shadowclaw Wolf's corpse.

With a sliver of hope, he carefully dissected the wolf's skull and searched it thoroughly. Slightly disappointed, he found no star core inside. "What a pity," he muttered to himself. This wolf's strength and cunning far surpassed that of ordinary wild beasts, yet it still hadn't condensed a star core.

"The main reason for the high price of star cores is that they are produced in very small quantities." Li Xingyao quickly adjusted his mindset. Hunting is like that; as long as you kill more, you will definitely reap the rewards. He skillfully skinned the valuable wolf pelt, then chopped off the four exceptionally sharp wolf claws and put them away separately.

Li Xingyao used the Myriad Soul Banner to absorb its soul, gaining 30 points of soul power. At the same time, the information fragments he obtained indicated that it was a lone wolf with a strong sense of territory. There were no other wolves of its kind in this area for the time being, and it was uneasy about the aura of some kind of "horned giant snake" to the west. This was an additional piece of information.

By this time, the sun had begun to set, its golden-red afterglow bathing the entire plain ruins in a warm hue. However, this warmth could not dispel the desolation and deathly silence that permeated the place. The electric rabbits in the depression had also been completely eradicated.

Li Xingyao began to tally up the day's final gains:

Electric rabbit fur: 19 pieces

Electric rabbit hind legs: 38 pieces

Shadowclaw Wolf Fur: 1 piece

Shadowclaw Wolf Claws: 4

Although there's no Star Core income, these materials are still quite valuable. Nineteen complete Electric Rabbit pelts and one even more valuable Shadowclaw Wolf pelt, transported back to camp, are enough to earn a considerable amount of credits. Thirty-eight pieces of Electric Rabbit meat are also a decent food supply or trade item.

He directed the undead to securely tie up all the spoils and stuff them into the front and rear storage baskets of the motorcycle, with the rabbit legs hanging in a position that wouldn't obstruct driving, making full use of the cargo space. The two skeleton swordsmen specifically responsible for carrying the spoils were also dismissed, and their soul power was recovered.

He needed to find a safe place to spend the night. Driving his motorcycle under the escort of the undead squad, he surveyed the area and finally chose a reinforced concrete ruin with walls on three sides. It might have been a corner of a factory; the walls were thick, and there were prefabricated slabs overhead providing decent protection.

He pushed the motorcycle into a corner of the ruins, then chose a spot with his back against a sturdy wall and a view that covered the entrance. He then directed the undead squad to set up a perimeter: five skeleton hunters occupied five different high points outside the ruins to provide long-range early warning; skeleton swordsmen and crocodile-skinned zombies were interspersed in the shadows around the ruins, forming a close-range defense.

By the time all this was done, it was almost completely dark. The temperature plummeted, and the cold wind of the wilderness began to howl. Faintly, the long howls of unknown star beasts could be heard in the distance, further emphasizing the desolation and emptiness of this ruin.

Li Xingyao huddled in a sheltered corner, taking out high-energy compressed rations and purified water from the motorcycle's storage basket and silently chewing. The food was cold and tasteless. The presence of undead guards nearby gave Li Xingyao a slight sense of security in this wilderness.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate the "Circulation Technique," absorbing the sparse star energy in the air to recover from today's consumption. At the same time, he spared a wisp of his mind to sense the feedback from the undead, resting vigilantly in the darkness.

The first day of the plains hunt came to an end in the cold, silent night, laden with the spoils of the hunt.

The darkness before dawn shrouded the wasteland, with only a faint sliver of gray-white peeking through the eastern horizon. A cold wind swirled through the ruins, whipping up blades of grass with a low, mournful howl.

Li Xingyao leaned against the cold, broken concrete wall and slowly opened his eyes. A night's rest had dispelled his fatigue, and he was now in peak condition. He stretched his stiff neck, his joints making a soft cracking sound.

The first day of hunting was fruitful, but more importantly, it provided invaluable experience. The teamwork displayed by the undead party in actual combat, as well as the fragments of information fed back after the Thousand Soul Banner devoured souls, gave him a considerable understanding of this plain.

Based on the information currently received from the soul fragments, there should be no advanced star beasts living in this area.

"Efficiency could be even higher," Li Xingyao muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the undead squad standing solemnly in the darkness.

Consciousness sinks into the sea of ​​consciousness.

Yesterday's battle proved that the current number of undead is still insufficient when facing numerous or scattered star beasts. To improve hunting efficiency, he needs more undead summons, especially ranged firepower.

Li Xingyao did not choose to make a move in yesterday's battle, and the results were already quite good, so this approach works.

Then, Li Xingyao summoned all the remaining summoned creatures in the undead space at once. Following yesterday's plan, he dispersed them to continue guarding the area.

Star Energy Reserves: 870 points. The summon just now consumed approximately 20 Star Energy. Currently, 850 points remain.

"Summoning Skeleton Spearmen costs approximately 40 Star Energy per unit..." Li Xingyao quickly calculated in his mind, "850 Star Energy, enough to summon more than 21. In yesterday's battle, ranged attacks were more advantageous, so let's summon ranged units first."

Without hesitation, Li Xingyao focused his mind on the edge of the Sea of ​​Bones in the world of death, where a large number of skeletons wielding bone spears roamed.

call!

Wherever the mind directs, stellar energy surges forth!

Swish! Swish! Swish! ...

A series of streaks of gray-white light flashed by! One after another, slender skeletons, each wielding a bone spear, emerged from the void and quickly formed a formation.

One, two, three... twenty!

When the twentieth skeleton spearman solidified and stood still, Li Xingyao's star energy plummeted to 50 points! Fearing an unexpected situation, he did not continue summoning.

Looking at the group of skeleton spearmen before him, Li Xingyao ordered via mental link: "Spread out to the outermost perimeter and stand by."

The twenty newly recruited spear throwers turned silently, marching in unison past the previous ten hunters, and deployed on the high ground and flanks to begin guarding the outer perimeter of the defensive perimeter.

Li Xingyao sat cross-legged and entered a deep meditation. He activated the "Circulation Technique" at full power, guiding the sparse stellar energy in the air into his nearly dried-up meridians. The cool aura emanating from the Ghost Bone Amulet on his chest accelerated the recovery of stellar energy.

Time passed in silence. As dawn broke and the east began to lighten, Li Xingyao slowly exhaled, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

"Continue! Summon!"

He communicated with the world of death once more, locked onto his target, and stellar energy surged forth!

Swish swish!

Another twenty-one skeleton spearmen were summoned, and then they were deployed to join the outer perimeter defense. Star Power plummeted once again.

Meditation, restoration… and resuming!

As the sun fully rose above the horizon, its golden rays dispelling the morning mist, Li Xingyao completed his third round of summoning. This time, he summoned thirty basic skeleton warriors. These units consumed less energy (approximately 30 star points each), making them suitable for battlefield cleanup, finishing off enemies, and carrying supplies.

At this moment, a fairly large undead army had already taken shape in front of Li Xingyao!

Ten crocodile-skinned zombies stood silently, their thick, dark green hides gleaming oily in the sunlight, their sharp claws hanging low, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression. They were Li Xingyao's shields, capable of withstanding the onslaught of the star beasts.