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

From the dim shadows of the woods, a group of gray-white skeleton warriors silently emerged. They held weapons, their eye sockets burning with eerie blue soul fire, spreading out silently yet swiftly, vaguely forming a loose encirclement, a chilling killing intent permeating the air.

Immediately afterwards, more skeleton swordsmen, taller and more robust, wielding menacing bone swords, strode out with heavy steps. The oppressive aura they exuded far surpassed that of the previous skeleton warriors, like messengers of death.

Then, skeleton spearmen and skeleton hunters, wielding bone spears, appeared like ghosts among the trees, their spear tips gleaming coldly, firmly locking onto the remaining four Shadow Leopards. Their sheer number caused Zhao Pan and his companions to gasp in shock.

Finally, there were the twenty crocodile-skinned zombies. Their heavy footsteps pounded the ground with muffled thuds, and their dark green, thick skin and ferocious claws exuded a suffocating, savage power.

Among them, a young figure wearing leather armor and a full-coverage helmet with goggles slowly rode out on a motorcycle and stopped at the edge of the open space.

Li Xingyao's gaze calmly swept across the arena, lingering for a moment on the three dumbfounded and disheveled human professionals. Then it landed on the four Shadow Leopards, which were growling incessantly, agitated by fear.

He didn't speak, but simply raised his tactical gloved hand and gently waved it forward towards the four Shadow Leopards.

The next moment, the undead launched their attack like ruthless machines!

The skeleton hunters high above hurled deadly bone spears! This time, more than a dozen fired simultaneously! More than ten bone spears rained down like a storm, blocking all possible escape routes for the Shadow Panther!

In a mere instant, all four Shadow Panthers lay dead in pools of blood. One was pierced by several bone spears and pinned to the ground; one was shot through the neck; one was pierced through the skull and pinned to the ground; the last one tried to escape but was blocked by several skeleton warriors and then cleaved in two by the surging skeleton swordsmen!

The battle is over.

The undead silently began to decompose valuable materials—leopard claws, tail, and dark purple fur. The entire process was efficient, cold, and orderly, without a single superfluous movement; only the slight "crackling" sound of bones rubbing together and the "sizzling" sound of sharp blades cutting through flesh could be heard.

Li Xingyao didn't examine their soul fragments; he wasn't interested in their lair. Furthermore, if he came again, he still wouldn't hunt in the forest, as the environment wasn't suitable for him.

The three human professionals stood frozen in place, as if petrified. They looked at the powerful, eerie undead legion before them, exuding a dense aura of death, and then at the young figure surrounded by the undead, clearly the summoner. Their faces were filled with the lingering fear of surviving a close call, and an incredulous gratitude.

But the pervasive stench of blood in the air and the cold-blooded actions of the dead sent chills down their spines.

In the end, it was the heavily armored soldier who was the first to recover from the shock.

He endured the excruciating pain in his leg, put away the tower shield, took a step forward, took a deep breath, and tried to make his voice sound as calm and respectful as possible.

"Thank you so much for saving us, brother! We are the third squad of the Tianjing 'Rock' mercenary group, and I am the captain, Zhao Pan! These two are my team members, the ranger Lin Xiao and the fire mage Chen Wei. Thank you for saving our lives! If it weren't for your timely assistance, the three of us would surely be dead today!"

He bowed deeply, and the two female team members behind him quickly followed suit, their faces still showing signs of shock.

Li Xingyao's gaze fell on them through his goggles, and his voice, coming through his helmet, sounded somewhat strange: "Just passing by. What happened to you? What's going on?" He needed to confirm if there was anything unusual ahead.

A bitter and sorrowful expression appeared on Zhao Pan's face: "We accepted a mission to collect 'Shadow Mushrooms,' the reward was good. We never expected that area to be the lair of these beasts, and we were ambushed... Our team originally had five people, but the rogue and another warrior brother, to cover our breakout... have already..."

His voice choked with emotion, a tear glistening in his eyes, his fists clenched tightly. "We lost two brothers just to get out... and our star energy is almost completely depleted."

"If it weren't for your rescue, we would probably..." He glanced at the star beast's corpse, which had been dismembered by the skeleton, feeling both lingering fear and deep gratitude.

Li Xingyao nodded and didn't ask any further questions. He knew the harshness of the wilderness. A misjudgment of intelligence or simply bad luck could cost a life. "Are you still able to move?" he asked, his tone still calm.

"Yes...yes!" Zhao Pan nodded quickly. Although he was seriously injured, he could walk without any problems. Lin Xiao and Chen Wei only suffered superficial injuries and had exhausted their star energy.

"Then hurry back. In your current state, it's not safe for you in the forest." After saying that, Li Xingyao stopped looking at them and gestured for the undead to speed up their collection. He had no intention of having any further interaction with them.

Zhao Pan and the other two exchanged glances, not daring to say anything more. They realized Li Xingyao didn't intend to delve any deeper, so they bowed deeply again in gratitude: "Thank you again. We will definitely repay your help if we ever need it again! Goodbye!"

After saying this, the three of them helped each other up, enduring their pain, and staggered away quickly, their figures soon disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

Li Xingyao looked in the direction they disappeared. It wasn't far from the camp, so they wouldn't encounter any more powerful star beasts.

The undead had finished collecting materials from the five Shadow Leopards; the newly acquired pelts and claws were skillfully bundled and tossed onto the already full trailer. This added to their income once again.

Li Xingyao glanced at the sky.

"keep going."

The undead army set off again, leaving behind only pools of still-wet blood, broken bones, and the aftermath of the battle, silently recounting the fighting that had just taken place.

Sitting on the motorcycle, Li Xingyao was unusually calm. The incident earlier hadn't disrupted his plans; on the contrary, it had strengthened his resolve.

"Return to Tianjing, sell materials, buy star cores, and advance to the advanced stage!"

The limestone hills and the walls of the Black Rock outpost, constructed of high-strength alloys and bio-composite materials, gleamed in the twilight sun, resembling a colossal steel beast lying prostrate on the ground, radiating a reassuring warmth.

On the wall, the muzzles of the sensor-guided defense turrets reflected a golden luster in the sunlight, and the figures of a few patrolling soldiers in power armor were clearly visible, forming a seemingly impenetrable defensive line.

Li Xingyao drove his dark gray all-terrain electric motorcycle, covered in mud and scratches, slowly making a "clattering" sound as it rolled over the last stretch of bumpy gravel road outside the outpost, heading towards the huge alloy gate engraved with the Chinese emblem.

Li Xingyao was travel-worn, his leather armor stained with dried blood, dirt, and the distinctive fishy smell of star beasts, but his eyes shone brightly, showing no signs of weariness from the long journey and continuous battles, only a calm that seemed to have settled down.

Looking at the defensive structures and soldiers standing tall above the wall, Li Xingyao let out a soft breath, and his tense spirit finally relaxed a little.

This week-long hunting trip in the wild was an unprecedented experience for him.

In my previous life, I lived in a safe environment in the new era. I rarely even saw street fights, let alone fighting on the brink of life and death with star beasts that possessed various extraordinary abilities and were extremely fierce.

Every minute spent in the wilderness, Li Xingyao's nerves were on high alert, which was extremely taxing on his physical strength, star energy, and especially his mental energy. It wasn't the kind of exhaustion that comes from combat, but rather the involuntary tension that caused his body to tense up due to stress.

It felt like every moment held the potential for the unknown. Yet, it was precisely this experience that allowed him to achieve a qualitative leap in his understanding of his own power, his control over the undead, and his grasp of the rhythm of battle. The cruelty of the wilderness was his best teacher.

Li Xingyao knew that this world and this era did not allow him to be cowardly or complacent.

In the wilderness of Earth, alien beasts roam, their evolution never ceasing. Even though humanity has regained dominance, possessing vast cities and fortresses, a sophisticated defense system, and controlling nearly 60% of the total land area...

However, he still cannot live freely on this planet as he did in his previous life.

The Stargate, its existence is like a Damocles' sword hanging over the heads of humanity, seemingly poised to fall at any moment. The unknown otherworld and powerful civilizations beyond the gate could be the next catastrophe. They could enter this world at any time, and then humanity would surely face another catastrophe.

A sense of unknown danger constantly reminded Li Xingyao. In this world, without power, he would be like a small boat on a raging sea, easily capsized by a sudden storm.

Only by constantly growing stronger and possessing the power to protect himself or change his destiny can he truly take control of his life. This hunt is not only about gaining credits, but also about tempering his character, will, and abilities—an indispensable step on his path to transcendence.

His gaze swept over the makeshift trailer behind him, which was loaded with spoils tightly covered with tarpaulins.

He then looked at the solemn procession of undead around him. With a slight thought, Li Xingyao summoned all the undead creatures, and in the next moment, they instantly transformed into streaks of gray-white light, silently disappearing into the void and returning to the undead space.

The camp gates did not allow large numbers of summoned creatures to enter, so he rode his motorcycle alone toward the checkpoint at the outpost.

"Identity record." The soldier on duty spoke in a steady voice, carrying the competence and vigilance characteristic of soldiers. He was wearing standard black powered armor and holding a scanning device, his gaze sweeping over Li Xingyao and his equally mud-covered motorcycle.

Li Xingyao raised his wrist, and the smart watch swiped across the scanner, emitting a crisp "beep" sound.

"Authentication successful. Li Xingyao, welcome back to Blackstone Outpost."