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

Li Xingyao took a long, almost greedy breath of the air thick with the stench of blood, and slowly stopped. His highly tense nerves suddenly relaxed, bringing a strong sense of exhaustion and a slight tremor in his muscles.

But he remained in a strange state of excitement, the lingering effects of adrenaline still coursing through his body.

He immediately checked his soul power gains—a mere battle had netted him over 120500 soul power! This didn't even include the costs of evolving, summoning, maintaining, and repairing the undead. The cruelty of war was evident, but this place was indeed the best "nourishment" ground for the Myriad Soul Banner.

Li Xingyao slowly withdrew most of the undead, leaving only the four wounded, tattered-robed skeleton sword saints to guard him. Then, he followed the sparsely packed group towards the Blood Skull main camp.

The battlefield was littered with corpses—mercenaries, barbarians, and countless other star beasts. Broken weapons, shattered armor, and congealed blood were scattered everywhere, painting a picture of hell.

In the Bloodskull tribe, an old shaman, clad in a heavy, elaborate feathered robe and wielding a staff inlaid with skulls, walked to the center of the battlefield, protected by a group of elite barbarian warriors. He began to chant an ancient hymn in a desolate and eerie tone, waving his hands and dancing a dance full of primal power.

As he performed his ritual, the blood on the battlefield, not yet fully congealed, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, beginning to glow with a faint red light. Wisps and strands of crimson energy rose from countless corpses, like summoned red fireflies, converging towards the skull staff in the old shaman's hand.

The stench of blood in the air seemed even stronger, yet strangely mixed with an indescribable, unsettling energy fluctuation.

Finally, all the red light condensed and compressed at the tip of the staff, forming a crystal about the size of a thumbnail, perfectly round, with a deep dark red color, as if blood was flowing within it—a blood crystal!

It hovered silently in the air, radiating an alluring yet dangerous light.

"Awooo—!!"

All the surviving Bloodskull tribe warriors roared with deafening fury and jubilation. Li Xingyao could clearly see that the blood-red tattoos on their exposed skin seemed to come alive, glowing slightly, their colors deepening, and even showing faintly extended, intricate patterns!

"So this is the blessing of the Blood Mark..." Li Xingyao murmured to himself, feeling the noticeable increase in star power and wild aura of the surrounding barbarian warriors, and was shocked. This system of faith and sacrifice, though cruel and bloody, had real effects.

He looked at the small blood crystal, then recalled the fierce battle just now and the personal kill count of 47 recorded on the stone tablet, as well as what Old Cat had whispered to him earlier: the intelligence team's kills could be combined, but personal exchange was extremely difficult. He instantly understood.

Nearly a thousand casualties on both sides resulted in only this small blood crystal. The Bloodskull Tribe offered 500 kills for one crystal. This means the Bloodskull Tribe not only lowered the exchange rate but may also have to make up the difference out of their own pockets. So why are they recruiting outside help?

The answer is obvious: external aid is a consumable resource, "fuel" for expanding the scale of the war and increasing the total amount of sacrifices! Lone wolves who can truly reach the exchange standard through individual strength are extremely rare. Most people either die while accumulating kills or eventually find the gap too large, only able to rely on their team to accumulate resources little by little, or exchange other resources from the clan.

"No wonder... Blood Crystals are so valuable." Li Xingyao sighed softly, gaining a deeper understanding of the cruel rules of this plateau. This was not only a struggle for resources, but also a grand and cruel sacrifice driven by faith, using countless lives as offerings.

Li Xingyao gripped the stone tablet in his hand, looked at the numbers recorded inside, and then glanced at the floating blood crystal. His eyes became complex yet resolute.

He planned to go back and use his soul power to adjust his combat tactics and achieve more kills on the battlefield.

The path he chose was destined to be paved with slaughter and bones. But it seemed he had no way back. The rapid increase in his soul power and the desire to become stronger were like the most tempting poison, making him unable to resist the call of this battlefield.

The retreating troops began their return to camp, the setting sun casting long shadows across the blood-soaked wasteland, a scene both desolate and solemn. Li Xingyao walked silently among them, pondering his next plan: how to kill more efficiently, how to accumulate power more quickly… The numbers on the stone tablet indicated that he could exchange soul power for blood crystals to enhance his strength.

The clamor of the battlefield gradually subsided, replaced by a repressive and heavy atmosphere. Dust and the stench of blood mingled in the thin highland air, creating a nauseatingly sweet odor.

In the distance, barbarian warriors were collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades. A low, desolate war song drifted intermittently from the air, a unique form of mourning for the barbarians, imbued with the distinctive characteristics of their race.

Li Xingyao followed the human group slowly back to the settlement. On the way back, he looked at the dark red earth beneath his feet, stained with blood. There were bloodstains and damaged equipment on the people around him, while his black robe was only stained with a few dust and bloodstains.

He looked impeccably neat and his expression was calm, a stark contrast to the surrounding crowd who were either exhausted, excited, or saddened. He had meditated briefly before the assembly, and much of the mental energy he had expended in the battle had been restored.

As the surrounding atmosphere gradually grew noisier, the warriors from various races, who had survived the ordeal, exchanged their accounts of the battle with mixed emotions.

"Damn it, that charge was too fierce! My shield was almost shattered by that double-axe barbarian!" A warrior wearing heavy plate armor complained to his companion while wiping the blood off his broadsword. There was a deep dent on the upper part of his arm armor, where he had almost been stabbed to death.

"Be content, Hans, at least you're still alive. Look over there..." His companion, an elven archer, said in a low voice, gesturing with his chin towards the distance.

Several people wearing leather armor with the same insignia were gathered together, carrying a corpse covered with a rough white cloth in the center. The atmosphere was somber. A young human warrior was standing beside him, his shoulders trembling slightly, and his suppressed sobs came out intermittently.

"Sigh... I don't know how long I'll have to wait for the compensation when I go back this time..." Another voice joined the discussion, carrying the helplessness of reality.

"I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another day! How many points do I need? Is it enough to exchange for blood crystals?" A ranger with a scar on his face spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his tone impatient.

"It's still early! At this rate, we'll have to survive at least two or three more fierce battles! Who knows if we'll even be alive next time!"

Complaints, sighs, the desire for bonuses, and the fear of death intertwined, forming the main theme of the conversations along the way. The trade-off between survival and profit was vividly displayed here.

Just as Li Xingyao was getting a little caught up in the atmosphere, the man who had greeted Li Xingyao yesterday—a lean, sharp-eyed man dressed like a wandering knight—came up to Li Xingyao again.

He forced a familiar smile onto his face, but deep in his eyes lay a subtle shrewdness and a disdain for Li Xingyao's age.

"Hey, little brother, we meet again. I noticed you in the fight just now," he said softly, nudging Li Xingyao with his shoulder. "You're really skilled. You took down so many of those barbarian warriors. You're... a necromancer?"

His gaze swept over Li Xingyao's robe, as if he wanted to see what kind of equipment Li Xingyao had underneath.

Li Xingyao raised his face upon hearing the voice, looked at him with some confusion, and nodded: "Yes."

"Just as I thought!" The Ranger clapped his hands, appearing even more eager. "Brother, with your strength, it's a waste for you to work alone here! How about it, interested in joining our 'Falcon Legion'? Our leader is a formidable figure who's about to reach the Super Rank."

"Our team has been established for a long time, and the members work together seamlessly. We specialize in this area and know it very well. What do you think? If we work together, our survival rate will increase significantly, and we'll accumulate enough Blood Crystals to exchange for them much faster, allowing us to leave this battlefield sooner!"

Li Xingyao raised an eyebrow, seemingly curious: "You're a fixed team? That sounds good. However, I'm more curious about how the Blood Crystals are distributed if the team obtains them. One Blood Crystal isn't enough for so many people." He raised a question that had been bothering him for a while.

The wandering swordsman chuckled, as if he had anticipated Li Xingyao's question, and answered fluently, "Don't worry about that, our guild's rules are very fair! Distribution is based on contribution according to the rules."

"After exchanging for Blood Crystals, the guild leader collects them all, and then internally calculates the value based on the market price... well, usually around 80,000 Star Coins per crystal... after all, the guild leader organizes the team and takes on the risks, so they deserve some compensation for their hard work, which everyone understands. Then, the Star Coins are distributed according to each person's specific contribution in the battle, such as kills, support, etc. Absolutely fair, just, and transparent!"

"Eighty thousand?" Li Xingyao repeated, slightly surprised, his tone rising, but revealing no emotion. "But I remember the market price is one hundred thousand star coins per coin, and almost all of them are being sold at a premium."

The ranger's smile froze for a moment, then he chuckled and said, "Hey, brother, you can't look at it that way. The leader has to maintain the team's operations, buy intelligence, provide some public resources and training arrangements—these are all costs."

"Moreover, working together is more efficient. Although the dividends per instance may seem smaller, the total returns can still make up for it! Plus, there's safety guaranteed! It's much better than going it alone, where safety isn't even guaranteed, right?"