Necromancer, but pre-collapse civilization

Page 40

　This level of [Vampire Conversion Ritual] is certainly insufficient to convert a mid-level vampire into a level 4 undead unit, the Vampire Count.

　However, this was just right for Moros.

　He never intended to provide those powerful and wealthy individuals with any high-level vampire conversion rituals.

　In any case, the powerful and wealthy in Fuyuan City want to become vampires in order to pursue immortality and eternal youth.

　These wishes can be easily fulfilled even by the most ordinary vampire.

　However, this lowest-level vampire has too many flaws.

　It is bloodthirsty, afraid of sunlight, garlic, flowing water, and silver, and its physical fitness is only slightly better than the limits of normal humans.

　In fact, aside from immortality and youth, vampires of this caliber are inferior to ordinary humans in many ways.

　But this isn't for Moros himself or anyone he cares about; he doesn't care about the fate of the vampires he creates.

　Besides, from the very beginning, Moros never intended for vampires to continue into the next generation.

　In this situation, the resulting vampire is relatively weak, which is more in line with his interests.

　Hopefully, this experiment will provide me with enough data and insights.

　Moros silently thought to himself.

　That's right, there was another reason why Moros brought out the initial version of the [Vampire Conversion Ritual], besides using it to win over the elite class on this planet.

　That is to collect valuable data to lay the foundation for his future in-depth research into the more advanced [vampire conversion ritual].

　From the end of the world to the next era of civilization, a long stretch of 50,000 years lies ahead.

　Even legendary mages would find it difficult to traverse such a long period of time without the aid of life-extending spells or potions.

　A person who has no foresight will surely have immediate worries.

　In order to survive into the next era, Moros must be prepared.

　In the world of Ashan, spellcasters of the Necropolis faction find it relatively easy to seek longevity.

　They can transform into liches through the [Endless Night Ritual], or become vampires by choosing the [Vampire Conversion Ritual].

　These are all viable ways to prolong life.

　Compared to the bloodless and tearless lich, the vampire who can appreciate the beauty of the human world is clearly more in line with Moros's needs.

　However, when it comes to the [vampire transformation ritual] he uses on himself, Moros naturally strives for perfection.

　To do this, he must collect a large amount of data and delve into and master the more profound and complex [High-Level Vampire Conversion Ritual].

　Right now, in order to handle Eden's affairs, he needs to make contact with and influence the elite class in Fuyuan City.

　This gave him a fantastic opportunity.

　Two days later.

　In a little-known, hidden laboratory on the outskirts of Fuyuan City.

　Here, materials are piled up like mountains, and all sorts of cutting-edge technological instruments are on display.

　The former was meticulously prepared by the powerful and wealthy of Fuyuan City according to the list of materials for the [Vampire Conversion Ritual] provided by Moros.

　Even these powerful figures at the pinnacle of power in the urban cluster where Fuyuan City is located had to expend considerable effort to collect these materials.

　As for those cutting-edge technological instruments, they were specially placed there by the powerful and wealthy with Moros's consent.

　They hope that these instruments will allow them to capture every subtle detail of the ritual process, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of its mysteries.

　The ambitions of the powerful are obvious. They yearn to glimpse the secrets of Moros's power through today's ceremony, and even attempt to master the [Vampire Transformation Ritual] in order to break free from his control.

　However, Moros merely gave a sarcastic smile and remained silent when asked about their ambitions.

　If this complex ritual could be replicated with just a few simple observations, then how could the spell level of the [Vampire Transformation] battle spell be as high as level five?

　Moreover, these powerful and wealthy individuals haven't even grasped the most basic knowledge of magic. To think they could touch the core of magic based solely on observations with some technological instruments is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

　However, Moros was also well aware that, given the nature of these powerful and influential people who stood above everyone else, they would not turn back until they hit a brick wall.

　Therefore, he had no intention of trying to dissuade him.

　Even when the powerful figures in Fuyuan City asked to observe the upcoming "vampire transformation ritual," he agreed without hesitation.

　After all, if they don't experience despair firsthand, how can these powerful and wealthy people willingly serve him?

　Knowing the true nature of humanity, Moros understood that only by making these powerful people realize their insignificance and powerlessness would they truly cherish the vampire conversion ritual he provided.

　Only in this way will they become his loyal lackeys, working tirelessly for his interests.

　Standing in the center of the ceremony area, he used an invisible magical hand to inscribe the last magical rune on the prepared obsidian.

　Moros asked the test subjects (scratch that) warriors who were about to become the first vampires on this planet.

　"So, everyone, are you ready to embark on a new life?"

Chapter 66 Cooperation and Howitzers

　The vampire conversion ritual, personally presided over by Morros, went very smoothly. Under the power of magic, sixteen men and women of different ages were successfully converted into the lowest-ranking Childe vampires.

　Although this level of vampire is the weakest and lowest in the vampire system, lacking even autonomy, it still possesses physical attributes equivalent to a level 2 [Warrior] professional.

　In addition, given the long lifespan and eternal youth that all vampires possess, the vampire transformation ritual this time greatly satisfied the powerful and wealthy of Fuyuan City.

　With such success as a foundation, the rest naturally fell into place.

　In order to secure more vampire conversion slots, especially those that would allow them to successfully convert themselves, the powerful and wealthy in Fuyuan City extended olive branches to Moros, offering him unprecedented support.

　Although with his current power, Moros could directly control humanity using magic, the operation of modern society requires vast resources and manpower.

　Even if he temporarily controlled these nobles using the battle spell "Puppet Master," such dominance would be difficult to sustain.

　At least for continuous resource gathering, such as wood, ore, and crystal, this amount of time is clearly far from enough.

　Now, with the genuine cooperation and willingness of the powerful and wealthy, Moros can use the resources of the former civilization to serve his own purposes.

　He had previously conducted experiments confirming that resources mined by pre-civilizations could be converted into resources needed by cemetery cities.

　Although this transformation process was inefficient, it was still a highly valuable discovery.

　The resource buildings in the demiplane have all been occupied by Moros, which means that the resource production speed of the cemetery city has reached its peak.

　Against this backdrop, resources mined by pre-civilizations become especially precious.

　Thanks to this additional resource supply, the cemetery city's fiscal situation has achieved a historic transformation from deficit to surplus.

　This transformation not only provided a solid economic foundation for Moros's future magical path, but also meant that his undead legion would be able to expand at an unprecedented rate.

　The Tomb of the Lost does indeed possess the magical power to increase the production of troop types in necropolis cities by 50%, but converting this increased recruitment quota into actual undead troops requires a huge amount of Ashan gold and rare resources.

　In addition, Moros also needs to consider the types of troops that can be recruited in the field troop recruitment building, as well as the additional costs required to upgrade these troops to the corresponding advanced troops.

　Moreover, he also had to reserve sufficient resources for his magical experiments.

　Learning magic is extremely expensive. If Moros didn't possess a small demiplane the size of a province on Earth, he probably wouldn't have been able to support his magical journey.

　Taking all these factors into account, the actual number of undead units that Moros can recruit each week is quite limited.

　More troop types exist in the form of recruitment quotas in the corresponding troop recruitment buildings, waiting for the right time to be converted into actual combat power.

　But now, one

　Everything is different now.

　With the resources provided by the powerful and wealthy in Fuyuan City, Moros was not only able to convert all of his accumulated troop recruitment quota into real undead troops, but also to make his progress in learning magic much smoother.

　With the guise of resource gathering, Eden's becoming a major shareholder of XX Entertainment Company was naturally concealed.

　After establishing a partnership with the elite class in the city cluster centered on Fuyuan City, the resources that Moros could mobilize instantly increased exponentially.

　Previously, he could only obtain the items he needed by spending money, but now, with just a word from him, the resources he needs will arrive as promised and appear before him.

　Even more noteworthy is that many valuable items that he previously could not access have now fallen into Moros's hands.

　For example, the killing machine that was now in front of him was a standard 155mm howitzer, the same model used by the regular army of the Mu Continent.

　Although it was only an artillery battery (6 guns) in number, it was a precious war machine that Moros could not have ever seen before.

　Of course, these treasures that the powerful and wealthy in Fuyuan City pulled out of the military base near Fuyuan City under the guise of retirement were old versions of weapons that had not been modified with Honkai energy.

　Even the most powerful bureaucrats in Fuyuan City struggled to obtain those new 155mm howitzers modified with Honkai energy.

　The commander of the troops stationed near Fuyuan City was indeed greedy and lustful, but since he was able to become the military commander of the area, the major general was very clear about what he could touch and what he could not take.

　He would "retire" old artillery that had not been modified by Honkai energy for the sake of the green money, but he would never dare to touch the new heavy artillery that had been recently assigned and modified by Honkai energy.

　Even so, these old 155mm howitzers were still sensitive enough that Moros would never have been able to touch their cold barrels if it weren't for the connections of the powerful and wealthy in Fuyuan City.

　As for the black market and dark web, which are generally used for arms smuggling, they have virtually no secrecy when faced with weapons and equipment of this level.

　For ordinary people, the black market and the dark web are like clouds in the sky, out of reach; but for the army of Mu Continent, it is just a flea market for dealing with outdated or unwanted supplies.

　Nevertheless, the military remained cautious in handling these supplies.

　Weapons with immense destructive power, such as the 155mm howitzer, even if they are outdated models, are handled by designated personnel rather than being discarded at flea markets.

　This is not difficult to understand.

　Even an old 155mm howitzer that has not been modified by Honkai energy has a kill radius of nearly 500 meters when using high-explosive fragmentation shells.

　This exceeds the area of a standard football field.

　Such a powerful weapon could only be obtained from the military through close connections.

　However, Moros didn't care about what was behind these six howitzers.

　In front of the handover personnel sent by the powerful figures of Fuyuan City, he made no attempt to conceal the opening of the demiplane passage leading to the cemetery territory.

　In fact, Moros's ability to open portals was already an open secret to the high-ranking rulers of Mu Continent and even the entire previous civilization.

　The undead army that ravaged Y City back then, and was eventually wiped out by the army, is powerful proof of this ability.

　At this moment, under the orders of the necromancer, a peculiar team composed of skeleton archers and plague zombies struggled to drag six 155mm howitzers, including a tractor unit, into the demiplane.

　Moros was eager to know whether these modern artillery pieces could replace his undead legion's existing long-range war machines—ballistas—on future battlefields.

　That would be great if we could.

Chapter 67

　This is the second time I've written a review before a book goes on sale.

　As the title suggests, this book will soon be available on the shelves.

　First of all, thank you all for your support.

　Without you all, this book wouldn't be where it is today.

　Special thanks to: Masked Fool 45, this avatar has been censored, Wendy, and Lonely Pigeon for their support.

　Having fan value before even being listed is truly overwhelming.

　Also, I'd like to thank my editor, Orange, who was very helpful.

　To express my gratitude to everyone, I will update more frequently after the book is released.

　It's probably around six chapters. After all, I'm not a full-time writer, so I can't handle more.

　Regarding updates, two chapters will be updated daily after the book is published, just like the previous book, updated at 12 noon.