Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: 18. New Enemy

The stairway end to the Underground Level 2 was also blocked by a metal gate.

It was thicker and more solid than the prior gate, requiring four soldiers to pull open together.

“At my command, prepare to open the gate,” Corporal Mars looked at Noland Lee:

“Jarvis, you will go in and awaken the undead as before. Be extra cautious.”

“Yes, Chief Officer,” Noland took a deep breath and smelled a faint stench of decay.

As Corporal Mars commanded the soldiers to open the gate, he cautioned Noland:

“Remember, you must not retreat without my order. Awaken as many undead as possible. If we don’t, our reconnaissance results could be seriously skewed, putting more soldiers at risk.”

“Yes, Chief Officer.”

The metal gate slowly opened, revealing a dim slit to Noland.

As soon as he crossed, he felt discomfort.

Tightness in his chest, shortness of breath, labored breathing.

Ringing in his ears, pressure in his eyes, and weakness in his limbs.

Was he poisoned?

Noland steadied his mind, shaking his head slightly to concentrate.

The unpleasant sensations receded significantly. The tightness in his chest disappeared, followed by the ringing in his ears, and the other symptoms vanished as well.

It wasn’t poison, but some kind of psychological effect caused by the environment.

Noland frowned and maintained a highly focused state.

He took one step at a time, advancing slowly under the dim light of the coal lamp.

The same strategy applied—walking while casting Deconstruction, using system messages to judge his surroundings.

[You are attempting to deconstruct “mottled stone brick”…]

[You are attempting to deconstruct “stain left by soft-bodied creatures”…]

[You are attempting to deconstruct “black hair left by the undead”…]

Strange, why were there no bones?

In this second underground level, he found only stains and hair—no bones whatsoever.

Didn’t Corporal Mars say that there would be undead constructs like Skeleton Archers here?

Noland was baffled.

Trying to make out objects a few meters away, he searched for the purple glow in the skull of the skeleton soldiers.

However, there was no faint purple light.

Instead, a dark green light appeared in patches, like a vast starry sky surrounding Noland.

These scattered dark green lights flickered.

First, they were bright for three seconds, then suddenly dim for three seconds, followed by another three seconds of brightness, as if breathing regularly.

Noland looked back at Corporal Mars and the others, who wore incredulous expressions.

He realized that the situation had exceeded their expectations.

Noland threw a Deconstruction at one of the dark green lights and was surprised.

These were not the Skeleton Soldiers Corporal Mars had anticipated, nor any other troops he had encountered on the First Underground Level!

[System message: You are attempting to deconstruct an “unknown type of undead creature”.]

[Estimated to consume 5 Points of Energy, achieving 100% degree of deconstruction.]

[You currently have 10 Points of Energy. Confirm deconstruction?]

Noland felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

Five Points of Energy was half the consumption of a Big Skeleton and 2.5 times that of a Skeleton Warrior.

The energy consumption was not a simple linear relationship with the strength of the target being deconstructed.

Deconstructing a Big Skeleton required 10 Points of Energy.

Deconstructing a Skeleton Soldier required 2 Points.

The ratio between the two was 5 to 1.

But to say that five Skeleton Soldiers could take down one Big Skeleton was utter nonsense.

Thus, energy consumption wasn’t calculated solely based on the strength of the target.

However, the extent of energy consumption could, to a certain degree, reflect the strength of an individual.

There were few Big Skeletons that required 10 Points of Energy to deconstruct, but there was a large number of unknown undead creatures requiring 5 Points of Energy to deconstruct right before his eyes.

Noland suddenly had the urge to turn and run but quickly controlled himself.

Noland shifted his gaze and forced himself to remain calm. He cast Deconstruction on the awakening undead creatures one by one to see if there were any elite troops that required a large amount of energy to deconstruct.

After more than a dozen casts, Noland let out a soft “huh” sound.

He discovered an unusual presence far in front of him, in the dark zone.

[System message: You are attempting to deconstruct a “magical device engraved with Undead Runes”.]

[Estimated to consume 10 Points of Energy, achieving 100% degree of deconstruction.]

[You currently have 10 Points of Energy. Confirm deconstruction?]

Finally, something requiring 10 Points of Energy to deconstruct had arrived.

Noland had a hunch that this item would certainly affect his life and death.

“Confirm 100% degree of deconstruction.”

After silently reciting the incantation, Noland Lee’s figure swayed slightly before steadying himself in a daze.

The stored Energy Points were consumed entirely, and the deconstruction result immediately appeared in his mind.

…

[Name] Soul-binding Stone Tomb

This is a Death Magic Building.

Its appearance is similar to an ordinary stone tomb made of hard and ancient rocks.

Priests of the Undead Cult have arranged unique death-type magic circle runes on this stone tomb, giving it some powerful death-related magic effects.

[Building Value] 110,000/110,000

Building Value is the data representation of the completeness of a building.

When the Building Value reaches zero, the Death Energy inside the tomb will also be depleted, and the tomb will enter a Slumber State.

[Soul Strength] 1 point

Soul Strength is the “health” of all death-related things.

[Death Energy] 61/61 points

Death Energy is the “mana” of death-related buildings and can be recovered during slumber.

[Skills]

Active Skills:

Death Pulse, Level 1.

Consume 5 points of Death Energy to release a Death Pulse ray. Casting preparation time is 3 seconds.

Command the Lost Souls, Level 1.

This building can efficiently direct undead creatures for teamwork in combat.

Capture Soul, Level 1.

Souls of people who die within 100 meters of this building will be absorbed and bound.

Living people within 100 meters of this building have a chance of having their souls drawn out.

Souls captured by this building will be turned into undead troops under its control.

Fanatic Command, Level 1.

Consume 50 points of Death Energy to make undead units controlled by this building enter a frenzied combat state for up to 10 minutes.

After the frenzy state ends, the undead units will enter a weakened state for half an hour.

Spell preparation time is 10 seconds.

Passive Skills:

Death Foundation, Level 1.

At the cost of sacrificing all mobility, this building gains the ability to instantaneously cast death-related spells.

Damage Link, Level 5.

Any damage this building receives will be borne by 50% of the bound undead.

Undead Commander, Level 3.

This building can control 300 undead units. Currently, it controls 282.

Resurrection of the Dead, Level 1.

This building is within the influence range of the Spirit Pivot.

Upon reaching zero Building Value or Death Energy, it is expected to be operational again after 3 hours of slumber.

Death Guardian, Level 1.

Incorrect modification of the Undead Runes on this building will activate this passive skill, triggering a Level 1 “Death Storm”. The “Death Storm” will cause massive death-type magic damage to all things within a 1-meter radius of the target.

[Building Requirements]

(Omitted)

[Weakness]

One-hit-kill Weakness:

Using death-related spells or items to extract souls from the device can completely destroy this building.

Fatal Damage Weakness:

A single large-scale destruction of Undead Runes or a large-scale purification of souls bound by this building can inflict fatal damage.

Restraining Action Weakness:

Undead Runes are the logic language of this building.

Modifying the Undead Runes on this building will cause its operational state to become unstable, subsequently lowering its Building Value, Death Energy, or rendering its skills inoperable.

…

Noland Lee narrowed his eyes, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind!

He now knew what the secret experimental plan of Intelligence Department 4 was!

He also knew how to give the Empire an upper hand in this war.

Modifying the Undead Runes to paralyze the death-type magic buildings was the goal of Intelligence Department 4!

“This Deconstruction Technique is really amazing. The feasible approach that Intelligence Department 4 spent years researching was discovered by me at the cost of only 10 points of Energy.”

Noland couldn’t help but be astonished and gave the System a thumbs up.