30: Chapter 30: Selecting the Second Hero

Tian Ming's skill panel synchronized and refreshed.

[Death Wither (Active - Area of Effect): Releases a death force field with a 20-meter radius centered on the caster. All enemy living units within range take 12 Shadow damage per second, have their movement speed reduced by 50%, and are afflicted with the "Fear" effect (Attack Power -30%). Duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Mana Cost: 80]

[Wither (Active - Area of Effect): Casts a curse on all enemy units within a 16-meter radius. Reduces Defense by 50%, Attack Speed by 40%, and Movement Speed by 45%. Duration: 18 seconds. Cooldown: 35 seconds. Mana Cost: 60]

[Undead Tide (Active - Area of Effect): Centered on the caster, all friendly Undead units within a 16-meter radius recover 8 HP per second for 15 seconds. Simultaneously clears all negative status effects from friendly Undead. Cooldown: 25 seconds. Mana Cost: 70]

[Legion of the Dead (Active - Area of Effect): Converts all killed living corpses within a 25-meter radius into Undead units simultaneously. Converts up to 25 corpses per cast. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Mana Cost: 120]

[Shadow Bolt (Level 2): Condenses shadow energy to fire at a single target, dealing 50 Shadow damage. A hit inflicts 2 seconds of Silence. Range: 30 meters. Cooldown: 3 seconds. Mana Cost: 40]

After reading Tian Ming's skill panel, Xu Qin curled his lips into a smug grin.

He had only one thought right now.

That was, if Tian Ming went out to fight, who could stop him?

Don't even mention dragons; that's not the same magnitude!

Returning to the Dark Altar's main interface, Xu Qin continued to look.

Suddenly, he noticed an extra line of prompt information at the bottom of the altar interface.

[Dark Altar · Undead Law]

[Undead Heroes do not dissipate after falling in battle. The Lord can sacrifice 200 units of the same origin Undead at the Dark Altar to completely resurrect the hero. Upon resurrection, the hero's level, skills, and equipment remain unchanged.]

"What? Immortal?"

Xu Qin was stunned.

Heroes can be resurrected after falling in battle.

It only requires 200 units of the same origin.

In other words...

As long as he has troops in his hands, Tian Ming is immortal.

Xu Qin laughed out loud.

What are 200 Skeleton Soldiers to him?

Just convert a pile of bones.

This meant... he could safely and boldly let Tian Ming fight tough battles from now on.

If he can win, he fights; if he can't, he just sacrifices 200 units to resurrect.

"The Undead Race... is truly a bug," Xu Qin exclaimed.

After checking all the functions of the Level 2 Dark Altar again and confirming there were no omissions, Xu Qin walked up to Tian Ming.

"Tian Ming."

The Lich lowered its head, gazing at Xu Qin.

"You've become stronger, how does it feel?"

The soul fire in Tian Ming's eye sockets flickered.

"Don't get cocky."

Xu Qin patted its staff, "Now that you're stronger, you need to work harder, understand?"

"There's nothing left for you to do in the territory for now, so hurry up and take the troops out to level up."

"The focus of this mission is iron ore and magic crystal fragments."

"Also, let's add one more rule."

Xu Qin thought for a moment before continuing.

"From now on, when you encounter elite monsters, as long as their number does not exceed... one-tenth of your force, and their level is lower than yours... you can fight them."

Tian Ming's bony skull tilted forward slightly, acknowledging the order.

"Go. You need to learn to farm your own leveling resources," Xu Qin waved his hand, "I can't afford to keep idlers."

Tian Ming turned around and waved its staff.

On the plaza, 1,300 Undead marched out in unison, with two Bone Transport Carts following at the end of the line, advancing into the depths of the desert.

Eighteen Skeleton Vultures took to the sky, dispersing into the night.

Xu Qin watched the mini-map on the interface; Tian Ming's formation was moving steadily to the east, and scout units began to disperse in all directions...

At this moment, an Acolyte walked over with some roasted meat.

Xu Qin took it.

He tore off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

Hey, you have to admit, the cooking was well-timed; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Xu Qin chewed on the roasted meat and opened the Graveyard upgrade countdown.

00:22:17.

He wiped his mouth, tossed the skewer aside, and stood up to walk toward the Dark Altar.

The Level 2 Dark Altar still had one hero slot remaining.

Xu Qin crossed his arms and began to ponder.

How about... promoting another one?

To be honest, he hesitated for a moment.

First, he hesitated about who to choose.

Among the existing units, besides the Lich which was his direct subordinate, they were all early-game cannon fodder.

Oh right, there were also five Skeleton Soldiers.

Second, he hesitated about whether it was worth it.

The cost of promoting a hero was not low.

The entry fee alone was 5,000 Soul Energy and 25 magic crystal fragments.

As for the meat and bones, those were just add-ons.

But the subsequent skill upgrades and skill tree unlocks were the most important parts.

Tian Ming was a living example.

The promotion cost 5,000, upgrading five skills to Level 2 cost 18,000, and unlocking Shadow Bolt cost another 3,000...

All in all, just the Soul Energy burned was 26,000.

Plus the hard currency like bones, magic crystals, and elite soul cores, the total investment was enough to raise a new army of 2,000.

Xu Qin rubbed his chin.

But thinking about it this way wasn't quite right either.

Because Tian Ming had brought back quite a lot of resources in just one night.

52,000 Soul Energy, 4,600 bones, 3,200 wood, and 21 elite soul cores.

The cost of cultivating it had already been earned back with interest.

And it would continue to earn every day.

Pure profit!

"Investing in heroes is profitable no matter how you look at it," Xu Qin muttered to himself.

Since that's the case, why hesitate?

Invest!

He opened the altar promotion list.

To be honest, there were only three competitive options right now.

They were the Undead Sand Jackal Leader, the Undead Minotaur Chieftain, and the Undead Scale Lizard.

The other units had too poor a foundation, so there was no need to promote them.

Of course, Skeleton Soldiers were an exception.

It wasn't that he wouldn't promote Skeleton Soldiers, but rather he would promote them slowly, gradually, and with priority, in an orderly fashion.

So, which one should he choose?

The Sand Jackal Leader?

It could only be said... it was okay.

Currently, he already had 63 leaders under his command, so there was no lack of War Cry coverage.

Tian Ming was already an offensive core; adding another physical damage hero would overlap their roles.

Then the Undead Scale Lizard?

To be honest, it was also not bad.

Because it had an elite foundation, its stats were indeed impressive.

But the Undead Scale Lizard was just converted by Tian Ming today, and the bone inventory was only 195.

And its skills were average, belonging to the physical melee category.

The Undead Law was written clearly.

After a hero falls in battle, 200 units of the same origin are needed to resurrect it.

But there were only 195 right now.

Five short.

What if the hero died and he couldn't even gather the resurrection materials?

Rare, rare; he would wait until he encountered more Undead Scale Lizards.

Therefore, the most cost-effective one right now seemed to be the Undead Minotaur Chieftain.

Xu Qin opened the Chieftain's skill panel.

Bone Hammer Shock, 40% stun.

Tough Physique, increased defense at low health.

War Cry buff, increases defense for the whole army and reduces enemies.

It had control, buffs, and damage reduction.

It was natural tank material.

Furthermore, both the Minotaur and the Chieftain belonged to the "Minotaur" race.

The bone vault had an inventory of over 1,000.

That didn't even count the units already converted.

He could easily take 200 out as "resurrection coins," and the remaining 800+ could be converted as needed without any delay.

Tian Ming was a mage, standing in the back row to blast faces.

But what about the front row?

It relied entirely on ordinary Minotaurs to hold the line.

If there was a Minotaur hero holding the front line, it could tank and command.

This Undead Army would change from a "Tian Ming solo show" to a dual-core system with front and rear coordination.

"Tank position, it's you."

Xu Qin pulled out a Minotaur Chieftain from the military formation.

He pointed at the altar.

"Get on."