5: Chapter 5: Sustaining War Through War, Accompanying Me on Expeditions

Even if he pinched his nose shut, he still couldn't block the metallic taste spreading through his mouth.

The sticky, greasy sensation peculiar to raw meat exploded in his mouth.

Xu Qin's stomach churned, and he almost threw up.

But he kept his mouth tightly shut and forced himself to swallow it.

His first day after transmigrating, sitting barefoot at the entrance of a half-collapsed Crypt, gnawing on raw Warthog meat.

The imagery was just too vivid.

If his roommates saw this, they'd probably laugh for an entire semester.

He chewed while looking up, sizing up the squad in front of him.

Five Skeleton Soldiers stood in a row, leaning on their rusty blades.

One of them still had a crack in its chest, having just been put back together by the Acolyte.

Beside them, two Skeleton Warthogs were a size larger, their green tusks pointing skyward, the purple soulfire in their eye sockets burning much brighter than that of the Skeleton Soldiers.

A little further away, the Acolyte stood silently, its black robe swaying slightly in the wind.

One Lord, five Skeleton Soldiers, two Skeleton Warthogs, one Acolyte.

Total strength: nine.

Xu Qin took another bite of meat and started doing the math.

"There's definitely more than one Warthog in this wasteland."

The one just now was rooting for food in the shrubbery.

Since there are shrubs, it means there's a water source here, and where there's water, there's an ecosystem.

A single Warthog couldn't possibly live alone in the wasteland.

"The first fight was so difficult mainly because I had to go up and tank the damage myself."

He glanced at the stats of the two Skeleton Warthogs.

Attack: 8, Defense: 3, HP: 25, comes with the Charge trait.

The defense of these two skeletal hogs was the same as his own, and although they had 5 less HP, they had the advantage of not feeling pain.

"In the next fight, I'll have the two Skeleton Warthogs hold the front line and take turns using Charge."

Xu Qin pinched his nose, chewed twice, and swallowed it straight down.

"The Skeleton Warthogs will block the damage in the front, and the five Skeleton Soldiers will flank and deal damage."

"The Acolyte will heal the skeletal hogs from the back."

"Although it only heals 1 point every five seconds, which is slow, given the current situation, I can't complain."

"I'll just use my stone axe to find opportunities to land the finishing blow from the side."

"No need to tank the tusks directly anymore."

A no-brainer tactic took shape in his mind.

Expected casualties for the second fight...

One Skeleton Warthog might shatter, and one or two Skeleton Soldiers might break.

But the Acolyte could slowly put them back together.

And what about the combat rewards?

Two more skeletons, two new Skeleton Warthogs.

After the second fight, he'd have four Skeleton Warthogs.

Four Skeleton Warthogs surrounding one live pig?

Then the casualties for the third fight might be zero.

After the third fight, six.

The fourth fight, eight.

Xu Qin suddenly felt that the Warthog meat in his mouth didn't taste fishy anymore; it was even a bit fragrant.

"Hah."

The most broken thing about the Undead Race isn't how strong they are individually.

It's that they don't need logistics.

Those Lords in the Human Race channel who chose Dwarves or Elves have to consider the impact of casualties on morale after every battle, spend resources to appease their troops, and ensure food supplies.

The more troops they spawn, the greater the demand for food.

And him?

Skeletons don't eat, don't need pay, and don't get emotional.

They don't need celebrations after winning, and no cleanup is needed after losing.

If they shatter, just piece them back together and keep fighting.

The only one who eats is himself.

20 pieces of meat are enough to last him several meals.

Xu Qin stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth.

"19 pieces left, enough to last a long time."

As the last bite went down, the wound on his thigh started to itch.

He looked down and saw the wound closing rapidly.

The newly grown skin was pink, tender, and itchy.

Thirty seconds later, not a single scar remained.

HP returned to 30/30.

"That feels good."

Xu Qin stood up and stretched his legs.

Hmm, very good, no abnormalities.

He was in a great mood, fed, watered, and revived to full health.

Suddenly, he remembered that message in the Human Race channel.

James — Dragon Race.

Level 1 Dragon hatchling attack power 1888.

Heh, certainly fierce.

But with a body that big, how much does it eat in one meal?

Ten cows?

Twenty?

Maintaining an appetite for 1888 attack power with meat—just finding enough food in the early stages would be enough of a headache.

If it runs out of food, can the dragon's loyalty and morale still be maintained?

Xu Qin glanced at his Skeleton Soldiers.

The day I gather ten thousand Undead Race units, I'll see if your little dragon is enough to pick my teeth with.

Beat it up and stuff it into the Crypt...

Undead Dragon, ever heard of it?

Xu Qin couldn't help but chuckle.

Saliva almost dripped onto his stone axe.

Alright, stop dreaming.

He looked up at the countdown for the beginner protection light shield.

71:32:17.

There was plenty of time.

Xu Qin walked over to the nearest Skeleton Warthog and patted its skull.

"Feels pretty good."

Hard, completely different from patting a Skeleton Soldier.

The Skeleton Soldiers' shoulder blades would crunch at a touch, but this Skeleton Warthog's skull felt like knocking on stone.

Now that's what I call a soldier!

"Attention, everyone."

The five Skeleton Soldiers turned their heads in unison.

The purple soulfire in the two Skeleton Warthogs' eyes flickered.

The Acolyte silently raised its head.

"Follow me into battle!"

Xu Qin gripped his stone axe and strode past the edge of the beginner light shield.

Eight Undead Race units lined up and followed behind him.

The squad was more than twice as large as it was an hour ago.

"Target, live Warthogs!"

There was a reason Xu Qin was in such a rush.

He needed more corpses, more souls, more bones.

One pig for two skeletal pigs. Two for four. Four for eight.

The more he calculated, the more excited he got.

With that, Xu Qin led his nine-man squad, advancing southeast along his territory.

The two Skeleton Warthogs took the lead.

The eerie green fluorescent glow on their tusks was particularly striking under the gray sky.

The five Skeleton Soldiers were in the center, rusty blades in hand, their skeletons clattering.

The Acolyte brought up the rear, its black robe dragging on the sandy ground, leaving a faint trail.

When the squad passed by a patch of scattered dead trees, Xu Qin ordered them to stop.

"Cut trees first."

Basic resources like wood were in high demand.

He swung his stone axe, hacking at the base of a dried-out dead tree.

Bang!

The trunk snapped on impact and crashed to the ground.

[Obtained: Wood x 1]

The Skeleton Soldiers joined in too.

The efficiency was just as pathetic as last time.

Five rusty blades grinding on one tree was like scratching an itch with a piece of scrap metal.

Fortunately, the dead trees couldn't take much abuse, so they could eventually grind them down.

Walking and chopping along the way.

Xu Qin chopped one, and the Skeleton Soldiers worked together to deal with another.

By the time they chopped the seventh tree, Xu Qin glanced at his inventory.

[Wood: 13.]

He looked at the stone axe in his hand, then at the dead tree that hadn't fallen yet.

"...If only chopping trees could also be doubled, that would be great."

Too bad.

The door of his cheat was wide open, but the frame was stuck tight.

Forget it, one should be content.

He shouldered his stone axe and continued to advance, checking the regional map while heading toward unexplored areas.

The black fog on the map retreated bit by bit as the squad advanced.

The revealed part covered an area of about 300 meters around his territory.

Not enough.

Need to keep pushing outward.

Walked another 200 meters or so to the southeast.

On the regional map, a pale red dot appeared in the newly revealed area.

80 meters ahead.

Another patch of shrubs.