NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 24: Spear Formation
Chapter 24: Spear Formation
The two books were placed in front of him, and a brief introduction was provided.
Both spells seemed to be support-type.
One altered the terrain, while the other created smoke to change the environment.
It must be said that Blackstone Town had a real scarcity of mage skills.
No wonder he, a newly transitioned necromancer, was able to join as a special profession.
Wu Heng thought it over.
Fog Spell wasn’t very useful, especially against zombies, and Smoke Bombs could easily replace it.
On the other hand, the Grease Spell mentioned difficult terrain, which could be useful in certain situations.
Having made up his mind, he said, "I’ll take this one."
The staff member nodded and recorded the transaction.
Wu Heng stored the skill book and turned to leave.
……
Returning to his residence.
After a quick meal, he took out the 【Grease Spell】 he had exchanged for earlier.
Based on the skill level, ‘Grease Spell’ was above ‘Acid Splash.’
He hoped it would give him a decent advantage.
But Blackstone Town really had too few skills available, and the exchanged skill books were obviously very old.
Blackstone Town was just too remote.
He had heard that adventurer field agents could transfer to other cities. Should he apply to move to a larger place?
This thought was fleeting and was quickly dismissed.
Skills were only part of the problem; as long as he leveled up and converted more skeletons, that would be more effective than anything else.
Transferring might just bring new challenges in a different environment.
It didn’t seem worth it to change environments just to learn a few more skills.
He couldn’t be too impatient.
Focusing his mind, he turned his attention back to the ‘Grease Spell’ skill book.
He began to read.
Time passed slowly.
When he finished the last page, a system notification sounded in his ear.
【Skill Unlocked: Grease Spell】
With the skill successfully unlocked, he closed the magic book.
This exchange didn’t seem to be worth it.
He only needed to read through it once to unlock the skill.
He wondered if he could return the book now and claim he had picked the wrong one.
He might ask Ottoluck about it later.
After unlocking the skill, he checked the time.
He decided to take Basen with him and opened the portal to the zombie world.
……
Arriving at the rooftop, the skeleton warriors stood in rows.
The soul-bearing skeletons sat on the stone slabs nearby.
After confirming everything was in order,
He gave the command, "Follow me downstairs."
The skeletons followed him down to the first-floor stairwell, where they stopped.
"You five, stand at the doorway, spears forward."
Wu Heng stood on the stairs and ordered the five spear-wielding skeletons.
The five skeletons, holding their spears, stiffly took positions at the entrance, forming a three-front, two-back formation, their spears blocking the narrow corridor.
After ensuring everything was ready, he said to Skeleton Basen, "Open the main door and lure some nearby zombies in, but don’t leave the complex."
The zombies near the building had been cleared once, but there were still plenty of them around the adjacent buildings.
Basen nodded, opened the door, and walked outside.
Not long after, the sound of hurried footsteps and zombie growls echoed from outside.
Peering outside, Wu Heng saw Basen running back towards him, with at least twenty or thirty frenzied zombies in pursuit.
They bared their teeth and snarled, their twisted faces showing ferocity.
The noise and growls attracted the attention of other zombies inside the buildings.
Trapped zombies shattered windows and leaped out, shards of glass scattering everywhere.
The number of zombies was rapidly increasing.
Basen moved quickly, always keeping a safe distance from the zombies.
After reaching the building, he darted into the stairwell, squeezing behind the skeleton line.
The zombies, roaring and snarling, swarmed into the stairwell like a flock of returning birds.
Thud!
The sound of a spear piercing flesh was heard as the first zombie crashed into the forward-pointing spears.
More zombies flooded in behind it.
The five spear-wielding skeletons began to attack.
Their spears stabbed forward repeatedly, impaling the zombies.
Lacking intelligence, the zombies felt no pain and continued to push forward.
The narrow stairwell restricted the zombies' movements.
The spears continuously thrust forward, skewering the zombies in front.
【Gained Experience +6.】
【Summoned Creature - Skeleton Warrior, Experience +5.】
【Summoned Creature - Skeleton Warrior, Experience +5.】
【Summoned Creature...】
【Summoned Creature - Skeleton Warrior, Level Up to 2, Strength +1.】
【Summoned Creature - Skeleton Warrior, Level Up to 2, Constitution +1.】
The results were better than expected.
All the experience was concentrated on the five spear-wielding skeletons.
Their levels quickly increased to level 2.
Previously, the experience from killing zombies had been spread among many skeletons, with those in the front lines who killed the most also being the most likely to die.
Despite working for several days, only the sword-wielding skeleton had reached level 2.
Now it seemed that in situations with a manageable number of enemies and no danger, this method could be used to level up some higher-level skeletons.
Quantity mattered, but so did quality.
Soon, the battle drew to a close, and all five skeletons had reached level 2.
The small doorway was now piled high with corpses.
Wu Heng stepped forward and began casting Raise Skeleton, raising each fallen skeleton warrior from the ground and adding them to his ranks.
The work ahead was monotonous.
He continued the cycle of converting and resting his mind.
It wasn’t until late at night that he returned to Blackstone Town to rest.
……
The next day, Wu Heng returned to the zombie world early.
After converting the remaining zombie corpses from the previous day, he took stock of his skeleton army.
Five level 2 skeletons, 172 level 1 skeletons.
The soul-bearing skeletons included level 7 skeleton rogue Basen, level 6 skeleton warrior Sword One, level 5 skeletons Sword Two, Crossbow One, and Crossbow Two, as well as level 5 skeleton hound Teddy.
It didn’t sound like much, but standing on the rooftop, the number looked considerable.
But compared to the horde that had chased the bus, it was still insignificant.
Especially with the mutated zombies in the horde.
The key to stable progress was to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
After counting the skeletons, Wu Heng said, "Move out."
Clatter, clatter!
The skeletons moved in unison, following him downstairs.
Stepping outside, the area felt emptier.
"Advance!"
Thud, thud, thud!
The skeletons marched forward, their footsteps dense and rhythmic, heading towards the adjacent building.
They reached the entrance of the first apartment.
Whoosh!
As soon as the door was opened, two zombies lunged at them.
Wu Heng sidestepped, and the skeleton warriors behind him slashed at the zombies with their machetes.
"You few, follow Sword One upstairs and clear the zombies from the stairwell."
Sword One nodded, leading five skeleton warriors into the stairwell to clear the upper floors.
Wu Heng moved to the next unit, opening the door, "You follow Sword Two and clear the stairwell zombies."
One stairwell after another was opened, with skeletons entering in batches to clear out the zombies.
The process went smoothly, with no mutated zombies discovered.
Soon, the entire building was cleared, and the bodies were piled in the open space outside.
Wu Heng didn’t start converting them right away; instead, he moved on to clear the next building.
The procedure remained the same, with bodies piled outside and looted goods taken back to his original residence.
……
Returning to Blackstone Town,
Wu Heng had Basen carry a backpack, and together they headed to the eastern marketplace.
The market was still bustling, with loud hawking and calls filling the area.
As they walked past several stalls, Wu Heng heard more than one vendor shouting, “The boss ran off with his mistress, everything’s on sale!”
Wu Heng and Basen found an empty spot and spread out a patterned cloth on the ground, then began laying out glass cups one by one.
Sunlight reflected off the glass, creating beautiful patterns.
Before he could even start shouting, a crowd had already gathered.
“New stock?”
“Still the same price?”
The crowd asked eagerly as they gathered around.
Wu Heng hadn’t expected so many people to gather so quickly. He said, “Same price as before, 50 copper each. To prevent malicious buying, you can only buy up to three.”
“I’ll take one.”
“I’ll take one too…”
The crowd surged forward, eager to purchase the glass cups at a price cheaper than the shops.
Whether they recognized him or were just curious about the crowd,
Soon, his stall was completely surrounded.
It was chaotic.
Although not as quick a sell-out as the first time, business was still good.
With so many people and the goods being genuinely cheap, the items quickly sold out.
“Sorry, you’ll have to wait for the next batch!” Wu Heng packed up his things and stood up.
Those who missed out sighed, saying they’d come earlier next time, and then dispersed.
Wu Heng packed up his belongings.
He walked around the market again.
Unfortunately, he didn’t find anyone selling spears.
The items here were significantly cheaper than those at the blacksmith’s shop.
After making another round, Wu Heng inquired about the price of furs from a pelt seller, then began heading back with his skeleton.
Raw hides and leather were somewhat different.
The furs sold here were not the same as the leather armor found in armor shops. There were likely a few processing steps in between.
He didn’t understand much about it; buying furs wouldn’t be of much use, so he looked around, asked about prices, and left.
Just as he left, two men approached the same stall.
“What was that guy asking to buy?” one of them asked.
The vendor hesitated, noticing their unfriendly demeanor, but eventually said, “He asked about the price of furs. It seemed too expensive, so he left.”
“He didn’t say anything else?”
“Look at my stall—what else is there?” the vendor replied.
The two men exchanged glances, then walked away.
When they reached a less crowded area, one of them asked, “So, it was him who killed Basen, and the item must be with him.”
“Basen, that useless fool.” The other cursed before asking, “Who was the guy with him?”
“No idea, but he lives alone.”
“The guards have been cracking down on the Wolfhead Mercenary Group lately. We should find a time to visit him, avenge Basen, and retrieve the item.”
“Alright.”