Chapter 72 – Specialized Weapons

“Already a perfect evaluation?”

Mu Yuan was momentarily stunned, but found it reasonable upon reflection.

This Hero Trial could even be cleared by troops possessing only ‘moderate intelligence’, let alone the Undead Emperor.

“Easy, easy. I could do it too.”

The trial was merely a threshold to keep the incompetent out. The true essence lay in the baptism of rules that followed the trial.

Mu Yuan looked forward to it.

The trial space shattered like a reflection in water, leaving only the Undead General as the sole reality.

Moments later, radiant rules descended, refining his body and soul.

“Ding!”

“Prompt: Your troop unit Deadbone has undergone refinement and been promoted to a Hero unit, unlocking the Hero Aura.”

“Prompt: Your Hero Deadbone has learned the strategic skill ‘Death Legion’ during the baptism.”

“Prompt: …”

“Prompt: …”

The prompts rang incessantly in his ears, never before so densely packed.

After a while, Mu Yuan’s consciousness returned. Countless black threads materialized out of thin air within the territory, continuously spreading and intertwining to form a massive black light cocoon.

Dozens of seconds later, the black light cocoon cracked with a series of snapping sounds, startling Dolai nearby into retreating over ten meters in a panic.

The black cocoon shattered with a bang, revealing Deadbone’s figure.

The Hero Baptism bestowed a sublimation of status, the unlocking of an aura, and the awakening of talents, without altering the trial-taker’s original class. However…

The Deadbone that returned now bore slight changes in appearance.

A pitch-black cloak, dark as ink, draped over his silver-white armor, fluttering in the wind. An enigmatic Hero Mark was engraved on his forehead bone, gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight before gradually fading after a few seconds.

「Deadbone (Hero)」

「Rank: Zero Tier, Level 9」

「Strategic Skill: Death Legion」

「Hero Talent: Undead Domination」

「Domination Count: 0/1000」

「Hero Aura: Attack 1, Defense 1, Movement Speed +10%, Energy of Undead-type Troops +10%.」

——

「Death Legion: Absorbs the breath of death from the battlefield, summoning a large number of undead creatures including but not limited to Little Skeletons, Skeleton Soldiers, Skeleton Warriors, Specters, Abominations, Vampires, Death Knights, etc., to snipe enemies. The number, tier, level, strength, and duration of the summoned undead creatures depend on the death aura of the battlefield and the caster’s own power. During the skill’s duration, the self-healing ability of the undead creatures is greatly enhanced. After the skill ends, a small number of low-tier undead creatures can be converted into permanent troop units.」

「Note: This skill is a strategic skill, requiring a long prelude to cast and consuming a significant amount of energy. The user can use Soul Crystals to substitute part of the consumption.」

“Death Legion!”

Mu Yuan pondered, “Compared to the skeletal monsters revived by Undead Resurrection, Death Legion boasts greater numbers, higher levels, and stronger combat power. It also doesn’t require consuming biological remains, though it does consume quite a few Soul Crystals.”

This was natural!

What is a strategic skill? Only a skill capable of influencing the outcome of a war qualifies as a strategic skill! That refers to battles involving at least thousands to tens of thousands of troops. His current campaigns, such as leading troops to subdue Goblin Camps, are merely village skirmishes at best, far from qualifying as wars.

Mu Yuan had also heard of other strategic skills, such as Meteor Shower, Phantom Army March, Brilliant Encouragement, and Divine Heavenly Soldiers, all of which were divine techniques without exception.”Strategic skills are not typically used in daily life, but with this ability, even if the Undead General’s Rank is too low to unleash its full power, it remains an undeniable trump card, giving us more confidence in facing the Lord’s trial.”

As for the Hero talent…

「Undead Domination: Under Deadbone’s command, undead creatures gain a slight increase in destructive power, a slight increase in energy capacity, and a moderate increase in energy recovery rate. Additionally, Deadbone can partially borrow energy from the undead units and creatures under his command, gathering it within himself. The effectiveness cap depends on the number of undead within the command range and the user’s bearing capacity.」

These two abilities clearly complement each other quite well.

Mu Yuan’s eyes lit up.

He speculated, “The forum experts were right—the second tier of baptism allows one to learn strategic skills, and the third tier awakens Hero talents. Then… what about the fourth tier of baptism? What is the additional gift from the heavens?”

At this moment, Deadbone’s head was still lowered, its eyes not yet glowing with an eerie blue light, as if it hadn’t fully awakened.

Its primary weapon, the Deadman Greatsword, was strapped to its back, but its hand stretched forward, gripping an imaginary sword.

The next moment,

Strands of ghostly light erupted from Deadbone’s palm, intertwining and outlining what seemed to contain the most profound and mysterious rules of the world.

In just a short while, a dark silver greatsword, somewhat resembling the Deadman Greatsword, appeared in Deadbone’s hand.

The blade was black on both edges, with a silvery-white hue in the middle. At the end of the hilt was embedded a formidable skull, and at the junction of the hilt and blade, a black-purple gem was inlaid. It seemed to contain immense power, continuously transmitting and spreading throughout the entire greatsword.

「Ding!」

「Prompt: Hero Deadbone has received a gift from the heavens, forging a weapon that suits him—’Death Lament’.」

——

「Death Lament」

「Category: Special Hero Weapon」

「Abilities: Contains traits such as Advanced Sharpness, Advanced Resilience, Life Drain, and Self-Repair, while also moderately increasing the wielder’s strength, energy, and spirit. Additionally, Death Lament can absorb the aura of death in the surrounding area, temporarily enhancing the wielder’s three core attributes. After the enhancement ends, the wielder’s three core attributes will also receive a slight permanent boost. Death Lament also has the ability to store a large amount of death aura.」

「Note: This equipment is a matching weapon for ‘Hero Deadbone.’ If any other creature, including undead beings, wields it, their life force and even soul will be continuously drained.」

…

The baptism finally concluded, and Deadbone slowly awakened—a faint blue glow lit up in its hollow eye sockets.

“Deadbone has not failed the expectations.”

If it hadn’t achieved a perfect evaluation, it would have felt unworthy of the Lord’s cultivation.

At the same time, it felt somewhat exhilarated. After the Hero baptism, it seemed it could reclaim the glory of steadfastness—meaning standing at the forefront, slaying the enemies of the territory… After all, relying on Dolai to handle powerful foes was something it couldn’t quite trust.

With its new abilities acquired, Deadbone immediately went out to test them.

The four enhancements it gained this time—the Hero aura, strategic skill, Hero talent, and matching weapon—the one that truly significantly boosted its combat power was the exclusive weapon.

It found a fortunate gray wolf, immobilized it with death pressure, and then gently sliced with the greatsword in its hand.No blood flowed from the wound, which turned ashen gray in an instant. The entire wolf withered and thinned, as if only skin and bones remained, before collapsing to the ground.

“Good heavens, that’s absolutely brutal.”

Lord Mu, who had witnessed the entire scene, gasped in shock. But then it occurred to him that this was his own General, and he thought, “Well, that’s fine then. Keep being brutal, be as brutal as you can.”

“The two strategic abilities and the exclusive weapon complement each other synergistically. Judging from these descriptions, Deadbone is exceptionally suited for large-scale battles.”

Of course, every Hero is a General or Commander by nature, with their primary role being to lead troops in combat—though Deadbone is simply more adept at it than most.

Under his command, not only do undead units become stronger, but he himself can harness the power of his forces and the advantages of the Battlefield to unleash terrifying might.

This is the Hero Deadbone.

A skeleton of Rank 9 Apprentice.

(End of Chapter)