Chapter 214 - Bandit’s Invasion
The Level 10 Skeleton Altar proved to be extremely powerful. It functioned as a self-sustaining, closed-loop system—Han Wu could collect bone fragments from any destroyed skeletons, and then recycle them to summon even more skeletons! This meant he could at last recreate his previous skeleton army—a force so vast that it stretched for miles—all thanks to the Eternal Altar.
Without delay, he issued orders to all his Heroic Osteomancers to scour every single nook and cranny of his territory in search of bone fragments. Once these fragments were piled into his storage, he went on a summoning spree, persistently producing countless normal skeletons, Iron Skeletons, and Skeleton Knights. These three units were quite easy to summon, as they only needed a supply of bone fragments.
As the bone fragments were absorbed by the Eternal Altar, a steady stream of summoned skeletons slowly began to crawl forth from its depths, a surprising number of them already wielding makeshift bone weapons. These newly summoned skeletons benefited from all the recent upgrades applied to the altar, including the rare possibility they might eventually mutate into a powerful Lich, provided they endure and survive numerous battles.
Han Wu assigned the recently summoned skeletons to various tasks, including the felling of trees, extraction of Iron ore, and collection of Stones. It wasn’t long before the other students in the group chat took notice of Han Wu’s rapidly expanding skeleton army, and soon, pictures of an immense number of skeletons diligently chopping down trees began circulating widely.
A handful of students began to harbor thoughts of snatching the freshly chopped timber and even engaging the skeleton loggers in combat just to blow off some steam. However, these impulsive urges were hurriedly extinguished when a more rational student brought up the recent incident involving Wei Yuan. Unwilling to risk the loss of both their units and Wood, they ultimately chose to stand down and take no action.
Han Wu spent the next three days relentlessly gathering resources until the amount amassed had reached the million mark. However, just as he was making the final preparations to elevate his shelter to Level 7, he was interrupted by the sound of loud, insistent banging.
Following the disruptive noise, Han Wu looked outside to witness the unfolding chaos. Thousands of bandits, having trailed his skeleton loggers, had successfully pinpointed and converged upon his Grand Estate. His attention was immediately drawn to the bandit leader, and upon recognizing the leader as a Lord life form, he quickly inspected his data.
[Bandit King (Infantry). Lord life form. Skills: Intimidate, Flying Axe, Poison Sand, Burrow. While the king of bandits isn’t invincible, he is definitely one most adept at finding a way out of even the most perilous situations.]
The regular bandits were much simpler life forms.
[Bandit (Infantry). Elite life form. Skills: Flying Axe, Poison Sand. Never try to outsmart a bandit—you will fail.]
“Come out!” roared the bandit king, relentlessly smashing his axe against the main gate of Han Wu’s Grand Estate. Each thunderous strike left a deep, jagged scar across the gate’s surface, yet because of its recent upgrade, the entrance refused to yield so readily.
Han Wu, his interest piqued by the commotion, calmly stepped out of his mansion to get a better look at the bandits on the other side of the gate. The very second he came into their sight, the bandits responded by unleashing a volley of axes at him, clearly intending to strike him down and seize all his treasures for themselves.
However, these bandits had severely underestimated Han Wu. Even with his powers suppressed, he possessed considerable strength; at this moment, he was easily as powerful as a Heroic life form. He moved with ease, either effortlessly snatching the hurtling axes out of the air or deftly sidestepping them, all without missing a step.
The bandits were utterly dumbfounded—never before had they witnessed such a display. It suddenly dawned on them that Han Wu’s true strength far exceeded their initial estimations.
Only the bandit king truly noticed what had happened. From his perspective, Han Wu wasn’t necessarily overwhelmingly powerful, but had rather displayed a superior technique, enabling him to intercept the axes so quickly.
Convinced that he had fully gauged the extent of Han Wu’s abilities, the bandit king adopted a condescending tone and declared haughtily, “Oi, youngin’! If you value your life, you’ll hand over every last bit of your money and treasures. Don’t make me say it again. A single throw of my axe is enough to end you three times over!”
A faint smile played on Han Wu’s lips as he casually flicked away the axes he’d effortlessly caught.
“Ohhh... Is that so?” he mused, a challenging glint in his eye. “Why don’t you demonstrate?”
As these words left his lips, Han Wu summoned a powerful three-meter-tall half-dragon, a Heroic life form completely loyal to him.
“Glorious God, what is your wish?”
“Eh, just kill them all.”
Obeying Han Wu’s command, the half-dragon charged out of the estate without a moment’s hesitation, violently ripping through countless bandits. As it rampaged, its bluish-white scales became streaked with vivid red blood, a chilling manifestation of its ferocious bloodlust.
Even though the bandit king was a Lord life form, he adamantly refused to engage the half-dragon in battle, prioritizing his own survival above all else.
“Time to flee!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he instantly burrowed into the earth, vanishing from sight. His remaining subordinates, however, utterly dumbfounded by their leader’s brutal cruelty and unexpected betrayal, could only stare blankly, paralyzed with shock, as the half-dragon rapidly closed in on them.
The bandits soon snapped out of their shock, desperately throwing their poison sand and axes, but their efforts were futile; their attacks merely bounced off the incredibly resilient half-dragon, barely inflicting any harm to it. Even the poisonous fumes released by a handful of bandits proved far too weak to have any discernible effect on the creature.
Having lost all hope, the bandits scattered in terror, each one desperately wishing for an extra pair of legs to run faster. Unbeknownst to them, Han Wu had prepared for this retreat, having already commanded his skeletons to conceal themselves and lie in wait at a short distance from his estate. The skeletons sprang their trap with precise timing, intercepting and slaughtering many of the bandits who had barely escaped the estate’s vicinity. With the ambush successfully concluded and all the bandits eliminated, the Skeleton Knights moved in, summoning fresh skeletons from the deceased bodies.
Meanwhile, Han Wu, his thoughts still preoccupied with the elusive bandit king, dispatched his Dark Cursed Bugs to conduct a thorough search. It wasn’t long before the bugs successfully located traces of the bandit king, revealing his hiding spot to be a small, secluded cave, surprisingly overflowing with numerous boxes of treasures.
Han Wu’s gaze became fixated on the mountain of treasure displayed in the footage, a wave of greed washing over him. Such monstrous wealth was enough to tempt even him.
“I will gladly accept these treasures as compensation for the mental anguish they’ve caused me,” Han Wu murmured to himself, his gaze still glued to the unfolding footage.