Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 479 - 348: Devouring Crystal Grains, Soul Power Soars!

"King, we won!"

Looking at Tidamia, whose body was covered in scars and whose aura was grim yet whose Soul Fire flickered with joy, Fang Zhou shook his head, speechless. He sent a mental message to Tidamia. "Your Combat Techniques are too clumsy. It’s a case of ’kill one thousand enemies, lose eight hundred of your own men’!"

"King, what’s a thousand eight hundred?" Tidamia asked in confusion.

"Next time, be more agile. Don’t end up covered in wounds yourself just to kill the enemy," Fang Zhou explained with a hint of helplessness. He then glanced at Olaf before sending another message to Tidamia. "From now on, you will learn from Olaf. Watch how he commands troops and how he improves his own Combat Ability. If you don’t work hard now, you might just find yourself serving as my cannon fodder."

Tidamia’s Soul Fire flickered with confusion, clearly not understanding Fang Zhou’s meaning.

Fang Zhou didn’t explain further. Instead, he had Olaf gather the Skeleton minions from the chaotic battle and perform a rough tally of their losses. In the preceding melee, Fang Zhou and Olaf had been the primary damage dealers, slaying more than twenty Mutated Stiffened Spiders between them. The small number of remaining kills represented the true accomplishments of the Skeleton Team.

The cost was steep: of the fifty-plus Skeleton minions, ten had died on the spot, and over ten more suffered injuries of varying degrees. With such heavy losses, Fang Zhou would need at least two nights to fully replenish his forces. Even so, he was satisfied with the outcome of the day’s battle.

Fang Zhou ordered the able-bodied Skeleton minions to gather the fatally wounded Skeleton Servants and other skeletal remains into a pile. He silently mourned them for a moment. Then, suppressing his profound grief as drool dripped from the corners of his jaw, he employed the Corpse Armor skill, transforming them into fuel for his own growth.

Afterward, Fang Zhou ordered one group of Skeleton minions to collect the remains of the Mutated Stiffened Spider corpses scattered throughout the canyon. He himself, his massive body swaying slightly, led the other group toward the end of the purple canyon.

Wandering through the canyon, which was akin to a Nether River, Fang Zhou drew nearer to its end. He acutely sensed the surrounding Undead Attribute Energy growing denser. Upon reaching the end of the canyon, he saw a narrow fissure in the rock face. It was less than half a meter long and under three centimeters wide, and it emanated a faint purple glow.

A rich current of Undead Attribute Energy poured continuously from the other side of the fissure, carrying a refreshingly potent aura. Although narrow, the purple fissure was incredibly stable. Mixed within the outpouring of Undead Attribute Energy was a special type of purple energy. Like floating wisps of cotton, these energies drifted on the mist, adhering to the surrounding rocks where they landed. Gradually, the stones were stained purple, making them resemble glowing ore.

Furthermore, beneath the fissure, a more concentrated, essence-like form of the purple energy had consolidated into tiny purple Crystal Grains that settled into the earth. The moment he saw these purple Crystal Grains, Fang Zhou felt an instinctual urge to devour them.

He looked down at the paltry amount below the fissure, which probably didn’t even make a small handful, and felt a pang of discontent. Evidently, that previous swarm of Mutated Stiffened Spiders consumed all these precious goodies. This tiny amount... it’s not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.

Fang Zhou shook his head with a silent sigh. He commanded a few Skeleton minions to stoop down and gather all the scattered purple Crystal Grains from within the fissure. Though few in number, every bit of energy was precious to Fang Zhou. The Skeleton minions collected the grains with extreme care, afraid of missing even a single one.

Then, Fang Zhou opened his giant maw. A powerful suction force erupted, and he devoured the purple Crystal Grains.

Sure enough, a prompt appeared on his attribute panel, just as he’d expected.

"Detecting absorbable resource. Begin absorption?"

Without hesitation, Fang Zhou confirmed.

As the grains entered his gullet, a burst of unbelievably pure energy, brimming with a vibrant deathly aura, exploded within him.

CRACK! CRACKLE!

Under the influence of that Death Energy, Fang Zhou’s body swelled up like a balloon, expanding at a visible rate. His Corpse Armor grew thicker, and his aura became more ferocious. Just that small mouthful of purple Crystal Grains had caused his size to increase significantly, bringing him to a full three meters in height. On top of that, his Soul Power surged by 500 points, enough for him to learn two more Universal Skills available to Black Iron-rank Combat Professionals.

HUFF... HUFF...

Such astonishing growth instantly made Fang Zhou’s eyes burn with a red light. He glared at the purple fissure, his gaze filled with overwhelming killing intent.

Those Mutated Stiffened Spiders deserved to die! To think they ate all the accumulated purple Crystal Grains. No wonder those creatures grew so large and so numerous.

I can’t just leave this excellent spot for producing purple Crystal Grains unattended.

Fang Zhou ordered his Skeleton minions to back away. Then, with a whoosh, he shot forward and slammed into the rock wall beside the purple fissure. He raised his claws high, his muscles bulging as terrifying power gathered throughout his body.

BOOM!

Following Fang Zhou’s furious stomping strike, half the rock wall crumbled. A torrent of rubble and murky sand crashed down, completely burying the small area around the purple fissure.

I’ll bury this place and turn it into a fixed resource point. Once enough purple Crystal Grains have accumulated, I can come back to dig them up.