Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 214 The Eternal Rest Shack of the Skeleton Manor
Beneath the bluish-gray sky lies a bluish-gray valley.

Whether it was an illusion or the aura of the gathering of the dead could truly affect the external environment, the weather in the Exile was much gloomier than outside, and even the wind blowing through the canyon carried an indescribable loneliness.

Lord Chen Mo lingered in front of the carriage for a long time, reluctant to leave.

They were indeed skeletal warhorses. Unlike ordinary carriage horses, they were very quiet when standing, neither swaying nor snorting, and their thin tails hung motionless, showing no signs of mischief.

The only sign of life was the ghostly blue soul fire flickering in their eye sockets.

The horses were covered with rough, hard saddles, some of which had hardened together with the vertebrae of their thoracic and lumbar spines, almost becoming one piece. It was clear that these former battlefield heroes had been reduced to hard laborers pulling carts for a long time.

His seniority might even exceed Chen Mo's age.

Chen Mo felt a pang of heartache for no apparent reason. Thinking about the treatment his skeleton soldier, Xiao Bai, received in Dongxia, and then looking at the desolate state of this skeletal warhorse, which was several ranks higher, a sense of absurdity arose within him: "Even the fate of the undead is unpredictable."

As for the chariots pulled by these skeletal warhorses, they were rather rudimentary open-top models, without even a roof to protect them from the wind and rain. Although the seats and handlebars showed signs of frequent wiping, they could not hide the heavy traces of corrosion.

Upon seeing the lord's slight frown, Doyle reacted swiftly, tearing off the cotton cloak from Kane Stonehoof's back and quickly spreading it on the carriage seat.

He also glared at Kane Stonehoof, thinking, "That stupid bull, he doesn't even have any sense of propriety, and he's still pouting?"

If it's cold, move around more!
This action made Little Finger realize that his previous judgment was wrong.

The Exile only accepts necromancers, so after verifying the identities of the two men, the Silver Duchy officials in Rustbone Town pinned insignia on them.

One is second-order and the other is fourth-order. Under normal circumstances, whoever it is would regard the fourth-order one as the leader or parent. That's why Little Finger was carefully answering Doyle's questions.

At that moment, she turned around and eagerly opened the car door in front of Chen Mo and Liu Shuang.

"Master, Madam, please get in the car!"

Little Finger's voice was crisp and clear: "Don't worry, these are all old bones from the carriage shop. They're very steady and much more obedient than live horses. They won't frighten our distinguished guests!"

Liu Shuang's face flushed red instantly. She quickly jumped onto the carriage, curled up into a ball, buried her head deep in her chest, and refused to lift it up.

Chen Mo was stunned for a while after pulling his gaze away from the skeletal warhorse before belatedly realizing that the little guy had just called out "Madam"!
Chen Mo couldn't help but take a closer look at the guy a few more times.

Wow, wow! She was calling me "little sister" just now, but as soon as she realized she was the leader, she immediately changed her address. Her ability to read people is probably much more perceptive than most people in her own territory.

Meeting Chen Mo's approving gaze, she slightly bent her hip with her little finger and gave him a fawning smile: "Master, I don't mind paying for my foot transport, but you have to pay for the carriage first, okay?"

These words were so tactful, both clear and subtle, that Chen Mo was growing to appreciate the little guy more and more.

After paying for the carriage and instructing Doyle to pay for Little Finger's guide fee for the day, Chen Mo began to inquire about the little guy's situation, intentionally or unintentionally.

The story is not complicated. The little guy's father was a necromancer who never completed his first job advancement before he died. When he was young, he could earn some money by selling his own labor and the labor of selling summoned creatures. Later, he was injured in a mission and suffered a triple blow: he could not recover due to lack of medical funds, his mercenary contract expired and he was ruthlessly abandoned, and his wife ran away with someone else with the family's wealth.

The family's belongings were completely looted; even the window frames were removed, leaving only a little one who had just been forcibly weaned, crying loudly.

The poor necromancer had no choice but to sell his empty, dilapidated house to raise some money for his journey and fled to the Land of Exile.

Well, he has many fellow necromancers who came here after falling on hard times, so he can be taken care of.

It's the same as when a philosophy graduate from a university starts delivering food and finds all his colleagues are alumni; the answer is that this industry has a wide network and knows the ways of the world.

Because he could hire undead creatures of the appropriate level at a relatively low cost, Little Finger's father struggled to raise his child, but in recent years his injuries worsened, and he lost the ability to go on missions.

Unfortunately, Little Finger, who should have taken over his father's job and become the main breadwinner of the family, did not have the talent to become a mage.

After training with his father for several years, he couldn't even become a prospective apprentice. He could only do odd jobs at the "Guide's House" to barely make ends meet for the father and son.

The skeletal warhorse's hooves struck the hard rocky ground with a crisp "clack-clack" sound. The group chatted and talked, while Kane Stonehoof strode behind Chen Mo's carriage, his huge shadow covering half of the carriage.

After talking about people, the topic finally turned back to the land.

With her little finger skillfully guiding the skeletal warhorse, she responded to Chen Mo's question in a clear voice: "Our Valley of Exile is divided into more than a dozen places, each with its own sign, but there are three kinds of them."

“One type is the place where people stay. Here, ordinary necromancers live in the ‘Eternal Sleep Hut,’ archmages live in the ‘Witcher’s Ring,’ and there is also the ‘Echoing Market’ for trading.”

"The second type is the place where the dead reside."

“The ‘Bone Manor’ where low-ranking undead stay, the ‘Nine-Story Underworld Tower’ where high-ranking undead stay, the ‘Silent Courtyard’ where a leader undead commands, and the ‘Soulfire Graveyard’ where crippled and abandoned undead stay.”

"There's a third type, which is neither inhabited nor used by the undead. It's mainly for people to scavenge and piece together bones, like the 'Bone Square' where bones are piled up, the 'Stitching Workshop' for repairing and rebuilding the bodies of undead creatures, and the 'Mirror Cemetery' where high-level undead self-seal..."

Little Finger counted them one by one and asked, "Gentlemen, which side would you like to visit first?"

Chen Mo pondered for a moment and gave his answer: "Look at the bones first, then look at the person!"

"okay!"

The little finger was sucked in its mouth, producing a loud whistle.

"Let's go to the Bone Manor first!"

"Gentlemen, you may look, but don't touch anything without a contract. Some of these old folks are very stubborn and timid; they don't like strangers touching them." The carriage slowly drove into the depths of the valley, winding and turning until it arrived at a depression in the valley. It seemed to be the lowest point in the entire Exile Land.

This is the Bone Manor.

The manor has several different entrances, each corresponding to a different low-level undead gathering area. Since Chen Mo said he wanted to see bones, Little Finger naturally led the way to the gate of the skeleton area.

Judging from the deep imprints worn into the stone slabs at the valley entrance over the years, this place is actually quite popular. Chen Mo and his group got off the carriage and looked through the manor fence. The area at the entrance, near and far, was densely packed with entry-level skeleton spearmen, with a few skeleton javelin throwers and skeleton longbowmen scattered here and there.

Little Finger led the way into the manor, where skeletons on both sides paid their respects. The sight of hundreds of white skulls turning towards you at once sent chills down the spines of both Chen Mo, a necromancer, and Liu Shuang, who always enjoyed looking at skeletons.

"Sir, don't underestimate the skeletons just because they're weak. They can't even beat a trainee soldier. Sometimes, you really can't do without them on missions!"

With Little Finger's explanation and Doyle's additions, Lord Chen Mo, who had never participated in a mercenary mission and always felt that his life lacked a rich experience, roughly understood the logic behind the use of skeleton soldiers.

As an entry-level undead summoning creature, the Skeleton Soldier's disadvantage is its weak combat power, but its advantages are low summoning requirements, small size, and a very significant feature—lightness!

Don't underestimate this point. Low-level undead creatures generally move slowly and have poor obstacle avoidance abilities due to their lack of intelligence. Most of their time is spent on the way to the battlefield.

If a mission has specific requirements, or if there is an emergency requiring time to save, a desperate necromancer might carry their own skeleton weighing ten kilograms on their back to make the journey. If they bring zombies or flesh butchers... then there's no other way but to either abandon the mission or abandon their summoned creatures!

But if you abandon your summoned creatures and rely solely on your weak necromancer, what's the difference between that and abandoning the quest?

There is also the issue of attack overflow.

In certain missions, such as hunting down high-level monsters, skeletons and zombies serve as cannon fodder, responsible for blocking the front line, attracting fire, and absorbing damage.

High-level magical beasts bite skeletons and zombies in the same way, so at the same level, having ten skeletons is much more useful than having one zombie.

In the niche of cannon fodder, skeletons are far superior in terms of cost-effectiveness.

The group didn't venture too far. They walked to a small earthen mound in the manor and looked around. The manor was filled with bones, scattered like stars.

Besides the basic, ordinary models, there are also the tall, imposing ones wielding rusty iron swords; the sneaky ones wrapped in cloaks and carrying heavy wooden shields; the tragic ones covered in wounds, their bones marked with battle scars; and the humble ones crawling on the ground, serving as cushions and stepping stones for other skeletons…

In this sea of ​​skeletons, the skeletons of various shapes and sizes are like grains drying in the square after the autumn harvest, or like a large open-air sculpture group. If you don't move, they are a group of rigid, fixed objects on the ground; if you move, they become self-locking "rotating cameras".

Sunlight struggled to penetrate the thin, grayish-white mist that lingered over the valley, casting weak shadows that brought no warmth but instead made the sea of ​​bones appear even more desolate.

Chen Mo felt increasingly warm inside.

With so many skeleton soldiers, a second-tier necromancer like himself could recruit hundreds at a time, while a first-tier necromancer like Doyle could lead thousands. Although in traditional battlefields, these skeletons would only be a matter of a few high-level warriors sweeping them up, Chen Mo had firearms at his disposal!

If logistics are up to par, how many high-level warriors would dare to charge my sea of ​​skeletons?

To draw an analogy, this is like a robotic wolf that you can pick up anywhere in the wild. You only need to pay for the startup electricity, and then you don't need to pay a salary or rest. When it comes to war, it fights bravely and fearlessly, charging into battle. In peacetime, it clears land, builds roads, moves bricks, and mines...

Don't worry about mining collapses; just let them dig their own holes!

Isn't this a different kind of "death bonus"?
Compared to their advantages, their minor flaws—being a bit clumsy, slow, prone to lag, and inexperienced—are simply not worth mentioning!
While some lords or nobles might not be able to use someone who would open the car door, offer toasts, give elaborate gifts, deliver late-night snacks in summer and breakfasts in winter, or visit on holidays or birthdays, no matter how capable that person is, Chen Mo is clearly not that kind of person.

What more emotional value do you need? Seeing them diligently working is the greatest emotional value.

"How do you hire the skeleton soldiers here?"

Little Finger turned slightly to face Chen Mo: "Reporting to Master, the recruitment of undead creatures here is a bit different from that in the Underworld. It is divided into 'live recruitment' and 'dead recruitment'. The undead creatures here in the Bone Manor do not have lords and can only be recruited live!"

This is another situation that would never occur in the underworld. It really shows that the bigger the world is, the more new situations and problems arise everywhere.

Traditionally, summoners recruit from the kings of the underworld and the lords of the dead. After receiving offerings, these underworld rulers send undead warriors regardless of life or death, which is equivalent to a buyout system for assigning mercenaries.

However, these undead creatures in the Bone Manor, who have lost their lord, are considered free mercenaries. They certainly can't be used to their deaths, otherwise what's the point of collecting the sacrifices?

The undead faction has no wife or children!

So, you have to bring it back the same way you took it out. If it gets damaged, you have to pay a repair fee. Even if the entire skeleton is broken, you still have to send the Soulfire back. The "Stitching Workshop" in the Exile will be responsible for giving it a new body.

"So if you take the spirits here on a mission, you have to pay a deposit first. After the mission is completed and you return, the cost of repairs will be deducted, and the remaining deposit will be refunded to you."

"Even so, our recruitment costs here are still cheaper than recruiting directly from the Underworld Lords."

Of course it's cheap!

For Chen Mo, the greatest value of the Land of Exile was that it transformed the magical materials and mental energy input paid to the Lord of the Underworld into a universal currency in the Starry World.

Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all for Lord Hanhai.

"If I wanted to hire thousands or tens of thousands of skeletons from here and take them back, would that be feasible? How much would it cost?"

Little Finger's smile froze on his face. He swallowed hard a few times before replying in a slightly trembling voice, "This, this has to be discussed with the gravedigger of the Wizard's Ring. I... I really don't know!"

"Alright, let's skip this place and head straight to the next one. I'd also like to hire some necromancers to show me around!"

(End of this chapter)