Zhao Lun stumbled along the bone-paved road, his head still slightly dazed as he walked with his head down, appearing somewhat dejected.
Behind him, three obedient skeleton servants followed closely. Leading the pack, Ollis seemed unusually restless. His skull kept turning, eyeing the nearby skeletons that cautiously avoided them, looking like a child about to pounce on something tempting.
However, this obedient creature, despite his agitation, didn't dare make a move without Zhao Lun's command. He dutifully followed Zhao Lun's lead, but his restlessness became more noticeable. Eventually, Zhao Lun, sensing something off, turned around and stared at Ollis in confusion.
Ollis, though not particularly intelligent, seemed to be aware of Zhao Lun's gaze. He straightened up, trying to look as composed as possible, though his eyes kept darting to the trembling skeletons cautiously passing by them. His gaze was almost like that of a mischievous child eyeing a delicious snack.
Zhao Lun froze for a moment, realizing that Ollis seemed a bit smarter than usual. Yet, Ollis' behavior was odd. After thinking for a while, Zhao Lun followed Ollis' gaze and pointed to one of the skeletons, asking, "Do you want to kill it?"
"Mm-mm!" Ollis blinked a few times, as if finally understanding Zhao Lun's words, and nodded eagerly.
"Then go ahead." Zhao Lun, after some contemplation, gave the command.
"Whoosh!"
As soon as Zhao Lun gave the order, Ollis swiftly used an *assault* move, one he hadn't even used against the mutated Giant Axe Skeleton. In the blink of an eye, Ollis reached the unfortunate Giant Axe Skeleton, and with a swift swing of his sword, decapitated the poor level 3 Giant Axe Skeleton. With a proud look on his face, Ollis returned to Zhao Lun, holding the Giant Axe Skeleton's head and eagerly offering it to him.
Zhao Lun was dumbfounded. He had imagined many possible scenarios, but this was not one of them. He felt like his brain was malfunctioning. He had never realized that not only are women's minds hard to read, but even skeletons can be just as perplexing.
Without thinking, Zhao Lun took the head of the Giant Axe Skeleton, and when he looked up, he was met with Ollis' intense gaze. His eyes sparkled with a familiar emotion—one Zhao Lun recognized from the many times he had seen it in the eyes of his old pet cat. Without thinking, he reached up and lightly patted Ollis' skull, as though petting a cat.
What the hell am I doing?! Is Ollis' round skull really so cute, just like a little cat?
Snapping back to reality, Zhao Lun froze, letting out a low sigh and then awkwardly retracting his hand. Trying to recover his composure, he patted Ollis' shoulder in an overly formal manner and said in an elder, authoritative tone, "Good job, keep it up, kid."
Ollis, who was usually quite obedient, blinked in surprise. Then, his eyes flared with excitement and hunger, more intense than before. He began glaring at the other nearby skeletons that were cautiously avoiding them, his fiery eyes gleaming like flames, as though he intended to slaughter every skeleton in sight.
Zhao Lun sighed, rubbing his head. *Great. Now he's got the brainpower of a big skeleton, and the cuteness of a mischievous little child...*
Having figured out the reason for Ollis' agitation, Zhao Lun shook his head and, with a clearer mind, continued leading the three skeleton servants toward the place where he had piled 153 skeletons. Along the way, Ollis grew even more restless. Every time he saw a skeleton, Ollis would give a small, almost imperceptible look toward Zhao Lun, as if asking for permission to attack. It was starting to annoy Zhao Lun, but he didn't want to scold the innocent, adorable Ollis. Instead, he tried to distract himself.
---
**Territory:** Unnamed
**Level:** Level 1 Tribe
**Area:** 11.52 square kilometers
**Buildings:** None
**Residents:** 0/—
Once again, Zhao Lun opened the territory page but didn't look at it. Instead, he mentally flipped to the next page.
**Available Buildings:**
* Territory Altar
* Territory Walls
* Bone Conversion Pool
**Level 1 Territory Altar:**
* Construction Requires: 1800 high-quality white bones, 30 level 2 soul fires.
* Function: Collects the soul marks of the territory's residents and helps cultivate the Territory Will.
* Can be upgraded.
**Level 1 Territory Walls:**
* 100 pieces of white bones per meter.
* Function: Can withstand attacks from 10 level 3 skeletons simultaneously.
* Can be upgraded.
**Level 1 Bone Conversion Pool:**
* Construction Requires: 1200 high-quality white bones, 20 level 2 soul fires.
* Function: Can process low-quality bones into usable materials for construction.
* Can be upgraded.
Upon closer inspection, Zhao Lun noticed that a new building, the *Bone Conversion Pool*, had appeared, along with a "can be upgraded" note for each building. According to the usual game mechanics, this meant level 1 buildings could be upgraded to level 2, though the upgrade conditions hadn't yet been met.
As Zhao Lun studied the buildings, a strong intuition told him these structures would be crucial for his future progress. The information passed down from the Territory Will had been organized by the "System," but it was clear and more comprehensible now.
Zhao Lun carefully reviewed the information, realizing that these buildings weren't classified by level. There was no "level 1" or "level 2" Territory Altar; it was simply a Territory Altar. He also inferred that the Territory Altar's function was far more powerful than just collecting soul marks and cultivating the Territory Will. Although the information he had wasn't complete, it was enough for Zhao Lun to sense the real potential behind these buildings.
His anticipation grew. He was eager to see what a "Level 1 Territory Altar" would look like compared to the one described in the information.
About ten minutes later, as Zhao Lun closed the page, he had already reached the pile of 153 skeletons, which he had dubbed "Bone Mountain."
After days of hard work, he was finally ready to build the Level 1 Territory Altar. Zhao Lun was full of expectations. He almost couldn't wait to raise his staff and begin the incantation to construct the altar right away.
However, after a moment of restraint, Zhao Lun calmed himself. He knew he wasn't in the best condition after suffering the severe backlash from the "Servant" spell. His mental and magical energy were depleted, and his soul fire still stung a little. Though the information hadn't specifically said that he needed to be at full strength to build the altar, Zhao Lun knew that these small details often made the difference between success and failure.
So, rather than rushing, Zhao Lun decided to wait a few more days, unwilling to take any unnecessary risks.