Countless skeletons surged from all directions, their movements synchronized, stepping in unison like a well-trained army.
Standing on the altar, Zhao Lun's blood was boiling because these skeletons were about to become his subjects.
*"Crack."*
As the final step echoed, Zhao Lun found himself surrounded by the swarm of skeletons. They were dense and packed, with at least a few thousand of them gathered around him.
"Hurry, I must act fast!" Zhao Lun, ignoring his excitement, leaped off the altar without a second thought and charged straight toward the skeletons below.
The "Lord's Summon" had a limited duration of only one hour. During this time, the skeletons would fully obey Zhao Lun's commands. After that hour, they would leave at the fastest possible speed, so Zhao Lun had to act quickly and capture as many skeletons as possible before the time ran out. Although the system didn't explicitly mention it, "Lord's Summon" had a cooldown, and if Zhao Lun didn't seize this opportunity, he would have to wait another seven days.
So, Zhao Lun was in a rush, moving swiftly. Within moments, he had singled out several Bone Shield Skeletons and ordered them to head under the altar to inscribe their soul marks.
Although Zhao Lun was anxious, he wasn't reckless in choosing his subordinates. He had a clear target. Bone Shield Skeletons were considered rare and held tactical value. Whenever Zhao Lun saw one, he would immediately capture it without hesitation. Within the first ten minutes, he had already captured fifty Bone Shield Skeletons. This high efficiency was partly due to the altar's ability to inscribe soul marks automatically, so Zhao Lun didn't have to do it manually, which saved him a great deal of time. Otherwise, he would have been happy with just ten.
After capturing fifty Bone Shield Skeletons, Zhao Lun shifted his focus to Skeleton Archers. When it came to these, Zhao Lun was more discerning. He wouldn't settle for anything less than level 3, as he didn't want to waste time training weaker ones. This slowed him down, and it took him a full twenty minutes to gather fifty level 3 Skeleton Archers.
Once the Archers were dealt with, Zhao Lun, realizing that time was running short, stopped being so particular about the types of skeletons he collected. Now, any level 3 or above skeletons were fair game. His greedy nature kicked in, and he seemed unwilling to leave a single one behind. However, time was limited, and an hour passed by quickly. In the end, Zhao Lun managed to capture around 100 level 3+ skeletons, including fifty Bone Shield Skeletons and fifty Skeleton Archers. This brought his total number of skeletons to just over 200.
This was a massive boost to Zhao Lun's strength, but he was still unsatisfied. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for the gains, but after witnessing the power of the mutated Giant Axe Skeleton, Zhao Lun realized that in this world, a single monster could truly make a difference. If it weren't for Ollis intervening, Zhao Lun's 200 skeletons might have lost half their numbers trying to take down that mutated Giant Axe Skeleton. And if Ollis and the mutated Giant Axe Skeleton attacked together, Zhao Lun's 200+ skeletons wouldn't have stood a chance.
Thinking about this, Zhao Lun felt a pang of regret. The mutated Giant Axe Skeleton would have made such a powerful warrior... How could he have let it die?
"Wonder if any of these 200+ skeletons have mutated versions..." Zhao Lun, though not physically tired, felt a bit lazy as he sat down, letting the skeletons disperse like a tide. He casually opened the Territory page in the Soul Fire menu.
**City of Bones**
* **Level:** 1 Tribe
* **Area:** 11.52 square kilometers
* **Buildings:** Level 1 Territory Altar
* **Residents:** 211/800
After taking a quick look, Zhao Lun flipped to the second page to see if anything had changed. Indeed, at the bottom of the second page, there was a "Next Page" button. Without hesitation, Zhao Lun clicked it.
*Loading...*
"Damn it!" Zhao Lun cursed loudly, frustrated with the system's endless glitches.
"Whatever, no time to deal with this right now."
Indeed, Zhao Lun had much to do. This was also one of the reasons he had resisted becoming a Skeleton Lord. If he had become a Skeleton Mage, would there be this many tedious tasks? But since he was a Skeleton Lord, some things were unavoidable.
Firstly, Zhao Lun still had two buildings left to construct. Although he didn't fully understand what they would do, he felt it was best to build them as soon as possible. However, he wasn't willing to build anything in the short term, not after the exhausting experience of chanting the ritual spell for the altar. He also noticed that the skeletons he had prepared weren't enough for the "Territory Altar" construction. The system's units seemed to be counted differently from his understanding, which explained the discrepancy.
Although Zhao Lun was annoyed, there was little he could do. After all, his system wasn't perfect and often had various glitches. He could only hope that the system would eventually fix these issues.
Aside from the buildings, Zhao Lun needed to fill his territory with 800 skeletons as soon as possible. This was an extremely crucial time, and Zhao Lun had to seize this moment before another "Territory Will" could take over. Only by maintaining an overwhelming advantage could he ensure his survival and prevent being wiped out by other skeletons.
More importantly, Zhao Lun had deduced, from Ollis and the mutated Giant Axe Skeleton, that there would likely be high-quality skeletons guarding each "Territory Will." These skeletons were exactly what Zhao Lun wanted to capture.
After organizing his thoughts, Zhao Lun quickly planned what he needed to do. However, before tackling anything else, one task needed his immediate attention.
Ollis had been level 4 for a while now, and Zhao Lun had treated him well, feeding him the best food and providing everything he needed. Since the battle with the mutated Giant Axe Skeleton, Ollis had consumed at least 20 to 30 level 3 or higher Soul Fires. Zhao Lun could feel Ollis's soul fire growing stronger by the day, and it wouldn't be long before Ollis reached level 5. Once that happened, Zhao Lun would no longer be able to control him through the "Servant" system. So, Zhao Lun had to act quickly, extracting Ollis's soul fire and inscribing his soul mark on the altar before he reached level 5. This was the only way to prevent Ollis from turning on him and ensure Zhao Lun wouldn't lose his most trusted skeleton.