Zhao Lun could clearly sense that Ollis had been downcast and more silent than usual lately. Although he still appreciated the affection Ollis showed him, it was no longer as clingy as before. Moreover, Ollis occasionally expressed subtle dissatisfaction.
"What's this? Is he mad at me? Why does he have such a high IQ and act like a child?" Zhao Lun was really troubled by this, but he couldn't afford to focus on it too much. He had too many things to handle at the moment.
Two days had passed in the blink of an eye, and after relentless efforts, Zhao Lun had managed to assemble eight hundred skeletons, completing one phase of his preparations. Among these skeletons, two hundred were Bone Shield Skeletons, three hundred were Skeleton Archers, one hundred were Great Sword Skeletons, one hundred were Giant Axe Skeletons, and there were fifty Skeleton Mages and fifty Spear Skeletons.
Originally, Zhao Lun hadn't planned on recruiting Skeleton Mages, but then he thought that if his skeletons leveled up and awakened new spells, he'd gain more magical abilities. With that mindset, Zhao Lun decided to enlist fifty Skeleton Mages. However, these fifty were not part of his active battle force. His current strategy was to leave behind a hundred Bone Shield Skeletons, a hundred Skeleton Archers, and a hundred Great Sword Skeletons to guard the territory. Although he would leave the Skeleton Mages as well, they wouldn't be given any commands.
Speaking of attacking other territories, Zhao Lun had been busy these past two days. He had already dispatched thirty of his Skeleton Archers, dividing them into four teams, each heading in a different direction.
Thanks to the Soul Imprint of the altar, Zhao Lun's subordinates could now move more than a hundred meters away from him, with almost no range restrictions. As long as Zhao Lun didn't summon them back through the altar, these thirty Skeleton Archers would continue their journey until they encountered strong enemies and were killed. Zhao Lun was waiting for that moment, as he would be able to use the altar's sensing ability to locate the exact position of any fallen archers, which would help him pinpoint the enemy's location.
Zhao Lun had no other choice but to use this method. At the moment, all his subordinates were under level five, and apart from Ollis, no other skeleton had the ability to communicate with him or search for enemies. Ollis might have that capability, but Zhao Lun wasn't about to send his first and most trusted general into such danger. So, this was his only option.
The "search team" had just been sent out, and there was no news yet. Normally, this would have given Zhao Lun a moment to relax, but it wasn't like that for him. He still had plenty to do. He planned to use this downtime to build the "Bone Conversion Pool" and also check his skeleton army for any elite skeletons. If he found any, he'd make sure to pick them out before the battle began, so they wouldn't be wasted.
Zhao Lun could accomplish both tasks at once. The Bone Conversion Pool was only lacking some bone materials, so Zhao Lun didn't need to do this himself. He arranged for Ollis to handle it.
Despite the tension between them, Ollis obeyed Zhao Lun's orders. Although he was still upset, he no longer reacted as dramatically as before, like when he had demanded to be hugged.
After giving Ollis the task of hunting down skeletons, Zhao Lun sat down and began inspecting his skeletons one by one, occasionally shaking his head in disappointment as he devoured Soul Fire.
After going through more than fifty skeletons, Zhao Lun became increasingly frustrated. If he wasn't so determined to complete what he had set out to do, he probably would have given up by now.
Meanwhile, Ollis was also facing a bit of trouble, but it wasn't caused by encountering any powerful skeletons. The problem came from Ollis himself, and his lack of experience in leading troops.
Though Ollis was intelligent, he had never commanded troops before. If he were to engage in a one-on-one battle with the skeletons, he could easily wipe out a group. But leading a hundred Skeleton Archers was proving difficult for him. Zhao Lun had already given him command over the unit, but Ollis seemed confused, taking a long time to organize them. Eventually, he led the hundred Skeleton Archers out of the territory, albeit in a rather disorganized manner.
Watching Ollis and his troops leave in such a sloppy formation, Zhao Lun couldn't help but wonder if Ollis could complete the task he had been given. Still, he sighed, glancing at the retreating figures, and then turned his attention back to his own work.
"With this much magic power, it's never enough. I wonder how long it'll take for me to level up to 4," Zhao Lun muttered to himself, lamenting how slow his progress was.
This greedy guy, who had reached level 3 in less than a month, was still dissatisfied with his speed. To be fair, this was an extremely fast pace for skeletons, and Zhao Lun was already near the peak of level 3. He was likely to break through to level 4 soon. If you compared his growth rate to that of other skeletons, Zhao Lun's speed would probably be in the top group.
However, his speed was completely dependent on the infinite supply of Soul Fire. Zhao Lun didn't need to worry about running out of Soul Fire—he was more concerned about whether he'd explode from overconsumption. He barely gave himself a break, devouring Soul Fire non-stop for twenty-four hours. If he could still consume more, he wouldn't hesitate to keep going. His tastes had become more refined, and now he only consumed Soul Fire from level 3 and higher Skeleton Mages. At this rate, his leveling speed was bound to skyrocket.
Just as Zhao Lun was about to resume his work, he managed to restore a bit of his magic power. He quickly cast the "Sense" spell, aiming it at one of the Skeleton Archers.
As he examined the Skeleton Archer's information, something caught his eye.
---
**Territory Residents**
**Skeleton Archer**
*Race:* Low-level Undead (Skeleton Archer)
*Strength:* Level 4 (Black Iron) Elite
*Talent:* Gray
*Skills:* Ice Arrow
*Evolution Path:* Frost Skeleton Archer
*Notes:* A worthless skeleton body...
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Zhao Lun was stunned for a moment before quickly reopening the page. He wasn't sure if this was a bug in the system or if he had missed something before, but he couldn't help but smile. This Skeleton Archer had potential! The mention of "Ice Arrow" and its evolution path to "Frost Skeleton Archer" gave him hope.
It looked like he had found a gem in his midst.