Chapter 88: Changes in the Battle Situation

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Changes in the Battle Situation

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As Gu Su emerged from the basement, he waved over to Iron Hand.

"Take your men down to the basement and clear it out. I don’t care how you do it, just get rid of all the junk and debris down there," he said. He paused, recalling the densely packed ruins. "Don’t worry about being methodical. Just clear a path to walk on first, then you can organize things properly."

"Don’t worry, my lord. I know this job well!" Upon hearing this, a light flared in Iron Hand’s murky eyes as he slammed his heavy pickaxe on the ground.

Before the words had even faded, he turned and barked a low, curt command to the Walking Dead waiting behind him.

He then took the lead, his heavy footsteps echoing as he led the group of Walking Dead, shambling toward the basement entrance.

Gu Su hadn’t mentioned what to do with the cleared-out debris, and Iron Hand didn’t bother to ask.

That was the advantage of having a Minion in command; you didn’t have to spell everything out for them to get the job done right.

As the Walking Dead stepped into the basement, a bone-chilling dampness washed over them. A few strands of Fluorescent Vine dangled from the ceiling, barely illuminating a few meters ahead and casting the mountain of architectural rubble in flickering shadows.

A broken, load-bearing column lay crookedly across the center, its surface still clinging with dried, uncleared vines. The pillar was riddled with cracks, looking as if it would crumble at the slightest touch.

A warped, broken door lay in a pile of rubble, cracks spreading across it like a spiderweb. A piece of blackened fabric hanging from a window frame swayed gently in the faint draft.

Broken concrete slabs, exposed rebar, and scattered white bones were tangled together, piled layer upon layer.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Iron Hand raised his pickaxe and brought it down hard on a concrete slab blocking the path.

THUD! The concrete shattered into smaller pieces, kicking up a cloud of fine dust.

At the same time, several Walking Dead bent over, their rough hands gripping the heavy concrete fragments. Arm muscles tensing, they began to drag the pieces away with sheer brute force. The screech of their boots scraping against the floor left shallow grooves in their wake.

Other Walking Dead worked together to lift the broken load-bearing column. Their steps were clumsy yet steady, each one painstakingly slow. The skin on their foreheads flushed red with effort, but their grip never loosened...

Standing at the basement entrance, Gu Su could now fully appreciate it: the Corroding Mycelium’s ability to devour and assimilate far exceeded his imagination.

An idea sparked in his mind.

He slowly straightened up, gazing first toward the sky and then into the distance. "Crow’s Caw," he asked, "do you think I should send a chest of Corroding Mycelium to the giant turtle?"

"Still can’t let go of that dead giant turtle, can you, my lord?"

Crow’s Caw flapped its wings and landed gently on Gu Su’s shoulder. Its tone held a knowing amusement, having seen through Gu Su’s intentions at a glance.

"You’re right. It’s such a massive prize. If it weren’t so far away, I’d want to dismantle the entire thing and haul it back here."

Gu Su couldn’t help but smile, his tone a mix of wistfulness and temptation.

Honestly, he hadn’t really considered it when he first saw the giant turtle’s corpse. But after witnessing the Corroding Mycelium’s power to devour and assimilate the Vine Mansion, the idea had truly taken root.

If the Corroding Mycelium could consume a body that huge, imagine how much it would benefit the Graveyard Demon!

Crow’s Caw gently shook its head and offered a tactful reminder. "That may be, my lord, but have you considered the current size of our Graveyard Demon?

The giant turtle’s body is enormous—comparable to a small mountain.

With the Graveyard Demon’s current capacity, can it truly handle consuming something so massive?"

At these words, the smile on Gu Su’s face slowly faded. His expression grew somber, and he let out a long sigh, his voice tinged with frustration and unwillingness.

"Yes, you’re right.

If our Graveyard Demon could reach Level 1, it might have a chance of digesting it.

But right now, the Graveyard Demon hasn’t even met the conditions for an upgrade. It would be pushing it."

But despite his words, once the idea had taken hold, he couldn’t suppress it.

Gu Su mulled it over for a moment before finally making a decision.

He dispatched a White Crow and a Skeleton to drag a Treasure Chest filled with Corroding Mycelium, sending them along the path previously cleared by Bone Ash.

Gu Su’s order to the Skeleton was simple: its mission would be a success as long as it protected the Treasure Chest and got it to the giant turtle.

It didn’t need to concern itself with anything else.

Gu Su estimated that with the path already cleared by Bone Ash, this Skeleton wouldn’t take nearly as long to make the journey.

By the time it arrived, Bone Ash should have already retrieved the giant turtle’s heart and egg.

Bone Ash could then handle the Corroding Mycelium from the Treasure Chest, and they could see if the empty chest was big enough to hold the turtle’s heart and egg.

Gu Su watched as the White Crow and the Skeleton Soldier, dragging the Treasure Chest full of Corroding Mycelium, gradually vanished into the distant forest. Their figures shrank until they were completely out of sight, and only then did he slowly look away.

Then, he returned to the graveyard. In an open area, he performed a Soul Summoning Ceremony, raising all the Kobold corpses as new Skeletons.

Having done all this, he put the matter aside and turned his full attention to Bone Forest.

He had just received a report from Crow’s Caw: Bone Forest’s forces and the Kobolds had just fought a major battle.

They had lured all the core Kobolds from their camp to the surface for an engagement.

The Magic Skeletons Gu Su had sent earlier, along with the recently arrived Red Ice Squad, had played a crucial role in the battle.

The Magic Skeletons, with their Poison Gas Bombs and Frost Arrows, were particularly effective, poisoning and slowing the enemy.

This gave Bone Forest an excellent opportunity.

Bone Forest led his troops in a sneak attack from the rear, and at the cost of thirty Skeleton Warriors, they managed to slay over four hundred Kobolds.

After this one battle, the number of Sewer Kobolds had been drastically reduced.

Their lair now lay exposed before Bone Forest and his forces.

Bone Forest was currently cleaning up the battlefield. ’It won’t be long before they send back the spoils of war,’ Gu Su thought. ’Once they do, I’ll find a way to replenish the troops. We should be able to take down the rest of the Kobolds this afternoon.’

’Wipe them out right in the sewers.’

’Once I control this sewer system, everything will change.’

The surface was difficult to traverse, but the sewers were another story. With control of the sewers, Gu Su’s forces could emerge in any corner of the city.

Then, the speed at which Gu Su could gather Resources would multiply, and the final material he needed for his Earth-Binding Vein would become much easier to find.