Free Web NovelChapter 101: Chapter 96: Exceeding Expectations (Part 2)
The Undead didn’t return to the fortress this time. Instead, they found nearby places to lay dormant.
...
The vicinity of the Wraith Mountain Range was peaceful. Fear of the Curse kept the surrounding Tribes from coming near.
A day quickly passed. Night fell as expected, and the bright moon rose as usual. The Undead revived one by one and re-entered their worker drone state, frantically gathering resources.
Li Ziyu was very satisfied with this. ’As long as you all work hard, I can give you more brothers and sisters!’
A brand-new building had appeared on the Bone Plate Platform. It was a training ground enclosed by a wall of white bone. From above, one could see the long corridors and upright wooden targets inside. This was the newly constructed Archer Training Camp.
’It’s finally built. Come on, let me see these new unit types!’
Li Ziyu wore a smile, looking quite excited. Unlocking new unit types was always full of anticipation. To explain it in Brother Chicken’s words: When are you most excited at KTV? It’s when you’re waiting for the girls to arrive. You don’t know what they’ll look like or how old they are, which is what makes it so exciting, so full of anticipation.
The system had already sent a notification: Skeleton Short Bowmen and Skeleton Longbowmen could now be summoned.
[Skeleton Short Bowman]
[Introduction: A Skeleton Archer that can unleash a rapid volley of arrows. As long as they have enough ammunition, they can fire continuously without restraint. P.S. Their arrow consumption is quite high.]
[Requirements: Skeleton x1 unit, Soul Energy x300 units, Rapid-Fire Short Bow (Bone) x1, Rapid-Fire Arrows (Bone) x5]
’Ugh... this isn’t quite what I imagined. The Soul Energy cost to summon a Short Bowman is a bit high.’
Rubbing his temples, Li Ziyu felt a sense of helplessness. He had assumed that, like the Skeleton Warrior, the Short Bowman would cost 100 units of Soul Energy. The reality was a far cry from his expectations—it was a threefold increase.
After the battle with the Headhunter Race, he had obtained over 50,000 Soul Energy. After spending some, he now had a little over 40,000 left. He needed to set aside 10,000 Soul Energy for making Soul Coffins and reserve some more just in case. All told, he only had 30,000 Soul Energy he could actually use.
And a single Short Bowman cost 300 Soul Energy. At this rate, he could summon 100 Short Bowmen at most, a significant gap from what he had anticipated.
’Fine, let’s check the Longbowman. Hopefully, it’ll be a pleasant surprise.’
[Skeleton Longbowman]
[Introduction: Awesome! They can attack enemies from a great distance, their arrows stealing lives before the foe can even react. Do not dither! Do not hesitate! Summon them!]
[Requirements: Skeleton x1 unit, Soul Energy x500 units, White Bone Longbow x1, White Bone Long Arrow x2]
’AHAHAHAHA... What the hell is a surprise? *This* is a goddamn surprise! The Longbowman is even more expensive than the Short Bowman! AHAHAHA... I can’t afford them at all! WAAAAH...’
’I thought that with enough Skeletons, I could finally be a little extravagant, but the system just had to tell me that I’m still a broke-ass loser!’
’When God closes a door, he opens a window. But if God’s not in a good mood, he’ll board that window up with a big wooden plank.’
’I was thinking I’d crank out a few hundred Archers for some powerful fire support, but I was getting ahead of myself. I was too hasty.’ ƒreewebɳovel.com
The letdown was so immense that Li Ziyu had to take several deep breaths to calm himself.
After hesitating for a good while, Li Ziyu decided to summon the Skeleton Longbowmen after all. He did the math: summoning a Skeleton Longbowman would actually require 4 units of Skeleton and 530 units of Soul Energy, since the White Bone Longbow and White Bone Long Arrows had their own costs.
’Why not summon Short Bowmen? Because even the system said it: their consumption is high, and I can’t afford to supply them!’
Besides, a Longbowman’s attack range was definitely greater than a Short Bowman’s, making them more useful as long-range fire support.
’Sure enough, a broke-ass loser needs to know his place. Never think you’re rich; you’ll be knocked back to reality in a minute.’
’Something is better than nothing. Everything is moving in the right direction. There’s no reason for me to be angry. Yep, that’s right, not angry.’ Li Ziyu frantically consoled himself as he opened the interface and chose to craft a White Bone Longbow and White Bone Long Arrows.
A bow and two arrows quickly materialized in his hands.
The Longbow was a pristine white, as if polished from a single, whole bone. It was smooth and exquisite. Fine file marks at the one-third point and in the center served as grips. As his palm brushed over the streamlined bow limb, it felt slightly cool to the touch.
Li Ziyu held the bow vertically. It had an excellent feel. The bow was about two meters long, but strangely, it had no bowstring. It just looked empty.
Setting the bow aside, Li Ziyu picked up an arrow.
’It’s worthy of the name Long Arrow.’ The shaft in his hand must have been 150cm long. According to data from his previous life, normal arrows were over 70cm long, with some reaching up to 100cm.
Like the Longbow, the Long Arrow looked as if it were crafted from a single bone. The arrowhead was a slender triangle with barbs on its rear half. This type of arrowhead didn’t just have an Armor-Piercing Effect; once it pierced the body, it would be difficult to pull out. Combined with the length of the arrow shaft, this thing was an absolute killing machine. Forget shooting people—it would be devastating even against buildings.
Examining the arrowhead more closely, he discovered that its blade was also divided into two parts. The front half was extremely sharp, while the back half was serrated. ’It’s all in the details.’
After studying the arrowhead, Li Ziyu turned his attention to the fletching at the end of the shaft. The quality of an arrow was largely determined by its fletching.
