Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 581 - 404: Military Merit Upgrade, Two Great Calamities—Undead and Zerg!

The second item was called the Slave Capture Rope.

As the name implied, it was used for binding slaves, causing a decrease in their strength and morale. However, it had a significant limitation. The target had to completely lose their ability to resist before there was any chance of it working successfully.

All in all, it was a rather lackluster item.

Nevertheless, these Slave Capture Ropes of varying quality were the brutal creations of the Magma Demons. Some of the Abyssal materials and Abyss Alchemy used in them were a worthy addition to Fang Zhou’s reservoir of knowledge. Thus, he collected these ropes as well, intending to study them later.

Next, Fang Zhou took some Demon materials worth several hundred contribution points. These materials could be useful in the future for either alchemy or potion-making, making them very valuable resources.

Fang Zhou didn’t take anything else. Although he had indeed contributed significantly this time, he couldn’t just take everything. Otherwise, who would want to team up with me next time? Besides, there weren’t any truly high-quality spoils to begin with. Being too greedy would only make others look down on his character.

Seeing that Fang Zhou had finished his selection and left a significant amount of loot behind, Ye Yinzhu and the others were a bit surprised. They hadn’t expected Fang Zhou to be so restrained.

It was worth noting that although it was just ordinary equipment, it came from the regular army of the Evil Fire Monsters. While not top-tier, this gear could still be useful in daily tasks and battles. Even turning it in to the Sea City Military Academy for recycling would be worthwhile. Yet, Fang Zhou had only taken a small portion.

They exchanged glances, and each knew what the other was thinking. We have to stick with this powerhouse!

Ye Yinzhu was the first to break the silence. "Fang Zhou," he said with a smile, "you’re too generous. Though these things aren’t top-grade equipment, they’re extremely useful to us. Especially this gear from the Evil Fire Monsters. Turning it in to the academy can also get us some contribution points."

Fang Zhou smiled slightly and waved his hand. "We’re all teammates, so it’s only natural to help each other. Besides, while these spoils are valuable, they aren’t of much use to me. You guys might as well have them."

At Fang Zhou’s insistence, the group quickly cleaned up the battlefield and divided the spoils among themselves.

Fang Zhou replenished some of his Mana and used his Resurrection of the Dead skill to heal his injured Undead. Once they had recovered, Fang Zhou and his team advanced on the second Evil Fire Monster patrol.

Their next engagement went much more smoothly. This was not only because they now had experience, but also because the second patrol team hadn’t captured many prisoners. Without captives to worry about, the battle was over much more quickly.

After they dealt with the third Evil Fire Monster patrol in a similar fashion, Ye Yinzhu couldn’t hold back his joy, and a wide grin bloomed across his face.

He was in a genuinely good mood today.

Originally, when they had encountered those Demon Swamp Frogs, he had considered giving up. He had even been weighing which spoils to discard to cover everyone’s retreat. But then, he had unexpectedly run into this powerful ally, Fang Zhou. Thanks to him, they had profited greatly this time. Although they completed the task as a team, Ye Yinzhu knew that Fang Zhou could have likely succeeded even without their help. He knew he owed Fang Zhou a favor, so his attitude toward him became even more respectful.

After dividing the latest batch of loot, Ye Yinzhu and the others exchanged glances again. They understood each other without a word. Their shared intention was clear: stick close to their powerhouse, Fang Zhou, and complete the Magma Demon mission as quickly as possible. They couldn’t afford to fall behind in the upcoming competition.

* * *

After dealing with the Evil Fire Monster patrols on the perimeter, the Calamity Squad and Thunderfire Squad joined forces and continued their march toward the Magma Demon camp.

They felt the air grow hot while still a good distance away. The temperature continued to rise, and due to the drought, the cracks in the ground grew so wide that one could easily twist an ankle if not careful.

Eventually, they saw a massive, fiery-red volcanic mound in the distance, standing at least ten meters high. The mound was like a burning fortress, exuding a scorching aura that deterred any close approach. Around the mound, the cracks in the ground were more pronounced, with lava occasionally gushing out and emitting a pungent sulfurous smell. Intense flames shot several meters into the air, distorting the surrounding atmosphere with their heat.

A dozen or so short, stout figures were bustling around the volcanic mound. It seemed the entire camp was built around it. However, the camp looked rather crude, with just a few simple barricades and two tents. There were no visible guards.

Ye Yinzhu’s face lit up at the sight. "Could it be that the hard part of this mission was the patrols? The camp’s defenses seem incredibly lax."

A member of the Thunderfire Squad couldn’t help but add, "Yeah, Boss. They only have two shabby little tents. Even if they were packed, there could only be ten or twenty people at most. If they’re just more Evil Fire Monsters, they’ll be no match for us."

"Exactly! It’s all thanks to Fang Zhou. We..."

Before he could finish, a loud BOOM erupted. A Giant Shield Skeleton Warrior at the very front was blasted into the sky, collapsing into a pile of scattered bones before it could even utter a warning. The fiery blast wave struck at least three or four nearby Skeleton Warriors, sending fragments flying and filling the air with a burnt smell.

Luckily, the Skeleton Warriors were fearless and strictly disciplined. Following Fang Zhou’s orders, they held their tight formation without scattering, which prevented them from triggering any more dangerous traps.

Once the explosions stopped, Ye Yinzhu couldn’t help but curse softly. "We’re still over a hundred meters from the camp. Why set traps so far out? How cowardly are these guys?"

More importantly, he wondered, if there were traps here, what price would they have to pay to cross the final hundred meters? 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

However, Fang Zhou and the others had no time to respond to Ye Yinzhu’s pointless complaint. More importantly, the series of explosions had already alerted the camp!

The previously quiet camp suddenly became bustling. A dozen figures quickly rushed out from the tents, weapons in hand, their eyes fixed nervously in the team’s direction. With a roar, a gray-skinned, red-eyed Demon with horns on his temples and a mouth full of fangs emerged first. He looked extremely fierce.

His appearance was typical of a Magma Demon. Due to countless years of drawing evil power from other Demons, the entire Magma Demon race had undergone a terrifying physical transformation.

However, what drew their attention even more than his appearance was the red-glowing weapon in his hand.

Ye Yinzhu rubbed his eyes hard before asking in a daze, "Fang Zhou, am I seeing things? Is he holding a rifle with a bayonet?"

The corner of Fang Zhou’s mouth twitched. "You’re not wrong. And its bayonet has a Flame Enchantment."

The Demons were a human subspecies corrupted by the Chaos Abyss. Apart from their inherently evil and chaotic nature, their intelligence was not much inferior to that of the Blue Star People. They not only mined and forged but were also exceptionally skilled in mechanical engineering, with the Magma Demons being among the most proficient.

Yet, when this Magma Demon appeared with a bayonet-fixed rifle, Fang Zhou couldn’t help but feel a little amazed.

Since the Era of Myth, due to massive changes in the fundamental laws of physics, the Blue Star People had been forced to abandon their highly developed firearms. Instead, they began to master the special powers of Professionals to keep up with the times.

It’s said one must learn from the enemy to defeat them.

It seemed that while the Blue Star People had done well integrating technology with the civilization of Professionals, these Abyss Demons were also continuously progressing. Their strength and intelligence were not to be underestimated.