Chapter 485, Corpse King
[Skeleton Grand Boxer]
[Level: 18]
[Attributes: Constitution 48, Strength 45, Agility 50, Intelligence 14, Perception 31, Charisma 5.]
[Traits: Hollow Skeleton, Intermediate Soul, Qi, Diamond Soul, Ethereal Body.]
[Proficiencies: Unarmored Specialization (Master), Unarmored Mobility (Master), Tiger Claw Specialization (Master), Gauntlet Specialization (Advanced).]
[Abilities: Tremor Fist, Light Fall, Arrow Snatch, Gale Leap, Penetrating Force, Domain Fist Intent.]
[Diamond Soul]: Resolute soul, immune to any mental and soul-based effects.
[Ethereal Body]: Enables movements to be in an invisible state.
[Gale Leap]: Overcomes abnormal terrain to quickly charge toward a target.
[Penetrating Force]: The energy generated by attacks penetrates the enemy's body, ignoring surface defense and damaging internal organs.
[Domain Fist Intent]: Mastery of martial arts has reached a sublime level, creating a personal domain where fist intent is sharp, and the momentum is continuous.
...…
Wu Heng looked at the skeleton's attributes and frowned slightly.
Its name had changed to Grand Boxer.
The difference of a single word signified the leap from Level 17 to Level 18.
In terms of attributes, Constitution had reached 48 points, Strength 45, Agility 50.
This was an incredibly terrifying level.
No wonder it had been so fierce at the time. With such attributes, few could stop it.
Charisma automatically drops after becoming a skeleton, so there's not much to say about it.
Perception at 31 was still decent.
But Intelligence was only 14 points, a stark contrast to the previous three attributes.
It was even lower than that of lower-level magic-based professions.
"No wonder you fell for the trap—you're just not that smart."
It had gained many more proficiencies and abilities compared to the previous Boxer.
Each ability was quite decent.
Especially [Penetrating Force] and [Domain Fist Intent].
[Penetrating Force] allowed energy to pierce into the enemy's body, ignoring surface defenses.
This essentially meant that wearing armor wouldn't matter.
It could kill you outright.
[Domain Fist Intent] created a personal domain around it where fist intent was sharp, and momentum was continuous.
This likely indicated stronger attacks within its domain.
When transforming the Level 18 Skeleton Prophet earlier,
the opponent also had a domain ability, which allowed it to fully predict enemy attacks within the domain.
Although different, this domain ability seemed exclusive to Level 18.
"Sheila Grey said that a Level 18 Boxer awakens the Immortal Body, has infinite Qi, and stops aging."
"It seems that some of these abilities don't carry over after becoming a skeleton."
No matter.
Skeletons don't have Qi in the first place, so the concept of "infinite" doesn't apply.
And as for appearance, aging doesn't even come into question now.
Wu Heng recalled its original name and said, "From now on, you're still called Kashu. Throw that garbage outside."
The skeleton walked out, rolling up the straw mat and discarded bits of flesh, and tossed them outside.
From inside the room came Minnie's voice calling out.
Wu Heng entered the room to eat and rest.
...…
The next day, at the port.
On ships flying the flags of the Guild and Gold-Silver Island.
Wu Heng looked at Philippa and reminded her, "Just drive away some pirates, finish quickly, and come back. Don't wander off and drink everywhere."
Philippa nodded. "Got it! I'll even bring back a few pirate heads for you."
Milisen added, "I've prepared several days' worth of food for you. Make sure to eat on time at sea. Be careful when you see pirates; prioritize safety."
"Alright, I get it. You've been saying this for ages," Philippa replied with a hint of annoyance.
At this moment, Sheila Grey approached with three team members.
"I've finished making arrangements on my end."
"Nothing left on my side either," Wu Heng nodded.
Sheila Grey said directly, "Then let's set sail. The weather is great today."
Wu Heng glanced at Philippa. "Keep in touch while at sea."
"Understood."
A few people disembarked.
Philippa stayed aboard with the Guild team and a large number of skeleton soldiers.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous residents and merchant groups, the three ships slowly left the port.
Philippa stood on one side of the ship, holding the mast's ropes, standing tall and proud.
She basked in the cheers of the onlookers at the port.
Gradually, they sailed further away.
"She isn't very high-level, is she? Can she handle being a captain?" Sheila Grey softly asked as she watched the ships disappear into the distance.
Philippa's carefree personality made her seem somewhat unreliable.
But everything entrusted to her had always been executed well.
"No problem. I assigned three Level 15 pirate skeletons to operate the ships. It'll be fine," Wu Heng replied.
In naval battles, levels aren't that crucial.
Wu Heng would also use the radio to guide Philippa during certain actions.
"As long as you've planned it out," Sheila Grey didn't say more.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine."
As the ships sailed farther.
The group began to return.
Sheila Grey took a carriage back to the Guild.
Wu Heng also found a carriage, got in, and said, "Milisen, I'll take you back to the tavern."
Milisen lifted her skirt and climbed into the carriage.
Wu Heng tapped the carriage wall, and it set off toward the Nautilus Tavern.
...…
After dropping Milisen off, Wu Heng returned to the manor.
He went upstairs to the radio room.
From his spatial ring, he pulled out the Emerald Sand Table.
In the translucent sand table's center, three models of ships flying Gold-Silver Island flags came into view.
Elsewhere in the sea, there were many other ships of various types and flags.
Wandering the waters.
Wu Heng picked up the radio microphone. "Philippa, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear! It's even clearer than the last device you gave me," Philippa's voice came through.
Wu Heng asked, "Not homesick yet?"
"What's with that question? Like I'm some baby who hasn't weaned," Philippa muttered in dissatisfaction.
Wu Heng continued, "Head toward the 'Lingaxi Route' first. There are two small pirate fleets there. Clear them out."
"Got it. Small pirate groups don't usually catch my attention," Philippa replied.
"Alright, stay safe."
"Wait for my good news."
After a brief exchange, Wu Heng hung up the microphone.
Skeleton investigators were still stationed at the table, waiting to record information.
Leaving the radio room.
Wu Heng returned to the study.
He glanced at the sky and opened a portal, stepping through.
...…
Zombie World, the main road outside the station.
Skeleton wyverns roared past overhead.
Solid iron shells rained down like a storm.
Amidst the thunderous explosions and tremors, experience points quickly accumulated.
After the bombardment, the skeleton army began advancing along the road.
Killing off the remaining zombies.
System notifications appeared one after another.
[Level increased to 17. Constitution +1, Intelligence +2, Charisma +1.]
Finally reached Level 17.
It was indeed quite a grind.
Wu Heng opened the panel and checked the experience required for Level 18.
[Level: 17 (1327/265000).]
Achieving Level 18 required 265,000 experience points.
That's quite a lot.
Skeletons were cleaning up the battlefield, piling up the corpses of evolved zombies in front of them.
Over time.
The number of evolved zombies had increased again.
At least five or six hundred were in front of them, much more than before.
The corpses were transformed, and the corpse cores were collected.
Wu Heng led the skeleton army back.
Returning to the station.
Qi Hancai approached and said, "There are two things I'd like to report to you."
"Go ahead!"
"First, the main station discovered a Tier-4 zombie named Corpse King. Second, Sister Yared obtained the map location of the provincial military factory."