Chapter 272: Resurrecting the Lizardman Crusch Lulu, and the Gold-Delivering Demi-humans
Upgrading "Heating" and "Papermaking" to the tenth-tier cost a total of seven skill points.
"The Ninja class has reached max level, and I now have 568 magic power. With the passive buff, a tenth-tier spell only costs 35 points," Tang Zheng thought. "By maintaining a certain level of magical combat power, I only need to cast 'Tenth-Tier Papermaking' ten times a day to create one tenth-tier blank magic scroll."
"Based on my current magic power alone, if I start producing them now, I'll be able to stockpile over a thousand tenth-tier magic scrolls by the time the Bone King arrives."
"I can always adjust this later when I have more magic power."
A smile appeared on Tang Zheng's face as he thought of this. Who said he didn't have resources? He had them now.
"Unfortunately, anything created by a shadow clone cannot be preserved. Otherwise, I'd have even more resources."
Tang Zheng shook his head.
It was just like when he had used a shadow clone to summon an angel; once the clone vanished, the angel disappeared along with it.
Any item produced by a shadow clone would vanish when the clone did, extinguishing Tang Zheng's idea of using them as humanoid factories working for him.
"'Raise Dead' also needs to be upgraded. My faith-type spellcaster level wasn't high enough before, but now I can raise it again."
After adjusting his magic power, Tang Zheng set up the magic ritual again and activated it.
He successively acquired the Seventh-Tier "Resurrection" and the Ninth-Tier "True Revive." Compared to low-tier resurrection magic, being revived by "True Revive" not only resulted in a level drop of just two levels, but it didn't even require a corpse.
It was already considered the highest class of resurrection magic.
[Skill Points: 74 → 65]
When casting "True Revive," Tang Zheng didn't just cast it into the air; he truly resurrected someone—or to be more precise, a demi-human.
The white, holy light slowly dissipated.
The body he had just taken from his item box—a slender figure covered in fine, white scales—began to breathe again as her chest regained its warmth.
"Ah!"
The lizardman, Crusch Lulu, sat up in terror, her round, crimson eyes filled with lingering fear as she trembled all over.
"Where is this..."
Confusion, doubt, and a storm of other emotions flooded her mind. Crusch Lulu remembered that she was supposed to have died at the hands of that human.
The last moment of her memory was nothing but endless darkness and cold.
So hot...
As Crusch Lulu's senses returned, she gradually became aware of the scorching, terrifyingly high temperature and the rolling heat waves around her.
The fine, slick white scales covering her body quickly dried and cracked. A burning pain surged through her, as if countless ants were biting her.
As a lizardman who lived in the wetlands and near rivers and lakes, a humid environment was the only suitable place for her to live and survive.
"So hot, it hurts so much..."
Crusch Lulu let out a pained groan. She propped herself up with her weak arms, trying to get up, though she still had no idea what had happened.
Why was she resurrected? And where was this place?
But the burning, painful sensation all over her body and her biological instincts told her that she had to get out of here quickly, or she would "die"!
Crusch Lulu pushed against the ground with both hands. The weakness from her recent resurrection made her body sway slightly. Her vision blurred as she looked ahead, where a figure stood.
Her gaze traveled upward.
A familiar face came into view.
"A human..."
Crusch Lulu's red pupils contracted. All her confusion, doubt, and bewilderment transformed in that instant into a deep-seated fear from the bottom of her heart.
"Welcome back."
A gentle voice drifted over softly.
To Crusch Lulu's ears, it was more effective than any spirit-boosting medicine or magic. The fear and coldness in her heart, and even the burning, stinging pain that coursed through her body, seemed to weaken considerably.
"This doesn't seem like a suitable place to talk. Let's go somewhere else."
This was the last sentence Crusch Lulu heard before her consciousness faded once more.
In the great wetland north of the Great Forest of Tob.
Around a medium-sized lake, many wooden houses had been built, and numerous lizardmen were busy at work.
On the shore of the lake, two sturdy lizardmen were hauling up all sorts of lively aquatic creatures like fish, shrimp, and crabs, easily filling two large wooden barrels.
Fat, fresh fish continuously flopped in the wooden barrels, making "pat-pat" sounds.
One of the lizardmen placed wooden lids on the barrels to prevent the fish and shrimp from escaping.
This was clearly a bountiful harvest.
But the two lizardmen merely hoisted the large wooden barrels onto their backs in silence and headed back toward their settlement.
Such a harvest would have been a rare sight in the past. The elders of the settlement would even have to worry about the problem of food.
But now, with the entire lizardman race reduced to a population of only a few hundred, food was no longer an issue.
Should they thank the human who massacred them for this?
The two lizardmen glanced at each other, both seeing the wry, helpless smiles in the other's eyes.
"What's that?" Suddenly, one lizardman looked up, gazing warily at a figure standing on the distant edge of the lake, completely wrapped in straw.
"Go back quickly, report to the Tribe Leader!"
The other lizardman immediately dropped the supposedly precious food and turned to run towards the tribe, leaving the other one to stand guard.
The tribe, as it was now, could not afford any more losses.
The panicked actions of the two lizardmen were apparently noticed by the figure wrapped in straw. It stood still for a moment before turning and departing into the distance.
Not long after, dozens of lizardman warriors rushed out from the tribe. After learning what had happened from the lizardman who had stood guard, they charged toward the spot where the mysterious figure had been. But after a thorough search, they found nothing and could only let the matter drop.
Looking at Crusch Lulu, who was wrapped head to toe in straw, Tang Zheng smiled faintly. "Have you seen enough?"
"Yes."
Crusch Lulu lowered her head. "Thank you, Lord, for allowing the lizardman race to survive."
She knew very well that, given the circumstances at the time, if the human before her had wished it, their lizardman race would have likely vanished completely from the great wetland.
"The one leading the lizardman tribe now should be the traveler from the former Dragon Tooth Tribe. With his strength, he should be sufficient to ensure you lizardmen can survive safely in this wetland," Tang Zheng said casually after a moment of thought.
"I will serve you with all my heart, Lord." Crusch Lulu knelt and prostrated herself on the ground, her long tail swaying slightly.
"If my Lord requires it, I will offer my body without reservation."
Tang Zheng leaned his head back and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if he was misunderstanding something or if her words carried a certain implication.
"I don't have a fetish for non-human races."
"Yes," Crusch Lulu replied immediately, though her crimson eyes showed confusion.
"How much of your strength do you have left?" Tang Zheng asked, tapping a finger against his temple with a hint of helplessness.
"My body is still a little weak, but my power shouldn't have been affected much," Crusch Lulu replied quickly after sensing her own magic power and the power she wielded.
Resurrection magic!
The human before her had indeed mastered even that legendary ability, shattering the illusion of death and pulling those who had fallen into the world of death back to the living world.
Such power...
Crusch Lulu prostrated on the ground, her heart pounding violently as she lowered her head even further.
In the legends of the lizardman race, there was once a lizardman with dragon's blood who could use Fifth-Tier resurrection magic. He had always been regarded as a mythological figure among the lizardmen.
Many lizardmen didn't believe it, and even Crusch Lulu herself didn't think such power could exist. After all, even Fourth-Tier magic was already unimaginably powerful.
Let alone Fifth-Tier magic!
"Ninjutsu: Detect."
A stream of magic power glittered in Tang Zheng's eyes as he looked at the prone Crusch Lulu.
"Based on this aura's strength, she's at about level 15. She was originally level 17, so using Ninth-Tier resurrection magic caused a drop of two levels. The information from Detect is quite accurate."
"I just don't know which class level drops first when people from the Otherworld lose levels."
He was slightly curious.
She herself probably couldn't judge accurately either.
According to the descriptions of humans from the Otherworld after being resurrected, the resurrected person would lose a large amount of life energy and be in a state of weakness for a while, but their techniques and skills shouldn't disappear.
Tang Zheng said, "I now have all the records of your lizardman race. I've looked through the learning techniques and content for some of the magic in your tribe."
"Among them is a Fourth-Tier spell called 'Cloud Manipulation.' It's just that your lizardman script is too chaotic, with too many repetitive words."
"I will give you this information. You need to understand this spell and how to cast it."
"Huh?"
Crusch Lulu let out a flustered sound. Because she was covered in straw, her expression was hidden, but her voice conveyed her current confusion and nervousness.
"I have also heard about this spell from the Old Priest, but... but with my talent, I am simply incapable of mastering magic of this level."
"I'm not asking you to master it."
"I'm asking you to understand the principle of this spell and know how to cast it," Tang Zheng said flatly. "Among your former lizardman priests, there was one who mastered a special magic enhancement method called 'Magic Ascension.'"
"I have mastered a similar method. With the help of a magic ritual, I need to cast this spell through your hands. Do you understand now?"
So that's how it is!
Crusch Lulu had a flash of insight and quickly said, "I understand."
"Then let's go. I will be using a disguise from now on. I hope your wisdom allows you to live a little longer."
Tang Zheng walked up to Crusch Lulu, placed a hand on her head, and activated Teleportation, disappearing without a trace.
***
The Holy Kingdom of Roble had two major features. One was that its territory was divided into two by the sea, known as the Northern Holy Kingdom and the Southern Holy Kingdom. The other feature was the hundred-kilometer-long fortress wall built along the border, completely separating the Holy Kingdom from the Abelion Hills.
The entire fortress had three large bastions. These three facilities were meant to protect the massive, hundred-kilometer-long wall, and they also served as the only three city gates and garrisons.
If the border were to ever suffer an invasion from demi-humans, these three wall bastions could serve as strongholds for amassing a large army for a pincer attack.
At this moment, atop the central bastion stronghold, several soldiers holding spears stood ramrod straight. However, from their slumped shoulders and the sounds of yawning, it was clear that they were in a relaxed state of mind.
Standing for a long time was exhausting, especially in such a dull environment where the only view was the deep Abelion Hills to the east.
Besides, the captain wasn't around at the moment, so relaxing a little didn't matter. After all, there was no end to the demi-humans you could kill.
Over the course of a month, there would always be a few waves of demi-human invasions, but the numbers were never too large. Relying on the thick city wall, they could be dealt with easily.
"The number of demi-human attacks seems to have decreased this month."
"Really? I feel like it's no different than usual."
"Perhaps there are fewer tribal wars in the Hills. They're all just a bunch of defeated demi-humans who fled from there."
"Hahaha!"
A few soldiers chatted idly, laughing from time to time.
Suddenly, a sharp-eyed soldier looked toward the edge of the distant hill country, seemingly spotting something. The broad smile on his face froze as he grew serious.
Soon, the other soldiers noticed it as well. Someone took out a piece of military equipment called a telescope and looked at the distant scene.
"It's goblins and an ogre. There are five of them—one ogre and four goblins," the soldier on watch reported slowly.
The previously tense atmosphere completely relaxed. A mere ogre and some goblins were nothing to fear.
Before long, the goblins and the ogre had appeared right below the city wall.
Archers, long prepared, quickly drew their bows and loosed their arrows in a single volley.
The goblins were killed instantly, with only the ogre barely managing to hold on. However, as a second volley of arrows flew, the ogre also fell to the ground with a dull thud.
A brief cheer went up on the city wall.
To the soldiers present, these invading demi-humans were not just enemies but also a source of merit—especially when they were few in number and no trouble at all, like these. To the soldiers, it was basically a free delivery of merit.
The soldiers on the wall waited for a moment. Seeing that no other demi-humans were emerging from the hill country, they sent out a squad to deal with the corpses below the wall.
These dead demi-humans couldn't just be left to rot at the base of the wall; they had to be disposed of properly.
This was originally a simple task, but the squad that went down suddenly let out cries of surprise, causing the faces of those on the wall to change, thinking some accident had occurred.
"Gold?"
"It's gold!"
"These goblins were actually carrying gold!" Shocked and excited shouts came from the soldier squad below, causing a moment of stunned silence among the people on the city wall before their eyes began to burn with fervor.
(end of chapter)