Within less than an hour of venturing deeper, the number of skeleton warriors under Fang Zhou’s command reached as many as 35!
When the number of minions reached the enslavement limit, Fang Zhou led the mighty Skeleton Battle Group behind him to continue exploring deeper.
Further ahead, the four-dimensional attributes of the skeleton warriors he encountered were close to 30, not much different from Fang Zhou.
If Fang Zhou were still solo, he would definitely not have ventured into such a deep area so early.
However, with 35 minions willing to go through fire and water for him, intimidating these skeleton warriors, who weren’t as strong as him, naturally posed no pressure.
The 35 skeleton minions were divided into 3 squads, starting to hunt in this area.
With 10 skeleton warriors in each team, it ensured that even when encountering stronger skeleton warriors, they could rely on their significant numerical advantage to easily disable them and then bring them to Fang Zhou for enslavement.
And naturally, Fang Zhou also enforced a ruthless elimination system.
He, with tears at the corners of his mouth, slaughtered the weaker and injured skeleton minions from battle to make room for precious enslavement quotas.
Of course, the skeleton essence of the minions wouldn’t be wasted either, as Fang Zhou absorbed them, making it a form of loyalty to their master in another way.
Including Fang Zhou’s total of 4 squads spreading out, it greatly expanded the hunting range, efficiently hunting skeleton warriors in this area.
After four hours passed, the four-dimensional attributes of the skeleton clones grew by nearly 5 points.
More importantly, all 35 minions under his command were successfully replaced with skeleton warriors with four-dimensional attributes close to 30 points.
Being upgraded with the Skeleton Battle Group’s escort felt incredibly satisfying!
My main body spends money on cultivation, while clones power-level for upgrades.
This is my path to becoming stronger, Fang Zhou!
Thinking about the cave hunting starting the next morning, Fang Zhou barely restrained his desire to continue the slaughter.
He found a safe corner, commanded the skeleton minions to surround him, and then shifted his mind back to his main body.
After washing up, Fang Zhou lay on the bed and looked at the attribute panel of his main body.
[Name] Fang Zhou
[Profession] Undead Mage
[Tier] Apprentice · Middle Rank
[Attributes] Strength 5.7, Agility 5.5, Constitution 5.5, Spirit 7
[Status] Soul Split
[Equipment] Apprentice Outfit (Full Set Refinement +1, Level 1 Gemstone *1), Moon Orchid Fragrance
[Skills] Skeleton King Meditation Method (Perfection), Summon Skeleton (Innate), Skeleton Flying Spear (Perfection), Skeleton Shield (Perfection), Skeleton Shackles (Mastery), Calm and Relaxed (Perfection), Domination Skeleton (Mastery), Resurrection of the Dead (Skilled), Skeleton Arrow Rain (Skilled), Skeleton Feathers (Skilled), Group Brutality Skill (Skilled)
Whether it is the unparalleled four-dimensional attributes or the dazzling list of skills, Fang Zhou has reached his limit.
With such strength, participating in cave hunting and winning first place in points shouldn’t be a problem, right?
...
Early the next morning, Fang Zhou packed his bags and hurried to yesterday’s meeting room.
The cave hunting was extremely important for all seed candidates.
Thus, naturally, no one would be late.
Once all 180 cadets were assembled, Lu Hu verified their identities, counted the numbers, and then directed them to board several military vehicles.
The night fell swiftly with a faint morning light in the east.
The military vehicles twisted and turned within the expansive campus of Sea City Military Academy, soon winding into a normally well-sealed military restricted zone.
The instructor on the vehicle timely introduced the curious cadets to Fang Zhou and others: "Decades ago, when the Abyssal Demons first invaded Blue Star, Sea City was heavily besieged for years.
The life-and-death battle between the strong of the Human and Demon Races completely changed the geographical features around Sea City.
Many buildings were destroyed by the shockwaves of battles, sinking underground, thus forming many caves.
Due to the terrain and array reasons, these caves accumulated a lot of negative energy and bred many demons.
These include fierce beasts evolved from local plants and animals of Blue Star, and otherworldly monsters that came crossing from the Mythical World with the Abyssal Demons.
The reason why Sea City Military Academy was established here is, among other things, to conveniently organize elite forces to regularly clear and suppress these caves.
Of course, this is usually something senior students would engage in.
For you rookies who have just recently awakened, actually going cave hunting is somewhat premature."
Noticing the serious expressions of the cadets on the vehicle, the instructor comfortingly added: "However, you don’t need to worry too much.
The No. 1 cave open to you this time can be considered a beginner’s map.
It contains only some low-tier demons, not too difficult to handle.
The specific situation was also conveyed to you by Instructor Lu Hu yesterday."
As the instructor spoke, he distributed the [Hunting Recorders] to the cadets.
"No. 1 cave is relatively far, so during this time on the road, you can familiarize yourself with the operation of the recorder.
It provides a rough map of No. 1 cave, rescue point locations, as well as some common monster manuals and point descriptions.
Through conscious adjustments over the years, the academy can ensure that regardless of your profession, you can all start on equal footing in No. 1 cave.
Exactly how to leverage your professional strengths will depend on your learning and accumulation over the past two months.
As long as you’re smart enough, you can always find a terrain and types of demons most suitable for your hunting."
Observing the thoughtful expressions of the cadets, the instructor reminded again: "If you are proficient in group attacks but have a fragile body belonging to a [Mage] profession, avoid blindly going into narrow and complex terrains.
If you are proficient in defense but not in attacks belonging to a [Knight] profession, choose those monsters with more fragile bodies to enhance hunting efficiency."
Afterwards, silence fell over the military vehicle.
All the cadets, including Fang Zhou, were racing against time to familiarize themselves with the map and monster manuals of No. 1 cave.
Fang Zhou quickly scanned through the materials in the hunting recorder, thought for a moment, and soon identified a few types of monsters that would best exploit his strengths.
Goblins, Kobolds, Burrow Spiders.
Fierce Wolves, Fierce Rats, Fierce Ants.
These 6 types of monsters range from mutated local species on Blue Star to otherworldly monsters crossing over from the Mythical World.
But they all share a common feature: they are gregarious monsters.
They appear in small numbers or dozens, rarely alone.
For cadets of other professions, these gregarious monsters pose a great threat and are to be avoided.
But for Fang Zhou, who is proficient in the Sea of Bones Skill, he wishes to encounter as many monsters at one time as possible.
With his strength, as long as his Spiritual Power isn’t depleted, he has no fear of being overturned.