Chapter 168: 96. Rain in the Heart (Single Update of
10,000 Words) 6
Translator: 549690339
Mars’ girlfriend, little nurse Melinda, came to Sully’s side and helped her up from the rainwater.
Sully staggered to her feet, grabbing the chest badge on her bosom. Even though the pin on the badge pierced her soft palm, she forcibly ripped it off.
She smashed the badge to the ground, shook off Melinda’s arm, buried her head, and walked unsteadily to the assembly point, leaving behind feeble sobs and cries in the dark night.
It was still raining.
The dark rainwater not only soaked Sully’s body but also made her heart cold and silent.
This tragedy didn’t attract much attention.
Starting with the groans of the walking dead and ending with the bullet that took Yog’s life, it would eventually fade from people’s memories like raindrops falling to the ground a few days later.
In fact, whether it was the female nurses escorted by Yog or Sully herself, they knew that Yog wouldn’t have a good end, and everyone subconsciously kept their distance from such a person.
Those who received Yog’s help would be grateful to him in their hearts, but they would not and dare not react to his death in any way.
Sully was the only exception.
Near the secret tunnel entrance of Division Intelligence Unit Two, behind a low hill made of rubble.
Noland Lee held the monocular telescope and saw Lieutenant Cavado walk into the underground tunnel leading to the underground river from far away.
The bone remains at the entrance of the artifact repository, the flesh mud in the stone cracks, the leg bones hanging by the river, and other things were all Lee’s masterpieces.
However, don’t misunderstand.
Not a single unrelated person was persecuted.
In fact, from beginning to end, Noland Lee simply made reasonable use of the defeated skeleton warriors by Division Intelligence Unit Two and the canned pork in his backpack…
He consumed some of the freshly-acquired energy points, leveling up his “Enslavement of Deceased” skill from level 5 to level 10.
Although the large expenditure of energy points made him feel the pain, he gritted his teeth and formed a decent skeleton army.
First, he arranged Kasha’s death scene, creating the illusion that Kasha died after encountering an attack by self-destructing skeletons.
Then, he had his own skeleton warriors move towards the direction of the steam boiler room.
Noland himself hid on the ground, using system messages to judge the condition of his skeleton warriors.
As expected, the little fellows were killed by someone, and “Enslavement of Deceased” skill was forcibly terminated.
Not long after, Cavado’s steam locomotive appeared in Noland’s view.
Noland closely observed Cavado’s every move using the monocular telescope.
The other party entered the tunnel and never returned to the ground.
Seeing this, Noland knew that his plan was a great success.
“That escape route map should have fallen into Cavado’s hands. Now I can leave here with peace of mind.”
Noland put away the telescope, pulled out the telescopic cane from the side pocket of his backpack, and walked forward through the pitch-black ruins.
There was something that was beyond Noland’s expectations, but within reason.
This had to do with leveling up skills.
When leveling up “Enslavement of Deceased” to level 10, the system sent a message:
[System Message: You have upgraded “Enslavement of Deceased” from level 9 to 10.]
[Summoned Creature’s quantity for “Enslavement of Deceased” +1.] [You have triggered a level-up reward for reaching level 10.]
[Please choose one of the following three options:]
[Option One:]
[The maximum number of Summoned Creatures for this technique has been increased by 20. The number of summonable Undead Creatures from the “Enslavement of Deceased” technique has been increased from 10 to 30.] [Option 2:]
[Add the “Energy-efficient Casting” feature to “Enslavement of Deceased” technique. Permanently reduce the casting consumption of “Enslavement of Deceased” by 20%.]
[Option 3:]
[Add the “Aggressive Casting” feature to “Enslavement of Deceased” technique.
You can now forcefully enslave Lost Souls of higher life levels.]
[Forcefully enslaved Lost Souls will occupy at least 5 slots for summoned creatures instead of 1, and the energy points and soul strength required will be at least 5 times higher.]
[Your current life level is “Tatis Empire Army Corporal Template,” and you can enslave only the same-level human remains and the ordinary low-level Undead Troops’ remains.]
[After choosing this option, you can enslave remains equivalent to “Tatis Empire Army Sergeant Template” to fight for you, or enslave elite units of lower-level Undead Troops, such as Big Skeletons in lower-tier Undead Constructs.]
To be honest, if it wasn’t for the need of putting together a skeleton army of suitable size, Noland Lee wouldn’t choose Option 1.
Option 2 offers a permanent reduction in the casting consumption of the “Enslavement of Deceased” technique, which would save one-fifth of energy points and soul strength consumption.
As the level of ‘Enslavement of Deceased” increases, the limit on the number of summoned creatures would go higher, and the energy points and soul strength saved by Option 2 are substantial. Now, let’s look at Option 3.
Well, well, well.
Forcefully enslaving Big Skeletons is a prestigious thing to do, but the only downside is the massive consumption during casting.
However, there’s no other choice… With only 10 pitiful little skeletons, it is impossible to make Cavado believe him.
So, Noland had to choose Option 1 and gather 30 skeleton warriors to send as cannon fodder…
He’ll have the opportunity to choose Option 2 or 3 later on.
Noland Lee shook his head slightly and walked through the ruins, trying to stay focused.
He looked up and squinted at the silhouette of the distant mountains to the north, remembering the Suffering Borderland map that Kasha had known.
Heading north from his current position, he would have to pass through three imperial defense lines and over a dozen underground tombs, which would be full of difficulties and dangers.
There are also Imperial Patrol Teams roaming in the ruins.
These patrol teams are not here to capture deserters.
Their mission is to inspect the condition of the underground tombs, checking on the concentration of death energy inside and whether there are any unplanned activities happening.
But if they find deserters like Noland, they will deal with them by executing them on the spot or disarming them and taking them back to the nearest outpost.
The good news is that as an investigator for Division Intelligence Unit Two, Kasha is familiar with the layout of tombs, the structure of the imperial defense lines, and patrol routes.
All of this information appears in Noland’s mind as memories.
Theoretically, as long as the actual situation doesn’t change, Noland can bypass all obstacles and reach the foot of the Blade Mountain Range to begin his mountain crossing journey.
Unfortunately, after checking Kasha’s memory, Noland had realized that his killing of the Emperor’s Daughter would likely bring pursuit.
For this reason, he had to give up his plan to enter the Legion Fortress again to absorb soul fragments and instead use the limited time to create a false scenario to deceive Cavado.
As he had anticipated, Cavado indeed appeared and stepped into the illusion crafted by him. This would provide Noland with plenty of time.
However, he also lost the opportunity to replenish his soul strength.
Now, he has just over 300 soul strength points, which should be enough for him to cross the Blade Mountain Range. However, he can’t help but feel empty and unfulfilled due to the difference in his inventory.
Noland suppresses his desire to scavenge for soul fragments and sets out on his journey to escape suffering.
Before he left, he glanced at the dark clouds in the sky and lingered on the black rain curtain that resembled a waterfall, feeling a subtle discomfort in his heart.
My time in the Suffering Borderland was unpleasant, but to be honest, as a fellow human, I hope the suffering can end soon.”
Noland withdrew his gaze, allowing the sound of rain to become the background noise for his journey.
Who could put an end to this suffering… he pondered in his heart..
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