Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Big-Horned Bull Herd
Staring at the two types of wheels, Li Ziyu’s mouth twitched. With a racing heart and trembling hands, he slowly opened the introduction page.
[Big Bone Wheel]
[Introduction: Higher load capacity and greater durability. The bigger, the better. Can provide a leap in the Mobile Fortress’s speed.]
[Construction Requirement: Skeleton * 50 units]
[Area Occupied: None]
[Little Bone Wheel]
[Introduction: Though small, it allows the fortress to turn more flexibly while also improving the stability of the Big Bone Wheels.]
[Construction Requirement: Skeleton * 30 units]
[Area Occupied: None]
UGH...
Li Ziyu slapped a hand to his face, nearly holding his breath until he passed out. ’Good grief,’ he thought. ’I just got my hands on 100 units of Skeletons. Look at this crap the system just pulled. Is this something a human being would even do?’
’Which of these three structures is easy? Which one requires fewer materials?’
’But you have to build them. There’s no getting around it—they’re essential!’
’Those Skeleton Warriors sound fierce. Even if they’re just basic-level, they must be stronger than the regular Skeleton Undead with their Bone Sabers and Round Shields. And the wheels! They can increase the Mobile Fortress’s speed, basically upgrading it from an electric scooter to a car. How could I not build them? I can’t! I have to!’
He turned to look at the resources in his Warehouse and felt his heart ache. He wanted to cry. He had so little.
’100 units of Skeletons?’
’That’s just enough for two big wheels...’
’Is this a joke? If I only build two big wheels, my Mobile Fortress will be lopsided! I need at least four to balance it. And I don’t have enough to build the Little Bone Wheels. Besides, what’s the point of building four little wheels? They’re for turning, not for increasing speed.’
’After studying the materials on hand... alright, I should just focus on the Warrior Training Camp. That’s more realistic. I’m only short on Stone and wood. I have Skeletons and Beast Hides. I just need to find A Large Iron Hammer or trade with a Conscience Merchant when I get the chance.’
’As for the wheels, I’ll definitely build them eventually, but I just don’t have the means right now. I’ll put that plan on hold. At least 50 km/h is faster than before. I’ll make do for now and worry about it when I have more resources.’
’I was just wondering what to do with the new Skeletons I acquired. Well, great. Now I don’t have to. I’ll just save them for the time being. An amount that small isn’t even enough to build the wheels, so what’s the point of even thinking about it?’
It just goes to show, the moment you feel happy, the system will always find a way to pour cold water on your parade.
But what could he do? It was the system. He just had to endure it. Li Ziyu closed the interface, shut his eyes, and rubbed his temples, trying to bring down his rising blood pressure.
"Reporting to the City Lord, we’ve discovered a herd of wild bulls."
An Undead approached and reported the intelligence they had just gathered to Li Ziyu.
Upon hearing about the herd of wild bulls, Li Ziyu instantly perked up. The word "Resources" lit up in his mind, shining brilliantly.
The Wasteland was already barren, and hunting at night was far more difficult than in the daytime. Many herbivores were active during the day and hid at night, making them hard to find. As a result, nighttime hunts were usually limited to lone animals that had strayed from their herds, or creatures that were purely nocturnal.
Running into a herd of wild bulls was a stroke of luck he couldn’t afford to pass up!
Skeletons were measured in units. An adult wild bull’s frame, for instance, was significantly larger than a Desert Wolf’s. The system would therefore likely count it as two or three units, not just one.
The wild bulls of the Wasteland were no pushovers. After all, for any creature to survive and thrive in an environment like this, it was impossible for them to be weak. A single gore from those massive horns would be devastating, and the force of their charge was immense.
However, while these strengths were highly effective against living creatures, they were far less so against Skeleton Undead. In fact, to the Skeleton Undead, most Wild Beasts were simply prey—the kind they could hunt down as long as they could keep up, without fear of taking significant damage.
The key was getting close. As long as they could get near enough, they were guaranteed a harvest.
"Have the wild bulls spotted us?" Li Ziyu turned back to the reporting Skeleton Undead and asked nervously.
Most animals on the Wasteland were extremely vigilant, especially at night. The slightest disturbance would send them fleeing for their lives, and they were fast. Chasing them with the Mobile Fortress would turn into a war of attrition; he could only hunt them after they’d tired themselves out, which would waste far too much time.
Furthermore, some animals would scatter as they fled, reducing the hunt’s yield even further.
After hunting in the Wasteland for a few days, Li Ziyu had already come up with a strategy: to hunt animals like wild bulls at night, you couldn’t startle them. You had to stop the Mobile Fortress from a great distance to avoid putting them on alert, then send the Skeleton Undead out of the fortress to sneak up on them and get as close as possible.
Of course, this method wasn’t foolproof; there was still a high probability of alerting the herd during the approach. But it was far better than just charging at them with the Mobile Fortress.
"They haven’t spotted us."
The Skeleton Undead was being completely forthright. The City Lord had previously ordered that they could deal with lone or small prey on their own, but they had to report back before engaging any herd animals. That was why it had come running as soon as it discovered the herd.
"How many of them are there?"
"...Dozens?"
After a pause, the Skeleton Undead gave an uncertain answer. They could sense the herd, but counting was a difficult task for them, so they couldn’t provide a precise number just yet.
Even so, that was enough for Li Ziyu. Dozens of wild bulls. If the hunt was successful, the haul would be substantial. His targets weren’t the full-grown adults anyway; they were too large and strong, making them difficult to hunt. The old bulls and the calves, on the other hand, should be no problem.
"Halt the fortress! Begin the encirclement!"
Li Ziyu didn’t hesitate, issuing the command with a wave of his hand.
The moment the command was issued, the Mobile Fortress came to a screeching halt on the Wasteland plains. A tide of white figures surged out as every single Skeleton Undead poured from the fortress. Each carrying a Weapon, they fanned out, forming a wide circle as they began to close in on the distant herd.
The Undead were sensitive to the aura of the living and could easily detect the herd, but Li Ziyu possessed no such ability. He stood at the window, peering out into the night. By the Moonlight that spilled across the land, he could faintly make out small black dots in the distance—the location of the herd.
There were several species of wild bull in the Wasteland. The kind Li Ziyu had encountered were what the Wastelanders called Big-Horned Bulls. They had a pair of large, awkwardly proportioned horns on their heads that curved and spiraled upward.
The Big-Horned Bulls lived very structured lives. They spent their days searching for water and grass, and at night, they gathered together to rest. The strongest adults formed the outer ring, standing guard, while the elderly and the calves were protected in the center. If attacked, the adults would stampede, sweeping the old and young along with them as they fled.
Under the Moonlight, ghostly white figures flickered in the distance—the Skeleton Undead. They continued to spread out, increasing the distance between each other. Li Ziyu narrowed his eyes, a knot of nervousness tightening in his stomach.
The encirclement gradually took shape, then slowly began to tighten around the Big-Horned Bull herd. As the Skeleton Undead drew nearer, the adult bulls on guard, who were not fully asleep, grew restless. They sensed a strange, terrifying, and icy aura. They scrambled to their feet, their large eyes scanning the darkness around them.
MOO—
