Chapter 57: Chapter 57: War Profiteering Is Still the Sweetest
Chen Fan clutched the Ghost Skin, rising to his feet and turning to look back at the camp, which was now all but destroyed.
Last night’s battle had been far too brutal.
The Mourning Ghosts had posed a far greater threat than the Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide.
Much of the City Wall had been destroyed, the Wooden Houses were wrecked, and even buildings like the Sentry Towers and breeding farms had completely collapsed. In fact, the only structures left standing and undamaged in the entire camp were two Arrow Fortresses, a few Arrow Towers, and the Ghost Fire.
It was like being sent back to square one overnight.
The rainy season was set to last for another twenty-some days.
Qian Hou was only one of the Ghost King’s four main commanders, and three still remained. From the looks of things, those three would come to the Wilderness during the remainder of the rainy season to pave the way for the Ghost King’s arrival. And he would most likely be their primary target.
Staying here made him a goddamn conspicuous target.
And when the rainy season was almost over, the Ghost King himself would arrive.
That name alone sounded like trouble.
It was practically a death sentence.
But—
’But as a Transmigrator with the Eternal Night Lord panel, running away at the first sign of trouble would be pretty pathetic. I have to hold out, I have to...’
"Hold out, my ass!"
Chen Fan cursed under his breath. ’When the sky falls, the tall guys can hold it up. I’m still one of the short ones, so I’ve got to run.’
’The Ghost King’s goal is to sacrifice all living things in Jiangbei City and Ping City to advance its Cultivation. How could a tiny camp like his possibly stand in its way?’
"..."
He looked around at Lame Monkey and the others, who were busy digging for Ghost Stones. Though the battle last night had been brutal, the spoils were considerable. With these resources, he could find a new, safer location and easily make a comeback.
’There’s no need to fight to the death here.’
’I’ll take some losses, since I can’t move many of the buildings, but it’s better than being dead.’
’Later, I’ll discuss it with Wang Kui and the others. If we’re going to relocate, we need to figure out the best place to go.’
As for now...
"Heh heh."
Chen Fan chuckled, squatting down again to search the Mourning Ghost’s corpse. ’Loot first, talk later,’ he thought. ’Looting the boss’s body after a fight is like having a smoke after sex. It’s standard procedure.’
There were a total of three Exotic Treasures, not counting the Glowing Green Lantern.
The first was a Luminous Pearl, white with a green tinge.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Wind-Resistant Pearl.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Green.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: One of the essential materials for building a ’Wind Tower’, a special City Defense Building that can generate powerful winds.
-
"Not bad."
Chen Fan nodded. ’This building will make it much easier to fight the Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide,’ he thought. ’However, I don’t have the Building Blueprint for a Wind Tower yet, so I can’t use this for now.’
The next item.
It was an Array Plate.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Clear Wind Array.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Green.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: Must be installed in the ’Ghost Fire’. Once installed, it will cover the camp’s area with a layer of clear wind, slightly increasing movement speed.
-
The last item was rather intimidating.
It was as large as a human brain—a slowly pulsating, dark-red fleshy tumor that was warm and tough to the touch.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Mountain Remains Embryo.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Green.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: A special type of Heavenly and Earthly Treasure. It can be used for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Array Formation. If placed in the Ghost Fire, it can be controlled to extend a bony structure underground throughout the camp, stabilizing any subterranean cavities.
-
"Mountain Remains Embryo..."
Chen Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the description. ’The first two Exotic Treasures were pulled from the Mourning Ghost’s mouth,’ he mused. ’They were products formed from the coagulation of Ghost Qi after the Ghost Object died.’
’This one, however, was pulled from its chest. It was something the creature had been carrying.’
’This is some very good stuff.’
An idea began to form in his mind, based on this Exotic Treasure.
Chen Fan tucked all the Exotic Treasures away and was about to inspect the Glowing Green Lantern when Lame Monkey’s voice called out from behind him.
He turned to look.
Lame Monkey was hobbling toward him, carrying a paper lantern. "Young Master," he said excitedly, "look at this lantern! I think it’s something good."
"Let me see."
Chen Fan took the white lantern from Lame Monkey. It was the same kind the Ordinary Mourning Ghosts had carried. It looked and felt like it was made of oiled paper, but Chen Fan knew it was incredibly sturdy; the Mourning Ghosts had used them to smash the City Wall.
Every strike had left a dent.
By contrast, when Zhou Mo had swung a hoe at the City Wall with all his might, he couldn’t even leave a scratch.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Mourning Lantern.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: White.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: An essential material for upgrading an Arrow Tower to a Level 5 Cannon Tower.
-
"Heh."
Chen Fan paused for a moment, stunned. Then he looked up at the lanterns littering the ground all over the camp and broke into a wide grin. ’This is great stuff.’
There were at least a thousand Mourning Lanterns here.
’Let’s say...’
’If one lantern sells for 100 Ghost Stones at the Marketplace, that’s a cool 100,000 Ghost Stones right there.’
But he was sure it was worth more than that. After all, a single Arrow Tower sold for 150 Ghost Stones at the Marketplace. ’A material to upgrade it to a Level 5 Cannon Tower would never go for as little as 100 Ghost Stones.’
"This is good stuff. Gather them all up, quickly. I need everyone to work hard. We’re moving today."
"Moving?"
"Yeah. We’ll discuss it together in a bit."
Only then did he bend down to pick up the Glowing Green Lantern that had fallen nearby. This one was clearly a grade higher than the ordinary Mourning Lanterns.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Mourning Lantern.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Green.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: An essential material for upgrading an Arrow Tower to a Level 6 Cannon Tower. When held and activated, it can fire a powerful beam of light to attack enemies. Each activation consumes the Exotic Treasure, and it will shatter after five uses.
-
"A Level 6 Cannon Tower..."
Chen Fan’s eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before a smile spread across his face. ’Does this mean I can use it four times for free, and as long as I don’t use it the fifth time, it can still serve as an upgrade material?’
"Chief, come quick!"
Wang Kui’s urgent voice came from outside the camp. "We found some chests over here!"
...
"Chief."
Wang Kui and Xiaoyu were gathered around several large wooden chests. "We found these big chests outside the camp while cleaning up the battlefield," Wang Kui said. "We opened them and... there’s a lot of stuff inside."
"..."
Chen Fan stared expressionlessly at the contents of the chests, not saying a word.
After a long moment, he finally took a deep breath.
He looked up at the gloomy rain in the distance and murmured.
"Nothing’s as sweet as the spoils of war."
There were five chests in total.
At a glance,
two of the chests were packed to the brim with sparkling, verdant, and translucent Level 2 Ghost Stones. The other three were filled with a large quantity of Ghost Materials and all sorts of miscellaneous items.
He didn’t recognize most of it.
There were Arm Blades from Mantis Ghosts and Monkey Skins from Monkey Head Ghosts.
There was also blood stored in canteens, though he couldn’t tell what kind.
There were also organs like hearts, livers, and lungs wrapped in oiled paper, clearly too large to be human.
A huge pile of miscellaneous items, all arranged neatly.
These were military provisions.
It all looked like materials for Array Formation. ’If I’m not mistaken,’ he thought, ’the Ghost King’s mission for Qian Hou must have been to first destroy the walls of the two cities, and then use these Ghost Stones and Ghost Materials to set up some kind of Array.’
And now,
all of it had fallen into his hands.
This single haul was worth more than all his previous gains combined.
"Whew..."
After taking another deep breath, Chen Fan looked at Wang Kui. "Have everyone stop what they’re doing. It’s time for a meeting!"
...
The group found a clean spot and sat cross-legged in the wilderness, a Ghost Map spread out between them.
"We’re facing a major crisis."
Chen Fan was the first to speak, quickly summarizing the situation.
"The early arrival of the rainy season has caused the Ghost Objects to run rampant, and now the Ghost King itself is coming to this Wilderness. There are three more High Level Ghost Objects like Qian Hou."
"After they arrive in the Wilderness, we will be their primary target."
"We need to relocate now to avoid this crisis."
"If any of you have thoughts, speak up."
