Day 18 after defeating the abyss.
His Majesty the King and the church priestess Elia traveled together to the Holy City on a pilgrimage.
After a difficult defeat of the evil and powerful monster—a stone man bound to a cross—he received a divine revelation.
The Duchy of Hammak was renamed the Holy Kingdom of Light.
The Church of All Gods was renamed the Church of Holy Light.
Arya was appointed as the first High Priestess of the Church.
Thus began a new chapter for the Duchy of Hammank.
This period is historically known as the first year of the Shengguang era.
—Excerpt from the internal edition of the first major events of the Holy Light Church.
......
[All three guardians are dead, and the barrier over the beginner area has been removed. From now on, you can explore the entire continent without restrictions. But be aware, while you're spying on others, they might also be watching you.]
[The first ranking leaderboard rewards have been settled. Congratulations on ranking first! You have gained 100 reputation points and the title "Chosen One," the effect of which will take effect after equipping the title.]
Meanwhile, after seeing off two pilgrims who had traveled a long way to make their pilgrimage, Jiang Yan finally had time to look through the reminders from all realms.
Looking at the map, the mist in the westernmost part of Hamank, or rather the Holy Kingdom of Light, has now dissipated, revealing a new area called "Misty Valley".
If I remember correctly, this is the only channel connecting it to the outside world.
The entire area is about 1,200 kilometers long, and is home to many powerful races and monsters infected by the abyss's aura, making it rich in resources.
In his previous life, when he was pioneering the land, it took him a full six months and countless soldiers died before he was able to successfully clear the way.
However, with a powerful undead army now in place, there is no need to worry about casualties.
He had already sent Sheena with a large army to guard the entrance to the valley, and it seems they have already begun exploring.
This is also the advantage that preserved the Kingdom of Faith during the first Abyss Uprising. With the demigod Adun present, the Abyss Passage poses no threat at all during normal times, allowing them to launch expeditions without any worries.
Other lords, on the other hand, had to maintain a sufficient military presence for an extended period to prevent attacks from the abyss.
"I don't know if the progress is going smoothly."
After a moment's thought, Jiang Yan recalled the Lord skill "War Control" that he had obtained when advancing to Silver rank.
It can temporarily gain the vision and perception of any member of one's own faction.
The skill was activated, and as vision blurred, a fierce battle appeared before my eyes.
A group of creatures resembling upright crocodiles were being besieged by a large number of skeleton warriors.
They are covered in metal-hard scales, over three meters long, and their thick claws with sharp nails can easily shatter the bones of several skeleton warriors with each strike.
The Blood Crocodile of the Wild Valley is roughly at the third level of the Bronze rank, and is a rare species.
Jiang Yan recognized the creature that had caused him considerable trouble in his previous life at a glance.
This crocodile-like creature has evolved scales on its abdomen, which was originally a weak point. Its defense and attack are outstanding among its peers, and ordinary skeleton soldiers can hardly break through its defenses.
Only the elite skeleton warriors recruited from high-level graveyards, formed from the skeletons of some powerful creatures, can hold their own for a few rounds.
Fortunately, their brains did not evolve along with them.
Despite its low intelligence and strong territorial instincts, the Valley Blood Crocodile did not choose to retreat after gaining the upper hand. Instead, it engaged in a chaotic battle with the undead army.
Soon, the densely packed skeleton warriors completed the encirclement, and before anyone knew it, each of the Valley Blood Crocodiles was separated by countless skeleton warriors.
Clang!
Every second, dozens of bone knives slashed at the hard scales. The blood crocodile, in pain, went berserk, swinging its tail to knock away the surrounding enemies. But immediately, the skeletons behind it followed up with their attacks.
An exceptionally tall and robust elite skeleton, taking advantage of its teammates' cover, slashed the Blood Crocodile's leg with a powerful blow, leaving a clear wound.
The blood crocodile staggered, and before it could regain its balance, it was slashed several more times in the same spot.
This time, the broken scales could no longer provide protection. Under the continuous attacks, the Blood Crocodile's left leg was severed. With a miserable howl, it fell to the ground and was submerged in the endless sea of skeletons.
This seemed to be a signal, as screams of agony rang out one after another, and blood crocodiles fell to the ground.
Sheena's crimson eyes flickered slightly as she leaped into the air. Her longbow vibrated repeatedly, unleashing a torrent of hundreds of black arrows that pierced precisely into the mouths of each blood crocodile that had lost all ability to resist.
One after another, skeletons with exceptionally thick and shiny bones crawled up from the corpses. Although they were not as powerful as the original Blood Crocodile, their aura strength was approaching level 50.
Without hesitation, they joined the siege and launched an attack on their former comrades.
Sheena, having put away her longbow, seemed to remember something and said, "Catch one alive, with his hands and feet intact."
"Yes, Master."
A giant eagle swooped down, its sharp eyes scanning the battlefield. It picked up a well-preserved blood crocodile with one claw and tossed it back to Sheena.
Coming to his senses, the Blood Crocodile, who was about to roar, suddenly had intricate and complex spell marks appear in his eyes. He immediately squatted down like a lapdog, showing a fawning expression.
"Lead the way to your lair," Sheena said calmly, watching the war subside.
Amidst the scattered bone fragments and blood, tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers followed silently, their eerie flames in the fading night forming a long, dark green dragon that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Jiang Yan, who was far away in Holy Spirit City, withdrew his skill.
It was pretty much what he expected.
The monsters in Misty Valley are significantly stronger than those in the beginner area. While you can still win with sheer numbers against skeleton soldiers, the casualties are much higher. It's time to bring in some new recruits for Xena.
With that thought in mind, Jiang Yan arrived at the undead area.
Half an hour ago, the Burial Dragon Abyss and the Stitching Cave were officially completed.
A massive building shrouded in green mist appeared before us, and we could vaguely see countless cubicles inside where clumps of flesh were being processed, just like a large slaughterhouse.
A dozen or so dwarf construction workers were fast asleep outside the building, completely undignified; they were clearly exhausted.
Fine, let's give them a...half-day off.
Jiang Yan silently gave himself a thumbs up for his conscience, then walked directly into the building to check the relevant panels.
【Sutured Hole】
An epic-level building for the undead, capable of modifying combat weapons based on the flesh and corpses provided.
Currently available templates include: Faceless Beast, Undead Beast, Carrion Beast, etc., totaling 317 types.
Players can independently select elements to generate related combat weapons. Currently saved templates: 0.
Special Note: This is an excellent recycling station. Unusable scraps, osteoporotic skeletons, and even zombie meat frozen for thousands of years can all be turned into treasures. The underworld never wastes anything!
Goodness.
First came a mass-produced graveyard, and now we have a stitched-together grotto from a scrap metal recycling station. The design concepts of the underworld are truly avant-garde.
Jiang Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He even had a premonition that the Burial Dragon Abyss wasn't anything serious.
However strange it may be, as an epic-level building, it is still extremely powerful in function.
He did some research and found that these so-called templates were all designed according to functional requirements. For example, the carrion beast was designed by a clean-loving undead boss to clean up.
After all, the Netherworld is too vast, and there are always some inferior corpses that even the lowest-ranking skeleton mages wouldn't want, leaving them to rot in place and severely polluting the environment of the Netherworld.
"I want to set up a template." After browsing for a moment, Jiang Yan decided to design a template himself.
"Please state your design requirements." A line of small print appeared on the architectural hub.
"Durable, armor-piercing, self-recovering, and capable of close-range combat."
"Are there any requirements regarding the shape? If not, the design is open to interpretation and revisions will not be accepted."
“Yes, the appearance needs to be terrifying and intimidating.” Jiang Yan suddenly remembered a game he had played in the Federation and immediately uploaded the image in his mind.
"Ugly, disgusting, twisted, terrifying... what a perfect image. New Undead Emperor, your taste is admirable. I will do my best to create it for you. Please name this template."
"Let's call it Abomination," Jiang Yan said with a touch of nostalgia.
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