Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: 14. Blood bottle blue bottle

The preparations for the battle were underway.

Information gathered from the four reconnaissance squads had been compiled and distributed to each squad under the command of Sergeant Major Alvin Stafford.

According to the scouts, there were numerous low-ranking undead constructs on the first underground level of Grave No.1079.

By conservative estimates, the Imperial Army would be up against around 200 fast-moving Skeleton Hounds, at least 6,000 Bone Sword-wielding Skeleton Warriors, 40 Cavern Stalkers lurking in the walls and ceilings, and six spell-casting Big Skeletons.

In order to prepare for this battle, Commander Alvin Stafford ordered the soldiers to be fully armed.

For the undead constructs made of bones, they were given hammers imbued with Biochemical Nectar.

This unique blunt weapon had a nozzle designed to spray the nectar when swung forcefully. The solid nectar particles could be dispersed like bait, dealing a lethal blow to the Skeleton Warriors within a small range.

Although the effect was slightly inferior compared to Bee Syrup Bombs, it was no problem to melt an entire Skeleton Warrior in a minute.

To counter the Skeleton Hounds and Cavern Stalkers, Alvin Stafford gathered a large number of biochemically enhanced battle dogs.

These accelerated-growth dogs had keen senses of smell and hearing, allowing them to detect the Cavern Stalkers disguised as stone bricks.

At the same time, they had been professionally trained for “dogfighting” and would immediately pounce on any discovered Skeleton Hounds, holding them down, and giving the soldiers room to deal with other enemies.

As for the Big Skeletons with spell-casting abilities…

Bee Syrup Bombs were the first choice.

Each squad was equipped with Bee Syrup Bombs and a corresponding bomb launcher.

These powerful weapons could only be used when confronting the Big Skeletons. At other times, the soldiers were only authorized to use firearms and hammers.

With all these arrangements in place, Noland Lee’s Mars Squad had a clear division of labor:

Corporal Mars and a Private named Mike Adams were responsible for using Honey Hammers to engage the enemy.

Private Second Class Corey, Isaac, and Kovin were in charge of controlling the dogs to clear out troublesome Cavern Stalkers and Skeleton Hounds.

Private Second Class Corbin carried the Bee Syrup Bombs and the bomb launcher, always ready to deal with Big Skeletons.

As a Sin Soldier, Noland Lee was tasked with walking in the frontlines and drawing the enemy’s attention.

Of course, he received some preferential treatment, being allowed to wear Plate Armor and carry an Engineering Hammer.

Once he got the Plate Armor on, Noland sat outside the squad’s tent, watching the hustle and bustle of the soldiers while wiping down his Engineering Hammer, soaking in the tense atmosphere before the battle.

After applying the maintenance oil to the hammerhead, Noland pulled up the system message to check it out.

Over the last hour, he had been constantly fighting, with no time to review any messages; now was the perfect time to catch up.

[System Message: You dealt 40 points of Construct Value damage to the Skeleton Hound.]

[Passive Deconstruction Activated!]

[Your Deconstruction Completion of the “Skeleton Hound” has increased from 0% to 4%.]

[System Message: You have been attacked by the Skeleton Hound… Completion increased to 7%]

…

[System Message: Your Deconstruction Completion of the Skeleton Hound has reached 100%. You have obtained all the deconstruction results of the Skeleton Hound.]

[You have mastered all information about this target through passive deconstruction.]

[You have regained 1 point of Energy—this value is equal to the Energy you would have consumed from actively deconstructing the Skeleton Hound.]

Noland raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting passive deconstruction to have such benefits.

Actively deconstructing a Skeleton Hound consumed 1 point of energy, while passive deconstruction provided a 1 point energy recovery.

Passive deconstruction saved him 1 energy point while also replenishing it; this effectively doubled his energy gain!

It seemed that passive deconstruction had great potential…

Though, the process was quite painful, as it required fighting the enemy half to death…

Noland sighed inwardly at the harshness of life and pulled up the deconstruction results of the Skeleton Hound for a quick glance.

There wasn’t much special about the Skeleton Hound’s panel, only the “Bone Supply” feature was worth noting.

Skeleton Hounds with this feature could be broken down into bone parts by Skeleton Warriors and Big Skeletons, and added to their bodies to replenish their Construct Value.

Fortunately, there were not many Skeleton Hounds on the first underground level; otherwise, the Empire’s army might really be worn down by the “Bone Supply” feature.

He continued to check the system messages.

[You inflicted 22 Construct Value damage on the Skeleton Warrior… Degree of completion increased to 1%.]

Similar messages appeared hundreds of times, meaning Noland Lee hit the Skeleton Warrior 100 times, or was hit by the Skeleton Warrior 100 times…

Noland Lee was too lazy to count the number of attacks on both sides and directly scrolled to the end of the message list.

[System Message: Your degree of deconstruction of the Skeleton Warrior has reached 100%. You have obtained all deconstruction results of the Skeleton Warrior.]

[You recovered 2 Energy Points.]

The Skeleton Warrior’s panel was also unlocked.

His own tremendous blood loss was finally not in vain.

Noland Lee checked the Skeleton Warrior’s panel and his initially relaxed face gradually became solemn!

Unexpectedly, the Skeleton Warriors also had the “Bone Supply” feature, and they could all become nourishment for the Big Skeleton.

Not only that, in the [Feature] column of the Skeleton Warrior, the words “Death Supply” were written in bold.

…

[Feature]Death Supply

Once this feature is activated, all death energy of this Undead Construct will be transferred to the target. Afterward, the Undead Construct will enter a state of slumber.

…

If the Skeleton Hounds are health potions for the Big Skeleton, then the Skeleton Warriors are a combination package of health and mana potions.

A single Skeleton Warrior has 3 points of death energy.

With 6,000 Skeleton Warriors, that’s a total of 18,000 death energy.

That’s enough to cast 3,600 Level 1 “Death Pulses”!

A Level 1 “Death Pulse” can guarantee the death of one soldier at least.

3,600 “Death Pulses” mean 3,600 lives will be harvested, right?

How many soldiers are in Sergeant Major Alvin’s army?

Noland Lee quickly looked around and counted the number of tents…

About 300 people, for a total of 15 squads, 13 of which were combat squads, 1 belonging to Division Intelligence Unit Three’s medical squad, and 1 was Captain Alvin’s guard squad.

Even if you include non-combat personnel responsible for material transportation, there are only about 350 people…

With such a size of troops, is there really no problem when fighting against a Big Skeleton equipped with health and mana potions?

Noland Lee felt bothered, things seemed to be heading towards chaos.

…Uh, wait, that’s not right.

Noland Lee had a sudden realization.

The military of the Empire has access to extraordinary routes.

The renowned “Imperial Fist” hasn’t made its debut yet.

Perhaps this is the trump card that has been secretly kept by his side.

A Biochemical Giant should be able to take down a Big Skeleton, right…

Noland Lee thought to himself, and then put aside the matter of “Bone Supply” and “Death Supply” for the time being. He didn’t plan to bring up these two terms to discuss them with Corporal Mars.

Firstly, he couldn’t explain how he knew about this information.

Secondly, he believed that the experienced Sergeant Major Alvin would take these two unstable factors into consideration.

It wasn’t for a lowly convict like himself to remind officers of what to do…

The oil on the Engineering Hammer was almost dry.

Noland Lee picked up the cloth and wiped the hammerhead gently, following the maintenance method Mars taught him, polishing the hammerhead until it shone, gradually finding the feeling of being in the army and going to war.