Tier Three Corpse

After Little Green transformed into an undead, the power it commanded seemed to have grown substantially. The sacrifice of three hundred hearts propelled Little Green’s strength straight to Second-Tier Excellence, with its experience already maxed out. It was clear that, had the territory rank not been merely second-tier—thus preventing Little Green and its undead kin from advancing further—this surge would have allowed Little Green to break through to the third tier.

However, this enhancement was not without limits. Though the sacrifice of three hundred hearts had pushed its strength to the very edge of the third tier, the sacrificial ability had entered a lengthy three-month cooldown. It appeared the abrupt offering of so many hearts at once was the cause.

Regardless, Little Green’s progress did not disappoint Karen. What’s more, Karen noticed that the boost in strength was not limited to Little Green alone; several of the undead had also seen significant improvements. Surprisingly, the greatest advance had not come from the nine undead who, alongside Little Green, had defended the mine against the goblin onslaught, but from the two goblin skeletal mages who had barely exerted any effort at all.

To put it simply, these two goblin skeletal mages had really lucked out. Because the fire that consumed the goblin tribe was conjured by them, the experience gained from the goblins who perished in the blaze was attributed to them, causing them to leap from Second-Tier Trash to Second-Tier Elite.

That was not all; their level one Nether Fireball had risen to level three after the battle, and each had grasped a new spell, resulting in a considerable increase in power.

Of course, other undead had also grown stronger, especially those at tier one and zero tier, whose progress was notable. Yet at this moment, Karen paid little mind to these improved undead. In truth, Karen was feeling rather inflated.

After this battle, Karen held over ten thousand units of territorial energy in his hands, and his domain was certain to yield a surge of second-tier undead. With such prospects, Karen had little interest in the tier one and zero tier undead; indeed, after this battle, he was prepared to abandon the zero tier entirely.

After admiring the attributes of Little Green and its kin, Karen casually elevated his own rank. As the familiar surge of power radiated from his heart, within a dozen minutes Karen’s strength leapt from First-Tier Excellence, skipped Second-Tier Trash, and landed squarely at Second-Tier Normal.

“A fine improvement. Stronger than before by quite a margin. I may still not be a match for Old Jack, but I should be able to spar with the masked woman at Second-Tier Elite.”

Estimating his strength, Karen’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. Yet he did not linger in his sense of achievement or his own advancement; soon, he busied himself again, gathering Little Green and all the second-tier undead.

Although Karen had wiped out the goblin tribe, he remained highly vigilant regarding the mine before him. For one thing, Little Green’s original power stemmed from this very mine; for another, Karen knew it held the corpses of former goblin chiefs and prophets, and feared that, as in the goblin graveyard before, mutated undead might emerge.

Though covetous of the power that had shaped Little Green, Karen’s focus was solely on the corpses of the goblin chiefs right now. As for the uncanny force wielded by Little Green, he had no intention to probe it further.

Time was a factor. The masked woman would not concern herself with Karen for long, but if he lingered too long away from Dolay Village, Ogoren would grow suspicious. Moreover, the power mastered by Little Green was unsettling; it had nearly propelled Little Green to the third tier with ease. For now, Karen felt it wiser to keep his distance.

The mine would remain, and if that power truly resided within, there would be ample opportunity to explore it in the future. Today’s gains were plenty, and there was no need to risk more.

As cultivators say: “Proceed with the caution of treading on thin ice, but act with bold diligence.” This was precisely Karen’s mindset now—he knew well what he ought and ought not to do.

…

With several of his second-tier undead in tow, Karen quickly found the secret chamber guided by the goblin chief. Upon arrival, ever cautious, Karen did not enter himself but sent a second-tier undead in first to test for traps or lurking undead.

The undead’s luck proved favorable; the chamber held no traps, and the goblin chiefs’ corpses had not turned undead, saving Karen considerable trouble.

Once assured of safety, Karen entered and examined the chamber. There were seventeen corpses, all generally of second-tier quality, most rated between Second-Tier Normal and Second-Tier Elite. Two of the corpses displayed no information, likely above second tier.

Besides these corpses, the chamber housed a jumble of items: ores, weapons, armor, and assorted goods. Many appeared to be human in origin, likely spoils from the goblin tribe’s incursion into human lands, or from slain interlopers.

However, these spoils were mostly ancient; Karen’s quick inspection revealed that the weapons and armor were largely ruined, though a good number of gold and silver coins still gleamed brightly.

After a brief hesitation, Karen instructed Little Green and the others to carry everything back. Though most of the weapons were useless, they were better than nothing. His undead minions were all empty-handed, and arming them would bolster appearances.

As for the corpses, Karen personally used Corpse Manipulation to lead them out of the mine.

A quick tidy-up later, Karen departed for his domain with his undead and all the second-tier corpses acquired.

Not all the undead followed him, however. He left all the zero tier undead behind. He had no choice; resources were scarce, and feeding nearly a hundred zero tier undead cost him thousands in territorial energy each month. Reluctantly, he abandoned them.

Yet Karen remained unaware that, at the break of dawn, this group of undead surged en masse into the mine…