Lord of Rot

The experiment began that very day.

The Corpse Ghosts currently under Leech’s command included:

1. [Poisonous Touch] Aina, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

2. [Phantom Badge] Guy Marvin, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

3. The Water Nymph, above Transcendent level.

4. The Necromancer Ah Yamei, an ordinary Corpse Ghost, but a Caster with strong Spiritual Power.

5. [Wind Cavalry] Rabbit, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

6. [Earth Hardening] The ’Snake-man’ Biqi, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

7. [Solid Fireball] The older twin sister Ella, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

8. [Blood Control] The younger twin sister Meira, a Transcendent Corpse Ghost.

This force was now mostly concentrated around Leech. Even without counting living Transcendents like Lacy and Chuina, these eight Undead Corpse Ghosts alone were enough to easily conquer most small territories, as long as they didn’t run into a monster like Prince Hoffman.

Among them, the Water Nymph was in a ”free” state and not under his direct management. However, when Leech implemented the ”local area network,” she joined voluntarily, which saved him some effort.

With the Corpse Ghost local area network established, the next step was to test its range.

This wasn’t difficult. He simply arranged for the Horse-headed Eagle, Rocket, to grab a Corpse Ghost and fly far away to test if the range of his spiritual influence could be extended.

Leech closed his eyes. Unlike the Corpse Ghosts, he had been enhanced with Magic when they were created, so he always occupied the core position, controlling all of them.

The Horse-headed Eagle grabbed two Corpse Ghosts: one was Guy, the other was Rabbit.

After flying for some distance, just as they were about to reach the limit, Leech had the Corpse Ghost Guy raise a hand and gently pat Rocket.

Rocket descended and dropped Guy off.

There was nowhere to land nearby, so Guy had to be left soaking in the sea.

Then, the Horse-headed Eagle grabbed Rabbit again and flew off into the distance.

Leech, who had been sitting inside Iron Wall Castle the whole time, had a look of delight on his face.

’It actually works!’

Guy’s location, in the area between Porcupine Territory and Iron Valley, was already at the very limit of Leech’s Spiritual Power coverage. But now, by using Guy as a relay, he could still maintain a connection with Rabbit.

The local area network was a real success!

They flew a while longer until Porcupine Territory was visible in the distance, but Rabbit’s Spiritual Power had also reached its limit.

In the end, the Horse-headed Eagle could only flap its wings and hover in the air.

However, the remaining distance was negligible. Rabbit’s range could cover Porcupine Territory.

Leech’s Spiritual Power, relayed through Guy and then Rabbit, finally succeeded in covering Porcupine Territory and connecting with the undead birds there.

An undead bird spread its wings and flew through the sky. The sensation was the same, but the feeling in his heart was completely different.

Even though he was physically in Iron Valley, he could now establish a connection with Porcupine Territory.

As long as he had enough Corpse Ghosts, Leech could bring the entire Lu Leiyi Continent under his ”Celestial Eye”—a Corpse Ghost internet... Of course, for now, that was just a fantasy within a fantasy.

Still, just being able to maintain an unbroken connection between the two locations was an extraordinary achievement.

As for the slight signal delay, it was nothing to worry about.

Back in Iron Valley, Leech opened his eyes.

The Horse-headed Eagle, Rocket, was already flying back with the two Corpse Ghosts. Without fixed positions in the sea, a stable link couldn’t be established yet. That would require future construction, ideally building towers.

But that would have to wait. He had plenty on his plate already.

The envoys sent to negotiate in Burning City were quick, bringing back five carriages full of furs and Alchemy Materials.

The high-yield Alchemy Nuclear Bomb that Leech had been hoping for could probably be put on the agenda now.

Everything was sent to the coast through the tunnel and shipped back to Porcupine Territory by boat.

On a side note, since Leech had wiped out Bill’s family, their two-masted sailboat, the Monkey, no longer needed to be hidden and was put directly into service.

The three ships were just barely enough to handle the cargo transport between the two territories.

He outlined and emphasized some trivial matters regarding Iron Valley’s development. After gritting his teeth and loosening some of its financial restrictions, Leech departed.

The ’Beast Talker’ Pitz was too valuable, so he was left behind. His mynah birds were useful for messaging, but his true worth lay with the two magical beast armadillos. They were practically all-terrain excavators; a single one could do the work of a hundred men with high efficiency and speed. They just ate a bit much, though not nearly as much as the rations for a hundred men.

As he left, Leech picked some more of the bloodline herbs.

The herbs were well-cared for, but it was inevitable that their supply would dwindle with use. In the future, if he wanted to use the herbs to enhance bloodlines, he would have to be more frugal.

Standing on the deck of the Porcupine, with the Iron Valley and the Monkey behind it.

The sea breeze brushed against his face, and Leech narrowed his eyes slightly.

The scenery on the open sea was beautiful, but the beauty of an endless voyage would eventually turn tedious. After enjoying it for a short while, Leech ditched his ship and left directly, riding Rocket.

The ships were equipped with firearms. Any small-time pirates trying to rob them would just be asking for death.

They could ponder whether their heads were harder than the helmets of the Monkey Soldiers.

...

Back at Porcupine Castle.

”Lord, I’ve brought Luca.”

”Have him come here.”

Leech casually grabbed a fish from a basin and tossed it upward.

The Horse-headed Eagle, Rocket, leaped nimbly, opened its beak to catch the fish, then tilted its head back, letting the fish slide down into its stomach.

When it landed, its beak was clean, and it looked at Leech, waiting for another feeding.

”COO COO!”

Leech didn’t feed it again. Instead, he asked, ”Rocket, you’re already a year old in the blink of an eye. Have you thought about taking a few wives?”

”COO COO?”

”A grown male ought to marry. The bloodline of your old Horse-headed Eagle family can’t be allowed to die out,” Leech said, gently patting the creature’s body as he persuaded it. ”How great would it be to have you lay a few more eggs and raise a flock of Little Horse-headed Eagles?”

’I never thought I’d one day be forcing someone into marriage, and to my own mount, no less.’

But a Horse-headed Eagle becomes a Transcendent when it grows up. It was pure profit with no investment, so of course, the more, the better.

”COO COO!”

The man and beast had a nonsensical conversation for a while until the young boy, Luca, approached.

This wasn’t the first time Luca had seen the Horse-headed Eagle, but he was still struck with awe every time.

’So beautiful! It’s so imposing and tall, and it can fly. A magnificent mount like this is the only thing worthy of the Lord’s status.’

”Good day, Lord!” Luca had learned quite a bit of etiquette these past few days.

”Come.”

Leech beckoned for Luca to come closer.

Then he nodded in satisfaction. ”It looks like you’ve been eating well recently. You’ve put on some meat.”

With all the extra meals and special treatment recently, Luca’s body had finally gone from being a scrawny bag of bones to having a bit of flesh on him. He was still a little thinner than an average person, but at least he no longer looked like a dried-up skeleton.

Leech hadn’t called Luca over just to see if he’d gotten fatter. It’s not like the boy was his own son.

The main reason was to feed Luca the bloodline herb.

’This is the first time I’ve given this stuff to a person, so I’m a little unsure of the effects. It definitely won’t kill him... right?’

”Here, eat this. It might just help you restore the glory of the Red Dragon bloodline.”

”Yes, sir!” Without a second thought, Luca took the herb and stuffed it into his mouth.

The texture wasn’t very pleasant.

But back when he couldn’t get enough to eat, he had gnawed on tree bark. Eating a bit of grass was hardly unbearable in comparison.

After a while, Leech asked, ”How do you feel?”

”A little hot.”

”Anything else?”

”That’s it.”

The time it took for the bloodline herb to take effect was uncertain, but according to estimates, it would take half a day at the fastest, and two to three days at the slowest.

Leech said, ”Stay in the castle. If you feel any unusual reaction in your body, tell me immediately!”

”Yes, sir!” Luca didn’t understand, but that didn’t stop him from nodding.

Then Leech called over two male servants and had them watch Luca closely, ordering them to notify him immediately if there were any changes in the boy’s body.

Hopping onto Rocket, Leech headed straight for Scholar Toma’s residence.

’The four-headed snake had a huge hide. I have to first test if it can be used to make Runes.’

’Even if it can’t, I can still skin it and make it into leather armor. Its defensive properties would probably be sturdier than plate mail.’