Lord of Rot

Chapter 477: Chapter 422: Don’t Spoil the Lord’s Fun

Leech entered the dungeon, torch in hand.

The post-battle report had not yet reached Leech. It was impossible to sort through the more than three thousand disorderly mercenaries in a single afternoon.

However, the bodies of the few Transcendents who had died were brought in and piled up inside the dungeon.

In addition, there were the dead birds he had specifically requested from the hunt. The most distinctive among them were the vulture carcasses.

‘All headshots. Maybe I should be a little gentler next time?’

Looking at the headless corpses, Leech resignedly took out the Rhino Horn.

After waiting for quite some time, he had four more Extraordinary precipitates in his hand. The total number of Extraordinary precipitates had now reached twenty.

‘I can mass-produce Corpse Ghosts, but what I need are Extraordinary Corpse Ghosts.’

This brought up Leech’s general classifications for corpse refinement.

They were basically divided as follows:

1. Using gold to repair wounds, then adding a little more gold to create zombie-like Undead.

Thanks to Leech’s prior “programming,” these Undead could perform simple actions. But without a command or someone to control them, they were nothing more than corpses.

2. Corpse Ghosts created using artifacts or Extraordinary precipitates.

These possess their own consciousness and can be considered thinking beings. However, they tend not to think for themselves, instead serving as loyal subordinates who faithfully carry out commands. Even if their memories from their past lives are perfectly preserved, those memories have no influence over them.

Within the creation of Corpse Ghosts, there was a further subdivision: normal Corpse Ghosts and Extraordinary Corpse Ghosts.

Normal Corpse Ghosts are made from ordinary corpses, their strength insufficient to be classified as Extraordinary. Ah Yamei the Necromancer, for example, is a normal Corpse Ghost. However, her identity as a Mage grants her the talent to cast spells, and her actual combat power is even stronger than some Transcendents.

Extraordinary Corpse Ghosts are made using the bodies of Transcendents as material. They can complete tasks autonomously and possess formidable combat strength. However, their cost is higher than that of normal Corpse Ghosts, essentially requiring an Extraordinary material on top of the Extraordinary material of the corpse itself to create one.

A simpler alternative is the Extraordinary Undead: a zombie-like being made from a Transcendent’s body but without using an artifact or Extraordinary substance to ignite its intelligence.

The Demon Beastman Mennen, as well as the four flesh-enhanced Transcendents from the Tuna family, are all Extraordinary Undead.

As for the next level up—Palace Level, which is above Extraordinary—it was completely different.

A Palace Level corpse can be directly converted into a Corpse Ghost without needing any Extraordinary precipitates. The reason is likely that ordinary Extraordinary substances are simply not on the same tier as a Palace Level being; the power gap is too vast.

It was like trying to operate a spaceship with a TV remote when the spaceship didn’t even need a remote because it was already equipped with artificial intelligence.

Leech couldn’t produce that many intact Transcendent corpses, and it was even more impossible for him to use gold to reconstruct the heads for the bodies before him.

After putting away the precipitates, he bent down again to inscribe a formation, then tossed the dozen or so reasonably intact vulture carcasses into a coffin.

The desert weather was too hot. The physique of an Extraordinary Corpse Ghost was superior and could withstand the high temperatures, but the undead birds could not. They would quickly start to stink.

To maintain his field of vision, Leech had no choice but to create another batch of undead birds to monitor the surroundings.

He then left the dungeon, ordering someone to dispose of the other bodies.

The City Lord’s hall was about three stories high, forcing one to tilt their head up to see the top.

Simple wooden staircases lined both sides, looking quite shabby compared to the “refinement” of Iron Valley Castle.

Leech sat on a chair at the dining table. He had ordered the City Lord’s throne to be chopped up for firewood. Also ordered to be thrown out was the lion-pelt cushion draped over the seat. He couldn’t smell the scent of a lion’s blood on it, but he could guarantee that Lion·Ma Ma had been incontinent on it more than once.

Hahn, who had arrived escorting the weapons, had stayed behind. The main task of compiling the statistics was assigned to him.

Transcendents like Bai Lu and Trevor were assigned to guard the mercenary prisoners, while Lin Nuo was responsible for taking over the city guard.

Hahn stood before Leech, holding a few sheets of paper. This was a habit he had developed while working under Baron Porcupine. Since the cost of papermaking had been greatly reduced, it was no longer necessary to always use expensive and heavy materials like parchment. As a result, keeping written records of work information had become very important.

Another benefit was that it made it easier to settle scores later.

It made people concentrate more on their work, not daring to be careless.

“Lord, Mama City has a garrison of 198 men. We have a total of 200 warhorses, 1,024 fast horses, and 648 foals. However, the fodder has been completely consumed, and most of the horses are starving.”

‘Such clean numbers,’ he thought. ‘Very satisfying to hear.’

The total value of the horses alone was roughly estimated to be at least 2,000 Jinri.

‘If they were fully equipped, I could instantly form a cavalry unit of 200 men!’

The cavalry unit he was thinking of was a proper noble’s cavalry force. A single heavy cavalryman required multiple horses for replacement, as no ordinary horse—unless it was a demon beast—could endure a long-distance march and still have the stamina to charge on the battlefield.

Furthermore, there were their squires, shield-bearers, crossbowmen, scouts, light cavalry, and even logistics personnel. If this 200-man cavalry unit were truly formed, the total number of personnel would likely exceed 2,000.

‘In the past, this would have been an invincible force.’

The Monkey Clan, for example, had taken many years to build up such a force. But when faced with Leech’s firearms, cannons, and the Water Nymph’s wide-area destructive abilities, they were utterly doomed.

The large number of warhorses was the greatest prize from this campaign.

“Send a message by flying courier to Kuer at once. Tell him to start purchasing grain. I will also write to purchase some grain.”

After leaving the Bonta market, he had left a Corpse Ghost behind as a signal “relay station,” so he wasn’t worried about Kuer Oasis betraying him.

But spreading his influence so wide had its own problems. He now had more territories to support.

It wasn’t that it wasn’t profitable—the warhorse trade from Mama City alone was enough to cover the expenditure on grain. However, supplying three locations with grain from Porcupine Territory was still a difficult task.

Leech then recalled a certain noble lady who had wanted to hire him as a private tutor. He believed her territory must have had a bountiful harvest, but whether he could buy enough grain from her to feed the horses was hard to say.

‘I should just go directly to the merchants.’

If money could solve the problem, then he would spend the money.

Hahn stood up, took his leave, and left. As he pushed the door open, however, he found a figure standing in the doorway.

It was the short-haired beauty, the ‘Desert Pearl’.

“Yarrn! Princess!” Hahn immediately greeted her. As a nobleman from the East Gorge, he naturally looked down on a princess from the desert.

It was no exaggeration to say that the nobility of the East Gorge looked down on the other three regions, considering them all to be nothing but barbarians.

But hypocrisy… oh, no, elegance! Elegance and etiquette were the public face of a nobleman. No matter where he was, Hahn would ensure he remained sufficiently elegant, because he was one of the East Gorge People.

And a beautiful young lady coming alone at night to see his own Lord was all the more intriguing.

After leaving the Desert Pearl with a smile, Hahn tactfully took his leave. As a considerate subordinate, his job was to not ruin his Lord’s good time.