Chapter 213 - Level 10 Skeletons Altar

“Another calamity already?!” Han Wu’s mind reeled in disbelief. The first calamity was barely a couple of days ago! Despite his shock, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the chillingly swift and efficient nature of the Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization.

Duan Meng found herself in full agreement. Based on the intelligence shared by her brother, she had calculated the impending arrival of the second calamity. Feeling a sense of obligation for Han Wu’s previous help, she had resolved to alert him the moment she verified the approach of the second calamity.

Han Wu’s gaze lingered on his interface, a furrow of worry creasing his brow. He had made considerable progress, and moreover, he had helped many of the other students grow with his training grounds. Their collective strength had undeniably surged, reaching a much higher level than before.

However, he couldn’t shake the memory of the notification he had received after successfully surviving the first calamity. He had a feeling that the upcoming second calamity would be anything but easy.

[Han Wu: Do you know what it might be?]

Han Wu turned to Duan Meng for additional information precisely because she had previously obtained information from her brother, granting her a greater understanding of their current situation compared to his own. Her actions, decisions and advice were very important.

She pondered a bit before replying.

[Duan Meng: According to my brother, the second calamity will be considerably more challenging than the initial one we faced. What’s more, he also mentioned a third calamity—one he described as abhorrently tough, utterly eclipsing the difficulty of both the first and second combined.]

The revelation of a third calamity made Han Wu scowl. He hadn’t even confronted the second yet, but another, even greater one, already loomed. He couldn't help but wonder if the Will of the Warring Kingdom Civilization was simply toying with them, like a cat with mice, in some sadistic game.

[Duan Meng: Han Wu, my brother, in his past attempt, failed to overcome the third calamity. His advice to me was to ensure I gather all nine castes before the third calamity’s arrival should I harbor any desire to make it through.]

A bitter smile touched Han Wu’s lips. The idea of gathering all nine castes might sound straightforward on the surface, but he, more than anyone, understood the daunting reality: he would first need to upgrade his shelter to Level 9 just to create space for nine individual altars. The sheer amount of resources required for just the Level 6 upgrade had already stretched into the tens of thousands.

He had a feeling that upgrading his estate to Level 9 would demand an astronomical sum—at least a hundred million of each required resource. Gathering such a large quantity of materials was going to prove exceedingly difficult, if not nearly impossible.

After divulging this bit of intel, Duan Meng proceeded to propose an alliance.

[Duan Meng: The second calamity is approaching, and I am confident in your ability to survive it. Given the circumstances, I was hoping that we could form a party, so we can survive together until the end of the class. So... what do you think?]

Her face flushed red as she sent the message, convinced it sounded more like a proposal than a party invitation.

I hope he won’t misunderstand me

, she thought anxiously.

Han Wu remained silent for a while after reading the message. He was aware of her circumstances through the group chat; she’d initially done well thanks to her brother’s information, but her current strength ranked, at best, within the higher end of the middle ranks among the students.

While accepting her invitation would undoubtedly burden him with additional responsibilities, Han Wu was aware that she had her uses—her well of knowledge regarding the Will of the Civilization was a powerful and important asset. He intuitively felt that as long as she continued to supply him with such valuable intelligence, his own earnings would multiply massively.

He was more than willing to accept her proposition, but only under two conditions: that he would continue to receive valuable intelligence, and that he would retain the advantage of making the first move. Having weighed his options and made his decision, he then sent his reply.

[Han Wu: We can form a party, but before we do, you’ll have to tell me everything you know about this Civilization first.]

Duan Meng agreed. She had originally intended to use her intel as a bargaining chip.

[Duan Meng: No problem. But first, let me move my shelter to where you’re at.]

[Han Wu: Huh? Move your shelter? You can do that? How does that even work?]

Han Wu was quite surprised. A Level 5 shelter was already an estate covering a kilometer radius. How could she possibly move something that massive?

[Duan Meng: I have my own ways. Just hold on for a moment. I’m going to become your neighbour soon!]

After sending the message, Duan Meng began preparing to move. Han Wu, meanwhile, quickly relayed information about the second calamity to Qin Shuang and Sun Qingnian. He cared only for these two, and didn’t give a damn about the others.

Upon learning of the second calamity, Qin Shuang and Sun Qingnian swiftly began mobilizing their units, preparing to move closer to each other. Qin Shuang’s units specialized in combat, while Sun Qingnian’s units excelled in support. The two worked surprisingly well together, exhibiting incredible fighting prowess.

Confident in both Qin Shuang and Sun Qingnian’s strength, Han Wu wasn’t too concerned about their ability to overcome the second calamity. The real, pressing challenge, however, was the immense task of upgrading their shelters to Level 9 and the difficult mission of collecting all nine castes.

Han Wu had spread his Dark Cursed Bugs across his territory, ensuring that every single resource node within his territory was pinpointed. Following this, he then proceeded to dispatch his skeletons to harvest these materials. Even so, he found that the amount of resources he was accumulating was still insufficient. As he pondered his next move, the sky above him suddenly grew dark.

He looked up, and his eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of a massive piece of land floating through the air. Duan Meng stood on the airborne landmass, waving at him. Han Wu truly believed he was hallucinating, as he’d never imagined it was possible to move an entire shelter in the Warring Kingdom Civilization.

Duan Meng expertly brought her flying shelter down to land directly beside Han Wu’s, cementing their partnership. As promised, she divulged all her accumulated knowledge about the Civilization, covering everything from the looming calamities and ancient ruins to the specific routes for upgrading altars. After taking all this information in, Han Wu decided to focus his efforts on enhancing his altars.

Although he possessed six available altar spots, only five were presently equipped. His Skeletons Altar was the highest-leveled among them, having reached Level 7. This was the very first altar he had established and had consistently been his primary engine for growth and increased power. Nevertheless, the overwhelming power of the Wights’ Eternal Altar had since eclipsed it, with his Level 7 Skeletons Altar now incapable of meeting his current needs, showing clear signs of becoming outdated and ineffective.

Han Wu had already made the decision to cease using it, but this changed after Duan Meng’s revelation that altars become Eternal Altars upon reaching Level 10. Furthermore, she clarified that the resource cost for summoning units was drastically lower for Eternal Altars that one had personally nurtured and invested in, as opposed to those merely discovered and acquired in the wild.

With a clear objective, Han Wu immediately began the process of advancing his Skeletons Altar. He spared no expense, purchasing a considerable number of Infantry Altars from other students, all of which were then consumed to elevate the Skeletons Altar’s power.

With this impressive display of wealth, he successfully purchased enough altars to swiftly propel the Skeletons Altar to its ultimate level. As the altar reached its pinnacle, it underwent metamorphosis, transforming into an Eternal Altar, subsequently presenting Han Wu with the opportunity to choose three upgrade paths from nine different options.

[Option 1: Double the amount of summoned skeletons.]

[Option 2: Double the amount of summoned skeletons.]

[Option 3: Double the amount of summoned skeletons.]

[Option 4 (Rare): Fixed chance of summoning skeletons with the Bone Bullet skill.]

[Option 5: Summons an additional 3,000 Elite Iron Skeletons daily.]

[Option 6 (Precious): After battles, summoned skeletons will have a set chance of mutating into a Lich. Unique life form. Skills: Bone Bullet, Bone Bulwark, Bone Prison. A skeleton that diverged from its evolution path. Proficient in bone magic and equipped with a number of long-range physical attacks.]

[Option 7 (Precious): Summon an additional Skull Tree. After planting, provides skeletons at fixed intervals.]

[Option 8 (Rare): Fixed chance of summoning skeletons wielding bone weapons.]

[Option 9: Summon an additional 500 Skeleton Knights daily.]

Han Wu made his selections, deciding on both upgrade paths bearing the “Precious” suffix, and additionally chose Option 8 to increase his skeletons’ overall strength. After deciding on his rewards, the Skeletons Altar, having reached Level 10, officially ascended to become a fully recognized Eternal Altar.

He now possessed the power to summon numerous forms of skeletons, with bone fragments serving as the summoning cost. However, regardless of their individual characteristics, each of these skeletal warriors was categorized as belonging to the Infantry caste.

[Common skeleton: 1 Bone]

[Elite Iron Skeleton: 10 Bone]

[Unique Skeleton Knight: 100 Bone]

[Unique Black Skeleton: 100 Bone, 1 Iron]

[Heroic Golden Skeleton: 1,000 Bone, 10,000 Gold Coins]

[Heroic Crystal Lich: 1,000 Bone, 1 Crystal Marrow]

[Special item: Skull Tree: 10,000 Bone, 100,000 Gold Coins, 1 Powerful Soul]

[System has detected that the eternal altar was originally bound to the user. Summoned skeletons will now require only half of the stipulated cost.]

A wave of astonishment washed over Han Wu after he had read the final notification. The true method of achieving greater strength in the Warring Kingdom Civilization had finally been revealed to him, and this profound realization filled him with an eager anticipation for what his future now held.