[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re":3,"chapter-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-143":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Vegetable-Growing Skeleton's Foreign Land Reclamation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2351624,4600,"Chapter 143: Can You Farm?","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-143",143,"\u003Cp>“Stop them—I’m leaving first. Don’t let them see me.” With those words, Andong ran off in another direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Church of Light found out, a cardinal of his stature, appearing deep in a desert thousands of kilometers away at midnight, fraternizing with undead creatures—that would be beyond even holy water’s power to cleanse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good! Perfect! Prepare for battle!” Luo Ge shed his earlier gloom, roaring with enthusiasm—so drastic a shift that his men from Darkside City were momentarily stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Negrilis and Brucek couldn’t help muttering: “I think Antony shouldn’t be a cardinal—he should be in the confessional.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you know he never spent time in the confessional? Maybe this ability was honed there—every believer shuffles in, wailing and miserable, then walks out ecstatic. The Church would promote him fast.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The undead of Darkside City had clearly prepared for an attack—they swiftly linked the wagons together into a barricade, angling a row of spikes outward to deter climbing or ramming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between each wagon, crossbows half the size of siege engines were mounted, aimed forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the wagons, shooting ports opened, and lich archers crouched behind them, targeting the front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it wasn’t enough. Luo Ge turned to Negrilis: “God of Knowledge, do you have any mages? Help me sink the wheels into the sand—stop them from dragging us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Negrilis froze: “You have over three thousand liches—and you’re short on mages?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Ge also froze: “Why wouldn’t we be? Training a mage is insanely expensive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But… you have over three thousand liches, a Lich King, even Necromantic Saints—how could you possibly lack mages?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Ge shook his head in disdain: “Clearly you’ve never raised people. Training a mage costs a fortune. Do you know how much a novice mage’s practice set costs? How much an hour of magical bilingual training runs? Do you know the price of a staff or a robe? Do you know how many magic crystals a novice mage burns in a year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he spoke, the angrier and more animated he became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Negrilis quickly stopped him: “Alright, alright, we get it—you’re broke.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Darkside City’s been blockaded for years. Practice boards and manuals are nearly impossible to get in. We can’t teach on sand, can we? Outside, mages already use holographic 3D practice books—you open one and instantly see the spell’s effect, even set yourself as the target to feel the impact. We? We just talk. The difference is night and day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Negrilis grew smug—dragon bloodlines granted all spellcasting knowledge and technique upon awakening, as if they’d cast the spells themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But undead have soul connections too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, now we mostly use the mentor-apprentice method—one experienced mage trains two apprentices, slowly grinding it out. But magic demands talent. After the initial enthusiasm fades, most just become mediocre. So most mages in Darkside City are average.” Luo Ge sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing “talent,” Negrilis glanced at Ange. Who had lower talent than a vegetable-growing skeleton?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training a mage was difficult in every way: massive investment, ample teachers and materials, and countless practice opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mastery comes from repetition. If you’ve never cast a Level One spell thousands of times, how can you grasp magic’s true essence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But casting requires mana. A novice mage exhausts his mana after five or six Level One spells—no chance to continue practicing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wealthy mages restore mana with magic crystals; poor ones rely on meditation, regaining full mana by the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others practice dozens of times a day; you manage a few. Progress is worlds apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, there are practice scrolls, staves, robes, magical accessories—those with means even use illusions for teaching. So wealthy mages and poor mages progress at entirely different levels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden period for learning magic lasts only about ten to twenty years. After that, one’s understanding hardens, and major breakthroughs become nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, early magical education determines future achievement—it decides how far a mage will rise. The faster the progress, the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why do the poor take up swords? Because they’re cheap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eat a full meal, grab a stick, swing wildly—and you might still become an outstanding swordsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh… don’t you have the Necrotic Holy Flame?” Negrilis asked. The Necrotic Holy Flame was like dragon bloodline inheritance combined with illusion-based teaching—a divine artifact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of undead liches gathered around the Necrotic Holy Flame, poured their consciousness into it, and instantly experienced their predecessors’ learning journeys firsthand. Any insights they gained could also be uploaded, expanding the knowledge reservoir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mage's understanding could be swiftly transmitted to other undead liches through the Necrotic Holy Flame—unmatched efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, we don’t have that thing. If we did, we’d be golden. With over three thousand liches, if even ten percent became great mages, hehehe… never mind. Do you have any mages?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Ge glanced toward the horizon—the Silver Knights were already visible at the edge of night. “If you don’t have mages, I’ll have to send men to dig.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ange,” Negrilis said to Ange: “Can you sink the wheels into the sand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ange shot out a string of spells—each landing beneath every wagon’s wheel—then pressed his palm down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! All wheels sank instantly into the sand; the wagon chassis settled directly onto the dunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five seconds. Done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Ge’s eyes widened: “Such precise control? Could this be…?” He’d just heard Negrilis call him “Ange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the one who inherited the Divine Soul of the Monarch—the new God of the Undead, Lord Ange.” To Luo Ge, a survivor from the Undead Empire, Negrilis used the old title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Ge dropped to one knee, voice deep: “I pay homage to the God of the Undead. Black Knight Luo Ge, at your service.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange symbol floated up from Luo Ge’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ange stared curiously at the symbol—it was utterly unlike the offerings his followers had given him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s an Oath of Loyalty. Accept it. Luo Ge swears fealty to the God of the Undead, pledging eternal loyalty. Unlike a Soul Oath, your death won’t kill him. His loyalty is pledged to the God of the Undead—you alone, while holding the Divine Soul, can command him.” Negrilis said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh.” Ange accepted the Oath of Loyalty, then asked: “Can you farm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?!” Luo Ge was utterly baffled. Farm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Negrilis covered his face. He already saw the image: Black Knight Emperor Luo Ge, scythe in hand, gliding over neat rows of crops, flattening them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t doubt it. Ange made little angels haul manure buckets—he’d absolutely make Luo Ge mow grass. Negrilis was already worrying about Luo Ge’s future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Silver Knights charged in—a beam of light blasted straight at the wagon wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Starting with Holy Radiance? Are they insane?!” Luo Ge’s expression changed drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Uncles and aunts, it’s Children’s Day—I’m going out to play. One chapter off today.\u003C\u002Fp>",1128,"2026-06-21T03:18:43.177Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e6b25b6ca91df210d813b36dc44187c22223b15159c20139f12dac683c3833ef","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-144","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-142",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-cover.jpg"]