Chapter 427: The Bait Has Arrived

My father gave me a staff that can inherit a hundred thousand troops, but now the staff is broken—what do I do?

Skeleton Knight Basso was feeling exactly this way—his heart filled with absurdity and unreality. Could the Staff of Undeath really break? What now?

They came up the mountain path and saw not a single soul along the way. This path had once been the only link between Gushu Fortress and the outside world, usually bustling with travelers and carts—even on holidays or rainy days when the mud was thick. It was impossible for not a single person to be seen.

Something must have happened. Basso could even guess what it was—they'd seen too much on the way back.

Order has collapsed. All cities are in chaos. Only self-sufficient villages still maintain order, but as cities fall, this disorder will inevitably spread to the villages until it swallows the entire world.

Basso knew full well how severe the consequences would be. Two months ago, when he discovered the skeletons in the cemetery had stopped emerging, he acted decisively—he took his loyal men and headed for the City of Eternal Life to retrieve the Staff of Undeath.

This staff was once granted to lords, allowing them to command the undead guardians of the cemetery. For Basso, a human, to travel to the City of Eternal Life was itself an act of great risk.

But fortunately, his status as a Skeleton Knight proved decisive. A Skeleton Knight is one who has been recognized by an undead bone horse.

Ordinary bone horses have no intelligence. Only those above Ash Bone level possess limited intellect, and no ordinary person can command them. Only knights granted their approval become Skeleton Knights.

Compared to ordinary horses, bone horses have enormous advantages—they can march thousands of miles without fatigue. As long as you don't mind wearing out your buttocks, you can ride them nonstop.

They traveled unimpeded to the City of Eternal Life. The chaotic administrative hall was astonished by his arrival: "Why did you come to claim the Staff of Undeath?"

Basso said nervously: "Only the Staff of Undeath can summon the cemetery's undead guardians to maintain city order."

"How do I know you won't kill, rob, and commit evil after getting the staff? Will you just create more chaos?" asked the Death Lord overseeing administration.

Basso replied: "No matter how evil I become, it's better than total collapse. At worst, I'll hang my former oppressors and court their wives. But if order collapses, more people will die. Our region doesn't produce grain—if order breaks, the whole city will starve."

The Death Lord nodded and grumbled: "You make sense. That's a decent idea. I'll send someone to deliver the staff immediately—let those with prestige in the cities take charge first. The Emperor went too far this time. Ugh, how do we clean up this mess? So annoying."

The Emperor? The Undead Monarch? Seeing this Death Lord dare to criticize the Monarch, Basso realized the man was no ordinary undead.

Still, he never dared ask the man's name. After obtaining the Staff of Undeath, they hurried back without delay—all went smoothly, at least until they pulled out the Staff.

A damaged staff? Unheard of. And now it happened. What now?

The five knights exchanged glances. Go back and return it? Get another?

Not even considering whether they could get another one, just imagining the ten-thousand-kilometer journey back made their blood run cold.

The world outside isn't nearly as safe as it was when they came. If they made the trip again, they might not even survive.

Even if they did survive, what good would it do? By then, Gushu Fortress might already be empty.

If Gushu Fortress's order holds for another two months, that means no collapse is imminent—whether they have the staff or not becomes irrelevant.

While everyone was lost and helpless, a voice rang out. They looked up and saw someone leaping down step by step from the terraces beside the cemetery, arriving before them and extending a hand: "Give it to me."

The tone was so matter-of-fact that Basso instinctively reached to hand over the staff—only then did he realize what he was doing.

"Who are you? A citizen of the fortress? You want this? Do you even know what it is?" Basso asked. "What's the situation in the fortress? What are you doing here?"

"Growing vegetables. Give it." Ange repeated, reaching out.

Basso never expected Ange to just grab it—he froze, and the staff was snatched away.

Basso stared blankly at his empty hand, then at Ange's. "Your hands are fast. Don't play around—this isn't a toy. Give it back."

Before he finished speaking, the staff in Ange's hand suddenly burst into deep blue flames—far more intense than the first time Basso summoned them, the flames nearly spilling out of the eye sockets.

"Huh? Not broken? Are you a necromancer?" Basso was stunned again.

Could the staff not be broken—was he just using it wrong?

Ange studied the staff for a moment, then raised it toward the cemetery.

The cemetery at dawn was silent…

"That's not how it works. You need to recite the incantation: 'Rise, undead souls, heed my command…' Never mind, let me do it." Basso said, reaching to take the staff from Ange.

But at that moment, the cemetery stirred. One by one, sealed crypts opened, and undead guardians crawled out, standing before their tombs and staring this way—every hill and field glowed with blue light.

"This… I… I hadn't even finished the incantation. Do you not even need to say it?" Basso was bewildered. He snatched the staff from Ange and raised it toward the cemetery: "Undead souls, heed my command—come!"

The cemetery remained silent. The undead guardians stared with glowing blue eyes.

"Still nothing? Rise, undead souls, heed my command—awaken from your realm of slumber!" Basso raised the staff high and shouted the full incantation.

The undead guardians remained motionless, just watching them.

"Still nothing? Is there some trick?" Basso waved the staff a few times, unable to command them. Finally, helplessly, he turned his gaze back to Ange.

"You do it." He shoved the staff into Ange's hand.

Ange didn't even need the staff anymore. When he'd held it and ignited it, he'd received some information—he understood its mechanism. He'd already lost interest; otherwise, Basso would never have gotten it back so easily.

Looking at the staff shoved into his hand, Ange raised it and waved it once—no incantation needed. The undead guardians turned in unison, silently slipping back into their crypts and closing the lids.

"Wait—no… oh no, they're all gone! Leave some behind to maintain order! You know how to use this—take charge of it. Promise me you'll use it to preserve Gushu Fortress's order, not for evil, okay?" Basso pleaded.

Though he'd spent two months retrieving the Staff of Undeath, he hadn't done it for himself. Seeing Ange could use it, he handed it over without hesitation—no attachment at all. His only fear was whether this self-proclaimed "vegetable grower" would use it for evil.

Ange tilted his head, glancing back, searching for the yellow figure.

Above the terraces, Negrilis, dozing off, was startled awake by the cemetery's commotion. He looked up and saw Ange was gone—panicking, he flew over. Seeing Ange standing "confronted" by the five knights, he was shocked: "What's going on? Are they fighting?"

As he drew closer, he realized it wasn't a confrontation. After hearing the story, Negrilis exclaimed: "Staff of Undeath? Where did you get that?"

Basso had no time to answer—he was entirely focused on Negrilis: "Dragon? A brass dragon? So skinny? Malnourished?"

"Hey, can't you speak properly? I'll roast you bald." Negrilis let out a tiny dragon's breath as a threat.

"Why bald?" Maybe because the breath was so tiny, it had zero intimidation—instead, it put Basso and the others at ease.

After some conversation, Negrilis finally understood their situation: "You're Skeleton Knights—originally guards of Gushu Fortress's cemetery? Why did you go to get the Staff of Undeath?"

Basso replied: "It's the fastest, most thorough solution. What about you? Who are you? We've never seen you in Gushu Fortress before. What's the city like?"

As they talked, Ange had already turned and returned to the terraces, continuing to tend his crops.

When he'd ignited the Staff of Undeath, he'd received some information from it—he understood its mechanism. It was merely a soul-network node.

Because this soul-network node carried the aura of a certain being, it could command the cemetery's undead guardians.

Ange realized he didn't need the staff at all—he could still command the cemetery's undead. Though he couldn't make them obey like his soul-linked subjects, he could still summon, move, and direct them. So he didn't need the staff.

Still, he was too lazy to return it. He casually slipped it into his storage ring.

Soul-bound objects couldn't be stored in the Divine Realm—he had no storage space there, and he wasn't used to it. So he wore a ring to carry things that wouldn't fit in the Divine Realm.

After speaking with Basso, Negrilis immediately gathered everyone to discuss it—Basso's news was too shocking.

"You're saying a Death Lord received you? And he complained, 'The Emperor went too far this time'?" Du Luo asked.

The five knights, munching on beef patties Negrilis had tricked Ji Li into giving them, nodded contentedly: "Yes, that Death Lord said exactly that. He even said my idea was good—he plans to send people to distribute the Staff of Undeath, letting those with prestige in the cities temporarily command the undead guardians to stabilize order."

They'd already visited the city. Gushu Fortress wasn't nearly as chaotic as they'd imagined—few people had died, everyone was working orderly, completely unlike the terrified refugees they'd seen along the way.

These changes were all brought by Negrilis and the others. It gave him an inexplicable trust in them.

No sooner had Basso finished speaking than Du Luo and Silver Coin burst out cursing: "What a stupid idea! Is he trying to make things worse? What's his name? I'm going to the House of the Departed to yell at him."

Basso was stunned: "Isn't that a good idea?"

"Of course not," Silver Coin explained. "He should've sent people directly to manage the undead guardians—not handed control to anyone. Changing the balance of power anywhere is just encouraging war."

"Suppose you now command an undead army, but your city has no food, and you can't buy any elsewhere—wouldn't you raid Northwind City?" Silver Coin posed.

Basso shook his head: "No. I couldn't get there."

"What about the cities down the mountain? If you starve without food, wouldn't you attack them?" Silver Coin snapped, rephrasing.

"Yes. I get it. Anyone who gains command—and has ambition or lacks food or water—will use the undead guardians to attack others." Basso suddenly understood.

Without troops, you only get chaos from collapsed order. With troops, you get war.

Du Luo sighed: "Used to it, used to it. These undead never think before they act—they don't have brains."

Basso instinctively defended: "Maybe it's just because there aren't enough people. In the City of Eternal Life, I didn't see many intelligent undead."

"Few high-ranking undead? You don't need high-ranking undead. What about vassal races?"

The shortage was an old problem. The former Palace of Rest had the same issue—intelligent undead were always few. Compared to the countless low-level undead, high-ranking ones were too scarce to manage effectively.

If undead were a vast net, high-ranking undead were the knots. Too few knots, and the net is too loose—everything slips through.

But you don't need high-ranking undead for simple tasks. Hand those to vassal races. Didn't the Abyss of Rest once have Undead Temples? Surely this place has similar organizations?

Basso spread his hands—it was beyond his understanding.

After Basso left, Negrilis and the others conferred, all scratching their heads: "The situation's too complicated. Can we handle this? Should we call Anthony?"

"Can he spare the time? The Prime Plane has too many problems."

"Ask him. Just hearing Basso's report gives me a headache," Negrilis grumbled.

At that moment, Negrilis noticed Ange, who had stopped farming and was gazing upward.

In the southeastern sky, one large black dot led, followed by a dozen smaller ones—heading straight toward them. As they drew closer, their shapes became clear: thirteen bone dragons—one large, twelve small.

"Tiny bone dragons. The front one's maybe twenty meters, the others no more than fifteen. Did these guys starve in life?" Negrilis exclaimed.

The thirteen bone dragons circled Gushu Fortress once. Voices called from their backs: "Gushu Fortress—secure. Next. Any nearby cities? Northwind City? Good. Next—Northwind City."

"Huh? There's a brass dragon down there?"

"Why are you so surprised? You've seen dragons before, haven't you? Keep moving!"

The group of bone dragons turned and flew toward the other side of the mountains.

Only when the bone dragon riders were far away did they stare at each other: "What were those guys? Were they patrolling?"

"Checking which cities are chaotic? And if so, landing to restore order? Does that mean someone's still maintaining order in the Undead Empire?!" Du Luo suddenly felt a strange sense of relief.

Even though the empire had collapsed, loyal subjects still upheld its final glory.

"They went to Northwind City. Should we go back too?"

"No. Just keep an eye on the teleportation array. If anything happens, Feiwo will notify us."

That night, Feiwo indeed sent word: the bone dragon cavalry had indeed landed in Northwind City and spent the night there.

Feiwo warmly hosted them and received a piece of news: the Necromancer Council was searching for someone who could cultivate the Sky-Touching Divine Tree.

Whoever could cultivate the Sky-Touching Divine Tree would be granted twenty cities of over fifty thousand people each—or one million square kilometers of territory.

Negrilis and the others exchanged glances, then smiled knowingly: The bait has arrived.