I Became the Progenitor Vampire Chapter 373

Chapter 373: Chapter 375: The Edge of Dawn After March (Anti-theft Chapter, Do Not Disturb) Chapter 373: Chapter 375: The Edge of Dawn After March (Anti-theft Chapter, Do Not Disturb) This chapter employs anti-piracy measures and will be available for subscription 20 minutes later when at home. Subscribing won't be affected, and readers can refresh after 20 minutes.

Today, I was cursed out by a friend who reads pirated copies, and it really soured my mood. They feel entitled to everything for free and even have the audacity to complain that the rice I grow is too hard and not to their taste. I don't even know what to say… When people go shopping, they know they have to pay, so why do they feel that authors don't have to spend time or effort, as if the words type themselves?

I'm aware that my abilities are limited and that this book has many issues, but it is the result of hard work. I can't stop piracy, but could you please not insult the author after reading pirated copies?

It really infuriates me.

The anti-piracy chapter will charge for exactly 10,000 characters, and we'll adjust the count back to — 10600 characters — later. Those who have subscribed will not be at a disadvantage.

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Upon hearing this, Lide smiled and turned his gaze to Nicole, who had been pouting next to him without a chance to speak, “Nicole, your turn.”

After being called upon, the young girl instantly perked up, her large eyes twinkling.

“Yes, Lord Kachar~ Sister, dealing with them is simple. We just have to intimidate the Half-Elves so they wouldn't dare to take action.

When the time comes, we can send the Divine Monster Asreaga to make a round at Black Iron Castle, making them wary and fearful.”

Lide looked at Nicole approvingly, “Intimidation is indeed a tactic, but to effectively use it, you must also offer incentives alongside the threats.

Using powerful forces to threaten Black Iron Castle may be beneficial to us in the short term, but in the long run, it cannot eliminate the roots of future trouble. Instead, it might provoke resistance from them.

On the other hand, if we lure them with benefits during this time, the outcome would be completely different…”

Lide didn't continue, his dark eyes encouraging the girl to proceed as he looked at her expectantly.

Nicole's eyes shone brightly as she looked at Lide, her smile radiant, as she continued the topic.

“For example, we could strengthen our trade cooperation with them, allowing the Half-Elves to reap huge profits from us. Faced with interests, nobody can remain cool-headed. Once they taste the sweet fruits of profit, they might even voluntarily cooperate with our proselytizing.

The specific operation would be to support a few influential Half-Elf factions, making them the biggest beneficiaries, and also help them increase their influence among Half-Elves to counter the dissenters. These people might even eventually become part of our force.”

Nicole's words greatly pleased Lide. It seemed that his decision to let this young girl gain experience in the City Hall over the past few years was the right one.

“Forfeit small gains to achieve greater ones. This is the basic logic of strategy, and Nicole has done very well.

When the economy of Black Iron Castle is completely tied to us, they will become like the Iron Hoof Tribe, unable to resist the inevitable tide, even if they are reluctant.

At that time, we might even be able to conquer this city without resorting to military force.”

First, pursue economic colonization, then cultivate a large group of pro-self beneficiaries. When the time is ripe for true colonization, the pathfinders can eliminate the opposition for us.

It's as simple and unadorned as that.

Nicole's eyes gleamed with admiration, “Your wisdom truly astounds, Your Majesty.”

Harrison and Nicole both nodded in strong agreement.

Lide couldn't help but smile. Most young men do rather sophomoric things just for such admiration in a girl's eyes and their words of praise, don't they?

Thankfully, he was past the age for such folly, but he was still in high spirits.

“Nicole, put the large-scale proselytization in the Underworld on hold for now. We'll start rolling it out all over in three months.

In these next few months, we have to wage war on Risier City, so we can't take care of the Underworld.”

After saying this, Lide glanced at Harrison, and the understanding Harrison immediately began to lay out the details about the Divine relic to the two girls.

Eventually, Harrison pondered whether he should just write it down and give a copy to everyone in the upper echelons of Dawn City…

After Harrison finished explaining, Lide continued,
“The Magic Language Bats are inherently despised by the Light Attribute and Nature Sect. If they were to appear, they would likely face a joint siege, so this time, my main goal is to breed a group of Dawn Bats.”

Dawn Bat: Basic Level 10, Mature Body Level 12, Elite Body Level 14, Perfect Body Level 15. Evolution requires the use of a Bronze One-eyed Giant's Bloodline, 500 points of Power of Faith, and a 30-day evolution period.

This was the breeding method for the Dawn Bat that Lide obtained after cultivating Castro, the Basic King.

Although the Dawn Bat was an advancement from the Magic Language Bat, due to the involvement of Power of Faith and the Bronze One-eyed Giant's Bloodline during the process, it had already transcended the category of Dark Life.

Fearless of Holy Light and the power of the sun, Dawn Bats could maintain their peak condition even in daylight.

When the Magic Language Bats cannot be deployed, the Dawn Bats are indeed the best choice.

“Majesty, we previously bred about twenty Dawn Bats, which serve as the mounts for the high-ranking officers of the Dawn Wings,” Nicole started, but she did not immediately respond, instead, her eyebrows knitted together slightly.

“Because the consumption of the Power of Faith is too great, we cannot breed them on a large scale.

Now we face the same problem.

Majesty, if we simply want to breed Dawn Bats to replace the Magic Language Bats, I fear the required Power of Faith will be an amount we cannot afford…”

Everyone present was a confidant, and Lide no longer kept them in the dark about the Power of Faith.

But upon hearing these words, he couldn't help falling silent for a moment.

He had previously planned to breed Dawn Bats, but the biggest problem, as Nicole mentioned, was the consumption of the Power of Faith.

On his attribute panel, he only had 120,000 Power of Faith, with 500 points needed to breed one bat, breeding 100 would require 50,000 points, so he could breed a little over 200 at most.

But a smaller number was better than none, and in the absence of Magic Language Bats, breeding Dawn Bats as substitutes was undoubtedly the best choice.

“Nicole, we need an air force; only with an air force can we maximize the power of alchemical bombs.

Although I've arranged for extra preparations in the Alchemy Factory, none can replace the role of an air force.”

The importance of air supremacy had been made clear to him by countless wars on Earth.

And when facing a significant difference in strength between enemies and allies, a powerful air force is absolutely key to victory.

But the identity of the Bloodline must not be exposed; the danger faced after exposure could be ten times greater than not having an air force, so the current choice was also a last resort.

“How much of Castro's bloodline is stored now?”

Breeding Magic Language Bats also required the bloodline of the Bronze One-eyed Giant, but luckily, when Castro evolved into a Bronze One-eyed Giant, Lide realized his importance and began storing Castro's blood weekly.

“Enough to create 3,000 Dawn Bats…”

3,000? That was a sufficient number.

“Good. In the next two months, I won't use the Power of Faith; use all of it in coordination with the Dawn Wings to breed the Dawn Bats.

Now, I gain about 40,000 to 50,000 Power of Faith per month, which may increase as the population of new residents grows, but that's the amount we have for now.

Including the earnings of the next three months, we can have over 400 Dawn Bats before the war begins.

Although the number can't compare to the existing 7,000-plus Magic Language Bats, it will barely be enough.”

With an initial level of 10, 400 level-10 flying demon beasts could also be considered a formidable force.

Hearing Lide's orders, Nicole no longer spoke and promptly acknowledged them.

As a Divine Priest, every interest was considered for Lide, and her suggestions were meant to address any oversight for Lide, nothing else.

Just then, Nicole suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up.

“Lord City Lord, intelligence reports say that Black Iron Castle has over a thousand Black Beak Giant Eagles…

If we can't deploy Magic Language Bats, then can we borrow an army from Black Iron Castle, or rather, hire them to participate in this war?”

The idea was creative.

Lide pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“It's uncertain if the half-elves will take part in this war, but these Underground lifeforms cannot be exposed.

Although we currently exclusively enjoy the Underworld, don't forget, who revealed the presence of a Black Dragon in the swamp, who then stole whose divine artifact?

Since goblins have emerged from the Underworld and been discovered by Risier City, it means there must be other entrances.

Right now, humans are unaware of this, but if they start seriously searching upon realizing the Underworld's existence, they might find it.

At that time, our exclusive advantage of the Underworld will undoubtedly be gone.”

“Majesty, your wisdom always amazes us…”

Harry responded with a smile.

Nicole, too, nodded in approval, “Yes, it's a gift from the Creator God…”

Lide felt a mix of amusement and frustration, saying no more, he simply issued his command.

“We have three months until the complete unsealing of the Divine relics. Harrison, you take charge in the City Hall to control the overall picture, monitoring the progress of these tasks.

Nicole, the breeding of the Dawn Bats must not be neglected; you must cultivate enough numbers.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Upon receiving the order, Harrison and Neroli responded in unison, while Nicole looked at Lide with a puffed-up expression, “Lord Kachar, what about me??”

Why was she the only one not assigned a task among the three people? Unfair… Hmph.

Hearing these childish words, Lide couldn't help but smile wryly, what an immature girl.

“Was it you who arranged for the giants to be trained before being put on duty last time?”

“Yes,” Nicole's dark eyes spun, and she slightly raised her head with a bit of pride.

“After the training, the one-eyed giants and double-headed ogres have become much easier to command.”

“Not bad,” Lide nodded, looking at the instantly-beaming girl and continued.

“But that's not enough, the battle is about to start, and I need you to devise a set of combat methods suitable for the one-eyed giants and double-headed ogres, and then train them.

It's best if you could train them to the state of unconditional obedience like human soldiers.

Nicole, it's a very tough task, are you ready?”

Looking at Lide, who was filled with encouraging and expectant eyes, Nicole was somewhat haughty, “Don't worry, Lord Kachar, I will train these giants into a qualified and strong army!”

“I'm looking forward to it…”

After assigning the tasks, Lide turned his head and communicated with Neroli about the recent issues with the proselytizing of the Dawn Sect.

Every time there is a massive influx of people, it brings various sect beliefs to Dawn City.

This is the time to test the priests' ability to handle heretics.

Although supported by the official forces of Dawn City, assimilating believers of other sects often takes a considerable amount of time.

Of course, Neroli is already experienced in this area. After briefly learning some of the latest issues of the Dawn Sect, Lide remembered something very important.

The Dawn Festival is the time for the Bloodline's first embrace, and now it is January 11.

The number of Bloodline on his attribute panel has surged from 1,358 to 2,708…

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Harrison.

“Harrison, how is the first embrace of the Dawn Festival going?”

“Your Grace, everything is proceeding smoothly. Except for a few humans with significant merits, all others selected for the first embrace came from the army, Dawn Academy, and the Dawn Mage Tower.

Talents and personalities are outstanding, and their levels are all above Level 5.

This time, there were 1,350 people involved in the first embrace. Except for Frey, Emi, Stanley, and a few other Bloodlines who did not undergo the first embrace, all of the Holy Light Bloodline within Dawn City participated in this event.”

Harrison's expression was somewhat excited; he had watched the Bloodline grow from just over two hundred to now nearly three thousand, in less than four years.

Lide nodded slightly. Before the start of the war with the cave spiders, there were over 1,400 Bloodline,
after the war with the cave spiders, in the nearly a year of prolonged war, although the Holy Light Bloodline held the fortresses and cast spells from the rear, more than a hundred died in battle.

As for the number of Beastman Warriors who died, it exceeded 5,000…

The Magic Crystal Vein was taken back at a bloody price.

War, there's never any mercy to speak of.

Nor is there any differentiation between justice and injustice, evil and goodness.

Everything is for the prosperity and growth of the race.

If you don't get stronger, you simply wait for death; there is no third option.

“Well done. After becoming Bloodline, immediately arrange for their profession conversion.

Those with strong abilities can be directly assigned to the military; those still needing to learn must continue their training.

The future of the Bloodline is long; we're not in a hurry.”

Over 2,700 people also means that now Lide could expect to receive over two thousand basic experience points every month.

That's more than most players could make in a year from quests at this stage.

Although there's a long way to go for his 1 million experience points, if the Bloodline continues to develop for another three to five years, the amount of experience they could provide each month would reach tens of thousands.

At that time, it would definitely be a significant number that cannot be ignored, meaning that the more the Bloodline develops, the greater Lide's benefits.

He was equivalent to being a late-stage Profession, and as long as the Bloodline thrived, he would grow to a chilling level of power.

That was the biggest advantage of being the Ancestor of an Upper Race.

After confirming matters concerning the Bloodline, Lide continued to inquire.

“Has there been any progress with the improvements to the Divine Gifted Holy Armor?”

“No…” Harrison said with a wry smile, shaking his head, “Your Majesty, just manufacturing the Divine Gifted Holy Armor was already very difficult.

Trying to improve it is even more daunting…”

Upon hearing this, the corners of Lide's mouth twitched, equipment costing 5,000 Gold Pucks each was really too extravagant to play with.

Now, arming nearly three thousand Bloodlines would cost 13.5 million Gold Pucks, where would Dawn City get so much money.

“Keep them working on it, at this price, even bleeding Dawn City dry would not be enough to equip all the Bloodlines.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I will urge them on…”

After asking the few questions he was most concerned about, Lide let out a slight sigh of relief.

Having been running around all day today, he had finally issued all the tasks.

And this was just the beginning, in the next three months, Dawn City would operate at an unprecedented intensity.

That would be the time to test leadership and control abilities.

“You all have your own tasks, I have other matters to handle.

Do you have any other questions?”

“Your Majesty, we will win the ultimate victory, and the glory will be yours.”

Nilo showed a gentle smile, her gaze steadily on him.

Lide felt the warmth in those golden eyes and his heart grew warm.

His Divine Priest, almost the closest person to him, their souls tightly bound together.

“I am firm in this belief as well. This time will be like the others; I will continue to lead our armies back through the sound of victory.”

Lide's gaze was deep.

After confirming there were no further questions that required his resolution, he spoke no more.

Amidst Nilo's and Nicole's slightly reluctant gazes, he tore through space and entered the Land of Bone-Burying.

Ever since he determined that they would wage war, he had felt an intense sense of urgency that did not allow any relaxation.

With a great battle looming, there was much potential yet to be tapped in the Land of Bone-Burying.

Death Spider Queen could mass-produce Death Spiders…

Land of Corruption could cultivate Death Flowers that enhance soul energy,
Land of Bone-Burying could mass-produce Undead using the Power of Death,
And most crucially–the sealed Twelve-winged Blazing Angel.

Divine relics, Twelve-winged Blazing Angels… it all seemed too coincidental.

Upon entering the Land of Bone-Burying, a feeling of kinship washed over him, and the rich Power of Death around him began surging and swirling as if welcoming his arrival.

His spiritual power spread instantly, and through the soul mark, he gained immediate control over the entire Plane.

Land of Bone-Burying (Undead Plane)
Level: Rare (Next level Rare, upgrade requires 1 million Power of Death)
Power of Death: 428,799
Traits: Capable of growth, Undead Transformation
Special Troops: Frost Giant Dragon (Not activated)
Special Building: Skeleton Altar (Damaged)
Special Area: Land of Corruption (Basic)
Plane Area: Diameter 2000 blades
Anchored Coordinates – Dawn City (A Spatial Gate can be opened within an 800-kilometer radius of Dawn City to enter the Land of Bone-Burying)
Introduction:…

Lide glanced at the attribute panel of the Land of Bone-Burying and had a clear understanding — it had been two months since he transformed the Death Spider Queen, and he had not seriously observed the Land of Bone-Burying during this time.

Two months had seen his Power of Death, which had been reduced to just thirty or forty thousand, soar to over four hundred thousand. Although still some distance away from leveling up, it was enough for him to make a significant recovery.

Setting aside other aspects for the moment, it was undeniable that the Land of Bone-Burying's role within Dawn City had become increasingly significant.

The ability to open a Spatial Gate at any time meant that Lide wouldn't exchange it even for a divine artifact; this greatly saved on the transportation time of materials, effectively doubling the production efficiency of Dawn City.

Most notably was the construction of the new urban district. Previously, it involved mining stone from the mountains and transporting it back using Magic Language Bats or giants.

Now, two Spatial Gates could be directly opened: one on the mountain and another at the construction site, allowing direct transportation of materials to the construction site for building.

The efficiency improved far more than just twofold.

It also made possible the transportation of One-eyed Giants to the three thousand blade-height mountains surrounding Dawn City to dig an epic water project.

There was no longer any need for Magic Language Bats — simply direct where to transport and that was it. If undisturbed by the cold, just come down to rest, and once recharged, head back up. The convenience was multiplied countless times over.

For Dawn City at its current stage, Lide even believed to a certain extent that the Land of Bone-Burying's value in civilian life was completely on a par with, if not exceeding, its military value.

Even if the Land of Bone-Burying could nurture an ultimate life form like the Frost Giant Dragon in the future.

After observing the Land of Bone-Burying's attribute panel a few times, Lide shifted his attention to the internal environment of the Land of Bone-Burying.

The current Land of Bone-Burying had undergone significant changes since the last time he hatched the Death Spider Queen. Most noticeable were the giant, gray-furred spiders that swarmed the area in the upper left edge.

Covered in terrifying fur, their mouths equipped with dagger-like turtle teeth and eyes gleaming with a greenish glow, they lay dense and silent on the ground, their bodies slightly bent together. At a glance, a quarter area of the Land of Bone-Burying was dominated by these fearsome creatures.

They completely obscured the bone-white ground beneath them, numbering at least ten thousand, sending shivers down the spine of anyone who laid eyes on them.

Undoubtedly, the most conspicuous was the Death Spider Queen, surrounded by countless giant spiders at the center. The abdomen of the Death Spider Queen was five blades long and three blades wide, and its massive mouthparts opened occasionally to drop a glowing green, slime-filled spider egg.

Although it was a scene of his own making, Lide also felt somewhat uneasy.

Death Spider Queen
Level: 14
Special Talent: Spider Queen (can lay eggs to propagate Death Spiders; Death Spider eggs hatch within one month, emerge at Level 5, mature to Level 9, Elites can break through to Level 10, and the highest level they can reach is 14. There's a very small chance to break through Level 15, feeding on various energy-sufficient decaying plants and bodies.)
Restricted Talent: Rapid Reproduction (Intermediate) (can produce 500 spider eggs per day and increase the hatching rate by 35%; under sufficient energy and food, egg-laying quantity can be increased)
Energy Gathering (Intermediate) (…improves the probability of Elite Spider birth by 10%, 10% chance to give birth to Mutated Death Spider)
Introduction:…

There hadn't been much change in the Death Spider Queen's attribute panel. Its birth was the result of Lide using the Power of Death to invade the eggs of an Extraordinary Spider Queen and feeding it the Thorns Holy Fruit to achieve its current attributes.

The saying “one individual is a race” couldn't be more apt when applied to the Death Spider Queen.

Lide, looking at the Death Spiders lying motionless on the white bone ground, as if hibernating, raised an eyebrow.

The Death Spider Queen produced 500 eggs every day. The eggs took thirty days to hatch. As it had been two months since their birth, the eggs laid in the first month should now have hatched.

After a slight sensing, the number of Death Spiders on the ground was roughly fifteen thousand, fluctuating by no more than 300.

Lide was slightly relieved that these Death Spiders, lying dormant in the Land of Bone-Burying, did not need to feed. As long as no fierce battles occurred, they required very little of the Power of Death to sustain their lives.

Now, these resting Death Spiders, in their reduced state of activity, were minimizing their consumption.

This was another hidden feature of the Land of Bone-Burying — as long as it was an Undead life form, the Power of Death could sustain its life, thus avoiding the awkwardness of having to find food every day after cultivating a troop type.

Logistics had always been the strong point of the Undead life forms, in essence drinking the northwestern wind and producing milk.

Lide smiled slightly, even more satisfied with the Land of Bone-Burying.

Logistics has always been the most significant constraint on an army. For a human army, necessities like clothing, food, shelter, and transport must be secured to maintain adequate combat effectiveness.

In contrast, the Holy Light Bloodline and the Undead have far fewer restrictions. The Bloodline only needs to feed once to sustain a month's worth of sustenance, and even in intense combat, they could last for one to two weeks.

The Undead are even more overbearing — they require no logistics, simply focusing on amassing troops.

Lide floated in mid-air, casually opening the attribute panel of one of the Death Spiders.

Death Spider
Race: Death Spider
Level: 6
Size: Large creature
Skills: Spitting webs, Death Bite, Spider Venom, Mental Resistance, Sharp Claws and Teeth, High-Speed Sprint.

Bloodline: Death Spider Bloodline (Able to devour the power of death to heal wounds, and attacks carry the power of death, causing wounds to rot.)
Introduction: An ancient predator that likes to hunt with its highly toxic webs.

Not bad, with six skills. Although the added attributes of the skills are quite common, for a demon beast of this level, it's already outstanding.

However, it seems that the death spider of this level is not much of a help in the upcoming battle.

Lide shook his head, his gaze drifting to other areas in the Land of Bone-Burying.

Although the death spiders were numerous, they only occupied one corner.

The main focus remained on the twelve-tier white bone altar in the center area, where the nearly shattered angel wings were still emitting a faint holy glow.

Lide's expression was somewhat complex.

The twelve-winged Blazing Angel, ranked seventh among the servants of the Master of Dawn, a terrifying existence of level 30 or above. The scene of resisting the descent of the divine still fresh before his eyes.

What a pity.

It couldn't be utilized by him.

He opened the attribute panel to glance at the properties of the angel wings.

Twelve-winged Blazing Angel
Status: Transforming, transforming race–Fallen Angel
Transformation time: 13,242 years (Death Power can be used to accelerate the transformation)
Introduction: The seventh-ranking Blazing Angel among the Master of Dawn's servants. Although she lost most of her power over the long years, she still possesses an unimaginable might currently being eroded by evil forces.

If he remembered correctly, the original transformation time for the twelve-winged Blazing Angel was 13,243 years, and now it was 13,242 years, which means a whole year had passed, and the transformation time decreased by one year…

“I…”

With a helpless face, Lide thought, when would this ever end??

A twelve-winged Blazing Angel of over level 30, could you not play by the rules? By the time the transformation is successful, players might have become gods…

Looking at the 420,000 units of Death Power on his attribute panel, an idea struck him.

Previously, he had been dizzy at the sight of thousands of years of transformation time and had never tested how much Death Power could speed up the transformation process.

Lide stroked his chin and immediately began channeling Death Power towards the twelve-tier white bone altar.

The transformation began.

As he controlled the invasion of Death Power, he immediately sensed the angel wings, with the twelve-winged Blazing Angel sealed by the plane power of the Land of Bone-Burying, yet Lide could still sense that incredibly holy force.

The Holy Light was like rolling magma, ready to burst forth at any moment.

And his input of Death Power was eroding the other at an extremely slow pace.

On the translucent wings, mottled grey traces were spreading.

The only regret was that it was too slow; with the slow pace of erosion that was almost invisible, Lide felt that he really had to wait a millennium.

As the Death Power he was manipulating invaded, the outermost part of the angel wings was eroded by an imperceptible bit…

10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000…

When the Death Power dropped by 100,000, the attribute panel for the twelve-winged Blazing Angel showed a change in the transformation time.

Lide, noticing the change, abruptly opened his eyes and stopped channeling Death Power, looking somewhat expectantly at the attribute panel.

But his expression immediately stiffened.

Because the panel now showed 13,241 years… The time was previously at 13,242 years.

Which meant that he had spent 100,000 units of Death Power just to reduce the transformation time of the twelve-winged Blazing Angel by one year.

By this calculation, did these thirteen thousand or so years need him to expend 1.3 billion units of Death Power??

Lide glanced at his remaining 320,000 Power of Death and his face turned dark.

“Should I say it or not… What the hell kind of Twelve-winged Blazing Angel is this? It's way too difficult to corrupt.

Can't you take the initiative yourself? Why does it have to be so troublesome…

1.3 billion Power of Death?? Could killing 10 million Beastmen in the barren wastelands even yield a billion? I'm afraid even if we destroy every city in the entire southern province, we would barely scrape together that much…”

Lide couldn't help feeling a bit helpless. It seemed that possessing the power of a Twelve-winged Blazing Angel any time soon was a bit too ambitious.

“F*ck it, later I'll order Asreaga to open twice as many, no, three times as many gates to the Spider Plane. I refuse to believe that slaughtering the entire Spider Plane won't amass those 1.3 billion Power of Death…”

It might still not be enough…

After a brief calculation, the corner of Lide's mouth twitched. He could only hope that the spider egg production would speed up; otherwise, who knows what year it would be before the Twelve-winged Blazing Angel could be corrupted.

He then decisively gave up the idea of continuing to input the Power of Death into the Twelve-winged Blazing Angel.

This was like a bottomless sea; trying to fill it up with stones would require an overwhelming amount of resources.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Lide shifted his attention to the Death Spiders.

Relying on other powers to increase combat capabilities in a short period would be quite difficult. Although the Death Spiders themselves were not very strong in combat, upon closer inspection, it seemed there was still some fascinating potential.

He suddenly remembered a common monster from the games he often played.

Self-Destructing Spider.

An explosive weapon that doesn't care about anything else but crashing into the enemy, and upon nearing them, explodes instantly.

A glint flickered through Lide's eyes as he started to consider this idea seriously.

The production cost for Death Spiders was extremely cheap. Only a small amount of Power of Death and food were enough, so they could definitely work as a consumable.

Plus, with the Death Spider Queen present, the supply of Death Spiders could be endless, continuously produced.

Another point was that, although the attributes of Death Spiders were passable, they were quite lacking when compared to a regular army, especially the Beastman forces stationed in Risier City. They were not on the same level at all.

Relying solely on the power of the Death Spiders themselves would be but just delivering themselves up for slaughter, one charge from the warwolves was enough to send them all heavenward.

But looking at it from another angle, everything was different.

Using them as carriers by equipping these agile creatures, capable of moving on all terrains, with Alchemy Bombs, and then carrying out suicide attacks on the enemy.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Lide was rather excited at the thought of the scene where tens of thousands of Death Spiders would rush into the enemy army and explode.

If this idea was feasible, it would be a major weapon in his hand when the air forces of Dawn City couldn't take off.

Moreover, it wasn't just for this war. Dawn City could continue to make use of it in the future.

Especially in places like caves–narrow and hard to maneuver in–Self-Destructing Spiders would definitely become everyone's nightmare…

The more he thought about it, the more Lide felt there was potential in this idea.

Without worrying about how to fit Alchemy Bombs onto the Death Spiders, a more critical issue was that the current daily production of 500 spider eggs was not enough.

After pondering for a moment, Lide directly tore the space apart, and in less than three minutes, when he reappeared, he had three red Thorns Holy Fruits in his hand.

Since the quantity was insufficient, then the solution was to accelerate… There were always more solutions than difficulties.

After he had last fed a Thorns Holy Fruit to the Death Spider Queen, her egg-laying ability had increased from 200 to 500.

Feeding her another Thorns Holy Fruit obviously wouldn't cause her to undergo a Bloodline Transformation again, but this time, he was aiming for a massive change.

He stepped through in an instant and hovered above the still-egg-laying Death Spider Queen, then with a wave of his hand, three Thorns Holy Fruits fell from nowhere and were fed to her.

The Death Spider Queen, whose stomach was three times bigger than her head, let out a joyful hiss and then swallowed the three Thorns Holy Fruits in one gulp.

In less than 30 seconds, the Level 14 Death Spider Queen's green eyes began to show a tinge of red, and her abdomen started to spin silk.

Under Lide's gaze, she wrapped herself in a thick, grey cocoon within a short ten minutes or so.

Then the scene fell into silence.

The Death Spiders that had not been awakened were still sleeping; it was not yet the time for slaughtering swine, so the Land of Bone-Burying seemed very quiet.

Moo~
It wasn't long before a cow's moo from behind the White Bone Altar caught Lide's attention.

That strange Cow Bone Undead?

Lide's expression was somewhat odd; it was only now that he realized the houses established by the Cow Bone Undead seemed to have been trampled flat by the Death Spiders.

Glancing around the Land of Bone-Burying, he didn't spot the transformed Cow Bone Undead.

Driven by curiosity, his spiritual power spread out, but in an instant, his face took on a rather amusing expression.

The Cow Bone Undead hadn't built any surface dwelling, but the jerk had actually dug a huge hole next to the White Bone Altar and constructed an underground room with a living room and a bedroom…

What was more ridiculous was that there was even a white bone bed inside.

The most laughably absurd thing was that there was quite a sizable dining room where the Cow Bone Undead was currently lying down, voraciously gnawing on a spider skull, its short tail wagging rapidly.

The crunching sounds kept coming from underground, which in this environment felt particularly frightening.

That wasn't all; there was even a more ludicrous scene since the Death Spiders had already taken over the job of transporting the Spider Queen's eggs; the ordinary undead he had created earlier were now serving this Cow Bone Undead.

These undead had their tasks clearly defined; groups of three or five were searching outside for bones and after finding suitable ones, they would bring them down to the Cow Bone Undead.

The rest of the undead were, at the moment, massaging and pounding the back of the Cow Bone Undead lying on the ground munching on bones… Yes, a back massage, with all the trimmings…

A skeleton enjoying a massage from a bunch of other skeletons; the scene was funny no matter how you looked at it.

“You're an undead, for goodness' sake, a massage?? Do you even have a sense of touch??”

Lide was bemused.

After sensing slightly, he was surprised to find that the Cow Bone Undead had actually risen to Level 12, and its aura had become even more daunting than before.

“This damn thing is getting more and more mysterious; I really have no idea how I managed to recruit it in the first place… the other undead are still well-behaved.”

After watching for a while, Lide suddenly realized that he might not be living as comfortably as this Cow Bone Undead… Damn it.

“This guy has a chance to acquire skills by consuming bones; I should go out and collect some Beastman or mercenary corpses to see what kind of undead I can nurture in the end.”

After observing the Cow Bone Undead for a bit, Lide didn't pay it much more attention.

The Cow Bone Undead wasn't of much use now; he could continue to raise it, and there was no rush to send it out until it reached Level 15.

Time passed quickly while waiting, and three days later, with a zip–the cocoon wrapped in spider silk from the Death Spider Queen burst open, and she emerged from the grey cocoon.

Lide gazed intently; the Death Spider Queen had grown in size and appeared even more ferocious.

He opened the attribute panel.

Death Spider Queen
Level: Level 14
Special Talent: Spider Queen…

Restricted Talent: Rapid Breeding (Advanced) (can lay 1,000 spider eggs per day and improve the hatching rate by 40%. In the presence of sufficient energy and food, the number of eggs produced can be increased.)
Energy Gathering (Advanced) (increase the chance of Elite Spiders being born by 15%, 15% chance of producing a Mutated Death Spider)
Explanation:…

Not bad, both restricted talents were once again enhanced.

The egg production quantity increased from the original 500 to 1,000, so he could produce 30,000 Death Spiders each month.

With three months left before the war starts, he already had hatched 15,000 Death Spiders, plus the unhatched 15,000, making a total of 30,000.

With 30,000 to be produced each of the remaining three months, but only two batches that could hatch, this equaled 60,000.

This meant that by the time the war began three months later, he would have about 90,000 Death Spiders at his disposal.

Lide was quite satisfied with this number. Although Death Spiders were mass-produced Demon Beasts with combat power lower than that of professionals of the same level, this quantity could cause a qualitative change.

And he didn't need these Death Spiders to fight head-on with the Beastman army; he planned to transform them into Self-Destructing Spiders.

Once he equipped these Death Spiders with Alchemy Bombs…

Tens of thousands of time bombs that could navigate automatically and charge fearlessly to the enemy to explode, just imagine that scene and power.

It was very fascinating.

“Now, another key point is I must develop an equipment similar to Air Force One's ordnance armor.

Not only must it allow the Death Spiders to quickly don the equipment, but it must also enable the Death Spiders to easily control the detonation of the Alchemy Bombs…”

Chapter end