Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  During the following period of time, Tu Ya’an visited several construction sites in the Republic of Northwest to arrange and supervise the work of the skeleton construction team.

  There were about 2000 skeletons in the construction team, and they worked honestly under Tu Ya’an’s control, even without any additional commands.

  Tu Ya’an had estimated that the skeletons might not follow his order because he was too far away from them, but in fact, he found he was wrong. He had ignored an important factor.

  That was His Majesty, the Void Mask.

  Sui Xiong did not just stand aside and let Tu Ya’an fight alone; he also helped a lot. He made several props for Tu Ya’an, and that helped Tu Ya’an transmit his will and magic over long distances and store them in extremely solid signal towers on every construction site. Through these signal towers (with special magic props built in), Tu Ya’an could sense these skeletons in his magic tower and give them orders. He needn’t worry that the skeletons would fall into blind action without his command.

  In this way, even the last problem was solved. People in the Republic of Northwest could rest assured and let the skeleton construction team work for them without worrying about any possible rebellions.

  Under the control of Tu Ya’an, a legendary necromancer, would there be any skeleton that could make trouble?

  As for those troublemakers from other planes, they could try to compete with a necromancer that was close to the mid-legendary level for the control of skeletons. Sui Xiong said that if Tu Ya’an was defeated, Sui Xiong would come and fight with them. It was deserving of him to put his face aside to catch someone of or even above the mid-legendary level alive.

  There were almost endless skeleton resources in the Ashes Woods. Theoretically, under the control of Tu Ya’an, there would be no limit to the number of skeleton armies.

  If necessary, Tu Ya’an could even manipulate tens of thousands of skeletons to work together. If they worked quickly, they could build a city in a few days.

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  That helped alleviate the population problem that had been restricting the development of the Republic of Northwest all this time.

  Although there were still not enough people, at least there was enough labor. At least there was enough labor for the hard work.

  Under Tu Ya’an’s manipulation, skeletons helped people cut wood, dig into the earth and build roads. They worked tirelessly. A large number of materials were produced constantly and transported to the edge of the city. Then these materials were transported by human workers to the place where they were needed, transforming into bricks and stones on the buildings of the Republic of Northwest.

  According to the estimates of the governors, if the skeleton labor could be used in this way continually and extensively, the people’s income level of the Republic of Northwest could be raised by another half in four to five years!

  If they could maintain such a mode of production for a long time, it was estimated that the other three towns in the Republic of Northwest could develop into cities in just ten years.

  In another 20 years, they would complete the construction of the fifth city.

  In another 30 years, they would start the construction of the sixth and seventh cities together.

  In another 50 years, the Republic of Northwest would undoubtedly be the most prosperous country on the Main Plane, and no one could match it.

  All of this was based on the use of skeleton labor. The skeletons had once been a great threat for the pioneers in the Ashes Woods, and they had always become scared even when they only heard the word “skeleton.” But now, the skeletons were no longer threats to them. Instead, they were the best helpers for them to build their homes and explore the land.

  The report was sent to Sui Xiong almost two weeks later. After reading it, Sui Xiong invited several god followers and friends for a special meeting.

  “Could these skeletons be so useful?” after reading the report, the God of Justice, Yorgaardman, said in surprise. “They’re just the lowest-level of monsters. I didn’t expect that they could be so helpful!”

  “No wonder those kings in the underworld could build extremely luxurious palaces and capitals.” Manissy, the Goddess of Wealth, apparently had been very interested in those things. Now, reading the report, she frowned and asked, “From now on, if I let my clergymen begin to study the Dead Soul Spell, do you think it will promote the development of my church to a large scale?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Morani, the Steel Lion, shook his head and said. “Your followers don’t have the conditions to create skeletons on a large scale. What’s more, people in your followers’ territory are not as familiar with the skeletons as the residents of the Republic of Northwest are. If you’re going to follow Auscar’s practice, it’s very likely to make the residents scared and run away. By then, what you’ve gained can’t cover your losses.”

  That was right. As Morani said, the Republic of Northwest had plenty of nameless bones underground, so they could create countless skeletons easily. That was incomparable to the other parts of the Main Plane. If skeletons were created elsewhere, it would definitely cause enormous trouble because of the source of the bones. Moreover, once these skeletons showed up, ordinary civilians who had never seen them but only heard horror stories about them would be frightened. At that time, not to mention maintaining the steady production and living, it would be brave enough for them if they did not run away with their families!

  Under such circumstances, it was obviously impossible to replicate the practice of the Republic of Northwest and use skeleton labor to promote infrastructure and production.

  Morani’s analysis made Manissy sigh and give up the idea of promoting skeletal workers in her own region.

  But she could not help but show her admiration. “Auscar is really capable, and he can even use the skeletons as a labor force. Since ancient times, no one has been able to do that on the Main Plane.”

  Sui Xiong thought about it for a moment and realized that what she had said was true, so he couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

  “Everything has its first time. Perhaps in decades and centuries, others will see the benefits of skeleton labor, and this practice will gradually spread throughout the world.”

  “It won’t.” Yorgaardman shook his head. “You underestimate the fear of the Dead Soul among ordinary people. And if it weren’t for the negative energy environment of the Ashes Woods, the cost of keeping skeletons working for a long time would be large. If you make a comprehensive estimate, you will find that this practice won’t be popularized in most places.”

  Yorgaardman thought for a while and said, “I don’t know if you remember the Witch Age. At that time, the status of civilians was very low, and spellcasters used all kinds of cruel means wantonly—most of the Dead Soul Spells were invented or had a prototype. At that time, there were powerful sorcerers who used Dead Souls to work on a large scale, and they could temporarily create a prosperous culture. But soon they were besieged and completely destroyed by other sorcerers.”

  “Why?” Sui Xiong was confused for a moment. He didn’t know that there had been such an occurrence. He asked curiously, “Why did the others attack him?”

  “First, of course, because of the contradiction between the living and the dead. It was common for sorcerers of that age to control Dead Souls, and many sorcerers even felt that Dead Souls were more reliable than the living man. But there were also a large number of sorcerers who disagreed with this idea. Thus, there were deep contradictions between them,” Yorgaardman said. “The God of Spellcaster at that time was also a sorcerer, and he supported the living.”

  He paused for a moment and then went on to say, “Second, there were also contradictions within the sorcerers that supported Dead Souls. The Witch Age was a cruel age of fierce competition. If a sorcerer’s territory became stronger, this sorcerer would take a big step ahead of others, and that was likely to be a threat to others. If others supported him, the result would be that the Dead Soul supporters would win against the living man party. This sorcerer would be above others within the Dead Soul supporters and became the king of sorcerers.”

  Sui Xiong understood it immediately. “I see. For other sorcerers, they couldn’t tolerate a sorcerer who used Dead Souls to make his territory extremely prosperous and grow, so they just joined hands to kill him!”

  “That’s right.” Yorgaardman sighed and looked at Sui Xiong seriously. “I’m not an expert in history. I don’t know if history will repeat again, but…… My brother, you’d better be well prepared. If this practice goes on, your Republic of Northwest will probably be the target of others and repeat the tragedy of that sorcerer’s territory.”

  Yorgaardman was worried, but Sui Xiong just smiled carelessly.

  “You worry too much,” Sui Xiong said. “Since the day I first promoted the republican system, the Republic of Northwest and I have been the target of others. But so what? Can they defeat me in fighting? If they feel they are stronger, they can come and challenge me. I’ll wait here!” He smiled calmly and confidently.