Chapter 231: Skill Foundations and the Corpse Lichs' Empty Fort Strategy!
When Jia Xu officially joined the territory, the entire player base was greatly excited.
Naturally, it also attracted widespread attention and discussion.
Although no one had ever seen Jia Xu truly make a move, the list of cultivation techniques and skills belonging to New Wan's Extreme Yin Sect had already been compiled, and many Weirdology scholars were conducting analyses and research on the subject.
Weirdology had now grown into an increasingly vast field.
From the humanities, geography, history, culture, and historical figures,
Every specialized field could branch into one or even several sub-disciplines.
Nowadays, Weirdology researchers across major video platforms worldwide never ran out of material. Even a single building, decoration, or local custom in the New Wan Region was worthy of in-depth study.
People had discovered that these seemingly insignificant details actually incorporated both the historical background of the Three Kingdoms era and the evolution of the Abyss's hundred-year timeline. When studied with genuine academic rigor, they possessed tremendous value in the social sciences, to the point that many traditional scholars and veteran professors had become deeply interested.
Besides these aspects, weirdology also had many other branches.
For example, the increasingly popular field of Cultivation Studies.
This discipline specifically explored the enormous skill system that appeared within the game, researching how these skills could be mastered more scientifically, systematically, and efficiently, as well as the strategies behind comprehending and combining them.
The popularity of Weirdology extended far beyond internet platforms and forums.
Many Weirdology clubs and research organizations had also emerged offline. University students and Weird Three Kingdoms enthusiasts devoted themselves to the subject enthusiastically, producing fresh research every day through exploration and analysis.
Even those who had yet to enter the game could still gain a sense of participation, fulfillment, and enjoyment through the process.
There were even rumors that several universities planned to introduce Weirdology as an elective course.
What people did not know, however, was that the largest Weirdology research organization was neither civilian nor any publicly known research team.
Instead, it was the Special Investigation Bureau, secretly established by the government specifically for Weird Three Kingdoms.
Although the truth had yet to come to light, the government's investment in the Special Investigation Bureau continued to grow.
Not only was the bureau constantly recruiting personnel for its internal Weirdology research teams, it was also secretly providing financial support to numerous online and offline civilian organizations. Naturally, these sponsorships were carefully disguised and extremely discreet.
For example, a university Weirdology club might suddenly receive a generous advertising sponsorship from an unknown corporate benefactor.
Or an ordinary new content creator with only a few hundred followers might produce a Weirdology research video with a fresh perspective and insightful analysis purely out of passion, only to receive a mysterious donation of one hundred thousand yuan the very next day, along with encouragement to continue creating.
All of these things were the work of the Special Investigation Bureau.
And this represented only a tiny fraction of its behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
The explosive popularity of Weird Three Kingdoms and Weirdology today owed much to the bureau's quiet promotion behind the scenes. Once these organizations and content creators began receiving genuine financial returns, they naturally became even more motivated to produce higher-quality research.
Many of these research results provided tremendous assistance to the bureau itself.
Compared to those gains, the funding they spent was insignificant.
……
Special Investigation Bureau Headquarters.
Zhou Zhengming was holding a meeting.
A Professor Wang wearing thick glasses reported,
"Jia Xu has officially appeared in Luoshui Main City. This means the New Wan Region has now been completely annexed by the territory. It is expected that before long, the region's manpower and resources will be fully absorbed."
"The New Wan Region is the largest and most valuable area the territory has annexed since its establishment. It lies very close to the main city and occupies an excellent geographical position. Its future development potential is enormous."
"We should immediately invest in New Wan's foundational industries, manufacturing industries, and real estate projects regardless of cost. Whether these projects generate short-term returns is irrelevant. Securing our position early will certainly yield tremendous profits in the long run."
"……"
"Furthermore, the New Wan Region possesses many talented individuals and a large young population. We should seize this opportunity to recruit and cultivate them, building sufficient talent reserves for future development."
Zhou Zhengming nodded.
"Those initiatives are already underway. How is the research into Wan City's skill inheritance progressing?"
Although cultivating and reserving all kinds of talent in advance was important, if one wished to possess influence within the Calamity Army and the territory, powerful strength would always remain the most direct and important factor.
For this reason, the Special Investigation Bureau had recently devoted tremendous effort toward researching New Wan's cultivation methods and inheritances, collecting extensive information and conducting a great deal of research.
"We've already made preliminary progress."
Professor Wang adjusted his glasses before continuing, "The skills circulating throughout the New Wan Region are extremely abundant."
"We've divided New Wan's cultivation inheritance into five systems."
"First, the Extreme Yin Sect Cultivation System. This system centers around the Extreme Yin Demonic Codex and the Extreme Yin Puppet Grand Art, consisting of skills developed and cultivated by Extreme Yin Sect cultivators represented by Jia Xu."
"This category contains an enormous number of skills. Excluding fusion skills and counting only foundational skills, there are approximately forty to fifty."
"They are all spell-type abilities, primarily specializing in Necromancy, Curses, Shadow Arts, Control, and Summoning."
"Second, the Deng Family Cultivation System. Although one of New Wan's Three Great Families never developed a complete cultivation technique, it possesses an entire self-contained skill system."
"The Deng Family specializes in various archery techniques, along with numerous movement arts focused on speed, concealment, and stealth. This is an Agility-oriented system, with at least fourteen known foundational skills."
"Third, the Wen Family Cultivation System. The Wen Family specializes in shield arts, possessing all kinds of shield techniques and defensive skills. At present, at least twenty-four foundational skills have been identified."
"Fourth, the Han Family Cultivation System. The Han Family specializes in various relatively conventional elemental spells. They also excel in support and healing magic. At least twenty foundational skills have currently been identified."
"Fifth, Zhang Xiu's inheritance and the military cultivation system. This system centers around Zhang Xiu's Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear Art. That cultivation technique alone contains more than ten foundational skills. Combined with the other military techniques, the entire system consists of twenty-five foundational skills."
"……"
After hearing the report, Zhou Zhengming was greatly astonished.
The benefits gained from annexing New Wan were simply too numerous.
Leaving aside its abundant population, Spirit Mines, Spirit Plants, and considerable military strength, its enormous collection of skills alone would dramatically expand the possibilities of the game's mechanics.
For example, suppose that after annexing New Wan, one hundred entirely new foundational skills appeared within the territory.
This would not merely mean players could learn a hundred new techniques and spells.
The variations and combinations that could be derived from them would be virtually endless.
One hundred foundational skills.
If every pair could potentially be combined, then theoretically, there would be 100 × 99 ÷ 2 = 4,950 different combinations.
Those 4,950 combinations could theoretically undergo another round of combinations, or even be recombined with the remaining foundational skills, creating possibilities approaching infinity.
This clearly demonstrated just how enormous the field of cultivation research truly was.
Merely researching all of the territory's existing foundational skills thoroughly would likely require an academic encyclopedia spanning several million words.
Of course, although combinations were theoretically almost limitless, in practice most skills were extremely difficult to fuse together.
Furthermore, these skills did not possess Skill Stones.
Learning them was therefore considerably more difficult and costly.
Thus, one of the primary objectives of Cultivation Studies was to identify skills that were compatible and easy to fuse, then select the combinations with the greatest practicality and value.
And this itself was an enormous undertaking.
The Special Investigation Bureau already had a dedicated team working on this project. Their future research results would strengthen the government's direct forces, including the Immortal Dragon Soul Legion, as well as the entire Calamity Army.
Zhou Zhengming then asked,
"How has the situation at Wolong Mountain been recently?"
Feng Ying immediately answered,
"Yesterday, after the five major Calamity Army legions recaptured Li Village and Mangshan Township, they reorganized their forces and launched three successive assaults today against Shangting Township and Shankou Village."
"However, because the alien race contracted its battle lines and constructed relatively sturdy defensive fortifications at both strongholds, all three offensives ended in failure."
"They eliminated roughly fifteen hundred Dead Bone Army troops."
After hearing the report, Zhou Zhengming nodded.
"The alien lord has clearly realized just how troublesome the Calamity Army is. That's why it has withdrawn its front lines and adopted a defensive posture, intending to exploit its fortifications to maximize attrition against the Calamity Army."
Feng Ying replied,
"Although the Calamity Army's recent offensives haven't gone well, they've successfully worn down the enemy's forces. Given enough time, they'll definitely capture those two strongholds."
"It won't be that easy."
Zhou Zhengming shook his head.
"This isn't an actual game. That alien lord isn't some scripted NPC. It will certainly begin taking countermeasures next, so we must continue monitoring the situation closely."
"Understood!"
Although Zhou Zhengming realized that the Corpse Lich Territory would not be easy to deal with, the current situation still favored the human territory.
The Calamity Army's almost shameless style of warfare seemed to have successfully halted the Corpse Lich Territory's expansion, forcing it into a defensive posture.
As long as this continued, and they gradually wore down the alien lord's effective strength, the threat posed by that alien territory to humanity would be greatly reduced.
……
Luoshui Main City.
Inside the Core Hall.
Hang Yu had just spent forty million Essence to train the newly recruited Azure Dragon Guard recruits, raising the average strength of this new unit above Tier 2.
Around eighty million Essence still remained!
Yesterday, the territory's Essence reserve had only been a little over seventy million.
So after spending forty million, why did it still possess as much as eighty million?
Because during the past day, five thousand new recruits had leveled frantically, suffering heavy casualties, while four thousand elite troops had launched repeated offensives against the strongholds occupied by the Corpse Lich Territory in an attempt to reclaim the remaining lost territory.
The result, as expected, was defeat after defeat, accompanied by severe losses.
Since the Calamity Army first emerged, such a massive corps-level operation suffering such crushing defeats was an extremely rare occurrence.
However, the players' tragic misfortune became the territory's great harvest.
In a single day, the territory gained fifty million Essence, providing more than enough resources to issue quests and continue training the Azure Dragon Guard.
The appearance of the Corpse Lich Territory had greatly accelerated the territory's development.
Otherwise, given the Calamity Army's ever-increasing strength, unless Hang Yu personally launched an assault against Old Wan City, casualties on such a scale would have been difficult to achieve, making it equally difficult to collect so much Essence.
Hang Yu planned to maintain the territory's Essence reserves between sixty and eighty million over the short term.
Any excess would be invested entirely into territorial development.
Part of it would fund quests for new players, accelerating their growth while also rewarding employees and native residents.
The remainder would be invested into strengthening and expanding the Azure Dragon Guard.
So far, Hang Yu had no intention of deploying the territory's regular forces.
Although the Calamity Army had suffered several crushing defeats, those setbacks were far from enough to damage player morale.
Instead, they had only further ignited the players' fighting spirit and anger.
The Calamity Army had repeatedly requested that generals such as Wen Ping and Zhou Cang, who were stationed at Wolong Mountain, refrain from intervening.
They wanted to reclaim the occupied strongholds through their own strength.
Fully automated leeks harvesting themselves.
Since they were making such a request, how could the territory possibly refuse?
Besides, Hang Yu believed the Corpse Lich Territory would never simply endure attacks passively.
Thus, he quietly observed everything from behind the scenes, waiting for them to make their move.
Finally, after tonight, the Corpse Lich Territory's protection period would come to an end.
Hang Yu's forces would then gain the ability to launch a full-scale counteroffensive.
Only then would it be time to adopt more aggressive strategic deployments.
Wars between Lords were extraordinarily dangerous.
One had to proceed with the utmost caution and remain patient.
After all, haste only led to failure.
This was because neither the Extreme Yin Sect, the Wen Family, the Deng Family, nor any other faction's cultivation techniques could produce Skill Stones.
If the Skill Tower's teaching function was used, only one skill could be learned at a time, and the higher the skill's level, the more time and effort it required.
For blue-grade cultivation techniques such as the Extreme Yin Demonic Codex and the Extreme Yin Puppet Grand Art, only a Skill Tower of no less than Tier 3 could teach them, and it would take at least seven or eight days to learn them completely.
Looking at it this way, the best method was still to create Skill Books.
Hang Yu had purchased a large batch of Blank Secret Manuals from Lord 3244, including blue-quality ones.
These blue-quality Blank Secret Manuals could record all blue-quality skill abilities, whether ordinary skills, supreme secret techniques such as the Martial Saint's Three Blades, or even cultivation techniques like the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear.
Of course, during the creation of a secret manual, the cost required was astonishing.
For example, Hang Yu only needed to spend three million Essence to learn the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear from a Skill Stone.
However, if he wanted to pass down the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear through a secret manual, he first had to spend no less than three million Essence to inscribe the technique into a blue-quality Blank Secret Manual before successfully producing the cultivation manual for the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear.
It should be understood that an ordinary Tier 3 cultivator could not possibly contain three million units of Abyss Essence within their body.
For this reason, an ordinary cultivator like Zhang Xiu, even if he possessed a blue-quality Blank Secret Manual, could never create a Skill Book like the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear through his own ability.
Would possessing the manual allow one to immediately inherit the skill?
Of course not!
Generally speaking, the territory's thresholds and costs for skill inheritance were: "Learning from a Skill Book" > "Direct Skill Instruction" > "Skill Stone Inheritance"!
After Hang Yu created a Skill Book, anyone learning from it would need to consume 30% to 50% more Essence than learning from a Skill Stone, while also meeting attribute requirements that were 30% to 50% higher.
In other words, from creating the Skill Book to using the Skill Book, the Essence consumed would be at least twice that required for Skill Stone inheritance.
Moreover, the aptitude requirements for the cultivator would also be much higher, making it naturally far less convenient than receiving the inheritance from the Skill Tower!
However, Skill Books also possessed an advantage that Skill Stone inheritance and master-disciple instruction lacked—they were extremely flexible. Theoretically, as long as there was enough Essence, all kinds of skills could be rapidly copied and widely disseminated.
Hang Yu pondered briefly.
He felt that he could first support trusted subordinates such as Wen Ping, allowing them to use the Enlightenment Tower to integrate their family skills into complete cultivation techniques. He could then assist them in producing Skill Books before finally learning the cultivation techniques himself.
By doing so, he could both strengthen his subordinates and save time and effort by directly learning the cultivation techniques.
Just as Hang Yu was still studying the skill records and planning for this matter, little Eight suddenly gave him a reminder.
"Master, the Calamity Army has regrouped."
"They've rallied again this quickly? Those guys really are impossible to kill!"
Hang Yu immediately became interested.
He shifted his attention away from the skill research.
…………
Shansang City.
Inside the City Lord's Hall.
The commanders of the Calamity Army's five major legions had all gathered.
Midnight Pig Slaughterer shouted,
"Damn it! Those undead aliens are way too arrogant! Do they really think our Calamity Army can't do anything to them? No matter what, we've got to teach them a lesson this time!"
Three battles.
Three defeats.
The Calamity Army had suffered considerable losses.
Yet the players were not intimidated.
Instead, their fighting spirit burned even more fiercely.
"Although we've already lost three times in a row, it hasn't all been without gains."
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro said,
"The enemy may be difficult to deal with, but they can still be killed. There's no point in them simply staying on the defensive!"
Ye Limeng nodded.
"That's right. Across these three assaults, we've killed at least fifteen hundred Dead Bone Army soldiers. I think the enemy's frontline troops are already beginning to run short."
Raising Cup Toward the Moon said,
"I suggest we stop splitting our forces this time. Let's concentrate all our strength on attacking Shangting Township's Blessing Point."
Arthur King said,
"I agree. Even if we can't capture the stronghold in one attack, we can still inflict even heavier losses on the enemy and destroy the defensive fortifications at Shangting Township, making it impossible for them to continue defending afterward!"
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro asked,
"Commander Little Bell, what do you think?"
Little Bell nodded.
"I think the same! Better to cut off one finger than merely injure ten!"
After discussing the matter, the commanders of the Calamity Army's five major legions quickly settled on this battle plan.
In the previous attacks, the Calamity Army had split into two forces, simultaneously attacking Shangting Township and Shankou Village. This time, considering that part of the enemy's forces had already been worn down, they decided to concentrate all their strength on Shangting Township.
About forty minutes later, the Calamity Army teleported through Shansang City's teleportation point to Li Township's Blessing Point, the closest one to Shangting Township.
They then departed from Li Township and advanced toward Shangting Township.
After the Corpse Lich Territory had fortified this Blessing Point, an eight-meter-high wall had been built around it. In addition, two Arrow Towers, two Magic Towers, and one Barrier Tower had been deployed.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Even if I die this time!"
"I'm taking a few enemies down with me!"
"Don't get carried away! Keep watching the public chat and follow your legion and squad leaders' commands!"
Under the command of the five major legions, the Calamity Army advanced steadily toward Shangting Township.
They had already prepared themselves to face a rain of arrows and spells.
However, when the Calamity Army approached Shangting Township, they were astonished to discover that not a single arrow had been fired.
"What's going on?"
"Something feels off!"
"Old Pig! Send an eagle in for a closer look!"
Midnight Pig Slaughterer, Dawn, Glorious Years, and the other high-level Monks immediately summoned Thunderhorn Eagles to conduct close-range reconnaissance.
To their surprise, the city walls, which should have been packed with Dead Bone Army soldiers,
Were completely empty.
"Huh? What the hell?"
"What's going on? Can you see inside?"
"I can! But something's really strange! This enemy camp seems to be an empty camp!"
"What? An empty camp?"
"Are you sure?"
Midnight Pig Slaughterer said,
"I saw it clearly!"
Little Bell was overjoyed.
"Could it be that the enemy realized they couldn't outlast us and has voluntarily abandoned this stronghold?"
Dawn said, "That's certainly possible!"
Street Cleaver immediately shouted, "If that's the case, what are we waiting for? This is a golden opportunity! Hurry and rush in to reclaim the Blessing Point!"
All the players revealed delighted expressions.
The enemy lord had undoubtedly realized how terrifying the Calamity Army was.
After seeing the Calamity Army return again and again after every defeat, it was only logical that the enemy would abandon these two positions rather than continue a war of attrition and instead concentrate all their forces together.
Logically, it made perfect sense.
However, raising Cup Toward the Moon said, "Don't let your guard down. Never underestimate our enemy. Even if they're retreating, they wouldn't hand this place over so cheaply. I think there's a very good chance this is a trap."
"Brother Moon has a point!"
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro agreed.
"Commander Ye, you and Commander Little Bell stay outside and provide support. Moon, Arthur King, and I will go in first. What do you think?"
"How can that work?"
"If anyone goes in first, it should be us!"
"Wouldn't it be better if your Freedom Wings stayed outside to provide support?"
"……"
Before Ye Limeng could respond, Several senior players from the War God Hall Legion voiced their objections.
The legion that first entered the enemy camp and captured the Blessing Point would receive additional rewards. Staying outside to provide support would mean giving up the advantage of being first to seize the opportunity.
"Let's follow Commander Sharp Bro's plan!"
This time, Ye Limeng showed no intention of competing for the credit.
"Our War God Hall Legion and the Divine Feather Palace Legion really are better suited for providing support."
The War God Hall Legion had the largest number of members and the strongest overall combat power.
The Divine Feather Palace Legion possessed a large number of Sorcerers and Monks.
Together, these two legions formed the strongest support force.
Although Freedom Wings had fewer members than the War God Hall Legion, the quality of its personnel was exceptionally high and could respond rapidly. Meanwhile, the Immortal Dragon Soul and Twilight of the Gods legions had comparatively weaker foundations, perfectly compensating for Freedom Wings' lack of manpower.
This way, even if danger lay inside, the forces inside and outside could coordinate with each other to ensure everything remained under control.
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro asked, "Commander Little Bell, what's your opinion?"
Little Bell knew her legion lacked mobility and was comparatively weak against close-range ambushes, so she agreed without much thought.
Raising Cup Toward the Moon nodded with satisfaction.
"This is the safer arrangement."
Arthur King could hardly wait.
"Then let's move!"
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro, Salted Fish Thrust, Street Cleaver, Midnight Pig Slaughterer, and Freedom Wings' top experts charged in at the front.
They quickly passed through Shangting Township's camp and entered the interior.
"Strange!"
"There's really no one here!"
"So this place has actually been abandoned?"
"They didn't even put up any resistance? That's way too pathetic!"
"……"
After entering, the players discovered that the entire camp was completely deserted.
Not even the shadow of a skeleton soldier could be seen.
It truly appeared to have been abandoned.
"The Blessing Point!"
Arthur King gave his subordinates a meaningful glance.
He was signaling them to hurry over to the Blessing Point.
As long as one of his own people activated it first, his legion would receive a considerable amount of Legion Contribution.
However, just as Battousai, Dark Lucifer, and the others from Twilight of the Gods attempted to take advantage of the Immortal Dragon Soul and Freedom Wings players' inattention and rush over to activate the Blessing Point first—
Bang!
A muffled impact rang out.
The two of them were instantly thrown backward by an invisible force.
"What's going on?"
"Careful! There's definitely something suspicious here!"
"Look at the ground! There seems to be a formation!"
"Damn it! It's a trap! This is the Empty Fort Strategy! Fight our way out!"
Black Pupiled Sharp Bro immediately drew his twin swords and prepared for battle.
At that moment, thick masses of black mist suddenly spread throughout the camp.
When the mist dispersed, the previously empty camp had become densely packed with figures dressed in black robes or black armor.
It turned out that the camp had never been empty.
The enemy had merely concealed themselves.
Their concealment technique was so extraordinary that nothing like it had ever been seen before.
Even the Thunderhorn Eagle's scouting vision had been unable to see through it.
Now, this detachment of the Calamity Army had completely fallen into the trap.
"Those aren't skeletons!"
The Calamity Army was astonished to discover that the force using the Empty Fort Strategy to ambush them was not composed of skeletons, but of gaunt Eerie Corpse Fiends that emitted dense corpse qi.
"You foolish creatures. You merely rely on your ability to revive. Did you really think this Lord had no way of dealing with you?"
A majestic voice suddenly echoed within everyone's minds.
The players' expressions changed drastically once again.
Hidden behind the scenes,
Hang Yu's spirits were instantly lifted.
This fellow referred to himself as a Lord?
Could it be that the Lord of the Corpse Lich Territory was finally preparing to enter the battlefield personally?