A bright light flashed, and everyone was transported to the Warring Kingdom Civilization. Han Wu opened his eyes to find himself inside a dilapidated wooden shack. At the center of the room stood an altar.
Han Wu checked his interface and discovered most of his information had been censored. Only his talents, Divine Powers, and some details related to the Warring Kingdom Civilization remained.
[Talent: Chosen One (Exclusive), Defiance]
[Divine Powers: Sacrifice (Exclusive), Famine, Life Infusion, Merge (Exclusive)]
[Shelter Level: 1 (Dilapidated Wooden Shack. Upgrade Requirements: Wood: 100, Gold Coins: 20)]
[Altar: 1 (Unspecified)]
[Resources: Wood: 0, Food: 0, Stone: 0, Iron: 0, Gold Coins: 0]
Han Wu examined the altar and a notification popped up.
He was then presented with nine options. This was the exclusive power of the Warring Kingdom Civilization known as Martial Manifestation, or the Nine Martial Castes. The available roles were Worker, Technician, Physician, Infantry, Vanguard, Lancer, Archer, Light Cavalry, and Heavy Cavalry. Each represented a distinct caste within the Nine Martial Castes system.
Han Wu scanned the list and realized he could select only five: Technician, Infantry, Vanguard, Lancer, and Archer. Each caste corresponded to a unit type under his command.
His Scorching Dwarves embodied the Technicians. The Tigermen, Epistians, and skeletons formed his Infantry. Abyss Bugs and minotaurs made up his Vanguard. The Heavenly Demon Insect and his new half-dragon units served as Lancers. Finally, the Dark Cursed Bugs stood as his Archers.
The major class would start only after he selected his caste and bound the corresponding units to the altar.
Han Wu muttered, “Hmm... The Martial Manifestation of the Warring Kingdom Civilization excels at fostering armies, but its focus feels too narrow. It’s easy to devise counters against them. Maybe that’s why their civilization declined.”
He weighed his options carefully. Since I’m in the Warring Kingdom Civilization, where everyone’s Divine Skills face restrictions, there must be few effective ways to counter the skeleton race...
In the end, he bound the skeletons to the altar.
[Altar confirmed. Level 1 Infantry Altar: Skeletons. It summons 100 Common skeletons daily.]
Han Wu nodded. “A hundred skeletons will do. They increase their numbers through battle anyway. I doubt the altar can provide me with a larger army right now.”
Soon, 100 Common skeletons crawled out from the altar. Their bones were yellowed and brittle, snapping at the slightest touch. They clearly suffered from severe calcium deficiency.
Han Wu frowned. He had never expected the altar’s summoned skeletons to be so weak. They were fit only to serve as the lowest-ranking cannon fodder on the battlefield. Any stronger monster would shatter them instantly.
He was already starting to regret choosing skeletons for his first army. Still, there was one way to salvage the situation: Merge. Using his Divine Power, he merged ten skeletons into one Elite Iron Skeleton. Its bones were visibly stronger, and its power noticeably greater.
Even so, Han Wu wasn’t satisfied and continued merging until he created one Unique Skeleton Knight by combining ten Iron Skeletons. The Skeleton Knight was far tougher than the Iron Skeletons and possessed a new ability—it could summon additional skeletons using the corpses of his enemies.
Han Wu nodded with approval. As long as he had the Skeleton Knight, he could finally unleash the skeletons’ warfare strategy and flood the battlefield with countless undead soldiers.
“Alright. Now I just need to gather the necessary resources quickly to upgrade my shelter and grow my army.” He clearly recalled everything Saliya had explained in class.
Han Wu and the Skeleton Knight stepped out of the wooden shack to find an unusual silence hanging over the area. Han Wu scanned his surroundings and spotted some Wood near the shack. However, the Wood appeared as a large tree that needed to be felled before he could collect it.
He ordered the Skeleton Knight to punch the tree. With every blow, the Skeleton Knight left deep dents in the bark, but it still took two full minutes to bring the tree down. Once it fell, the tree transformed into 13 units of Wood and transferred automatically into Han Wu’s resource storage.
Han Wu had to admit that the Warring Kingdom Civilization’s law of automatic resource gathering was incredibly convenient. Yet, the crashing tree had made a tremendous noise, drawing unwanted attention from nearby wildlife. Three wild dogs burst from the bushes, alerted by the commotion.
Han Wu quickly accessed their information.
[Wild Dog (Infantry). Common life form. Weak as a wild animal but still a nightmare to some creatures. You might find an altar connected to them near their habitat.]
The wild dogs’ eyes gleamed with excitement at the sight of the Skeleton Knight, like men spotting a beautiful woman. Without hesitation, the three wild dogs lunged at the Skeleton Knight, eager for a taste. Han Wu commanded the Skeleton Knight to punch them to death.
The gap between a Unique and a Common life form was vast, and all the wild dogs fell to a single punch. Han Wu collected 3 Gold Coins from their remains and ordered the Skeleton Knight to raise skeletons from the corpses. Soon, three wild dog skeletons joined his ranks, expanding his army to 4 Infantry units.
Han Wu was not satisfied yet. He still recalled the information he had just read about a possible altar that could summon wild dogs. Altars held great importance in this civilization because they could summon the corresponding units to fight on his behalf. Even if the wild dogs’ altar turned out to be weak, he could dismantle it and use it as material to upgrade his own.
Eager to claim it, he ordered his skeletons to search the surrounding area. Before long, one of the wild dog skeletons perished.
Instead of anger, Han Wu felt a surge of excitement. The death meant it had encountered enemies—probably more wild dogs. He immediately sent out his Skeleton Knight and the two remaining wild dog skeletons to scour the area. That was how he discovered the wild dogs’ gathering spot, where hundreds of them surrounded a single altar shaped like a dog’s head.
Han Wu was elated and ordered his Skeleton Knight to attack the wild dogs. The wild dogs’ resistance quickly crumbled against the Skeleton Knight’s overwhelming power. Its body, tough as iron, withstood their attacks while it turned the fallen into skeletons one by one.
Han Wu’s army grew quickly and wiped out the entire pack. He then collected the altar and stored it without hesitation.
[Level 1 Infantry Altar: Wild Dogs. After activation, it can summon 10 wild dogs daily. It can also be used as material to level up another Infantry Altar.]
Han Wu also obtained 123 Gold Coins and a Common weapon, the Dogtooth Dagger. He handed the dagger to his Skeleton Knight and began merging the wild dog skeletons. After merging 100, he finally obtained one Unique Bonehound.
As a Unique skeleton, it gained a new ability called Wicked Dog Pounce. This move allowed it to swiftly close the distance to an enemy and deliver a powerful bite. The ability was devastating against many units, leaving Han Wu very satisfied.
Before returning happily to his wooden shack, he ordered the Skeleton Knight to cut down large trees using the Dogtooth Dagger. Now, it was time to upgrade his place.