Chapter 43: The Search Continues

Zong Shen had a smile on his face.

To Favis, who had just survived a calamity, Zong Shen was like a savior who was exuding an extraordinary aura.

“The Lord whom you have been loyal to has died under the fangs of the mutated ghoul.”

“My soldiers and I were a step too late.”

“However, after a tough battle, we still managed to kill this rotten fellow and avenged your pitiful Lord.”

“Now, are you willing to follow the will of the deceased and pledge your loyalty to me?”

Zong Shen went straight to the point.

Hearing this, Favis slowly stood up where the Wolf Cavalry soldiers had surrounded him.

He looked at the corpse of his unlucky Lord with a depressed look.

Instead of answering Zong Shen directly, he slowly walked to the side of the corpse.

He raised his head and bowed at Zong Shen.

“Honorable Lord, thank you for saving my life.”

“Before I pledge my loyalty to you, can I use my fire to prevent the corpse of my former Lord from being desecrated?”

Zong Shen nodded and gestured for him to go ahead.

The corpse of this unlucky fellow was already a tragic sight.

Even Zong Shen, who had extremely strong adaptability, found it unbearable to look at. He felt nauseous after taking a few glances.

After Favis obtained Zong Shen’s agreement…

He raised his staff and began to chant.

Two seconds later, a small fireball was formed.

It struck the corpse.

Flames started to burn fiercely.

The entire corpse turned into a fireball.

“Rest in peace, my former Lord!”

Favis lowered his head in silence and mourned.

Then, he turned around and walked towards Zong Shen.

He knelt down on one knee, clenched his fist against his heart, and held his staff on the ground.

“In the name of the God of Flames!”

“Fire-type necromancer, Favis reporting to my Lord!”

[Recruitment successful, default loyalty level: 70]

After Favis swore his loyalty, a system notification appeared.

Zong Shen nodded and patted his shoulder.

“Get up, Favis. Let us continue exploring this dusty dungeon.”

“After the exploration is complete, bring me back to your old lord’s territory. I think the other people in the territory need to be reallocated as well.”

Zong Shen took a fancy to the farmers in this unlucky Lord’s territory.

Now was the time for him to expand his territory.

Farmers and soldiers were of utmost importance.

Favis rose and nodded. Then, he stood quietly to one side.

At this moment, Zong Shen arrived beside the corpse of the unfortunate Lord.

This fellow had looted quite a few good items from the dungeon on the left.

If he died just like that, what would happen to his personal storage compartment?

“(Now, his territory has no owner. You can declare occupation of the ownerless territory to obtain control of this territory. After that, you will be able to open the storage compartment of the territory and obtain items from his personal storage compartment by inheriting it.)”

Zong Shen looked at the information provided by the system.

He finally understood.

As expected, everything would go down the drain once a person was dead.

No matter how many resources and treasures you obtained, if you accidentally died, everything you own would simply benefit others.

Zong Shen deeply agreed with this.

Although he often took action personally, Zong Shen never did anything that he was not confident of.

It seemed that after the mission was completed, it was really necessary for him to make a trip to this unfortunate Lord’s territory.

Zong Shen shifted his gaze away and walked towards the prayer platform.

There were the items Zong Shen needed, the two legs of the Evil Demon Hunter, Ortland Whisper.

The entire prayer room was filled with a burnt smell.

The orange fire illuminated the entire prayer room.

There was a sense of desolation after death.

Zong Shen walked to the prayer platform.

His gaze swept across the two quest items.

[Ortland Whisper’s Left Leg]

[Left Leg after the Blood Igniting Demon Blasphemy Ceremony, one of the mission items.]

[Ortland Whisper’s Right Leg]

[Right Arm after the Blood Igniting Demon Blasphemy Ceremony, one of the mission items.]

He didn’t take another look. After confirming that there was no mistake, he waved his arm and put them away into his storage compartment.

He now had five of the six body parts.

He was only missing the head to complete the mission.

He wondered what kind of monster would be guarding the final piece of the body.

Zong Shen looked at the iron gate with runes.

Behind the door was the only route that could be explored in the dungeon.

With a flip of his hand, he took out the [Key to the Rune Iron Door] that he received from the mutated ghoul.

“Let’s go on to the next area.”

He called out to his soldiers.

Zong Shen opened the door directly and inserted the key into the keyhole.

The runes on the door suddenly lit up.

He gently turned the key clockwise.

Pa!

After a soft sound, the rune door slowly opened.

Behind the door seemed to be the living area of the dungeon.

This was also a wide corridor.

The walls no longer had those terrifying graffiti that served no purpose.

It looked tidier.

However, there was a dark red trail on the ground that extended all the way to the deepest part of the corridor.

“Are there any treasures here?”

As usual, Zong Shen started his treasure hunt.

“(Under the bed of the fourth room on the right in front of you is a Black Iron Treasure Chest. In the fifth room on the left is some scattered equipment. In the eighth room are some scattered materials.)”

In an instant, Zong Shen knew all the treasures in this corridor like the back of his hand.

It was like watching a walkthrough for a game, although it could not directly speed up the development of Zong Shen’s territory, it was still helpful in times like these. It helped him save a lot of time in obtaining many treasures.

Zong Shen followed the guide and found the Black Iron Treasure Chest.

He chose the option [Open] directly.

[Successfully unlocked Black Iron Treasure Chest]

[Beginner’s Land Construction Map (10 × 10) × 1]

[Wheat seeds x 100]

[Simple Leather Armor Crafting Blueprint × 1]

[Beginner’s Fire Rune × 1]

Zong Shen kept the four items.

He broke the treasure chest into 10 pieces.

In this round of rewards, he actually obtained a beginner’s land construction map and wheat seeds.

Although hunting and exploring could completely satisfy his need for food, if he wanted to make his territory self-sufficient, he needed to start farming as soon as possible.

After keeping the reward, Zong Shen was not in a hurry to check them out.

Apart from items like equipment that could immediately increase his combat strength, it was not too late to check the other items in detail after the exploration ended.

After opening the treasure chest…

Zong Shen then headed to the room with scattered equipment.

It appeared to be a small equipment warehouse.

However, it was obvious that it had been robbed during the chaos in the dungeon.

The weapon rack was empty.

Only a few pieces of equipment were scattered on the ground.

With a wave of his hand, Zong Shen stored all the equipment in his storage compartment.

Among them were four white-grade short swords.

[Esala’s Standard Short Sword]

The other item was a green-grade shield made of vines and thorns.

It was a superior-grade equipment.

[Thorny Round Shield]

It could be used to replace the damaged [Dented Kite Shield].

Zong Shen took out the Thorny Round Shield and began to check its attributes.