Loser System and Berserker Me - Chapter 114: The Fluttering Tang Flag

“Skeleton soldiers.”

Shu Yichao inspected the stats of the skeleton soldiers before him.

Name: Skeleton Soldier

Damage

Melee Damage: 45-55 (Average)

Defense

Armor: 0 (Abysmal)

Magic Resistance: 0 (Abysmal)

Speed

On Foot: 40 (Slow)

Morale: Fixed

Discipline: Low

Recruitment Cost: 97 qian, 15 yin energy

Maintenance Cost: 23 qian per week

“How weak.” Shu Yichao shook his head. “They are cannon fodders through and through. Nothing stands out about them, other than their fixed morale. Not even militias are this weak. And why do I have to pay them when they are dead? Shouldn’t they work for free?”

Just then, Miazova walked up and said, “Is this your trump card?”

Aren’t you a bit too bold?

Necromancy could create terrors reminiscent of natural calamities if utilized well—Miazova had seen similar situations in other worlds before—but there was one critical problem… this world’s law wouldn’t allow it!

This world could permit the existence of vengeful spirits and ghost cities, but it wouldn’t allow cackling skeletons to roam under broad daylight!

In other words, Shu Yichao’s actions were an affront to the consciousness of the world!

By this point, Miazova had started wondering if Shu Yichao was off his rockers.

“I have just barely gotten started,” Shu Yichao nonchalantly replied, “Skeletons are only strong when there’s a massive army of them. Wait till I gather millions of skeletons… You’ll witness a true undead calamity.”

Miazova fell silent.

Forget it. This family has always been like that, hasn’t they?

“What about those people?” Miazova pointed to the terrified slaves inside the cages. “Aren’t you going to turn those Tang people into skeletons too?”

“That won’t do.” With a wave of Shu Yichao’s hand, the skeletons began cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the spoils of war. “I need to bring them to Kucha to build up the population.”

Question: What do Beacons of the Otherworld’s undead cities like the most?

Answer: Human, living ones.

The Beacons of the Otherworld’s many gaming modes were developed individually and were only compiled at the end. This meant that there were loads of bugs and ridiculous mechanics arising from clashes.

One of the requirements to promote an undead city into the top three cities was its living population count.

That maddened so many undead players, and they cussed out the developers for having nothing but water in their heads!

But after they were done stacking up Soul Summoning Banners and Soul Summoning Towers, they realized that they could collect taxes from living NPCs, and they could also massacre their own populace as a fast method to bulk up their skeleton army too.

That realization made the players change their tunes as they expressed that they were fine with accepting the game’s unique mechanics.

We’ll cut you if you dare change that mechanic!

In Shu Yichao’s case, what he perceived to be the biggest gain in this expedition was neither the skeletons nor the ten carriages of resources, but…

“Brothers, your mounts are here!”

He gathered the slave merchants’ steeds and began summoning the other essential portion of his army. He took out his sword, which was emanating a demonic red glow after devouring fresh blood and absorbing a sack of mana crystals.

“Rise!”

The steeds were enveloped by surges of black auras. Their skin, flesh, and blood receded, eventually transforming into jet-black netherworld steeds with soulfire flickering in their eyes. White-haired vengeful spirits rode on their backs.

Hero Troop: White-haired Ghost Horseman

Damage

Melee Damage: 105-115 (Superior)

Ranged Damage: 135-145 (Superior, Armor break)

Defense

Armor: 80 (Good)

Magic Resistance: 50 (Average)

Speed

Mounted: 350 (Fast)

Morale: Insuppressible

Discipline: Excellent

Recruitment Cost: A war steed and a mana crystal (Limit: 817)

Maintenance Cost: 135 yin energy per week

Description: A powerful hero troop made out of Kucha’s white-haired vengeful spirit, they can only join the battlefield as netherworld horsemen due to their inability to walk. The 817 of them who have died in the city chose to follow you due to the vow you have made.

They have fought valiantly for five whole decades for Great Tang before they passed away, so their loyalty can be eternally trusted… May their loyalty not be let down again.

“…” Shu Yichao fell silent.

He leaped on top of his war steed, faced the 19 White-haired Ghost Horsemen, and shouted, “Brothers! I shan’t waste my breath with unnecessary words. Prepare to slaughter the enemies!”

Clang!

The White-haired Ghost Horsemen raised their lances up and shook them, producing the buzzing sound of metallic vibrations.

“…Oi.” Miazova galloped over and took something out of its bag. “You might need this.”

It was a dark red flag that looked as if it had been dyed in blood. It was old and dull, but the words on its two faces, calligraphed with powerful strokes, still looked majestic nevertheless. One side reflected ‘Tang’, whereas the other side reflected ‘Shu’.

This was something left behind by the Shu Clan.

Even after communication halted between the Western Region and the Central Plains, they continued to hold this flag up high and fight as Tang soldiers. This flag was later passed down from Old General Shu to Young General Shu.

When Young General Shu was massacred with his army and Shu Yichao vanished into thin air, Miazova kept this flag as a memento.

It’s finally returned to its owner now, Miazova thought.

“Thanks!” Shu Yichao was delighted to receive the flag. “I knew that I was missing something.”

Who could have thought that this fellow, despite his hulking size, is a craftsman! He must have pumped his sewing skill to make this flag.

…

The Tang flag flew high in the sky.

“Warriors of Great Tang, draw your blades and charge at the enemy!”

A death storm brewed under the night sky.

“What’s that?”

A soldier stationed on the walls of a mana crystal mine rubbed his eyes. He spotted something approaching them under the cover of the night.

This was a mana crystal mine located in proximity to Kucha.

After the Tibetans conquered Kucha, they quickly noticed a problem with it—it was haunted. Even the hottest of days felt as cold as winter, and mosquitoes and flies were nowhere to be seen at all. Furthermore, a lucky family of Tibetans would win a one-way trip to the afterlife every now and then.

They wanted to conquer Kucha, so they brought in shamans and mages to check out the situation, but all of them died tragic deaths.

In the end, the Tibetans had to abandon the city and dump all the work in the area to the Karluks.

The Karluks were stunned. They had betrayed Great Tang in hopes of getting a slice of the pie, but they ended up being treated like underlings. It was just that they were too weak to voice their dissatisfaction to the Tibetans, so they could only swallow it down.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened as long as they didn’t approach Kucha.

But today…

Hu!

The world suddenly darkened, and there were furious winds.

With a loud bam, the gates to the mine suddenly collapsed.

Arf! Arf!

The vigilant dogs began barking, and a gong was struck shortly after.

Sleepy soldiers rushed out of their rooms with swords and crossbows. Most of them didn’t even have the time to wear their clothes properly.

“What happened?! Are the Tang slaves trying to escape again?”

“Shit! Those little pricks are such a handful of trouble!”

“Let’s beat a couple more to death so that they know better than to mess with us!”

“Hm?”

A soldier ran to the gates and was taken aback. He saw jet-black horses, blood-red eyes, and silver-white hair…

“Where did these Tang slaves come from?”

Shoosh!

A cold flash of light streaked through him in the middle. His head first split apart, followed by his chest, then his abdomen. His body fell in two pieces, just like a sliced watermelon, with his body fluid spurting everywhere.

“My apologies…” Shu Yichao retracted his sword, which was enveloped in a black aura that transformed it into a longer and sharper modao. “…but your Tang granddaddy has returned! (T/N: Modao is a three-meters long sword)

“Slaughter them!”

Shu Yichao charged into the mine, with the White-haired Ghost Horsemen following him closely. The crescendoing sounds of their horse hooves sounded like tolls counting down to their death.

The Tang flag furiously fluttered amidst the rapid gale.

“Those who have betrayed Great Tang at Talas, at Anxi, at Beiting; the traitors who reduced our brethren to slaves… Kill them all!” Shu Yichao roared. “No prisoners; it’ll be a wipeout!”