Here, it was pitch black.
There was no firelight, and even less any sign of civilization.
This was the night of Lord Wando Island.
But none of this affected Qilin much, because she was an undead— the darkness did not hinder her movements.
And any Level 5 creature that could appear here, needless to say, must be some sort of ferocious beast.
At her current strength, she could only manage to gang up on a single Level 5 creature with combined force; if it was a group-living beast, that would be troublesome.
Like a Wolf.
As if dreading what might appear, six cold, eerie lights suddenly gleamed atop the mountain forest ahead.
Wolves.
And there were three of them, watching this way with wary eyes.
Qilin immediately ordered the undead to be on guard and prepare for battle.
Yet the three Wolves merely prowled within the forest, showing no intention to attack, and after a moment, disappeared into the darkness.
Perhaps they sensed that undead were not suitable prey, or perhaps the presence within was not weaker than their own, so they retreated.
She couldn’t order a pursuit; the skeletons were too slow, and the terrain of the forest was unsuitable for their side to fight.
“No, they shouldn’t be able to recognize the undead race. Why are they so alert in my direction?”
Qilin was puzzled; the opponent’s strength clearly surpassed hers.
Wait—what if their wariness wasn’t directed at her?
The next second, a thick black tail suddenly swept across.
The undead at the front had no time to react, instantly shattered into a spray of bone fragments, and the tail’s force continued to sweep forward.
The only Level 5 skeleton warrior on the field stepped up in time, raising its massive Bone Blade to shield Qilin.
With a bang, the tremendous force knocked even the skeleton warrior back several meters; Qilin dodged in time.
As the power was dispersed, the tail swiftly withdrew.
Then, from within the forest, a massive black python lunged forth, maw wide open, ready to devour them.
At that moment, a black fireball shot out, colliding directly with the python’s head and exploding violently.
The black flames raged, consuming everything around, yet, strangely, instead of giving off light, they seemed to make the surroundings even darker.
The scattered undead quickly reformed, and all seized the opportunity to charge at the python.
Meanwhile, the python writhed in agony, the black flames on its head burning fiercely, causing it to roll madly on the ground.
It seemed blind to the attacking skeletons.
Suddenly, its head jerked up, and a terrifying green glow shot from its eyes.
In that instant, the soul flames in the eyes of several skeletons at the front flickered and went out, their bodies collapsing into a pile of bones.
But before it could continue, a Bone Blade flew in from the side.
With a fierce impact, the blade shattered the scales on its head and drove into its skull.
Yet it only pierced a quarter deep—far from fatal for such a large creature.
However, the force twisted the python’s head to the side, interrupting its skill.
As it turned back, a black scythe suddenly filled its vision, growing rapidly larger.
Black flames burned along its edge.
With a single slash, the scythe seemed to split the air itself, cleaving the python’s head in two, and its massive body crashed down.
Qilin’s body fell as well, but the skeleton soldiers below caught her instantly.
She had managed to reach the python because the skeleton warrior had thrown her forward moments ago.
[Congratulations on successfully slaying a Level 6 Black-Eroded Python. You have obtained a piece of Snake Scale Armor, a blueprint, and ten gold coins.]
“Another piece of equipment.”
A faint smile appeared on Qilin’s lips, and as the blue energy from the corpse merged into her body, a wave of comfort washed over her, making her smile widen.
[Congratulations on reaching Level 4!]
Double happiness—if the main body knew, she would surely be delighted.
In the blink of an eye, morning arrived.
Today was already the last day of the newbie protection period.
Some ambitious lords were even starting to grow restless with anticipation.
Qilin stepped out of the Lord’s Hall, stretching with a sore waist and back.
The hardworking undead had already moved the felled trees back during the night, so the farmers could collect them more quickly.
But now, to upgrade to a High-Level Village, an enormous amount of resources was required.
Five times more than before; even conservatively, it would take at least three days to barely gather enough materials.
[Upgrade requirements: 5,000 units of wood, 2,500 units of stone]
Staring at the sky-high resource demands, this was what troubled him most.
Currently, with forty farmers and undead working through the night, daily output just barely reached over two thousand.
At that moment, the farmers suddenly stopped working, staring blankly into the distance beyond the territory.
There, a colossal skeleton serpent, as tall as a house, was slowly crawling their way, followed by a group of skeletons and a white-haired girl wielding a scythe.
“Looks like last night’s haul was impressive.”
Qilin smiled and moved to greet them, surprised at how effective her avatar had been.
“What the heck— the weakest monsters at night are Level 5 and travel in packs. The solitary ones are absurdly strong. It was a disaster.”
She couldn’t help but complain to her main body.
If not for slaying that python early on, the rest would not have gone so smoothly.
Even so, after an entire night, she’d only managed to take down a few Level 5 monsters with the undead.
“All beginnings are hard. With these Level 5 undead helping, the second night won’t be as rough.”
Qilin comforted her.
“Here, this is for you.”
She signaled to the undead beside her, who immediately stepped forward with the supplies.
“More blueprints and weapons?!”
Qilin beamed at the skeleton, then at her other self.
Seeing her main body happy, she too smiled warmly.
“Hehe, of course.”
Level 6 armor, building blueprints, thirty-five gold coins—her avatar hadn’t left a single slain corpse behind, bringing everything back.
Qilin selected some lower-level, unsightly corpses and distributed them.
“These are rewards for you all. Take them and eat!”
“Thank you, Lord, for your grace!”
Because it was morning, all the farmers were gathered within the territory, bowing in unison and shouting with gratitude.
Who wouldn’t like a lord who took care of their food and shelter?